Finding yourself. (Lukas and Alys Only)

It had been quite a few days since Lukas had got the book from Annika and he marveled at his luck because this book was full of information and secrets he would have taken years to gather. Most importantly thought it had the way of finding the exit from the Room of Mirrors.

As he now sat in the middle of Room. trying to calm his mind and concentrate on himself. He had to get rid of all the nuisances around him and from his mind. He had even sent Rudy to the Black Forest to roam in the wild to have a care free time.

For the answers he wanted he could not let his mind be the master in here. So he closed his eyes and started thinking about everything he could, he was told that the best way to clear the mind was to keep on thinking and letting it go until there was nothing more left to think. It was his fourth visit to the Room of Mirrors and he had only made a little progress. He patiently sat with a straight back and deep in thought waiting for it all to end.

In essence, the nightmare was the same. It always happened in the Black Forest and it always involved a wolf sinking its claws into her flesh. However, other bits of it changed. Sometimes the wolf would toy with her before sinking its teeth in her throat, sometimes, she would go looking for it and it would find her. Sometimes, it would be another student who would morph into the wolf.

Tonight, she had dreamt of the twin ponds again. She had been sitting by the ponds, gazing at the moon reflected to perfection on it's surface. It had looked so lovely and so close, she had known that if she reached out, she would be able to touch it, hold it in her hands. The blonde had extended a pale wrist towards the shimmering reflection, almost... almost.

And then the moon had shattered into a million pieces and the wolf had emerged from the depths of the dark pond, leaping across her slender frame in one sudden movement and she was on her back, the beast on top of her, baring its teeth and closing in...

Alys had woken with tears on her face and pillow, sobbing and wishing her Papa was there. She had never had any truly terrible nightmares before this that she could remember but her Papa could always make them go away. If he was here, the wolf would never bother her again. But Papa wasn't here, he was back home by the beach in the sun, far away from all this miserable cold weather and dark forests where demons dwelt.

Still sniffling, the witch took her school cloak from its hanger by her bed and headed out of Muhe in nothing but that and her nightgown. Her Papa wasn't here but he had said that if she ever wanted to figure things out, she should go into the Room of Truth. And even if the room didn't help, at least she could feel closer to him this way. He had admitted coming to the room many a times when he himself was emotionally conflicted.

The blonde entered the room, her hair falling over her eyes to shade them from the instant light that greeted her, blinding her temporarily.

REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO!
That was all Lukas could think for the first two seconds he saw Alys come in and ruin everything. He had sworn to clear his mind and stay calm before giving it in to his temper till the time he was in the Room of Mirrors so he controlled his anger. He closed his eyes, took a deep breaths in quick succession and opened his eyes again in hopes it was just a trick but Alys was by the door, it was all real.

Few seconds later Lukas had successfully calmed himself down but his displeasure was pretty easy to read on his face. He swiftly picked up his wand and closed the door. What was the girl thinking by keeping the door open, was she here to purposefully ruin his work or did she know nothing about the Room? His mind was coming back on track, rationalizing the situation and thinking of his next move.

Long legs was still recovering from the blinding light of the room but Lukas observed that the light actually dimmed a bit than the time he had come in. There was no such thing written about this kind of a behaviour of the Room in the book Annika gave him. He squinted his eyes and looked closer, Alys's hair was undone and he couldn't see any pants or skirts just the cloak, maybe she was wearing her nightdress? He concluded that Alys might have been coming directly from the bed. Which would mean that she didn't disturb him on purpose, hence his anger was unnecessary and the actions if he had given in to his anger would have been unjustifiably as well as terrible bad.

He put his wand down, waiting for Alys to adjust to the room he sighed and asked with earnest curiousness, "What's the matter long legs?"

Even in her temporary state of confusion, the witch did not miss the snap of the door closing behind her, making her gasp in fear. The blonde whirled around to the place where the door had been just a moment ago only to see her own pale and scared reflection looking back at her.

But it wasn't the only thing.

