The note that had been sent to Helios fluttered infront of Jake in the form of an origami crane. The piece of folded paper almost seemed alive...until it burst into flame.

As the ashes fell to the ground, footsteps could be heard from behind Jake.

"Greetings, mister Upstead. Pleasent day for a chat, hmm?"

This Jake was, like, totally hyper-alert, so of course Jake heard the footsteps, as soon as they were in earshot. This was perfect, now nobody could get in until Jake left.

And he wasn't doing that in an absolute hurry.

"Prince Helios Sunrider," Jake replied coolly, brushing the ashes of the note away with his foot as he turned to face the owner of the voice. "Lovely day for a nice chat, I'd say," he added, crossing his arms across his chest as he slipped his wand away. "We have business to finish up," the boy went on, taking on a more business-like tone, all the while the words he'd once heard the prince say rang in his ears...

Whatever fell spirit has possessed you...

Jake couldn't have anyone knowing. Kyle was for fun, Jake was pretty sure Abby was killed for interfering. Would he have to kill Helios? Or do what he did to Lawson?

Both options were very tempting.

Helios smiled, enjoying being addressed by his title, even if it wasn't sincere. With a wave and a snap, the prince's wand appeared in his hand. "Just a precaution. I'm sure you understand." Clouds were drifting slowly across his sky blue eyes, studying the younger boy, looking to see if he was speaking to Jake..or something else.

"How are you, Jake? Staying away from trouble?"

"Of course," Jake nodded, his voice that of total understanding. "One must keep themselves safe from inept, thirteen year-old wizards," he sneered, in an almost jeering way. Still, he kept his wand in the holster and continued to lock eyes with the prince.

"Trouble?" the blond boy added, a smile touching his lips. "Stay away from suspicion and all that. But... one must take a few risks... hence today," Jake cleared his throat, and spoke up a bit. "You know something, Helios. Tell me what you know. What have you worked out? I'll know if you lie..."

And this would seriously impact the events of today.

Standing in silence for a moment, his smile slowly became a frown. "You will have to ask much more nicely than that if you want anything from me." standing over the smaller student, Helios tapped his wand against his open palm in a steady rhythm.

"Tell me what is wrong with you. How can I help you?" What trickery was this? The Hufflepuff sounded caring, sincere even.

Eyes darkening a little, the playful smile was wiped off of Jake's face as he regarded Helios closely, and finally... out came his wand. "I don't think you're in much of a position to tell me what to do," the boy said, keeping his wand directed to the ground.

"You can't help me, nobody can," Jake replied, his voice suddenly a little higher, as his eyes flickered and a part of the real Jake shone through. But this Jake was having none of it, he stepped back, eyes holding a dangerous glare. "You'll pay for interfering, Helios," he whispered fiercely, furious at the older boy, no... man... for bringing out the weak Jake. His wand still directed at the ground, Jake's hand itched to put this guy through some pain. "Answer the question," he asked calmly. "Before I have to force you."

"What do I know?" With narrowed eyes, his feet shifted slightly, and his shoulders squared. A growl emanated from his throat, fingers like tense wire gripping his wand.

"I know that Jake is not an evil boy. And that no matter what darkness you dwell in--" The war drum was beating in his heart. Helios knew this wouldn't end with words.

"There will be no hiding place for evil." His golden hair seemed to shine. Shine like the sun.

Jake's gaze didn't shift or change at Helios' words, but his own heart began hammering against his chest, in a scared sort of way. He couldn't explain it, so he ignored it. Jake could easily kill Helios with one flick of his wand... but something held him back

"This Jake is," the blond boy replied, tapping one finger against the side of his wand as his thoughts raced. At the last statement from Helios, Jake burst out lauging and, in a loud ringing voice that wouldn't carry past the barrier, he taunted, "Well, it's doing a bloody well bang-up job of it right now, ain't it?" before laughing slightly hysterically, bringing his wand up to point at Helios. "Care to duel?" he asked, the smile on his face back, eyes brimming with excited curiousness. Would this be a smart thing to do?

