It was, quite frankly, alarming that she was getting used to this. To being terrified. That whole safe house break-in and now this.

Tia had struggled to keep a hold on the ledge - knowing that if she reached for her wand, she would lose her grip and fall. The noises above were just as horrific a prospect as the fall. Howling, yelling, Fauna's yelling. She couldn't focus on what was being said, and when the howls turned to whimpers that scared her even more. Until her knight in shining armour arrived anyway.

            "I've got you."

Oh, she could have cried! Fauna had a lovely voice but it was lovelier than ever to hear just this moment. Adrestia clasped the offered hand and used it to tug the other witch into a strong hug right away. "Fauna!" she pulled back, looking at the younger witch's face and focusing on her wide blue eyes. "Are you alright?"

Tia's hands went to the side of Fauna's face brushing dark hair behind her ears.

"T-There was something following me. And then I heard something up here!" she ran a thumb down the other woman's jaw, an unconscious soothing gesture. "I thought we were both going to be goners for a second."

It was a drastic statement but Adrestia said it in a flippant way, punctuating with a laugh in spite of the tremor in her words.

"We're okay, we're okay," Fauna repeated, smiling in relief at Tia unharmed, her shaky laughter in her ear. She hugged her tightly, then pulled back to give her a few quick kisses, one-two, each a ward against being separated again. Though she felt like she could look into Tia's warm brown eyes forever, she was listening for any growls in the background and watching for looming shadows at the corners of her vision. They weren't out of the woods yet. But they were here, together.

She glanced around the dark tower, keeping a gentle but firm hold of Tia, in case those goddamn bats flew at them from the windows. She didn't see them circling outside anymore.

"All I did was cast Silencio at it," she almost scoffed, her voice strangely steady despite the hammering of her heart.

"I mean, that's the only spell that had any effect. I don't think it's a wolf, Tia. It could be a doppelganger, or a spirit?" She looked over at the wall where it had disappeared into the stones.

"It ran right-" she paused. "Around me."

It hadn't attacked her outright. It had gone for the stairs instead. Fauna shook her head. She didn't understand why it had stopped, but if that thing had made it down those stairs, where Tia had been, then Tia could have gotten hurt or worse.

"The closer I got to it, the more it seemed to change into me."

Not as she was now, but wearing red robes.

Her brow furrowed at Tia, curious about what she'd seen and how she'd made it here, but aware too, that they should be looking for a way out.

Being reunited with Fauna made her feel safer - and not just because the other witch happened to be an Auror. The sight of her and even the smell of her shampoo, as they kissed and embraced, settled Adrestia's alarm. Safe, yes. She trusted Fauna.

            "The closer I got to it, the more it seemed to change into me."

The realness of their situation returned to mind, and she looked around them as she tried to imagine the creature that had been chased away with a simple silencing charm. Remembering the one that had slowly followed her in the search for Fauna. Tia pulled back her hair, tying it up with the silk scrunchie she sometimes wore around her wrist.

"I found my way to the entrance hall and followed you up here - the door was open," she recounted in a thoughtful voice, dark eyes sliding back across the abyss in the stairs and towards the lower floor. "And there was a crazy howling, and someone... something was following me. I didn't want to look directly at it, I just kept climbing up."

Her head was a muddle. She paused, taking her girlfriend's hand into her own. "When I fell, I saw it. It looked like me, like how I think I look when I'm--" she tripped awkwardly over the words, "-- um, when I'm, you know. Changing. But then it was gone, and you were here, helping me."

No werewolf wanted to see themselves turn. The idea nauseated her; that she was already turning into a monster, against her own will, wasn't that enough? To have to watch it? Unbearable.

"We have to get out of here," Tia murmured, shuddering. "I don't know if I trust the entrance hall. And I left my duffle bag on a window sill, where I broke in."

It sounded like the entity had split into two somehow, or that there could be two entities here in this castle. Fauna gave Tia's hand a gentle squeeze, not wishing the sight of a transformation on anyone, least of all Tia, who had been through enough this year at the safehouse. She could relate a little with how it had felt to hear the creature whimpering and to see it crouched in red robes, as if it were on the brink of death.

But it had still been in human form around Fauna. Tia had faced her own wolf.

"I want to know what this thing is and how to stop it," Fauna murmured, her gaze drifting to the window. If she were with another Auror or had some kind of backup, she would have considered going after the creature-spirit and sorting this out right here and now.

The thought jarred her for a moment. When had she started taking more risks than usual?

Never mind that. Her gaze softened as she looked at Tia.

"You know what though, you're right. We need to focus on getting out of here. There's no one else here, that I know of. No one to try to save," she added sheepishly.

There was just the two of them, which meant that Fauna's number one priority was Tia's well-being. Fauna could always come back later with an Auror or a Level Nine person who lived for this wonky shit.

"My bag is..."

Where was her bag?

"On my back."

Fauna laughed a little. Ok. They were ok.

"I don't trust the entrance hall either. Did you see the fireplace in the Great Hall? It lit up at one point, with actual fire, during all the howling. I'm thinking we need to find a working floo. We could try apparating down to the first floor and looking for some floo powder. If we can't find it quickly, maybe we should just head out the way you broke in."

No separating this time. They would get Tia's stuff at some point, but Fauna was most worried about a way out.

