Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and the world belong to the wonderful and astounding J.K. Rowling.
Note: Rating may change later.
The Third Tier
Chapter One: In Which a Library is Actually Used for Its Intended Purpose
"Out of the way, Huffledork!" A rucksack hit the stone floor of the corridor. Books, quills, and parchment spilled out, ink bottles from the bottom of the bag smashing and soaking through the bits of paper. A quill was stepped on by hurried feet and the girl the bag belonged to heaved a quiet sigh looking down upon the mess. She waited for the stampede to end as people headed for their classes or common rooms if they had a break in their schedule.
Spicen pulled her wand out of the inner pocket of her robes and siphoned most of the ink off of her books and parchment and then repaired the broken bottles. There was no saving the ink, but at least all the hard work she had spent on her Charms essay wouldn't be for naught. Maybe she could send a mail order away for some new bottles, or borrow one from a professor? She had one bottle left, the one she used to do her homework with, back up in the dorm, but it was nearly empty.
After getting her bag sorted, Spicen replaced it upon her shoulder and hurried down the now empty corridor for the library. She needed to do some studying for a test in Potions that was to be given tomorrow. She disappeared to her usual corner, a remote place next to the Muggle fiction section of the library. It had most of her favorite books there anyway, things she had read through when she was a lot younger. And it was away from the prying eyes of the other students, a place where she felt safest.
After sitting in an armchair with her potions book on her lap, a ruckus on the first floor of the library caused the girl to look up from her book. She rose from her chair cautiously, leaving the book laying face down upon the seat of the chair and made her way out from between the bookshelves and over to the banister that overlooked the lower level of the tower the library was located in.
Two boys, both of their black school robes trimmed with red, flew about ten feet from the ground. There was no doubting they had come in through the open window that was letting in the warm sun of early autumn. Upon further inspection, the two boys seemed to be chasing after a scattering group of students in green trimmed robes and dropping… were those water balloons?
"I'm going to report you to Professor Harper, Hammald!" The only girl in the group of Slytherins shouted, her blonde pigtails dripping with bits of balloon in them as she shouted up at one of the Gryffindor boys. "And you too, Reading! You just wait! Throwing water balloons in the library is especially against school rules!"
One of the Slytherin boys jumped onto a table and snatched at one of the brooms, but he missed and tumbled down to the floor as the Gryffindors laughed and flew out the window, tossing their last few balloons just to be rid of them.
"Leave it, Ofrin." The other boy in the group stated as the one who had gotten up onto the table ran at the window, his wand out. "We'll get them back, easy. Prefects may not be able to give detentions, but we can report them. Hammald and Reading will be in detention for a week after this stunt." The boy shook the water out of his hair and wrung out the sleeve of his robes that had been hit by one of the balloons.
The girl watched as the Slytherins gathered their soaked things from a nearby table. Ofrin and the girl Slytherin left, complaining of having water in their shoes while the other boy remained behind, sorting out the contents of his bag and pulling out his wand to fix them up.
…...
"Stupid bloody Hammald." Callahan Wilkes grumbled to himself as he dumped out his sodden schoolbag on a table and began going through his things. His books and papers were wet with the water from the balloons the two Gryffindor boys had dropped. He'd been hit the most out of the three Slytherins, his head dripping with water as well as one of his sleeves. He tugged out his wand and began siphoning the water from his things, drying them with ease but unable to unsmudge the ink off one of his essays. He groaned, noting it was the one for Arithmancy, one of the more difficult classes the school offered. He'd have to rewrite the entire thing over again.
Deciding it was better to do this in the safety of the Slytherin common room later after classes, Cal shoved the rest of his stuff back into his bag and slung it up onto his shoulder. As he lifted his eyes to make sure the strap was going over his head, they caught upon someone standing at the banister to the third level of the library above.
