Juno's face flushed instantly at his sweet words. Though she had a rough demeanor at times, she was still a very sensitive and emotional person. Leon saying he cared about her made her want to jump up and down and fall over and cry at the same time. She didn't have a lot of friends, let alone someone that cared about her as he said he did. This was a huge thing for her. She looked down at their enfolded hands and smiled, "I care a lot about you, too." It came out as almost a whisper. Words like that were hard for her to say. It scared her to make herself so vulnerable when she was always the one expected to be tough.

Her worry crease magically appeared at his revelation. He was having nightmares as well? He did have more reason to have them though. He actually went into the portal. She was just guarding it so no one would go in. When he called her Jun, it made her grin. A new nickname to add to the list. When he kissed her hands, it felt like a billion butterflies were in her tummy all trying to get out at the same time. She blushed and bit her bottom lip. "I would love to have you there with me. Maybe we can get past the nightmares if we patrol it together. Then at least there is one positive thing about being there." She smiled up at him.

It was a good thing she was turned away from him at the moment....

The thought of another girl sending him a Candy gram...even if it was a friend really....angered her. She didn't want him to see her like that.

"Well...hopefully they will get a clue...," She said quietly and more to herself than him. She took a deep breath and turned around with a not so happy smile. "Well, too bad they didn't put a name on there. Now you can't thank whoever it was." And so she could tell them to back the hell off. Then she remembered she had received a candy gram from him. "Thank you, by the way, for the one you sent me," she looked down and nervously played with her fingers, and grinning, "It was really sweet." She looked up and a genuine smile had replaced the jealous one.

Merlin's pants, jealousy was hard to deal with.

The Professors didn't need Daisy to tell them where the wooden bridge was, so as soon as they had gotten outside of the castle, the Slytherin had darted away. She was still making sure that all of them were close, though. Still, she needed to get to the Head Girl as soon as possible.

"Head Girl!" She screamed as soon as she could see her and quickly made her way to her. SHE WAS OKAY! "I was beginning to think the portal would open again and take you..." Breaaaathe. The girl smiled sheepishly at her older classmate, taking a few deep breaths, before grimacing. "I did tell you that the portal had closed, didn't I?" She was sure she had told the girl that, or ... well, tried to tell the girl that. Daisy had been in no state to explain things in detail.

She turned back to look at Professor Newton and Professor Stewart. "I was standing right about here." See, the hard and old January snow was still marked with the snow angel. "Then that .. hole appeared over that railing there." She pointed to the railing at the middle of the bridge. Yup, there was where the girls had been.

Leon smiled warmly at Juno as her face flushed a bit and he felt his heart quicken a bit. He was glad to know he wasn't the only one being affected by this.. whatever was happening between them. He cared for her so much and the mere thought of her being hurt, tore him up inside. As she spoke though he too felt his face heating up and he leaned down and gently kissed her cheek. "I'm glad to hear that. " He whispered, his voice soft and gentle and for her ears only.

Leon noticed the crease between her brows and he moved one hand upwards to gently soothe it out.. "I'm all right Jun. " He said softly as he watched her but her lip.. Merlin.. that action made him want to kiss her but he needed to refrain for now! A grin spread across his face though as she agreed to his suggestion. "I hope it works, and if nothing else I get to spend more time with you.." He said with a warm smile .. "But warding off nightmares would be great as well. "

He watched her as she turned away from him and he frowned just a bit, unsure of what was wrong. Especially when her smile wasn't as happy as it usually was.. "Yeah, it's too bad..." He said as he eyed her warily.. was she.. jealous? She had nothing to worry about.. and he would show her soon!

He grinned.. "You are most welcome Lady.. I'm glad you enjoyed it. "

Juno was a puddle. The second his lips touched her check she melted, and she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to recover. She wanted to kiss him so badly now but was too scared to. What if she was bad at it? The blush on her cheeks went a shade deeper, she smiled up at him, speechless.

She grinned and looked down when he brushed her worries away. "Ok." There was such an intensity between them at the moment, it was all she could muster to say. She smiled at his next comment. "More time spent with you will surely make my nightmares go away." She beamed at him, smiling so much it wrinkled her nose.

She kinda felt dumb...here he was worrying about her and she was being petty and jealous because some anonymous person sent him a friendly candy gram. She pushed away those stupid emotions and focused on him and the fact that he said he cared about her, which made her smile more and more happy. "Of course I did...It's from you." She reached up and gently brushed her fingers against his cheek.

"What do you say we finish running and head up to the great hall for some breakfast? I'm starving." Just as she finished talking her stomach growled to prove her point. She quickly threw a hand over her stomach, chuckling.

