Alice sprinted up the stairs, her wand held in front of her, braced to defend against anything. She was a Hufflepuff – she was supposed to be helping her friends, not being ready to kill them. She hardly knew any curses, only defensive spells. Alice whipped her wand behind her and whispered "Protego" in order to stop anyone from following her, at least temporarily.
Light started to break through the top, and then a shadow crossed it. Alice stopped abruptly, holding her wand in front of her. Her heart raced, and she tried to silence her breathing. She thought up every spell that she ever learned, and none of them seemed appropriate for the situation. And then… "Bombarda!" she heard from above her. She recognized the voice – a sixth year Ravenclaw named Madison.
"Finite!" Alice hissed as quietly as possible. She was just fast enough so that the spell didn't hit anything.
Alice walked up the remaining stairs as slowly and quietly as possible, lifting her head over the top. She saw Madison at the Cornucopia, stuffing things into her bag. Before Alice could do anything, - malicious or otherwise – Madison was already sprinting into the forest.
And then from the ground came a fellow Hufflepuff – Tristain. Before she could stop herself, she ran up and started to yell, "Tristian! Tristain!"
