Through The Whomping Willow

Hallie watched as the tree unnaturally froze. It seemed rather odd to watch the tree stand strong and silent. One of her conjured canaries even fluttered to perch on one of the motionless branches. 

In all the times Hallie had used the passage she'd never thought of immobilising it. Instead she'd moved a bucket, maybe an old broomstick or some sort of log to hit the knot on the trunk of the aged willow. 

Hurrying alongside Maura they reached the trunk, the hidden passage concealed within the roots became more visible. 'Indeed it does!' Hallie replied, stepping down into the earthy passage beneath, the bird of her shoulder fluttering ahead. 'I'm guessing not many people do know about this, perhaps just the troublesome travellers.' she winked at Maura, referring to the pair of them. 

Lumos Hallie thought, the tip of her wand igniting to show the passage the pair walked along. The Walls of the passage were dark, damp and made of soil. Specs of soil drifted from the earth above. If anything happened and they were to be caved in then the pair would literally be buried alive - or at least Hallie would. Maura, being a vampire, wasnt alive, or was she? Hallie never quiet understood that part of being a vampire. 

Maura smirked at her reply, it was clear that the vampire took over her some and clearly wanted to have some fun. Maura through the caved Maura felt some soil fall on her as she walked which made her wrinkle her nose as some fell in her hair. "Wow... this cave must be really old if it's doing that!"said Maura honestly. "Lumos!"Maura thought as the tip of her wand lit up making more light for them to see. "At lease if it falls on me, I won't die because I'm already dead!"said Maura chuckling. "s for you Hal, yikes! lets just hope it doesn't fall!"said Maura softly.

Ducking here and there to avoid the roots that were around them Maura stopped for a minute before she turned to Hallie. "You hear that? it sounds like voices."said Maura softly. But then again her hearing was better then hers seeing hoe she was a vampire so Hallie probably couldn't hear it.

Hallie continued to walk through, laughing at Maura's reply about what would happen if the whole tunnel collapsed. At least if Maura wouldn't suffocate and hopefully could magic herself and Hallie out of the passage, although that would be tricky. 'I'm sure if it's lasted this long then it must be safe.'

Hallie continued to walk through the passage, coming to a hault when she realised that Maura had stopped, she appeared to be listening intently for something. Perhaps she could hear footsteps above them, although it would be odd for someone to walk across the earth they were under. There was nothing but moores above.

'I can't hear anything?' Hallie replied, confusion imprinted on her face. Maura's bat-like hearing really did freak her out at times, it must be odd to have hightened senses, how she fell asleep at night Hallie never knew. Then again she was a vampire so she didn't sleep. Hallie had always wondered what Maura did when the moon was up, yet had never bothered to ask. 'It can't be anybody ahead.' Hallie continued. 'This passage leads to the Shrieking Shack and nobody every uses it, it's falling to pieces!'

Shrugging off Maura's suspicions Hallie continued to walk, until she too stopped. A cold shiver tingled along her spine. Could it be a ghost? No living thing could make such a wail? Hallie squinted her eyes and pressed her lips together in concentration. No more screams but... voices? That wasn't the usual sound of the shrieking shack ahead, yes she heard creaking from the wind but never voices.

'Quiet.' Hallie whispered to Maura, although this wasn't really needed, Maura wasn't stupid enough to start shouting her mouth off for no reason. Hallie crept slowly through the tunnel, the door leading to the basement of the shrieking shack slowly coming into view.

Maura froze in her steps and listened as she heard what seemed to be voices coming from the shack. "Hal maybe we should go back."said Maura softly as she heard the male voice the closer they walked. By the sound of it, there were a couple of people in there which made Maura worried. Hearing a piercing scream run through the shack Maura covered her ears and then looked at Hallie with terror in her eyes.

Listening to what the male said Maura heard him tell the girl to scream all she wanted to there was no one here to save her or hear her. Maura swallowed hard and gave Hallie a 'what should we do' look as she looked back at the tunnel they went through. Half of her wanted to go back to school where it was safe, and the other half of her wanted to save the people who were getting hurt.

The screech that shook through the shrieking shack above pierced Hallie's spine. She recognised the scream, or at least the tone of the terror. A voice? A girls voice? No surely not... 

Hallie glanced over her shoulder at Maura as she spoke. Fear flooded from her Hufflepuff friend who wanted to go back. That was the wise decision, yet Hallie stepped closer to the door, pressing her ear against it. 

