Focusing wasn't really happening (when did it ever?), and instead Toby had sort of gotten lost in his own head again, though he wasn't quite able to say what he'd been thinking about. At one point, he'd subconsciously begun biting at his fingernails, a tell-tale habit of his. Toby had enough of his senses about him, however, to note that Professor Dakest was gradually making his way over. Well, he'd not quite realised that he was the intended destination, at least not until the professor had stopped right there and crouched down beside him.

Toby looked at him, maybe a little bit worried in spite of himself, but Dakest didn't seem angry, at least not in a way that was obvious enough for Toby to notice. That, at least, was a relief.

Helping people... That was something that Tobias would never, could never say no to. He looked off towards the entrance of the maze, cogs working in his head. Before he even realised what he was doing, Toby found himself nodding his head. Automatic response. Textbook Hufflepuff.

"I can't do the spell, though," he blurted out quickly, referring to the Patronus Charm. "And I can't... I don't..." A very long pause wherein Toby looked between Dakest and the labyrinth entrance a few times. "... there's Dementors." Little sense probably made, but the point was that he'd avoided going IN there because he knew he couldn't get past the obstacles, especially if you needed that spell to do it. "I'll just end up making things worse." The second he said it, Toby began mentally berating himself. He hadn't meant to be negative again, it had just... slipped out. He just wanted to be honest.

But... he hadn't said no. Hadn't taken back that nod. It was just a pre-warning that Tobias Fuller-Thompson was likely to be less than useless in that maze, no matter how much he fancied himself to be someone who could help anyone in need. He would, however, sit here and hope against hope that no such cry for help would come, for everyone's sake.

Cilla was deliberating between using the memory she had used or thinking of an even stronger one. She was determined to successfully produce her patronus but she did not wish to have to take a trip to the hospital wing due to exhaustion. Her fingers drummed softly against the nearby desk as she thought it through. She decided that she would be using a new memory. Cilla closed her eyes and ran through her mind happy events that had occurred in her life until she had settled on a moment when she was ten.

The memory was of when her and her mum spent the morning of Cilla's dad's birthday making a cake and decorating it. The two of them had such a fun time together and it sparked the creative side in Cilla. The memory was really clear and a bright smile appeared on Cilla's face.

Cilla opened her eyes. It was patronus time.

The farther Evie went, the more chills she got. Maybe it WAS getting colder. Or... wait. She had never encountered a dementor before, but she did know that they tended to make things cold when they came near. Evie's heartbeat began to increase as the thought of even a fake dementor coming towards her raced through her mind.

Quickly turning down a path which she thought was a safe one, Evie stumbled, caught herself and then froze in the middle when she saw a large, gangly, black cloaked figure hovering above her in the air... and getting closer. Her wand was already pointed out, but the struggle was trying to think happy thoughts at a nerve-wracking time like this. Still, she thought of her summer; this last one and the one before, somewhat alternating between both of them. DEEP BREATH.

"Expecto Patronum!" she shouted with as much confidence as she could muster, her wand moving in a small circle. Sure enough a medium sized white wisp floated out of her wand and drew the fake dementor away. Heart pounding, Evie turned around and ran back down the pathway to find another, not even caring at the moment that again... it was just a wisp.

Zhenya heard Professor Dakest behind her and smiled up at him. She was quite pleased with it herself. She decided to take a small break from casting the Patronus charm and turned around to look at the rest of the class. Properly look at them. Everyone seemed to be doing something different, which made Zhenya feel better about taking a small break. But just as she was about to try again, Professor Dakest began speaking about something. A Labyrinth. He said they didn't have to go through if they preferred not to, but that was never going to be an option for the seventeen year old. She was going to encounter a Dementor and Patronus him away. Or her. Did they have genders? That question faded away when she decided to walk up to the entrance. Here goes...

