If a bunch of Tournament Champions could do it, Casey could fend off a bunch of acromantulas too.

Since there was no hope for a 'Four school tournament, Fifth school extra champion flub' like what had happened to Potter, there was no way Casey could actually compete. But observing the First Task had inspired him. Acromantulas. Out of all the magical creatures mentioned in class acromantulas interested Casey the most. Huge, frightening, could scale most vertical surfaces, deadly venom, capable of learning speech at older ages, spins strong entrapping webs of acromantula silk. A deadly and efficient killing machine, making them a glorious and spectacular first task of the tournament.

And beating one appeared easy. Just the sort of challenge Casey craved.

He moved silently through the Forbidden Forest, a light held aloft. Not his wand light, but his Hand of Glory. It provided light only to the holder and accomplices. He could see the forest in unusual shimmering daylight that shone from the candle in the hand, making the forrest appear more surreal as light never passed this far through the canopy, even in the daytime. Most of the creatures in the woods had stellar night vision or other senses. This was just leveling the field.

Casey's wand was poised at the ready, otherwise. Noises that could unnerve a first year could be heard in the distance. Casey knew he wasn't close yet, to get to the acromantula colony you traveled in a certain direction. But he could always encounter one before, or another creature.

The idea of the hunt had thrilled him for weeks. It had to be planned carefully. Not immediately after the first task, yet not too far after. It would be good for the acromantula to be settled after their part as the obstacles but to still catch them as they were ruffled by the handling from the tournament organizers. Having his Invisibility Cloak would have been an added bonus but such things could not be received quickly if you didn't want unnecessary attention. Though he did have another ace up his sleeve. Or rather, following nervously behind him...

Dingy was lingering closely to the legs of Master Casey, pot clutched on Dingy's head with both hands. Dingy always did what Master Casey ordered but this was the most scary thing Master Casey had ever told Dingy to do. Dingy would take a paperweight to the helmet from Dingy's other masters and mistresses than go through with this but Dingy could not let Master Casey come to harm.

Dingy couldn't understand why Master Casey was doing this. "M-M-Master?" Dingy's teeth were chattering too hard to speak.

Master Casey looked down at him. "It will be fine, Dingy. We will apparate out if there is grave danger."

Dingy could not argue with that logic after Master Casey had refuted the initial complaint. Yes, that was why Dingy was here, to keep Master Casey safe when master was in danger. Master Casey was careful and would not put himself into unnecessary danger.

Yes, that is what Dingy thought.

So facing a full grown Acromantula (or even an adolescent one) wasn't exactly on the top of everyone's 'Things to do before leaving Hogwarts' list but Dahlia had found the prospect rather fascinating. Of course she wasn't trying to purposely put herself in danger, that sort of risk taking and thrill seeking was better suited to her twin brother, but she was fully prepared to face them if she needed to. Finding Acromantula silk meant she would have to be in an area they lived in which brought the possibility of seeing one a lot higher.

Dahlia's new fascination had come completely by accident. During her incessant research into hormones, emotions and why Witches and Wizards acted the way they did around each other Dahlia had stumbled across something that had taken her attention away from the problem at hand. While researching both Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff (some of the most notable Witches in Hogwarts history) she had come across the mention of Rowena's secret library. It was rumored that the Library contained all the tomes of Rowena's vast knowledge and was hidden somewhere within the castle, much like the Chamber of Secrets had been hidden by Salazar Slytherin. Only the most clever would be able to discover it's location and Dahlia had a few places she thought no one before had looked. Unfortunately those locations had been near impossible to reach. Following the trail of her new obsession, Dahlia came across a potion she decided would be her best shot to reaching one of the possible locations of the library - a wall climbing potion. Much like the name suggested the potion would allow her to scale walls and ceilings, allowing her to explore places of the castle those before her would not have been able to reach. However the main ingredient for the potion was Acromantula silk.

