Oh, there he was! Alice spotted the care of magical creatures professor as he strolled past her. The wink was a little surprising. What did that mean? Well, coincidentally, he was just the person she was looking for.

She watched as he walked all the way to the back of the crowd. Glancing around to make sure that there were enough staff in this area, she turned and went after him. Her wand was still lit. It wasn't dark in this particular hallway, but they were obviously moving.

"Cornish," she said simply, catching up to him. "You called for me?" Wink aside, she knew he likely didn't - but this seemed a good place to start the conversation.

It was only when Trent started speaking again that he focused on the man, instead. It was..... hard to make out what he was trying to say, especially since his brain was just thinking about trying to find Emma, but some words stuck out to him. Finishing the term in Hogsmeade? Best behaviour? Classes will continue??

What??!!

It was safe to say that the boy was confused, and it showed. How could they continue classes? In Hogsmeade?! After everything going on here? It just..... didn't seem right. He understood why: they had exams and every adult family member liked to tell him that school was important. But how could they concentrate through all of this??

And how was he going to concentrate if he didn't know if Emma had evacuated or not?!

When Trent had finished speaking, Lucas started looking around again. He let some others go through before him, only stopping to shoot Thereos a weird look at his saying. An old rat is a brave rat? He wanted to ask but...... no. No, he wasn't. This wasn't the time. He had people to look for: specifically his sister and Józef and all the other five friends he had.

But even as he stood there, an anxious feeling started settling in and he couldn't help but feel as though...... as though he was being watched? Yeah, that's what it was. There were fewer and fewer people staying behind in the corridor and he could only concentrate on how awkward he was starting to feel by just standing there. How could he explain why he was standing back?

Letting out a small sigh, he lit his wand and started moving towards the entrance. Maybe the others had already gone. Or they were coming up soon. Whatever the reason, he would just have to wait for them at the Three Broomsticks, instead. For now, he was just going to have to follow...... someone - he didn't know who - and try to ignore how scared he felt right now.

Vita hung back, waiting around just long enough to make sure the Slytherins were following instructions. Honestly, she also just needed to know that her people were okay. That they were coming, too. She didn't want to lose anyone else in her life, thank you very much.

Wand lit, she finally joined the queue.

People with two last names put a serious dent into the habit of calling people by that last name. Thompson-Fuller was a keen example of that problem, because, honestly... what did he call the man? Thompson? Thompson-Fuller? TF? PIERS? It was bumming him out.

But he gave the man a nod and a small grin. "Willing to play clean up with me... mate?" Dude? No, too informal. The grin dropped at the appearance of O'Hara. Merlin, the woman couldn't take a hint.

"This really isn't the time to flirt with me, O'Hara. We're evacuating. If only someone had suggested this idea earlier..."

The staff and students weren't the only ones capable of finding extra hidden routes about the castle. The fact that the mist doing it was pure coincidence and an unfortunate bit of happenstance didn't diminish the fact that it had indeed happened.

Out of seemingly nowhere, the mist begins creeping into the corridor from the opposite direction the students and staff had all come.

Many who had already entered the tunnel wouldn't notice, but anyone still hanging about on the outside will see that all too familar manifestation of strange weather. While it is still not likely to chase anyone, it does appear to have picked up speed by some small but noticeable degree.

Any room for one more in that tunnel?

She had been looking at Thereos, but she heard her brother and turned, her arms wrapping around him. "Gunnar I was worried, I couldn't find you." He was here now and they could head in, but she looked around to see if she had seen Daisy, had the younger student already went through? Biting her lip she knew they should head through the tunnel or at least get in line.

"Thereos, you will be going, right?" She didn't want to leave without him either, but something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Her head whipped around so fast that her hair had to have hit her brother or Thereos as she moved.

"Pr..Professors. The... the mist." She pointed to where it was, it was time to get out of there.

What did she say to that? It took her a moment to answer. "Normally I would agree, Grant, this is a terrible time to flirt. But then I saw you wink at me. Or was that wink meant for someone else and I misinterpreted?" She kept her voice relatively low and a little snide to project the proper sarcasm.

