The stillness of the pathways was disturbed by a flash of bright light and then professor Newton had just disappeared. Or was it him that had disappeared...?

"Professor Newton?" Carlton found himself lying flat on his stomach on the ground, still outside but not near the pathways. He crawled up to a sitting position and just then noticed the tendrils below him. They looked gross. Actually, this whole situation reminded him of when he'd stepped through the portal on the sixth floor...

Then, he heard someone call out Charlotte's name. Charlotte was there?! That would make him feel a lot better about this whole situation. Quickly, he was up on his feet and started to run towards the sound.

Save. Me.

When he got closer, Carlton saw an older boy with a wand in his hand. He recognized him but didn't actually knew him. Nowhere did he see Charlotte. Wibble. "Help! I got super snatched!" He flailed his arms around as he ran towards the boy. An older student with a wand out surely could get them out of.... Whatever this was. "I was having a nice conversation and I got snatched! Could you put me back, please?" Just a little flick of the wand and they would all be back safe and sound. Right?

"I... I don't like it here."

Rooney knew that Minnie was close friends with Aslan and so he was going to probe at the Gryffindor girl about his ex girlfriend when his entire life changed. Not before his eyes. Not in a dream. But actually changed as he lived it. Only a confused squeak had left the Ravenclaw as he was taken into the portal and he was still as stumped right now as he had been then. Perhaps he'd lost a few brain cells in the translation. Was that what this was? He didn't know. What he did know was he was face down on the ground and as he pushed up off the floor he could identify familiar voices.

Upon closer inspection, or his eyes just adjusting the the new light...he spotted both Carlton and Henry and moved closer to them. "Wait, Char's here? Where is she? Is she okay?" Actually... "Carlton, are you okay? Henry?" He had honestly been innocently in the greenhouses for educational purposes. And now he was here.

And...the portal had been on the sixth floor, hadn't it? So why had he been portal snaTCHED from the greenhouses? No time to waste, Roo took his wand from his holster and held it out in front of him as he pulled the first year closer to him. "Lumos!"

Hearing a cry for help, Henry turned quickly, his eyes falling on a younger student. One that he was pretty sure was a first year. "Who.. who snatched you?" Was there someone else out here, or did the boy get pulled into a hole like himself? "Where did you come from?" Maybe they just needed to get back into the castle. Whatever weird thing was going on outside, they'd probably be safer in the castle.

He didn't much like it himself, but he gave the younger boy a small, reassuring smile so not to upset him any further. The truth was, Henry was very uneasy about whatever was going on but he knew he was older and should be a leader for this kid. "We'll stick together, it'll be okay."

But his eyes snapped to another figure as it moved towards them, though Henry let out a tiny sigh of relief when he recognized the older boy, grateful he wasn't something more sinister. "Rooney!" He shook his head, his eyes giving the area another cursory glance. "I don't know... She was with me in the Great Hall when I got sucked into some.. hole that just appeared. I don't know if she got pulled in after me, but.. no, I don't think she's here. I haven't seen her." He hoped she wasn't here. This did not seem like a very nice place at all.

"Yeah.. yeah, I'm fine." He shook his head a bit as if trying to shake himself out of this wide awake nightmare. "You guys are alright?" They seemed to be, but it was good to make sure. "What is going on out here? What is this?" He wasn't so sure they had any better idea than him, but he couldn't wrap his head around this.

Light shone down on the ground from the Ravenclaw's wand and highlighted some of the tendrils that lay there. The ones closest to the boys writhed but aside from that, there was almost no sense of movement. Everything in the surrounding area was eerily still, making it seem all the more ominous...

It was then that something can be heard from within the castle itself. Something that sounded like a growling...

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The one person Carlton had hoped to see. Apart from maybe one of the professors. When he got close to them, Carlton latched on to Rooney's leg as tightly as he could. Safety.

He didn't answer Henry's questions, or Rooney's. Instead he just hid his face in Rooney's robes and tightened his hold on his leg. Hopefully Rooney's blood circulation wouldn't completely cut off. Carlton glanced down at the ground when Roo's wand lit it up. Gross. Yuck. No. He buried his face in the robes again before he heard a snarling sound...

Carlton froze.

The sick creature from before!

