Legal Disclaimer: I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

Warning: This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if need be.

Author's Note: I'm trying to do a rapid run through a few prompts. As always, when I slap prompts together, I never know what I'll end up with.

Submitting Info:
Stacked with: Hogwarts 2.0 (T03); RAVEN (2024); MC4A (Su-Yr7)
Individual Challenges: Watts; Straight Outta Myth; Student MC [x2]; Condiment Shelf; Major; Heroic Shadow; Polygon; Hogwarts MC [x2]; MoD It; Magical MC [x3]; Sandbox (Y); Cinematic; Reader; Feathers & Such; Dreamers [x2]; Elder Berries; Immortal MC [x2]; Nonhuman MC [x2]; Ethnic & Present [x2]; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Bucket Listing; Eating Cake (Y); Exchange; Greatest Gift; Green Ribbon; Outer Limit; Two Cakes (Y); Crack Addict; Setting Sails; Ship Sails; Bi Bi Bi; Lovely Triangle; Outer; Lunar Era; Gender Bender; Hold the Mayo; Rainbow Connection
Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw
Assignment: Term 03-04
Subject [Task (Prompt)]: Funny Bunny History [Task#1 (someone showing a very different side to them)]
Other Hogwarts Challenges: Gather [Bonus 7 (Druid)](Forbidden Forest); Case [Billiwig](Dialogue/Sapphire Blue); Web (Harry/Blaise/Seamus)[Extra STR (Accidentally Kissing Someone)]; Library [Warsworn](Forest/Woods)
RAVEN Challenges: A&B [39](Investigating); Traits [09](Bold); Color [81](Sapphire); Items [36](Hair Comb/Pin); Set [97](Woods/Forest)
Other MC4A Challenges: Ship (Heroic Shadow)[SpBig (Hair Comb/Pin); SuMic1 (Turned Left Instead); SuMic2 (Dry; Purple; Wide); 5B (Celebratory Kiss)]; Chim [Bobby](Protection; "Carry On My Wayward Son" - Kansas; Race Bent); Hunt [Su WD (Anxiety); Su Set (Cold)]; Fire [Track & Field]; Garden [Tools (Jewelry); Flowers (Fizzy); Bricks (Gender Bend)]
Representation(s): Desi & Fem Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini/Seamus Finnegan; Fey Harry & Blaise; Nosy Seamus; Timeline What Timeline
Primary & Secondary Bonus Challenges: Brooms Only; Lock & Key; Three's Company; A Long Dog; Eternal Boredom; Larger than Life; Unicorn; Second Verse (Ladylike; Not a Lamp; Persistence Still; White Dress; Found Family; Nontraditional; Mother Hen; Spinning Plates; Unwanted Advice); Chorus (Odd Feathers; Fizzy Lemonade; Machismo; Peddling Pots; Mouth of Babes; Tomorrow's Shade); Demo 1 (Trickster's Union; Muck & Slime; One Man's Cow; Most Human Bean; Inky Shadow; Over the Hills; Morrigan's Tentacles; Where Angels Fear; Easy Zephyr; Lovely Coconuts; Casper's House; Bad Beans; Under the Bridge); Demo 2 (Infinity; Hot Stuff; Seven Gates; Creature Feature; Sitting Hummingbird; Jack's Jollies)
Tertiary & Generic Bonus Challenges: T3 (Terse; Toad); SN (Rail; Ameliorate); LiCK (Poppy; Amaranth; Yarrow); FR (Satisfaction; Evolution); Once (Santa Fe; Inchworm); CM (Brier; Navigate; Yogin); War (Sanctuary; Ennui)
Space Address (Prompt): SpB 1E (Thatch); TrB 5C (Death from Above); SuB 1A (Stargazing); AU 3A (Creature); CM 2B (Edge Play);
Word Count: 901 words

(^^)
Walking in the Woods
(^^)

Seamus cursed under his breath as he tripped over yet another root sticking out of the frozen earth. The Forest seemed determined to kill him as he was determined to figure out why Harini was sneaking away in the middle of the night. He had first seen her doing it a month ago. He had stayed up late studying in the common room, late enough that everyone else had gone to bed, and she had come down from the girls dorm well after curfew. He had been about to say something when she had slipped out the portrait hole. She had been out of sight by the time he had reached the door.

