SPOILER!!: Claudine <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Claudine already knew what was coming before it did. And at the same time, she realised something: Trent wouldn’t have taken them to the Forest, not when he had been so determined to keep his students in out of it, and especially not when he had rescued her and Bernadette two years ago and punished them for their actions. So why was this Trent so eager to take them there? The Snakette stared hard at him as though the answer would pop right out of the man’s mouth. Naturally no such thing happened.

The girl watched further as Trent and most of her classmates started leaving the room then she turned to Heath. “Are you going?’’ Claudine honestly wasn’t feeling up to it given her past experiences but her realisation about Trent made her very curious to find out why he was so eager to visit the Forest. Not only that, but she also wanted to observe him further. Her third reason was that she refused to stay behind if Heath went. Absently, Claudine glanced towards Bernadette, wondering if the Gryffindor would be going as well.

Heath paid no mind to Trent’s reaction to his answer; he was too distracted by what Bernie said not long after he spoke. Whaaaaaat?! She and Claudine had been in the forest before? When was this, and why didn’t Claudine tell him before? Part of him wanted to ask her about it, but he didn’t want to make things weird. An image of Claudine being devoured by an acromantula played in his mind at the mention of the creatures’ taste for the girls, and no matter how he tried, he couldn’t block it out. The thought made him sad, and his mood only worsened then the headmaster confirmed what he knew was coming: They were going into the Forbidden Forest.

An overwhelming sense of dread gripped Heath as he trudged out of the classroom and followed the group. Last year, he had spent half a term thinking he was dead; he did not want to die for real! He nodded grimly at Claudine. “I don’t think we have a choice,” he said. As odd as Trent was acting, he was sure he’d notice if they skipped the activity, and for all he knew, he might subject them to a punishment equally deadly, if not more so, as the forest. We’re probably going to die, no matter what we decide, he thought, but he wasn't about to say that to Claudine! He was trying to put on a brave face for her, like a good boyfriend should.

Until now, Heath held out hope that there was some good left in Headmaster Trent, but as he listened to the instructions, the last shred of faith he had in the headmaster vanished. Something about the way he said, “Don’t get eaten alone”, made him think that not only did the man not care for the students’ lives, but he actually wanted them to die! Whatever this mystery object was, it wasn't worth the cost of human lives, and the fact that Headmaster Trent seemed to think otherwise spoke volumes about his character. I held out hope for so long, but I know our headmaster is gone, Heath thought darkly.

Heath’s hair stood on end as he heard a clicking sound. He looked around, mentally forming a plan. Werewolves wouldn’t be out in the afternoon. Hippogriffs and centaurs would probably not attack, as long as they were treated with respect; the biggest threat was the acromantulas. Wand at the ready, he repeated the spider repelling spell he’d read about in his mind, Arania Exumai, Arania Exumai… As he looked back at Claudine, a thought occurred to him. If what Bernie said earlier was true, she and Claudine were now the class’s best chance for survival! If they remembered which direction the acromantulas came from, the group could head the opposite way to search, but how to ask without prying?

So much for that idea... Before Heath could ask Claudine which way to go, he saw them... a herd of acromantulas. He gripped his wand tighter, his heart and mind racing, though he wouldn't allow himself to show any outward sign of fear. For now, he remained still and silent. Saying or doing the wrong thing could antagonize the spiders into striking; he would wait to react until he had a better feel for the situation.

Valencia nodded at the younger girl. "Sure." She didn't mind partnering with someone younger. She wasn't planning on getting into trouble. They weren't even that far into the forest.

But... what was that sound...?

Valencia couldn't help the words that automatically escaped from her mouth. "I thought you guys lived deeper in the forest."

It took her a few seconds of watching the pincers to recognize the issue. She leaned toward the first year hiding behind her and whispered "The venom is poisonous."

She held her wand in front of her, aimed at the spider that spoke. Which was a better spell in this situation? Stunning or severing?

"Would have been nice if he gave us a clue for what we're looking for," Avalon said quietly to Violet as she tromped through a particularly weedy patch of dirt. It seemed silly to just walk around the forest aimlessly. This place was huge - there could be anything. As she continued to walk, she thought she heard a soft clicking sound, but she tried to convince herself that it was the just the sound of her classmates' footsteps.