Dahlia climbed over another downed tree trunk. She had ditched her school uniform in favour of more comfortable and easy moving clothing, a pair of tights and a sweater with hiking boots. Her long raven hair was braided around the crown of her head to keep it out of her way, a pack of supplies was tight against her back and her wand secured in her pocket. A bottle of blue bell flames was tied to her belt to light her way through the dark under bush. She had a good general idea of where she was going, though it wasn't as if she could actually ask someone where the Acromantula's Hollow was. She didn't plan on going directly into the Hollow, that would have been rather foolish of her, but she deduced that she'd be able to get a decent sample of silk without going into the nest itself. From her research on the beasts she figured there would be plenty of silk in a radius around the actual hollow, decreasing her chances of having to come face to face with one of the giant spiders.

She glanced around the forest trying to think of which way to go next. She veered off to the left as the trees in that direction grew closer together. She knew that the hollow would be in the densest part of the forest where the giant spiders would be able to make their large domed webs. Even with their patriarch having been dead for over a decade she knew the colony was rather large and would be continuing to grew which meant the hollow was likely much larger than it was even a few years before. Thankfully that gave her a greater chance of coming across uninhabited parts of the web.

Despite the chill of the night Casey was sweating with anticipation. Two fingers pulled out the collar of his shirt. He had lingered in the school uniform pants and shirt, bare of vest or tie or any house markings. The most casual Casey would get.

He wondered if the forest always looked this unusual or if it was the work of his Hand of Glory. For providing light no one on the outside could see, it didn't seem to cause shadows. He hadn't realized in the chaos of the St. Mungo attack when instant darkness powder was left in the upper floor. Unlike the long shadows cast from the light of a regular flaming torch, the light here was all penetrating. Odd, seeing no shadows across the rocks and trees, not missing their absence until a magical device such as this was used.

He had to be getting close by now. His eyes scanned for the tell tale signs of webs, the domed silk structures of the colony.

Something rustled up ahead. Or rather, skittered, which was just the noise his ears were straining for.

Casey signaled for Dingy to stay close and silent. He crouched behind a fallen tree, confirming that the sound was close. He knew the creatures of the forest wouldn't see him in the light but they could sense him in other ways if he moved quickly.

After a moment Casey peered over the top of the log. He was not disappointed.

Ok, somewhat disappointed.

There was an acromantula in the clearing ahead. Not the exact den of the spider beasts but a dirt area that must have gotten consistent traffic. The acromantula must be on it's own hunt, or out to inspect webs. It looked very much like the creatures in the task only...

"It seems small" Casey whispered. A younger acromantula, potentially. Casey couldn't remember all the details about a mature acromantula but it had the proper size class, fangs and thickness of black hair. It might be the only one he could catch alone. He'd seen the champions fend off two or three at once but Casey was not going to risk being swarmed by the acromantulas in their familiar habitat.

"Alright Dingy." Casey's instructions were barely audible given how close he was to his elf. "Find a high spot to keep an eye on it. If it gets too far away from me or appears to be heading towards its lair, scare it off."

"H-H-H-How?" The word was minced by the elf's chattering teeth.

"You'll probably be up in a tree. Make a branch fall or something. Be creative. Now go."

Dingy went one direction and Casey trailed after the acromantula, leaving a line of trees between his quarry as it moved, waiting for it to slow. Finally it did at one trap, a high wall of webs stretched between the arc of two trees. The acromantula paused, beginning its work.

Casey shielded himself behind a tree. An inhalation of breath. Right, time for Casey to show that his might was equal to that of the champions.

To open with, the spell specifically for defense against spider creatures. Casey whipped around the tree. "Arania Exumai!"

The blast knocked the acromantula sideways, bashing it against the support tree of its trap. Casey ducked behind his cover. The acromantula was hissing angrily, its pincers clicked together. It didn't sound like it was getting closer. Casey peered out. As he had thought, a single blast wasn't enough to take it down. The acromantula was on all eight of its feet again, away from Casey's line of fire by crawling through a gap in the support of its web.

Casey darted out from his tree, stepping lightly as he could. Before he could establish line of sight again with the oversized spider he found his way blocked. The web! The support to the web had been damaged enough that it was falling, threatening to entrap Casey.

"Argh!" Strands of silk fell across his shoulders and arms. The flames of his Hand of Glory did nothing to interact with the web. What was worse, the clicking of the acromantula grew louder and Casey could see, past the strands obscuring his vision, the gleam of non detectable light in the many eyes of the acromantula. It must sense prey.

