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hh_mirror2008-04-13 06:00 pm
bantersucks.livejournal.com) wrote in hh_mirror2008-04-13 06:00 pm
Entry tags:
IC Hiatus/Canon-update post, or, Took a Wrong Turn at Albuquerque
((IC hiatus/canon-update post, co-written with Brenda-mun. Cut for tl;dr because Jaime-mun can't be concise EVER.))
"C'mon!" Brenda said, dragging Jaime down the hall. "It'll be fun!"
This, Jaime had learned, was a phrase that usually led to incipient doom. Or punching. "Yeah, for the one who isn't being slammed onto the floor repeatedly." But he continued down the corridor with Brenda, heading in what they thought was the right direction. "What floor's this Room of Requirement supposed to be on again?"
Brenda consulted a sheet of scribbled notes. "Seventh, I'm pretty sure. Across from a tapestry of dancing trolls."
"A tapestry of... oookay." He shook his head. "Least it'll be easy to spot." Of course, just by saying that, he'd jinxed it. He turned right, heading for the nearest set of (non-moving) stairs, and then stopped dead. The open stairwell that should have been there was gone, and instead the corridor continued, turning sharply left again. "Wait a sec. There was a stairwell here like two seconds ago."
"Man, this place." Brenda shook her head. "Okay, castle wants us to go this way, why don't we go this way? Scarab got any opinions?"
Jaime sighed. "Give me a minute. It's -" He flinched visibly and corrected himself. "He's trying to update the map since like a whole bunch of hallways changed at once. But if we keep going, it looks like we'll wind up near the main moving staircases." He shrugged. "Either that or we backtrack all the way back to Gryffindor the way things are switching around."
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad - at least we end up someplace familiar," she mused. "You guys got the majority vote. Keep going or just give up on the whole Room of Requirement thing for today? I can always try again with the aikido tomorrow, I guess." She sighed theatrically.
Oh, he knew exactly what that sigh meant. Jaime rolled his eyes. "Come on. Might as well get this over with."
He started down the corridor, and as they rounded the corner, the abundance of portraits and tapestries dwindled considerably. As they walked, the corridor seemed to be growing narrower, and less and less well-lit. By the time it was so narrow they could only walk down it single-file, Jaime was starting to think this wasn't such a good idea. "Maybe we oughta turn around," he began - and as he turned the Scarab informed him that there was now a dead end behind them. "Aw, crap."
Brenda looked back over her shoulder at the wall that wasn't there a minute ago. "Forward, march?" she said with forced cheeriness.
"Either that or blast our way back - and no, that was not a suggestion don't even think about it!" Shaking his head, Jaime turned and continued forward, slowly and cautiously. The corridor had straightened out, but the Scarab couldn't tell how much longer it continued. It grew darker and darker as they walked, until suddenly, a cool gust of air blew down the hallway, snuffing out the last of the torches and plunging them into darkness. "You've got to be kidding me." He instinctively reached behind him - while the Scarab told him Brenda was still right there, in this place you never knew.
Brenda put one hand on Jaime's shoulder and took out her wand with the other. "Lumos." She peered into the darkness. "Something shiny up ahead. Metal. About waist level. You guys see it too?"
"Yeah. Scarab says it's - a doorknob?" Jaime headed cautiously towards the shiny object. As they came closer, it did indeed appear to be a doorknob, attached to a plain wooden door. Light shone from underneath the door, warm and welcoming after the cool darkness of the hallway. Shrugging, Jaime opened the door and stepped through, blinking at the sudden brightness. It took a second for his vision to clear, and when it did - "Oh my God."
"What? What've we -" She stood on tiptoe to look over Jaime's shoulder. "Uhm. Hi?" She tucked her wand away quickly and waved.
Jaime didn't even manage that much. He was still gaping at the sight. They were standing in the Reyes' living room, exactly as he remembered it, totally unchanged in the months they'd been gone. Just like that - they were home. He didn't turn to look behind him, but if he did he wouldn't see a door, just a plain wall.
From her position upside down on the couch, fruitlessly clicking away with the wrong remote, Milagro stared at them like they were crazy. "You're not supposed to go out 'n leave me here," she informed him haughtily. "I'm telling Mom."
"Uh. Go out where?" Jaime finally managed. "I didn't go anywhere." He looked back at Brenda, inclining his head to indicate the door-less wall. "You take off and not tell me?"
