The prompt for this drabble is echo.
Rating: K+
Warnings: none
Genre: crossover, adventure, Elsa-centric
Story Thread: Hogwarts!AU
. ~ { oOo } ~ .
Elsa traverses the corridor, wishing someone was here who understood. She's spent the entirety of her schooling isolated – friendless – and now in Seventh Year, she feels the toll it's taken upon her. She clasps trembling hands around her wand, letting that magical conduit reinforce the control she strives maintain.
Today's been difficult. A momentary slip during Potions earlier caused quite the spectacle; she'd botched her assignment and, in her stress, frozen every cauldron in the room. Per usual, she'd been sent to Headmistress Malfoy.
. ~ o ~ .
"Sharing a body with the fragmented soul of an Ice Elemental cannot be easy," the Headmistress had said, "and you're more than diligent in your efforts at restraint. But, perhaps, that's the problem."
Then the elder woman smiled.
"There's a corridor on the seventh floor – the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy resides there. Do you know it?" At Elsa's nod, the Headmistress continued, People tend to avoid the area, but I find that it has the right atmosphere for a good think. Try it – walk around, reflect on what you have need of, and I believe you will be pleased with the results."
. ~ o ~ .
Elsa walks back towards the vase on the other end of the corridor. How many times has she walked this path? She's lost count, but supposes it doesn't matter. While thankful for the Headmistress's kind intentions, the hour is late, this escapade has done little to improve her malaise, and Elsa's ready for the comfort of her own bed. Her footsteps echo against the stone walls as she quickens her pace to leave.
A door materializes to her left, and the sudden addition startles Elsa into taking a step back. Then she remembers the undercurrent in the conversation which brought her here, and thinks maybe this is what the old woman had been leading her towards all along. With a deep breath, Elsa casts a Lumos.
The room inside is terrifying at first glance, all grey ash and charred remains. Elsa recollects a tale she once heard about a sentient room of magical artifacts and an incident with Fiendfyre, and thinks that perhaps she's stumbled across just that place. Curiosity overcomes any lingering fear.
In all the wreckage, Elsa spies something peculiar: a large circle on the floor of what appears to be crystal. As the substance glitters in the light of her spell, she bends down to touch it. The circle dissipates, and a thrill of excitement shoots up her spine.
It was ice.
Left behind under the ice is a small Seer's ball unlike any Elsa's ever seen, the glass a bright, opaque white. She picks it up and is shocked to see the image of a boy floating about inside. Elsa brings it closer to get a better look, and as her lips graze cold surface, a burst of magic fills the room. Where she'd been holding the ball, now she's grasping the blue cloak of a full-sized person.
"The name's Jack," he says, winking. "Let's have some fun."
. ~ { oOo } ~ .