No, not footsteps. Acromantulas. She clutched her wand nervously as they approached. She had never seen one in person before, but Merlin, were they huge. The Ravenclaw tried not to look at their massive pincers. Avalon wanted to rat the Headmaster out and tell the spiders that it was his fault they were in here, but that might only make things worse. So could casting Arania Exumai. She'd save that one for if one started coming at her. Maybe Trent would intervene?

The Headmaster?

Gone.

He'd heard the approaching herd of giant spiders and knew they were smart enough to know when they were getting an easy meal. The children would provide good enough distraction. If they were half good enough something he had no indication of in his lessons, they would be able to hold their own long enough for him to hopefully find what he'd come for.

Silent as he could and with an air of calm, the man exited the clearing as the first of the spiders entered.

The children would be fine. At least one would escape....although...that might prove problematic. A witness. Perhaps none would survive afterall. He'd figure it out when he was done.

Now then, it should be this way.

"Not the good kind." Was Catherine's response to Cecelia asking what kind of treasure she thought the Headmaster expected them to find. In fact, Catherine had her doubts about looking for anything at all in that horrible place. It was dark and dangerous, two elements that made searching for anything at all not only not worth it or fun, but also almost impossible.

Did she mention not worth it? Especially with a man that obviously couldn't care less about teaching them anything as they went in. What kind of Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson was this? Honestly.

Catherine wasn't arachnophobic, but those acromantulas scared the heck out of her. The fact they talked was almost irrelevant if it didn't make them even more terrifying. "This is stupid." She muttered under her breath as she tightened the grip on her wand even more and pulled Cecelia a bit closer. There were not many advantages of being related to so many Gryffindors, but Catherine would make the most of one of them: they seemed to be better at thinking and acting under dangerous circumstances than she was. Well, at least acting, she wasn't too sure about the 'thinking' part. But at least that was something and she would take it.

Because right now she stopped dead on her tracks and was unlikely to move any time soon.

She shouldn't have gone there, she knew it! What a stupid, stupid idea!

From behind her, Ashley expressed her wish to reason out with whatever it was that wanted to kill them, and she almost laughed "I hope so too" She agreed wholeheartedly. She was not planning on losing a limb just for this class.

Just then, she noticed that the clicking sound had grown even louder, and the largest spider Serena had ever had the displeasure of seeing in her entire life stepped into the clearing, followed by other equally ginormous spiders "What the heck?" She whispered under her breath, unconsciously backing away, further into the group of students, as she did so - keeping a firm hand on Ashley as she did so. Her mother told her there were giant spiders in the forest called Acromantulas, but she didn't know they looked like that! The headmaster truly wanted them dead.

She raised her wand, but said nothing. She didn't know a spell that would work on those giant spiders! She looked around her fellow students, particularly the older ones. Maybe they had an idea?

Giant spiders! Violet had half disbelieved that rumor herself even as she'd mentioned it in class. But it was true, and here they were! Somehow Violet didn't think they were really here for conversation. She looked aside to see how the Headmaster planned to handle this.

What?! The man had scarpered on them! After luring them in here! What was wrong with him? Had he lost his mind? He was certainly unfit to be in charge of children, and if Violet lived to get away this day, she intended to tell someone about it.

So--they were on their own, and surrounded. A random memory of their last Charms class raced through Violet's head and she nearly laughed hysterically at the thought of using Ascendio or Alarte Ascendare in this situation. Not really useful thinking, Violet. Fine, then...there's always Incendio--fire might work against a spider, though possibly setting the entire Forest ablaze was a potentially dangerous side-effect. What was that spider-repelling charm again? Though she didn't think it would work against so many spiders. Still, maybe it would make a break in the circle and let them run away. Oh yes, she remembered it now--Arania Exumai!

Violet held her wand ready and circled up back-to-back with the other students, and waited to see what would happen.