I suppose you know more about my weird pleasures than I do, right? That's what she kind of wanted to say. Weird pleasures was HIS insult, not hers. She was still annoyed that he'd told her that. But she restrained herself...for the moment. No need to start an argument right off the bat.

She took long strides (being short, this made her walk evenly with the crowd they were bringing up the rear of) and kept her eyes on the students ahead of them - her flickering wand in front of her. "Anyway, you know me. I would be bringing up the rear even if you weren't here. I wish I had my Invisibility Cloak." Sadly, it was back in her office and she didn't know when she was going to see it again.

Trinetta had been happy to just hang by her fellow Ravenclaws, waiting as the students slowly but surely made their way in to the tunnel. When she heard Chloe nearby, though, her head immediately whipped around and she felt her stomach drop as she saw that the mist had, indeed, made its way in to the corridor. For a second, she forgot to breathe. Instantly she was transported to the boathouse, thinking of the bugs crawling up her legs and preparing to swarm her...

Immediately her brain began to whirl in to overdrive. She nudged Missa and Drew and hissed "Go!" to her two friends before pushing her way forward, two Slytherins in her sights. She didn't want to start a panic, but knew it was probably only a matter of moments before more people saw the mist and began to freak out. Call her selfish, but she wanted to get out of here before a stampede ensued. She'd experienced the mist once - she was NOT keen to do it all again.

Finally making her way through the crowd to Eiji and Nina (and Indigo, but her sights weren't on him of course) she grabbed Eiji's hand without a second thought and squeezed it. "We have to go, NOW!" she whispered roughly to them. They'd been in that boathouse with her - they KNEW what was about to happen. If they didn't get out of here before the mist caught up to them...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Carmine had everything packed and moving already, a lot of the supplies had been removed to Hogsmeade already. Of course she was still around - it was her job after all, though the children who had been in the Hospital wing had already been moved out of the school.

"No need to yell, dear." Carmine said with utmost calmness, presenting the young girl with her bag. It had been in the office with her, and had the girl not come for it she simply would have got it given to her in Hogsmeade. "Time to head to the passage way, as you were instructed to do." She added calmly. Not that she was telling her off, precisely, but the instructions had been clear. "Come now, with Valetudo and I."

The raven on her shoulder peered down at the girl and then croaked at her curiously. It was time to go.

Cordelia had no idea how to cope with the situation other than by making a fuss over the imminent danger she felt they were in. Subtlety was not in her imaginary toolbox of ways to deal with situations. Yelling was her specialty. ”I’m worried that we’ll all die.” She accepted the bag that the healer presented to her and slung it over her shoulder. Cordelia nodded at the healer’s instructions to proceed to the evacuation site. Perhaps it would have been wiser to evacuate without stopping by the hospital wing, but Cordelia was not exactly the wisest of the bunch. Sticking close to the healer/professor, Cordelia moved as fast as she could down the corridor to the passageway where everyone was evacuating. OH MERLIN THE MIST WAS CLOSING IN ON THEM!!!! ”The mist! It’s coming for us!” It looked like she had gotten here just in time to evacuate. ”Lumos.” Cordelia nudged herself into line to get in the tunnel, lighting her wand as she reached the entrance of the passage that would bring them to safety. Safety by Hogwarts standards anyway. Had she arrived soon enough to hear the plan she would have been asking many questions about what would happen in Hogsmeade, but there was no time to dwell on that now. It was time to GET OUT OF HERE.

This time Anna wasn't as focused on just listening to the Headmaster. She knew what the action plan was and she was going to make sure all students complied with it. She was still feeling super uncomfortable because of the missing ones, but sadly there was nothing she could do for them. She would make sure to do what she could to ensure all other students were out of there safely, and she kept looking over her shoulder as if expecting someone to join them out of the blue - hopefully Kam and the Ravenclaw kid.

The prefect didn't have the highest of hopes, however. Still, one never knew.

She made eye contact with a few around her, like Rylee for example. She just kept it at that, though, as she didn't have much to say at the moment. She completely missed professor O'Hara's glance, however, as she was busy looking out for students instead of adults. Vita's words made her shake her head in response, though she was in full agreement with the girl. She wasn't sure what to feel either. Anna wanted to feel good about their leaving, but she really wasn't very happy. She glanced at the two Hufflepuffs holding hands and immediately averted her gaze because she had a feeling she knew what they were upset about - of course she did. Running her hand through her hair, Anna took a deep breath and tried to focus on the situation at hand. She could feel her face getting warmer and warmer again.