Dingy was going to freak if he didn't get out of this.

There was some flexibility with his wand arm. Casey brought his wand across in slashing motions against the webs, spell-light cracking after his slashes as if Casey had been fracturing the air.

A hiss came from the acromantula as Casey freed himself. The noise horrified him until he realized that it must be a cry of pain. The magical cuts he made against the web had continued on to reach the gigantic spider, now fleeing yet again.

"Master!"

Dingy was running up from behind. Casey made a gesture to indicate silence but Dingy was not complying. He kneeled to the elf's level. It never took much distance for Casey and Dingy to see eye to eye.

"I'm fine!" He gripped Dingy by the shoulders. "It'll get away if we don't chase after it!"

"But Dingy was so worried about master. Dingy did as he was told but he did not see master or the spider in the dark of the forest."

"What?" This warranted a pause. Was there some unknown limitation to the Hand of Glory he didn't know about? "But you saw me. Now. Isn't that how you found me?"

"D-D-Dingy couldn't find Master Casey until appeared bright before Dingy."

Bright? He didn't mean right...? Casey pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course, he had dismissed Dingy with that action to scout from above,  meaning he was no longer an accomplice to the magical light of the Hand of Glory. Only until Casey, the holder of the light, accepted the elf back had the light shone for him.

"New plan: we stick together, no more than ten yards apart. No matter what happens stay out of sight until I need you, got it?"

The elf nodded, clutching his pot. Casey resumed his task of hunting an acromantula. Only given the time this distraction had taken the din of the wounded acromantula was distant in an unidentifiable direction. If Casey had just blown his chance...

Then he saw the dark substance on the ground. Blood. Or whatever juices flew out from an acromantula. He didn't touch it in case it was venom but he noted the unique reflective sheen it had under Hand of Glory light.

"Come on," Casey instructed his elf as they followed after the blood trail.

Taryn moved through the Forbidden Forest with the steady, careful steps of someone used to navigating wildlife terrain in the dark. She could almost imagine that she was back in Texas, wandering one of the camps or dude ranches scattered across the Davis Mountains. Only the trees there were limited to mesquite and unusually tall cacti, and the average incline tended to shift between flat-as-a-board and thirty degree angles with no middle ground. Also, it was considerably colder here and she tasted more moisture in the air than the desert could allow even after a rain.

So maybe it was nothing like Fort Davis. But the rhythm of careful steps and scanning the ground for dangers was familiar enough that she could lose herself in its pattern, letting go of the memories that had driven her into the forest in the first place,[1] for a little while, at least.

Her way was guided by the soft light of a Lumos spell, glowing faintly at the tip of her wand. She held it aloft so that the beam would cover as much as possible. Her other arm held the tarp bag which carried the box she'd received during the First Task. She'd brought it along on instinct -- it was part of her sleeping problem, after all -- but now that she'd come all the way here, she'd started to wonder what the point had been. What was she expected, for Mosag or Androcles to saddle up and give her a hint? Or open it for her? It was nonsense.

Still, it was much too late to turn back now. She'd been lucky enough to make it out here without meeting any teachers or their student watchdog whatchamacallits -- perfect somethings.  The forest spread before her in all directions. The trail curved through the trees with the winding intent of someone exceptionally large but also unusually careful and mindful of the environment they disturbed. Taryn recognized the style. Though this trail was more overgrown than the one they took to their Care of Magical Creature's lessons, she'd come to admire Hagrid's handiwork. And if anyone knew where to find the spiders, it was Hagrid.

A bush rustled close to Taryn's left. She froze, scanning the forest floor on instinct. No snakes. Taryn turned her wand on the bush, but whatever had been there was already long gone, leaving only a thick, dark liquid that caught just enough light to be visible against the leaves. Taryn lowered her bag to the ground and gathered a bit of the liquid on her fingers, holding it up to wandlight. She recognized its color against her skin. Acromantula blood.

Her heart skipped a beat. Were they still hurting out here? Had she made a mistake, leaving the potion behind? What could have hurt them, here in their natural habitat?

...and was that footstep?