She entered and looked down at the ground to see if she was likely to trop over anything, but it didn't appear there was anything there. She walked very slowly into the maze, looking around her, trying to be aware. She had to remind herself to keep her safe and happy thoughts in the front of her mind, at the ready, rather than concentrating 100% on looking out for a Dementor or Leithfold. It was a careful balance, she was sure. Well, she reassured herself that they weren't really dementors or leithfolds, and they wouldn't hurt her. She approached a section, and as she entered, could not see ANYTHING. Whoa, she muttered. Raising her wand she said "Lumos," swirling her wand and setting a fine beam of light down the dark section. She had a look all around but couldn't see anything, so she slowly stepped through. At last she saw some light, and thought it was safe enough. She didn't need her light. "Nox," she said, turning the light off, wriggling her wand like a wave.

Henric decided it was best to trust her instincts,"Right then,let's go!"Henric steered her to the right path. He hoped he didn't pull her too hard, he was getting a little anxious with all the eeriness surrounding his senses. It was as though they were transported into a muggle haunted house he had been to once or twice before but that was nothing compared to this.

He wasn't sure where were the other students who went in before them. They must had took the other way around the maze. He paused every few minutes and hide behind a tree so he could peek over to see if there was anything obstructing their path. None...good...time to pick up their pace. If they were lucky, they could get out from the maze alive without encountering any of them.(>.<)

"If you see or hear anything moving behind those trees,let me know,"he whispered to llia because he could have sworn he heard something rustling behind them. Henric thought it might be his imagination playing tricks on him, he brushed it off and proceed on towards the light at the end of the pathway. Glancing back for a moment,Henric saw a shadow gliding swiftly behind those trees! Alarmed, he pulled llia back behind him and pointed his wand to the spot he saw the shadow earlier.

"llia! Its behind us!"he shouted. Without warning, one black hooded figure suddenly revealed itself. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stood there stunned at its menacing figure.

Zhenya continued on down the labyrinth, turning the corners, following the path to see where it would lead her. She was muttering to herself to try and keep the memory of her Grandpapi there with her. Somehow, she thought, she was feeling him there with her. But that wasn't exactly a new sensation to her. She walked along, feeling very safe, when suddenly she was face down on the ground, and her knee was really hurting. She pulled herself to sitting position and looked down. Something there on the ground had tripped her up. UGH. Maybe she was concentrating too hard on actually remembering her Grandpapi, and not enough on where she was walking. She had a quick look at her knee, which looked fine, and scrambled back up.

Right in front of a DEMENTOR.

She gasped, feeling a bit... cool. Was that just her imagination, or was it actually getting colder? She took a few steps backwards, suddenly feeling quite paralysed to the Dementor. What was she supposed to be doing? The Dementor followed her, slowly, gliding towards her. "LUMOS," she shouted, pointing her wand in a circular motion towards the Dementor, but nothing happened. She looked at her wand with wide eyes before realising it was the wrong incantation and the right hand movement. It only took a few seconds to break her paralysis, and she immediately remembered her Grandpapi. His face, his voice, everything, and she felt ready. "EXPECTO PATRONUM," she bellowed, circling her wand, and a HUGE dome appeared, fending the Dementor away. She exhaled harshly, making her cough a few times, but she had a big grin on her face. "Take THAT Dementor," she said to herself, quietly.

She hadn't managed to produce an animal patronus, but had been successful in producing something during the stress of it all. Maybe next time she could find out what her guardian animal was?

Zeke was TORN.

VERY torn.

On the one hand, he REAAAALLYYY wanted to get the Charm right, on the other hand... it WAS a super advanced one, so he was also tempted to just have some fun ad do the maze thing.

...

In the end, the maze won out.

He could practice the charm in there, and after class, every day until he got it, if he had to. BUT, the maze, as far as he knew... was a one time offer. He wasn't going to pass that up.

"My turn! My turn!" he exclaimed, wand in hand running straight into the entrance to the labyrinth.

There were twists and turns, and he recalled someone saying that going left was always best, and so that's what he did. He continued a way until he couldn't see in front of himself. Darkness. Pure, darkness. Gripping his wand tighter and keeping to the wall, Zeke cast "Lumos," to light his way. It was moderately useful - he no longer felt as if he was being sucked into oblivion... he was simply being sucked into oblivion with wand light to stop him from being lonely. Wonderful.