"That sounds like the creature from the portal!" Carlton said suddenly, looking back up at the castle that towered over them. "Maybe it needs our help? Come on!"

OK.

So the headmistress along with all the professors and all the prefects had told him not to go near the portal again, and that the creature was some kind of monster. But who's to say it was an evil monster?

And so he set off. Carlton quickly let go of his death grip hold on Rooney and set off into a sprint towards the castle and towards the growling sound. Don't worry little creature! Carlton was there to help.

As the light from his wand revealed the floor, Rooney recoiled in shock. "Disgusting." Where were they? Sure, he could make out the castle he was so familiar with, but...this wasn't what he was used to. And he was already starting to feel nauseous from being in confusing territory. It was a hard life to be Rooney Bronwyn when he didn't know what was going on. It was even worse to be his stomach in those situations. Twisting and turning and making n--no. Those noises were not coming from his stomach. In fact, he looked straight at the building ahead of them and then to the two boys with him.

There was an even worse feeling in his heart at the thought that Char might have been here and they didn't know where. Because clearly..nothing here was safe.. He didn't feel safe, like he normally felt at Hogwarts.

"CARLTON! Carlton, come back here!!" Crap. Roo shot a desperate look at Henry that said 'we have to go, too' and broke into a run after the first year. "Carlton, waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! WAIIIIIIIIIT."

Not that Henry expected them to know, but the fact that neither boy was answering his questions made him even more uneasy. They seemed to have just as much idea about what was going on here as he did. And as much as he tried to reassure himself that Char had not been pulled into this.. whatever it was, he'd feel a lot better knowing that she was okay. He looked up at the castle as he chewed on his lower lip.

"I think we should--" He was just about to say that he thought they should go up to the castle, maybe head into the Great Hall where he could see that everything was just fine inside and Charlotte was still at the Hufflepuff table with his new kitten, when he heard some awful noise that seemed to be coming from that direction. "What is that?" he whispered, then watched with wide eyes as Carlton took off.

"Creature? What creature?" What was that boy talking about? Henry turned to Rooney, understanding the look. "Carlton, wait! We need to stay together!" He ran after him too, long legs and daily runs by the lake meant that he could catch up easily to him. But really kid, they needed to stay together. It was safer that way, he was sure of it.

A little one wanted to run right into its midst? Maybe whatever had growled so menacingly before had grown impatient since the last time fresh meat had been sucked into its territory. A tendril shot out of nowhere, it seemed, and wrapped itself so tightly around the boy’s [Carlton] ankle that he would most surely fall.

Three tendrils followed suit for the other boys.

Run, boys, run.

The growl deepened, just as menacingly, but it almost sounded gleeful.

Carlton looked over his shoulder at the two older boys following him. Good! They were all running! He beamed at them before something caught a hold of his ankle and he fell.

"Owie..." His body hit the ground hard and he whimpered. His face hurt... His right elbow hurt. Actually, it hurt all over. Especially his ankle. Carlton looked down at it and saw a tendril (?!) wrapping tightly around his leg.

For the first time since arriving at Hogwarts, Carlton was truly scared. Not just worried he might fall off a broom or nervous they were entering the forbidden forest at Herbology, but genuinly scared. He tried to wiggle his way out of its grip. "HELP!" He called to the other boys, hoping they wouldn't decide to leave him behind. His voice was just as shaky as his hands that tried to remove the tendril from his leg. Actually using his wand didn't cross his mind, seeing as how he didn't know that many spells.

The growling was heard again and Carlton wailed in panic. He'd changed his mind about the monster. It probably wasn't that nice, and Carlton didn't want to stay in this creepy version of Hogwarts a minute longer.

Thankfully, Henry picked up pace with him and they were quickly able to catch up with the first year just as he was caught on the floor. "Carlton, come on!" Where were they even running to, anyway? Carlton had said that the noise sounded like the 'creature' from the portal and that had been INSIDE the castle, so why were they going towards it. And wHY was the younger boy asking for help now? "Get up, get up, get up" Rooney muttered, impatiently bouncing on his feet and giving Carlton's arm a tug. He had been holding his wand too high to properly see why the Slytherin was still down at knee level until he moved it and the light properly showed what was going on.

