Weary in the Mind

It was late afternoon as Indiana sat at a table with a simple mug of Gillywater and a heavy mind. The things that he had seen was taking a toll on his sanity and he wondered if some mental condition was getting to him. Of course, given his lack of knowledge in medicine and psychology, the youth didn't know what to call the condition.

Closing his eyes and breathing deep, Indiana eventually opened them as he took a sip from his beverage, calming his mind down.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' he thought to himself.

Valentina was strolling along through Hogsmeade, still trying to get used to her surroundings. Living with her sister hadn't originally been her first choice and neither had been transferring to Hogwarts for her sixth year, but she supposed it was about time she sucked it up and got used to it. Besides, what was the worst that could happen? So far besides being absolutely bored, things had been alright. It was getting to the point where her routine was monotonous though, and that was the reason why she was wandering through Hogsmeade for a change. Not that anything had caught her interest just yet.

Trudging through the snow she sighed in irritation when her left eye began to act up, her vision becoming blurred as it had often been lately. Her condition had been worsening and she couldn't help but feel slightly disheartened with her physical disadvantage. Being only sixteen years old she figured her condition would only worsen gradually, not as quick as it seemed to be happening. Shaking her head she absently reached up and began to rub at the eye as it began to ache, almost as if that action alone would fix it.

Annoyance etched across her features as she blindly - no pun intended - turned toward the next door she saw, pushing it open and letting herself into the warm building. She knew she needed to just sit down and relax or otherwise she was going to scream in frustration. She continued to rub at her eye as she warily looked around the unfamiliar place, sighing when she noticed not many other people were here. She noticed a male around her age though seated not too far off, and in a last desperate attempt she turned toward the table. Exhaling she came to a stop, noticing briefly that the male seemed to be upset.. but the ache was becoming worse and she gritted her teeth together to keep from wincing.

"I hate to bother you, but would you mind if I sat here for a few minutes?" She tried to keep her voice even and somewhat friendly even though she was aware that it sounded more clipped and rushed then anything. The pain tended to do that to her at times. A pause, a long exhale, and then more words. "Oh.. are you alright?" She'd just seemed to pick up on the fact that just maybe she shouldn't have bothered the poor guy. Too late now.

Indiana felt like a migraine was heading his way. Thinking back, the youth could remember that strange old man that looked like some priest or a shaman wearing elaborate animal skins along with the skulls and bones of various animals. The man had been outside of Ottery St. Catchpole near the woods, performing some strange ritual of sorts. It looked that way before Indiana had gotten a closer look to see the man perform human sacrifices. HUMAN SACRIFICES! Oh, Indiana had gotten sick enough such that he attempted to crash it, only to be hindered by some unseen force. Try as he might, the youth would never forget seeing the maniacal look on the man's face as he slit the throats of the crying Squib children that he had abducted before pouring their blood over a makeshift altar that had a moat around the edges. The bodies had been offered as burnt sacrifices to the idol that Indiana recognized as Ba'al from some of the footnote images that came from a revised edition of Dictionnaire Infernal. While he was familiar with the old Canaanite worship of the pagan deities that had Mesopotamian origins and the mention of children being used as human sacrifices, he had never seen it before with his own eyes until now. The ceremony had been completed and the barrier that kept Indiana from interfering was gone. Oh, he had tried to pursue and take down the Baalite priest but that was much more difficult than he thought when the man proved his prowess in magic before he escaped with the altar to Ba'al along with the idol,

At the moment, Indiana didn't have a clue on where that man is and the memories of what he had seen weighed heavily in his mind. If he ever found that man, he would kill him with his own hands. A feminine voice disrupted his thoughts and Indiana looked to see an unfamiliar girl about his age asking for a seat. Even though he was tired and troubled, the youth reverted to being courteous.

"It's not a problem. Go on ahead." Indiana replied calmly before answering her question. "I'll make it. I was just thinking about things. You know how it is."

Valentina made another effort to mask her discomfort as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her right hip jutting out in a small sort of pose as she waited for this stranger to answer her. It never did occur to her that she could have just picked another seat at random and left the poor guy alone to think about whatever was bothering him, but she had to admit to herself that she didn't exactly want to be alone. She was sick of the feeling of loneliness and while she never wanted to have to depend on anyone for happiness, she realized she needed at least one other person to socialize with. Even if her random choice didn't seem too up to it.

