This Tight
Tim ran across the grounds, not bothering to wait for Sirius, but he was following at a very fast pace. At the edge of the forest, Tim came to a halt, allowing Sirius to catch up.
"What?"
"I don't know where the centaurs are." Tim was nudged from behind and saw a huge black dog behind him.
"Mr. Black?" The dog nodded, and headed into the forest sniffing around.
After 5 minutes, Sirius and Tim walked into Mercedes' home.
"Skylar?" Tim started to rush over to her, but Remus caught him by the arm.
"No, now I want to warn you, if things start to get out of control, you are getting out of here as fast as possible. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Tim?" Skylar whispered.
"Sky? How are you?"
"Pain. Voices. Neck."
"Neck?" Skylar began to scream and twitch violently.
"What does she mean?"
"I don't know."
"Force. Fight. Pain. Scream."
"I don't think I'll be able to watch this anymore."
"Paint. Clown. Him. Sparkle. Eyes." Each time she said more, she'd twitch harder. Tim rushed over, ducking under Remus' arm.
"Come on Sky. Fight it. We'll do it together."
"No. Stay away."
"Come on. Talk back to that voice. Only listen to your own, and mine. Come on. Fight it. Don't do what it says. Who's doing this to you?"
"Him. More controlling. Can't stop it. Need to fight. Can't. Never. Can't." Skylar's arms shot up, and her hands closed around Tim's neck.
"Fight it Sky." Tim tried to pry her hands off his neck, but they wouldn't budge.
"Need to stop. Can't stop. Too weak."
"You got a pretty good grip for someone that's weak." The adults were trying to pull her off of him, but it was useless.
"Skylar, let go of him!" Doors yelled. Skylar eased her grip, but not by much.
"Sky, please, you're hurting me."
"You deserve to die." Skylar said in the normal monotone, but now it had a dark hint in it.
Jessica was watching all of this about them. Yeah, like she was going to listen to the great Harry Potter. She stole a broom from the broom shed and flew into the Forbidden Forest.
"What curse is this?" She wondered. As the adults were trying to contain Skylar, she swooped down and grabbed Tim. She landed into a tree away from the others. Inside it was like a carved out tree house. She gaped at it for a while, but remembered that the others were in danger and set Tim inside.
"I really don't like flying." She kept repeating. The broom kept swerving off course and trying to throw her off. After she crashed into a tree, she decided walking was safer. She found her way to the centaurs from all the screams, cries, and flashes from wands. A twig snapped under her feet, she jumped at the sound. Harry was now being strangled but Skylar. Their wands were left discarded a few yards away.
"Ely, I thought I told you to go back to class!" Harry croaked out. Finally he jumped into the pool of unconsciousness.
"I couldn't leave you guys here." Jessica said.
"Jessica get back to the castle before I expel you." Doors said sternly. Jessica started to run back, but someone stepped on the hem of her robes and caused her to trip. Skylar found her next victim.
"Ely, you shouldn't mess with things you have no business with." Skylar said. She picked Jessica up and threw her against a tree.
"Well it's my business now!" Jessica yelled after she got her breath back. Skylar found her wand and pointed it at her.
"It won't for long. Cruico!" Jessica got out of the way before Skylar could hit her with the curse. Skylar kept sending curses at Jessica, but kept missing. Then Jessica fell again. Skylar placed a foot onto Jessica's neck to keep her still.
"Avada Kerdreva." But Skylar's curse hit a tree above Jessica. Skylar started twitching again. Jessica pushed Skylar's foot off of her neck and ran back toward the adults.
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked.
"Yes." Jessica panted. Finally the adults noticed that Tim wasn't there anymore.
"Where's Tim?" Doors panicked.
"I took him to this tree house thing." Jessica said. A silver glint caught Jessica's eye. "Her necklace!" Jessica yelled. She ran toward Skylar, and out of the adults reach.
"Ely get back here!" Remus yelled. Skylar grabbed Jessica's neck and began to strangle her like Tim and Harry. Jessica's arms were too short she couldn't grab Skylar's necklace. She remembered Matt giving Meg the necklace to give to Skylar. That must be what was controlling her.
