Ash was angry and upset. So she went to the angry tree. And she took out some rage, in the company of the beautiful angry tree. She had found some really big rocks. And she just threw them around(away from the tree, duh, she didn't wanna DIE). She set up a big stick, almost as tall as her. And she threw rocks at the stick. After a couple tries, the stick was a stub. And then she cried. A SAFE way away from the tree. UGH. "TAKE THAT." She threw a rock very, very far. Like inconceivably far. Ash was very strong when she wanted to be. She looked around. There was nobody there. Good. Didn't wanna die. Or get tortured. Because Ash had things at stake. And then she cried more. Tears streaked down her face as she threw a few more rocks. And then she lay down on the ground and cried all over her art notebook. It made the art look more interesting, actually. The tree rustled nearby her. She looked at it. It was beautiful. And good company. As long as she stayed 100 feet away from it.

Tadhg needed to get away from the castle, all of this was too much, from the owls to what happened lately it was too much. Deciding to take refuge outside to gain some normality and sanity, he started walking down the pathways. Whistling to himself he stopped short seeing rocks and sticks flying around he stopped in his tracks. " What in the World?" Walking closer he seen it was Ashley a fellow first year. He didn't blame her for what she was doing, he would do the same thing himself and probably would but he mainly went to the lake but it was too crowded for his liking.

" Hey Ash... I'm sorry about everything lately. " He really didn't know what else to say, but he felt terrible for his friends and everyone else. He hated what was going on, he hated every minute of it, and this term just started! Definitely not how he wanted his first year to be, he was scared how the rest of this year would go. "Great way to start the first year huh? I thought it was supposed to be fun, not like this!" Taking a rock he threw it in anger.

Ash stopped crying. In public? As if she would do that. Tucking her art away, she stood up. "It's fine." It wasn't obviously. That's why she was letting out her rage before she took it out on a cultist. "I'm actually a second year. And last year I got possessed. But this is wayyyy worse than anything I've seen." Frankly, she couldn't believe she was even alive. She looked as he threw a rock. She threw one too. "This is cathartic."

Tadhg knew that she wasn't okay, I mean who would with everything going on lately? Although he didn't push the issue and just nodded. "Oh... I'm sorry, I should've asked before guessing, you were possessed?! I'm sorry Ash seems like get the worse end of it." He nodded his eyes a mixture of hurt and anger. "They need to go back where they came from, we don't want them here!"

"Yep. It's always me. Basically. But if I'm still alive, I have the best luck in the world. So I think I'm lucky." She paused confusedly. "Do we know each other? I mean, I'm Ash, and you're... Tadhg?" Maybe? "I wish the ministry would come and save us. I don't want to start a rebellion, because the only time rebellion works is when you're okay with people on your side dying. And I'm not. I don't want to see my friends get crucio'd into oblivion. Hence why I'm biding my time." And getting threatened five minutes into the first class of the day was scary, although Ash didn't want to admit it. "You know what I find funny? I can't ever make it through the first class of the year without getting injured AND getting into trouble." It was like a curse. She laughed harshly. Ha. Ha. Ha. "I don't want them to go back to anywhere other than Azkaban or..." 'A one way trip to the afterlife. Painfully.' See what she did there?

Looking at her he frowned at her words, she sounded hurt angry and broken, honestly he didn't blame her. "Wow... what a great way to spend your first two years here, I'm sorry Ash that stinks." Tadhg nodded. " Yup that's my name, I don't think so, just in classes so far." He went to primary school with Lia and stuff, maybe she did as well? "Sadly I don't want that, I don't know much about muggles cause I'm a pureblood, but I want to learn and know more y'know? I know it's silly."


"I hope the minister comes, I mean gotta be tons of parents worried and stuff right?" He knew his parents were probably worried sick right now, but how could he write them? [B]"Looks like that's where they came from is Azkaban, although I don't really know where they came from I don't want to know."[/b[ Where ever they came from they can go back and stay there for all he cared.

