Everyone appeared to be far too cheery for her to deal with that morning. Her newly thirteen year old self was not unhappy, just not in the mood to deal with cheery. Desperate to find a place where she could be alone and attempt to get her mind in a better place, she stumbled upon the secluded back alley. It was the perfect, albeit disgusting, place to get some quiet time before tackling the day.

She ventured down the alley, just enough to feel hidden by the unobservant passerby, and sat against one of the few cleanish spots along the wall. The smell wasn't the best, but tolerable, and she could hear the scratching of critter feet in a nearby waste bin. She reached down and tucked her pants into her socks, just incase a spider decided to try and go up her pants, before resting her head against the wall and closing her eyes.

Rylee was in a great mood. An entire day in DA getting to check out the shops and have a good time with her friends was just what she needed. Right now though she was on her own doing a little bit of exploring. Which mainly consisted of skipping through puddles as she wandered up and down every pavement and alley that she came across. Who knew what she might miss if she skipped one of these places!

Shoving her hands into her pockets and humming quietly to herself while hopping over in melted snow and puddles, Rylee wandered down one of the back alley's. It smelled like rotten garbage from all the bins piled around but that didn't steer her away from checking it out. Not even the scampering of what was surely a rat running through the shadows made her turn away.

It wasn't until she was nearly in front of Emmalyn did she notice her friend sitting there on dirty ground leaning against a wall. Had something happened to her?! Right away Rylee's thoughts began to flood her mind of all the various reasons why her fellow second year was sitting here by herself in a dark, dirty alley. "Emmalyn? Are you alright?" she asked softly not wanting to startle her.

With eyes closed and deep into her daydream of flying at breakneck speeds across a wide open field, she didn't hear the footsteps approaching her secluded spot. Upon hearing the familiar voice, her eyes popped open.

"Oh, hi there." She quickly got to her feet and brushed off her clothes of any ground debris. "I'm fine, just getting a bit of alone time after the trip over. It was getting a bit too peopley for me." She flashed her friend a bright smile and stepped away from the wall. It really was stinky back there.

Her friend looked rather chipper and she hoped she hadn't caused her any worry. "What are you up to today? Any shopping plans?" She didn't want to ask about Valentine's day. They were only second years and she imagined most of them didn't have Valentine's to buy things for.

A warm smile returned to Rylee's lips as her friend confirmed that she was alright. That was just what she was hoping to hear! She nodded in understanding now. "Oh, so you needed a quick breather is all." She smiled brightly in return. Large groups didn't really bother her at all but some of her friends didn't enjoy crowds. It appeared that Emmalyn was one of those. One more thing she just learned about her friend.

Only a tad bit of worry but that's because she cared about her friend. Now that she knew Emmalyn was alright things were great again! "Right now I'm just exploring a little bit on my own but I'll definitely be doing some shopping before we leave! Would you like to come along?" As for Valentine's Day she would be picking up a few little things but mostly candy for her brother and friends. If she could find a cute little stuffed animal or something for her baby nephew that would be great too. Otherwise... that holiday wasn't to high up on her list. Maybe. "What about you? Do you have any plans for today?"

*CRASH! BOOM! BANG!*

One of the rubbish bins rattles noisily. Something is trapped inside, and it wants out! The creature continues to struggle. Then it hears the two girls' voices. Maybe one of them will let it out...

If not, it will have to wait for some other unsuspecting person to happen along.

*CLANG! CRASH!*

What nasty shock awaits for anyone foolish enough to lift the lid?

She had such wonderful friends. "Yes, just needed a bit space before tackling the day. Although, I'm seriously questioning my thought process over choosing THIS place." The Back Alley was, well, gross, and the smell was worse.

Thinking getting out of there was a great idea, she nodded when Rylee asked about joining her. "I'd love to join you. I don't have anything specific on my list, but some window shopping would be great."

Just as she was about to suggest heading towards a more populated area, there was a loud crash. "What was that?!?" She quickly spun around, searching for the source of the loud crashing and clanging, her heart beating faster than the wings of a snitch. The loud sound happened again and she slowly started towards where she thought it was coming from. "Should we check it out?" She asked, already searching.

Rylee laughed softly. "You probably definitely could have BUT it does make for a very good exploring spot." The darkness, the smell, the trash bins. It did sort of have adventure written all over this place. Kind of. If you were the type that didn't mind darkness, icky smells or getting dirty. She for one didn't mind any of those things.

"Awesome!" They could have a great time window shopping and doing a bit of real shopping as well if they found something they liked.

Huh?! The loud crash from behind them didn't go unnoticed by her or by Emmalyn. "I don't know! What I do know is there's lots of rats around here." If a rat could make a sound like that it had to be one really BIG rat. Or a large group of rats that knocked one of the bins or something over. Already scanning the dark alley for anything that wasn't there earlier, the Gryffindor saw nothing.

"Be careful you don't get bitten in case it is a creature," she answered following Emmalyn in her search. This was the type of excitement she lived for! The unknown and this time she hadn't even really gone looking for it! Lightly she tapped the side of her boot against a bin or two to see where the noise was coming from. Maybe they could quickly narrow down their search that way.

