nexus_crossings | Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

Ho Ho Ho! Happy HP Holidays!

There is something different about the Nexus this Christmas season. There is a light snow falling over the entire Nexus plaza. The snow is gentle, with no real coldness to the falling snow flakes. As one approaches the main gathering area, they will notice that there are many Christmas decorations, including garland hanging from the air, and there are twelve towering decorated Christmas trees, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles. There are also thousands of floating tiny candles in the Nexus plaza, that gently move at their own discretion.

In one corner, there is an orchestra, directed by a Dwarf. All of the musicians are playing music on instruments made from ice. In the center of the Nexus plaza, is a huge banquet table, loaded with holiday foods and treats that showcases a variety of food from different cultures, and some of the different worlds that gather into the Nexus itself. The main delight of the banquet table is that magic can make the food replenish itself, meaning Christmas dinner never has to end. Most will be able to find something they would enjoy. With the added perk that the food is LOL-free.

There are some added little Christmas adventures, for those who get caught up in the holidays. Here are some of the extra options for the Holiday season.

Secret Santa!
There is an added bonus to the Secret Santa gifts this year. The presents will deliver themselves! There are tons of wrapped gifts floating through the air, destined to only drop when they reach the person to which they are intended. Please note that not all gifts will be given in the spirit of the season. There are a few prank gifts floating around too. Be sure to watch out for them!

Christmas Crackers!
There are Christmas crackers scattered among the tables, and in amongst the branches of the trees. They are decorated with festive paper that is twisted at either end like a sweet wrapper. Inside of the tube are prizes, and some contain Muggle prizes such as a paper hat, a plastic toy, and a slip of paper with a joke printed on it. But the rare person will receive a unique, peculiar magical prize, and will envelop everyone nearby in a cloud of blue smoke.

Weasley Sweaters!
Time to try your luck at the Christmas Sweater bin. There is a large rotating clothing rack that seems to have an endless supply of them. Each one more Festive than the last! Pick one and show your Christmas spirit for the rest of the day.

Enchanted Mistletoe!
Be warned Nexus traveler, the Nargles** have hung enchanted Mistletoe all around the plaza. If an unlucky person steps underneath the Mistletoe, they will find that they are magically stuck to the spot, until they can find someone to kiss them. Of course, the kiss can be platonic, familial, or even romantic. For a few unfortunate people, the kiss may be the last thing they would want to do... but it is that or be stuck in the same spot for the rest of the season.

**Nargle Wiki
[Click Here for information on the HP Holiday Event!]
[Your character is free to give other Christmas gifts to people they care about -- HOWEVER, please do not deliver your Secret Santa gift. That will be handled by the Secret Santa moderator. Please post details on your Secret Santa gift in this post please.]

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"We don't all wear pointy hats." Hermione laughs gently.

She pulls out her wand, twirls it in her hand. "But we all do carry our wands."

His other eyebrow joins the first and he holds up an open palm, tilting his head politely. "May I?"

Hermione shakes her head with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. My wand is very particular about who holds it. And it might react negatively... I would not want anything bad to happen."

She reaches into her beaded bag, and pulls out another wand. The second wand is a little ordinary. Not as special as the one Hermione claims as hers. It is that second unremarkable wand that she offers out to him. "This one you could hold."

Reynard stays frozen still as his fingers curl back closed, his gaze locked on her eyes while she goes to pull out the second wand. Only once she offers the backup wand does he move again. He shifts his weight and takes it with his other hand.

It's a curious thing. He's never held a wand before, and he examines it as if it were a fine dagger, checking its balance, weight, straightness. Inspection done, he twirls it between his fingers, keeping a close eye on it. "It's not just wood. What is it made of?"

"You have a good sense of magic." Hermione smiles at him.

"The wand is made of wood, but has a magical substance at its core. That wand you are holding is made from Alder wood. An Alder wood wand is often helpful, considerate and most likeable. It has Dragon heartstring as a core, which can create very flamboyant spells."

"My own wand is Acadia wood. It is very loyal. And grants the best effects from those who are extremely gifted. I have an unicorn core in my wand. Which makes it more faithful to me."

"I used to own a Vine wood wand, with Dragon heartstring as its core. But that wand was broken during the Wizarding war."

A note of amusement slips from him and he spins the wand between his fingers again. "You can't go wrong with Alder wood..."

That amusement dims somewhat and he raises an eyebrow. "You have dragons and unicorns in your world?"

"Yes. We do. Dragons, unicorns, centaurs, werewolves, orges, House Elves, and many other magical creatures." Hermione answers him.

She can guess why he might be concerned. "The wand makers are very skilled at what they do. They only use products from dragons or unicorns that have unfortunately died from natural causes."

"How considerate of them." Judging by his light tone, that was not what was on his mind. He doesn't leave her to speculate, though, as he continues with his questions. "You have ghosts, too, then? And spirits? Dryads? Sylphs?"

"Ghosts yes. And Spirits. And I have not met them, but I have heard tales of Dryads and Sylphs."

"And dragons," he repeats thoughtfully. He eyes the wand some more before tilting his head at her." Can only wizards use wands? Do you need to learn to use them or is it only something magical people can use?"

"Wizards and witches attend a magic school, to properly get trained in wand use, and how to make potions, and how to cast charms."

"But I have always believed that as long as you have the magic inside of you, the magical core of a wand will recognize that."

Hermione moves to stand beside Reynard. She lifts her wand arm, and nods to him to do the same. "Watch carefully. Copy exactly how I move my wand. Repeat exactly what I say."

She slowly moves her wand, forming a rune with the movements of the wand in her hand. "Lumos!" And then the tip of her wand glows with a soft light. She smiles, and waits for Reynard to try it himself.