She blinked twice, trying to recover. "Who, me? Ms. No Social Life? I don't think so, pal." She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the wall. The solid wall.
Milagro eyed them both suspiciously for a second, and then finally noticed the cable remote sitting beside her. She snatched it up hastily and quickly turned on some cartoons. Normally, Jaime would have taken the opportunity to give her grief yet again, but his heart wasn't in it. He turned back to Brenda and the plain wall now that his sister's attention was elsewhere. "Guess nobody noticed we were gone here," he sighed, studying the wall in the hopes that the door would reappear. It didn't, and the Scarab didn't pick anything up. "That's something."
Brenda nodded, and stepped out from behind him, looking for any differences in the room. Except for the usual Milagro-mess, it was just the same. A tapping at the window caught her eye, and she pointed: Sancho was on the sill, waiting for them.
"What the?" Glancing over at Milagro to make sure she was still glued to the TV set, Jaime hurried over to the kitchen window and opened it to let Sancho in. Thankfully, the raven was content to perch on one of the kitchen chairs instead of divebombing for silverware or something, and thus Milagro did not notice the bird that her brother had just let into the kitchen.
Jaime cast about frantically, looking for paper and pen, something to write a message with before his mother got home and chased Sancho out the door. A search of the drawers finally yielded a yellow legal pad and a slightly leaky blue pen, with which he scrawled a quick note:
Lola -
I hope to God you get this and that I didn't just give this to some random Sancho lookalike or something. I know I promised you no disappearing without warning, but - was looking for something with Brenda and the hallways changed on us again and then Hogwarts just dumped us into my folks' living room somehow. Don't know how, it just happened.
We're both okay, and we're home, and I don't think anyone noticed we were gone. Not sure how I'm gonna get back, but - I'll find a way somehow. Just don't want you to worry. Mom's going to be home in ten minutes and she won't like Sancho in her kitchen, so I've got to stop now. Love you. Don't worry.
-Jaime
He folded the paper up and waved it at Sancho. "Give this to Lola, okay? In one piece." Sancho cawed and launched himself off the chair, snatching up the paper with his talons as he fluttered out the window.
Milagro noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hey! What was that?"
Jaime didn't respond. He just stared out the window, watching the raven glide off into the afternoon sun. He stood there, watching, until Sancho was nothing more than a faint black speck on the horizon and then was gone entirely from sight.
"C'mon!" Brenda said, dragging Jaime down the hall. "It'll be fun!"
This, Jaime had learned, was a phrase that usually led to incipient doom. Or punching. "Yeah, for the one who isn't being slammed onto the floor repeatedly." But he continued down the corridor with Brenda, heading in what they thought was the right direction. "What floor's this Room of Requirement supposed to be on again?"
Brenda consulted a sheet of scribbled notes. "Seventh, I'm pretty sure. Across from a tapestry of dancing trolls."
"A tapestry of... oookay." He shook his head. "Least it'll be easy to spot." Of course, just by saying that, he'd jinxed it. He turned right, heading for the nearest set of (non-moving) stairs, and then stopped dead. The open stairwell that should have been there was gone, and instead the corridor continued, turning sharply left again. "Wait a sec. There was a stairwell here like two seconds ago."
"Man, this place." Brenda shook her head. "Okay, castle wants us to go this way, why don't we go this way? Scarab got any opinions?"
Jaime sighed. "Give me a minute. It's -" He flinched visibly and corrected himself. "He's trying to update the map since like a whole bunch of hallways changed at once. But if we keep going, it looks like we'll wind up near the main moving staircases." He shrugged. "Either that or we backtrack all the way back to Gryffindor the way things are switching around."
"Well, that doesn't sound too bad - at least we end up someplace familiar," she mused. "You guys got the majority vote. Keep going or just give up on the whole Room of Requirement thing for today? I can always try again with the aikido tomorrow, I guess." She sighed theatrically.
Oh, he knew exactly what that sigh meant. Jaime rolled his eyes. "Come on. Might as well get this over with."
He started down the corridor, and as they rounded the corner, the abundance of portraits and tapestries dwindled considerably. As they walked, the corridor seemed to be growing narrower, and less and less well-lit. By the time it was so narrow they could only walk down it single-file, Jaime was starting to think this wasn't such a good idea. "Maybe we oughta turn around," he began - and as he turned the Scarab informed him that there was now a dead end behind them. "Aw, crap."