Knowing that Kaysha was right behind her, Rosalyn rushed over to the wooden bridge where there was a small group of students assembled.

Frantically she looked around for a portal, but there was none to be seen. It was hard to keep herself composed as the impact of that dawned on her, but she needed to keep calm for the sake of the others. Still, she sent her friend a worried glance. Looked like they would need the Headmistress after all. First things first, they would start getting things in order.

She nodded as Daisy explained things a little further. "Everyone keep a safe distance away from where the portal was." Not a request. There was no knowing if the thing would reappear in this spot and someone else might become a victim which was the last thing they needed right now. "Did anyone see who stepped inside?"

Skylar didn't know why she was out here, but hearing Daisy and Nat speak, the third year felt COMPELLED and CURIOUS to go exploring. Because what if one of the two people gone missing was Hattie? Or Junia? Or Vivian? Or one of her other favorite girls? Or NOAH? UGH, she didn't even want to think about if her brother was taken. But no, wait, Nat or was it Daisy? had said it was two girls, which meant her brother was safe.... however one of her favorite girls, ugh, somehow this sickening feeling was creeping her stomach.

Frantically the third year ran forward to where she noted that female Professor Newton and Muggle Studies Stewart were already at the scene, requesting that they keep a safe distance. As far as who stepped inside? NO, she did not see, but she did hear.

"I wasn't here, but I heard two girls got like sucked it. They didn't go voluntarily. But since there's obviously no portal here anymore, couldn't we cross through the portal on the sixth floor and maybe somehow meet them?" Please? She didn't know what awaited them on the other side of the portal, but she also didn't want to think of the possibilities of whoever it was being STUCK there. And the sixth floor was the only other place she'd heard of there being a portal, so maybe, they were connected? Possibly?

Kay followed Rose and Daisy. She had her wand out, ready to perform any spells to protect the kiddos of necessary. Especially since the first encounter students had there had been reports of a creature of some sorts.

It was both a good thing and a bad thing that the portal was gone. But how were they to get back the ones that had gone through? “Did anyone see or hear anything from the portal?’’ she added to Rose’s questions before turning to Skylar. “There’s a suggestion, Ms Diggory. But first, I think it would be wise to see if they would emerge on the sixth floor.’’ And hopefully they didn’t meet the creature.

Stay away from the portal had opened. That was some pretty sound advice, Daisy fully agreed and all that but - if the portal had randomly opened on the bridge, it could open anywhere, right? That wasn't a very reassuring thought. The girl took two steps further back ... just in case. Better safe than sorry.

At Professor Newton's question, Daisy's face visibly deflated and she shook her head. "I'm not really sure who they were, Professor. I noticed that there were two girls there, but never bothered to see who they were." Obviously she should have. Then at least they would know who the students were which ... well, Daisy wasn't exactly sure of what that would accomplish but at least they would know.

Also, Skylar apparently also knew about the portal? Did everyone know about the portal except for her? It was perfectly normal for student leaders and staff members to know about these things but Skylar now also knew - she even knew where it was. Her eyes widened as she considered the third year's suggestion. Okay - maybe someone going into the portal and meeting them was a good decision but if they were looking for volunteers they better look elsewhere. This portal screamed trouble to her and she wished for nothing else but to be very, very far away from it.

"Professors." The fifth year turned to back to the older women, a frown playing on her forehead. "What if the portal opens in some other place?" What could they possibly do to avoid being taken?

She saw Daisy with the professor and oh another student. Well it was only time before an audience showed up. Nothing was ever a secret really at this school. "You didn't, but it's okay I would have still come out here first. Hoping to find something that would help us figure this out, but there really isn't anything." She glanced at the professors as they came up. "If there was a portal here then I think we have a bigger problem than maybe we thought." She wasn't saying Daisy was lying, but if this portal was moving around the school how would they ever keep everyone safe?


Nat couldn't help but blink at the professor was she talking to ghosts? It was just Nat standing there and now Daisy and Skylar seemed to have followed them. "How can we keep a safe distance when we don't even know where it was?" She had her wand out, but really she wasn't fully sure where it had been. Her next question had Nat looking weirdly at Daisy and then back to the Professors did she not say who, or maybe she didn't know who. "Daisy said, two girls when she found me in the common room room." Nat really didn't comment when Skylar told her obviously eavesdropping story, but raised a brow at her next words. I'm pretty sure I can speak for the professors when I saw that students will not be willingly crossing through the portal. I think as the Professor said we can go check out the sixth floor, but no one is crossing the portal that doesn't need to." So basically if they were being forced to it would most likely be badges and professors.

Could she give away her badge now?

It looked like another student had joined the group, but fortunately she was staying back just like the others. It was hard to know where the portals would appear if they could just pop up out of nowhere, but they could still try their best to keep alert. "I thought the portal was where Miss Carden pointed to. At any rate we need to get away from here. We can check the corridor, but Miss Franks-Mundie is right; no one is going willy nilly into the portal. We have no idea what is inside there." Judging by what had happened to the caretaker, nothing good.

"The Headmistress will need to be told about this as well." That wouldn't be a problem with a patronus.

“That’s alright, Ms Carden,” Kay reassured Daisy. There was no need to make her feel bad about not recognising who the girls were. Not that it mattered much. Whoever the students were, they’d work to get them back. “We’ll find them.’’ Somehow… “In all honesty, I do believe that we’ll need to simply keep our eyes open for now. It seems these portals are unpredictable.’’

“Professor Newton is right. No one is going to be heading into any portal unnecessarily.’’ Since there seemed to be nothing else that could be done here, she asked, “Shall we go check on the portal at the sixth floor?’’ Kay really was worried about the students that went through… She just hoped that everything would work out in their favour.

Skylar listened. Okay, so maybe she wasn't supposed to know about the portal, but she had been rebounded it from it when it opened up previously and been knocked out as a result, so yea, she knew where it was and no she'd never been inside it. But she had ears and heard about the possible creature and yes, okay, students not willingly cross over, but then what if the two girls who got sucked through needed help escaping? Merlin let them NOT be vulnerable first years and Skylar just prayed they had the wits to use whatever ounce of magic they could.

"I'm sorry, i just, I thought maybe they might need rescuing, but guess we can just hope that they know some magic to help them get back. Is there any type of protection spell that we could put on the Hogwarts students to prevent more from being randomly sucked it?" Honestly, Skylar had no idea. She was still relatively new to magic, though nearly at the halfway point in her Hogwarts education, so it wasn't like she was a complete dimwit. "Like perhaps, I don't know if we should wait till the two girls make it back, but maybe a security meeting in the Great Hall and you professors could just cast some protective barriers?" Whether or not it would work, she had no idea, but if it was truly dangerous... ugh, Skylar's stomach was doing knots. Apparently not eating the treats provided in classes did nothing to prevent dangers from happening at Hogwarts.

Leon had to pull away and look off into the distance in order to get himself in order.. otherwise he'd be kissing her.. and he wanted things a little more official between them, to show her he was serious about her and not playing around. She was special.. and deserved to be treated as such.

He grinned as she spoke and he was about to reply when her fingers brushed his cheek and he felt as if he had frozen in place.. Her fingers were warm and soft and his mind seemed to have short circuited.. What was going on? Where was he? Was there even a world around them?

It took a good few moments for him to jump start his brain again and when he did, he blinked and managed to respond to her words..

"That sounds perfect to me. " He said, still slightly in a daze.

She gave Skylar a bit of a look. This girl she wasn't really sure yet, but Nat never really tried to fully read people. It was too complicated most of the time and gave her a headache. "The professors aren't saying they don't need to be rescued, but we can't just go jumping into portals without knowing the facts. Maybe they didn't even stay in there. Maybe Daisy didn't see them come back out. Maybe it wasn't a portal at all, but a weird eye trick that Daisy thought was the portal, or maybe they are up on the sixth floor completely fine." Or maybe they were fully dead and no one was going to be able to save them. Anything could be possible really. "The professors, as well as myself, are just saying we have to think about the rest of the school and you to keep safe." The sacrifice of two girls might just be a price they might have to take.

They were going to notify the headmistress, well that was good. Maybe she'd come join them in their little meeting and stuff, but wait they wanted to go up to the sixth floor. Nat looked around for a second, "Do you think we should look around the other floors as well and possibly on the grounds. I mean if it showed up here it could show up anywhere." If the professors wanted to go near that portal they could, but last she checked she wasn't on portal duty so staying far from it sounded like the best option. "Why don't the professors head to the port and the three of us can split up and just check around the castle to make sure no other portal has opened up." That should help cover more ground.

As far as Daisy knew, two girls had been taken. She had no idea of where they had been taken to, but it was pretty clear that wherever that portal in the sixth floor led to, it wasn't good. The professors, Natalia and Skylar looked really, really nervous. Even she could understand that something more serious than two missing students was going on. Skylar seemed to be particularly concerned, though, and the fifteen year old moved closer to her fellow Slytherin and wrapped one arm around here. SQUEEZE. It would all be fine! They had the Professors AND the Head Girl here. Their job was basically to keep them all safe, right?