"Grab her necklace! It's controlling her!" Jessica screamed. Skylar's grip on her neck tightened. Sirius and Remus both tried to get Skylar's hands off of Jessica, and to keep them from getting Lorna as she ripped the necklace off of Skylar.
"Thank you." Skylar whispered just before she collapsed.
"Where did that necklace come from?" Sirius asked holding it in his hands.
"Matt gave it to her before the dance."
"He couldn't have enchanted it. He's just a 6th year."
"He's probably working for the new Dark Force."
"I'll go get Tim, and I'll take him and these two to the Hospital wing." Lorna said levitating Harry and Skylar. "And you." She turned to Jessica. Jessica backed away slightly. "Thank you. I'll be telling McGonagall about your heroics. She'll probably give you an award or something." Lorna turned and walked out of forest.
"Could you please take us to Matt?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah. He should have Potions now."
"Now after 15 minutes of your potions boiling..." Snape was cut off at the door opening.
"Miss Ely, what is this interruption about?"
"We would like to see Matt Hartman please." Sirius stepped into the classroom.
"How's the case going?"
"We have found more evidence on Skylar's behavior."
"Hartman, go with them."
Sirius shoved Matt into the lone chair in the classroom that was being used for the questioning.
"Excuse me sir, but I've already been questioned. What is this all about now?" Sirius growled and took the necklace out of his pocket.
"Where did Skylar get this necklace?"
"I don't know sir."
"Yes you do. We have a witness that say you gave it to her."
"Let me see it closer. Yes that's the necklace I gave her. What about it?"
"We found it on her, and it's evidence on her behavior."
"How's that?"
"Well, when we took it off of her, she stopped and collapsed."
"Really? Are you sure that's what caused it?"
"Yes. You are under arrest for using dark magic."
"I didn't use it!"
"What about the necklace?"
"He enchanted it, he made me give it to her, he's been doing all this stuff to her." Matt said in a panic.
"Who is he?"
"The Dark Lord."
"Who is that?"
"That's what we call him. The Dark Lord. No one knows his name."
"The Ministry is going to want you now, and I want you out of my sight. Remus, take him away."
"Very cop show-ish." Remus said before he grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him out of the room.
"Skylar?" Tim whispered in the hospital wing. He pushed the curtains aside from around his bed. In the bed next to him, someone stirred and pushed their curtains aside too.
"Hi."
"How you feeling?"
"Terrible. I can't believe I did that to you and Harry, and then Jessica. I did Avada Kedrava and Cruico. I'm going to go to St. Mungos or Azkaban." Skylar started to cry. "I'm not going to graduate from Hogwarts. I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison."
"Skylar, no you are not. The Aurors will explain that someone else had control over you. You couldn't fight it. It's not your fault."
"I felt like a puppet, or someone just watching the whole thing. I could move my head that was it. And when I started getting use to it, I could speak a few words at a time. You don't know how weird it was when he would talk for me, if I could've moved my arms on my own I would've either covered my mouth or pulled out my tongue. I wanted to strangle myself. I was fighting my hardest when I was with the centaurs. I was so weak. I strangled you, I was pulling at myself to stop, but he was strong and I was weak. You hate me don't you?"
"No. We're as tight as the grip you had on my neck. I know that it wasn't you."
"They are going to take me away as soon as I'm well. Kill me please."
"I can't do that! Who'd kill me then?" Tim joked.
"It's not the time for jokes Tim. I don't want to go to Azkaban or St. Mungos."
"But St. Mungos can't be that bad. Think about it, you get to bounce around in a rubber room."
"Tim, I told you, it's not the time for jokes."
"Hey, you're being too depressing, I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Jessica then walked into the hospital wing quietly.
"Hey there." She said. "I snuck some candy in here for you."
"I don't think I want to take candy from you." Skylar said suspiciously.
"Why not?" Jessica said defensively.
"Weren't you the one that feed Max and Kurt vomit flavored beans?" Skylar said.
"And the fake chocolate frog." Tim said.
"It's 100% real and not vomit flavored." Jessica said as she handed them each a pound of chocolate.
"Whoa, how did you get this much chocolate?"
"I asked someone to get it for me at Hogsmeade yesterday."
"We missed Hogsmeade!"
"What are you doing in here? Why are you kids talking?" Madame Pomfrey came out of her office. "You leave, you kids pull your curtains back around. Especially you Black, you're in no state to use up precious energy."