Steady steps led him forward until he no longer needed his wand light. He'd made it without tripping or having anything kill him. Success!

Angel looked at the Professor and smiled. Okay so she was going to picture all the things... she was going to make one photo album in her mind with all the nice and wonderful things her and Benny had done. Angel then decided it was time to get on with the main activity... she wanted to practice this spell now.

Angel started to go into the maze, she thought about just practicing the spell but well what was the saying if your going to fail then you might as well fail in style and that was what she was aiming to do, she was going to fail in style.

Angel started moving into the maze, deeper and deeper she went until suddenly it started to feel colder but not like normal... it was hard to describe. Angel then suddenly saw something moving and decided that it must be what she had to shoot her spell at.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Angel bellowed but she forgot to think of a happy thought the first time, it just didn't seem to want to work and then she remember, she thought about all the stuff that she had done with Benny and how amazing he was.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Angel did the wand movement and smiled as something silver shot out of her wand, it wasn't that big but it had to effect she wanted on what ever it was after her... did the Professor see and where was an older student that could get her out of here, she wanted out. "Anyone here?" Angel thought she might as well ask and no sneaking up behind her okay, she didn't want an heart-attack.

After having cast the non-corporeal patronus, she set off down the labyrinth to search for what else came upon her. She was looking around her, looking down to make sure she didn't trip again, and felt something suddenly stinging her face. She reached a hand up to hold her cheek, pulling it away and a small spot of blood was there. "What?" she muttered, then looked up to see a tree branch there. She had walked straight into it. Good one Zhenya. She ducked under it to continue, now aware of NOT tripping up and NOT walking into branches. UGH. Around a few more corners, she kept checking to make sure her memory was in her mind, and the knowledge that she could actually cast a non-corporeal patronus, when THERE IT WAS.

ANOTHER DEMENTOR!

She gasped again, it was like a reflex. It didn't matter that she had seen one before, well a fake one anyway, but it startled her. All of a sudden a dementor was where one wasn't. A half smile spread up her face as she looked RIGHT AT IT, her wand extended in front of her, memories of her Grandpapi right there with her, and she felt warmth spread inside her chest. It wasn't cold. "Expecto PATRONUM," she said, loudly and confidently, circling her wand right at the dementor. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped, she maintained her composure, as a beautiful owl escaped from her wand, flying right towards the Dementor. Her owl wasn't as bright as her dome was, perhaps she just needed to practice? But she watched in amazement as the owl's great wingspan flapped and flapped, warding the dementor away.

Rowan stopped trying for a second so she could listen to Professor Dakest. He spoke a lot of sense, so she nodded along with him. She could see how it would be difficult to scramble around for memories in a crisis if you didn't have a firm one that you had chosen in advance, so she pondered this for a moment. Maybe she could pick two, and then after some practicing see which one worked best? Just because she was interested in whether different memories would so different things... Also, if everyone just used the same memory every time, had anyone ever tried to see if different memories meant you could have different animals as your patronus? Because that would be cool...

"Okay that makes sense, thanks Professor." she said, tapping the end of her wand against her chin as she pondered her memory choice once more... Right now the birthday party seemed to be the strongest - it was definitely the most vivid one she'd had today, since she'd spent so long visualising it, so she'd stick with that one for today.

Looking over at the entrance of the labyrinth, Rusty decided she'd take a moment just to practice the spell one last time, and let some of her other classmates go in ahead of her. Then she could be more confident when she entered... Because she wasn't entirely sure what a lethifold was, and her knowledge of dementors was so skimpy that all she could tell you about them is that they're supposed to make you scared.

