Quote:
Originally Posted by
Waterloo 
"Ellie!" Clifford's brow furrowed when he spotted the girl, his hand unconsciously giving a squeeze at Kiwi's. He hoped the poor kid wasn't going to have nightmares over this. He probably would. But Ellie! What was she doing down here! "Uhm, I don't think it's safe down here," he explained quickly, glancing back down the corridor and noticing with relief that the Hufflepuffs appeared to be evacuating. So it had flooded their Common Room too. "If you don't want to get stuck down here and drown, you should probably go back." He didn't think Ellie had a deathwish.
Kiwi was frightened. He could tell by her voice. He didn't blame her.. he was scared too, he was just trying not to show it. He couldn't swim!! Still, he had to try be brave here. Right. "I think it just feels that way because you're scared.. worried," he explained, edging slowly through the gloomy corridor. Falling over now wouldn't be cool, not when Kiwi had hold of his hand.
And then the toe of one wet shoe bashed into a stone step and Clifford turned to Kiwi with what he hoped was a smile. A very small, worried smile.. but a smile nonetheless. "Here we go. You go on up first," he decided, side-stepping and leaning against the damp wall as he tugged her toward the steps.
He just hoped Ellie was following.
Kiri nodded silently. She was scared alright. Their small but insistent steps had brought them along quite a way, but there was still no staircase to be seen. The water was rising even faster now, it had reached knee height now. Walking was becoming difficult, and quickly. Kiri thought she had never been more glad in her life than when Clifford had found her down here, because he plodded on stoically, his warm hand in hers, pulling her along.
A few metres down the corridor, Kiri saw something moving. Heart hammering hard in her chest, she squinted into the gloom. Someone was walking towards them! She drew in a sharp breath and squeezed Clifford's hand urgently, but he had already noticed. The shadow wobbled closer, and after a few seconds, it turned into another student, a Slytherin as well.
Drown?
Kiri whimpered. The first evacuation had been bad enough, and there had been teachers with them! The nightmares probably wouldn't stop until the end of term now...
Something slimy brushed against her leg. Kiri jumped, letting out a small scream that was lost quickly in the sinister gurgling of the water. She nearly lost her balance again. The hand not holding on to Clifford flailed through the water, and when she withdrew it, she saw something dark and green clinging to it. It smelled horribly of old cabbage. That, finally, was a smell she recognised, it sometimes hung around the edges of the Lake in the summer. So this was Lake water, then, and Lake algae were being pushed into the school as well.
"Sorry," she mumbled to Clifford. She doubted he could hear it over the rushing noise, but he turned and gave a little smile. What... was he smiling for? Then Kiri saw. Right next to them, the corridor was even darker - there was no wall, only the glorious, glorious stairs up into the Great Hall. Kiri felt like she was about to cry in relief, especially when the first few steps took her out of the infernal water. First her knees reappeared, then her lower legs, her ankles, and, finally, her shoes.