Whelp, no offense to the professors or any of the students, but she was going to go as far from the portal as she could. She had been doing her rounds and guarding it when she had to, but now that it had appeared somewhere else she was not feeling comfortable anywhere. She had a badge though and so she was going to check out the edge of the forest just as she said she would.


So once she left the group at the bridge she walked over towards the forest. It seemed things always happened over here, so why not think the portal somehow ended up here. Maybe the two girls were in the forest with a charm thinking they were in another school. Maybe that's what happened to the other students when they came back. Plus there was that. They came back, so the girls would eventually show back up too.

Keeping her wand out she walked the edge just looking for anything suspicious.

Voices. Dreams. Bone Readings.

Everything had been so confusing for the past few months and it kept getting progressively worse. On top of that, Charlotte had been disappearing more and more and he had a feeling she had high tailed it off to the Forbidden Forest again, to leave her newborn kids there or something.

Isn't that what tarantulas did every now and then?

He really did not want to break any rules but you couldn't break a rule if you tip-toed around it, could you?

So Declan did just that...he was tip-toeing--with his big lanky body by the light of his wand, scouring the ground for a familiar shaped body.

"Charlotte?!" He called out loudly to a lump, and rushed towards it only to realize it was just a lumpy rock. "Oh. Not Charlotte."

As he glanced up he saw a familiar lurking around the Forbidden Forest. He thought to hide for a split second before realizing the figure wasn't moving in a threatening way, plus, he was pretty good at sensing danger--he thought--and he didn't think he was in any at the moment.

"Did you lose something too?" He asked her, wand held tightly in his hand.

She was walking around just glancing at the forest. Was something moving in there? Things made her a little edgy thinking about it, but as long as she stayed on the outside of the forest whatever was in there shouldn't bother her. Gripping her wand a little tighter though she tried to think about good things. The creatures in there, for the most part, were good ones, the centaurs were there, yes not all was bad in there.

She wasn't really expecting anyone to start talking so when a voice did Nat jumped. Turning she looked around and saw the boy. "Oh no, we had another portal incident. This time over at the wooden bridge so I'm just looking around to make sure there isn't another one open anywhere. You haven't seen any open and shut have you?" Glancing around she was afraid if she let her eyes set on one thing to long that the portal would show up and surprise her.

Not today portal... not today.

"What are you doing this close to the forest? You know you can't go in there."

Ah. Portal. Of course.

Declan nodded once and decided to stay silent until the girl gathered her thoughts. The portals popping around Hogwarts sucking up people were enough to put everyone on edge. It just so happened that Declan was used to that kind of feeling although he was sure the added stress was making the bags under his eyes even bigger.

"No, I haven't seen anything this time," he said thinking back on what happened in the Great Hall. "Do they look the same every time? Big flash of light...?"

Declan shrugged. "Yeah, I know. I was just looking for Charlotte," he said and didn't offer further explanation. It didn't matter. He couldn't spot her and she was either in the forest or sucked up to who knows where through a portal. "She'll show up eventually. She always does."

She kept looking around as the boy seemed in thoughts. Did she scare him? She hoped she didn't, but he was out here alone. Maybe it would be a good thing if she scared him. She walked slowly with him not allowing herself to move away from him. If something did happen she was the head girl and needed to be there to protect him.

This time?

"You saw it before?" This was not good, not good at all. There was more than the two then. This was exactly what she feared. Was this term over yet? The entire school was going to be sucked away into this portal and she just got accepted to WADA go figure that's when it would happen. "I've only seen it once so I'm not sure if it's the same all the time." She tried to think about what the sixth-floor one looked like.

She stopped and froze looking at him, "Charlotte?" Was another student missing? This wasn't good at all, "What year is she? What does she look like? What house?" She had to know all the information if she was going to have to go to the professor about this.

Declan nodded calmly, recalling the incident. "At the Great Hall. Happened around the Hufflepuff table. All I saw was a bright light. Nothing out of the ordinary before. No sound...no...nothing.." His voice drifted off. Declan wanted really badly to have more clues. Maybe if he had sensed something--perhaps some kind of electricity in the air, a chill, a sudden quietness...but nothing. It had been completely unprecedented.

"Henry...I don't know his last name. Anyway, he got pulled in." And the Other Charlotte had been really upset about that.