It was a girl, with auburn hair that swept down her back in waves and covered half of her face. Her robes were trimmed with yellow… just a stupid Hufflepuff. She seemed to notice him spotting her and quickly turned heel, disappearing back into the depths of the upper bookcases. Huh. Normally Hufflepuffs weren't the type to go hiding, but then, they weren't exactly the brightest, were they? Still, there was something about that girl that struck him as being off, even if she was just another dumb Hufflepuff.
Cal shook his head and flicked some hair off of his forehead, heading for the library door where his friends were now waiting for him.
Later in the day, after reporting Hammald and Reading to Professor Harper and watching them get told off and given detention, Cal deemed it safe to return to the library. He did need access to several of the books there in order to rework his Arithmancy essay, it was still six inches too short.
"Ofrin, Baddock, you coming?" He asked as he shouldered his bag, looking at his friends sitting by the fire in the Slytherin common room. Both of them looked up from where they were playing a rousing game of Gobstones and shook their heads.
"Already finished all of my work." Lidia Baddock stated simply, rolling one of her Gobstones at one of David Ofrin's. She had had to change clothes after being hit by water balloons earlier and wasn't about to go traipsing back into the library any time soon anyway.
"No way, mate." Ofrin grimaced as one of his stones shot gunk at him. "I already had to spend half the day in wet shoes."
"Alright then." Cal shrugged and left, making his way up from the dungeons and along the corridors to the library. He looked around the room, seeking out a place that would not be so easily dive bombed. Once Hammald found a trick that worked, he typically did it a few more times before changing it up, no matter if he got in trouble or not.
Deciding it would be best to get the books he needed and head up to one of the upper levels of the library, Cal made his way over to the Arithmancy section. He grabbed out two large tomes from the shelves and carried them upwards. He came to the second level, but it was full of a rowdy bunch of fourth years Madam Pince hadn't come up to speak to yet. Her old knees kept her from going up and down the stairs as quick as she used to. So, opting out of the second level, Cal made his way up higher, to the less frequented third level. This was where all of the books hardly anyone bothered with were, since they were mostly how-to's, self helps, or ugh, of Muggle origin.
Well, at least no one would bother him up here.
Cal moved through the bookcases, looking for a table to work at. There didn't seem to be many places up here for working though. Deciding it best to search closer to the wall than to the banister that would look down upon the lower library levels, he made his way between the shelves of books until he reached the very back of the third level There was a single table here, pressed up against the wall with several chairs around it.
Smiling at his luck to find such a remote spot, Cal set down his back and books, getting out his smudged Arithmancy essay. He started scribbling and was just halfway through to being finished when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. Looking around, his eyes fell to a chair about ten feet away from his workplace, set into a small alcove in the wall that didn't quite conceal it. From where he was he could see a pair of folded legs and a book open upon the foot stool at the end of the chair, parchment resting on it as though whomever was there were doing their schoolwork.
Cal watched as the person leaned forward and found it was the same girl who had been watching from the third level banister earlier. That same stupid Hufflepuff. Her face was completely concealed behind a curtain of hair as one hand lifted the parchment up from the foot stool and disappeared back into the tiny alcove.
…...
Spicen heard footsteps, which was strange for this section of the library. Normally it was quiet and devoid of others for the entire time she was here, in her little alcove of happiness, where no one would bother her. It was even more peculiar when the footsteps seemed to come to a stop, and then a chair was drawn out from the nearby table and the sound of books on wood met her ears. Had someone decided to study up here? That was completely abnormal! The main reason she chose this spot was because it was so remote. It had been that way since her first year at Hogwarts.
Spicen waited to see if the person had made a mistake, but after a bit, when she heard no noise but a quill scratching upon parchment, she leaned forward a bit. Peering around the corner of her safe little alcove, Spicen's eyes fell upon the Slytherin boy from earlier sitting at the only table on the entire third level of the library. What was his name? She wasn't sure, but she was pretty positive he played Quidditch. But then, most of the older students always confused her name wise. She barely paid much attention to the girls in her own dorm, let alone an older boy from another house entirely.
