Fears

The first thing that she did when she heard the crashes coming from upstairs was scream. She'd tried to keep it inside her, but she couldn't help it and she just screamed. The crashes seemed to have been done by something bad, and they were loud enough to probably cover up her scream. But she had to admit she was scared. What the hell could be up there? It couldn't be a werewolf, could it? Maybe it could, but it could also be a human. Probably someone else who wanted to mess with them because others knew that they were in there.

She suddenly felt Talon grab her hand and pull her with him downstairs. She followed closely behind him, her mind thinking about what could be inside the Shrieking Shack with them. Her body was still shaking from fright and she couldn't even say anything to Talon now. She watched him look for something with wide eyes and she jumped as he said something to her. She nodded quickly and followed him into the room he'd just ran into. "What are you going to do?" she asked softly as she looked at him, tilting her head to the side.

Talon dropped the portrait on the ground and went over to the armchair. It was mostly broken, the chair itself leaning heavily to the right, but it's cushions would serve its use. He picked up the cushion and walked back over to the portrait. He dropped the cushion on the old portrait and then stomped directly on top of the cushion. A tiny crack was heard, Talon gaining a sudden feeling of hope as he threw the cushion off. A large spiderweb of glass was all over the front of the portrait, large shards sticking out from where he stomped. Talon then carefully grabbed the largest intact piece of shard and cut into the cushion, making a foot long strip. Wrapping it around the glass, he basically created a shoddy knife. He had seen something like this from a movie, and he only sustained a minor cut on his palm.

Armed with his makeshift piece of glass, his adrenaline had been pumping furiously. His arms still felt hollow to say the least, being able to barely perform the task he just did. He closed the door with his one free hand and quickly pushed the armchair itself against the door, barricading it. Hopefully whatever was up there was gone now...if anything had been there in the first place. "I think we're fine for now," he said softly, falling onto his bottom. He swallowed a couple of times, his mouth feeling suddenly dry. "What do you think it was?" he said, his mind suddenly blocked out by his fear

Sapphire watched him make the what she believed was supposed to be a knife and she blinked as she watched him. She'd never seen anyone make something like that, she was a pureblood after all, and her family didn't know much about the muggle world. She assumed that was how they made their weapons in a moment of crisis though. At least Muggle Studies was good for something. But what she wondered was why he'd bothered to make it. She would understand if he were a muggle, but he was a wizard. He could just use magic to help them. She blinked again and moved closer to Talon, grabbing his injured hand.

"You should be more careful." she told him softly, pointing her wand at the cut. "Episkey." she cast the spell and watched at it healed the small cut. She looked up at Talon and smiled at him. When he asked what she thought it was, her smile dropped and she stepped away from him. Sapphire looked out of a small crack in the boarded window where she could see the full moon. "What comes out on a full moon?" she answered his question with one of her own.

When Sapphire healed his hand with ekipsky, Talon dropped the makeshift knife in pain, a small clatter heard on the wood flooring. The pain passed quickly though, much to the relief of Talon. "Thanks for that," he said, a smile on his face. He picked up the knife again, his adrenaline beginning to fade, despite the ever looming anxiety inside his system. When he began to think more clearly, he realized he could've just used magic against the thing. Sure, he'd get in trouble for using magic outside of the school year that wasn't Lumos or something, but at least it'd be justified...maybe? They were in a shack that was considered dangerous after all.

His thoughts clashed at each other though, wishing that this fear would subside. He only thought beyond the normal limit when he was scared, and that was just how he reacted to the adrenaline. He looked down at the knife though, almost proud at what he had accomplished. He had managed to make protection under pressure, something he hadn't been able to do at all in his life. He'd usually lock up and freeze, but something compelled him to push forward. Whatever it was, he was grateful that it was in him.

He looked away from his knife and looked at Sapphire, noticing her concern. When she asked him the obvious question, he immediately froze. Werewolf? Really? It made sense, but what would it be doing here? He looked back towards the door, hearing nothing sniff or scratch at the door, so he figured they must be safe for now. He walked over to Sapphire and said "I'll make sure it won't get you." He gripped the knife hilt a little harder, his smile turning into one of courage. That was a surprise. He turned back towards the door, listening intently for anything that may be coming. Nothing was heard.

Feeling safe, Talon placed himself on the ground, trying to get himself to stop shaking. Whatever was out there sure scared the hell out of him. He fiddled with the knife though, thinking of a way to get out of the shack. They were on the lower level, so he was sure there had to be a way to dig out of there. Perhaps someone already did, maybe someone got caught in the same situation. Yet judging from the walls, there was no trace of such an exit, his hope immediately dashed. "Damn," he whispered to himself, the anxiety obvious getting to him.

People had told her before that she should become a healer. She was always messing around with potions and such to cure people and she almost always had a healing spell in her mind that for some reason she always had to use. That was a bad thing that she always had to use the healing spells. It was like danger was attracted to her, but that didn't exactly worry her. It seemed danger was attracted to a lot of people around Hogwarts. Just like Harry Potter, danger always followed him around, and even though he died, his friends didn't. Danger followed everyone around.

"No problem." Sapphire smiled at him after he thanked her for healing his hand. She didn't even care that she would probably get in trouble for using magic outside of school. She could deal with it, and her parents would probably get her out of it anyways. Besides, her friend was hurt and she wanted to help him. At least he was a wizard and not a muggle kid. Of course if he were a muggle, she would've never used magic on him. She isn't dumb enough to do that, maybe.