How was this dude even the headmaster? Honestly, leaving an entire group of kids to die! She raised her hands in a nonthreatening way and looked pleadingly at the giant spiders that could definitely eat her. "We're sorry. We didn't have a choice. We'll leave right now please?" She really didn't want to start with the spells. Her survival chances would be rather low. She kept her wand clutched in one of her raised hands. Just because she was being nonthreatening didn't mean that she was going to be defenseless. You always need an escape route. She looked around. Behind her? Up? While she was waiting for the spiders to respond, she thought of some really creative uses for the few spells that she knew. She was NOT in the mood to die. So many things that she hadn't done... she took some deep breaths. Think about the present. Don't die.

Claudine believed they actually had a choice about going into the Forest. Half of her wanted to skip the trip entirely but the other half wanted to find out a bit of what Trent was up to. So, she nodded up at Heath and she followed the rest of the class to the Forest. She made sure to stick close to Heath because… well, two sets of eyes were better than one.

Though she tried to remain vigilant of acromantulas, the fourth year tried to keep an eye on Trent. The Headmaster was soon forgotten as she heard that dreaded clicking. Her heart went into overdrive and she froze up, gripping her want until her hand started to go numb from clenching it.

It was as though she was reliving her experience back in her second year. Only this time, experience was on her side. As the acromantulas came charging at the group, she raised her wand. Claudine vaguely wondered why the others were staying silent. Did they not see the looming threats moving ever so closer to them? Those acromantulas were going to pounce at any time and there was no way to reckon with them {did Ashley really think that would work?}. The acromantulas were ruthless and merciless. Claudine was not taking any chances; she'd had her fair share of experience.

“Arania Exumai!’’ Claudine spoke up without hesitation. The spell was supposed to blast the spiders away. Hopefully the other students would pick that up or at least use other spells to help.

Phoebe's gut clenched when she spotted the giant SPIDERS wandering from between the trees. It wasn't what she expected, but she also wasn't exactly surprised. Why wasn't she more surprised? They were meant to be safe when the professors took them into the forest, so this had to be some sort of exercise. Fake spiders? Mass hallucination?

What did the Headmaster have to say? What did he expect them to... WHERE WAS HE? Phoebe dropped her grip on Kizzy and Bernie and spun in a full circle, reaching for her wand (like that would do any good). "Is this a test? Like... should... are..." This stupid HEADMAN had gaslit them just to the point that she didn't know what to trust anymore. Shouldn't they send for help? Or was this class? Were they safe? Or were they in danger?

"I... can anyone cast a a full patronus? I think we need to call for help." There. Maybe she was stupid.

This was fine. THIS WAS FINE. Bernie had been here before. She would protect them.

She didn't know the patronus spell, but she knew the spider-repelling-spell. "Phoebe... do what I do...." she muttered out of the corner of her mouth, even as she had to fight the urge to hurl at the sight of the spiders surrounding them now.

"Arania Exumai!!!!!!!!!"

Kinsay only just heard the noises and the spider voices. It sent shivers up her whole back. This was all fake though, right? Another day dream charm...?

Only when Phoebe let go and started spinning, Kiz wasn't all too sure anymore. She did know she wanted to help though. She just... She couldn't cast spells, especially not the patronus kind. But Phoebe said they needed to call for help and she was always right. So Kinsay did the best next thing: SCREAM.

"HELP, SOMEONE HELP!!" And a, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" for good measure. She didn't want to die today.

She was not going to scream. No screaming. Nope. Nada. This was no big deal. They were just giant talking spiders, normal everyday stuff, y'know? Mamie took a deep breath and stepped back again, not really caring whether or not she stepped on Valencia's toes. Seriously, though, the sixth year was hiding behind her?

As the big spider led the other spiders closer and accused them...pretty much of trespassing, Mamie really wanted to run away. She turned to look for the Headmaster--surely he could explain?--but did not see him. Weird...

"We-we-we're so-sorrry!" she sputtered, pretty close to crying. If she wasn't going to let herself scream, she supposed she was allowed to cry. "He-headmaster Trent brought us here, but-bu-but, but we will leave right now!" Maybe they could be reasoned with? If they just didn't like people in their forest home, which was totally understandable, she hoped the Acromantulas would agree to just let them leave the forest. And never ever ever come back.