As the boy's head moved, Spicen sat back quickly, not wanting him to see her, though she supposed, he would be able to see the front part of the chair. And then she waited.
Deciding it was safe after a few minutes, and really, what could he do to her? They were both just doing their schoolwork, nothing wrong with that. And it wasn't like she could leave until he had gone anyway. That would be even more nerve wracking than having him so close by. That had nothing to do with him being a Slytherin either. She simply was not a people person.
Spicen leaned forward and continued writing her essay, making sure her hair was in the way of her face. She always felt safer hiding behind her hair, which was one of the reasons she always kept it long and down. It was like she could see them through her locks, but they couldn't exactly see her since the spacing was so small.
"That cannot be good for your back."
Spicen bolted upright with a slight yelp. Having not been watching the boy, she hadn't seen him looking at her, and therefore, had not been expecting him to say anything. She pressed herself back in her chair, hiding again.
"Oh for Merlin's sake." Cal rolled his eyes. What a stupid Hufflepuff. It wasn't like he was going to bite her or anything. He'd simply stated that perhaps working in the chair like that wasn't going to do her back any good. Of course, he'd meant that to stay in his head, but it wasn't like it was a rude comment either. "You know, it's not like I'm some sort of monster just because I'm in Slytherin. You don't bother me, I won't bother you, got it?"
As he waited for a response, Cal glared at the girl's legs, the only part of her he could currently see. She had a bruise on one knee that looked like she'd tripped pretty hard on something or other. He heaved a sigh when she didn't respond and rose to his feet.
Spicen pushed herself back further in her chair as she heard the chair scraping back against to wooden floor. She quickly tilted her head to look down at her lap, her hair shrouding her face and her hands twisting up in the untucked hem of her shirt. She heard footsteps approaching and didn't look up when she felt the boy looming over her.
Cal stood there, looking down on this pathetic little Hufflepuff. She was quite scrawny actually, probably no more than a third year, but looking down at her books… No way was she already studying that! Transfiguration like that didn't come up until fifth year, which was just a year below him. Either she was really scrawny or really smart.
"Hey, I asked you a question, it's rude not to respond." He stated a little angrily. He hated it when people blatantly ignored things he said, especially because he was a Prefect. The Hufflepuff could have at least given him a one worded answer.
Spicen gulped, her lips moving but no sound really coming out. There was a bit of a 'sss' but that was about it. She hung her head more so, her eyes trained on her hands anxiously. The boy seemed to have heard her 'sss' though and tilted his head, raising one eyebrow at her.
"What was that? I didn't quite catch it."
"I-I-I un-und-d-der-st-stunnnn-d-d-d." Spicen stammered, her consonants coming out harder than the average person in her struggle to actually say them. Her whole face flooded with color and the Slytherin boy took a step back, away from her, his eyes wider than they had been.
So the rumors were true. Cal had thought that the Hufflepuffs in his Charms class had been exaggerating when he'd heard them talking about a girl in their house who stammered so bad everyone just called her 'Echo', even the professors. No one remembered her real name and whenever they tried to speak to her and make friends, well… apparently it was difficult. First you had to have the patience to listen, which most of the Hufflepuffs seemed to, but the girl, Echo, was about as skittish as a wild mare who'd been captured, beaten, and escaped.
Spicen bit her lower lip. Countless people from her house had tried to be her friend and help her with her stammering, but all had failed or given up in favor of their own group of friends. She didn't blame them though. She got fed up with herself enough as well… and normally she was too embarrassed of her stammering to say anything back to the kind people who tried to make friends with her. So she'd decided to stick to the library except for sleep, class, and meals, which she ate alone in one of the empty classrooms after getting food from the Great Hall. On the upside, her schoolwork always got done on time. On the downside… well… it got pretty lonesome when you were surrounded by people but no one really knew you.