Taryn held her breath and her body as still as humanly possible. Her ears strained. After a moment, they caught the sound again -- twigs and roots and grass crushed beneath the weight of a creature's step. Close. Taryn lifted her wand and turned from the greenery, spreading pale light over the path, but found herself very much alone.

A vaguely cone-shaped mass nudged her side. She imagined that it must be a sort of snout. By the light of her wand, she could make out a soft shadow, indistinct but undeniably real. A tongue lapped at her free hand. The blood disappeared into nothing.

A thestral. Here.

After a moment's hesitation, Taryn turned her hand to cup the creature's snout. She'd expected something soft -- they were meant to be horse-like -- but found only bone and thick teeth. The dry tongue tasted her skin again but, finding it lacking, turned away.

"Hey there," she whispered, trailing her hand up its face to find its neck. "Hold on, don't go. It's okay."

Would the beast even respond to someone who couldn't see it? Taryn didn't know. It didn't seemed interested in leaving just yet. Instead, it stepped carefully around her, arching its neck to get to the bush and its blood. With each step, she felt its bones shift beneath her hand. She reminded herself sternly that they were not creatures to be feared. They'd carried Dumbledore and his Army and even Harry Potter, for crying out loud. They did not bring death. They only bore witness.

The neck beneath her hand suddenly moved, ducking towards the ground. Taryn lowered her wand light and saw her bag rocking back and forth on the uneven ground. "Hold on now," she said to the thestral, pushing its shoulder. "Don't chew on that, buddy. I ain't got any food."

The thestral paused. She heard its hoof scrape against the forest floor. Was it her imagination, or did it sound impatient? And then it was back to messing with the bag, trying, perhaps, to push the draw-string open with its snout. Taryn hesitated. It couldn't be. Could it?

She knelt, feeling the box's shape through the tarp. It was right-side-up. Good. "You want this?" she asked the thestral. "Okay. Hold on." Tucking her wand behind her ear, she undid the string. The bag fell open, leaving the box and its thestral-shaped keyhole completely exposed.

1.

Insomnia

Dahlia had no real sense of time or direction as she moved through the forest. She kept telling herself that she was going the right way. The more she moved forward, the darker the forest seemed to get and the trees grew closer and closer together, at least she could be sure she wasn't going around in circles. She was sure she'd be getting closer to the lair soon enough, she just had to keep moving.

The small flicker of blue flames kept the under-brush around her lit so she didn't trip over anything but it also kept the rest of the forest in almost complete darkness. She couldn't see anything more than a few feet around her. She tried to ignore most of the sounds she came across, any that weren't the distinct scuttle of arachnae legs. This deep in, any number of dark and dangerous creatures could be stalking her but she did her best to pay them no attention. She had a one track mind, and that track was leading her straight into one of the most dangerous parts of the forbidden forest.

Dahlia climbed over another downed tree and paused. The crunch under her boot was not so much a crunch and when she looked down she noticed the twigs and leaves under her boot were tangled in a soft wispy substance, "Acromantula silk." She sighed, the sample she had just trampled on wasn't clean enough to be used in her potion. She was going to need something a little fresher, or at least cleaner which meant she needed to go just a little deeper.

Careful with where she stepped Dahlia ventured further until she came across a glistening part of the webbing, catching the moonlight as if it had just been spun. She placed down her pack down and began to pull out some tools. She used a small pair of scissors and sliced through the glistening silk, gently placing each severed piece into a crystal phial. She was so focused on the task at hand she hadn't heard the whisper of foot steps, the soft sound of a smaller acromantula creeping up on her. The creature didn't seem to be all that happy that she was destroying his recent handiwork. Dahlia collected her last slice, making a nice round dozen and tucked the phials back into her pack. She turned to leave and froze. The small creature was only five feet away now inching forward and clicking it's pinchers.

Dahlia had figured she'd been prepared for this sort of thing, that she'd be ready to face it but now that she was here she couldn't stop herself. She opened her mouth and let out a blood curdling scream.

It was indeed a thestral lured this far into the forest, sniffing the ground for a rare type of blood. It was then the thestral saw the build of a familiar figure. But it was not the figure the thestral thought it was. Big and tall, yes, but that of a female student. One that was fumbling when trying to handle it.

