Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Drawn towards the castle, a flock of dementors descended upon the Tower Patch. Ice and mist spread through the area, covering it in a thin layer of frost and freezing over the fountain. Almost with a frustrated rattle they loomed forward, searching for someone to feast on as their hunger had become unbearable.

Gliding forward, they swooped in on a lone student (Harry174) and their rattled breathing intensified. Hufflepuffs. Easy pickings for hungry dementors.

Originally Posted by MOAR DEMENTORS!

A new day brought a new mission.

The air became frigid and brisk as ice and a thick layer of mist started to creep out of the forest, enveloping everything that came upon it's path to form a desolate icy terrain. With a theatrical slow pace, moar dementors came out from the shadows and approached the edge of the forest. There hunger and the happy children made them come out to play.

One by one they took to the air across into the wide open grounds until the whole group followed, looking for someone to dine upon as they swooped closer towards the castle like a flock of vultures. Their rattled breaths grew louder as some of their grimy hands appeared out from under their cloaks, ready to grab hold of their next meal.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS

The three dementors from the Tower Patch swooped in through one of the open windows. The did NOT pay the required fee to enter the common room and anyone who dared tell them they needed too would find their soul sucked out before they could say galleon. Oh how they wished someone would. They were very VERY hungry.

The fire in the fireplace went out, portraits froze over, and the temperature in the common room dropped as the three made their way around the common room. They knew not to linger here too long. They had to meet up with the rest of the flock and proceed with their mission.

Originally Posted by MOAR DEMENTORS!

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

As the mist and ice trickled along out of the forest, it quickly crept along the edge of the trees in the wake of a few dementors who strayed from their group, looking for any of the easier pickings in the tree house they'd swooped by a couple times during the last months. The air had been full of happiness the last they'd passed by. Swarming around the bottom of the wooden structure, the ladder turned sleek as ice took it over, snaking along the tree trunks and up onto the floors and walls of the house itself the higher the dementors lurked.

Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren

While the students were developing their theories about where Hogwarts' elves had gone, the blackboard finished its note-taking on house elf characteristics. "Copy these down," Erik gestured toward the board before resuming his usual question and answer method of teaching.






"Old wizarding families and people who own old wizarding homes...vhose are vhe people who are house elf masters." Erik repeated this information for anyone who wasn't listening. Good job, Ella. "Toddles is vhe only Hogwarts elf left in vhe castle."

He wanted them to know that. Any other elves they saw around belonged to professors or students who had brought them from home.



It went without saying that the boy didn't know much about this school. Erik listened to his answer regardless.

"Maybe," he acknowledged the second guess with a tilt of his head. "Vhat is...plausible," but not correct.



Here was some useful information. "Good," he gave a nod of approval to Penelope. "Vell, not good vhat ve house elves had to leave, but I'm glad you're mentioning vhat Toddles told you. Vhy vould only Toddles be left behind? Do you haff a guess?"



Not here..."How clever of you," the professor commented dryly, just managing not to roll his eyes.



"Vhat is another good point, considering Hogwarts' financial troubles coincided vith vhe disappearance of vhe house elves." Erik raised an eyebrow at the Head Girl. "I vhink you're right, Ms. Dixon."



Maybe he did that? Maybe he made the house elves leave? Well done, well done.

Erik let out a dark rumble of laughter at this Slytherin's presumption. "Good one, Mr. Katharos..." he chuckled away the boy's answer with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But I don't vhink vhe house elves left for either of vhose reasons. Sorry."



"It's sort ov a different dialect, no?" Erik understood what the boy was grasping at....mostly. "But no, vhe house elves are not on strike. I believe vhe staff or Board of Governors vould have received a list ov demands by now if vhey were truly striking." His eyes twinkled with mischief at the idea though...just twinkled.



"Good guess, but also incorrect I believe." Erik shook his head solemnly. Didn't this boy know how ineffective his Ministry was? Terrible.



"No one might vant you to know vhat is going on here," Erik replied seriously, "but I believe education is power. Perhaps vith vhis lesson I can help you all figure out vhat is going on vith vhe house elf situation. It is one vhing I vould like to do as a Governor." To improve the school, out of the kindness of his heart, by helping them relocate their lost house elves. Wasn't that nice of him to do?