"Right. Good then." Cal nodded in response, taking another step back and returning to the table nearby. He could have teased her, oh how he could have. He was particularly good at taking people's weaknesses and picking on them when he was with his friends. But there was just something so… wrong about picking on a girl like Echo. He could think of a thousands insults but then, what good would that do? In all likelihood she'd just run off crying and that was no fun. When he picked on someone he wanted to get at least a little bit of argument back. It was more fun that way.
Spicen heaved a sigh of relief as he left, her body relaxing back into the chair. She felt better now that that was over with. She wasn't the sort who was excellent at confrontations, it was always better to avoid those types of things if one could help it.
…...
As September faded into October, Cal began spending more time in the library on the third level. It was actually quite a wonderful work atmosphere up here, out of the way of other students who bothered him when he was actually trying to get his homework finished on time. His friends still preferred to stick to the bottom floor out in the open where they could easily joke around and pick on passersby when Madam Pince wasn't nearby. They teased Cal a bit about his study habits, but hey, they were also the ones asking to look at his work before they finished their own.
Spicen continued to frequent her safe little chair in the alcove, mostly doing homework or reading. Sometimes she would turn the chair backwards and stare out the tall window in-between pages. She liked the view of the grounds from the library. She could see the lake and the mountains beyond, currently covered in an array of autumn colors and slightly snowy caps. The sky stretched far, a crisp blue that made her feel warm as she curled up in her favorite armchair with an old Muggle book she had found in the fiction section.
Cal leaned back in his chair and peered at the Echo girl. When he'd come up the stairs about half an hour ago he'd found her using the footstool to scrambled over the back of the large chair to face the window. If he hadn't known she was there already, he would have assumed the chair to be empty. But then, he couldn't blame her really. It was a beautiful day out and as soon as classes ended for the day he would be heading outside to the pitch to practice his broom skills before the actual Slytherin team practice. He was a Beater, so it was always best to work on his skills extra. The better to avoid and chase after Bludgers.
She was still there, facing the window, not that he wouldn't have noticed if she'd moved. She was always in that chair when he came to the library, like she didn't do anything else almost. So long as classes weren't going on… and he'd even noticed that she was never in the Great Hall either. How was it that a Hufflepuff of all people seemingly spent so much time by themself?
The school bell rang, indicating the end of the lunch hour and that afternoon classes would start in ten minutes. Cal began packing up his things, putting his still partially inky quill away in his quill case so it didn't get on his things.
Spicen jumped slightly at the bell. She hadn't really been paying any attention to the time, being completely immersed in her book. She stood up on the chair and tossed the book down on the footstool before throwing one leg over the back and pushing herself over. Her first foot found the footstool alright. The shoelaces on her second foot caught in one of the chairs buttons as she pulled it over the chair. She gave her foot a tug, thinking she just hadn't lifted it high enough. Instead of her shoelace coming loose from the button, her foot came out of her shoe and her balance was lost. She fell forward, landing chin first on the floor, hands just not enough to completely stop her momentum in time, her legs still on the footstool from the knees down.
Cal turned as he heard a book clatter to the floor and the smack of chin on wood. He winced and dropped his bag back down on the table, moving the ten feet to where the Hufflepuff lay sprawled awkward on the floor. If her robes had been just an inch shorter he probably would have gotten a good shot of her underwear. Now, normally it was against his priorities to help out a Hufflepuff, but there was just something about this girl that made him feel sorry for her… just a little bit. "Eugh, are you alright?"
Spicen winced, her eyes screwing up as pain shot through her chin. Her eyes watered, but she did not cry, pushing herself up off of the floor and onto the footstool, nodding her head. She was quite surprised that the boy had actually stopped to see if she was okay. That was quite unusual.