"Do you know what they are going to do with me?"
"Not yet dear." Pomfrey pulled the curtain back in its place and left the two kids alone.
"You know, it is really good that you're now all better."
"Why?"
"Cuz now we can play the Quidditch match. It's in two weeks, and we haven't had one single practice yet." Tim waited for a response, but there was none.
"Skylar? You sleeping?"
"Hmm, no. Just thinking. Why would they want me? I didn't do anything. My father is just an Auror and mom is just a teacher, well it's Defense but so? I'm not a descendant of Gryffindor or anything. My parents never betrayed anyone."
"Don't know. Hey, we should get to sleep."
"Tim?"
"What?"
"You know what I love about you?"
"What?" Tim pulled the curtain back, to try and see Skylar, but her curtains were still pulled around her bed.
"Everything."
"Same here."
"You love everything about yourself?"
"No, I love everything about you."
"Except for that I tried and kill you?"
"Umm, well you have a nice grip." Sky laughed quietly.
"Thanks." They were silent for a bit, just thinking about the things that happened
"Hey Sky?" There was no answer, except for a small snore coming from the bed next to him.
"Good night." Tim pulled the curtains back around and fell asleep.
Alannah Doors was in the greenhouse with her mother. Skylar and Tim were still in the Hospital Wing, but Harry had already left, since Madame Pomfrey didn't have control over him anymore.
"Is Madame Pomfrey letting people visit them?"
"No, but several kids have snuck in."
"Who?"
"Meg, Erica Malfoy, Jessica, Brittany Weasley, and Niaomi. Sharley was allowed in to give them their homework, but I think she really wanted to buy more pranks."
"You know Mom, I really thought Jessica was the one who put the curse on Skylar."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. She just seemed the type."
"Honey, Ely is as capable of Dark Magic as Tim has the chance of being Head Boy." Alannah laughed.
Somewhere in a deserted mansion, the Dark Lord was watching over Hogwarts in a crystal ball.
"Don't be so sure Lorna Doors. She is more capable than you think." The voice said.
Tim ran across the grounds, not bothering to wait for Sirius, but he was following at a very fast pace. At the edge of the forest, Tim came to a halt, allowing Sirius to catch up.
"What?"
"I don't know where the centaurs are." Tim was nudged from behind and saw a huge black dog behind him.
"Mr. Black?" The dog nodded, and headed into the forest sniffing around.
After 5 minutes, Sirius and Tim walked into Mercedes' home.
"Skylar?" Tim started to rush over to her, but Remus caught him by the arm.
"No, now I want to warn you, if things start to get out of control, you are getting out of here as fast as possible. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Tim?" Skylar whispered.
"Sky? How are you?"
"Pain. Voices. Neck."
"Neck?" Skylar began to scream and twitch violently.
"What does she mean?"
"I don't know."
"Force. Fight. Pain. Scream."
"I don't think I'll be able to watch this anymore."
"Paint. Clown. Him. Sparkle. Eyes." Each time she said more, she'd twitch harder. Tim rushed over, ducking under Remus' arm.
"Come on Sky. Fight it. We'll do it together."
"No. Stay away."
"Come on. Talk back to that voice. Only listen to your own, and mine. Come on. Fight it. Don't do what it says. Who's doing this to you?"
"Him. More controlling. Can't stop it. Need to fight. Can't. Never. Can't." Skylar's arms shot up, and her hands closed around Tim's neck.
"Fight it Sky." Tim tried to pry her hands off his neck, but they wouldn't budge.
"Need to stop. Can't stop. Too weak."
"You got a pretty good grip for someone that's weak." The adults were trying to pull her off of him, but it was useless.
"Skylar, let go of him!" Doors yelled. Skylar eased her grip, but not by much.
"Sky, please, you're hurting me."
"You deserve to die." Skylar said in the normal monotone, but now it had a dark hint in it.
Jessica was watching all of this about them. Yeah, like she was going to listen to the great Harry Potter. She stole a broom from the broom shed and flew into the Forbidden Forest.
"What curse is this?" She wondered. As the adults were trying to contain Skylar, she swooped down and grabbed Tim. She landed into a tree away from the others. Inside it was like a carved out tree house. She gaped at it for a while, but remembered that the others were in danger and set Tim inside.