She turned back to Talon as she heard him sit on the floor after not hearing anything else coming from outside. She really hoped the werewolf had left after not finding anything. But what if it had just decided to sleep on the upper floor? Okay, bad thought. Sapphire shook her head to get that out of her mind and she looked at Talon on the floor again. She tilted her head to the side and noticed him shaking a bit. Sapphire blinked a couple of times before kneeling down behind him. She didn't give it much though, before wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and holding him in a hug.

"Don't worry. I'm sure it's gone now." she said in a soft, dreamy sounding tone. If she was tired now, then it must've been late at night. She wasn't even sure how ling they'd been in the Shrieking Shack, hiding from the werewolf. She sighed and kept her hold of him as she placed her head lazily on his shoulder.

Talon gripped the blade still, the excitement still trying to leave his body. He was ready for anything right now, but when Sapphire threw her arms around his neck, he hadn't been ready for that. He grew tense at first, immediately surprised by what had just happened. He was going to say something before Sapphire had talked to him, but when she did, he felt relaxed. More relaxed than he had been in the last couple of minutes. He could feel his heartbeat began to subside in terms of rhythm, and he was starting to breathe normally now. That helped.

Talon sighed and said "Yeah, it's probably gone now." He smiled and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He began to think rationally now, the thoughts starting to become clear in his head. The crash possibly could've been part of the old shack breaking away, could've been the wind knocking over an armoire or something. Okay, maybe that last part was pushing it a little, but it was just a theory after all. Chances of a werewolf being here right now were slim, but he didn't want to take any chances right now and head back upstairs. Something still could be there, and he didn't want to risk his or Sapphire's life to just find out.

He looked towards the ground and said "Thanks," he said, his cheeks feeling a little more hot now. What she did really helped, and he was thankful to have his clear thinking back. He looked back down at the shard of glass he held in his hand and dropped it carelessly on the floor, avoiding his leg of course. "Do you really think something is up there still?" he asked, wondering if she had been thinking the same thing. If it was a werewolf, how could they possibly beat it? Werewolves were Class Five dangerous, and it could easily outrun the two. There had to be a back entrance to this place, how else could've anyone had gotten in?

Wait. "That's it!" he said with new hope "how could anyone else get in if there are no visible windows or doors? There has to be some kind of underground entrance here then, there just has to be!" Well, he was excited again. That was always pleasant.

She felt his body tense up from her embrace but she didn't move. She stayed where she was and she eventually felt him relax. She thought about what could've been up there and if it was still there, but she didn't want to think about what would happen if it was still there. She closed her eyes and thought that it was gone. They were alone in the Shrieking Shack, out of danger, just alone there.

As she thought about that, her eyes flew open. She quickly let go of him and she stumbled backwards onto her bottom on the floor. She dragged herself a few steps away from him, until her back was against the wall and she only stared at him. As she heard her question, she looked up at the ceiling and then back down at him. Sapphire shrugged and didn't say anything. Those people saw him come into the Shrieking Shack with her, and no doubt anyone who knew her family would end up telling her parents that she was in there with a halfblood.

That didn't exactly scare her though. What scared her was that she was alone with a boy somewhere. And she knew how protective her father was of her, even though, he would've preferred a male heir. He wasn't going to be happy to find out that his only daughter was alone in the Shack with a halfblood wizard. He knew the rumored about it being the most haunted place in Britain and how scared she could get. He would get the wrong idea of what was happening and that wouldn't be good, for her or Talon.

But at the same time, she was okay with being there with him. Was that normal? Maybe, but Sapphire had never felt okay with being anywhere alone with a boy before. She didn't know what she should do right now, but she realized that in the room they were now, they would be safe until morning. Then they could sneak out, and even if there was a wolf in there, it would go back to its human form. "But do we have to look for it now?" she asked, her bangs covering most of the left side of her face as she looked at him. "Can't we just stay here and wait til morning?"

Talon was confused at first by her response. She didn't want to leave right now? If that thing (if it was a thing) was still up there, it could probably find them soon! He didn't understand it, but he complied. "Okay," he said, in a calm tone, his face containing a faint trace of a smile "we can wait this out." He scooted back to the where Sapphire sat and sat to her left, Talon leaning the back of his head against the wall. He was glad he wasn't in this alone...but then again, he insisted himself to be here. He didn't regret it, but he should've thought of an outcome like this. Plus he learned to control his fear momentarily, so that was good.

He began to wonder why Sapphire didn't want to leave though, that was all in his mind. Well, it wasn't completely in his mind. In a way, he wanted to stay, but he wasn't entirely sure why. He liked being here, but there was a supposed monster following them? Great, how he wasn't making sense. Yet he was glad he was in an abandoned and dangerous shack with someone else at least. He didn't think he'd be here for more than five minutes if he was here by himself.

Sighing softly, he rubbed the back of his head with his hand, trying to relax a little bit. If anything, this was going to be a long night. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the old pocketwatch his grandfather had given him. The outer casing was an old, possibly rusted, bronze casing that was designed with intricate patterns, and careful marksmanship in terms of creating the pattern. Clicking the lock off at the bottom of the watch, the cover for the watch itself flung upwards on its hinge, revealing the time. It was about 10:24 P.M., surely everyone had left and gone back home now.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, turning his head toward Sapphire. He was concerned about her, with all that happened. She didn't seem to be affected that much, she even seem better than she had been at first, but he would still like to know. Even Talon himself was still shaken up a little by what had happened, and he was extremely skeptical about the entire thing.