There was an odd scent in her bag. The thestral made a derisive snort to Taryn's Dickenson's suggestion. It nosed the box in her bag, an object of wood and not blood or meat.

Then the box opened and the spirit sprang forth, a wraith of blue wisps. It shone ethereal blue in the darkness of the forest but the gleam of its light barely brightened the space. As the spirit was freed from the box it turned to face Taryn and spoke in an echoing voice unlike those heard on the earth:


The message done, a new clue revealed, the spirit faded away. The thestral, surprised by this phantom, blinked at the air where the spirit had dissolved before stepping away to search for more acromantula blood.

Then its ears pricked. From the distance came a young girl's scream...

It took a precious number of unknown minutes to find Casey's quarry. He sensed that the acromantula he had yet to conquer was close, just a short ways up ahead. He didn't know which way they were going but if it got close to the hollow the colony had established, the fight could be tough...

It happened just as the way rose up between two trees. Casey heard it. Scant yards away there was a girl screaming. In a single horrified moment his lightening quick mental processes took in the information. Though the light of the Hand of Glory illuminated the scene for him the girl, a younger student, had her own light of bluebell flames. And there was the very acromantula he had been hunting, now menacing on a new victim.

Irregardless of what was actually going on, whatever reason there would be for such a young student to be out this far in the forest, three was one reflective thought.

Someone was being attacked by an acromantula and it was his fault.

Option) Turn back and forget you saw this. Yeah right. As if Casey could imagine directly or indirectly killing someone, as brutal as he was in duels.

Option) Rescue her because this was your fault and she could be dead within minutes. Which he really should be doing at this very moment before the acromantula ate her but...

But...

I can't be identified with this.

Even if the girl didn't know him, Casey O'Doherty was easy enough to place once you recognize the sickly, stooped build. That left one other possibility.

"I want you to hold this for me and keep the area well lit." Casey forced the Hand of Glory into Dingy's hands. He was not about to let another blunder with the artifact screw things up.

"What is Master doin--"

"There's no time! And take this!" It took a second of scrabbling but he pulled the amulet out from under his shirt. There wasn't an exact moment where one form turned into another but Casey felt the odd familiarity of his second skin. Next on the disguise: there was no time to get the other elements of his disguise kit so this needed split second charms and transfigurations. Hair. Shoulder length, brown. Rushed thoughts of recalling the wigs to emulate. That should hold for a few minutes.

What next? Uniform. This was the school uniform without the outer layers, shirt and pants only. It couldn't work if he was still wearing pants so...

---

---

There wasn't a mirror to show Hexy just how she looked. It would have to do and Dingy was in no state to comment about the red streak that had found its way into the lengthened brown hair or the lopsidedness of the pants transfigured into a skirt.

"Stay put and keep the light up!" was the last harsh whisper before Hexy ran down from the vantage point. This had all taken place in the span of pivotal seconds. Hopefully it wasn't too late.

"ARANIA EXUMAI!" Hexy shrieked, the blast knocking the acromantula sideways yet again. She ended her pell-mell run in-between the young girl and the monstrous spider that landed several yards away. She was breathing hard. As she stood still aches were stretching across the muscles of her legs and chest. She might have put too much into what could be called very Gryffindor efforts.

“Oh man,” Taryn whispered, staring at the place where the specter had been. “Oh man. Oh man.”

She’d done it. She’d actually opened the box. So that was what the clue had meant, It wasn’t about death or passwords or puzzles. It was just a simple clue. Which meant…

All those hours of research and torture. They’d all been completely pointless.

Goddamn.

She didn’t have time to puzzle out the clue, though, or even to completely process what had happened. No sooner had the specter faded than a scream echoed through the forest. A girl’s scream and young.

Taryn’s head snapped up. “Minnie?” No. No, it couldn’t be her sister. Minnie’d gone home with Mama and Antonia, she was safe back in Texas where nothing could get her. No, that scream belonged to someone else, another student maybe. No time to wonder. They were in trouble.

In one swift motion, she swept box into bag and bag onto her shoulders, taking off along the path with glowing wand raised high. The startled thestral leapt back into thetrees, but Taryn barely heard it leave. She ran, feet pounding, roots and branches snapping beneath her feet like gunshots in the night.