Declan tilted his head before laughing. He cleared his throat trying to gather himself. "No. No, I'm sorry. That was...Charlotte is a tarantula. She lets me keep her sometimes. Most of the time she's off somewhere," he explained waving one hand in the dark.

Oh this didn't sound good at all. First the Wooden Bridge and now this. The Great Hall of all places. That could have taken so many students. Her eyes went wide when he said the Hufflepuff table and Henry. "Henry Whittebrook? No that's horrible." She didn't want to see any get taken, but Henry? "His sister plays for the Catapults with my dad. This is awful." Now they were going to have to watch everywhere for this stupid portal. How was this going to even work.

She shook her head as she looked into the forest some more. That was until he was awkwardly laughing. Oh a pet, she couldn't do anything but eye him. "Well at least it isn't another student missing. We don't need anymore of that happening." They had to figure all of this out and soon. "Well if you think she is safe on her own, I think you should get back to the castle. It doesn't seem to be safe to be alone around here anymore. I can walk you if you like." She probably should be headed back too.

Declan wasn't sure if that was the last name but it must have been. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's pretty awful." Everyone was very upset. "I mean I didn't know him all that well but it was still a little disturbing to see him gone out of nowhere."

She was pretty dismissive of Charlotte missing. Declan figured she wasn't really keen on arachnids.

"She'll be fine. I just can't help looking for her, that's all. I'm supposed to be her keeper." Something about responsibility etc. "Not that I think I'll be able to do much for her if she....you know...got sucked up too." He nodded to her suggestion figuring he had toed the line enough as it was. "Yeah, I guess we should head back. It's a little chilly and I think it's best we stick to the castle until someone figures out what's going on in more detail."

She felt bad for him. Students didn't need to see other students disappearing like this. No one should be even disappearing. This was just ridiculous and the fact that it hadn't been figured out yet was even more stressful. "yeah, when I saw it the first time it happened it was like that too. They were there and then they weren't." It was all just hard to process.

Nat had stopped walking and was looking into the forest. "Maybe she went in there. There are other spiders and things in there." There were plenty of weird creatures for a spider to entertain herself with.She sighed a bit to herself knowing she was not being sympathetic enough. If it was storm or snowball she would be freaking out, but Nat would never have a spider as a pet either. "Have you tried using your wand to bring her to you?" He could try accio or something. Though he'd have to be ready to catch her if she flew at him. "Or maybe lay out her favorite treat to come back to?"

Did spiders have special treats?

"Probably," he agreed. "I wouldn't put it past her. Seems like a safer place than Hogwarts right now anyway." That probably came off a bit insensitive and morbid but sometimes the truth felt that way. Declan tilted his head at her suggestion. It almost made sense except he wasn't sure how that worked. "You mean a summoning charm? Does that work on living beings?" He could summon his siblings all the time if that worked. That would be very useful. "Hmm, I would leave out her favorite treats but the girls in the common room might freak."

She couldn't help but look at him at that comment. "Wow, never would I have ever thought someone would say that forest is safer than the castle, but I think you are right." It was a strange feeling to think about it, but right now she'd take the hag over the portal. "We can keep looking if you really think she's out here. I don't want you not to find your pet. I would be lost without mine."

She wasn't going to not look if he was truly needed to find her. Even if it was a spider. She shrugged, "I think it maybe could? I don't know. I've never tried it because if a pet comes flying at you, you don't know from what direction." Probably a dumb idea really.

"What is her favorite treats?" Nat was curious now. "Couldn't you just put them in your dorm room?" Might be safer that way at least.

His brown eyes found her face and he watched her with bemusement. Declan half-expected people to express some kind of shock or disgust at his often ill-thought morbid comments. This reaction seemed a little mild. It made him curious. "I think there are scarier things in our world than the Forbidden Forest." He wore a smile as he spoke but there was honesty attached to each word spoken. The Forbidden Forest had nothing Declan found scarier than what he had already seen sometimes when he closed his eyes.

"She'll be alright," Declan said trying to sound convincing. He meant it. "She often goes missing." This time he chuckled a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I think she does it on purpose, honestly. Charlotte has pretty much raised herself."

Plus she probably tired of chattering at Declan and receiving no convincing reply. It wasn't his fault he couldn't decipher her voice. He had a gift not a skill. It wasn't something he controlled.