As Ashley attempted to reason with the giant monstrous spiders, Serena couldn't help roll her eyes. Honestly? Did she think that spiders would listen to reason? Hell, students don't listen to reason most of the time, what made her think that spiders would? But she couldn't blame her, she was after all only a first year. She turned to the smaller girl behind her and instructed "Can you cast protego? It would really come in handy if we had a shield to block us - just in case." She didn't want to scare the poor first year.

Serena then watched as her fellow students all casted their own defensive or offensive spells, one charm in particular standing out as she heard a fellow 4th year Slytherin Claudine cast it. "Arania Exhumai!" Serena mimicked, pointing her wand at the giant spiders, hoping that it would work. She would not make a tasty spider meal. She could guarantee it.

Ashley shook her head. "I can't cast any defensive spells yet." Which was why she was attempting to reason with the spiders. "I can't cast the spider-repelling spell either. The only things I can do are throw chunks of ice, slash stuff with diffindo, and shoot up into a tree. On second thought though, that might be helpful for running away." She really did not want to cast incendio in the middle of a forest. Carpe Retractum might be helpful for saving people though. "Does Locomotor Wibbly work on nonhumans?," she whispered to Serena.

The last time Heath took charge in a DADA class, he nearly got another student killed; there was no way he was doing that again! He looked to the others, hoping another student or the headmaster would come up with a plan… but where was the headmaster? Grim realization hit him as he searched in vain for the man. He left us for dead… Whatever Trent was looking for, Heath hoped it put a deadly curse on him! Serves him right for leaving them to the spiders! Anger suddenly overpowered his fear, and a determined fire burned in his eyes. No, he was NOT dying here! Heathcliff Ellison Jones was no one’s pawn!

So now what? A million scenarios ran through Heath’s mind until Ashley’s voice jerked him out of his thoughts. Oh, that was a good idea! If they got the spiders talking, maybe that would distract them long enough for the students to come up with a plan of attack? Or not… Heath blinked, his eyes following the direction of Claudine’s spell. The spiders were bound to retaliate now; they were out of time!

Something someone else (Phoebe) said gave Heath an idea. He looked at her with a nod. “Maybe you’re on to something,” he said, “Not a patronus, but what if we all send up red sparks at the same time? The combined signal should be big enough to alert Professor Willaimson or Professor Fuller-Thompson.” They’d need another professor’s help! They couldn’t hold off the spiders indefinitely, and they couldn’t count on Headmaster Trent (wow, that was something Heath never imagined he’d think!). He didn’t voice those thoughts out loud, so as not to scare the younger students.

“Ready?” He paused a moment to see if anyone else would go along with his plan before aiming his wand into the air. “Vermillious!” He watched the jet of red sparks shoot from the tip of his wand. Would anyone else cast the spell? If not, would his work on its own? Just in case it didn’t, he’d need a plan B, but what?

Then it dawned on him! If they could apply his “multiple spells at the same time” idea to Arania Exumai, maybe they could take out enough spiders to run back the way they came! But how could he communicate that to his classmates without also tipping off the acromantulas? He tilted his head down to whisper in Claudine’s ear, “If that fails, we aim your spell the same way at the same time and run. Okay?” He couldn’t risk saying the name of the spider repelling spell out loud, in case the acromantulas overheard, but he hoped she’d understand what he meant by “your spell”. More than anything, he hoped their classmates would catch on when and if they saw them both cast Arania Exumai at the same time!

Remember how Claudine wanted to keep an eye on Trent? Well, gone was that plan now for there were more important things to take care of. Like getting out of the Forest alive. Apparently some of the dunderheads here still were incapable of realising that. They didn’t want to live? Then fine. She’d fight her way out of here and save herself and Heath. Maybe Bernadette too and the few students she actually considered friends.

Needless to say Claudine was relieved when she heard Bernadette’s incantation. “Everyone quit panicking! That’s just what the acromantulas want!’’ Merlin. Couldn’t they all figure that out? “Don’t just stand there, try defending yourselves while trying to head back to the Castle!’’ Would they honestly just stand there asking stupid questions? Did they not value their lives? Claudine’s strategy? To distract the acromantulas with spells while making a break for it.