Brenda looked back over her shoulder at the wall that wasn't there a minute ago. "Forward, march?" she said with forced cheeriness.
"Either that or blast our way back - and no, that was not a suggestion don't even think about it!" Shaking his head, Jaime turned and continued forward, slowly and cautiously. The corridor had straightened out, but the Scarab couldn't tell how much longer it continued. It grew darker and darker as they walked, until suddenly, a cool gust of air blew down the hallway, snuffing out the last of the torches and plunging them into darkness. "You've got to be kidding me." He instinctively reached behind him - while the Scarab told him Brenda was still right there, in this place you never knew.
Brenda put one hand on Jaime's shoulder and took out her wand with the other. "Lumos." She peered into the darkness. "Something shiny up ahead. Metal. About waist level. You guys see it too?"
"Yeah. Scarab says it's - a doorknob?" Jaime headed cautiously towards the shiny object. As they came closer, it did indeed appear to be a doorknob, attached to a plain wooden door. Light shone from underneath the door, warm and welcoming after the cool darkness of the hallway. Shrugging, Jaime opened the door and stepped through, blinking at the sudden brightness. It took a second for his vision to clear, and when it did - "Oh my God."
"What? What've we -" She stood on tiptoe to look over Jaime's shoulder. "Uhm. Hi?" She tucked her wand away quickly and waved.
Jaime didn't even manage that much. He was still gaping at the sight. They were standing in the Reyes' living room, exactly as he remembered it, totally unchanged in the months they'd been gone. Just like that - they were home. He didn't turn to look behind him, but if he did he wouldn't see a door, just a plain wall.
From her position upside down on the couch, fruitlessly clicking away with the wrong remote, Milagro stared at them like they were crazy. "You're not supposed to go out 'n leave me here," she informed him haughtily. "I'm telling Mom."
"Uh. Go out where?" Jaime finally managed. "I didn't go anywhere." He looked back at Brenda, inclining his head to indicate the door-less wall. "You take off and not tell me?"
She blinked twice, trying to recover. "Who, me? Ms. No Social Life? I don't think so, pal." She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the wall. The solid wall.
Milagro eyed them both suspiciously for a second, and then finally noticed the cable remote sitting beside her. She snatched it up hastily and quickly turned on some cartoons. Normally, Jaime would have taken the opportunity to give her grief yet again, but his heart wasn't in it. He turned back to Brenda and the plain wall now that his sister's attention was elsewhere. "Guess nobody noticed we were gone here," he sighed, studying the wall in the hopes that the door would reappear. It didn't, and the Scarab didn't pick anything up. "That's something."
Brenda nodded, and stepped out from behind him, looking for any differences in the room. Except for the usual Milagro-mess, it was just the same. A tapping at the window caught her eye, and she pointed: Sancho was on the sill, waiting for them.
"What the?" Glancing over at Milagro to make sure she was still glued to the TV set, Jaime hurried over to the kitchen window and opened it to let Sancho in. Thankfully, the raven was content to perch on one of the kitchen chairs instead of divebombing for silverware or something, and thus Milagro did not notice the bird that her brother had just let into the kitchen.
Jaime cast about frantically, looking for paper and pen, something to write a message with before his mother got home and chased Sancho out the door. A search of the drawers finally yielded a yellow legal pad and a slightly leaky blue pen, with which he scrawled a quick note:
Lola -
I hope to God you get this and that I didn't just give this to some random Sancho lookalike or something. I know I promised you no disappearing without warning, but - was looking for something with Brenda and the hallways changed on us again and then Hogwarts just dumped us into my folks' living room somehow. Don't know how, it just happened.
We're both okay, and we're home, and I don't think anyone noticed we were gone. Not sure how I'm gonna get back, but - I'll find a way somehow. Just don't want you to worry. Mom's going to be home in ten minutes and she won't like Sancho in her kitchen, so I've got to stop now. Love you. Don't worry.
-Jaime
He folded the paper up and waved it at Sancho. "Give this to Lola, okay? In one piece." Sancho cawed and launched himself off the chair, snatching up the paper with his talons as he fluttered out the window.
Milagro noticed the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hey! What was that?"
Jaime didn't respond. He just stared out the window, watching the raven glide off into the afternoon sun. He stood there, watching, until Sancho was nothing more than a faint black speck on the horizon and then was gone entirely from sight.