No promises of answers though. He knew only slightly more than they did. Cough.



"Vhose are....guesses..." Maybe. Maybe not.



This was useful too. "Good information, Alexa," Erik gave her a nod. "I vouldn't assume vhey're somewhere terrible now, but if vhey're somewhere vhey're not used to, somevhere vhat doesn't seem as much of a home as Hogwarts, vhen ve can assume the house elves were reluctantly moved." Heh heh heh.



A sweet elf that helped with cooking and cleaning, good to know. But the guess about house elves staying with family members?? "I believe vhe house elves here are...mostly family? Vith each other?" He wasn't sure what the young Hufflepuff was saying here.



This kid was a riot. Really. Had he been in the last lesson? Heh heh. "Maybe, rebellion is alvays a possibility," he responded as seriously as the Hufflepuff was being. "Vhey do vork very hard, but......" dramatic pause, "....house elves are not free to just leave vhenever vhey want to." He eyed the boy and his classmates to see if they were listening. "Remember vhat a house elf's highest law is his master's bidding. To break vhat is to bring dishonor and shame to vhe elf and to vhe master he serves."



No, they weren't. This boy was clever....and carefully spoken. "Yes, you're correct on both points vhere." Erik hoped his classmates were listening. A slow smirk spread on his face as the boy then accused the Headmistress of sending them all away.

"Vhat is vhat it looks like, does it not?" He also paused and waited for his smile to fade. "Vhe truth is, house elves literally belong to vhe school. Vhey literally belong to whomever holds vhe deed to vhe school. So if vhat is not in posession of vhe school's current Headmaster or Headmistress...." Erik trailed off into a deliberate shrug. "Vhen vhey could sort ov be stolen." Or elf-jacked right from under the current Head's nose.



"Vhey actually do live at Hogwarts all year round," Erik gently answered the boy's questions. "Hogwarts is vheir home more vhan any other place." Which was why it was just so sad that they weren't here right now. Ha.



"Vhat's...a fair guess..." Erik shrugged off her first answer. He certainly wasn't going to defend the evil redhead for her kooky behaviour. "However, I believe your second guess," he gave her a solid look that said yessss, "is more on target."

Was he allowed to tell them the deed to the school was missing? He'd heard it straight from the Headmistress' mouth. Why shouldn't he share this with the people who lived and learned in this school and returned here every year? It wasn't like they could trace the deed back to him any more...



"Vhat's also true," Erik shrugged. "But I don't vhink Hogwarts' vere sold. It's possible though."


"So, theories on vhe missing house elves....vhis is history in vhe making, did you all know?" He turned around to the second blackboard and waved his wand at it lightly.

Why Hogwarts' Elves Are Gone
-they got new jobs
-they were elfnapped
-they had to leave, but didn't want to go
-House Elf Relocation Office moved them
-they're on strike
-Headmistress sent them away
-Headmistress sold them to pay off school debts
-someone stole the castle deed and set them free
-other theories?

"Let's discuss this." Erik returned to his desk and his lean against it, giving the class some very serious looks. "Vhich theory seems most accurate to you, and vhy?? Vhat can we do about it, to possibly bring vhe elves back?"

Originally Posted by MOAR DEMENTORS!

As the hunger grew, the dementors loomed forward with greater speed, swooping around one another, creating a daunting swarm of gloom heading ever closer to the castle.

Despite a few of their group leaving for quick pickings at the tree house, the horde of dementors shaded the pathway they swooped around, their dark cloaks blocking any light to their surrounding area. The path had been wide and clear up from the forest for them, making their mission so easy. Not that a few young wizardlings could stop them in their place. Mist and fog lay low to the ground as ice snaked it's way up the pathway like a stream of water, leaving the area an even more miserable and alarming sight.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

So many tasty young souls. The dementors could sense their presence and ceased all movement toward the exit and instead turned and descended upon the crowd.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

One dementor fell upon the Gryffindor frozen in place (iBeJenn) and reach both of its scabby hands out on either side of her face. Oh yes, this one was delicious. Very sweet this soul...

The other two moved in zig zag formation, one breaking off and gliding with haste towards the door and blocked the path of one student (AlwaysSnapesGirl) while the other flew towards two more savory souls (DaniDiNardo & lemon).

