exploring the tower

[Alex Mosier]

Alex ran for the North Tower. He heard stories of these magical homesteads and new that a place like the North Tower had to have a fascinating history and if anyone was to discover it, it would be him. He checked his bag and made sure he had his wand and his copy of "Self-Defensive Spellwork". Perhaps he could find a quite place to practice a few of these spells, but he would need a test subject. As he hurried up the corridor he spotted a girl about his age standing there. From here she just spilled the essences of Ravenclaw. Not that that is a bad thing, but it was quite obvious. Maybe he could practice on her? As this thought entered his head he couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. As he approached and began to come to a stop, he reached his hand out in welcome and said, “Hello, my name is Alex.” He looked at the girls face, and before she could answer, he already knew that it would be wrong to practice on her. “I was just about to go exploring the tower. Would you like to join me?”

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi had wandered out of the Ravenclaw House and was now sitting idly on the steps. She was longing for an adventure, and definately wanted to explore the tower so near to her, but courage definately not her strong point. As she let out a sigh, dissapointed in herself, she a noticed someone approaching. She held her breath and tried to act like she hadn't noticed him. The boy was Alex, and he greeted her nicely. His coming has to be some kind of sign , she thought to herself. "Exploring would be a blast! I'm Andi by the way, Ravenclaw. What kind of exploring did you have in mind?" She had already taken a liking to him, especially his bold personality, something she lacked.

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Well, I was planning on scavenging the entire of the tower for some sort of passage or something that will lead us even further into the history of this place. For all we know some tragic murder took place right were we stand, and we don’t even know it! Wouldn’t that be fantastic? Plus, I have this book of defensive spells and stuff I have been looking over for a day or two know and feel ready to try it on something.” The look that struck Andi’s face, something of a cross between surprised and terrified, told Alex to clear things up. “Don’t worry. I don’t mean on you or another person,” Alex slightly coughed, trying to cover the next part, “yet.” Suddenly, his throat cleared. He continued, “Like on a suit of armor or something.”

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi, a little appalled at the fact that Alex found a murder fantastic, AND that he was planning on springing out these spells, questioned whether his company was good or not. She shifted a little bit, but the excited and suspensed look on the boy's face made her laugh. "Alright, let's go!" Andi shot up from where she sat, then blushed as her short stature became very obvious. She let show a shy grin and started heading up the cold stone stairwell of the tower.

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Wait. What’s that look?” said Alex as he saw a slight grin come across the girl’s face. It was one of those little smiles that, little as it is, shouts, “I know something you don’t know!” or lets people know that you have a little inside joke that you just haven’t shared yet. “Well, tell me as we go. Oh, and tell me if you see anything interesting.” The Two began to walk.

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi started to blush as the two walked through dim, stone passageways. "Nothing, nothing," she was still laughing inside. The boy's enthusiasm was really something! The two continued walking, eyes darting every which way, looking for something 'interesting'. Soon the corridor, which had been completely bare so far, ended ubruptly at steep stairwell. Something about Alex's boldness and enthusiasm made her want to go on. A smug smile appeared on her, "Let's go!"

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Ok, now is it ‘ladies first’ with you, or would you rather me go?” Alex didn’t wait for an answer, to be honest, he wanted to go first. The thought of plunging into the dark abyss that stood before them intrigued him more then he though. “Lumos,” he said nice, loud, and clear. The tip of his wand flickered a nice red color, then as he treaded forward, seem to glow weaker and weaker in the almost painful dark that over took him. “Are you coming?” he shouted back up the steps after he had gotten so deep he couldn’t she where he started, and was sure she couldn’t see him.

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi thought it a little strange as Alex rushed ahead without waiting for her answer. He was well on his way before she hissed, "Lumos" at her wand, and trudged up the stairs behind him. She couldn't see him well, but heard him call after her. She felt a little stubborness swell, "Yeah, I'm coming!" She grumbled a little to herself and took a few more steps, but suddenly, she was stuck. Andi wriggled her legs a little, but her feet were planted firmly; she couldn't move them. As fear began to run over and adrenaline began to rush through her veins, she looked down at her feet, which were a few inches into the stone. She tried to call out to Alex, but something muffled the cry as it covered her mouth. Slowly, the light from her wand faded.