“Hey!” she called, projecting her voice as far as she could muster. On a good night, it’d cover half a football field with ease. “Where are you? Say something!”

"ARANIA EXUMAI!"

There! Taryn skidded, almost losing her footing among the leaves. Eight o’clock, through the threes, she spotted a light. Wand-light. It nearly matched her own. Shadows scuttled through it, two of them human. Younger years, it looked like. Girls. What the hell were they doing here, at this time of night? Didn’t they know the dangers?

There was irony in that thought, but Taryn couldn’t register it now; the other shadows were moving, too. She recognized the lurch of eight powerful legs. Acromantula. She’d found their lair, all right, and now one of those beautiful creatures was bearing down on the younger years from behind, scuttling down an ancient tree.

Taryn leapt. She caught the attacking spider right at the neck and pulled it bodily from the tree. At only half-grown, the creature couldn’t reach her, its legs scrambling wildly at the air. Taryn registered that there was something wrong about it, something different than the ones she’d seen before. Then she reared back and threw it, as hard as she could, into the canopy. With a crash of leaves, the spider disappeared.

Breathless, Taryn rounded on the younger years, brandishing her glowing wand. “What in the sam hill are you two doin’ here?!”

Dahlia had been prepared, she really had. She knew just what spells to use to ward off the giant spiders, she had paid close attention when the Champions had fought them and she had read every single word she could find about them but still coming face to face with one she had frozen. She would have been wrapped in a web right now if it hadn't been for the fact that apparently she wasn't alone in the forest. It always amazed her that for a forbidden out of bounds part of the school there seemed to be a lot more activity then was expected, however this was a thought she could dwell on later for now she had not only one but two rescuers to thank.

Dahlia got to her feet and pressed against her bag making sure it was closed and wouldn't give away why she was here. She wished she was as good at coming up with tall tales as her brother was. Even her older sister could spout lies as easily and gracefully as she spouted gossip. Dahlia however found her mind blank, "I . . . I," nothing, absolutely nothing. Without thinking about it her eyes filled with tears and they started to stream down her face. Her whole body was shaking. Perhaps it was the fact that she knew she couldn't explain herself or maybe it was just the pure terror of what she had just encountered but Dahlia couldn't bring herself to do anything but cry.

She looked from the strange fourth year girl she had never seen before to the half giant she knew had come from Salem. She opened her mouth several times looking like a fish out of water but still nothing came out. If she was lucky she wouldn't have to explain herself and if she was extremely lucky no one would think to check her bag. The last thing she needed was to go through all of this and not have anything to show for it.

Ok, the new plan was to drive the acromantula away and then get the hell out of here. The student behind her, some first or second year, was frightened enough to stay put. Although that was still a barely capable student witch in the middle of the Forbidden Forest at night. Was there a way to get her out but not while Hexy was busy with the acromantula? Certainly not Dingy, that would be rather out of place and another connection back to Casey.

The quickest way to dispatch the acromantula, then, as she couldn't think of what to do with the student quite yet. It was young, injured but aggravated from the spells used against it. A rigorous Incarcerous could bound it up although it would take a lot out of her. She aimed her wand at the spider...

...that was flung into the air!

“What in the sam hill are you two doin’ here?!” said the towering figure of the Salem first task champion. Holy Shi--! That was such an unforeseeable occurrence that Hexy was still in opponent analysis mode. Half giant, large and heavy, spell resistant skin but still try to aim for the eyes, neck or ankles to use her size against her. But get the hell out of the range of her reach but good luck with that as her longer legs make pursuit a breeze for her.

This was hardly fair!

What was worse, her acromantula was flung off into the bush. She could see where given that the Hand of Glory was still working...

...it was darkness for the Salem student and the cowering one, the only lights the bluebell flame of the latter and the recent illumination of the former's wand. Which meant her eyes were still sensitive enough to the dark.

"Lumos Solem!" Hexy directed a beam of powerful light into the half-giant's eyes in an attempt to blind her and then ran past her after the acromantula. As she ran an order was whispered under her breath that she knew Dingy would hear. "Dingy, find the acromantula and get it out of here now!"

"Oh...oh jeez."