At her question Declan couldn't help but laugh. It was a striking sound in the surrounding silence only broken by the sound of insects in the night. It was ironic. "Crickets," he answered. "Big fat ones." Declan shrugged at her second question. "I could, technically, but she likes them when they move and I don't want to keep anyone up with their noise."

She looked back at the forest for a moment and shrugged, "You are probably right. Plus to a spider wouldn't mind the scare that is in there." Probably would be a happy place for a spider to be honest. Her thoughts went to the forest and actually wondering if it wouldn't be a bad idea if they all just went out there instead of the castle. Professor M did have them in there earlier this term.

She glanced at him and raised a brow, "So she is always running away and coming back? Aren't you afraid one of the toads or even a grass snake around the lake will get him?" Who knew what other creatures around here would think she was a wonderful snack. "Plus spiders aren't approved pets at school, are they? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?" SO many questions, but she couldn't help but ask them.

"Hmmmm" She was thinking for a moment. "What if we put them in a box so they can't get out all over the common room, but you could have it there after everyone went to bed to catch her?" It was just a thought really.

Declan's eyes once more found the thick darkness of the Forbidden Forest. His lips twitched into a small smile. He really doubted his Charlotte would even be remotely intimidated or fearful by the place. If anything, she would probably feel right at home.

"Sometimes," was his confession. Declan shrugged and pocketed his hands. "She's a bit too big for a toad." He ignored the snake probability for his own anxiety. At the last two questions Declan couldn't help himself. A sheepish grin split his lips and he tilted his head downwards slightly in an attempt to hide it. "Charlotte...I really couldn't do anything about her. You know what they say about gifts, right? No returns?" No take backs? Something like that. Especially if the gift was from someone who was more of a something than a someone.

"Oh, well. That sounds like an alright plan! A box is easy enough to find. That leaves one thing to figure out..."

Too big for a toad, so this wasn't just a baby one. This was a few years old maybe? Nat looked around like she was actually going to spot the eight-legged thing. Part of her hoped she wouldn't ever come that close to it. "I see well... that's good she's bigger." It meant she could defend herself more.

Her eyes examined the boy a few moments at the gift thing. "Someone actually gifted you a spider?" That was interesting. She couldn't help but scratch her head a bit. "Well, either way, you might want to keep a better tab on her. She finds her way into a professor's office and they find out you have her hidden here. You'll probably end up with detention or something." Would they really do that for a spider as a pet, Nat figured get the right professor who was afraid of them and it would happen.

So the box idea was good. She was glad he liked it. Now it was time to head back and get said box, but then he said there was a problem. Oh great he didn't have any treats, did he? "What's that?"

Declan hummed as a response and smiled. It was good that she was bigger because that meant she was independent...which was entirely the whole issue at hand. Still, it was his personal problem and he felt bad enough about dragging a stranger into it.

"Some...one, yes," he said hesitantly as he bent over to brush off some twigs off his shoe. Keeping his eyes on the ground was easier for moments like this. "She's supposed to teach me something." Declan was still figuring that one out. Charlotte's voice was still fuzzy. "Yeah, I know." Detention didn't scare him but it would be harder to do what he did if he had eyes on him constantly. "It's just hard. She's not something I can keep in a glass box."

A bargain was a bargain after all. He might be selfish and unscrupulous at times but he was a young man of his word.

"I don't have any crickets. We'll have to hunt those. She prefers them alive."

She couldn't help but look at him curiously. He was a curious one. His hesitation had her very interested in what the entire story was, but it was probably rude to ask. Though his next words make her have to ask. "Teach you something?" What could a spider really be teaching someone? She thought about this quietly for a few moments. Did somehow she talk? Could he speak spider? That would be an interesting thought, but hey people had been able to speak to snakes.

Yeah, she understood he couldn't just keep her in a box, but still. This was a pet that shouldn't be here. Nat wasn't sure if it really matters all that much, though. It was just a spider, how bad could it be.

...and there it was. She was now going to be a cricket hunting duty, wasn't she? She looked at him for a moment and then at the grass. "So do we get on our hands and knees to find them or...?

