Trying to find 'The Room'

[Chace Harker]

Chace frowned a bit. "I'm not so sure, but it's worth a try," the Slytherin replied after a moment's hesitation. He waited for the Gryffindor to try it out, not positive that you could use one spell to affect another. Despite his doubts he hoped he was wrong, considering that he wouldn't mind being out of this inky darkness. He wasn't used to being in such close proximity to another person, and that in itself was uncomfortable, if reassuring.

The Slytherin was still thoroughly baffled by this girl's obsession with werewolves. He cringed a bit as he looked around, afraid that at any moment something would jump out at them. Staying close to Andromeda, Chace pondered the situation. It was rather odd, and unhealthy, he thought, to be so obsessed about something. He shrugged. He didn't have much to say about werewolves except that he hoped he never ran into one. At least, not in full form. If he had met one, he'd rather not know. "Yeah, I guess," he responded quietly, his voice trailing. He had never really gotten into the fight for the rights of any magical being, and didn't intend to. It didn't affect his life, right?

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andromeda nodded and giving her wand the old swish and flick she called out "Engorgio Lumos" but nothing happened. She attempted to do the spell the other way putting the light incantation first, all that happened then was a slight flicker, the end of her wand tip glowed seemingly more red for a fraction of a second before returning to the white glow of before.
"Well it was worth a try" she muttered, there was something bothering her but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. It had been gathering momentum ever since they entered the passageway but with every step it had gotten stronger. As the passageway had begun to go downward, it grew in more intensity. There was an odour, a specific smell that she knew. It was familiar and yet she couldn't quite place it yet. They continued walking along and now it was beginning to assail her viciously and she really didn't know if it was because of what she was or if Chace was picking up the smell too. She also began to notice an almost crunching sound from whatever they were now walking on, what had once been a hard concrete floor was now variable beneath her feet.

Another few steps and she had to stop. Her gagging reflex nearly kicked in, the smell was so overpowering. It also wasn't fresh what ever it was, it felt stale as if it whatever it was had been lingering, festering down here for a very long time.
"Chace" she was whispering now, "can you smell that?" She wanted to hold her nose against it but that meant releasing her grip on his wrist which could seperate them in this darkness and she had promised him twice she would keep him safe. It may have seemed like a joke at the time but she had bloody well meant it. Nothing was going to happen to him on her watch.

Before he could reply, her ears virtually pricked up. Her brain felt as if it were whirring madly, was there something down here. She concentrated hard and attempted to do the lumos spell on her wand again but with more of an effort. Hoping even that much might increase the wattage on it. Her voice was clear, distinct and the perseverence and determination behind her single word felt like an energy bolt passing down through her arm into her wand and out through the tip. The light grew more intense and as it did so, Andromeda's eyes widened.

They appeared to be in a dark room with about two or three passages off of it but what terrified her was what they had been walking on. It looked like the skeletons of many dead animals. That had been the smell, the rotting flesh that had been left to decay for goodness knows how long. She shivered and wanted nothing more than to throw up when a skull directly in her line of vision made her freese, it wasn't an animals at all. It was definitely human. She took a step backwards slamming hard into Chace.
She had nearly forgotten he was still there.

"When I tell you to move, start running back where we came from like you're being chased by the hounds of hell. We need to get out of here. Do not stop in the room but as soon as we make it to the locked door we just blast it with the alohomora spell. Understood" her voice was a whisper but it echoed about the small antechamber, it felt as if it gained in volume as it then began to echo down each passage. It sounded like a yoddle, repeating itself over and over almost as if a dozen or so people were now talking. It was terrifying, for all the world it sounded as if it were calling out letting something know they were there. Like an alarm system. Andy pulled herself together.

"Go Chace".

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace hadn't expected the spell to work, since he had never heard of any spell intensifying another, at least from the same caster's wand. It would have been nice to have more light but the feeble Lumos would have to do. He stayed merely inches away from Andromeda, even though he never liked being in close proximity to others. Out of force of habit he ran his slender hand through shortly cropped hair.

The Slytherin shook his head as Andromeda asked him if he could smell anything. His nostrils were flared but he couldn't pick up anything except the scent of dampness. There was a foreboding, thick in the air, Chace feeling as if something cold were trailing up his neck. His green eyes flickered warily as he looked back to Andromeda. He let out a gasp as something crunched beneath his feet. His hand was frozen, unwilling to turn his wand to the floor and reveal the inevitable. Having a creeping notion of what they were, he wanted to back away, but couldn't.