Okay, come on Rusty, you can do this... find out who your animal friend is... She rolled up her sleeves and brought the birthday party memory up in her head again, remembering the smells, the sounds, the sights... feeling the explosion of taste from the lovely plum cake, the flicker of the fire, the light breeze blowing wisps of her hair in her face. It was so comforting, especially since she'd been homesick lately, and it really did make her feel warm. Maybe this was her blanket memory. "Expecto patronum!" ...... It was another load of silvery mist, but this time it seemed really clumped together, and she caught sight of... a feather maybe? Or... something? WAS HER ANIMAL FRIEND A BIRD? HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE!!!! Maybe it'd be a ROBIN... can you IMAGINE what Robin would say if she told them her patronus was THEM?????

Keep practicing or give the Labyrinth a try.

Which one to go with? Looking from some of her friends to the entrance of the labyrinth she made her mind up. A break would probably do her some good anyhow. Taking a deep breath she made her way forward to see if anyone was around that might want to give it a try with her. Everyone had seemed to head inside already...including Zeke. SIGH

Oh well she'd just brave this one on her own. Keeping her wand gripped firmly in her hand she walked forward. This wasn't so bad...yet. Darkness the third year could handle it was everything else she wasn't so sure about. With each step taken it grew darker and darker and she knew she'd reached that tunnel area. "Lumos," Hady whispered softly holding her wand up in front of herself as she continued to edge forward not bothering much to keep to either side. One way or another she'd reach the end even if she tripped and fell she'd just get back up and keep moving. Luckily that didn't happen. Soon the darkness began to fade and she cancelled the charm she had needed.

That hadn't been so bad but there was still more yet to come. Maybe she'd come across one of her friends if she moved quickly enough.

Cilla moved so that she had plenty of room for her spellwork. With her happy memory vivid in her mind, Cilla aimed her wand at a space a few feet in front of her and as she moved in wand in a circular motion, she said firmly and clearly, "Expecto Patronum!" The same ghostly cat appeared in front of her. Cilla shrugged her shoulders. This wasn't going to deter her. She waved her wand and said, "Finite" to end the spell. Cilla lowered her wand and thought about how to improve her patronus producing.

Cilla took a deep breath in and gently let it out. She wanted to be completely calm. When she felt nice and relaxed, Cilla raised her wand, her mind focused purely on the happy memory. She waved it in a circular motion and clearly said, "Expecto Patronum!" Cilla let out a squeal of delight as a silvery but solid cat appeared from her wand.

Ilia could feel Henric's anxiousness, perhaps he was uneasy with the darkness? She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand, to try and reassure him. She knew it wasn't real and was very calm about it as she kept pace with him, but she could tell it was beginning to wear on him.

Ilia was surprised that they had yet to encounter another student and it made her wonder. Had very few gone in? Had everyone else taken the other path? Or....perhaps the maze was charmed? She wouldn't be surprised if it had additional charms on it to keep it spooky. As they were ducking behind trees, she smiled a little. She was actually finding it fun, possibly her inner sense of adventure. "Of course I will." She was still scouting for things, she was just excited rather than fearful.

She followed tightly and when she turned her head back to listen to a soft rustling, she was pulled behind Henric. Her equilibrium swam for a moment as the much physically stronger boy was able to almost lift her off her feet. She saw that he had his wand aimed as he shouted, but he was casting nothing.....why was he casting nothing!? She then realized he maybe was stunned from fear or shock. Now the chips were down, and it hit her as real.

She swiftly wrapped her arm holding his hand, around his waist and stood slightly before him. Her wand was raised as she focused her emotion to the friend she was holding, the memory strong and flooding now. She began the circle and flowed all of her will into it. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" The normally quiet girl nearly bellowed her charm at the pseudo dementor that was antagonizing her dearest person.

Her patronus, despite practice and being taught by her father, had only ever been mist or smoke. As the silver came from her wand though, it was much more than there had ever been before. A starkly silver form flew from the tip of her wand as she held her concentration and shot straight through the shadowy figure before them. As it dissipated, the little silvery form came back and alighted on Henric's shoulder, almost seeming pleased with itself.

It was small and feathered with angled features and talons, delicate but strong in appearance. It tilted its head at him quizzically a let out a shrill cry as it stared. Apparently, Ilia's spirit guardian was none other than a falcon.....one who instantly attached to Henric.........Hmm what did that say about her?

