An idea had crossed Moira's mind that she hadn't thought of before, and she really should have. It was a simple charm.... or so one would think. Manipulating what people saw when looking at the human target wasn't near as easy as she thought it would be.

She had tried, and tried - and tried again - before giving up on figuring it out on her own, so now she was here to recruit some help, even if it meant ambushing him because he was so busy otherwise. All there was now was a matter of playing the waiting game. Every day he passed by this area, really early during weekdays, a little later on weekends. So a bit before 9 am she leaned against the wall and waited.

Anyone looking at her could tell she was waiting for someone, and that was awkward enough for her as  it was. Tapping her finger against her arm she sighed and almost sat down when her target finally appeared.

"Sasha." Unpeeling herself from the wall, which she had been trying to blend in with for the past thirty minutes, she moved to intercept him. "Ah need yer help with a spell." She paused just long enough for him to start getting uneasy before she explained. Even she had heard something about him being in trouble and getting his prefect status taken away.

"Ah've been trying tae figure oot a spell tae.... hide things lak scars." Which scar she was referring to didn't need to be said. He knew, after a morning that ended up awkward for both of them once she had come back to her normal sense and not a blubbering mess. "It hasnae been workin' fer me, so Ah need yer help. Please?"

It was the pre-final exam rush.  That mad dash to the end of the school year when all the scattered learnings from various classes and homework assignments had to be fully cataloged and organized in an attempt to regurgitate it for the professors' benefit.  That time of the year when sleep could, officially, wait until the first day of break. 

His increasingly scattered and packed schedule meant that his meal schedule was also becoming more haphazard than usual.  He missed breakfast most days of the week but the kitchen elves had grown accustomed to the pattern.  Most mornings, Sasha could stop by the kitchens sometime between breakfast and lunch and pick up a bundle of food - usually enough to graze on throughout the day until, hopefully, he remembered dinner. 

With a piece of cheese in a breakfast roll in his mouth, Sasha was busy placing the rest of the bundle of travel-capable food in his bag when he heard his name.  He glanced up to find Moira and quickly stashed the food in his bag before freeing the roll from his mouth. 

"Ah need yer help with a spell."

Reflexively, Sasha immediately began shaking his head.  He had far too bad of a track record in helping younger students with spells to completely avoid a healthy dose of skepticism.  He was about to suggest Moira ask a professor when her request fully registered. 

The Ravenclaw sighed, nodded, and took a bite of the roll and cheese.  After a cursory evaluation, he couldn't see how helping her figure out a way to hide scars could end with expulsion.  "Creating spells is pretty complicated," Sasha confirmed, nodding his head.  He hadn't fully comprehended the difference between creating spells and learning established spells until he'd studied the topic with Mr. Morgan. 

"Alright.  If you're sure."  Wasn't scar removal one of those topics that always created emotional conflict in books and movies?  Awkward love-hate relationships that, in the end, people usually chose to keep? 

Moira understood that Sasha was busy, even if she couldn't relate just yet. However, she also knew the school year would be coming to a close and soon all of them would be too busy for anything extra then they'd be whisked off home. At home she didn't have the access to knowledge like she did here, and more specifically she didn't have access to the knowledge that Sasha possessed. Being antisocial had it's drawbacks, so he was the smartest student she actually talked to.

Once he agreed she nodded her head. "Do ye want tae start now or work oot another time in our schedules?"

If he had any extra time other than when he should be sleeping or eating she'd have been surprised. He kept his days completely full, from what she could tell and had heard. When it came to her own days, she was far more lenient on time, except for around exams of course. Her free time was spent reading or spending time with creatures... generally all by herself.

Of course.... lately she'd found her free time more and more preoccupied by people. That she would even seek someone out for help like this.... It was all very strange.

Sasha shook his head and waved his hand, wordlessly dismissing the idea of penciling in a meeting at a later date.  Maybe his time management had become that difficult, but he wasn't about to start pulling out a planner every time someone wanted him to do something.  Not unless he really needed to.  Again, he wordlessly gestured for her to follow as he took quick bites of the bread and cheese.  Halfway down the dungeon corridor, he drew up on his heels, patted his bag and gestured vaguely in the direction of the front door. 

Finally, when his mouth was empty, Sasha clarified.  "I need to run up to Ravenclaw and grab a couple scrolls.  How about I meet you at the table on the hospital hut porch in ten minutes?"  After confirming the plan, Sasha hurried down the corridor and up the stairs to the entrance hall and the grand staircase. 

It took longer than ten minutes, but Sasha finally caught up with Moira on the deck overlooking the healer's paddock with Baldur at his heels.  He settled himself at the table opposite Moira and dropped his bag on the bench next to him.  "Sorry about that.  Someone couldn't decide what toy to bring with."  He gestured with his head to where Baldur sat, holding a stuffed frog in his mouth with all the pride of a fox that had caught its first mouse as he watched the mare and Gelar in the paddock. 

Once settled, Sasha grimaced apologetically at Moira and shrugged his shoulders.  "I hate to do this, but I need to know a little bit more about the scar."  One of the many reasons Sasha had prompted the move to the outdoors.  "Someone more skilled at creating charms, especially ones involving the body, might be better equipped to create a spell that's general enough to not need details.  I need to know for certain whether there was, you know, magic involved."

With his mouth full, he didn't even try to talk but that was alright. His hand gestures were easy enough to follow. So as he walked she trailed along after him until he stopped between the way stairs and the front door, and his following hand gesture actually did manage to confuse her a bit. Fortunately, he soon clarified.

Nodding in agreement to what he said she started for the doors, and then the Hut, while he went to his dorm. It was a decent enough day to be outdoors, nice and sunny, and just being by the Hospital Hut offered some measure of privacy. It wasn't exactly a place many students wanted to hang out at.

Sitting in the chair she watched Gelar and his mare friend. As she did Moira ended up in her own world, which wasn't that uncommon. Her father, Angus, always said she was a dreamer. So when Sasha returned apologizing it had only felt like seconds and not over ten minutes.

Glancing fondly at Baldur she sat up more and focused in on Sasha, listening to him explain on why he needed details. With a nod she gave a small, if somewhat bitter - not because of him -, smile. "Of course. Ah'm fairly sure magic wasnae involved... but it was a magical creature so.... maybe tha' leaves a residue of some sort."

Sasha arched an eyebrow as he considered the notion.  Did animal creatures leave magical residue?  Surely, their magic permeated their entire body.  Otherwise what value would unicorn hairs have in the core of a wand?  There was bound to be magic properties in the skin and fur and hoof.  The question was, as Moira said, would it have left behind residue?  Magic impeded heeling; he knew that both from class and personal experience. 

“Do you remember as it healed?  Did it, you know, take longer than other injuries?  How did they treat it?"

As he spoke, the Ravenclaw unpacked a handful of parchment scrolls from his bag and stacked them on the table.  He shuffled through them until he found what he was looking for.  The parchment was a scribbled collection of notes, translations and conjugations he’d learned over the year and had tried to collate into an semi-organized collection.

"Are you looking forward to summer?" Sasha asked, glancing curiously at Moira before turning back to the problem at hand.  He had already figured out the vocabulary he was going to use - now he just need to decide on appropriate conjugations and prefixes.  Those all important small details that made the difference between scars going away and scars assuming a vivid, sparkly pink color. 

Hearing him ask about how it was treated and how it healed she had to shake her head. "Sorry, Ah was unconscious when ma uncle treated it, and Ah didn't pay much attention tae how it healed. Ah was only five." Not only that but she had had other things on her mind than her wounded head.

Sasha was busy focusing on his scrolls as they talked, and Moira was naturally watching Baldur chew and play with his stuffed frog. Silly boy. At least he was having fun.

His question about their upcoming vacation had her looking at him again. "Ah suppose. T'will be nice tae get away from this place and be home. Maybe Ah'll spend the first day flyin'." She hadn't really thought about it that much. "Are ye looking forward tae it, or 'ave ye not thought aboot it much?"

Sasha nodded, glancing through the list again before tugging a clean bit of parchment from his pack.  Unfortunately "scar removal" didn't exactly fall under basic Healing charms.  They didn't, generally, involve healing unless the scar somehow impeded flexibility.  Luckily, that wasn't the case here, and probably required a much more involved healing spell that was best left to the experts.  This appeared to be just a bit of straightforward transfiguration.  Transfigure scar tissue into something else.  Straightforward but intended for the specific location and shape of the scar. 

"I assume you've thought about what you want?  Do you just want it all gone?  Like it was never there?"  He asked the question gently and with enough distance to make it clear he was willing to help however he could.  If she changed her mind, or wasn't sure, he would be patient.  "Sometimes, you know, it's not always bad to have something.  Reminders can be important.  Even if they aren't always good." 

He smiled, slightly, at the thought of spending the first day flying.  He understood the sentiment all too well.  "That sounds like a good plan.  I can't wait to go riding.  It definitely makes the term drag on.  I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing your father."  He nodded his head, confirming he'd been thinking about the upcoming holidays.  They were less than a month away.  "I'm not quite sure, yet.  I might spend some time down in Germany.  Maybe travel a little bit.  I've registered for a couple shows over the summer and, now that I have my driver's license, it'll be easier to get to those.  I haven't figured it all out, yet.  Might be a lot of staying at a hotel in London."   

"Ah dinnae want tae get rid of it... Ah feel like that would be a disgrace tae her memory. What she died fer." That was a dismal and depressing topic, so Moira quickly moved on without dwelling too much on that aspect. "Ah just need something that makes it so others cannae see it. Tis foolish, but Ah feel like when others see it, they know. Tis bad enough anyway people are bound tae ask what happened, and Ah'd rather not get intae that."

Moira nodded at his assumption of her wanting to see her father. She did want to see him, and her uncle even if he made himself scarce or played tricks on her from time to time. It was all in fun, really.

"A hotel? That doesnae sound like a very fun place tae stay during the summer. Though.... what's a driver's license? Registering for shows?" She knew he hadn't really grown up in a magical home, and Moira knew little to nothing about anything concerning muggles. Her mother might have taught her but that was wishful and useless thinking.

Sasha nodded, relieved to hear she didn't want to get rid of the scar entirely.  It wasn't his place to convince her not to, if that was the direction she wanted to go but he suspected she'd grow to regret the decision.  He was glad she'd realized that.  "I think you're right.  Good to have the memory; just don't need to leave it open to the public."  Curiosity did lead people to ask personal questions, even without intending to.  "So, make it smaller and less prominent?  Or be able to hide it completely?" 

The Ravenclaw shrugged.  A hotel wasn't ideal but it wasn't, necessarily, the worst idea.  Just a little impersonal.  "It's only temporary.  And, it wouldn't be too bad.  My parents had - we have family friends who owned some hotels in downtown London.  They'd let me take up a suite for a couple months, if need be.  It'd be a little expensive but, I just don't want to go to my parent's home."  He couldn't spend another summer in that place; the memories and guilt were just too oppressive.  "I just have this summer and the winter holidays to get through.  Then I'll be eighteen and can sell that place and move someplace completely new." 

"Well, you've seen cars muggles drive around, right?  You have to pass a test and get a license before you can drive.  Like getting an apparition permit before apparating."  Which he failed miserably.  "So, I can drive a car now.  And, I can drive our trailer - horse trailer - to shows.  Horse shows.  It's where riders get together and compete.  There's a variety of events.  Dressage is like dancing with the horse but there's jumping and just showing the horse's confirmation.  I, primarily, do Dressage and Eventing which includes a lot of jumping.  It's fun and challenging.  After a year here, it's nice to just be around other horse people and horses.  And..."  Sasha shrugged and grinned, blushing slightly.  "Show off." 

"Ah'd like tae be able tae hide it completely, even if tis a spell Ah'll have tae recast every so often." Even if it was something she had to cast every few hours that didn't bother her. At least he understood about wanting to keep it private, she figured he would have though.

"Well, if yeh wan tae, Ah'm sure dad wouldn't mind ye coming tae visit for a while. Cannae say ye'd be without somethin' tae do there." With all the animals and the gardens that along would be cause for staying busy, even with an extra pair of hands.