"Oh. Crap." Roo dropped the light his wand was providing, and shot a panicked look between Henry and then the castle. Why was he dealing with this so soon after breaking up with Liv? Actually, why were any of them dealing with this right now? He wasn't going to be leaving Carlton behind even if the Slytherin tried to get him to. Roo cared a lot about the student that he was tutoring two times a week and did not disvalue his future as a wizarding student.

Quickly jumping to action, Roo pointed his wand at what was wrapped around Carlton's ankle and cast. "Diffindo!"

Just as they had caught up to the first year, Carlton had fallen to the ground and Henry stopped to see what was the matter. Had he tripped? No, he wasn't about to leave him behind, but he did let out a little gasp when the light of the prefect's wand showed the tendril around Carlton's leg. "Oh man, we gotta get outta here." This was not good and whatever was growling from the castle didn't sound any better, but they'd at least get away from whatever these creepy things were. And he could make sure everything was as it should be inside. There were people in there and there would be help there.

As Rooney cast a cutting charm on the tendril, Henry lit his wand so he could see what he was doing. But the light also brought something else into view and he froze, staring with wide eyes at the three tendrils moving towards them. "Guys..." Mentally kicking himself into action, he quickly dropped the light from his wand and cast three stunning spells in succession at each of the advancing tendrils. They needed to get out of here now.

The Ravenclaw's spell had done what the youngest boy's fingers couldn't: the tendril wrapped around the Slytherin's ankle let out a shriek from the impact of the spell and broke off. It lay there, dead and discarded.

Meanwhile, the Hufflepuff's spells made contact with the tendrils that were chasing after them. They froze in place, with one tendril inches away from the Hufflepuff himself.

The growling from the castle grew louder as soon as the boys were to enter the castle. Louder... and hungrier. Whatever was inside was very happy to have them there...

Hurry, boys...

When the tendril loosened from his ankle due to Roo's spell, Carlton backed away from it, staring at it lying dead and still on the ground. He looked up only to find three tendrils frozen in mid-air. As quickly as he could he scrambled to his feet, grabbing both Henry and Roo's robes in each hand. Because DON'T LEAVE ME.

The growling came from within the castle, still it was the only way they could run to. Hopefully there would be someone inside that could help them.

There had to be someone inside.

"What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?!"

Because WHAT WOULD THEY DO NOW? Run towards the growling? Run away from it? They couldn't stay out there with the ground attacking them, that's for sure.

Guys? Rooney looked up when Henry spoke, pulled Carlton to his feet and frantically looked for a way to run. "Carlton, get your wand out. Remember how we practiced that spell Henry just did? Do that if you see anything, okay?" Three wands were better than two and Rooney had more than enough confidence in Carlton. They practiced different spells two times a week and this had been something they did often, so he knew it was something Carlton might get right. If not...then he or Henry could step in. It was just easier for them to have all three of them ready to cast magic if they needed to.

Because, clearly, they already needed it.

"Run. Just run."

Henry didn't have much time to be grateful that his spells worked. He still had an awful panic feeling in his chest and he knew they had to get away from where they were standing. More tendrils or something worse could be soon on their way.

But there was three of them and as long as they stayed together, Henry felt they'd be okay to get back to the castle. There was safety in numbers after all.

"I say we get inside," he said when Carlton asked, nodding at Rooney's suggestion to run. He wasn't going to wait for anything else to grab for their legs. "It has to be safer." He turned his eyes that way when he heard growling again.... but what choice did they have? They couldn't stay out here, and they could find some help inside. Right?

"Let's go!" His wand still gripped in his hand, he started to run towards the castle again, sure the other two would do the same. He'd keep whatever pace he'd need to stay with them because he wasn't about to leave either of them, but they needed to get inside.

Up, up, up the boys ran... up the grounds and up into the castle...

More tendrils line the corners of the Entrance Hall and the castle itself. Membranes hang down from the ceiling and along the banisters of the Grand Staircase. The sixth floor looks like it's much closer from here, doesn't it?

But the growling? That stopped almost as suddenly as it had started. Had the thing left? Or had it just found what it was looking for?

Be careful of what lies in the shadows...