"You're bleeding." The boy pointed at his chin and Spicen touched her own chin. It was wet and when she pulled back her fingers, quite bright red. "Here, let me…" The boy pulled an old fashion cloth handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her, but Spicen shook her head. No. She would not accept his help, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Pushing herself up from the footstool, she pressed the sleeve of her robes against her chin to staunch the bleeding. Then she picked up the book and carried it over to the shelf she had taken it from and placed it away. Cal watched her curiously. Well, she seemed alright despite her bleeding chin.
Spicen returned, grabbing up her bag from the floor and shouldering it. Without a word or glance back she made her way through the bookshelves towards the stairs. Cal watched her go, quite flummoxed. Most girls he knew had always taken his help when they'd gotten hurt. Hell, he'd even acted as a crutch on several occasions, but then, those had always been girls in his own house.
Spicen made her way to the nearest bathroom, preferring to take care of her own injuries when she had a klutzy moment instead of going to the hospital wing. It was just… easier that way. She wouldn't have to explain anything. Besides, being Muggleborn, she knew how to fix things without magic well enough.
After washing her face, Spicen pressed a cold paper towel against the side of her jaw. She could move it alright, but it was still quite sore to have slammed her chin into the floor like that. The scrape wasn't too bad though and it had stopped bleeding now. After standing with the cold cloth against her face for a few minutes, her jaw started to feel a bit better. She dried her face and pulled a band-aid out of her bag. It was pink with little custard colored puffskeins dancing on it.. She pressed it on over her scrape and heaved a sigh as the potion in the white pad met her skin and soothed it. She'd found the band-aids in a shop in Diagon Alley, a place that catered to those not as adept at healing spells or those with children who were more sensitive to the stinging sensation a healing spell could cause when fixing up a cut. There, now hopefully she wouldn't be late for class.
Rushing down the stairs, Spicen made her way for the dungeons. Just two weeks ago, Professor Harper had suggested it to Headmistress McGonagall that Spicen take her Potions O.W.L earlier than the rest of her classmates. McGonagall had been wary of the idea, but had approved it, and Spicen had passed with flying colors. If there was one thing she was good at, it was Potions. It had been agreed that she could join the sixth year N.E.W.T level class and drop Divination which was at the same time. She now had the time the fifth year potion classes were free to do as she pleased.
Quite excited to be at the N.E.W.T level in her favorite subject, Spicen didn't want to be late for her first official sixth year class. She got there just as the last bell rang.
"Settle down, class, settle down" Professor Harper stated in his usual cheerful tone. The class quieted and he waved his wand at the blackboard. The chalk rose and began writing, large enough for them to read, but small enough to get all of the information up. "Today we will be continuing our discussion on the subtle properties of antidotes. Yes Baddock?"
"What is she doing here?" Lidia asked, pointing towards the front of the class where Spicen had taken up a seat by herself. The other students were in groups of three or four around their tables. "She's not a sixth year."
"Ah yes. Miss Echo has passed her Potions O.W.L early with outstanding marks, so she's joining our class. Now then, get out your cauldrons."
Lidia made what sounded like a grumble under her breath and whispered something to her friend Kelsy who sniggered behind her hand.
Cal got to class late, panting. He had forgotten to pack his Potions book that morning and had had to rush all the way down to the Slytherin dungeons and then back up to Potions. He slid into his seat next to Lidia quickly while Professor Harper turned around to grab his own book off of his desk.
"You're late, Mister Wilkes." Professor Harper stated without turning around, a smile playing on his lips. Of course he'd heard Cal enter the room and he knew who was missing from when he'd first looked around the room. The class wasn't exceptionally large, just the sixth years who had managed to pass their Potions O.W.L. with an E or higher. So there were only twelve students in his N.E.W.T level class as it was quite difficult to get above an A.
"Sorry, Professor." Cal sighed, glad he hadn't been given detention or had points taken. He wasn't usually late, he actually rather enjoyed learning depending on the subject and who taught it.
