Author's Note: This story is actually a roleplay that a friend and I did on an RPG site. We have been writing in this RP thread since June of 2006 and the thread now has over 10,000 replies, so there is plenty of story already written. We've gotten a lot of feedback from random people who have read it on the RPG site, and a friend encouraged me to post it here...sooo, I am. lol
I am going to try my best to make sure that it flows, but because of it being written as a roleplay, rather than being written as a story, it might not be perfect. Please keep that in mind and don't judge too harshly.
By the way, Wenny and Carl hold a very, very dear place in my heart. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it. :)
Disclaimer All Harry Potter characters are the property of JKR. But all original characters (Wenny, Carl, Dray, Emma, Shane, Russo, etc.) are the property of FaithInSnape & her friend. lol
Confusion
Written by: 'WennyG' (AKA 'FaithInSnape') & 'Carl'
Chapter One: Instinct
Carl walked down the stairs leading up to the Entrance Hall. It was cold and dark outside. He looked up at the moon which was shining its light onto the bare grounds of Hogwarts, as he slowly began walking down the path through the grounds.
He was a tall Slytherin sixth year with wavy black hair that went past his ears. Before his mother died, she had always complained about it being too long, but of course Carl never did anything about it. His piercing blue eyes shone through the darkness, lit only by the moon.
He didn't care if he got caught by a professor, he needed fresh air to think. And way past midnight was the only time he could get this. His father was well known among the Death Eaters and it was his destiny to follow in his father's footsteps.
Carl knew that he could be a very powerful Death Eater and serve the Dark Lord, but there had always been something inside him telling him otherwise. Unfortunately, he didn't have a choice, and he had to go ahead with his father's plan for his life.
He came to a bench and sat down, staring towards the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't in a particularly good mood, so he was thinking of going into the forest and finding something to kill.
After a particularly nasty argument with her father, Wenny had snuck out to the grounds to do some thinking. As much as she loved her dorm mates, she sometimes needed to be on her own, which she found to be near impossible during the daytime hours. Only after curfew was she able to be truly alone, though she knew she could get into big trouble if she was ever discovered.
Wenny was sitting in her usual spot, resting her head on her knees, when she heard footsteps. She glanced up and was surprised to see a guy about her age headed towards her. She watched him, curious to see where he was going, and was a bit unnerved when he happened to sit on the bench less than ten feet away from her.
Tucking a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ear, Wenny wasn't sure whether she should speak to him or simply sit there and wait for him to leave. Figuring that she'd rather not be stuck in one spot all night, she chose to speak. "Rather curious, isn't it? The Forest, I mean...," she said quietly.
Carl looked up quickly, a bit shocked. He hadn't seen her earlier. He must've been too distracted with all the thoughts welling up inside of his head. He looked at her for a moment and then quickly back towards the forest.
He cleared his throat. "Not really," he said finally. "There's really nothing much to it once you get inside. Not to me anyways. As long as you know how to defend yourself," he said, turning to the girl and smirking slightly. He scoffed and looked back to the forest yet again.
"Hm. I suppose you're right," Wenny replied casually. She watched him for a moment, wondering what his deal was. After all, he, too, was breaking school rules by being out of the dorms after curfew.
She could tell by his tone that he probably wasn't up for company, but since they had stumbled upon each other, she figured she may as well try to make the most of it. Especially since she didn't much feel like going back to the dorm yet and a little conversation might get her mind off of things. "So you've been in the forest before, then?," she asked.
Carl couldn't help but laugh slightly. He swung his head over to look at her and sighed. He finally stood up and walked over to where she was and sat down next to her. "Yes, I have been in the forest before," he said, smirking and eyeing her intently. "Any more questions?" he asked with a grin. His features on his face probably didn't give the greatest impression. He had a scar running down next to his right eye and his eyes were icy blue, resting on the girl.
Wenny watched as the guy walked over and sat next to her, and tried not to visibly respond to his intent gaze. She wasn't one to be easily intimidated...or at least not usually, though his question surprised her a bit.
She watched him for a moment and then simply replied, "well, since you asked, yes, I do. What are you doing out here? It's after curfew." She knew he could very well turn her own question around on her, but...well, she'd worry about that later.
Carl laughed again. "I could very well ask you the same thing," he said, keeping his gaze on her. "But I will oblige," he said, bowing his head slightly. "I needed some fresh air and some quiet to think. And perhaps have a little bit of an adventure in the Forest," he said, not once taking his eyes off of her.