More practice or enter the labyrinth?

He decided to try exploring the Labyrinth instead of practicing the patronus charm. Well, in that labyrinth too they still needed to practice it, right? Okay. Taking a deep breath, he entered the labyrinth. No need to be scared, Jackson. It's not a real dementor or lethifold and besides, you are a Gryffindor, right? The Korean boy talked to calm himself down. As he'd gone far, it didn't look that scary for now....

But then he accidentally took the passage which was very dark there. Merlin, he couldn't see anything. Okay, it's just a dark. He muttered to himself. Grabbing his wand, Jackson then cast the wand-lighting charm. "Lumos..." He walked through this dark passage until he found another way that seemed brighter. Good. "Nox." He turned off the charm. Next, where should he go? To the left or to the right? That's not an easy decision, huh?

He was a little on edge now, but only because he could anticipate what was coming next. There was going to be a dementor and a lethifold left still to tackle - though, not PHYSICALLY tackle, not that he wouldn't give it a go should the opportunity arise. As it was, he had a wand in hand and wanted to prove himself worthy of getting an O in the subject. He had standards.

Continuing along, taking enthusiastic but measured steps on the balls of his feet - so as not be caught flat-footed - Zeke held his wand aloft, prepared to perform the Patronus Charm at any given second.

Rounding the next corner, he was confronted with a very life-like dementor. The black hooded figure glided toward him, a deathly grey arm extended. The rattling sound too was an eerie sound... one he would have found disconcerting had it not been a curious thing for him to hear.

And despite how frightful the dementia looked, he found he wasn't scared. Perhaps because he knew it wasn't real? That it couldn't hurt him? But it didn't stop him from acting.

Focusing on his intent, Zeke cast his wand in the hooded figures direction, "Expecto Patronum!" he annunciated, capturing that swelling feeling he had in his chest those years ago at the park.

This time he was more successful, not only did a wisp escape his wand, but it was more than that, it was a curtain of light unfolding between himself and the dementor. Or at least, where the dementor HAD been. It hadn't taken long for the figure to disappear.

To the left or to the right?

The Korean boy decided to take the right was because.. D'uh, it was a right RIGHT way, perhaps. So far he hadn't met any dementor or lethifold, thank Merlin. But still, he needed to prepare if suddenly those two creatures appear. Maybe he needed to start thinking about his happiest memory ever. When he was practicing before, he thought about his first recital but it didn't work. It seemed like there were still other memories that more powerful enough to help him produce the patronus.

Then suddenly Jackson felt that it was a little bit chilly in here. Brrr... It seemed like there's a dementor came closer now. Okay, now he's ready to face that ugly creature. Now he decided to think about himself as D'Artagnan at his last play in Kirin. It was his best day and his best performance. Come here, Dementor! He spoke to himself. Not waiting any longer, there's a fake dementor came closer. Ready, set, GO! "Expecto patronum!" Still nothing, one more try?

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Then a small silvery smoke appeared from his wand. Well, it was something right?

Okay, Rowan was kinda satisfied with her misty shapes for now - she'd improved a lot since her first try already, so she thought she could take it, even if she couldn't produce a full, animal patronus just yet. So she made her way to the entrance of the labyrinth and paused for a second, taking a deep breath. Here goes!

She took a step into the labyrinth, and started walking around. She didn't mind that it was sort of dark in here, and she actually liked all the trees and things, cause being close to nature made her feel safe. She sort of wanted to take her shoes off - because it was much easier to walk on uneven ground with roots and things if you were barefoot, because you were more able to tell what was coming - but she decided against it, because so far it seemed like they had to wear shoes in classes.

After a few turns, Rowan took a left, finding herself in a dark passage, just as Professor Dakest had said. Rusty loved the dark, it was calm and comforting, but to her "dark" meant stars and maybe a fire and that deep blue colour full of little noises of animals and moonlight and things. This... this was just dark... and kinda new to her. In fact, it sort of unnerved her a little bit, cause it was so dark... it didn't feel natural.