"I really don't like flying." She kept repeating. The broom kept swerving off course and trying to throw her off. After she crashed into a tree, she decided walking was safer. She found her way to the centaurs from all the screams, cries, and flashes from wands. A twig snapped under her feet, she jumped at the sound. Harry was now being strangled but Skylar. Their wands were left discarded a few yards away.
"Ely, I thought I told you to go back to class!" Harry croaked out. Finally he jumped into the pool of unconsciousness.
"I couldn't leave you guys here." Jessica said.
"Jessica get back to the castle before I expel you." Doors said sternly. Jessica started to run back, but someone stepped on the hem of her robes and caused her to trip. Skylar found her next victim.
"Ely, you shouldn't mess with things you have no business with." Skylar said. She picked Jessica up and threw her against a tree.
"Well it's my business now!" Jessica yelled after she got her breath back. Skylar found her wand and pointed it at her.
"It won't for long. Cruico!" Jessica got out of the way before Skylar could hit her with the curse. Skylar kept sending curses at Jessica, but kept missing. Then Jessica fell again. Skylar placed a foot onto Jessica's neck to keep her still.
"Avada Kerdreva." But Skylar's curse hit a tree above Jessica. Skylar started twitching again. Jessica pushed Skylar's foot off of her neck and ran back toward the adults.
"Are you okay?" Sirius asked.
"Yes." Jessica panted. Finally the adults noticed that Tim wasn't there anymore.
"Where's Tim?" Doors panicked.
"I took him to this tree house thing." Jessica said. A silver glint caught Jessica's eye. "Her necklace!" Jessica yelled. She ran toward Skylar, and out of the adults reach.
"Ely get back here!" Remus yelled. Skylar grabbed Jessica's neck and began to strangle her like Tim and Harry. Jessica's arms were too short she couldn't grab Skylar's necklace. She remembered Matt giving Meg the necklace to give to Skylar. That must be what was controlling her.
"Grab her necklace! It's controlling her!" Jessica screamed. Skylar's grip on her neck tightened. Sirius and Remus both tried to get Skylar's hands off of Jessica, and to keep them from getting Lorna as she ripped the necklace off of Skylar.
"Thank you." Skylar whispered just before she collapsed.
"Where did that necklace come from?" Sirius asked holding it in his hands.
"Matt gave it to her before the dance."
"He couldn't have enchanted it. He's just a 6th year."
"He's probably working for the new Dark Force."
"I'll go get Tim, and I'll take him and these two to the Hospital wing." Lorna said levitating Harry and Skylar. "And you." She turned to Jessica. Jessica backed away slightly. "Thank you. I'll be telling McGonagall about your heroics. She'll probably give you an award or something." Lorna turned and walked out of forest.
"Could you please take us to Matt?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah. He should have Potions now."
"Now after 15 minutes of your potions boiling..." Snape was cut off at the door opening.
"Miss Ely, what is this interruption about?"
"We would like to see Matt Hartman please." Sirius stepped into the classroom.
"How's the case going?"
"We have found more evidence on Skylar's behavior."
"Hartman, go with them."
Sirius shoved Matt into the lone chair in the classroom that was being used for the questioning.
"Excuse me sir, but I've already been questioned. What is this all about now?" Sirius growled and took the necklace out of his pocket.
"Where did Skylar get this necklace?"
"I don't know sir."
"Yes you do. We have a witness that say you gave it to her."
"Let me see it closer. Yes that's the necklace I gave her. What about it?"
"We found it on her, and it's evidence on her behavior."
"How's that?"
"Well, when we took it off of her, she stopped and collapsed."
"Really? Are you sure that's what caused it?"
"Yes. You are under arrest for using dark magic."
"I didn't use it!"
"What about the necklace?"
"He enchanted it, he made me give it to her, he's been doing all this stuff to her." Matt said in a panic.
"Who is he?"
"The Dark Lord."
"Who is that?"
"That's what we call him. The Dark Lord. No one knows his name."
"The Ministry is going to want you now, and I want you out of my sight. Remus, take him away."
"Very cop show-ish." Remus said before he grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him out of the room.