She looked around the tower, where the fireplace was dim and the candle had blown out. Fauna ran a finger across the dusty mantel - it came up green.

             "I want to know what this thing is and how to stop it."

Tia's eyes did not leave her girlfriend's face - there was something about the way Fauna spoke just now. It made her sound like a fully fledged auror. Of course she knew that was inevitable; but it was odd. Fauna was Fauna before she was an auror, in Adrestia's eyes. Now the two identities overlapped intimately even when they weren't in the shadow of the Ministry of Magic.

"Floo sounds good," she shook off her thoughts for the time being, to focus on their present. "Although I hope another... freak accident doesn't happen. Whatever is that brought us here."

All of this started with the floo, so it was right to end this way too. Tia followed Fauna to the tower fireplace and used her wand to light the candle while the other witch examined its floo capabilities. She picked up the candle then, glancing at Fauna's green thumb. "Okay, so, that's out exit."

Merlin help her, it better be! Adrestia knelt down to rouse the fire at its hearth, letting the candle flame catch on the twigs of old wood that hadn't yet burned up.

"Okay. How about we leave my stuff for now?" she looked up, brow wrinkled with thought. "It's right at the window sill, I can get it back without even having to step foot in this place again if I have to."

Fauna, knowing she would laugh about it later, scooped up the rest of the green floo powder that had been scattered on the mantle. It mixed with a cloud of dust, making her sneeze.

With the handful of powder in her hand, she nodded at Tia's suggestion. They'd definitely come back for Tia's stuff. It shouldn't be too hard to check the Floo network to find this place again, and Fauna needed to report the haunted castle to the Ministry so no one else got hurt.

They were ready to go!

"Tioman Island, or somewhere closer to start?"

Her brow furrowed. The most important thing was to get away from this island, but she was itching to go on their holiday, too!

She looked at Tia, a warm smile flickering on her face, her gaze affectionate.

"Hey," Fauna held out a hand, a playful undertone to her voice. "You found me."

Tia had! The Auror might have zapped the monster (eventually), but Tia had broken into the castle and hung on a ledge to reach her. Fauna appreciated her for it more than she could say.

Hands clasped, they'd escape together, wherever they landed.

Fauna was so focused on the fire in the hearth, and the little light from the candle, that she didn't notice the shadows lengthening on the walls behind them, or the hair sticking up on the back of her neck, or the growl, low and rumbling under the crackling of the flames...

            "You found me."

They clasped hands. Adrestia smiled back at her girlfriend, trusting. Oh, she knew that life was only going to get more interesting around Fauna. She thought that what she needed, after being turned into a werewolf all those years ago, was nothing but peace and quiet. Her maps, her museum, her mentoring.

Eh, screw that. Peace and quiet could come later, or at intervals. In for a knut, in for a galleon.

"I know," she replied, as oblivious to the surrounding shadows, her eyes only for the other witch. "It's almost as if I like you or something, right?" Tia winked and squeezed Fauna's hand again. But that's when she heard it. The growl.

She didn't want to turn around but her happy expression had dropped like a stone. "Fauna. The Leaky Cauldron." Adrestia's voice came out with a tremor and she gripped her wand tightly in her other hand. "Now. Now now now."

Tia liked her. They liked each other. Fauna grinned, already aware of that, but giddy as she'd been at the very start of this adventure to hear it.

At the shift on Tia's face, Fauna's expression changed too, her mouth thinning in grim resolve. Before she even heard the growl, or saw the shadows surrounding them, Fauna's back tensed, every instinct shouting at her to draw her wand and turn and face the damned thing.

But her gaze remained locked with Tia's, and she threw the green powder into the fire.

They stepped inside.

"The Leaky Cauldron!"

A screech filled the air, rushing into the flames to reach them. Fauna kept a hold of Tia's hand and imagined the Leaky Cauldron, her stomach lurching as other locales spun past them.

They stumbled out into the old pub, Fauna clutching Tia.

The low hum of chatter stopped for a moment as patrons turned to look at them curiously. Fauna turned to face the fireplace, her eyes wide.

The flames crackled, low and gentle. The green firelight seemed to chase away the shadows.

Fauna let out a breathless chuckle, straightening her scratchy yellow cloak and adjusting the shoulder strap of her transfigured overalls.

They'd made it!

Considering their last floo trip had landed them in this mess, Tia was apprehensive. But she was much more afraid of what might happen if they didn't jump into the hearth all at once; afraid they would get split up again, afraid she would see her werewolf self once more.

If it weren't for Fauna, she would have fallen and rolled forward when they found themselves thrown up before the Leaky Cauldron fireplace. The two witches clutched at each other - both in wildly inappropriate clothes for a chilly February. Adrestia patted herself to make sure she was still in one piece while Fauna turned around to look at the fire.

All here! Feet, knees, elbows, hands, head (very important). The other woman chuckled, and she glanced at her with a relieved smile. Across the pub, one of the bartenders laughed. Maybe they were laughing at her neon pink sandals, or the magenta tankini she had paired with her dungarees.

Or this was just another Saturday on Diagon, and they were laughing at something else entirely.

Tia didn't care. She threw her arms around Fauna, hugging her tightly. "Next time, we take a portkey!" she exclaimed, betrayed by the tremor in her voice.