Claudine nodded at Heath's words distractedly. At least she could always count on him in any situation for she had seen him send up the red sparks. “Arania Exumai! Arania Exumai!’’ She grabbed Heath by the elbow and attempted to start pulling him backward with her. Dragon heartstring wand still held aloof and ready in case she needed to cast a quick spell.

Violet had just been thinking of doing it herself when she saw a boy shooting a signal from his wand, and she was about to join him when he and some others started casting the spider-repelling charm at the same time. Would that work? Would they really be able to handle that many spiders at once? Would they really be able to run away faster than the spiders could? Violet tended to doubt it, but other students were already casting the spell, too, and trying to slip away.

Violet had been thinking that maybe if they sent up a signal of sparks and then all cast "Protego" or something, all of them back-to-back in a circle , maybe they could hold them off until help arrived (if it did--was anyone even watching outside the castle tonight? But now it was chaos, with students shouting and shooting off spells and trying to run. Violet didn't think she could organize that kind of defense now. She looked over at Avalon to see what the older girl was doing--it wouldn't do for Violet to just start firing off random spells at will without coordinating it with her partner, and she really didn't want to leave Avalon behind after she'd been so nice as to partner up with her.

"What do you think, Avalon--should we cast Arania Exumai and make a run for it like those others, or do you think we could hold them off with a Protego? If a lot of us cast it?" Avalon had better not take too long to respond, though, because Violet had her wand ready--she was not about to be left the last one in that clearing of spiders.

"Now now, there's no need to hurry." Came the raspy response to those who had insisted they could leave. The feast had only just begun, most of them were not fighting back, there was no need for a premature end.

"We roam where there is food." Another answered the Ravenclaw (Valencia). "Your scent called to us and we answered."

Claudine and Bernadette's spells sent a cluster of spiders spiralling backward but where they once stood, more came to take their place. Wouldn't really work if only a few were casting against the many--and that was the way they liked it.

The herd quickly moved over to the children, pincers snapping ravenously.

Time for an early super.

Wow. Why was everyone so eager to either cry or start hurling spells? Valencia was of the opinion that A, one should never let an enemy know they're scared, B, one should never throw the first spell, and C, anything sentient could be reasoned with.

She did look around and find that the Headmaster seemed to have disappear. This must be some sort of test then.

"Ah. The smell, of course." Valencia said with a casual nod to the the Spider that oh-so-kindly answered her question. She glanced at the first year who was now... in front of her? How did that happen? No matter. She picked up two larger sticks calmly off the ground and lit them on fire with her wand. She handed held one of the sticks out to the first year.

"Panicking is not going to help." the Ravenclaw said turning toward her classmates. "Especially because we have the upper hand here. Spiders happen to not do well with citrus, water, vinegar... and especially untrained students that might accidentally get overzealous with fire spells and who are completely capable of burning down someone's home."

Was she threatening to burn down the entire Forest? Yes. But mostly she was trying to fog their senses. If the smell was the only thing that caused the acromantulas to notice them, then reason says a stronger smell would fog those senses. Smoke was one of those things that tended to fog any animals sense. If they caused just enough of that, they could get away and the acromantulas would be pretty blind to follow them. Right?

Besides, they had to be smart enough to realize that if the students did start a fire, the acromantulas weren't capable of putting it out themselves.

"Shut up, Claudine Big Head. You're not the boss of anyone and you're scaring the littles," Phoebe snapped at the Hufflepuff girl who was being a TERROR in a time that was already terrifying. Heath had the right of it, and Phoebe followed his lead, shooting red sparks up into the night air.

But in spite of teh fact she'd just yelled at Claudine Big Head, Phoebe was willing to try the spider spell. If Bernie thought it would work. "Kiz, stay behind me, and if you need to run, you just RUN. Don't wait for anyone, ok? You find help. Arania Exumai. Arania Exumai."