Perhaps they could linger here for just a little longer....all these souls were too tasty to pass up. An excellent appetizer to the main course.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

Problem number two: How was he meant to tell whether the tree was telling him that it's okay to use some of its bark?

Alec sat there and waited, looking for some sort of sign from the tree that it was okay to take some of its bark for his assignment. The seconds ticked by and he was still sitting there, feeling a little awkward about this whole endeavour. If it wasn't for Ancient Ru--

HEY! If the branches of the tree swayed , that meant that it was agreeing with what you were saying, yeah? Right? ... He was going to take it as that.

"Thanks Tree!" he said, grinning widely. He looked down at his notes and scanned the list for the next set of instructions. Make... an offering... to the tree? What if he didn't really have anything with him? Nothing valuable, that is. "Erm... erm..." Panic time. What should he give to the tree? What... to give...

... Oh?

Getting up, Alec shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around the tree trunk. There. "This... is a super!hug, Tree. I give them and people say that they make them feel better... I think... so... yeah. You're getting one too!" A hug would count, right? But just in case it didn't... he let go and started digging around his bag for something that might be valuable enough.

"Do you like... apples?" he asked bringing one out and holding it up for the tree to see. He waited a second or two before shrugging and placing the apple neatly between two of the tree's branches. There. Offering made. He sat back down and started scanning his notes again for the next step...



And then it felt cold. Really... really cold.

"Do you feel that?" ... He... was talking to a tree. Of course it wasn't going to answer back. Shaking his head, he turned his head and looked behind him at the small stretch of the Pathways. How did it end up getting so dark so quickly? It wasn't past curfew, was it? Because he still had some steps left.

He sat there and rubbed his hands in an attempt to keep warm. And it seemed as if the sadness was sinking in with the coldness too. Shaking off the soft mumblings of the voices in his head, he took out his wand and cast his grey eyes around. Maybe it was just... getting cold and dark because of the weather. Yeah...

"L-Lumos!"

... No? Uh oh.

Originally Posted by MOAR DEMENTORS!

Rattle rattle rattle.

A light. Enough to light up the surrounding dark cloaks suddenly rushing by the boy. The air chilled even more, ice forming around the boy's shoes and perhaps even under them as the mist swirled around the area. Taking notice of the boy, one of the dementors swooped down in front of him, hovering as it's scabby hand reached out towards him while a horrifying rattle noise came from the hole of it's mouth.

Easy picking for a quick snack.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Finishing their business in the Divination Tower and leaving behind a companion to finish the job there, another small flock of dementors glided into the boys' bathroom to interrupt two boys as they took a tinkle.

Pipes froze over and the floor to the bathroom suddenly became slippery thanks to the thin layer of ice the hungry dementors created. Their rattled breathing became excited as two flew closer to the pair. Ambitious souls were full of punch and a personal favorite of this pair of dementors.

Originally Posted by EVEN MOAR DEMENTORS!

Suddenly the room got cold... so cold in fact it felt like ice on the walls.

Black figures glided in the room... they weren't needed... but there they were... gliding in and sucking up all the happiness from the room...

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

Eat my raven? Don't mind if we do.

The dementors continued to move in closer to the students, their rattled breathing taking on an even more hungry undertone and their long scabby fingers reaching out towards them. Instead of easily avoiding each patronus that came their way, the dementors stood their ground. One swooped in, its hole of a mouth making loud sucking noises, and devoured the silvery raven as it flew towards him. The rattled breathing that came next almost sounded happy.

If dementors could be such a thing that is.

The others in the flock swooped in as well, each devouring a patronus of their own.

A hummingbird. A fox. A hawk. A Russell terrier.

All of them were now inside the dementors' still hungry very tummies.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Originally Posted by EVEN MOAR DEMENTORS!

Come out, come out wherever you are.

These creepy dementors took the hospital wing by storm, starving for people's happiness, needing to suck a few souls for good measure.

Originally Posted by EVEN MOAR DEMENTORS!

A chill filled the library... and here they were... more dark figured gliding through the school... they reached out towards the little children, wanting to touch them... and maybe give them a little smooch!

Originally Posted by EVEN MOAR DEMENTORS!

We will, We will. Suck Your Soul!