"Quite alright, Wilkes, just don't let it happen again. Now then class, as I was saying. Today we are going to continue our work with antidotes. You each will receive a poison. You must determine what the poison is, and then work on creating an antidote for it. All of the supplies you need can be found in the student storage cupboard." Harper strode about the room with a box, handing out a test tube full of potion to each student. "Do not drink your potion as some of these can kill you. However, if you do somehow ingest your potion, then you will receive a bezoar shoved down your throat and ten points subtracted from your house for pure stupidity. Now then, get started!"
The dungeon was full of the sound of chopping, stirring, and differently colored smoke or steam after that. Cal groaned, not quite sure what the potion he was supposed to be creating an antidote for was.
"Remember, the better you do, the better your grade, however, this is simply practice. I do not expect any of you to get it completely correct the first time through."
"Hey Wilkes, does this look like the Draught of Living Death to you?" Lidia asked, holding up her test tube.
"Er, not sure. Either that or a Salivating Solution. You know, that one that makes you choke on your own spit." Cal shrugged, eyeing his own test tube critically. He gave it a few prods with his wand and then sighed, shaking his head. Well, his best guess was a Paralysis Poison. Now what should he start with?
"Hey, Wilkes, watch this." Lidia said after a few minutes. She held up a dung bomb. "Let's see how smart that stupid Huffledork thinks she is now." She nodded towards Spicen and Cal blinked. Since when was she in their class?
Lidia tossed the dung bomb as soon as Harper's back was turned. It landed, dead on, in Spicen's cauldron.
The dung bomb exploded, sending dung and potion all over the classroom. It hit those closest to it, causing screams and havoc. Lidia and Cal were out of the range of fire, but Spicen got a face full. She let out a yelp as her face started to burn.
"Oh for goodness sake! Calm down all of you!" Harper shouted over the ruckus, heading for his desk and pulling out a large bottle. "Come here if you got sprayed, I'll sort you out."
Those nearest Spicen headed up front to the desk. Professor Harper poured the balmy potion out onto rags and handed them out. "Press the rag against the places you got hit, it'll stop the reaction of the potion on your skin."
As the class tended to their injuries, the noise calmed down and they were able to return to their cauldrons no worse for wear. Harper drenched a rag with the balmy potion and Spicen laid it over her face which had become very red and blotchy. She was lucky to have closed her eyes in time.
"What happened Miss Echo?"
Spicen shrugged, shaking her head and pressing the cloth tightly to her face. It felt amazing on her poor stinging skin. She wasn't sure what had happened. She hadn't added any ingredients to her cauldron that should have reacted that way at all. She'd just been measuring out some powdered bicorn horn to add when her partway done antidote had exploded like that.
"Well let's see." Professor Harper delved into the cauldron with a spoon. "What did you put in it?"
Spicen, her face feeling better now, removed the cloth from her face. She grabbed the leftovers of her ingredients so far and placed them down in order on the table. Harper looked confused for a moment as he peered into her now slightly melted cauldron. He bent over it and gave it a sniff.
"Alright, who threw the dung bomb? Fess up or you all have detention during the Quidditch match this Saturday."
"But Professor! It's the first match of the season! Slytherin versus Ravenclaw!" Cal's eyes went wide. He couldn't miss the first match! Sure, they had a reserve Beater, but still, a reserve was a reserve. They simply weren't as good as first string.
"Well then, someone had best admit to throwing the dung bomb into Echo's cauldron. Let's see. I know Reading likes pranks, but he's a lousy shot." Harper started going around the room, peering at his students. "It wasn't Fulby, Boot, Dayton, or Prewett because I was at their table when it happened. Echo wouldn't corrupt her own potion. Wilkes is a Prefect and unlikely to jeopardize his chances to play in the game this Saturday. Scamander and Morgan were at the storage cupboard. So that just leaves North, Baddock, and Illien."
"Wasn't me, Professor. I got covered too." Illien stated quickly, holding up her balmy potion rag. She was in the table closest to Spicen's with Morgan and North who nodded in agreement.