As the Headmaster explained the exact plan, Anna listened, but didn't look directly at the man. She was still busy looking around to make sure they were all there and, yes, she was still hoping that by any chance the two kids would turn up. The terrible feeling in her heart didn't feed the hope at all, unfortunately.

Anna finally looked at the Headmaster's general direction when it seemed like he was going into the tunnel. As he disappeared and some started following him, she decided she would stay behind as she always did to make sure all of the younger ones were out before she was. Well, even the older kids, to be honest. She was a prefect, it was kind of like being the captain of a ship, wasn't it? She should be one of the last ones out, making sure everyone was safe. That was probably one of the few things she was comfortable about in this whole plan.

During one of the times she looked around hoping to spot someone else, Anna spotted the last thing she wanted to see instead. The mist was now on the same floor as they were and it seemed like it was coming to them. The sight crushed the last bit of hope inside her of seeing Kam or the Ravenclaw boy. Anna felt her nose burn as her eyes filled with tears, and she hated herself for that. This wasn't the time to cry, she had the massive responsibility of helping the adults to keep people safe.

Taking another deep breath and trying to blink away the tears before they left her eyes, she looked away from the mist and towards the remaining students. She spotted Lucas looking rather worried - nothing new - and she could hazard a guess at what he was thinking. Approaching him, she put one hand on his shoulder and made sure he was indeed moving towards the tunnel. "She's okay. Let's go."

Unlike Drew, Missa wasn't as jumpy when Nettie joined them. She, instead, smiled at the girl before continuing to walk. Somehow everyone being around her was comforting and assuring enough that they'd be okay. She certainly wasn't as scared as she would have been if she would have been alone.

That was of course until .... Nettie suddenly urged them to move forward, clearly much faster than their current pace - her confused eyes followed the girl, and a surge of emotions ran through her. Suffice to say, none of them were pleasant, seeing her hold Eiji's hand - because suddenly that was all Missa wanted to do.

Thankfully the sudden commotion took her attention away from the blonde - and she finally noticed the mist behind them.

Bloody hell.

Her hand tightened on Trinity's and the other immediately reached for Drew - tugging him forward with her, "stay close to me" she quickly added - needing him to a little too much in this desperate moment.

The mist.

Drewett had heard those words from someone, from behind. Chloe's voice had sounded very familiar to him, but now that his brain was overanalyzing everything and thinking of the worst possible scenario (which was literally what was happening to them right now), it no longer mattered to him. He tensed a little and his wand hand was slightly trembling as more and more people started to acknowledge the mist that was coming for them. One of the voices, he was certain, came from Dia. He knew her voice. That was hers. She was talking about mist. The mist. The mist. "Nettie, stay close." He was gritting his teeth a little so he didn't stutter like a madman, but he watched the other Ravenclaw squeeze her way through to the crowd to warn Gunnar and Eiji. Nettie surely didn't mean to start a panic, but with Drewett? Bold of you to assume that he wouldn't in this situation.

The fifth year hadn't even been able to register that Missa was already holding his hand and tugging him with her. Drewett wouldn't have minded under normal circumstances anyway. His mind was lagging on him. The Ravenclaw then started to regulate his breathing again. He didn't want to panic. He was already very twitchy with how crowded they were in this passage. He didn't need anyone seeing him panicking right here, right now. Drewett kept his pacing beside Missa, still holding her hand and gently squeezing it. He would be sorry to Eiji about this but it didn't even cross his mind at this point.

Merlin. Where was his girlfriend? Could the people in front please go faster? Was the headmaster seeing this?

After a mild scare where a random Gryffindor child jumped onto her back while she was ushering a group of others, Simran's heart hadn't quite returned to its regular pace, and the voice of the young McCarthy, so soft from the other side of the tunnel she could have imagined it. A surge of adrenaline rushed through her veins and she continued guiding the students through, her wand-free hand now nudging them gently along.

"Quickly, children."

Not to cause any panic, but she hadn't survived all these years to be taken down by some bad weather.