The dark figures looked around the swamp, unsure of why this thing was here.

They glid around and made circles the pond.

Originally Posted by EVEN MOAR DEMENTORS!

The demontors flew around the second floor... one even looked over a suit of armor, poking at it to make sure no child was inside...

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

The classroom suddenly became very cold as ice crept its way across the floor and up the legs of students' desks and chairs.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Swooping into the classroom after easily opening the door with their awesome dementor abilities, the flock of hungry dementors came down upon the students.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

Finally. They could complete phase two of their mission and the sweet sweet lure of all these soul was just the cherry on top of the sundae. Eagerly swooping in, the first wave of dementors descended upon all party goers with their hungry rattled breathing.

Rattle rattle rattle rattle rattle.

Half the dementors veered to the right to serve as a distraction for the other half who continued to glide forward in search of a specific soul.

So. Distracting. All these souls. So....

Suddenly veering to the left, they fell upon two hugging adults (sarahlooo & hpluvr037) and began making terrifying sucking noises.

Yum yum yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummy.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

One of the dementors broke off from the flock and hovered over the man. The sucking noise became even more eager and drawn out as it fed on him. Closer...just a little closer now.

Through the blackness of the dementor's robes, a small ball of light could faintly be seen leaving the man's mouth.

Pucker up, Mr. Groundkeeper. You are about to receive the kiss of a lifetime. Your lifetime that is.

Originally Posted by DEMENTORS!

The dementors began shoving one another, each one wanting a piece of the groundskeeper before moving on to the main course. And then their friends arrived and began nomming on the other adult woman present.

HEY! They were here first!

ANGRY RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE

Several left the man and glided towards the Charms professor and surrounding dementors, trying to squeeze a suck or two out of her soul as well. Until they sensed another adult in the room. Another few adults to be precise, but one was unmistakably their main target.

The dementors around the Charms professor suddenly flew upwards and soared like hungry vultures towards the red head (BanaBatGirl).

Two dementors were pushed back as a silvery eagle, but not all of them.

Yes, come to us pretty lady. Come give us a kiss and don't put up a fight just like your groundskeeper and substitute professor weren't.

Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren

Erik had followed the dementors, certain that they were going in the wrong direction. The second floor was up from the first and yet they were going down in the school. Wrong wrong wrong. He burst into the hall just a second behind a flock of the shadowy demons and paused inside the doorway to take stock of the scene.

What in the name of Thor's hammer was going on here? And why, pray tell, why was FIRTH hugging his IVY?????

Erik's wand was already in his hand but now his head was torn on what to do with it. Did he curse Firth or save the man? And what about Ivy? The dementors were NOT instructed to kiss her!

"Blast it all," he murmured under his breath, striding toward the pair anyway. He thrust his wand arm at the dementors surrounding Ivy Knox, firstly, because she was the most important.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM."

A dozen silvery hippogriffs burst from the tip of his wand, all of them charging at the dementor surrounding her and only her. And Erik jogged after them to check on the Charms professor. Firth could...well, Firth could survive on his own. Ivy had eaten the ice cream when he'd told her not to. Ivy couldn't be kissed by the dementors. He wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't.

Originally Posted by hpluvr037

He couldn't do it. He couldn't conjure a Patronus. It was all happening too fast with no warning. They were on him and there was nothing he could do... except protect Ivy.

He was a Gryffindor and he was going to be chivalrous even when his life was on the line. Or his soul, rather.

With his last remaining strength, he prepared to push Ivy as far away from the horde as he could. But at the last second, several Patronuses surrounded her. She was safe.

But he was not.

A brilliant white light escaped his lips.

And he slumped over onto the ground.

Originally Posted by MOAR DEMENTORS!

Rattle rattle rattle!

The terrifying sucking noises grew louder from the dementors as they glided closer to the Charms professor. Their scabby hands reached out from under their dark cloaks towards the woman, only to be pushed back by the stampede of silver bright hippogriff lights.

Soaring upwards away from the woman, they swooped around, focus fixated upon the History of Magic professor. A different meal then.

Such as, the red head (BanaBatGirl). Suddenly turning, they dived towards the women from behind, slower than their dark creature friends. There would be room for them to circle the red lady. They'd make room.

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl