What's to come?

"In terms of both snow and cold, this winter is expected to be the worst in Chicago."

I read the words on my screen with trepidation.  Several degrees colder than usual.  As much, if not more, snow than last year (the year in which Snowpocalypse dumped several feet on us in a single day, virtually shutting the city down).  It's times like these that make me glad I'm a yarncrafter, and prone to making warm fuzzy things for myself just because I can.  Things like this cowl:

It's soft.  It's fuzzy.  It's alpaca (one of my all time favorite fibers!).  I can pull it up over my ears, like this:

It's sure to be lovely and warm.  Right now, we're just coming down off of what will probably be the last stretch of nice weather for the year so it doesn't feel necessary just yet, but if the weather is anything like what's predicted for this winter, I have a feeling I'm going to be glad of it in a month or two.  Now pardon me, while I go back to hoarding the warm fuzzy yarn things like a squirrel hoards nuts...

Yarn and pattern details can be found on my ravelry project page here

Bonus for all my fellow geeks after the jump.

So, I'm sure at some point I'm going to gather readers who aren't members of the Cup so first of all I'm going to take a moment to explain what exactly "the Cup" is.  The Harry Potter Knit Crochet House Cup is one of the many groups you can find on Ravelry.  It's part crafting challenge, part fan group, and part roleplaying and collective storytelling, and all fun.  Various sorts of prompts are posted each month and crafters, playing the roles of students at our own version of Hogwarts, are encouraged to craft items within these prompts and turn them in to earn points for their house.  You'll be seeing a lot of House Cup stuff turning up here, since most of the things I knit and crochet are tied in with it in one way or another.  This cowl is no exception.  One of the activities currently going on is our own version of the Triwizard Tournament.  This cowl was made for the second Triwizard task, which prompted crafters following the fire elemental path, as I am, to craft something inspired by either Charlie Weasley or a phoenix (the first task involved getting past a dragon).  I got a bit more involved than usual in the storytelling for this one, so I thought I'd share with you all. Enjoy!

Successfully having passed the dragon, I pause on the edge of the arena to catch my breath. I move to follow a group of my classmates up to the Castle for a little bit of celebration, but before I can Charlie Weasley waves me over to offer his help on the second task. I thank him and hurry after my friends, but they've already passed beyond my sight. I sigh and decide to start my search in the Great Hall.

To my surprise, not only are my friends not in the hall, it is completely empty of all students. They must all be having a party in the Common Room I think to myself. As I turn to leave, I catch a glimpse of flame out of the corner of my eye. I turn back and hovering over one of the long tables is a magnificent phoenix. It wings towards the entrance hall and I get a strong feeling that it wants me to follow, so I do.

The phoenix flies out of the castle and onto the grounds. I follow it closely, not willing to lose sight of it, as night has fallen and the glowing flame of the bird's feathers is the only light I can see. The phoenix flies and flies, and I follow and follow. Some time passes, and I realize that, based on the distance we have traveled, we should be deep in the Forbidden Forest, and yet we are nowhere near. For the first time I consider how strange it is that the Great Hall was empty after so momentous an occasion as the first task of the Triwizard Tournament, and think that at some point I must have crossed the border between the real world and some sort of world of spirits.

Once again, a glimmer of light catches my attention from the corner of my eye, and I'm brought out of my musings. This time the glimmer is a feather, fallen from the phoenix's wing or tail. Another. And another. The light from the phoenix dims as feathers fall and the bird grows frailer and frailer looking. Just as I fear that the light will go out and I will be stranded in this strange place, I see the embers of a great fire in the distance. The phoenix lands amidst the coals and is instantly consumed in flame and then reborn, it's former glory restored.

This is the birthplace of the first phoenix I think. Just as before, when the phoenix wanted me to follow it, I know this to be the truth without really knowing how. I approach the pile of embers. It is pleasantly warm, but not overwhelmingly hot. I reach out and touch the coals before I can stop myself, but I am not burned. Intrigued, I collect some of them in a sample vial and stash it in my robes. The phoenix seems satisfied, and leads me back to the castle, where I find all the hubbub I expected and missed earlier.

*****

"Fiddlesticks!" I exclaim in frustration. Yet another fire protection spell had proven to be of little use, and the second task was mere days away. Perhaps it's time for a rest I think, running my hands through my hair and looking around the disused classroom I've been using for my tournament preparations. On a desk off to one side is the pile of embers, a gift from the phoenix. At first I was hopeful that they would be the key to the next task, but so far they have yielded nothing useful.

I try my spell again, casting a fireproofing charm on a small piece of cloth. I then cast a flame spell on it. As before, it ignites, but this time a draft blows the burning cloth onto the embers. Unexpectedly, the cloth is not consumed by the magical flames. Instead, after burning black as charcoal, the flames fade out and the sooty coating crumbles off, revealing the same piece of cloth beneath, unchanged and as good as new. I pull it from the embers not quite believing what I see. I grab another piece of cloth and set it on fire, foregoing the protection charm I cast on the last piece, and set it directly on the pile of embers. The results are the same. I begin to grin, and begin working a spell.

Some time later, I pull a deep red cowl, flecked with black and ash grey, over my head. The cowl gives off a soft warmth and light, just like the embers from which it was in fact transformed. Here goes nothing I think, and take a deep breath. I slowly pass my hand, unprotected, through the flame of a candle, and am unharmed. Encouraged, I go over to the fire burning in the large fireplace and thrust my hand in. Just like the cloth, my arm is swiftly burned black as charcoal, but when I remove my arm from the flames, the blackness flakes away and reveals skin and hair, completely unchanged from before. Excited, I get my wand and cast the strongest flame spell I know on my left hand. This time, everything seem to be going the same, but suddenly I feel a burning and I quickly extinguish the flames. This time the blackened coating comes away with a smell of burning hair and reveals skin pinkened in places by a light burn.

Alright, so this thing isn't totally proof against magical fires I think. Still, it ought to be more than adequate to protect me against whatever it is I face in the second challenge! I smile, silently thanking the phoenix for the guidance that led me to the embers from which to make this wonderful cowl that allows me to rise from the ashes, just like the mystical bird.