Thereos merely offered his temporary colleague an unamused glance as he responded. "....it is a human expression." He was not responsible for how she interpreted his well intended words. And some wizards found centaurkind to be uncultured.

Ignoring much else, some of which pointedly so, his dark muddy eyes fell once more upon the likes of Miss McCarthy and her ripe raspberry heart. "I will be joining you, I assure," he nodded calmly to her. "My position is of best use to you all in the rear." He could not produce his own light from a stick (not that he wished for such ability) and he could scooped up any straggles or injured on to his back to carry them this way. Even with his limp, he was certain he could manage. Though he was beginning to regret such sentiments in overhearing that O'Hara woman state she would be in the back as well. Along with some rubbish about her Cloak of Invisibility. What good would that do any student to have one of their leaders unseen to the eye in this time of crisis?

A crisis that was now causing the feeling of dread to return and the hairs on his arms and back of neck to stand on end. Then came the foreign sound of bare feet shuffling along stone.

"Go, youngling. We will meet again." He rested a firm hand on the young Ravenclaw's shoulder. "Go."

Was this really the moment? For flirting? "O'Hara, I was winking at my man Fuller-Thompson-Fuller-Thompson... Fuller here. Piers." DARNIT. "We're mates." He wanted to ignore her but she was just being crazy. "But I can assure you that the mist doesn't have eyes. Your invisibility cloak wouldn't do you any good and you might trip on it during the evacuation."

Speaking of, they really needed to move forward. Cornish stepped back to the corner of the corridor and glanced up and down the hallway to make sure it was all clear. "We're safe and we're on our way out. I want students to hurry without running, don't push anyone, but stop waiting for your friends. Everyone else has already evacuated." And they needed to be gone within the next few minutes.

Sebastian was fully intending on giving Daisy that hug but then the Headmaster came and told them to start heading through the tunnel, and she quickly made her way through before he got a chance to.

To say he was reluctant to go through without Kam was a massive understatement which was why he had hung back for awhile watching as his peers went through and some of the professors.

Then suddenly he noticed the mist and everyone started scrambling through the tunnel. Looked like it was his turn to race through. He mumbled a quick, "Lumos," before pitching himself into the darkness of the tunnel. He would not be taken. Not today.

"You won't if you follow instructions. Be calm, Cordelia." The healer said firmly, but not unkindly. Goodness but there was a lot of unnecessary panic wasn't there? Not that she blamed the kids, they had all been on edge for months, but the mist was not fast and as long as they didn't choose to venture into it then they would be fine.

She shot a look at a couple of her coworkers, and then leading by example, and also to be sure that she could help the children on the other end, the healer headed into the tunnel, her wand lit up, remaining calm but not wasting time either.

Malachi was already some ways into the tunnel by the time he heard the shuffling and faint words of panic. Having decided on a speedy evacuation, his steps had been brisk. His own wand cast a lumos maxima adding quite a bit of light to this end of the tunnel. He noted the students casting their own further back and trusted the Professors carrying the rear would be casting their own as well.

What he didn't expect was the mumblings and anxiously spoken words moving toward him.

The mist?

Out in the corridor? Merlin's beard they'd lose the entire castle at this rate. With no one left behind to keep up the barriers--and what good were they at this point when they mist seemed to keep finding ways around it--it would only keep rising. The elves already knew they were meant to be evacuating as well, the Headmaster only hoped they wouldn't waste too much time before doing so.

"Everyone remain calm!" He called back through the tunnel. Despite the way the man's heart and breathe seized inside him, Malachi was aware enough that when the leader panicked, the rest were likely to follow, especially when they were still just children. There was no need to panic. Given what he'd seen of the mist, it would never outrun them. "Remain focused, otherwise you're likely to trip or shove and cause even greater troubles. Proceed through the tunnel as instructed. We'll be fine."

Even as he spoke the words, he prayed a silent prayer that it would be true. Already into the tunnel, he couldn't see what was happening on the outside and had to leave his trust with the staff bringing up the rear. No sense leaving the front. If something popped up further down the tunnel, he would need to be that line of defense.

Eniola couldn't pretend she wasn't freaked out. Her last encounter with the mist was hard enough. But she was also relieved. Relieved that the Headmaster found some sense and decided to evacuate the school. Finally.