When she moves close to him, she has his full attention. If she gets too close she might feel the cold radiating from him, but she goes ahead with her demonstration so if she does feel it, it must not be an issue. At the appearance of the light, he smiles, transfixed until her look prompts him to try it himself.

Reynard takes a deep, slow breath. What if he can't do it? He's a spirit, not a mage, after all... But he is magical... Only one way to find out. He frowns at the wand as he raises his arm and tries to mimic her. It's far from perfect. He's stiff, his movement is off, but it's little wonder no light appears when he says, "Lumos!"

His sigh is heavy with disappointment, but he smiles wryly at her. "And you made it look so easy."

Hermione does feel the cold radiating off him. But it is not a bad cold. And she does not mind being close to him.

"I do have seven years of magic training under my belt." She smiles.

"You move a little stiff with the wand. Let it speak to you. Wands won't work if you don't allow them the chance." Hermione gently touches his arm. "May I show you?"

The touch makes him hesitate. Now she will definitely be able to feel the cold. If she touches his hands it will be like touching ice, easily making warm fingertips numb. Still, his curiosity is hard to resist, so he nods. If she finds it difficult to be near him, she can always pull away.

"I'm more used to daggers and swords," he explains, followed by a breathless half-laugh. "This is so light. It's strange to hold."

Edited 2017-12-18 21:25 (UTC)

When he nods, Hermione does move her hand to his, to show him how to hold the wand. But the sensation of touching ice makes her hesitate.

She glances at him. "Would it hurt you, if I were to cast a slight Hot Air charm on my hand, so I can properly show you how to hold the wand?"

Reynard tips his head briefly to one side at the thought, a smile appearing as he does so, one which he directs to her again. "That sounds more nice more than painful."

"Oh good!" Hermione wanted to be careful. With a simple flick of her wrist, the Hot Air charm circles her hand so that it is easier for her to take his hand.

"Unlike a dagger, or a sword, you do not want a tight grip on your wand. You want your touch to be light and gentle. You want to be able to rotate your wrist with ease, without putting strain on your hand."

It's a bit surprising to find she isn't shocked or curious about his icy skin, but perhaps she knows him by reputation. A simultaneously pleasing and depressing thought.

Nevertheless, he finds a warm hand on his guiding him through these unfamiliar motions. His attention is as much on her as it is on her instruction, a smile touching his lips.

He eases his grip, holding the wand more like a pen than a weapon. "Is this better?"

She is curious. But she is also polite. Perhaps later, he would be willing to answer some questions. Right now, they are in the middle of something very important.

"Better... have you ever fenced?" Hermione meets his eyes with her own bright brown ones. "That is the kind of light touch you want."

"And then you have to be very precise when you make your movement with the wand. You want to make sure that the drawing of the rune is very accurate... but delicate."

"The hand movement for this spell is a single loop, so you move your hand thusly," and Hermione guides his hand in making the loop. "And immediately when the loop is completed, you must carefully cast Lumos, making sure you are pronouncing it correctly. LOO-mos!"

Fencing, rich sport that it is, is something he's never done. Using a rapier, on the other hand… He decides that now is not the time to bring such topics up. Not when there are more interesting matters to focus on.

Turning his attention from her eyes to her guidance, he takes careful note of her grip, her motion, her tone and inflection… He nods his understanding and mimics her in slow, careful practice. When he feels he's gotten the hang of it, he nods to her. "Let me try again."

Once she's let go of his hand he take a slow breath and concentrates, really concentrates. He draws out the rune, keeping his wrist loose, his movements precise, and confidently commands, "Lumos!"

This time instead of an underwhelming absence of magic there is a bright flash of it, making Reynard immediately recoil as he throws his arm in front of his eyes. When he lowers it again he sees that the wand holds a small light at the end of it, while strands of ice crawl back towards his hand seemingly embedding itself into the wood. Around them the whole area is coated in a flawless coat of snow, just enough to make the blanket one of blinding white. Reynard stops and stares at the scene around them. Suddenly, he throws his head back and laughs, resting a hand on his hip to support himself as he doubles over.

Hermione reacted rather quickly to the bright flash of light, casting a quick "Protego!", a shielding spell, so that if there was an explosion both Reynard and herself would be protected. (There have been many young wizards who had caused a fire, when they were learning the Lumo spell).

She places her free hand around his waist too, just in case she needs to shield him.

But the spell ended in a completely different scenario. Hermione looks around to the flawless coat of snow, and laughs softly herself. Her arm that had been at his waist, gently touches his back, when he doubles over in laughter.

"That was expected!"

His laughter slows down into a stutter and he coughs once to calm himself again, shaking his head. By the time he's finished enough to properly look at his wand it's a bit of a mess. Tiny amounts of moisture in the near invisible crevices of the wood have frozen and expanded, making cracks of ice that look like silvery veins along the strained wood.

"It worked... in the same way a blunderbuss works. It does the job, but... not elegantly." The hesitation in his voice extends to his expression which becomes apologetic as he shows her the wand. "I'm not sure if your wand is stronger or weaker for it."

"I could get the wand tested." Hermione smiles, taking it from him. Studying how the cracks of ice have changed the wood.

"You never know... the wand might have bond to you now." She laughs.

"Or it might disintegrate come Spring." Tearing his eyes off of it, he looks at Hermione more seriously as he says, "If it doesn't, don't let just anyone use it."

Twisting to look at the snow again, he explains, "This is how I usually create light." Turning back to her, he grins. "I never had a wand to use before."

"I won't." She promises him.

Hermione looks around. Then smiles. "You have such a magical gift, Reynard."

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