The cars she had seen, when she went shopping for groceries and other supplies with her dad or uncle, so that at least didn't take explaining. While Sasha was explaining the horse shows he seemed rather happy and cheerful. It was a better look for him than his usual 'stay busy' demeanor. Still.... "Sounds a bit confusing but at least yeh enjoy it. That's tha main thing." As he grinned she couldn't help but smile back just a little.

Concealing but not altering the scar.  It seemed perfectly reasonable and, more importantly, feasible.  Sasha had some ideas and some rudimentary spells were already coming together.  "I think that's doable.  It's going to take a little time to get the right wording and I want to test it first.  I can probably have it by next weekend, though." 

The Ravenclaw nodded, grinning.  "I appreciate that.  I wouldn't want to be a burden for too long, but it'd be nice to come visit for a little bit.  You should come visit me, as well.  In Germany.  You could see my house and the horses and I can show you lots of muggle stuff."  Like The Last Unicorn.  By far, his favorite. 

"It's not that confusing.  Just hard to explain here, without anything to relate it to.  It's like..."  No.  He hadn't heard of the wizarding world having dog shows, either.  Come to think of it, he was surprised they didn't ... well ... show owls somehow.  Delivering competitions or 'who can find the person faster' races.  "It's like a fashion show or ... I don't know.  Imagine being surrounded by other people but they all loved winged horses as much as you.  And they wanted to show them off and show who had the cleanest wings or could land the smoothest.  You could just wander around all day and watch all the animals people brought all clean and gussied up." 

"With eventing, it's more you have to show every facet of your animal.  That they have strength, control, endurance and reliability.  Especially when you've got an animal you bred..."  He grinned, sheepishly, and shrugged his shoulders.  "I'm sorry.  It's just...you'd have to see it.  I think you'd like it."

Having something by next weekend sounded great, especially with his busy schedule. "Ah appreciate it."

"Ah doubt yeh'd be a burden." His response about her visiting her Moira blinking again. The muggle stuff she wasn't completely interested in but she supposed some day in the far far far future it might be something good to know. The horses though.... that peaked her interest. "Ah've never been tae Germany."

He said it wasn't confusing, but the more he talked the more confusing it sounded, though Moira thought she understood the concept. She supposed it would be easier to understand and figure out if she saw it for herself.

"Maybe... though most of the winged horses dinnae care if they're care clean or no'.... Sometimes when it rains Ah swear they have competitions on who can get the muddiest. Except the unicorn, of course." Moira understood he had been talking about people showing off, but there wasn't much time for that on the farm, unless they had a specialized bath day.

"It's pretty different," Sasha commented when Moira mentioned never being to Germany.  "It's ... brighter."  He knew the description wouldn't make much sense and he didn't mean it in any qualitative way.  It wasn't smarter, wasn't better, necessarily.  The mountains here just had a more subdued appearance.  The water was either steel grey or dark blue, the trees a dark green.  Everything was covered in vegetation.  Back home, there was so much exposed white rock cliff faces and the water was a bright blue.  It was just brighter.

Sasha chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.  "I'm not sure my horses care if they're clean or not.  It's just me that cares.  I suppose everyone else, if you're showing.  You can't show a dirty horse.  No awards for dirtiest horse."  It would take forever to get Dieter clean, again, if he ever got really muddy.  The peril of white horses. 

"You should, you know, check it out.  If you want to.  Could be fun.  More so if I don't crash."

Sasha's description of Germany being brighter was... very, very vague. Likely he knew it but he didn't try to expand on it more. She supposed if they did end up visiting each other she'd see it for herself.

She'd heard and seen about regular horses too of course, but she had never been around them or seen one in person, so there was that factor that was inclining her more into going than if he didn't. Plus one couldn't forget Baldur, assuming he'd be staying with Sasha like always.

"Could be.... wait crash? Is it dangerous then?" Moira had crash landed on a winged horse a few times, fortunately they hadn't been up very high or going terribly fast or it could have been catastrophic. At least normal horses stayed on the ground.