The sound was muffled but she could hear voices, more than one. A girl was begging? A gulp. Hallie had heard of the cruciatius curse, in fact she had studied it and perhaps the Victim, who she believed to be Taranee, was possibly being victim of it. 

Hallie turned to face Maura. 'Go back through the tunnel and get help. Get as many people that will come' The Gryffindor was faced with the kind of things she would be if she were accepted to train as an auror. She had to fight the fear bubbling inside of her, after all bravery wasn't being fearless but standing up to what we're scared of. 'I'm going up.' Hallie added strongly and firmly. Maura needed to understand, Hallie wouldn't be stopped and right now Hallie and Maura alone wouldn't be enough.

Turning back Hallie grasped the handle and turned. The door clicked and unlocked. 'Please be quick.' Hallie whispered to Maura. 

As Maura heard a familiar voice she froze as she heard Taranee's voice whimpering in pain. "Hal it's Taranee, I can hear her but she's isn't alone Kiara and Carly are there to!"Maura whispered but only where she could hear her. As she heard the male voice she went pale in the face. "Hal it's him, James he the one who kidnapped me and did all those horrible things to me!"Maura whispered. Maura could only imagine what he was doing to Kiara, Taranne and Carly.

When Hallie told her to go back she shook her head. "No Hal, I'm not leaving you here, you don't know what he'll do to you I do!"said Maura in a whisper. "We'll go together, we'll have a better chance at beating him if we do it together!"Maura whispered to her. Maura hoped she'll listen to her, she knew what James would do to her if she left Hallie alone. Maura never thought she'll ran into James again, but here she was only a room away from him.

Looking at her scars on her arm she winced in pain at the thought of Taranee, Kiara and Carly being cut up like she was. Maura knew she shouldn't be thinking this when her friends were being tortured. As her vampire side took over her Maura looked ahead with red eyes. It was clear that she was angry and wanted revenge on the person who almost killed her.

Hallie froze as she stepped across the doorway. James. Oh gosh. She had never met him but she was completely aware of what he did to Maura. Hallie's eyes caught the wounds of Maura's eyes... the wounds that would be forming on Taranee's body only feet above them in the Shrieking Shack.

She shook her head. 'No Maura! He may try to do you in again! Please just. Just go and get help I...' Hallie paused, along with the hurried fear in her voice. 'I need to do this.' The final five words of her sentence were in a stronger tone. Hallie needed to face James, to stand up to him for what he did to Maura. For what he was doing to Taranee. He had gotten away with it once before, he wouldn't be getting away with it once again.

Hallie's eyes thinned, her tongue began to graze her front teeth as she waved her wand, extinguishing the light at the end. 'You can come. But if I say you need to.' It wasn't like Hallie to be commanding, to take charge but that would be the Gryffindor coming out of her in a dire situation. Maybe it was the auror within too? Hallie understand that Maura wanted revenge, heck Hallie would want revenge and who was she to stop Mars from getting that? Yet, the Gryffindor felt somewhat protective of her younger friend. After all her defence against the dark arts ability was a year less than Hallie's.

Hallie reached out for Maura's hand, guiding her through the door as they crept into the basement for the shrieking shack - making sure to leave the door behind them open if they needed to make a quick getaway with Taranee.

Grabbing Hallie's hand Maura followed Hallie slowly and quietly through the tunnel towards the sheirking shack. As they became more and more nearer Maura winced in pain a she heard Taranee's scream running through the tunnel. Maura could only imagine what James was doing to her, Maura been her shoes. That was one of the reasons why she didn't want Hallie to go alone. If all her friends were being tortured in front of her, Maura wouldn't know what to do.

As the crept near the room Maura froze once again as she heard a familiar female voice who was laughing. "Oh god not her to!"Maura whispered to her herself with terror in her eyes. Pulling herself together Maura grib her her wand tightly in her hand and pushed onward. She was bound determined to free Taranee and the others even if it meant she gotten hurt herself. "I'm to loyal for my own good."Maura thought to herself shaking her head. But Maura wasn't just loyal she had some Gryffindor in her as well, after all her father was a Gryffindor while her mother was a Hufflepuff.

As they came near the basement Maura looked through the crack of the door that was half way shut. Seeing Taranee, Kiara and Carly tied up and bloody Maura frowned and winced at the sight of them being hurt. Maura didn't like to see anyone hurt, but it hurted her more when it was her friends and her loved ones. Her red eyes looking at James she hissed angrily but quietly to herself. It was clear that she wanted to attack and kill James for what he did to her.