"T-the door," she whispered, glancing in panic at the reflections of herself and the boy, multiplied by the hundreds. Hers white and frightened standing our starkly against his tanned and calm one. "We ha-have to get out. We need..." she trailed off, her blue eyes clouding as she tried to fight off a wave of nausea at the thought of being locked forever in a room with only reflections for company.

The blonde sank to the floor against one of the mirrors, curling her knees to her chest as she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

Lukas frowned, was this girl a nut job and did she start crying? He couldn't exactly make out but it irritated him none the less. If it had been any other situation he would have found this amusing. For now either he needed her to get the hell out this room or sort her problem. Choosing the later, nicer way he said with a booming voice, "Alys Diederich! What do you want and how can I help you?", he thought that she might mistake his voice for some magical thing or her head screaming or something so he added,"This is your best friend speaking, turn around!"

His loud voice broke through her near panic, awakening the irritation she always felt when she heard his voice. The girl looked up, her eyes less hazy then they had been a second ago and her frame no longer shaking.

"You closed the door, idiot," she said as calmly as she could given the circumstances. "How are we supposed to get out now?" Lowering her head again, the girl let her hair fall to one side of her face, effectively blocking him from her view. "And you are not my best friend," she added softly.

"Yes that may be true outside but in here I'm your best friend. Your only hope."

He sighed once again and continued, "Look, I would really appreciate if you please stop being so silly. I am sorry for calling you silly and let's end it at that, please? Now, I am in here to find some answers, for that to be possible I need all the mirrors and that's why the door was closed before you entered which disturbed my process. It is also the reason I closed it again. If you didn't know how to exit why did you come in?"

Lukas closed his eyes and politely added," This is for the last time I am going to ask you, what are you doing here and how can I help you?"

The witch concentrated on the sound of his voice at first, rather than what he was saying. It soothed her nerves to hear someone speaking rationally. She breathed a secret sigh of relief when he explained he knew how to get out of here. If she had been nauseous at the thought of being locked in here alone, the thought of being locked up in here with him was even worse.

"I came here because my Papa said if I ever needed to figure things out, I should visit this room. Believe me, had I known you were here, I would have stayed in bed," the witch shuddered sightly, the fear creeping slowly back into her voice. Unconsciously, she clutched the cloak tighter around herself.

"I see, good and I take it that the only help you want is to know how to get out of the room. It's really simple actually, this room is so mysterious but equally simple, you are still standing at the door. Now take your wand and open the door. Just make sure you don't point it at the mirror because it will just get repelled. You see the the shiny veils, leaves and flower borders on top of the mirrors, it's metal. If you see it from far it looks as all the mirrors have the same thing but the rest are just reflections. Take your time adjust to the light and focus properly, you'll be able to tell the difference. To be safe just focus on the diamond in the center flower right on top of you. See it's budging, point the wand at it and open the door." , all the while Lukas had his eyes closed and was solely focusing on clearing his thoughts.

After a pause he said, "Now that you know I am here, will you go back?". realizing it might sound rude to her he quickly added," Please don't take it the wrong way. I didn't mean to sound rude. You are more than welcome to stay and tell me what is actually bothering you."

Alys shook her head, letting more of her fringe fall into her eyes. He did sound like he knew what he was talking about and the metal did look three dimensional instead of a reflection. "I'll be on my way then," she said, reaching into her cloak for her wand, only to realize she didn't have it.

It was by her bedside, where she had kept it before sleeping. And then left it there as she had hurried out of Muhe in her distress. Unsure of how to verbalize all this, the witch simply gazed at the door and at her own forlorn reflection. She looked for all the world like a lost and confused street urchin in nothing but a nightgown and a crimson cloak.

"I... don't have my wand."

Lukas almost lost his control and was about to laugh. This girl was probably the silliest girl he had ever come across. He settled for a big smile instead and opened his right eye. In one swift, almost fluid, movement he picked up his wand, opened the door and set it back on the floor beside him.