"Not me either, Professor." North shook his head now. "That stuff stung really bad and I'm not allowed dung bombs, my mum would flip."
"Yes, unlikely but still possible. Which leaves our main suspect. Baddock?"
"Ew, Professor. I'd never touch a dung bomb. Would I, Cal?"
"Er…" Cal faltered, looking at her and then the Professor. It was his duty as a Prefect to help keep order in the school, but Lidia was his friend. But then, he didn't want detention during the game… Hoping she would forgive him, Cal sighed. "She threw it."
"You snitch! Cal, you are such a-"
"Enough! Baddock, detention. Saturday morning starting at six am. I won't take any points off since you came clean about it, Wilkes."
"But Professor…!"
"Not another word, Baddock, or it'll be a week's worth of detentions. Now then, everyone back to work."
The rest of the lesson continued without fault. When the bell rang, the students poured their antidotes into phials and handed them in before cleaning up their things and leaving the dungeons. It was Friday, so most of them headed outside to enjoy the last of the light before the sun went down.
Wanting some fresh air, Spicen put her bag down in her dorm and hurried back upstairs to go take a little walk around the grounds. It was quite warm out, so she wandered along down by the lake, watching the water lap slightly up against the three feet of sand at it's edge. She strolled quite far away from the school building, breathing in the scent of fallen leaves and soon reaching the Forbidden Forest's edge. She had strayed into it once or twice before with Hagrid during Care of Magical Creatures lessons. The old grounds keeper was kind and didn't seem to mind it that she never really spoke. It was their kindred love for animals that made up their friendship.
Cal rose high up on his broom, knowing that his teammates would be down to the pitch within the next half an hour where they would have a good bit of time to practice before dinner. He could only practice with a couple of enchanted Muggle basketballs for now, since it didn't matter as much if they got lost. And if they did, well, they would go back to just being normal basketballs as soon as they left the Hogwarts grounds.
As he whacked one of the basketballs hard away from his head, his caught some movement in the corner of his eye. Thinking it was the other basketball, Cal spun around in the air, but found it was no more than someone walking along the grounds. There were plenty of students milling around at the edge of the lake, soaking up the last rays of sun the day had to offer.
As his eyes trained in on the figure who had caught his eyes, Cal realized they were getting awfully close to the forest. Being a Prefect and noting that the student was probably a third year or so, he decided it was his duty to remind them that the forest was off limits for safety reasons. With a wave of his wand, the basketballs fell to the grass, their enchantment broken. Cal shot off on his broom, landing a distance away from the student. He dropped his broom and Beater's bat and broke into a run just as the small robed figure entered the forest.
Spicen took a deep breathe, loving the scent of the earth and leaves around her. Oh how she loved the forest and it's tangling branches and shrubs. She knew it was against school rules, but then, it was still light out and she wasn't wandering far, just enough so she could admire the leaves. Then she would head right back on out. That wouldn't be too bad, would it?
Stopping about ten feet into the forest, Spicen fingered a bright red leaf, admiring it. It was so insanely pretty, much prettier than any of the other trees' leaves that she could see from here. What kind of tree was this? To have such wonderfully brightly colored leaves?
"Oi!" Cal came running down the path and nearly ran into Spicen, sliding to a stop on the leafy ground of the forest. He paused, staring at her in shock. "You! You're not supposed to be in here! Get out now."
Spicen blinked, staring at him. He'd come out of nowhere and given her a bit of a fright, but his demanding tone set her off. Who was he to tell her what to do? This was the boy who had invaded her area of the library. Wilkes, his name was. She'd heard the other Hufflepuffs talking about him before, how he picked on them and had even made Marble McGadden cry once. Stubborn as a mule, Spicen shook her head and kept walking. No way was she going to listen to him.