RIGHT?

But she did not like the idea that all they could do to keep themselves safe was to 'keep their eyes open'. That seemed -- well, like nothing at all.

It seemed like the Head Girl had gotten that badge for a reason, though; as she spoke about all the different possibilities that might have occurred, Daisy nodded her head. That was a good idea, actually! Maybe they really had returned once she had left the area! And she was pretty sure that it hadn't been a trick of the light but there was no point mentioning it now.

"That'd be fine with me." Daisy told the Professors at Natalia's suggestion. She didn't particularly want to do it because she really, REALLY wanted to stay away from any of these things but she also understood the gravity of the situation. Somewhat. "Each of us can take a specific area and we'll check it!" Well, maybe Skylar shouldn't be allowed to go because she was SO TINY. Tiny snakette. She didn't dare to mention this out loud, however; she had never spoken that much with Skylar but she looked like she would hex her head off if Daisy called her small. "Do you think we should get the other Prefects involved?"

Seeing how concerned Skylar was made Rosalyn even MORE worried though honestly she didn't know how that was possible. Her instinct was to rudh the portal and get the two girls, but that would be stupid. They needed a plan. A plan that kept students away from danger. At least the Head Girl had a firm grasp of the situation. "Yes. The last thing we need right now is more students at risk when we just don't know what is through the portal. Excellent idea to split up!" There was honestly no knowing where the girls would show up. Hopefully through the original portal because they really didn't need more cropping up out of nowhere...

"You can figure out where you want to explore. Calling the other prefects is a good idea. If possible go in pairs just to be extra safe." They needed to perform as much caution as possible. "If another portal appears, PLEASE do not enter it. Instead come to me and Professor Stewart on the Sixth Floor, or another staff member." No one was to rush in and try playing the hero. It was way too dangerous. Before they split up, that needed to be understood.

Again Natalia was finding herself feeling like a failed badged person. "Professor you might need to call the other prefects if you were thinking of doing it quickly, like with a patronous." She really hated that she wasn't able to do this. Maybe Rooney was right she shouldn't even be prefect, maybe it was because of her father. Did schools do that? Because of an Australian Quidditch Player? It sounded far fetched even right now. She couldn't let the other's know she felt this way though so she just kept her eyes on the professors.

"Splitting up might not be best, but with so little of us it's probably the best for this situation." Had anyone seen a muggle horror movie, alone meant dead in most cases. "I'm going to head near the forest and just check the line." It had seemed in previous terms the bad vibes always came from there. "If that's everything I'll head there and meet the rest of you at the portal."

Was it cold and gross out? Yep. Did Dora particularly care as she pulled her scarf around tighter? Nope. She had cast a powerful warming charm on herself before exiting the castle so she was all good. Not to mention that she found Hogwarts beautiful when it was covered in snow all ice. Everything was calm and quiet, she thought.

...

That was, until she hit a patch of ice that her Wellies weren't catching a grip on. And as she slipped it was as though time slowed to a crawl, but she didn't have enough time to pull her wand and help herself. Yes, it was rather contradictory, but thsee were her thoughts. POSSIBLY THE FINAL THOUGHTS SHE WOULD EVER HAVE SEEING AS SHE WAS GOING TO SMASH HER HEAD AND CAUSE HER OWN DEMISE.

Or, you know, she would just slip a ways, fall to her back side, and let out the highest pitch yelp known to mankind... a decibel only magical creatures could hear.

This was her life. A series of mishaps. Ugh.

Almost ironically, Althea could not remember how or why she was outdoors. She'd spent the earlier part of the week dodging homework and had found solace in helping Declan and Levi with their latest shenanigans (even though she would die before admitting that she liked hanging around them.) Although the wind was chilling, Althea felt nothing more than a calming silence talk over her. She was enjoying the stillness around her--or had hoped to bask in the silence a bit more--until a noise, followed by a loud yelp, grabbed her attention.

The Hufflepuff blinked several times trying to wrap her mind around the situation. "Are you practicing an act?" Her head tilted slightly and she narrowed her eyes at the older girl. "In this weather?" she obtusely blurted out loud. Pushing back from the railing, Althea took a few steps towards the girl--she looked oddly familiar, but Althea had never bothered to remember who she was--and hesitated (briefly!!!) before extending a gloved hand to help her up. Her parents would be beaming with pride at how their daughter made the effort to help someone in need.