No, but toying with the prince would be fun.

That laugh. It disturbed him more than any words could. There was no time to be shaken when he was staring down the tip of Jake's wand.

"I was born to fight." That was the teenage warriors way of accepting a challenge, his own wand crossing against Jake's like two swords. Helios had enough physical strength to overpower the smaller boy, but did he have the magical prowess to overcome this dark force?

Start off easy... false sense of security. That's right.

"Incarcerous," Jake stated, almost matter-of-factly, swishing his wand through the air. "Stupefy, Locomotor Mortis, Stupefy..." and as he stepped back, Jake brandished his wand again and did the first non-verbals. Levicorpus. Stupefy.

And he'd see how Helios managed with that. If it didn't work, it was a perfect way to see how Helios dealt with a duel, was it not?

Seemed Jake came out swinging.

"Confringo!" Wasting no time with his defense, Helios wielded his wand as deftly as a conductors baton. The ropes that were sent to subdue him exploded between the two young men.

With the next volly, the prince swung his wand about like a martial weapon, striking at the spells as they came his way, sending the spells away from his person. Helios knew full well what Jake was capable of, and he prepared accordingly, lacing himself with charms that would help deflect all but the strongest of curses.

"Protego horriblis!" Silent magic just wasn't fair. This time he actually had to cast another shield. As each spell struck against his shield, he was pushed backwards with his feet firmly against the floor. What terrible power had posessed the boy? Helios had never dared unleash his full power before, but even all his strength was barely enough to withstand Jake's onslaught.

"Relashio!" Helios shouted desperatly, trying to take the offensive. With his wand aimed at Jake, he released a fiery torrent or sparks at the smaller boy. Pouring on the heat, he hoped that this creature that Jake had become could still feel pain.

Verrrrrry gooooood.

Twirling his wand around once in his hand, setting off silver sparks like from a catherine wheel as he did so, Jake watched with beady eyes as Helios fended off the magic, and, just in time, he managed to hold out his wand just in time.

Just like Kazi had taught the Hogwarts students when Jake was a first year (though this Jake hadn't learnt this at that time) Jake immediately cast a silent shield charm and focused it where the sparks were headed. He still felt the heat but the sparks were blocked and Jake set them off in the direction of the boy, going all out non-verbal now.

This was just play duelling... that was all that came to mind as the boy swiped his want through the air. Aguamenti, the boy thought furiously, an extreme jet of water blasting forth towards the prince. Avis Opugno, was the next spell, and then another stunner, as Jake grinned in delight. The water would have served as a distraction at the very least.

Lastly, before they got to the bigger stuff, before Jake ended the short-lived duel, Jake cast a final Rictusempra.

May as well give the boy a few giggly moments. Possibly degrade him if he could. If it worked.

Helios could block all he liked, there was one spell out of the three well known spells that couldn't be blocked, after all.

Bathed in his own sparks, Helios did not heed to the heat nor the small burns that flecked his skin and robes. The water spell was a welcome respite, washing away the ash and cooling him down. He knew full well that the water was only a distraction. Why else would Jake use such a painless spell? After almost drowning twice before, the prince had lost his fear of water. And with his wand out infront of him, he split the water jet down the middle as he began to approach Jake.

With his eyes blinded by water and anger, Helios did not see the stupefying spell coming, nor the laughing charm afterwards. "Ha...haha...hahahaha!"

Unable to fight or even move, it seemed he was at Jake's mercy, and all Helios could do was laugh about it. "HAHAHAHA!" What was this? Through sheer force of will, Helios' free hand found it's grip around the posessed boys throat.

"Not funny."

"Bloody hilarious," Jake murmured softly, Helios' hand threatening to crush his windpipe. Not out of mercy, but rather just to show he COULD, Jake removed all the spells from Helios but, before the boy had a chance to do anything else, cast a revulsion jinx to force the boy away, keeping his wand trained on him at all times. Just because he wanted to remind Helios who was boss, Jake threw a blasting curse his way. Friendly little reminder.