"Now," he said, speaking a bit louder. "I answered your question. So let me ask you the same one. What is a girl like you doing out here this late? I've never known a more risky Hufflepuff," he said, indicating the emblem on her cloak. His own Slytherin emblem was a rather proud object of mostly his parents. He didn't find it as great as they did. But it did have its advantages.
Wenny tried to hide a grin at his first comment. She had known that he would probably turn the question on her. And though she liked to believe she wasn't easily intimidated, his gaze was starting to get to her. Not that she'd let him know that, though.
"Well, there's really nothing risky about it if you can 'defend yourself'," she replied, quoting his earlier comment about the forest and trying not to grin at his Hufflepuff comment. She loved being in Hufflepuff, but he was right, they weren't exactly known for their bravery. "And like you, I am out here to do some thinking."
Wenny looked at him curiously, "And what do you mean an adventure in the forest?" Surely he wasn't planning on going into the Forbidden Forest alone in the middle of the night!? Sure, he may think he could defend himself, but...that was just craziness. He could not possibly be serious.
Carl couldn't stop himself from laughing when she quoted him. Before he answered her question, he pulled out his wand, turning his gaze to the forest. He twirled the wand in his hand and then turned to her. "What do you mean what do I mean? I mean going into the Forest of course," he said, smirking at her as she stood up.
"You are going to go into the Forest now?," Wenny asked, looking at him rather shocked. "Why would you do that?" Sure, he might think he could defend himself, but...what if he couldn't? There were plenty of creatures in the Forest that students probably haven't even heard of yet. And wandering alone in the forest in the middle of the night was hardly wise. Then again, Slytherins weren't known for their wisdom.
"Why would I do that?" he repeated her. "For fun of course. Besides, I've been in there before. The creatures won't bother you if you don't bother them," he said with a smirk as he turned around and started walking away. "Besides werewolves of course," he said, not turning around to look at her, but kept looking towards the forest, smirking. He wondered if she would follow him and counted to himself.
Wenny watched him walking towards the Forest, still half expecting him to turn around and say he was merely joking. Seeing that he didn't seem to be turning around, she stood up and ran over to him. "Surely, you're not serious!?," she asked, looking at him wide-eyed. She pretended not to hear the werewolves comment, since she figured he threw that one in just to frighten her.
He grinned to himself when he heard her catching up to him. This girl seemed to be a bit predictable, he thought. He stopped and turned to look at her, stopping his wand twirling. "What makes you think I'm not serious?" he asked her, glaring down at her.
Wenny watched him for a moment, "Well...you may think you can defend yourself...but, what if something unexpected happens? All alone in the Forest, in the middle of the night with no one even knowing you're out of your dorm? It's not exactly smart."
He glared down at her for awhile before he finally said something. "Unexpected things happen all the time. It's not like that only happens in the Forest. Besides, nothing like that has ever happened in there to me. If it does, well..." he said, putting his arm around her and starting to walk again towards the forest, forcing her along a bit. "Well, you'll be there with me."
Wenny looked at him as if he were crazy, which she thought he very well might be. "You expect me to go in there with you?," she asked. She glanced around. She must be losing her mind. Not only was she talking to some strange guy outside in the middle of the night, but she was actually about to go into the forest with him. "Fine, but if anything happens while we're in here...it's all your fault," she said, trying to seem more angry than she was. Truth was, she thought it might be interesting. As long as they didn't die, of course.
Carl grinned. "Excellent!" he said cheerfully as he removed his arm from around her. He grinned a bit, knowing that she was thinking he was a bit insane for going into the Forest. But he didn't care. He was used to it by now. His father was one of the only ones who didn't get freaked out or upset that he went in there. Thinking of his father made him frown. He would soon be becoming a Death Eater. He sighed as he looked sideways at the girl. "I don't think I caught your name," he said casually.
Wenny glanced at him as they walked towards the forest, "Wenny. Gytha. ...And you are?" She had noticed his frown and decided that she would ask him about his sudden mood change. After she learned his name, of course.
"Carl," he said, deliberately not giving her his last name. He didn't want to risk her knowing who his parents were. He sighed again as he turned his gaze back to the Forest again as they were nearing the edge.
"Just Carl?," Wenny asked, raising an eyebrow. She had told him her full name, so it was only fair that she know his, right? Besides, why would he leave off his last name? It made her rather suspicious.
Seeing they were nearing the forest, she stopped for a moment and turned to him. "Why the sudden mood change?"