"I really don't have all day," she said quickly, and grabbed the girl's hand, pulling her upright. "This is the part where I ask if you are...hmm what was it again...," she trailed off, tapping a finger to her chin momentarily. "Ahh, right, right. I'm supposed to ask if you are 'alright'." She finished, using her fingers to make air quotes as she spoke. Although, Althea had to admit: she was proud of herself for being so charitable. Twice in one day! Who'd have thought!

Dora lay back, staring at the ceiling of the covered bridge for a long moment before anyone reached her. She had simply been pondering her life, you know. How it was over now that someone had witnessed this disaster that was her life.

And when she spoke it immediately grated the Gryffindors nerves. Her eyes narrowed and she geared up to spew a few venomous words at her, but before she could the other girl had yanked her from the ground as though she was some sort of piece of meat.

UGH!

RUDE!

"Don't you know anything about first aid? Like, you're not just supposed to jerk people up all willy nilly. I could have had a broken bone or something. " And her attitude didn't gain her any thanks just yet. Nope. Dora simply drew her wand and first cleared up the patch of ice so she wouldn't slip again, and then focused on cleaning herself up.

As an after thought, though, she added a rushed, "Thanks. " Still unsure if she was deserving of her thanks given her... oh wait. Dora recognized her. "You're Levi's sister. He's much nicer than you, " she added. In case she was unsure.

Hmph.

Althea filed El Dorado's reaction to her generosity as a reminder to never help out anyone who wasn't important to her. She took a step back and surveyed the girl before her and remained silent for a long moment. "But did you die, though?" It was a valid question, one that Althea asked those around her on a regular basis whenever they reacted in ways that confused her. "Since you clearly don't know, I'll tell you: I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, using whatever means that pleases me." Her ego was a force to be reckoned with.

She balked at the suggestion that she was Levi's sister. "No, you've got it wrong. You must have hit your head harder than you thought. You're wrong, I'm not Levi's sister, Levi is my brother. That sounds much better." Because as someone who was wickedly possessive over things and people, it was nonsensical to think that other's had any sort of ownership of her person. "It's all semantics," she added, flipping her curls over her shoulder. "Oh, um, well...this is quite awkward." Althea paused and pursed her lips, mulling over how she would break the news to Domingo. "It's common knowledge that Levi is nicer; that's his whole 'thing'. Being nice, y'know." She shrugged her shoulders and made a face where those who knew her best would understand that it meant: you are incredibly unimpressive.

Oh this one was really testing her patience. Not that she had too much considering how her day was going already. "That is not a valid excuse for anything," she said with a snappish tone. HMPH. Really, was this girl missorted? Because that was Gryffindor talk right there. Although her attitude was total Slytherin. Meh. "You're hilarious," Dora said with a HEAVY dose of sarcasm. H E A V Y. "And that line of thinking will only get you in trouble. Or punched, depending on who you mess with." And yes, it was a warning. The Gryffindor was trained in combat, you know. And the Ravenclaw she punched last time could attest to her precision and strength.

JUST SAYING.

And that haughty look... Dora CREATED that look. So it was not very impressive to her. In fact, she mirrored it. This Hufflepuff was not impressive. At all. In fact, she was the worst. "You could do well to learn how to be a bit nicer. Or stay away from me, one. Your choice entirely." And they were done, right? Right.

Dora Umbridge began to walk away, albeit a bit more carefully than she was before, with her head held high and her shoulders squared.

And don't forget the accompanying hair flip for good measure.

Clearly Althea had hit a nerve with this girl. "It's not an excuse, it's just fact," she replied with a gentle shrug of her shoulders. Althea only dealt with facts--specifically facts that were curated by her--and she could not understand why Dorit was offended. She wondered if this is what her brothers meant by her being rude; that people didn't always take well to how she articulated herself. But, and if she was being completely honest, it didn't bother her.

"So," Althea drawled, tapping a finger to her chin again, "what you're saying is that if I don't watch myself, someone--and I'm guessing this someone is you--will make me answer to that. Physically. Is that right?" What a curious situation. Althea wasn't above getting her hands dirty when she needed to, but it was cold outside, what if she slipped just like that idiot girl did before her? That would be embarrassing and she'd never be able to recover from that.

As the Gryffindor walked away, Althea pulled out her wand to levitate some ice that had collected on the railing and flicked it at the retreating girl's back. "A parting gift, to help you cool off," Althea said cheerfully. She did enjoy helping others out--as long as it entertained her--and random acts of kindness cleansed the soul! If anything, she expected to be thanked for her generosity.