 

[Alex Mosier]

"Andi," called out Alex. "Andi! Where are you? Wh-What? Watch out... bloody hell, me feet have seemed to have sunk into the ground! This is amazing, I wondering what kind of magic this is! Ah, maybe there is something down here that isn't supposed to be seen by the student! Or, even better, what if it is to be hidden from the teachers! We finally found something intresting, how great!. It seems that someone has hexed the floor, but I have not tried the Hex-Deflection in the book yet! It is a nonverbal spell! Well, here goes nothing!" Alex lifted his wand a focused only on the floor lifting them out and returning to normal. 20 minutes went by and he couldn't tell if anything had happened, he was too busy worrying if Andi was ok. "Thats it!" Alex sat in complete silence and cleared his mind. Finally, he scremed, in his head of course, and a bright blue vapor shot from the tip of his wand to the ground that was engulfing them.

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi felt some sort of binds around her. That, along with her heart beating out of her chest, made her feel like she would soon pass out. Thankfully, the panic-stricken girl soon saw a bright blue light flash. She then saw someone's outline, and she painfully hoped that the person was Alex. She started to wriggle and felt the castle wall against her back, with her binds holding her against it. "This is madness!" she was shouting in her head, "the school year hasn't even started and ALREADY I'm in a bind!" She scowlded herself for the bad pun, then quickly remembered her predicament. Finally, she saw help on the way! Alex rushed up to her, lighting the whole scene, and revealing Andi, bound to the wall with some type of old-fashioned ropes. There were no traces of anyone else having been there, no footprints where Andi's feet had sunk into the stone, there was nothing! The girl's head was rushing so badly, she didn't even hear the quick spell that Alex used to free her from her binds, which easily gave up the fight. "Seems like something is guarding its territory," Andi gasped.

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Whoa, I didn't see anyone else, but you have just encountered the Incarcerous, it’s a spell that causes a series of thick ropes to bind the enemy. That’s not a hex or anything; someone has to cast it upon you. I used the Impediment to stop, or at least slow , the movement of the ropes, then just used the blasting curse. To be honest, if I would have missed, I could have killed you, or at least that’s what it says here. Ha, the year hasn’t even started and I might have killed someone. Well, at least I haven’t, that was lucky. So,” Alex continued almost as enthusiastically as before, or as when they both started, “shall we move forward?”

 

[Andi Darnall]

Still gasping for air, Andi was both shocked and a little horrified that Alex was still so enthused to go forward. "You're serious? What if he, or she, or it comes back?" Her voice sounded a little frantic, and she very much didn't like the way it echoed in the stairwell. She could tell by his eyes and his smirk that Alex had every intention of moving forward, with or without her. "He did save me once already, proved himself pretty capable," she rolled the thoughts around in her head, "and I do love all of this excitement." Andi could tell this boy wouldn't stand still for much longer, and she didn't like the eerie feeling of this spot, herself. With a sigh and a reluctant smile, "Alright, let's go! But we're sticking together this time!"

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Okay, great, let’s go!” said Alex as he lifted his wand. “Lumos!” His wand tip lit with the same vibrant red glow as before. “You ready?” Alex waited for Andi to give a little nod. “Let’s go!” He set off down the long corridor at a fast walk. He listened very carefully as he went. As they walked, he suddenly came to a stop. “Here, no, which way shall we go? Feel, right here, the floor got hallow, and here’s the door. So, do we fallow the hall, or go down the trap do?” Alex waited for Andi’s response this time, but when she didn’t do anything he said, “As Robert Frost said, I took the path less traveled. The trap door it is.” Alex felt around on the ground and found the long heavy chain. He hoisted it up and began to pull. The door was much heavier then he would have thought. After he had it fully open, they were able to see the dark, eerie, purple light coming through and were suddenly cold. “Ha, fantastic, now, I’ll go first.”