He sighed as he stopped after Wenny, also turning to look at her. "Look, I told you I came out here to think. So my moods may change as I think about different things," he said flustered, glaring down at her.
"Do you have a problem with that?" he muttered as he turned back towards the forest and started walking again.
Watching him walking away, Wenny replied, "If it means you are going to be rude to me, then yes, I do."
She herself had been sitting outside thinking when he showed up and practically forced her to accompany him to the Forest. "Besides, you weren't the only one out here thinking things over...but you don't see me being rude," she added.
Carl rolled his eyes as they reached the edge of the forest. He held up his wand, fixing to light it. Before he did he turned to Wenny, holding his wand at her. "If you wish, you can leave. You wouldn't want to break a nail," he said, cocking his head only slightly to one side.
Wenny glared at him for a moment, trying to decide how best to reply. "Was that really necessary?," she asked. She was tempted to leave, but she liked his spunk. He annoyed her just enough to make her want to continue bickering with him. As crazy as that was.
"Look, I'm sorry...but, honestly...I was just asking to be polite," she said.
Carl sighed. "Fine," he said, turning back towards the trees and muttering, "Lumos." The tip of his wand was illuminated with light. He didn't look back at Wenny before entering the forest, the light shiny from the castle and the moon diminishing quickly.
Wenny stood there for a moment, a bit annoyed that he hadn't said anything more. She watched him walk into the forest. Did he want her to leave him alone? Or did he still want her company?
She glanced back towards the castle and then back at Carl. Sighing, she walked after him. She had already come this far...and it wasn't like she was planning on sleeping tonight anyway.
She caught up with him, but didn't say anything, unsure of whether he even wanted her there.
Carl walked for a while in silence, not sure if he should speak. If he did, she might turn it on him and bug him about saying he came outside to think, not talk. He shrugged to himself as he decided to talk.
"So what's your story?" he asked, the first thing that came to him. "Family, friends, et cetra..." he said, glancing at her.
Wenny looked at him for a moment, trying to decide if she could trust him or not. Then, of course, she had to laugh at the idiocy of that thought. She was in the Forest with him in the middle of the night. She should've considered whether or not she could trust him long before now.
"Well, if you're asking why I was out here tonight...I had a disagreement with my father," she said, "we seem to disagree a lot." She paused for a few moments, wondering if she should say anymore than that, but she figured if he ever decided to use it against her, she could blackmail him with the fact that he was currently in the Forbidden Forest. Of course, so was she, but...still.
"Basically, he thinks I'm too...nice," she added, rolling her eyes.
At that, Carl stopped and turned to Wenny, making himself comfortable and leaning against a tree. "Really?" he asked, eyeing her. "Usually parents would want you to be nice," he said, wishing he had parents like that.
He kept his gaze on her, thinking. He knew how she felt, but wondered just what she meant. His parents were Death Eaters, which meant he was to be one one day.
"You'd think so anyway, wouldn't you? But no, not mine," Wenny replied with a sigh. For the most part, she had gotten used to the constant disagreements between her father and herself. After all, it had been five years since her sorting ceremony.
She looked away for a moment, "I'm the first person in our family not to have been sorted into Slytherin...and let's just say he wasn't very happy about it and haven't let me live it down."
After awhile, Carl finally smirked. "Well, then we'll just have to get you to be a bit more cruel, won't we?" he asked, a glint in his eye. "Nox," he muttered as the light of his wand went dim.
They were at a part in the Forest where the patch of trees ahead were thin, so the light of the moon shone down for enough light.
"Go ahead. Take out your wand," he said, nodding at her. "Lets see what you got," he said, grinning at her, pointing his own wand at her.
Wenny looked at him, a bit panicked. Was he asking her to duel him? Surely he was joking. "What?," she asked, glancing around nervously. She was trying to casually locate the quickest way out of the forest, because she surely didn't like the way this situation seemed to be heading.
Carl sighed as he lowered his wand. "You're not afraid are you?" he said, grinning, slowly cocking his head slightly to one side. "Come on. Don't you ever live on the edge? I think a duel in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night might count."
If she hadn't been rather terrified at the moment, Wenny would've laughed at his comment...even though he seemed to be serious. Obviously, he hadn't noticed that she wasn't really a dueling type of girl.
"You're serious?," she asked, glancing around once more before reaching for her wand.
"Sure. How else are you going to toughen up for your father?" he asked her. To him, all he wanted to do was please his parents. Which was why he felt he had no choice but to become a Death Eater.