Glancing at Alys he said, "Nice meeting you Alys. Oh and would you like some friendly advice?"

Unsure of what to make of the smile on his face, which seemed all the more scary reflected by the hundreds in the room, the girl breathed a sigh of relief when the door beside her opened noiseless. By the time she looked at him again, the wand was beside him on the floor.

"Oh and would you like some friendly advice?"

Looking at him over her shoulder, the witch nodded, already almost out the door.

"Never, not even in your sleep, should you let go of your wand. It is the only thing which will always be there to keep you safe. Do you understand?"

Lukas hoped that the girl took his advice seriously because he felt that this girl wasn't silly, she was just naive.

"If there's anything else, you know where to disturb me.", he joked and closed his eyes going back to his main task.

Alys simply nodded. She knew how stupid it was to leave her wand behind. But she really hadn't even thought of it when she was leaving. A grave error on her part that she would have to rectify as soon as she could.

The boy already had his eyes closed after making a joke by the time she reached the door, hovering uncertainly at the edge. Was that an offer? Or simply another way of making fun of her? The witch gazed ahead at her own lengthening shadow across the stone floor. The light from the room was casting the shadow. Without light, there were no shadows, first rule of magic.

"Did you see the wolf that night?" she asked, her back still to him. He may not have heard her or choose not to reply but she had to ask.

He was pleasantly surprised when long legs asked about the other night. He had expected to talk about this topic one day but definitely not today in the room of mirrors. Say the truth if you have to but do not give away the true picture, that's what he was taught and that's what he did.

Lukas took his time in formulating the course of action, thinking of the possible ways this conversation can lead, finally spoke with the correct amount of honesty and concern ringing in his voice," The only wolf I saw that night was Rudy. Why do you ask Alys, aren't you sure? I mean I have seen your wound and is that not proof enough?"

He wasn't smiling anymore but he was pleased with himself as he hoped this would probably frustrate and scare the girl more. Reminding himself to not get distracted by other thoughts and his darker nature he asked the papa's girl if she would like to join him and help her find whatever that she was looking for in here.

"Why do you ask Alys, aren't you sure? I mean I have seen your wound and is that not proof enough?"

Reflexively, the girl's right arm went to her left shoulder, absently tracing the scar underneath the cloak. But as soon a she realized what she was doing, Alys dropped her hand. She would have to be careful with that.

"I just... during the day it sounds so ridiculous. Its easy to think I may have just fallen down and scratched it. And the wolf thing was just a hallucination..." The witch turned around, looking into his eyes for the first time since she had come across him. "Who's to say I didn't imagine the whole thing?"

The blonde shivered, still teetering on the edge of the room, neither in nor properly out but standing in the shadows between.

"Come here Alys, sit in front of me and I shall tell you about side of the story or go back to the bed and close the door. You have not imagined the whole thing. Believe me.", Lukas simply stated not caring if she believed him or not and not being completely heartless either.

Waiting for her decision Lukas quickly retracing the event and everything that occurred in the forest in case Alys decided to actually come and talk with him.

The witch seriously considered. Did she trust this boy? She wasn't sure. But he had been the only other human being present that night and may know something she had missed. In the end, it was her own self daunt and frustration that made up her mind.

Slowly, casting one last look at the outside world, the witch took a deep breath and pushed the door of the room closed. Her own reflection jumped back at her, still scared, still lost, but it's eyes were less dazed than they had been before. Alys turned to him, walking in slow measured strides. The witch sat down in front of him with her knees tucked underneath her, making sure her cloak covered her appropriately.

"So here's my side of the story. I was by the pond lying on the ground and gazing the stars and the moon. Rudy was enjoying his walk in the woods as he can't stay within the walls of Durmstrang for too long. The next thing I hear is a scream and a howl so I tried following the sounds which ultimately lead me to the Twin Ponds where I found you by the edge. You seemed lost, probably the blood loss and more than that the trauma of the whole thing. I quickly jumped in the pond and got you the blue rose from the middle of the ponds because you see the blue roses of the black forest are a little different, their scent is different from the normal ones. These roses will keep the person in a conscious state no matter what. After that I took you to the infirmary and returned the cat to Avangeline.", explained Lukas trying to say it like his father would say when he narrated tales from the old days.