At his answer she hesitated but with the encouraging from her eye she quickly nodded and pulled out the seat, sinking down onto it with a small sigh. Resting her elbows on the top of the table she placed either of her hands over her face, her eyelids sliding closed as her eyes hid from the world around them. She did hear what the boy was saying though, and again she nodded in acknowledgement to his words. "I do, you're right." She replied, her words slightly muffled because of being blocked from her small hands. She couldn't help but wonder what had him looking so troubled, but it wasn't in her business to ask.

She took a few steadying breaths, realizing she probably looked completely out of place and a bit crazed. After another minute she slowly lowered her hands and first opened her right eye, testing it out before hesitantly allowing her left eye to open. It still had a vague ache and everything was still slightly blurry, but it seemed as if the small episode had passed. Sighing in relief she managed to bring her eyes to her company once more, regarding his warn and tired face for a couple of seconds. "Sorry about that." A small pause, mostly because she hated admitting her weaknesses to people. "I.. tend to.." Why lie? "I'm going blind in my left eye. Have episodes of pain. The reason why I bothered you for a seat." Her voice was flat, but then she was shrugging. Why was she even feeling the need to explain her previous behaviors? Maybe because he'd been nice enough to offer her a seat..

"Want another drink? You look like you could use one." She commented with a small chuckle as she signaled the waitress over to order her own drink. She'd decided that she wouldn't burden him with her presence for long, just a quick drink and she'd be gone to leave him to his thoughts.

Rubbing the sides of his head near the areas that bordered his forehead, the youth inhaled and exhaled deeply yet slowly while trying to calm his nerves. Even though his mind was occupied with a maelstrom of thoughts, Indiana was attentive enough towards the unidentified girl and heard her speak about her left eye along with a question on whether he needed another drink. As much as he would've wanted something strong to knock him out, Indiana had no intention to losing the current condition of soberness and stability. At least not when he was away from home. Looking at his half-empty mug of Gillywater, Indiana felt that he needed something else right now.

"Probably just a simple cup of green tea. Here." Indiana spoke before reaching into his pocket and pulled out three Galleon prior to placing them on the table. "You'll have to tell the waitress that it's one of those special orders from Rosmerta's Exotic Drink Menu that they didn't put out for display."

Once he finished speaking, Indiana stared at his mug of Gillywater, watching the surface of the liquid refreshment remain still and calm until a vibration caused it to move within the receptacle that was containing it. Spacing out, he could hear the overall noise echoing from the environment of the Three Broomsticks, be it the shifting of chairs, the pouring of liquid beverages into tankards and glass cups, or the chattering of the patrons at the other tables. But at the same time, he could hear the sounds of the memories that were flooding his mind and mixing into the elaborate soundtrack that was typical of a tavern. It was like someone was playing the record of sounds that properly belonged in the correct environment but at the same time played another record of sounds that were foreign to the background. Somehow, the noise from the current environment was dimming in the presence of the sounds from his memories for a while before silence began to stifle the latter enough that he could hear his own breathing.

Indiana shivered and shook his head, recalibrating and bringing his mind back into proper reality albeit now being mentally exhausted.

Valentina's gaze stayed resting on the male as she waited for his answer. She took her time observing his features, once more wondering what could possibly be weighing so heavily on his mind. He didn't look to be a year or more older then her and she couldn't imagine anything bothering her so severely that it might lead to her looking as down as her company seemed to feel. She was tempted to frown at her saddening thoughts but managed to catch herself just in time, casually glancing around her surroundings in order to coax her eyes away from him. She wasn't trying to stare or be impolite, but she was trying to figure out if there was any way she might be able to help the stranger. She doubted it would be possible though and so she finally opted to keep her mouth shut. Like she'd decided before, just a drink and nothing more, she'd be gone the moment the last drop from her cup trickled down her throat. No need to be more of a burden to him, of course.