"Yep. But there are some fun parts. They all involve art or eating food or making friends." Because those were the only good things to ever happen at this school. "I'm a muggleborn. I love the muggle world so, so much. They never tried to kill me at school in Australia. But I can't very well say that, so I think it instead." She nodded. "It was probably tactically unstrategic to not let mail out though. That makes school a million times more suspicious." Ash smiled. Small victories, right? She liked telling herself that she was a better tactician than they were. "Maybe the government is infiltrated. But you know what, Tadhg? There will always be good people, even if all of the authorities are bad. Somebody will come save us." They all needed hope.

Tadhg nodded and smiled. "Don't let anyone take that happiness away from you, we gotta hold onto to something to keep us sane." The Headmaster and his evil croonies could take everything else away from them, but they can't take the things that makes them happy. "I don't know much about muggles or the muggle world, I would like to know more about it I'm curious." He nodded. "Parents are going to get suspicious sooner or later, I don't know why they took all the owls, it was stupid on their part id they're trying to keep a down low." Nodding his head he let out a small sigh. " I hope so, hate to go all term or so like this." That wouldn't be fun or good.

"I won't, don't worry." Ash made it a point to be defiantly happy sometimes. "The muggle world is so interesting. Especially tech and stuff. The cult keeps saying that wizards invented tech, but that doesn't explain why they made us blow up the technology lounge." They were just jealous. "We are going to be found. People who kidnap an entire school never get away with it." Even if they killed everyone there. Especially if they killed everyone there.

What an interesting looking tree.

It became clear soon enough that this would not be the way out but perhaps they could take cover behind the--oh wow, it moved!

One then another, they began moving closer to the tree. The poor bird had been whomped and they needed to understand what was happening in this strange place.

These muggles were fast! Luckily Cece was fast too and she tried not to draw too much attention as she moved CAREFULLY, skirting around the willow and TRYING her best not to get whomped in the process. Okay, focus. FOCUS and don’t get whomped. ”Repello muggletum.”

Please work. Please work. Please work..

Finally, running instead of swimming or flying was paying off. Mamie caught up with the older student--Cecelia, she was pretty sure--and followed her lead in trying to sneak around. Did it matter of the Muggles saw them, though? Surely they'd be obliviated after this? She wasn't even sure that was a good thing.

What she was sure of, though, was those Muggles were scared and would probably get too close to the tree. "Repello muggletum." she said, hovering near the older girl.

Two spells would be better than one, right?

Ash caught up to the rest of the group at the willow, very scared and very out of breath. She pointed at the nearest muggles. "Move if you want to live. Don't touch the tree. Run away. Now." She figured that directing the herd would be helpful. ”Repello muggletum.” It probably wasn't as strong as Cece's, but it would help. "Leave," She commanded again, strongly. They needed to get the message. "It isn't safe." That last line was softer, more bitter. What were they waiting for? Move already. "Cece, what happens if they hit the tree? Will they die?" That sentence was pure fear.

Phoebe had lagged behind the other students as they departed from the Headmaster, so she'd been terrorized by what the man had done to one of the departing Muggles. Horrified. Honestly would need therapy about this. She stumbled along behind the group, just in time to watch Cece trying to repel one of the Muggles away from the Willow.

"Cece." Phoebe fell heavily into her friend and righted herself by grabbing the girl's non-wand hand. "Sorry. Something... something happened back there. I... we have to get this guy out of here. We have to get everyone out of here. Ro-Rosier killed one of them. One of the Muggles."

What if she just ran at him and flapped her arms like a crazy bird? What if she levitated him over the wall like a very uncooperative quaffle?

Closer and closer they went to the tree--wait, weren't they trying to escape?? Good lord they had to get out of here, they couldn't stop and stare at this tree!!!! They had somewhere else to be!

Oh?

The group turned, now looking at the children.

"Hello there...." One tentatively said. Her name was Jackie. She had a daughter around the same age as the younger pair and hoped they would be of help.

"Leaving is what we're trying to do. We thought this was the way--"

"Jackie, look at this tree!!!" While the spell had blocked their immediate path, it did not encompass the entire tree. As a result, it took only a little bit of wandering around its circumference--looking for a way out--for the muggle to once again be captivated by the tree.

The others crowded with him, once again trying to inspect the tree.

