The Boat (Chase)
They landed more softly this time, although the floor underneath them was unsteady, rocking up and down. Chase opened his eyes and saw they were standing on a floating pier at the foot of a flight of stairs, leading up to the deck of a large boat. It was an old style boat and it reminded him of an old style pirate ship he had seen during his years in the muggle world. Before he got a chance to look around further, however, they realised they were in the middle of a storm. The wind kicked up immediately, and Chase felt the rain soaking him, seeping through his cloak, down to his skin. They both sprinted up the stairs and onto the ship, the wind still whipping them viciously. Harry saw a door and pointed. Chase nodded and ran towards it, pulling it open and waited for Harry to head in before following. As soon as they were on board, the boat started to move. Suddenly Chase realised where they were. This was the boat that would take them to Azkaban.
Outside the storm still raged but inside it was warm, and dry. Which they were both grateful for. They walked down the stairs into a cabin, presumably for the captain. For now, it was being used as large meeting room. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were surrounded by a few other wizards and witches, asking them loads of questions. "ENOUGH!" Harry roared and everyone went quite. "As some of you know, we were ambushed" there was a slight murmuring of exasperation, people saying "ambushed", "what", or "who by?". Harry shook his head "I don't have the answers, it's part of an ongoing investigation. It's why I'm here, we thought this might happen". More murmurs. "How long before we get to Azkaban?" Chased asked the room at large, partly to take the attention from Harry and give him a minute to think. No doubt he was in for a stern interrogation. A young looking witch walked forward from the back of the room and said "we arrive at dawn tomorrow, you two should get some sleep". Harry turned to Chase "go ahead, you need it" and then wandered forward to whisper something into the girl's ear. She looked up at Harry, the shock on her face apparent, but she nodded anyway and said "I'll show you where you're sleeping".
She led him up the stairs back into the storm. The wind whistled and the rain pelted them. By the time they had ran across the bow of the ship to the far end and into another door, they were soaking again. "Follow me" she said nervously and led him down a set of stairs. The rooms were lit with torches, but they had no windows. They had a gloomy, orange look. It felt similar to Hogwarts. Just without the feel of home. The girl opened a cabin door and led Chase off the corridor and into a medium sized room. It had a bed, a wardrobe and some bookshelves. It all looked very old and the floorboards creaked, but the bed sheets looked clean and there was a pot of hot coffee and some sandwiches "we've already had dinner" the girl said, a hint of regret in her voice "this is all we have". Chase turned to her and smiled "it's great, thank you". A stab of pain in his chest reminded him dinner was the least of his problems. He felt faint for a second and stumbled backwards. The girl raced forward and escorted him to the bed. She lay him down and said "you got hurt in the battle?" she asked and pulled open his robes, exposing his bare chest. When she saw the mark, she barely grimaced.
The mark the spell had left was red, angry and circular, like a moon. The skin inside the circle looked like it had been clawed away, deep depressions had been made in the skin and in some places, veins were more visible. The young witch sighed and then said "I've never seen this before". He voice was low, sorrowful. He could hear the remorse in her voice and turned his head away. She put her hand on her shoulder and said softly "Chase, it's okay. It's going to be okay". He shook his head. She moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek and whispered "look at me". He obliged, looking into her eyes. Something about her made him feel as if this was somehow going to be okay. He knew it wasn't, how could it be? But something in her eyes told him to try. He gave her a soft smile. "Let's get you out of these robes" she said and began to undress him. He sat up and moved his arms, the wet robes that clung to his skin being pulled free. "What's your name?" Chase asked softly as he shifted to the side of the bed, about to remove his trousers. "Lottie" she said shyly as he stood in front of her in his underwear. "Lottie" he said and then sat back down "why are you here?". Taken aback she looked at him and then said "to tend to your wounds" she said sardonically. Chase smiled at her and then nodded not wanting to push the matter further. "I've got to stay here with you tonight? Is that going to be a problem?" She asked, her voice a little less friendly and warm. He shook his head and then said "I'm sorry, I'm just not used to people looking after me" he said. She sat on the bed next to him and put an arm around him. "It's okay" she whispered.
They sat in silence for the next few minutes, Chase's hand resting on her thigh, her arm around him. "Time for bed" she said in a whisper and he turned to look at her. He smiled and nodded "okay". When he saw there was only one bed he stood up and grabbed his cloak. Drying it with his wand he laid it on the floor. "What are you doing?" she asked, confusion in her voice. He stared at her blankly "we're both adults, we can share a bed for a night" she said, amusement in her voice. He laughed but still stared at her. "You're sharing my cabin, I'm not sleeping on the floor and neither are you. Just get over here" she said and moved aside to make room for him. He laid down next to her, close to the edge of the bed. All too soon, he drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