The little one -- gold robes, a Hufflepuff, she couldn't be more than twelve -- was crying. Silent tears, no sobbing, but still. Taryn wasn't good with tears.

Hovering awkwardly between them, Taryn glanced at the older Hogwartsian -- who looked unharmed, but the had the deer-in-the-headlights look of someone who was not going to be any help -- before setting her bag on the forest floor and kneeling so she was at the Hufflepuff's eye-level.

"Hey, c'mon hun. Don't cry. It's okay. You're okay. Everything's okay." She tucked her wand behind her ear, tugged a sleeve over her hand and tried, awkwardly, to wipe tears from the smaller girl's face. On her next thought, she used her free hand to steady the girl by the shoulder so she didn't accidentally knock her over. "C'mon, no more of that. Leapin' Laveau. It is way too late for y'all to be out in the dark like this."

Not registering the apparent hypocrisy in that statement, Taryn turned back towards the fourth-year girl. She started to say, "Let's get y'all out of here," but only got three words in before she got hit straight in the face with one of the most powerful light spells known to wizard kind.

Taryn yelped, jerking back and pulling the little Hufflepuff girl behind her on instinct. Her wand arm went up, first over her face in a failed attempt at eye protection, then shooting blindly out at the place where the trickster-faced third-year had been. She felt something -- someone -- stumbled just under her arm and brought it down, snatching for the unseen girl as though trying to catch a mischievous puppy.

"Yeh little marsh-rat what'in the bleeding blazes was that for?!"

Dingy was a good house elf, or at least that was what Dingy considered himself to be. It was hard to say with certain because while Dingy always obeyed Master Casey's orders...

...Master Casey gave very strange orders sometimes, And master kept flinging himself into danger. It happened more and more when master was acting differently.

A simple life of cleaning the castle or having a less demanding family did not compare to life with Mis Master, Master Casey. Dingy had to think consistantly and when these episodes happened Dingy didn't know what to do.

Thus Dingy stood there with a magical torch watching He Casey (the recent Casey or the very young Casey when master was, well, different?) fight off the acromantula as the big student also flung it away. Dingy was relived for master's safety when...

"Dingy, find the acromantula and get it out of here now!"

There was nothing else Dingy could do but follow the order and hoped Master Casey knew what master was doing. Very fretted, the house elf ran off to where the acromantula had fallen and before it got up--

*POP*

Both were away. And that also meant the light of the Hand of Glory stopped working too as it departed with the elf.

In retrospect, going directly towards the last direction Hexy had seen the acromantula was not smart, as moving around the squatting half giant meant she was still in range. Just as smart as sending Dingy off again with the Hand of Glory, now she was the one dismissed from its light brought to the darkness.

"Oof!" the grouping hand struck her shoulder, knocking her over. She fell over and felt the grip like leg brace clamp onto her ankle. Hexy was face flat on the ground wincing at the tightness of the grip and the hard impact along her chest and upper torso. It hurt unlike anything else she had ever felt before.

"Let go of me!" Hexy tried to kick with her other leg but there was no harm should could accomplish with that. She paused in her flailing with sudden horrified self consciousness, reaching awkwardly with her hands to make sure the skirt was down. What the heck, wasn't there supposed to be some 'up-skirt' rule where you couldn't peer up anyone wearing a dress? Maybe it didn't work against another girl, as the Salem Champion was still a girl albeit it a freakishly huge one.

Dahlia started to calm down as Taryn steadied her and clumsily started to wipe her tears away. It was obvious she wasn't all that comfortable with the fact that she was crying and at that moment Dahlia felt like a very stupid little girl despite her twelve almost thirteen years. She wished more than anything that she hadn't broke down in tears, "It was a . .  a  . . " She supposed she was going to say it was a Dare, which seemed like a viable enough excuse however she wasn't able to get it all out when the younger of her rescuers attacked the older.

"Bloody hell!"

Dahlia fell back again and landed hard on her behind as Taryn started to grope around for the other girl. Dahlia simply gaped at both of them. She had no idea what to do. Was it possible that the third year thought the Salem girl was a threat? Was that why she had attacked her? Or was there something more sinister behind it? Was the girl even from Hogwarts? All these and more questions were racing through her head as she watched the two scuffle afraid of interfering.