Oh good, help. Mamie’s incantation had been clear and correct, so the fifth year hoped that the younger girl’s spell proved helpful. This wasn’t exactly an easy area to cover. At least not with all of them crowded around together. Maybe if they spread ou—Cecelia blinked. She wasn’t entirely sure why Ashley was trying to warn off the muggles, especially when they were so close to danger, but she figured her heart was in the right place. ”Depends on where they take a hit. Broken bones are likely, but if one gets hit in the head or tossed...” She winced. It wouldn’t be pretty, that was all.

She was turning her attention back to the muggles, who for a moment seemed to remember what they were meant to be doing, but then went right back to studying the tree. Nooo. No. No. ”Hi. Look. Forget the tree. You need to go to the exit.” She pointed towards the safest path she could think of. Anything to get them away from here. ”Ashley, Mamie, we need to spread out and try again.” They could do this, right? Cece moved away from the other girls, around to the opposite side of the tree. ”Repello Muggletum.”

Wait, what? Cece blinked, turning to face Phoebe, her eyes wide and filled with worry. ”W-what? But why?” Her heart dropped right down to her stomach. ”Phoebe...” She hugged her friend, wishing she hadn’t had to see that. Feeling lucky that she’d been the one to leave the group first. Feeling worried about her friends. Angry at their monster of a headmaster. Sad.
So so sad for the muggle who died. ”What do we do?”

Welp. Being sneaky hadn't worked. It didn't help that Ashley didn't even try to hide from the Muggles. She loved her friend, but...did she really think reasoning with them would work? Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart!!

Mamie stared at Phoebe. One...one of the Muggles was dead? On purpose? She stopped trying to do the spell and looked up at the two fifth years with big eyes. So. They really did have to repel the Muggles, or the Muggles were going to die. First they had been kidnapped, and now their lives were in their hands? In the hands of children?! She opened her mouth to say something, ask some question ("why" maybe? but Rosier wasn't logical, she knew that) but the Muggles interrupted.

They could grieve the Muggle later.

She waved her hands at the Muggles, like she was trying to shove the air towards them. Or shoo them away like obnoxious birds at the beach. "You have to get away from the tree," she said, with all the force the twelve-year-old could muster when talking to adults. She pointed towards the gates. The exit was that way, if they could get by the scary bad man. "Run!"

She ran around to the other side of the tree, trying to avoid Cecelia and its branches herself. "No! Repello muggletum!"

"No! Jackie. Don't look at the tree that will kill you. Leave. If you get murdered, I swear I'll be scarred. Move it. Also, don't tell anyone, unless you want all of us to die." She waved at them. Were they dumb? Did they have a death wish? She spread out and tried again, stronger this time. "Repello muggletum!" She looked at Phoebe. She had heard the spell, but she hadn't dared to look. Or feel emotions. "It wasn't a muggle boy, was it? About my size and age, Australian?" Logically, out of billions of people, the dead person was unlikely to be her best friend, but she still HAD to check. "I swear if one of these ones here dies I'm never gonna forget it." Seriously though, it didn't help that out of all the muggles in the world, she got stuck with the dumb, curious ones. Why couldn't she be stuck with a competent person who knew how to not die? Most muggles would be running right now. Then again, it was probably easier for Rosier to catch the ones who weren't very smart. She waved at the muggles again. "Think of your families or whatever. You need to get back to them. I don't want to have nightmares about your corpses, either."

Those little steps that Lia had first been taken had turned into something of a tripping, stumbling half-running motion. Chances were incredibly high that she not only looked ridiculous but very much a mess. Her long light brown hair was all over the place, some of it clinging to the dried streaks of tears on her face. Each breath she still took was more of a painful sob thanks to the tears she hadn't been able to suppress or stop.

How she hadn't ended up crashing into anyone was a miracle. An even bigger miracle was that she ended up somewhere that others were, muggles included. The first year stared at them all through her own tears, catching on to nothing at all that was being said.

What even was she meant to do again?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Geeeez, Louise! Actually, Bernie would probably be targeted by Rosier next if she kept standing here and staring at the dead man like that. She shivered at the touch from her housemate, nodding to her directions to move, nodding to Atlas who passed by her too.