"Well, what if I don't want to toughen up for him? I rather like the way I am, thank you very much," Wenny replied, still watching him closely.
Carl stopped watching her for a moment, looking down at the ground and thinking to himself. "Don't you want him to accept you?" he asked, looking back up at her. "Don't you ever hate him yelling at you because you express your opinions or..." he trailed off, realizing he was being too personal.
"Well, yes, of course...but, I'd prefer him to accept me as I am...because I'm his daughter and because he loves me. Not just because I've changed who I am to please him," she replied.
Wenny watched him curiously for a moment, "why do I have the feeling this isn't just about me and my father?"
Carl shook his head. "Forget it," he muttered as he raised his wand again. He couldn't let this girl change what he had to do, what he knew he had to do.
Wenny had said the word love. He wasn't sure if his parents loved them at all, or even would if he became what they wanted of him.
Wenny looked at him, starting to get a bit panicked again. She was seriously beginning to think he wasn't quite sane. Of course, his fascination with roaming the Forest in the middle of the night should've been her first clue. But the fact he kept raising his wand at her was definitely the clincher.
"What are you doing?," she asked slowly, not taking her eyes off of him.
"What I told you before. Dueling," he said, watching her watch him. "And dueling only works when there's more than one person firing the spells," he said, smirking slightly. "So come on. Shoot a spell at me. Any spell you know."
"I'm really not comfortable with this...I mean, no offense, but you could totally put me in a body bind and leave me out here all night...totally defenseless," Wenny said, glancing around. He was the one who mentioned defending one's self from the creatures of the Forest...and the werewolves, which she really hadn't thought about...until now.
Carl took a step closer to her. "Wenny, I swear to you I won't do that. I have no reason for doing anything of the sort," he said, his icy blue eyes staring at her. He sighed and finally put his wand away. "Very well," he said with a sigh. He could lead a horse to water, but he couldn't make her drink.
Wenny watched him as he spoke, occasionally glancing away from his stare. What he was suggesting, dueling, would take a rather lot of trust on her part, considering he was probably much more advanced than she was. Being Slytherin and male and all.
She watched him for a moment, not sure if she should speak or move. "You sound disappointed," she observed.
He looked up at her as his gaze had lowered to the ground. "I just think you should learn to stick up for yourself is all."
He cocked his head to one side in curiousity. "Have you ever dueled?" he asked her, his gaze fixed more on her than ever. He hoped she would say yes at least.
Wenny watched him for a moment, "I can stick up for myself, I just prefer not to duel a Slytherin guy in the middle of the night...in the Forbidden Forest."
She heard his question and for a moment, considered lying to him and saying that she had, in fact, dueled loads of times. But surely, if he forced her to prove herself, he'd realize she was horribly inadequate at the sport. She looked at him for a moment and quietly said, "Well, not really."
He couldn't help at laugh. "Well, I guess I can't say that I blame you. I wouldn't want to scare you," he said, starting to slowly walk towards her. "I can be very intimidating," he said, smirking as he got closer to her.
Wondering what he was doing, Wenny watched him walking towards her and looked away, occasionally glancing back to him. She wasn't sure whether she should respond, as she didn't want to offend him nor make him think more highly of himself. She decided to merely turn to him and hold his gaze, since he was sure to consider her looking away a sign of weakness.
Carl smiled as he reached out to grab her shoulders. "Loosen up," he said, squeezing them slightly. Then he held them and said, "Really, could you be more tense?"
Trying not to grin, Wenny replied, "Well, sorry...but perhaps you would be tense, as well, if someone kept pointing their wand at you in a rather threatening way."
His expression softened, or at least somewhat. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly. Right when he leaned in closer, he heard rustling leaves coming from a thick patch of trees.
He forced Wenny to stand behind him, bringing out his wand and pointing it towards the direction of where the noise was coming from. "When I tell you to run, I want you to run as fast as you can back to the castle," he said, barely moving his mouth.
"Wha-," Wenny began as he stood infront of her. She tried looking over his shoulder to see what he was looking for, hoping it was simply the wind or some harmless little creature. She would've told him he was scaring her, if she hadn't noticed how tense he suddenly seemed to be.
He began to see a vague outline of a very big creature. It howled and Carl began to back away. "Run!" he yelled to Wenny as he began shooting spells at it, hopelessly, but trying to slow it down.
Wenny turned to see what Carl was looking at and gasped. For a moment, she was unable to move...partly out of fear and partly out of the uncertainty of not wanting to leave Carl to battle the creature alone. "I can't leave you here," she said rather strongly, while reaching for her wand. She shot a few spells at the creature, hoping it helped...but being almost afraid to look and see.