"Hey Huffledork! Are you stupid or something? We can't be in here, it's dangerous." Cal groaned, watching her continue down the path, heading deeper into the forest. He followed after her, reaching out an arm to grab her by the wrist, but she spun around abruptly, glaring at him. He glared right on back, until Spicen lifted her arms. She folded them against her sides and began waving them at him… almost like some kind of bird…. "Hey! I'm not chicken, it's against the school rules to be in the forest, Mudblood."
Oh now that did it! Spicen reached out one hand and slapped him hard across the face. How dare he call her a Mudblood! Oh the nerve! "D-d-d-d-d!" She spat at him, her words getting stuck in her throat and making it impossible for her to properly yell at him.
"What the hell!?" Cal yelled right back at her, clutching his face, slightly shocked that she had actually slapped him. He watched as she continued to keep walking, straying farther and farther away from the safety of the open grounds and castle.
Spicen marched at this point, absolutely refusing to turn around so long as he was telling her to do so. There was no way she was going to do what he said, especially after calling her a Huffledork and Mudblood, even though the canopy overhead was getting thicker and thicker by the minute and the sun's rays were disappearing fast. It would be dark out within the next ten minutes or so. But she figured, so long as she stayed on the path…
Cal groaned, knowing he had no choice but to follow her at this point and keep trying to convince her to turn around. He'd have left her and gone to get help, but then, what if something happened to her because he wasn't there? He was older than her after all, he knew more defensive spells and things.
"Listen, we have to go back. It's going to be dark any minute now and it'll be even more dangerous to be in here. There are all sorts of creatures that could-" Cal's words trailed away as something to their right made the shrubbery rustle. A pair of bright red eyes shown through the leaves.
With a yell of fright, Spicen took off, turning around and racing down the path, Cal at her heels, both of them tripping over roots here and there. After tripping on one of these roots, Spicen's sense of direction went wobbly. Instead of sticking to the path, her legs took her down a narrower one, most likely created by deer. Cal followed after her, both of their legs getting caught in brambles and pricker bushes as they ran, heading deeper into the forest now instead of out of it.
When the fear of that red eyed thing had subsided a bit, Spicen slowed her pace, pausing to catch her breath. Cal heaved, leaning against a nearby tree and looking around, sweat dripping down his face. "I think we lost the path."
Spicen groaned, nodding her head and looking around. The ground here was so thick with brambles she couldn't tell which way would take them back to the main path and the castle. And it was so dark now. She could barely make out the whites in Wilkes's eyes at this point.
Cal seemed to be thinking the same thing because he pulled his wand from his pocket. "Lumos." It helped a little, but not by much. Spicen did the same, lighting her wand without speaking. She'd never been able to properly speak an incantation but with a lot of help from Professor Flitwick in her first year, she'd managed to get non-verbal spells down.
"Well then, it doesn't look like we're going to be getting out of here any time soon. Nice going, Mudblood." Cal groaned, noting that nothing in this section of the forest looked familiar. "We'll probably be stuck in here all night."
Spicen shivered looking around. He was probably right. There was no way they could go traipsing through the forest in the dark. It would probably be safer just to stay put where they were and wait until daybreak when the sun would hopefully give them a little more light to see by. Then they could work on wending their way out through the forest based on how thick the canopy was. But for now, well… they were stuck.
Why hello there! If you've reached down this far, that means you might have actually read the words up above which means I am very grateful for your interest in picking this particular story to read! Either that or you were bored and just picked one at random or some friend dared you to read an OC/OC fic, or, in an even rarer case, I might actually be on your list of author alerts. Whatever the reason that you ended up here, I'm happy you did!
This story is a bit different from the usual stuff I do, and I've actually been working on it for quite some time now and trying to decide whether to post it up or not, though the answer to that is obvious since you're reading this. Anyway, I really, really hope you liked it. I'm insanely fond of this one. I would love, love, loooove to hear your thoughts on it if you've got a moment to spare, especially on whether you think I should continue it or not, although, you've only read one third of what's written for it so far.
Sorry about the long A/N, I do that sometimes on first chapters.
Love always,
S.Q.O.