"Well, welcome back to...us!" Anna said, giggling at her own silliness. "Although, I'm not too sure where we are. The good news is, I've found a door. The bad news is that I have no idea whether it's going to end up being a good idea or a bad idea to open it and see where it leads." Anna shrugged and turned and examined the door some where. While it was true that she had no idea where the door would lead them, there was one thing she knew for sure---they weren't going to get anywhere just standing around on this staircase.

"Well, she said, sighing and turning back around to face Cale and Torie. "I guess there's only one way to find out." Without another word being said, Anna placed her hand upon the door handle and turned it, opening up to door that would lead them all to who-knew-where. "Well, I'm going in. Let's go...," she said, stepping forward and walking through the door.

The door opened away from Anna, leading into a dimly lit room... Where a few students stood and there were five crests on the floor. Those inside only see a wall open where there was no crease before.

"Argghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!" Anna yelled out, stomping her foot for the third time while inside this little chamber of sorts they'd managed to get themselves in. "Okay, I'm starting to feel like I'm being led around in circles! This is frustrating! Ridiculous! Outrageous!" As she fussed about her current situation, Anna stomped back over to one of the five crests and stood on it, performing the same action she did once before. "Well, one thing's for sure," she said aloud, talking to no one in particular. "At least I know the way out this time..."

Torie could only stare in shock as the scene before her eyes became dreadfully familiar. Torie couldn't blame Anna for her outburst, as she truly felt like doing the exact same thing. As she watched Anna stomp over to the crests once more, Torie began thinking hard about their situation. What could they do differently this time, so that they didn't wind up in an endless loop of repeated actions over and over again? They needed to take a minute and brainstorm before they did anything further.

"Anna, wait!" called Torie.

Instantly Anna was transported to the chamber with the devil's snare once more.

ooc:
Currently with the 5 crests:

• marfamarfa
• Miss Lissy Lou (technically on the stairs, still)

Currently in the chamber with the devil's snare:

• PtLovesJtSnow (Main Chamber)
• LisaPotter1125 (Main Chamber)
• Anna Banana (Main Chamber)

Torie was too late to stop Anna from vanishing. She too took a place on the crest and once more stomped her feet to disappear into the blackness beyond. 'Oh boy! Here we go again!' thought Torie to herself.

Torie, too, disappeared to rejoin the devil's snare.

As soon as her feet hit the crest, Anna found herself vanishing once again. A moment later, she reappeared in the room with the Devil's Snare, spotting Piper and Astrid in the room, as well. Not wasting any time, she immediately headed over to both girls, intent on leading them in the correct direction just in case they hadn't figured anything else out by now.

"Piper! Astrid!" Anna exclaimed. "There you are! It's a jungle in here, isn't it? I feel like I've been around and around the place one too many times to keep track of. Cale, Torie, and I were just in here. The trick is to get yourself caught up in the Snare...although, I'm not too sure relaxing is the way to go." Anna headed over towards the Snare and motioned for the others to do the same. When she got close enough, Anna placed her hands on the plant once again and then waited for the cycle to repeat itself.

As soon as Torie found herself back in the chamber with the Devil's Snare, she began to look for Anna. Surprised, she also found herself with two other Gryffindor girls whom she had seen at the beginning of this strange quest.

"Anna! Ladies!" she called. "We've got to stop and think about this for a second. We need to think about what we can do differently this time, so that we don't find ourselves back at the beginning over and over again. Anna, can you describe to me what happened to you with the Devil's Snare. I am sure that it must be hiding something, and there's got to be a way to get it to reveal its secrets to us."

Torie began pacing the small chamber as she waited for Anna to respond, not realizing that the girl had already touched the plant again.

However, even as Torie tried to talk some sense into Anna, Anna was already being pulled in by the devil's snare. She was entrenched in it before the other girl reached her.

"Anna! No!" Torie shrieked as she watched the plant enveloping the girl again. "Why?????? Why wouldn't you stop!!! ARGH!"

Torie really was frustrated now. Though she assumed the girl was in no real danger, it didn't make any sense to her for Anna to act so rashly.

"Anna, if you wind up back here again, it will serve you right!"

(OOC: I am signing off for the night. Have fun!)