He couldn't see very well although he was used to that. Only able to see light and shadows made his vision at night very poor. Still, he trusted his gut instinct and his other senses more than his eyes for those reason. For example, he could feel it on his skin the way she was looking at him like he had a secret. Declan smiled nervously.

"Yeah," he said with a short nod. He tried registering her face in the dark but there were shadows splashing on her cheekbones. "You know, something aside from responsibility or duty or whatever. It's more like a puzzle." One he hadn't figured out just yet. "In a foreign language."

Hands and knees? He stared at her silhouette as a smile overpowered his need to be polite. Declan smiled brightly, chuckling as he tried to hide his smile by turning his face away. "I find if you randomly aim with a scouring charm, they tend to jump away? It's easier to spot them that way but yes I suppose catching them would still involve hands...maybe knees," he said and laughed a little again.

Something was very off about this, but she wasn't going to say much. She didn't really know and it wasn't her business, but it was still... weird? What could he possibly learn from a spider? She just kept staring at him. "A puzzle?" She wasn't really sure she was following at all.. One thing she did know was that the spider was missing and now he wanted her to catch bugs.

Her eyes scanned the area and then looked at her watch. "We need to get back to the castle soon, but maybe we can find some before we go back." They couldn't be out too much longer or the professors would be after them. Plus she was suppose to be meeting a few professors at the sixth floor once she took a look over the grounds.

So it was as easy as a wave of her wand. Turning her wand in her hand she pointed at the ground and did the spell. Nothing jumped though and she frowned, "Are you sure they will be out?" Could it be too cold for them?

"Yes, or more like a fill in the blanks kind of exam?" he explained wondering how accurate that comparison was. He stopped a moment to contemplate it. "Except you didn't really study so you're not aware of which vocabulary words to even use."

"Alright, Understood," Declan nodded. After all, they were kind of breaking the rules here. He wasn't very concerned about detention. He'd serve it if he had to but it would be nice to keep the attention off himself as much as possible. He had almost managed throughout his years at Hogwarts. He had one more to go and he would like to continue to fly under the radar.

"I'm not sure, actually," Declan said with a shrug. "They're wild things. They do their own thing. It's like going to the ocean to watch whales. Whales don't have watches or calendars. Neither do crickets."

Hmm this boy was getting more and more interesting. What was it with Sixth year Slytherins? Were they just interesting to her or did other's notice this? Cal was always interesting, but he had his reasons for to have a soft spot for him. Declan though he was becoming more interesting for different reasons. "Well good luck." She really didn't know what else to say with that.

Was that...

nope..


nothing...

She really thought she saw movement in the grass. Taking a few more steps she got closer to the ground and did the charm once again. This time she was close enough to really see if anything jumped up. "This really is going to be like finding needle in a haystack. Couldn't you just owl order some?" That would be so much easier and they'd probably come in like a day or two.

Once again she did the charm towards the grass. This time she saw something. " There, get them."

"Thanks," he said also at a loss with words. It didn't seem like puzzles were her thing and that was alright. She'd ask less questions and Declan would have to lie less. "Yeah, crickets, they're kinda you know...not laying around waiting to be picked."

That was critters in general.

"I could, really, I mean, we can just go back. I'll just order some via owl tomorrow and they won't take long I think."

It seemed like she had some luck and Declan scurried forward with his hands out stretched. He managed to catch one. Declan kept his hand close tightly but not too tight that he'd crush the cricket.

"One is better than none."

She watched as he went for them and only came up with one. Well that was disappointing, but like he said one was better than none. "Do you think she'll come to just one in a box?" If the spider was big enough she would want more then just one little cricket.

Hmm....


She started to think and move around. It was really starting to be time to get back to the castle and they weren't going to be finding the crickets as easy. "Why don't we head back and in the morning I can send an owl to order some crickets for you or we can come out during the day and try to find some. Does she like grasshoppers?" They could probably find those too.

Declan glanced at his closed fist before looking up at the girl. "No," he said with a small smile.

"Not really but we can try. Sometimes she's greedy enough for just one bite." He nodded at her suggestion and started heading towards the castle with long slow strides.

"That's a good idea. I mean, I could do it too." He had some allowance left over that he wasn't telling Althea about. If she found out she'd find an excuse of her needing it. "She does. Something about those wings..." He drifted and shot the girl a crooked grin. "Crunchy, I guess?"