Sure, she was shuffling along like everyone else, but she kept her wand at the ready. There was no sense being daft about the situation they were in. She as scared, yes, but she was always ready.

Valencia was not worried. Not at all. Nope. Not even a little bit. She was raised on listening to adults in times of trouble was the best way to not die. So she was not panicking. The thought didn't even come to the young Ravenclaw. She continued forward and the only thing really on her mind was her book collection and hoping the elves brought it to her safely.

So that wink hadn't been directed at her? That made sense. She thought it weird that he (of all people) would take that moment to randomly wink at her. Perhaps her desire to confront him about his earlier words made her less aware of her surroundings when it happened. "I misunderstood." That was all she would say about it. "I wouldn't run with my cloak...and of course I know that it wouldn't protect me from the mist. I just don't like leaving it behind." Because who knew when they were going to come back?

The mist entering their tunnel was freaking people out, but for now they seemed to be a good distance ahead of it. Still, Alice hated cutting things this short. If only they had all listened to her when she'd suggested leaving awhile ago. "Cornish," she said in a lower voice (stepping closer towards him so she could still be heard.) "Don't you agree now that we should have left when I suggested? We wouldn't be in such a hurried rush if we had just done what I suggested."

Her wand flickered out at that moment. Swearing silently, she waved it and hissed. "Lumos!" It flickered back on. Her training with Malachi was still a work on progress. But at least the spell worked.

Piers would have found the whole situation between Cornish and O'Hara incredibly amusing if it weren't for the mist that was creeping its way towards them. Of course he had chosen to take up the rear - to take the HIGH road. The high road got him in trouble. The high road was crowded. But there wasn't time to GRIPE, so Piers just got a hustle on instead.

"Piers is fine," he replied simply to Grant as they began to get a move on down the corridor. Though he did find it odd that it was nearing the end of term and they hadn't established this already. Life was a little simpler when he had a shorter name. But not nearly quite as good.

He really hoped the mist hadn't learned to run because this tunnel was only so wide and there were quite a lot of students ahead of them and he really did NOT want to get caught up in it again. He had a feeling it wasn't just going to scare him this time.

Piers did wonder, though, if O'Hara really got what Cornish was saying. What was she trying to whisper in his ear now?

"You heard the Headmaster," Piers said as confidently as he could as he ushered the students forward. "Stay calm. We'll be in Hogsmeade soon."

"I think the Headmaster had a plan and a line of communication, and we need to respect that he knew what he was about. We haven't lost anyone in the interim, so I sincerely doubt a bit of hurry makes a difference," Cornish shrugged at O'Hara as he set massive shielding spells between the mist and their departing back. What would Lumos do?

He winked at Piers again, just because he appreciated the man was being proactive. It looked like the students were all well ahead of them, thankfully. "What say you, old man? Would a wind spell help? Should we seal the passage? The mist isn't intelligent enough to follow us, but at least it will slow the seepage."

The mist wasn't moving much faster, no, not since the last time anyone had seen it but for those not present the day the students went missing, several pairs of hands suddenly reaching out from the mist may have come as a surprise.

They are still too far away to be of any real consequence but they grab at the air around them, hoping to pull the unsuspecting or exceptionally unobservant in.

A murmur comes from within the mist. Rumblings like a coming storm. Then quite suddenly, it does pick up speed. Not nearly enough to suddenly overtake the group but enough to be noticed as it makes a beeline for the evacuation. That shield charm was starting to sound like a good idea, wasn't it?

She was trembling seeing the mist and she could hear people around her, but it was making her afraid all over again. The images that she had from the first time she was in it, he didn't see those now, but it was still further away. Gripping onto Gunnars arm he stared at the mist.

Giving Thereos a look of concern as he told her to go she looked back at the mist JUST TO SEE HANDS!! "IT'S TRYING TO GRAB" Her wand was out, but she didn't have the confidence she could help at all. "Gunnar we need to go." She turned and gave one last look to her professor before heading into the tunnel with the others. Her shortness making it hard to see over the crowd so the tunnel felt extra long for her, but she kept looking over her shoulder to make sure the mist wasn't coming in behind her.

Come on Professors get coming too.