Okay, but the way she was supposed to get by this was by using the patronus spell, right? Lumos might work... but that wasn't what they'd been practicing, so she decided to just try the patronus.*First, she needed to get rid of this weird unnatural feeling from the complete darkness, so she imagined a warm fire somewhere in the passage ahead of her - closing her eyes so that it could almost be real. That was better. Now for the spell. Rusty envisioned her memory as vividly as she could, and cast the spell. "Expecto Patronum!" A wisp of the silver smoke issued from her wand, curling into something that was too fast for her to make out, and then the passage lit up. Wow... the sudden change in brightness made Rowan have to stop walking for a short time and wait for her eyes to readjust.

As a result of focusing on the void where the dementor had been, Zeke's lost concentration broke his Patronus Charm, and his protective curtain dissipated into thin air. He was making progress, and that feeling in him was getting stronger. It was something about the recall of those emotions, that and knowing that it was working which gave him the confidence boost he was sure he needed.

Pursing his lips, Zeke braced himself to continue, though there was a noticeable spring in his step now.

He knew this wasn't what the MLE did, and he knew it wasn't what the private security people did either, but it seemed to share that same kind of level of danger - even if his dangers weren't real. This was pretty cool.

Quickening his step now, wondering if he could make it through the maze without meeting the lethifold, Zeke glanced over his shoulder then back straight ahead.

WHAO!

Gliding... a THING... was gliding at him. Not in the same way the dementor had, this was MUCH creepier, and he actually felt a chill go down his sine.

Dementors were still familiar. He knew where their mouthes were, he knew where they could suck your soul into. Lethifolds though... no clue. It was literally like a black blanket... ALMOST inviting enough for a cuddle, but he knew he wouldn't want a cuddle from one of these, real or otherwise.

He was caught by surprise on this one, taken aback by its sudden and strange appearance, so much so that he took a couple of steps back to keep some kind of comfort of distance, but to no avail.

"Ah!" he yelped as he fell backwards, tripping on his own feet.

Bum hitting the ground, Zeke pointed his wand at the fake!creature!thing, his mouth open to recite the incantation, but it didn't come.

WHY WAS HE FREEZING?!

He wasn't scared, he wasn't scared, he wasn't scared... but in that moment he felt like he was that kid again, getting pushed around - too easily knocked to the ground, needing to be picked up and dusted off - but that was a courtesy that was never extended to him. Even Emily hadn't babied him from positions of weakness... and he was thankful for that, for letting him take back his power. She always managed to keep him safe, and all without making him feel vulnerable.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he cried out, his wand circularly thrust toward the black-cape creature.

No form escaped his wand, but what did come was that curtain of light, still stronger than it was before, more like a shield than anything else, solid, and unmoving. He held it longer than he thought was necessary, and as it dropped, he realised he was on the floor of the maze, with no lethifold in sight.

...

He should get up, before it came back. Would it come back? He almost wanted it to, just so he could try the charm again.

Whatever Cutty's reason was, it had worked. Not that Agatha was delighted to hear what he had told her, but it definitely got her mind off... things. She wasn't even bothered by the fact she wouldn't be able to cast a Patronus that day, especially because lots of other students weren't able to do it either.

And the professor explained in detail what they would encounter in the labyrinth, including the fact the creatures in there weren't really creatures. The Slytherin felt confident enough to go in, because she had her own set of tactics in case anything attacked her.

Agatha stopped practising the wand movement and went straight into the maze. It was a very dark place, as the professor had said, but she really wasn't bothered by it at all. "Expecto Patronum." She said without making any effort to think of a happy thought. Of course, nothing happened, so she went straight to what she knew she could do. "Lumos." The tip of her wand immediately lit up and she could see the other side.

Unphased by the fact she didn't try any harder to get the Patronus Charm right, the sixth year solemnly walked to the exit of the dark room she was in. As she wondered what the next task would be, she started considering the many options she had that didn't involve trying to cast a Patronus.