Chace let out a gasp of disgust as Andromeda's wand brightened, revealing the ghastly scene before him. Something rank invaded his nostrils, and he retched, trying not to let go of the potatoes he had had for dinner. Fear gripped him as his eyes scanned the room, falling on a skull that was definitely human.

He managed to choke a "Yes" out of his throat as the Gryffindor told him to run when she told him. He could only comply. While it was not very manly of him, he let out a yelp as the girl's voice resounded throughout the hallway. Chace did not have control of his feet as he turned back the way he had come, his legs leading him through the musty tunnels as if indeed the hounds of hell were at his ankles. He did not turn to see if Andy was following him, he could only hope. The stereotypical Slytherin in him could only look out for his own tail.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

It all seemed now as if they ran in slow motion, she didn't know for sure if there was an absolute need for them to run quite so fast but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something or someone other than themselves down there. The darkness was their biggest obstacle, she couldn't even be sure at times that Chace was infront of her. If it were not for his breathing which seemed on occasion to be deeper, she would have been convinced he had completely legged it and left her to her own devices. Truthfully though, from a Slytherin she wasn't expecting much else. Wasn't that what they were famous for doing, turning tail and running to save their own necks?

Andromeda's eyes adjusted slowly as the darkness ebbed and she closed in on the passageway that had led to the underground chamber. The room wouldn't be much further away, her legs though feeling like jelly were used to running at high speeds. Goodness knew she had gone out running practically every morning since she got here in first year. Training for the inevitable career as a professional quidditch player, which was redundant now as far as she knew. Unless some team chose her as their mascot.

She ran right through the passageway coming back into the room which appeared as untidy as ever, except for some reason her eyes got a glimpse of something she hadn't noticed before. On the ground lay a small red book with golden edged pages. It was intact compared to all the others, it was the quickest decision she had ever made. Within seconds she had pocketed the book and pulled out her wand.
"Now Chace, just blast the door with alohomora" Andy felt the hairs rise slowly on the back of her neck. It felt as if they were rising individually in order to produce the greatest level of fear possible. Her head turned to face the passageway they had come, was it her imagination or was something following them?

"Alohomora!" she flung her wand hand out, pointing it directly at the door ahead. The incantation was clear and precise, so loud as to reverberate of the walls within and down below.

 

[Chace Harker]

Chace could only comply with Andy's order, his arm swiveling towards the door like a pendulum. He used the unlocking charm in unison with the Gryffindor, and together they blasted the door apart. The Slytherin was glad that he had forgone a second glass of pumpkin juice at this point. Fear gripped every inch of his body, holding his teeth together and turning his knuckles white as he clenched his wand. The fifteen year old boy did not look back. He could only keep his green orbs on the way out, and if anything were behind them they'd simply be out of luck.

Harsh gasps of air trailed in through Chace's mouth as he burst into the corridor, the Gryffindor girl following behind him. Without a moment's notice he had spun her around, a rush of adrenaline bringing his mouth to hers, brushing her lips with his own. He stood back in shock, his face draining of all color as he stared at her. No, this was all wrong. It was the heat of the moment, nothing more. It appalled him to think that he would do such a thing, when he had feelings for Kat. Their relationship was on awkward ground at the moment, wasn't it? His head was spinning with confusion.

"Sorry," he blurted, quite embarrassed. But what else was he supposed to say? He didn't want to go about hurting the girl's feelings, after all. At this point, he wasn't caring if a professor were out or not. Despite the already strange situation at hand, he was glad to be in this corridor, where he belonged. He swore to himself right then and there never to dip into a secret passageway again.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Once through and into the main corridor again Andromeda heaved a sigh. Her adrenaline had rushed to an all time high and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As if the decision of what to do next had been taken from her Chace turned her about and before she realised what was happening he had kissed her. Just as quickly he pulled away leaving her looking at him with an eyebrow cocked.
"What was that about?" she hadn't seen it coming at all and wondered if Brian had felt this way when she had ambushed him with a kiss. The urge to slap his face was strong but she resisted, it wasn't a bad kiss and nothing else would ever come of it. It had been a spur of the moment thing, wasn't it? She decided it was better not to encourage him just incase, not that she had in the first place... had she?

"Ok, you're sorry. Let's just forget it yeah" they were still standing too close for her own liking but even in this corridor the light was still very dim and safety in numbers at the moment quite possibly meant close numbers, you just never knew in this castle what could come around the corner.