He had been trying to follow her every night since. Every night, he seemed to be able to follow her a little farther along whatever path she was taking. At this point, Seamus was fairly certain that the infamous Girl-Who-Lived was meeting someone. He just had no clue who it could be. It couldn't be anyone in the castle, because they would have been smart enough to not leave during the night. At least Seamus liked to think no one else would be stupid enough to risk painful and agonizing death by going into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of a foggy night.

Maybe he should consider his own intelligence and survival instincts. After all, he was in the Forbidden Forest after sunset without a clue about where he was going. He hadn't even lit his wand to augment the moonlight filtering through the canopy. And that moon was full, to act as a nice, fat cherry on top of everything that could go wrong.

"I'm going to die a horrible death," he muttered to himself as he tripped over yet another tree root. He barely managed to catch himself against the wide trunk in time to avoid bashing his face against it. The rough bark bit into the palms of his hands. The scent of blood was sharp as a knife in the cool air. "I'm going to die and my mother will be lucky to have my body for the pyre."

"But it's such a nice body," a voice announced from above him. Seamus let out a yelp and jumped back. Just in time for a dark form to land right where he had been. There was a faint purple glow where eyes would have been. Otherwise, the person was dark enough of skin and hair to blend into the shadows around them both. There was a flash of white as the speaker grinned. "It would be a shame to leave it to rot."

"I'm already dead, aren't I?" Seamus asked. His heart pounded in his chest. The dull thrum of it filled his ears. His thoughts felt fizzy as they raced around inside of him. "Dear gods, I've crossed the Veil. Mum will never forgive me."

"You're funny," the specter declared, sounding genuinely amused. "I might keep you."

"Blaise," Harini said in her normal flat and dry tone. She stepped out from the shadows nearby. She was no longer wearing her school robes like she had been when she had left the castle earlier. In their place, she had on a short-sleeved kirtle that was a light lilac. The surcoat she had on over it was a deep sapphire blue. Her inky hair hung mostly loose rather than pulled into her customary braid. A single silver hair comb dripping with forget-me-knots carved from pale blue topaz kept the right side from falling against her thin face. The pale moonlight illuminated her tan face, making her emerald eyes shine like a cat's.

Suddenly, it occurred to Seamus that there might be something worse than death lurking in the woods. He knew enough widow tales to recognize the signs that he was in the presence of at least one Fair One. During the day, Harini didn't have this same feel to the magic around her. At least, not usually. Her magic was typically as subtle as a cat stalking a mouse.

But there would be moments, mere slips of seconds, when she would burst into something like a star streaking across the sky.

"I wasn't going to hurt him," Blaise whined as he leaned back against the tree trunk behind him. He flashed his white, white teeth in another grin. Seamus shuddered as the moonlight glinted off the many, many points made visible by the expression. "I was only going to eat him."

"No," Harini stated and there was no doubt that the word was an order. She stepped into the too-small space between them. Seamus felt like all of the air had been sucked away from them. He couldn't breathe. She turned suddenly as if alerted to his distress. They were close enough that the motion made their lips brush together in an accidental kiss that was as soft as the flap of a butterfly's wings. She let out a startled sigh of breath.

"Why do I always listen to you?" Blaise complained as he leaned over her shoulder to sniff shamelessly at Seamus' neck. Seamus shivered as what could only be the tip of Blaise's tongue flicked over the same bit of skin. "This one would be so tasty, too."

"There's other ways to die," Harini whispered against Seamus' lips.

Seamus pressed forward, willing to die a thousand times to more of a taste.