"Now I think you are feeling it was well a hallucination because you're still dealing with the trauma.", few minutes back and even on the roof he had noticed that Alys subconsciously touched her scar every time this topic came up so he carefully added, "And you know Alys, the scar, it's alright. It's nothing to be afraid about. Things happen to all the people, all the time."

Lukas wasn't sure what was causing him happiness, the fact that he was messing with the girl or whether the fact that he was genuinely trying to soothe the girl or probably the fact that he was being good and bad at the same time, as he saw the room get brighter.

She heard him out, breathing evenly as she let his words wash over her in waves. Was he telling her the truth? Did he have a reason to lie? She remembered most of it so he wasn't making that up. Would there be any point in making the small bits she wasn't sure of up? All the questions whirled around her mind as she tried to process them. Still unable to look at him properly, she gazed at a reflection of theirs in a mirror instead.

When he mentioned the scar, the witch tried to make herself smaller under the cloak, unconsciously associating the feeling with pain. He may be right in saying that things happened to everyone but was everyone this scared?

"Your eyes remind me of the wolf," she stated, surprising even herself at her own bluntness. But she had blurted it out as soon as she had made the realization. It was true, he had a very unusual eye color. Maybe that's why she was always frightened of him and uneasy in his presence.

Lukas burst out laughing when Alys said she said his reminded him of the wolf. She was quite fascinating he thought.

"You're amusing long legs, really you're amusing. Your eyes looked way prettier that night but then again it could have been because you were not hiding them from me like right now.", he replied smartly dodging the statement.

If there can be a brighter colour beyond white then it was that colour the room approached as it increased with Lukas's laughter.

"Loosen up long legs. I am no almighty so I can't know for sure, I am just assuming this... Are you thinking of getting rid of your fear? My father says fear is not a bad thing. It's good because it keeps us alert. One should not be fearless rather one should be skillful enough to deal with it, he says. And I follow that rule so you can trust me, it works!", warmly advised Luke.

The blonde felt the heat rushing to her face as he started laughing. Why had she said something so stupid? She supposed she deserved being laughed at. His monologue on fear didn't make sense either so she filed it way for later deliberation. The witch cast around for a smart reply but found non so changed the topic instead.

"Did the room suddenly grow brighter?" she asked uncertainly, narrowing her blue eyes against the strange glowing color that burned its way into her retinas.

"Nope. It hasn't gotten brighter suddenly. It has been getting brighter ever since you decided to join me. Do you wish to guess why it has been getting brighter Alys?"

Lukas was sure he wasn't going to be able to continue with his task any longer so he decided to have a good chat with Alys, half and hour more and Rudy should be back then he could take him and sleep peacefully.

One thing he noted was that right now he was happy and the only thoughts he was having were of the task and his conversation with Alys, so he decided to try and laugh and be happier the next time he does the task. Probably getting happy clears your mind of trash, he pondered.

"Do you wish to guess why it has been getting brighter Alys?"

She considered the question carefully, not wanting to sound stupid a second time in front of the boy who thought he knew everything. If it had been getting brighter ever since she entered, her entering must be relevant...

Alys had thought the room was bright when she had seen it the first time, but when Ava had come in after her, it had gotten brighter. Only after Ava had entered had the light really caught her attention, making her wonder where all the light was coming from seeing as there was no window, just the two of them.

The two of them.

"The room senses magic," she said staring straight into the eye of one of his reflections.

"Correct!", she has gotten smarter than time the time she entered the room, "and also to our spirits. The happier you are the brighter the room shall be!", replied Lukas.

"Tell me is your boy friend alright now?", asked Lukas as he changed the subject.