Carl glanced sideways at her, only for a moment as to not let his guard down. "Are you insane!? Get out of here!" he yelled at her.
If this girl had never dueled, he didn't know what she was thinking trying to help him defend them from a werewolf. He shot a few spells, that only slowed it down.
Wenny watched him for a moment, trying to decide whether to leave him or not. She wasn't exactly helping him, but...did he really expect her to just leave him?
Maybe she could go get a professor...though that would mean they would probably get detention for life for not only being out after curfew, but for being in the Forest as well. Assuming they even survived, that is.
"What about you? I can't just leave you here to be killed!," she replied, keeping her wand out infront of her.
"I'll be fine!" he yelled angrily as he watched the werewolf leap. It slashed his leg, leaving a huge bleeding gash. He winced as he fell to the ground, the werewolf above him.
He kicked it a few times, hard, in the face with his good leg. After awhile, it looked like it was beginning to get dizzy. They heard another howl much deeper in the Forest, and the werewolf ran off, stumbling.
Carl sat up, a bit dizzy himself, looking down at his leg. "See, I told you I'd be fine," he said.
Wenny rolled her eyes. "You have got to be kidding me. You call that 'fine'...?," she replied, looking down at his leg. Boys could be so prideful at times.
She walked over to him and sat down beside him. "Do you know any healing spells? Because we can't exactly go to the Hospital Wing at the moment. Madam Pomfrey will finish what that...werewolf...started."
He laughed as he held his wand to his leg and muttered a spell. He winced as he felt it close up, but only slightly. "So, my healing spells aren't great, but it'll work for now."
He tore off a piece of his cloak and wrapped it around the cut in his leg. Then he slowly stood up on his good leg with the help of a tree.
Wenny watched him and stood up. "Would you like me to help you? We could go back to the bench...," she said, glancing in the direction of where they had met. She would feel much better once they were out of the Forest, as there was no guaranteeing that the werewolf...and his friend...wouldn't return.
"I'm fine," he told her as he watched her. He could tell she didn't want to stay here. After awhile, he slowly nodded. "Alright," he said as he stood up from the tree and began slowly limping towards the direction they had come from.
"Ok then," she muttered under her breath as she began following him out of the Forest. After a few minutes, she glanced over at him. "You did a great job, by the way...fighting off that werewolf."
He grinned as he looked sideways at her. "I told you I could defend myself," he said, shrugging as he limped along, trying his best not to trip over a limb or other object with his one good working leg.
"Yeah, and you totally escaped unscathed, huh?," she replied, glancing over at him. Truth was, though, that he had infact survived and she had to give him credit for that. "I still think you're rather insane, though...just so you know," she said with a slight smirk.
He laughed. "Oh I know. But I think the same of you, just so you know." He stopped and turned to face her. "Why did you stay when I told you to go back to the castle?" he asked her, staring at her intently.
Wenny had to fight a grin at his comment. She was currently blocking out the thought of what could have happened to them earlier, because if she allowed herself to think of it, she very well may have gone insane. Or fainted.
"Why did I what?," she asked, stopping and turning to face him as well when she heard his question.
"Why didn't you leave when I told you to run to the castle?" he asked.
"Well, I couldn't very well leave you there alone, could I? You could've been killed," she answered.
"And what makes you care?" he asked as he limped closer to her, looking down into her eyes. "You shouldn't care. That makes you too...nice," he said with a grin.
Wenny grinned and rolled her eyes, "So I've heard." She watched him for a moment, trying to decide how to answer his question. Why did she care? "Well, unfortunately, it seems I have this rather annoying thing called a heart."
He grinned. "Oh, well, that's too bad," he said sarcastically, cocking his head again as he ran his hand through his now very messy hair. "You know, I've heard those things are rather annoying. I guess it's a good thing I don't have one," he said, still grinning.
"Don't say that," Wenny replied, suddenly feeling a bit bad for him. "If you didn't have a heart, you wouldn't have defended me from Mr. Werewolf in there," she said, glancing towards the Forest. Sure, he was defending himself as well, but he had jumped infront of her.
"Instinct," he replied quickly, lifting his head, suddenly showing no emotion on his face. "I guess it's just in me to protect... other human beings," he said, catching himself from saying 'people he cared about.'
Wenny nodded in understanding, "Well, thank Merlin for your instinct then." She smirked at him.
