strawberries and mint | T. R.

6.

By the time Halloween was right around the corner, Lorelei had fully plunged into the Hogwarts student life, grew accustomed to following a certain day to day routine. Never in a million years would the girl think that this level of predictability would suit her irrepressible personality. For as long as she could remember, she was always striving for something pervasive, longing for thrilling conquests and constant movement. She would immediately get bored of monotonous activities, never finding satisfaction in little things, fascinated by the unimaginable.

Lora wasn't afraid of many things, no animal or creature ever scared her since she knew that her magical gift and considerable knowledge were always going to protect the girl from any material threat. People didn't frighten her either, they were too foreseeable in their vast majority, and you can't be afraid of something that could be predicted or studied, only of something totally unexpected or undisclosed. The unknown terrifies everybody, no matter how hard you might try to deny it. No one is prepared for everything, omnipotence is unattainable, utopian. There will always be something bigger, stronger, predominant in power, ability or knowledge.

That was how Lora explained her fear of cosmos. It wasn't your typical sense of fright that she felt for it, it was more of a profound feeling of fascination and  sublimation. The entire concept of "space" never seemed to leave the girl's troubled mind, it's immensity, it's greatness, it's total superiority over every living being inside of it. Ever since she was allowed to leave the house after sunset, she had developed this habit of spending hours if not entire nights just observing the night sky, littered with stars and constellations. Even now, many years after her first encounter with the most evident proof of the endlessness of the universe the girl was still captivated by its grandeur.

She took a fancy to the school's Astronomy tower, sneaking out every once in a while way past curfew with the sole intention of catching even the smallest glimpse of the glorious scenery that opened up before her during the most silent hours from the highest point of Hogwarts. She liked the vulnerability and fragility of her being she felt before the universe. Sometimes, she would wonder what it would be like to be as ubiquitous and all-powerful as cosmos. Her life was as meaningless as an ant's in the eyes of the timeless and boundless galaxy.

Sometimes, she would invite Finn to join her, he was always up for it. He wasn't very talkative and preferred observation over participation. Lora was glad she could find someone to be silent with in this unbearably loud school. But most times, she preferred to be in solitude during her late night sorties. She liked to share the intimacy of these mute hours only with the planets up above.

Tonight was one of the solitary ones. She needed some time to enjoy the imperceptible company of the stars and the moons one of which, precisely the closest to earth also happened to be full today. This meant that she finally had some little time to practice the side of of magic that wasn't welcomed by the English educational system for the young witches and wizards. Ironically, it was also the most fundamental side of it.