"Let's... let's go..." Where? She didn't know. She didn't know where to go. All she knew was that she was following Louise now, and maybe even subconsciously reaching out to take the older girl's hand, if she could, because she was so so so disturbed and scared and just didn't want to be by herself now. And what did it say for some of the kids, who just breezed past the dead Muggle like he was nothing? Like he didn't even exist?

She felt a familiar clenching sensation in her stomach again like she might throw up.

"Yes, come on," Louise said, her throat tight as she grabbed Bernie's hand and started running away from Rosier. She heard the man say that in THREE seconds, anyone left standing would be next. She didn't want to stick around to see who was next. He didn't seem to be in a merciful mood today.

Louise dragged Bernie, not even really paying attention to what direction they were running in. She was running on sheer adrenaline and fear, the image of the dead muggle burning in her mind. It was only when the Whomping Willow came into view and when she heard other students shooting spells at the muggles that her mind broke free from that image and she registered where she was.

If those muggles didn't get killed by Rosier, they WOULD get killed by the Whomping Willow.

"IMMOBULUS!" Louise yelled, pointing her wand at the Whomping Willow to stop it from throwing muggles across the lawn. Please, please work.

What...what was this? They were now pointing STICKS at them, as the man had done. Wands. Obviously wands. It was like a movie only this was real and trippy and insane. They knew now that terrible things happened following these instances and were not so keen to stick around to find out what would happen next.

It was becoming clear they were somewhere they were not meant to be and that everyone here was....as gifted.

As such, it was likely everyone here was on the same page. These were the children who had been very close when they started running. NOW THEY WANTED TO TAKE THEM BACK. Frank moved infront of Jackie, having found a decent sized branch fallen on the ground.

"BACK! STAY BACK!!" He swung the branch at the children with great force, refusing to be captured again. "Don't forget what they are!" He warned the rest of his companions.

Following suit, the others looked for weapons of their own. The tree that had been made still was no longer their priority. They armed themselves with whatever they could and turned to face the students. They would FIGHT their way free. Frank led the charge, barreling toward the children with a battle cry.

Great. They were being attacked by a bunch of scared muggles. And she couldn't hurt them, because she felt nothing but sympathy. Oh no. She stepped back. "Repello muggletum. Sonorus." It was a good thing she had learned that one in the library one day. Well, not inside of the actual library. Duh. Too loud. "Listen to me. I know you are afraid. But we can all make it out of this if you STAY AWAY FROM THE TREE. And do not attack me with that branch. I'm a literal child. Like, twelve. I'm not bad, and you AREN'T going to kill me. I'm here to HELP." She gestured for them to stop. The most important thing was that they stayed away from the tree and from her. Well, they were coming straight towards her, but maybe that would lead them away from her friends. But she didn't move.

Good Merlin, Dahlia looked rough. Was the first year crying? Mamie paused her spell attempts to go comfort the barely younger girl. She heard somebody use immobulus, which seemed like a good idea for protecting the Muggles. Why hadn't they thought of that?

She patted Dahlia's back, saying "there, there" as one did, when...the Muggles were charging them?! With sticks!? Mamie shoved Dahlia behind her, barely younger or no, first years needed to be protected. Which meant she had to stop the Muggles. To save Dahlia and herself. And Ashley was being no help at all, she was just yelling at them. Yelling at an angry mob did not help, Ashley! she wanted to say. Instead, she acted.

"Incarcerous!" she cried, casting the first spell that came to mind. The one Aboli had used on the rat earlier, to keep it from the danger cheese. She didn't wait to see if it worked, just kept repeating the spell on all of the Muggles, hoping it would take and they'd all get tied up and stop trying to attack them.

Meanwhile, no one had asked the Whomping Willow for her opinion on this stupid class activity.

She bristled, arming herself with her branches, ready to bend in half and swipe out the entire row of humans at her roots with no notice. One of the humans, it did not matter to her if it possessed magic or not, had DARED to pick up one of HER OLD BRANCHES?

The NERVE!

What happens if they hit the tree? Will they die? one sapling had the nerve to ask.

What happens if the tree hits you first, more like?

Swiping around to avoid the IMMOBULUS spell from the fire-haired child, the Willow let one thick branch hit the ground beside the MUGGLES.

*BOOM*

A warning to back away before she acted like the only grown one here.