"Skylar?" Tim whispered in the hospital wing. He pushed the curtains aside from around his bed. In the bed next to him, someone stirred and pushed their curtains aside too.
"Hi."
"How you feeling?"
"Terrible. I can't believe I did that to you and Harry, and then Jessica. I did Avada Kedrava and Cruico. I'm going to go to St. Mungos or Azkaban." Skylar started to cry. "I'm not going to graduate from Hogwarts. I'm going to spend the rest of my life in prison."
"Skylar, no you are not. The Aurors will explain that someone else had control over you. You couldn't fight it. It's not your fault."
"I felt like a puppet, or someone just watching the whole thing. I could move my head that was it. And when I started getting use to it, I could speak a few words at a time. You don't know how weird it was when he would talk for me, if I could've moved my arms on my own I would've either covered my mouth or pulled out my tongue. I wanted to strangle myself. I was fighting my hardest when I was with the centaurs. I was so weak. I strangled you, I was pulling at myself to stop, but he was strong and I was weak. You hate me don't you?"
"No. We're as tight as the grip you had on my neck. I know that it wasn't you."
"They are going to take me away as soon as I'm well. Kill me please."
"I can't do that! Who'd kill me then?" Tim joked.
"It's not the time for jokes Tim. I don't want to go to Azkaban or St. Mungos."
"But St. Mungos can't be that bad. Think about it, you get to bounce around in a rubber room."
"Tim, I told you, it's not the time for jokes."
"Hey, you're being too depressing, I'm just trying to lighten the mood." Jessica then walked into the hospital wing quietly.
"Hey there." She said. "I snuck some candy in here for you."
"I don't think I want to take candy from you." Skylar said suspiciously.
"Why not?" Jessica said defensively.
"Weren't you the one that feed Max and Kurt vomit flavored beans?" Skylar said.
"And the fake chocolate frog." Tim said.
"It's 100% real and not vomit flavored." Jessica said as she handed them each a pound of chocolate.
"Whoa, how did you get this much chocolate?"
"I asked someone to get it for me at Hogsmeade yesterday."
"We missed Hogsmeade!"
"What are you doing in here? Why are you kids talking?" Madame Pomfrey came out of her office. "You leave, you kids pull your curtains back around. Especially you Black, you're in no state to use up precious energy."
"Do you know what they are going to do with me?"
"Not yet dear." Pomfrey pulled the curtain back in its place and left the two kids alone.
"You know, it is really good that you're now all better."
"Why?"
"Cuz now we can play the Quidditch match. It's in two weeks, and we haven't had one single practice yet." Tim waited for a response, but there was none.
"Skylar? You sleeping?"
"Hmm, no. Just thinking. Why would they want me? I didn't do anything. My father is just an Auror and mom is just a teacher, well it's Defense but so? I'm not a descendant of Gryffindor or anything. My parents never betrayed anyone."
"Don't know. Hey, we should get to sleep."
"Tim?"
"What?"
"You know what I love about you?"
"What?" Tim pulled the curtain back, to try and see Skylar, but her curtains were still pulled around her bed.
"Everything."
"Same here."
"You love everything about yourself?"
"No, I love everything about you."
"Except for that I tried and kill you?"
"Umm, well you have a nice grip." Sky laughed quietly.
"Thanks." They were silent for a bit, just thinking about the things that happened
"Hey Sky?" There was no answer, except for a small snore coming from the bed next to him.
"Good night." Tim pulled the curtains back around and fell asleep.
Alannah Doors was in the greenhouse with her mother. Skylar and Tim were still in the Hospital Wing, but Harry had already left, since Madame Pomfrey didn't have control over him anymore.
"Is Madame Pomfrey letting people visit them?"
"No, but several kids have snuck in."
"Who?"
"Meg, Erica Malfoy, Jessica, Brittany Weasley, and Niaomi. Sharley was allowed in to give them their homework, but I think she really wanted to buy more pranks."
"You know Mom, I really thought Jessica was the one who put the curse on Skylar."
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. She just seemed the type."
"Honey, Ely is as capable of Dark Magic as Tim has the chance of being Head Boy." Alannah laughed.
Somewhere in a deserted mansion, the Dark Lord was watching over Hogwarts in a crystal ball.
"Don't be so sure Lorna Doors. She is more capable than you think." The voice said.