Originally Posted by Gryffindoll

Braeden was pretty much ready to die and be buried six feet under when, suddenly, Amadeus spoke. He had something? This time, the Gryffindor boy didn't get his hopes up. If the last spell didn't work, what were the chances this one would? This was it; his fate was decided. He was to die by the hand branches of the Whomping Willow and his best friend would have to witness the terrible act. Gee, that really sucked for Deus… first he had to see his best friend Mathieu die, now Braeden? Maybe he was cursed.

But then the Whomping Willow, which was just a second away from striking the poor Gryffindor boy again, halted. Its movements became forced and clumsy, and instead of hitting the boy, it hit another of its own branches. Braeden watched this with wide brown eyes. Had… had Deus's spell worked? As the Whomping Willow tried to attack again but instead hit the ground, as it seemed to have difficulty controlling its own branches, Braeden grinned goofily - he'd done it! Deus's spell had worked against the tree! Just a second later, Braeden was taking advantage of his running skills and darted far from the dreaded tree, forgetting all about the football he'd left behind, the football that had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Breathing a bit more rapidly after that run, Braeden came to a halt by his Ravenclaw friend, glancing back at the troubled tree for a moment before turning back to Deus with large, sparkly brown eyes. His knight in shining armor! "Deus, you… you…" Now he looked like he might just burst into tears. "You saved my life!"