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi was more than a little worried, but she was also itching to go on. She gladly let Alex go first down the curiously black steps. They proceeded down a little slower than before, maybe for precaution, or maybe for cold. The deeper the two drifted into the strage purple light, the colder things became. Not only in the temperature, but a cold that was felt inside out. Andi knew that this must be some sort of dark magic, but she thought better than to say anything, thinking that Alex might start cheering. So on they trudged, wand at the ready. Andi noted that her own hand began to shake, but she kept a firm grip on her wand. Just as suddenly as the stairs had begun, they came to a stop. The pair found themselves in a small, open chamber, slightly lit in the purple light that still gave the girl a shudder. She could tell Alex wouldn't settle with the dead end, and he progressed to go around the small room. Andi stood where she was, at the foot of the stairs, sending her light this direction and that. Soon the two heard a loud crash, like that of an old door being shut. Something in the room began to move.

 

[Alex Mosier]

"Freeze!” shouted Alex holding his wand up. The shadowy figure sat perfectly still, it’s red eyes staring at the tip of the wand. The figure made a quick jerking motion, but neither took Alex nor Andi tool time to see why. Andi let out a scream of terror and Alex shouted, “Stupefy!” The figure fell to the floor and Andi stood still. Alex sprinted over and began to flip it over, but then the creature violently struck Alex across the chest and through him to the side, it began to advance on Andi. Alex, now growing short of breath, raised his wand with the little strength and said nothing. He focused his wand on the figure and thought about the Homorphus Charm. Suddenly the figure became that of a man. After falling to the ground and tearing through his own skin to release his human form. After looking down at his hands it made for the door. Before it got out, Alex yelled, "Blastero!” but missed and blew a hole through the door, which the man used to escape. After seeing the man run out, everything fell dim, or at least it did to Alex.

 

[Andi Darnall]

Still a little in shock, Andi first turned to see the beast escape, then quickly turned back to Alex. She tried to elevate his head, checking his pulse, and observing the scratches on his chest. "Oh, what was that bandaging spell?" she whispered to herself. "That's it! Ferula." she whispered as she ran her wand over Alex's fresh wounds. "You're lucky I'm such an avid reader." she joked to the half-concious boy. Soon his chest was cleaned and dressed, and Andi sat patiently while his eyes began to flicker open. "Alex, can you hear me? Are you alright? That was some show! The thing, whatever it was, got away, but you were fantastic!" Her face was cheery despite the terrifying events of the afternoon.

 

[Alex Mosier]

Alex flickered his eyes open and looked around, and his head felt heavy. "Ok, well, I am going to go up to the hospital wing, make sure that everything is all good, then I'll personally be back, you may feel more then welcome to join me."

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi was happy to see him alright. "Of course, I'll come with you. Here, let me help you up." Alex, however, didn't readily accept the help. Being very independant, he stood up on his own. The two walked back up the stairs, and headed toward the hospital wing. Still slightly shaken, Andi kept her clenched tightly in her fist. She thought the walk might be more comfortable with some conversation. "So," she questioned, "do you have any idea what that was? I mean, I could take a guess or two, but I didn't really get a good look." She looked up at him; she had to admit, he had just put up quite a fight and was now walking casually down the corridor as if nothing had happened.

 

[Alex Mosier]

“Well, there is only one reason that the Homorphus Charm that I did worked. That thing had to have been a werewolf. Does a werewolf infect you if it scratches you?” Alex, for the first time, felt kind of scared. What if he was infected?

 

[Andi Darnall]

Andi looked up at him with sympathy and for the first time, saw a shudder of fear in him. "Well, of course, I've read alot on the subject. And.. well... it's debatable, Alex. When it comes to the scratch of a werewolf, everything depends on the depth of the wounds, if there was anything on his claws that might infect you, it just depends." She had been looking down, but now tried to look back up to him. "But.. I... I'm sure you're alright. I mean, you probably would've felt some sort of instant effect had an infestation of some sort taken place."

 

[Alex Mosier]

"Well, lets go to the hospital wing, just to be on the safe side."