Eden missed the smile from Dakest because she was BUSY doing the maze labyrinth thing? And...yeah. She just..didn't see him. But if she HAD, she'd be very very happy at his positive attitude.

She had made it past the dementor, which was kind of scary, so now she knew...it was the lethifold left. WELP. She couldn't even REMEMBER what that thing was. So she wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she kept moving through the maze...her eyes on high alert. She was doing that VIGILANCE thing...that Bunz had shouted at them about last term. Hmph.

She rounded a corner and stopped, suddenly, at the......shadow.....like thing guarding the path. It was odd looking. It actually...just resembled a cloak or...blanket or something. A black, crumbled blanket. Weird.

Ah. So THIs was the Lethifold.

Eden felt much less scared than she had with the dementor. So she actually...could take the time and try to think of the happy memory better...and maybe she'd produce something. She didn't close her eyes, because she wasn't sure what this fake lethifold would do, but she did keep moving, back and forth, just to stimulate her brain waves or something.

She let herself feel all...excited for that grandparents meeting...for what Iwin had told her...and she pointed her wand at the lethifold impersonator. "Expecto PATRONUM!" she cried(pretty dramatically, too) and was shocked when the misty spurted out from the end of her wand. OH WOW. LOOK AT THAT. It was totally like that one time with Lux--AT LAST. Eden quickly ran past the thing and finished the maze.

Like that.

So easy, really. Eden fell into her desk and sighed.

Right. Easy. >.>

Continuing down the remainder of the tunnel she slowly rounded the corner towards the right. She hadn't any idea why she went that way but she had. Each step she took was carefully and quietly placed in an attempt to make sure she didn't trip or run into anything.

The large trees and shadows reminded her of the forest behind her house back home. It was huge but she knew it like the back of her hand. This is the same thing only it's not real. Nothing inside here could harm her at all. And that's when she felt the chill. A small shift in the air making the hair on her arms stand up. The feeling was there long before Hady was able to make out what it was gliding towards her. From the long black robes and bony skeletal hands reaching out for her as it glided forward there was no denying it.

A Dementor.

Involuntarily taking a step backwards she raised her wand in front of her. She could do this, she could. Do. This. It wasn't real and all she had to do was cast the spell.

Taking a breath she performed the circle movement with her wand as she focused hard on her happiest memory, "Expecto Patronum!" A wispy white mist flew out of her wand lasting several seconds before fading away. It wasn't long enough to form anything more then what looked like smoke but it was enough to make the dementor disappear in the blink of an eye.

Lowering her wand to her side she stared for a moment at where the dementor had been moments ago. A tiny grin formed on her face as she slowly continued forward knowing what was to come next.

Started off with just wisps of smoke? Then Lux must be a pro at the patronus charm by now! "When we see a fake dementor, you can do the favor." Natalia suggested with a little sheepish smile, because she, certainly, would not be able to be much help.

Perhaps it would be the perfect time to ask for assistance? "So Lux, how exactly did you get your patronus charm to work?" Of course, being Natalia, she didn't want to simply appear to be asking for help. On the inside, her mind was continuously shouting restlessly: MERLIN JUST HELP ME. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO CONJURE EVEN WISPS.

Just when the Lioness was about to take a more detailed inspection of the growing light, she noticed Lux unwittingly falling over a tree root. Taking her by surprise, the fourth year quickly leaned over with her Lumos wand in front of her vision, illuminating the accident scene. "ARE YOU OKAY?!" The Lioness inquired in a slight state of panic. Despite that the predator was just a simple tree root, it could possibly be a foreshadowing of something much darker...

The hooded figure extended its skeletal hand towards him, opening his gaping hole of a mouth which was infamously known as the Dementor's Kiss.Why wasn't he moving?! Say it! Henric! CAST THE SPELL! But Henric couldn't do it, he stood frozen at the spot until llia came to the rescue and shot the dark creature into oblivion.