She glanced back up again once he spoke, a single brow arching (a habit she never really noticed) as she paid attention to his words. Biting her lip she nodded, reaching a hand across the table to retrieve the galleons he'd laid out. But after a moment her hand hesitated in mid-air, her gaze resting on the selection in front of her. After a small exhale she reached out completely again, but only to push the money back toward him. "It's alright. It's on me." She offered. Not always was she so kind and generous but, he certainly needed some light in his apparently dreary day. Of course, she wasn't assuming that her unimportant gesture would mean anything but, at least it made her feel better inside, right? It was better then nothing. Mentally repeating his request to herself she swiveled in her chair to meet the waitresses waiting eyes. After rattling off her company's order first (and explaining what he'd told her to) she ordered herself a simple butterbeer. Fishing into her pockets she presented the waitress with the correct amount - she'd have to get more from Anastasia later - before turning back to face the dark haired boy.

Folding her thin arms she placed them on the table top as she leaned forward a fraction, her eyes back on him almost curiously. She wasn't going to pester him with never-ending questions about his well-being or why he was in the state of mind he was in, so she decided to be as unannoying as she could possibly manage without sitting in complete silence. "Maybe tomorrow will be a better day." She stated, half to herself but half to him as well. A simple shrug, before she reached up to twirl a lock of hair around her index finger. Maybe introducing herself would be nice. "Oh, and by the way. I'm Valentina Levinsky."

Seeing the Galleons being pushed back to him, Indiana was puzzled before hearing the girl speak and her speech was roughly an indication that she was paying. Now Indiana was never one to accept charity of any kind in life. Such overtures was always one-way for him in the case that he received nothing in return. Still, he was too tired in the mind to voice any objection or even think of any way to refuse.

Rubbing his firehead, Indiana heard the girl comment about a better tomorrow before introducing herself as Valentina Levinsky. The youth thought that it will be a while before a better tomorrow arrives and that would only happen after that Baalite priest was brought to justice aomehow.

"Nice to meet you. The name's Indiana Lamperouge." Indiana answered before taking a sip of the Gillywater. Damn weights in his mind had been slightly alleviated but still, it wasn't enough to get rid of the stress.

Outside and across the street, there was a two-story shop Dogweed and Deathcap, which provided the necessities and products for Herbologists. The large vertical sign that had the name was rusty and looked like it needed to be replaced with something more stable. Apparently, the shop owner there hadn't had time to enact the replacement but what was to happen next would be a terrible twist of fate. A man in his fifties had exited the shop when he accidentally dropped the large order of plant seeds packets onto the ground. While stooping to pick up his purchase, the man was unaware that he was right underneath the sign. At the same time, there was a small fight occurring on the roof between an adult Kneazle and four adult Auguries that just happened to cross paths by chance. The Kneazle had been chasing some fairies, which the Auguries happen to prey upon. The Kneazle wasn't willing to let the Auguries go anywhere near the small opening in the roof that the fairies had taken refuge in and the magical feline delivered that message across by attacking the vulture-like avians, seizing one by the neck before clawing and mauling it to death. The Kneazle wasn't unscathed as the other three Auguries delivered a few cheap shots at it while trying to get their fellow comrade away. The Kneazle tossed the dead Augurey aside onto the slanted side of the roof before turning its attention on the other three. While the fight continued on the roof, the body of the dead Augurey slid off the roof and hit the badly rusted support beam of the shop's sign hard before dropping to the pavement just behind the man. It was enough for the sign to dislodge as the support beam gave way before swinging downwards just as the man finished packing up his purchase and stood up. The force of gravity had the sign swing downwards in an arc on its remaining support beam and the thin metal edge came down like a guillotine, decapitating the man from behind a split second after he stood up straight.

Screams of horror and shock outside of the Three Broomsticks drew Indiana's attention and the youth stood up and went over to the window to see what was going on. When he saw the dangling metal sign of Dogweed and Deathcap shop along with the headless body of a man on the ground that drew pedestrians, Indiana was completely shocked before covering his mouth as a wave of disturbing nausea swept his mind, causing him to nearly loose his balance. This wasn't happening! This had to be a bad dream! A nightmare!

Hey, wrap this up please. Time to start posting only in hogwarts. So finish this up and pm me so I can archive it. Or pm another admin. Thank you.