Quicker than she'd imagined, Anna found herself right back in a very familiar place---and in a very familiar situation. The Snare has nearly engulfed before Torie could even get into the room. So Anna could do one of two things---relax or struggle and try and get away. Remembering what happened the last time she was entrenched by the plant, Anna made a quick decision to relax first, and if nothing happened at that point, she'd try struggling to get away. There had to be a way out of this somehow. Now...if only she could find that way. Doing as she'd just decided to do, Anna relaxed her entire body, waiting to see what would happen. If nothing did, she'd try struggling a bit to get away.

Anna:

The devil's snare seems to hesitate with its prey.

Anna gulped as she felt the plant hesitate. Idea after idea began to rush through her mind---relax, don't relax, struggle, don't struggle.... There were too many decisions to be made, and Anna wasn't sure either of the ones she was considering were right. Last time, she relaxed a little too much. That got her pretty much nowhere. There was only one other option, so Anna decided to go that route and see what happened. Anna began to struggle just a bit. She wasn't moving too fast or too slow, she just began to struggle only slightly. Maybe this was the way out...

Anna:

The devil's snare pulls you around a bend. You can no longer see anyone or anything. Is that a light up ahead?

Oddly enough, Anna didn't panic when she found herself cruising around the bend wrapped up in the vines of the Snare. She'd long since lost her fear of this little room. All she really wanted to do now was to figure out its secrets and see how it related to this treasure all of Hogwarts was looking for. Nevermind the fact that she could no longer see any of her friends and fellow Gryffindors. Hopefully the Snare would drop her off somewhere soon and go back to pick up the others. Up ahead, Anna could see a faint hint of light. Was it possible that she was heading in the correct direction?

Since struggling a little had apparently been just what she'd needed to do, Anna took a deep breath and continued to struggle just a bit. Was the light the way out...or was it just another dead end?

OOC: Offline for the night.

Anna:

The devil's snare hesitates momentarily, but continues to pull you along quickly towards the light.

Chalice stood there looking around. Where the bloody hell could they have gone?

As the Devil's Snare hesitated for just a moment, Anna became slightly worried that the plant was about to drop her down below to the Cushioning Charm and staircase once again. Her worries quickly faded, however, when the plant continued to pull her towards the light. Realizing that this Devil's Snare didn't take too well to relaxing, Anna began to reach towards the light, putting up a slight struggle against the plant. She didn't know where the light was coming from or where it led to, but as long as she ended going in the right direction, she'd be okay with any situation she met up with...hopefully.

Anna:

The devil's snare seems to hesitate further, as though it feels something is wrong. You seem to have approached a platform. The light seems to be shining on something on it, but you can't tell what it is. At the rate you're going, you'll be past the platform rather quickly.

Anna continued to feel the Devil Snare's hesitation, and to be quite honest, it worried her a bit. She wished the plant would just go ahead and lead her in the correct direction, drop her off, and return for her friends. Anna looked around and suddenly noticed that she'd approached a platform of sorts. Was this the platform she'd seen above her when she'd landed on the cushioning charm earlier? It seemed to be! Maybe she'd finally made it to where she needed to be!

Following the direction of the light, Anna looked down to see...something, although she couldn't tell exactly what it was. She needed another plan, and she needed to think of it quickly. The trick seemed to be to struggle just a bit if you move forward and relax if you wanted to drop. At least, that's what the plant had been doing so far. Being that there was a platform below that she thought she needed to drop on, Anna began to relax a bit, hoping this was exactly the way she needed to go.

Hannah stumbled into a little room with some random Gryffindor crests. She spotted Chalice. "Hey," Hannah asked, a little tremor in her voice. "What's going on? What IS this place?" She wasn't sure how she'd even gotten here, really. What the heck was going on?

Anna:

The devil's snare starts slowing down as you pass by some sort of pillar amongst the light. It seems you're just above some sort of platform.

Anna's heart rate began to pick up again when the Devil's Snare started to slow down. Could it be that it was about to drop her---this time to the correct place? Anna surely hoped so. Merlin help her if she landed on that cushioning charm again! When the light hit just in the right spot, Anna looked down to see that she was on top of what looked like some sort of platform. Oh, if she could just get the Devil's Snare to drop her!!! That thought in mind, Anna relaxed a little more, waiting and hoping to drop onto the platform.

Anna:

The devil's snare has begun to relax its grip. You drop slightly, and there is something solid there. You can just barely feel it. You seem to be passing into darkness, however. Were you too late?