Rooney kept up pace with Henry pretty well, glad that he had taken up running in September otherwise he'd be in more trouble than he already was. He shot looks over his shoulder often, ensuring that Carlton was still there and keeping up with them. First years had shorter legs, it was clear. The pain in his head was slowly getting worse as they ran, a mixture of the adrenaline and how worried he was about getting out of here. It probably had something to do with the last few days he had been crying himself to sleep and eating the bare minimum. Break ups were stressful.

This was stressful.

Stopping just clear of the stairs, Rooney waited for Carlton to be right by his side, and encouraged him to stand between him and Henry. Keeping his friend safe was his priority right now, more so than himself. "Stairs......up......go......" He managed, trying to catch his breath before they broke into another run. "Sixth...... It was....." His Ravenclaw brain had been shoving things together as quickly and haphazardly as it could. "It's...the sixth floor...go... GO."

They were all together and in one piece, right? That was really the most important part and what Henry was focused on. It did make it a little easier to not think about tendrils and growling when he was focused on their group. But the scary bits were still there and not about to be forgotten. Especially as their were more tendrils and weird membrane-like things in the castle too?? What was this?

The panic rose in the fifth year's chest again as he stood dumbstruck in the Entrance Hall and looked around. He had been so certain that this nightmare scenario had just been outside and that everything would be fine once they reached the castle - or maybe it was just some false hope that he had been holding on to - that he was just confused that the castle didn't seem to hold any refuge for them. What were they supposed to do now?

He still had the inclination to go to the Great Hall and make sure everything was they way he left them. That everyone was safe and fine. But... sixth floor? He looked at both Carlton and Rooney, a mixture of panic and confusion still evident on his face. "Wait... what? What's on the sixth floor?" They seemed to know something, or at least Rooney did... What weren't they telling him?

Carlton leaned forward, hands on his knees to catch his breath. Why was his legs so short and slow? He did his best to keep up with Henry and Rooney but the last sprint he'd done was the YETI run, and Charlotte had practically carried him through that. He had a tight grip on his wand though, just like Roo had told him to as he looked between the older boys.

Henry didn't know about the portal on the sixth floor? "It's where he lives. Or.. She. It. The creature." The monster. "If you go through the portal on the sixth floor..." He trailed off, swallowing as he remembered. The dark portal, the pieces of clothing, the growling from the shadows... The bones...

Carlton looked at the membranes that hung from the ceiling. It looked like the inside of the portal. "I've been here before! I mean... The portal. It looks like the inside of the portal!"

Which had to be what Roo meant by going to the sixth floor? Could they get out the same way that Carlton had gotten in last time? The snarling creature had chased them that time, when a Hufflepuff boy had hauled him away towards the portal and back to the nice side of Hogwarts again. Now, he didn't hear any snarling noises anymore.

Was that... A good sign?

Quiet as a mouse, the creature climbed like a spider along the tendril-covered walls until it was positioned on the ceiling above the three boys that had entered its domain. It could sense their fear, which only meant that their hearts were beating faster, making their flesh juicier. Though it could not be seen from where it was watching is prey in the dark, its mouth formed a wide grin that revealed a set of razor sharp teeth.

Unable to control itself any longer, it began to salivate. Drool dribbled down from the monster's mouth and it fell onto the head of the smallest human (Carlton).

Before the humans were able to register where the source of the wetness came from, the creature began a hastened decent down from the ceiling with the intention of snatching the boy with its long, skeleton-like fingers. A long, thin tongue slithered between its teeth to lick its lips. The creature was eager to take a bite out of its appetizer...

Still trying to gather himself and get his breath back to normal, Rooney nodded along with Carlton as Henry showed complete confusion about where the Ravenclaw's thoughts had ended up. "I've been patrolling on the sixth floor. The first time people went through...it was the sixth floor! What have we got to lo-" He had been beginning to ask what they had to lose, but stopped at the glob on Carlton's head whilst he was talking. Had he been looking at Henry, Roo wouldn't have spotted it at all. But he had been focused on the Slytherin and so he caught it as it settled in to the young boys hair.

He saw the long fingers before anything else and whether it was the fear or adrenaline in him, he raised his wand instinctively. "BOMBARDA!" Not waiting to see what was going to happen after that, Rooney stepped in to grab Carlton's arm and moved up the stairs as quick as he could. He had every hope that Henry recognised the need to break into a run again and that Carlton had his feet going himself and that he wasn't dragging the boy, because that was ultimately going to hold him back as well.

