Frozen Fractures

[November Malfoy]

**Upper class, pureblooded and wealthy unwed, males preferred - this is a both Olive torturing her character and a hurling attempt**

DATE: December 31st, 1883
TAG: Open
WORDS: 444
OUTFIT
NOTES:

The festivities for the New Year celebrations had not yet begun and wanting to get some air before they did, Nova had her chaperone accompany her to Padmore Park. It was very cold, however, and she didn't care to stay long. They had been there for roughly fifteen minutes and she was frozen despite the copious planning she had put into deciding what to wear out to prevent being cold. Clearly she had miscalculated. She would simply have to side-long apparate with her chaperone home before they both froze to death.

Nova was on the verge of turning to her chaperone to suggest this when a huge gust of wind hit them. She watched in surprise as her hat was blown off the top off her head and towards the pond. Fumbling for her wand, she couldn't get to it quick enough and decided to pursue it by foot. "I shan't be a moment!" she called out to her chaperone as she hurried after it. She had to grab it before it went on the pond, then things would be more difficult.

She almost had it and then it blew onto the frozen surface. Nova chewed her lip anxiously and decided to follow after it, carefully easing herself onto the ice. All she had to do was carefully crouch down and- it moved a good foot away from her before she could bend down to grab it. "Oh no!" She didn't really want to go any further out, it ought to be sturdy enough for her weight but she didn't care to test it. Fumbling for her wand again, she watched that hat move even further across the pond and decided she hadn't time to search herself for her wand. As steadily as possible, she moved across the ice towards her hat. She was almost there now!

Then she heard it. A loud crack that made her stomach knot. Just  a little further and she'd have it. Tentatively, she edged closer, only to hear another loud, ominous cracking sound which provoked a gasp of fear form her. Crouch down, she managed to snatch her hat, straighten up and- CRACK!

It happened so fast she didn't know what was happening from one moment to the next. The ice suddenly fractured beneath her and before she knew it, she felt the icy cold embrace of the pond water. Her dress instantly weighed her down but she struggled against the pull. The cold water filled her lungs as she tried to scream when her head bobbed above water level for a moment, only to be pulled under again. She couldn't swim. Merlin, help her she couldn't swim!
 

  

[Caspar Urquart]

Frozen Fractures

An evening stroll had been all Caspar had wanted that evening, a stroll away from the New Years Festivities, so he may only appear right before the fireworks, let his face be seen, politely greet acquaintances and be gone back to work. New Years Eve and day were particularly busy days for himself and his line of work. Spell damage was prominent around any celebration, and now he had taken over as Healer-in-charge from Mrs Herbert, he found himself to be even busier. He did find it peculiar how easily young men would injure themselves when a young woman was involved, or a mother would accidentally inflate her son’s head whilst wrestling her wand from him. Caspar would be lying if he said that the very thought of a child and mother did not sadden him to his very heart, however, life had to go on and go on it did.

Padmore Park was particularly beautiful in the snow, the moonlight and stars glistened off the frozen ground and twinkling up at him as well as down. Placing his cane delicately on the ground he drew a slow but steady shooting star, smiling very faintly to himself. He did not need the cane, although he liked to lean on it. He was as fit as a young man, and he had no limp. However, he did enjoy the feel of the crystal orb under his palm, and he had been told he looked fairly fashionable in it. Although, he was not one to gloat, it did bring a smirk to his lips.

His thoughts were shattered quite suddenly by the sound of a woman’s voice, followed by a scream and he looked around frantically to find her. His first instinct was to look to the lake, and by Merlin’s beard was he glad he did! It took him barely a moment to decide exactly what he needed to do; running forward, he came to the edge of the water, tearing off his cloak and jacket, and bending to rip off his boots, hat and cane discarded a little further away, thrown to one side as he had ran.

“Do not panic!” Caspar knew his words were futile, but he needed to ensure she heard the faint murmur of his confident attempt to sooth her, if only to help her relax and therefore hopefully aid her in retaining as much of her breath as she could. Elegantly, as his second boot flew off and behind him somewhere into the snow, Caspar did not hesitate as he dove neatly, steepled hands first, into the icy water. She had sunk quite far by now, but luckily, having removed his heaviest articles, he swam easily to her side. His arm slipped around her waist, pulling her close to his body and slipping his wand from his waistcoat, carefully creating a bubble around her mouth and nose to ensure she not take in anymore water. He attempted to swim them up, but as he had guessed her dress was far too heavy.

507 words written by Ellie for Olive/Nova Crouch; from Emily, Merry Xmas 2013

  

[November Malfoy]

DATE: December 31st, 1883
TAG: Caspar
WORDS: 196
OUTFIT
NOTES:

Nova only faintly heard the man's voice calling out but she wasn't sure what was said. Was he perhaps going to rescue her? Thoughts of the mysterious voice vanished as the more pressing matter of the icy cold water dragging her down overcame them. She tried kicking her legs a little but they caught up in her skirt and did little to help. The light above was quickly growing further away from her and the need to breathe becoming a very serious issue.

There were black spots forming in her field of vision as she made out a figure moving toward her. Was it a shark? No, there were no sharks in the pond, that was silly maybe it was a- It was man! Barely conscious, she felt a tug around her waist and was at least aware enough to feel a fleeting sense of embarrassment at being grabbed in such a place by a man. A moment later and she could breathe, sort of anyway. She couldn't quite manage proper breaths with so much water already taken in and instead started to choke, or rather she tried to but was having difficulty even with that.
""

  

[Caspar Urquart]

Frozen Fractures

Pulling her close to his chest, Caspar could feel her struggle to breath, feeling the forced rise and fall of her chest. Caspar decided those darned corsets were mostly to blame, how was a woman expected to breathe in them?