"What are you going to do now, Prince?" Jake sneered, voice steady, but heart racing. "Fight back and kill? Surrender? Neither is a very good option, is it?" he said, a smirk on his face, not expecting the prince to do either thing, but wondering what he would do.

"Surrender? I already won." Helios laughed as if still under Jake's spell after being pushed away, landing in a three point stance several feet away. "Every step you take down your dark path only brings you closer to your own destruction." With those words the prince rose to his feet, overcome with a serene calm that seemed to permeate the air around him. With eyes of blue sky, and hair of golden sun, he stood with his arms outstretched, muttering two words before dropping his wand to the floor. "Expecto patronum.."

The way his wand burst with silvery magic, it was obvious his heart was not in this battle. It was with Krissy, the girl he was meant to wed. When the Pegasus rose from the silver mists, it's strength and grace a physical manifestation of his feelings for her. Rising up on it's back two legs, the ethreal steed spread it's majestic, feathered wings, like that of an angelic horse before running full speed right through Jake, and out of the trophy room to find the one Helios loved.

"Be done with it.."

The smugness of the older boy would have irked Jake to no end, had he been in his regular state. This Jake just mirrored the smile Helios gave, ready for any spell Helios had to throw at him.

Except... maybe that one.

It was always a possibility that this might happen, but it still made Jake cantankerous as the silver creature strode through him. Nobody should be this happy at a time like this, especially not enough to conjure a patronus.

In his outrage, Jake made that split second decision to do what he had been planning for a long time. Raising his wand, Jake paused for a moment. He was doing what Helios wanted. The boy that always tried to twist things to make them work for him. The interfering little...

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Jake cried out, in a voice that didn't sound like his own, wand trained on Helios.

A green flash of light issued forth from the boy's wand, hitting the other boy and ending his life.

Thank Merlin for plenty of trophy cases, Jake thought as he prodded the now deaded seventh year and sneered a little. Stowing his wand away in a separate pocket to the others, Jake backed away and headed out through a different way than the direction he'd come from. After making sure nobody was there, though it hardly mattered, Jake sprinted down the corridor, the barriers around this area broken.

So anyone could get through.

Xander had been wandering around the hallways when he had heard a commotion a bit farther away than where he was heading. It sounded important, whatever it was. More like a scuffle. Or something of those sorts.

He heard someone running away, but didn't bother to move his head to see where the person was going or who the person was. Oh well.

Oh hey... there were shiny things in the trophy room. Plus, he had never been in there before. It should be a time to explore. He rounded the corner into the room, and looked around.

"OH MERLIN!" he yelled at the sight of the boy on the floor. A fight had broken out, surely. He ran over to the boy, and looked at his face. No... there wasn't a fight. Not one that could be fixed.

He stooped there, frozen for a moment.

Without thinking, he opened his mouth. "HELP! SOMEBODY! HELP!"

Reese headed into the trophy room, wanting to see two special plaques: the one with Cale's name on it and the one with Anna's name on it. She walked passed all the trophies and smiled as she passed the trophies for her own house, but something caught her eyes and it most definitely wasn't the thing she had come in here to see. "Helios," she whispered. Of course she knew the boy's name, but she has never met the Hufflepuff before. She looked around the empty room, and then headed over to the body. At first, she thought maybe the older boy was sleeping, that was until she saw his face. His blank eyes.

"Oh my...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH," she screamed out. She back up against the wall behind her as she took deep breaths. He was dead...He was... Tears filled up her eyes as she began to fumble around in her robe pocket for her wand. Now would be a good time to wear her wand holster. Finally, she held the wand in her left hand, but her hand was kinda shaking, which made the wand shake. "Expecto patronum," she said to the best of her ability and, to her belief, her rabbit patronus shot out of her wand and headed out the door to find the one person she could think of right now:

Professor Kazimeriz.