Avalon was frantically scanning the perimeter for the Headmaster, but it seemed that he was nowhere to be found. Did he really bring them into the forest just to abandon them? Trent wasn't the nicest, but even this seemed low for him. Perhaps it was just another one of his odd tests.

Even so, the situation was anxiety-producing. It was clear that they were outnumbered, and with everyone either freaking out or sending random spells toward the spiders, Avalon was worried that they would soon become dinner. To make matters worse, little Violet was asking her what to do. To be perfectly honest, Avalon had no idea - a sentiment that made her feel extremely guilty. As a Prefect, she felt like she should know what to do in this situation.

She tried to put on a brave face for the younger Slytherin as she replied. "There's too many of them. Unless all of us cast Arania Exumai at once, I don't know if it'll work." And the younger students wouldn't have learned the spider-repelling charm yet, which meant only the older students could cast it. It wouldn't be enough. "Heath's idea to send up sparks for help is smart. Maybe it'll catch the attention of another professor. Do you know how to cast Vermillious?" Protego would come in handy as a last resort, too.

The Ravenclaw sent up some red sparks of her own as she stared nervously at the approaching acromantulas. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she blurted out to the spiders, "Wait!! Have you noticed anything different or strange in the forest lately?" She nearly clamped her hand over her mouth after she said it. What was she doing, making small talk with the predators now?! But a small part of her wondered if the spiders knew about anything going on.

Okay, red sparks it was, Violet thought, as she cast some of her own into the air. She didn't think they could handle that many spiders at once, and wasn't sure everyone could get coordinated enough to try it all together. Violet was getting really scared, because she couldn't think of any spells that would take care of a forest full of spiders. She didn't really want to die before she was even finished with her second year at Hogwarts. And she'd quarreled with her grandfather and uncles right before she'd left for school--she didn't really want that to be the last conversation they ever had in this world.

Well, if she did die, she was definitely coming back to haunt Headmaster Trent. And if she couldn't save herself from all the spiders, she would make sure to take down one or two of them with her! And...Violet froze in amazement--was Avalon actually trying to talk to these things? How would an acromantula know if something was wrong--what even registered as wrong to them?

And that gave Violet an idea--"There's too many of them for us to get them all with the spider repelling spell--but what if we try to freeze them? If we all did it, it might buy us time to get away." And Immobulus was a charm that most of them would know...hopefully.

"I don't think Locomotor Wibbly would do much damage. But that's ok." Serena told Ashley comfortingly. "If you want, you can attempt the Vermillious charm along with the other students. It shoots our red sparks from your wand, so remember to point up high. We really need a professor in here. And if things get ugly, just run as fast as you can in the direction of the castle."

Serena took a deep calming breath, and attempted to refocus. She could feel herself beginning to panic as the Acromantulas began to creep in closer to them. No, there really was no use panicking. She was going to get out of here alive, and she was going to send both her mother and her father very strongly worded letters about writing to the Hogwarts Board of Trustees about Headmaster Trent

Blocking out everyone else's panicked voices, Serena zeroed in on one of the few people who was making sense despite the situation - Valencia, she thought her name was. She was the one reading a book at the start of the lesson. "I can cast Fumos" She offered. She was fairly certain she would be able to do it successfully too. She had learned it in 2nd year and had a fair bit of practice since then. "It might obscure their sense of smell without having to set the forest on fire. But, she was perfectly fine with setting the forest on fire too.

Ashley shot red sparks into the air. Did anyone here know how to cast a patronus? Instead of, y'know, burning the forest down. Ashley hated fire. She had badly burned multiple times and she did not want to get into that situation again. "Please don't burn down the forest.We might not be able to get out. And then we would die a very painful death from smoke inhalation or being burned alive." Repeat. NOT the way she wanted to die. Personally, she'd rather shield until a real professor got them, or just run for it. She made a mental note to run for a tree the second there was a gap and magically blast up into the tree. She scanned the acromantulas for an opening. If the Headmaster made it out alive, then he was so busted. Her bodyguards would probably be sending angry letters and trying to get him fired for the next 5 years or until they succeeded. Why couldn't someone who cared about the students be the headmaster? She tried to think of a spell that would work against spiders.