And he had everything to get out of this for. He had a chess game with his little sister that evening! Or...had done... Chess wasn't going to be the first thing on his mind after this. Because there was an after this.

Was it raining?

Was it raining a big blob of saliva onto his head?

Carlton barely had time to register what was happening before someone yanked his arm. He heard Roo yell out a spell of some kind before the drool slowly dripped from his hair onto his cheek.

GROSS. DISGUSTING. NASTY. YUCK. BLEUGH. EUW. HALP.

Desperately he tried to wipe the goo away as he was also being dragged by Roo towards the stairs. He could feel the saliva slowly travel down his neck onto his back and he let out a wailing sound as he hurried up the stairs away from... Whatever it was that had drooled all over him.

Why him? WHY was it ALWAYS him?! Even when he was just sitting and talking to his professor, trouble came to find him and then DROOLED all over him!

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT wants to eat me! It wants to eat me! It wants to eat me! It wants to eat me!"

Carlton ventured a glance over his shoulder as he ran. Maybe he shouldn't have. Maybe what he saw would give him nightmares for a long time to come. Not even in his wildest imagination (which was saying a lot) could he have imagined what the creature would look like. It really was a monster. Worse than any Carlton had stumbled upon when watching horror movies he wasn't allowed to watch. He drew in a sharp breath, the image of the monster forever horribly etched into the young boy's mind. This all just lasted for a second though, as he quickly spun around and forced his legs to move. If anything could make him quicken his pace, it was the sight of the monster that was behind them.

He didn't want this anymore. His ankle hurt from the fall earlier and his legs were burning from hurrying up the many stairs of the castle. The drool had clouded his vision or was his eyes filling up with tears? A sinking feeling of hopelessness filled him as he tried to keep up with the older boys. They were just kids! They needed an adult! Carlton tried to swallow past the big lump in his throat as his breathing picked up.

Were they almost at the sixth floor yet? He didn't know how much further he could run.

Oh....oh! Henry had heard something about a couple of the prefects guarding something weird on one of the corridors he never used. But he didn't realize it was anything this horrible. And he didn't really have time to put much else together as he gave Rooney a confused look as the boy trailed off. Then as the prefect loudly cast the spell, Henry's eyes caught sight of the most terrifying sight yet.

He froze in horror before scrambling to run up the stairs, grabbing the first year's other arm in the process. No man left behind. They were sticking together no matter what. Henry was also not looking behind him, only focused on getting up the stairs and away from whatever that thing was as fast as he could. He didn't even want to see what kind of effect that spell might have had, not until they were at a safe enough distance, if at all.

"No one's going to eat you.. we aren't going to let that happen," he breathlessly told Carlton as they drew closer to their intended destination. "No one's getting eaten today." He might be trying to convince himself too, but he'd do everything he could to make sure of that.

Up another floor you go, getting closer and closer to your way out. However, getting to the sixth floor isn't as easier as one would anticipate. Out of nowhere, two tendrils suddenly wrap themselves around the Hufflepuff's ankles.

A third tendril rose, causing the Slytherin to trip headfirst into a wall of cold fleshy membrane. The membrane was like a giant cobweb. Though, wth a little pulling, one could escape this sticky situation. If successful in getting out of the web, do not mind the gooey residue that clings onto you.

As for the Ravenclaw, a more sinister situation was in store...

The monster's grin grew even wider and then opened to take a nibble of the boy's arm, its tongue inching closer and closer to wrap itself around the human limb. However, a spell, which was wasn't very strong as it would have been in a different world, smacked it right in the face. Head flinging backward, a loud screech left its mouth. A quick pain surged through its face, though it was angry more than anything else.

Trailing after the boys, the creature latched itself onto the tendrils on the walls and crept along the ceiling. A loud roar sounded from above them as it sped up a floor and rounded a corner. Suddenly, it leapt downward, seeking revenge on the older boy that had helped its appetizer run away. One of its hands swiped at him, grabbing hold of the boy's robe. The creature's mouth snapped rapidly as it tugged, tugged, tugged the boy back toward teeth that were ready to sink themselves into tender flesh.