Right then, she noticed Xander. She probably didn't hear his screams over her own scream "X-X-Xander," she said. "I sent a thingy to Kazi...he should be here any minute." Any minute, hopefully.

Xander looked up at the sound of another person screaming. He couldn't tell if it was a girl or a frightened young man like himself, but it didn't matter.

Reese was standing up against the wall with a look of terror on her face. Obviously, the same expression was plastered along Xander's face, along with all of the color being drained from it. Still frozen in place, he looked back down to the older boy. Oh man. Oh Merlin's pink polka dotted panties. This was not good.

A patronus was shot from Reese's wand and darted out the door. He didn't know who it was for, but he got up from the boy and walked over to Reese. He was getting taller, and could look Reese in the eyes. Placing his arms around her, he pulled her close to him.

"Reese," he said. "I... here. Use my shoulder."

Krissy ran into the trophy room following Helios' Patronus. Tears were already welling in her eyes. There was no reason for Helios to send his pegasus to her unless... no. She couldn't think like that.
entering the trophy room she saw two screaming students much younger than herself... And the body of her beloved.
An unearthly wail came from deep in her soul as she knelt near Helios' head. Uncontrollable sobs wracked her body. "Yeh idiot. Yeh bloody MORON!" She was screaming at the corpse. Looking at the others she whispered. "go. go find someone! GO!!" as tears streamed down her face.

Reese slowly placed her wand back inside her pocket. It was hard to believe, but she wanted Kazimeriz here right now. Usually, she would be trying to get away from the old man, but she wasn't going to do that now. Kazi would help, that one thing was certain. As she continued to blink, the tears that had filled her eyes were now strolling down her cheek. Helios always seemed like a good boy; it was a shame she didn't get to know him.

She kept her eyes away from the body, because she did NOT want to look at a dead person. It was hard enough being just being there. Hearing Xander's voice and being pulled closer to him, instead of saying anything at the exact moment, she just placed her head on his shoulder as more tears appeared. "He's - he's...dead," she stated the obvious after being quiet for a bit; after saying that, she decided it was best to gather all her thoughts before she spoke, again, so next time she wouldn't say something that was already known.

Sigh. This was the second Hufflepuff she knew that was killed (and, no, she didn't know about Abbey). The thought of the other Hufflepuff was swept from her thoughts when another girl came in and told them to go find someone. "I...I...I sent a patr-patronus to Kazi," she replied through her tears. Who was this girl? She had no idea, but she did look familiar. Maybe she knew her from class or something.

"I said GO! Leave me with him. Leave me..." She sobbed shaking. "Don't yeh understand?! He was me beloved. We were to be MARRIED. NOW GO!" She cradled Helios' head in her lap and rocked. "Yeh had to be the hero. I'll never forgive yeh for leaving me." she pointed her wand to where his Patronus was sitting and said a silent spell taking it into her own wand. "Why couldn't yeh jest leave it to the professors? WHY?!" Tears ran down her face as she took little solace in the fact that Helios' patronus was now hers.

Xander rubbed Reese's back as she let her tears fall. There was nothing else that he could do, really.

He watched as another girl ran into the room and started sobbing and wailing. She cradled the dead boy's head in her arms and started to yell at them. They were there because they were trying to help, and after all - Xander was the one who found him and yelled for help. Reese just happened to stumble upon them at the right moment. The Patronus was good, because Xander couldn't produce one. He wasn't old enough, nor had enough experience.

"We were just trying to help," Xander said to the girl. "You don't have to yell at us for doing the right thing."

Then again, this was an extremely stressful and bad bad BAD situation. Something he had never dealt with before. He had no idea what exactly to do with Reese right now. She was planted firmly to the ground, and there was no way of moving her.

Turning his head away, he placed his own head on her shoulder to look at the trophies from behind Reese's head.

This year was one to remember for sure.