Spellbound

Chapter 5

 The air was tense and quiet. No one uttered so much as a breath. Before them was a stand-off no one dared to interrupt. Ea slunk around in a circle, while Brogan easily loped after her, both trying to read the other, both silently hammering at the other's wall of stoicism.

Ea watched Brogan's eyes shift as he watched her every move, contemplating his own. Sensing he was going to make a move, she gave her wand a small flick as it rested in her hand, and muttered, "Glacius tria."

Brogan almost didn't catch it time, and the edge of his robe froze. As it was, the people sitting behind him had an icy gust of air redirected in their faces. She heard another of her housemates sing in a hushed whisper, "You're as cold as ice..." She didn't have time to hear more because Brogan smiled at her, and almost instantly she felt herself slowing down, her stomach fluttering wildly. He was playing bastard-ball and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him.

She felt her head begin to swim lazily, and couldn't see that Brogan had used her lapse to his advantage. She could feel it though, like a pull in the room, the magic flowing around her opponent, painting an almost acid-washed scene before her. Her wand raised of its own accord and flicked away the spell lobbed at her, followed by an unspoken counter, her heart pounding a tribal rhythm in her ears. They exchanged vicious blows, the magic vibrating in Ea's bones like a tuning fork, and with each exhale her own magic flowed faster, her spells slowly overpowering Brogan.

The torrent began to wear at her as well however. Sweat beaded on her brow, and she felt her responses slowing. Ever the opportunist, Brogan jumped to capitalize on her weariness. Ea heard a housemate shout through what felt like a layer of styrofoam, "Ea, wath out!" Shocked, her lungs filled with much needed air and her gaze refocused, although it was much too late. She lifted her empty right hand, and in a reflexive manner, attempted to swat the spell away.

And succeeded. The spell redirected off of her hand to the left, where it flew at a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, who both looked back at the scorch mark on the wall behind them with wide eyes. They slowly turned back towards them and stared at Ea, their surprise turning into something else. Something judgemental.

Ea felt her pulse quicken and her breathing increase. The walls of the room were slowly getting closer, closing in on her, squeezing the air out of the room. Trembling beyond her control, she turned and ran out of the class, tears streaming down her face. She furiously swiped at them as she ran to the Owlery.

Why does this always happen to me? she asked, her mind confused and terrified. So much weird stuff happens around me. To me! I just want to be normal!

She reached the Owlery in no time, and whistled for Hiroto, who flew down immediately, and landed on her outstretched right arm, while she used her left to bring her broom down from its hiding place. Once in hand, she walked to the steps that led back down the outside of the tower, and lifted herself onto the ledge. She set Hiroto down on the wall and swung her legs around, so that they were dangling over the dangerous drop.

Ea leaned a bit over to look straight down. The ground must be at least over a hundred meters down, she thought, her stomach tightening as it always did. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching. looking over her shoulder, she lowered her broom over the wall, just to keep it out of sight, and tucked her wand into her shirt. She was shocked when she saw Dorian, who had been oddly absent from their Defence Against the Dark Arts class, coming around the steps. She watched him for a moment, noticed that the bunny ears were gone from his head, and waited until he saw her.

And she wasn't let down. He got a few steps away before Hiroto hooted at him in warning, and his head snapped up. His eyes instantly went to Ea's and while she felt intimidated, his stare didn't have the effect that Brogan's had. His gaze moved to the wall she was sitting on, then to her legs that were hanging precariously over the plunge of peril. His face quickly changed from suspicious to worried in the span of a second.