She was relieved when Rylee started searching with her. Her sense of adventure and her level of courage didn't always match up. Just as she was about to move an old cardboard box, Rylee's creature warning was made. "Oh, good idea. I should use my foot to move this box. Nothing is biting through these boots, and I don't really want to touch a rat with my hand." She kicked the box away and jumped back. Nothing. Her shoulders shrugged and she continued the search.

"Hellllllloooooo? Is anyone back here?" Her voice traveled down the alley and she had mixed feelings about hoping for an answer. "I think it might have come from one of the trash bins. It sounded like it was banging against metal." She watched Rylee kicking a few bins, then heard another faint sound. With ears straining for even the tiniest bit of sound, she leaned towards another trash bin. Could there be something inside? Her hand slowly reached out, grabbed the lid handle and lifted.

*CRASH! CLANG! BOOM!*

The trash bin rattled louder as the creature heard the girls' voices drawing near. Let me out! Let me out!

It shuddered in anticipation until the lid was finally lifted, and...

FREEDOM!!!

The boggart assumed the shape of the thing the nearest girl (Emmalyn) feared most, inching toward her.

As she slowly lifted the rattling trash bin's lid, she leaned in closer to try and see what was making the clanging noise. Just as the lid cleared the top, a giant, man sized bat appeared. It's arm length fangs were dripping with blood and it appeared to be staring right at her. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed, taking a few steps back before tripping over some trash and falling upon her rump. "AAAHHHHHH!" Her terrified screams were echoing up and down the back alley. "Get out, Rylee! RUN!!"

She desperately tried to get to her feet before the horrid creature could eat her, but her legs were shaking so hard from fear, she was unable to steady them under her. "AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!" She screamed again, the bat was inching towards her. "No! No! Run Rylee!"

For just a moment, her paralysing fear was displaced enough by the thought of keeping her friend safe, that she was able to reach into her pocket and grab her wand. She pulled it out and pointed it at the man sized gruesome bat. If only she could remember even one of the spells she had learned in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Exactly. Using their foot to push the bins and other garbage around was safer than using their hands. If something bit or scratched at her boot she would be okay. "Yup! If we use our foot we're able to jump back more quickly too." Hopefully. "Rats aren't that bad. I have one... though he's a pet and not one living in a back alley." She understood what Emmalyn meant. Who knew what type of diseases the rats here had. Neptune was clean and well taken care of.

Her friends observation made a lot of sense. "I think so too." Those crashes were really loud and close. It really did sound like it was coming fr-

WHAT WAS THAT?!

She had missed her friend lifting the lid having turned her back to nudge at some boxes on the ground. The screams of terror had her spinning around so fast she had very nearly lost her own footing, eyes going wide at what she saw. That was the HUGEST bat she had ever seen! It couldn't possibly be a real bat, there wasn't any that size. At least known that she had ever heard of.

"Emmalyn! Come on, you have to get up!" she nearly shouted at her friend grabbing her by the hand and tugging her onto her feet. There was noway she was leaving her behind. Nah-uh, noway, no how. Friends didn't leave friends when one was in trouble. "What is that thing?" Her face read both confusion mixed with a tinge of fear as she wracked her brain of every bat known in existence.

"Let's go, come on, come on." Her grip was gentle but firm as she backed away keeping her eyes on the man sized bat as she tried to tug the other girl with her, her other hand pulling her wand out. The only way she would run was with Emma at her side. And then it occurred to her. A dark alley, whatever that was must have come from one of the bins. What was those creatures that changed shape... ghosts... boogeymen.. no think magical Rylee! Uh... Boggart! It might be one of those?!

How did they get rid of it?!

Think Rylee. Think. It made Boggarts into something funny. Haha. "What's that spell that turns something into something silly?" She was still staring at this over-sized back even as she continued to back away no doubt backing herself into a wall or something. "Riddikulus! Emmalyn you have to try casting Riddikulus!"

The boggart was undeterred by the little girl's (Emmalyn) screams. If anything, her fear was just egging it on. It kept inching ever closer to her in its giant bat form. Finally it saw its chance as she fell down and poised to strike, its enormous fangs dripping blood when...

The other girl (Rylee) came close. Now the boggart was confused. Should continue frightening this girl or change shape and scare the other one. In an instant, the giant bat was gone, and it morphed into the other girl's (Rylee) greatest fear, rounding on her menacingly.

In her terror, she allowed Rylee to pull her up to a standing position, her wand still firmly grasped in her left hand and pointed at the giant bat. She tried to walk backwards with Rylee toeing her along, but her legs were jelly and could not both maintain her standing and walking at the same time. Her sweet friend was trying to drag her to safety and her body was not cooperating.

"Leave me and run. Don't let it get..." She trailed off as the creature suddenly began changing shape!! "You're right, it is one of those changing things." Her heart was still pounding as if it wanted to escape her body and run away, far away. Rylee's words were ringing in her ears Riddikulus Riddikulus Riddikulus.


"I don't know the wand movement. I can't remember." Out of complete terror and frustration, she waved her wand at the shifting creature and screamed "RIDDIKULUS!!!" as loud as she possibly could. Her eyes immediately closed as she pictured Professor Noble wearing a pink ladybug costume, complete with curly pink antenna. It was all she could think of and it even made her giggle just a little bit through the all consuming fear.

She hoped with all she had in her that the spell would work. She also vowed in that very moment to spend as much time as possible practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts every single day for the rest of the term.