Caspar had two options, use his wand again or lose the dress. The lesser of the two was not going to happen. Not if he wanted this young woman to bare a reputation after this! Caspar decided the best option was to point his wand skyward. The spell was done steadily so they slowly rose to the surface, with an extra push that allowed Caspar to carefully carry the young woman to the snowy bank of the lake.

“Miss, relax, the more you struggle, the more damage you will do…” Caspar’s voice soothed her, carrying her to the perfect location, as though she weighed just her dress (dry of course) alone.

Caspar hardly felt the cold, the air hitting the wet of the clothes and he did not yet think to aid the woman in warming herself; how could she? She couldn’t breath! He manoeuvred them, still holding her tightly to him, and lay her down. His wand swam silently through the bitter cold air and removed the bubble charm. He knelt down next to her, almost leaning over her, as he took his non-dominant hand and seemingly scooped up the back of her head, fingers running through her wet, shockingly blonde hair. His dominant hand rested on her chest and started applying pressure, to pump the water out, when he realised just how inappropriate the notion was. In a hospital it made sense, but should anyone spot them, how were they to know he was a healer and she a drowning patient? Caspar, embarrassed by his seeming caress of her chest, and let’s face it part of her breast, cleared his throat and with his wand he, again using an almost swimming motion, cleared her air passage, or rather encouraged the clearing of the passage. The water had to go somewhere.

Caspar in that moment, just before she was about to spit up all that water, felt his eyes draw into hers, and for a moment, just a brief moment considering that she was about to hack up water on him, felt alive like he had not felt in close to nine years.

394 words written by Ellie for Olive/Nova; from Emily, Merry Xmas 2013

  

[November Malfoy]

DATE: December 31st, 1883
TAG: Caspar
WORDS: 306
OUTFIT
NOTES:

Nova only knew she was above water again when the shock of cold air hit her, chilling her right to the bone if she wasn't already. However, cold air aside, she was more distracted by her fight to breathe which was becoming more of a difficulty the more she panicked about it. The mysterious man who had just dragged her from the pond warned her against her panic but it wasn't easy, she could only take in so much air and it felt as though her chest were constricting tightly.

It seemed like forever before she was being put down on solid ground, the charm removed and she had to assume was her rescuer looking down at her. She couldn't make much of him out as her eyes were watering profusely and blurring her vision but she could tell he had dark hair. That was something at least. Still struggling for air, she nearly choked in shock when she felt his hand on her chest. Thankfully he removed his hand and did something with his wand, the result being a sudden immense urge to possibly throw up. The stream of tears leaking profusely from her eyes let up just enough for her to get a brief glimpse of him properly before the water made it's escape. Unfortunately it also exited her nose which was both embarrassing and very painful.

Once all the water was gone, she could only lay there and breathe, wincing at the pain the cold air caused which each inhalation. Her eyes were no longer streaming so terribly and she found herself staring at a rather handsome, dark haired man who looked somewhat older than her eldest brother. Sadly, she didn't recognize him. Ought she to have? "Thank you, sir," she managed to whisper, her throat far too sore to manage anything louder.

  

[Caspar Urquart]

Frozen Fractures

Caspar watched her as she tried to breath, lifting her up lightly by the back of her neck as she snorted up water all over the both of them. Caspar decided that it did not matter right now. It was better that she was safe.

“My name is Caspar Urquart, I am a Healer at Hogsmeade Hospital,” Caspar said softly, fingers stroking over her brow to check her temperature. ”I believe you are starting to run a fever, so we must bring your temperature up.”

Bringing his wand up again, holding it with his index finger stretched out down the length of the wood as was his own slight signature, Caspar waved it over her body and began taking the water from her dress, little droplets rising into the air, slowly drying her. He sighed, frustrated that it was taking so long and instead tried another spell; a drying spell. He let the spell linger until the two of them were just damp, opposed to bone-dry. He couldn’t risk accidentally drying her skin also.

“Accio cloak,” the cloak Caspar had earlier abandoned flew over to him, and with one movement he swept it over her, amplifying the slight warming charm upon it. ”I need you to tell me your name, and inform me of whom you arrived to the Park with.”

221 words written by Ellie for Olive/Nova Crouch; from Emily, Merry Xmas 2013

  

[November Malfoy]

DATE: December 31st, 1883
TAG: Caspar
WORDS: 214
OUTFIT
NOTES:

Her nostrils were burning along with her throat and eyes, how long would these symptoms last? She had inhaled water before by accident but the unpleasant burning sensation usually passed quickly, this was far more intense and not letting up either.

Urquart. That was all of his name that she picked up on for it was the part she recognized. Uquart. Urquart. Urquart. Urquart. She tried to summon up names and faces that she could think of that accompanied the name but her head was growing increasingly more achy and she couldn't think of anything. He mentioned something about a fever, how was that possible when she felt so cold?

A mild warmth suddenly washed over body and the soggy clothes she was clad in gradually dried a little. Somehow it seemed to make her feel colder. The cloak was a big help, she was still now shivering profusely but the improvement was definitely noticed. "M-M-Miss N-N-Nov-ember Cr-Crouch," she stuttered through chattering teeth. "C-Came wi-with my ch-chaperone." Where was the woman? Had she not noticed her slip through the ice or seen her reemerge from it? Nova wondered where she was then, was she still in the park or had she missed something and been transported elsewhere? That would explain the lack of chaperone.