Had not llia's falcon patronus been sitting on his shoulder and llia's hands still holding his arm, Henric would still be in a state of shock. He calmed his breathing once again before turning back to llia,"That was not supposed to happen...I'm sorry,I-I couldn't do it..."he muttered under his breath. Henric lifted his hand over his shoulder so he could touch llia's white silvery,fully-formed shape, translucent spirit guardian. It was amazing! Henric never knew she could cast a corporeal patronus!

"Thanks llia...I know I can count on you..." Henric smile gratefully at her and gave his bestfriend his most sincerest hug. He pulled away and grinned,"I can't believe you did it! A corporeal patronus,llia, a real live corporal patronus!" he exclaimed, excitedly for her. He was confident now, the dementor situation earlier was uncalled for but he was ready...to defeat those things! Speak of the devil, he spotted a new one suddenly came out from the darkness and heading towards them. It wasn't a hooded one this time, it looked distinctively like a Lethifold!

No! Not this time,you fiend! Henric was determined to catch this one and cursed it once he yelled the spell that could drive them away or even better, disintegrated them. He collected all of his happy memories again and pointed at the black mast figure, he yelled,"EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"

The smoky mist he had once tried before for practice had now turned into a steady stream of white vapouring shield(incorporeal patronus) which shoot out from the tip of his wand, capable of protecting them both from any onslaught. Two more tall dark hooded figures started to appear from either side of them. He needed llia to repel them off too!

"llia! Watch your side!"Henric called for her. He shifted his position, his patronus shield now pointing directly towards the incoming dementor. WHOOSH. It disintegrated into thin air.

The Korean boy couldn't help but exhaled. Lucky that it was a fake-dementors. He didn't know if he could face the real one since... this fake one is already scary, huh. Okay, he still had time to continue exploring the labyrinth, right? Tied up his shoelace, he continued his journey again and tried to focus on his happiest memory.

Go straight, then turn left, then straight again, turn right, and.... WHOAAAA!!! The dark passage again, sigh. It seemed like he took the wrong way. Trying to stay calm, Jackson cast the lumos spell. "Lumos." Then he continued exploring the labyrinth. This time he was slightly running instead of walking. After he had passed the dark place, he turned off the light and stopped for a while to manage his breathing. Did Dakest allow them to bring tumbler to the maze? He should have.

Suddenly he felt the chill again, means that there's dementor nearby. Carefully he looked around and the dementor was already flew behind him. "Gosh!" He was surprised and accidentally fell backward. He tried not to be scared because it wasn't a real dementor. Now, focus and concentrate, Jackson. Thinking about himself being D'Artagnan at his last play, he waved his wand in circular motion and cast the charm. "Expecto Patronum!" But nothing happened. Damn it! "Expecto Patronum!" But still nothing. Gosh, he tried to calm his mind down, took a very deep breath, concentrate and think about his happiest memory again. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A silver smoke came out from his wand. Wait... it was bigger than before, not just a small wisp like before. It formed a shield-like and hit the dementor. Does this mean he could produce the non-corporeal one?

What a good improvement, Hwang.

Bound, bound, boun-

WOAH!

STAHP!

Adi promptly halted in his tracks when he noticed the shadowy figure, reading his wand. It was a dementor! Or a fake one anyway. He knew if it had been a real, he would have been feeling numb by now. Besides, Dakest did say 'It will be nothing like encountering the real thing'. But still, he had Torie to help out here. The other guy was probably still nervous.

Maybe it was because he figured Torie would be even more nervous about the dementor- like figure and it gave him motivation but this time around, Adi was able to produce a TIIIINY bit of wisp. "Expecto Patronum!'' The circular movement of the wand of the wand was done and it left him momentarily with his mouth open when the cloud of silver stuff appeared. Whaaaa! He had done it! WOOT!

Look at that 'Dementor' go running back to his mommy! Hehe. But gosh! He had produced something finally and it had NOT been his imagination. PROGRESS! Grinning like an idiot, Adi turned to his partner. "You alright, Torie?" Torie would need a chocolate frog at the end of the lesson. Yep. Adi made a mental note of that.