A chance to prove

[Draco Malfoy]

(OOC: Continued off 'It Has a Hold on Me' (The Lake))

As soon as Draco entered the forest, he regretted it. The trees entwined their limbs together, effectively trapping him, slowly creaking with their movements. His heart shuddered violently in his chest, and he held out his wand, footsteps nearing him.

"Show yourself!" He cried, his wand arm shaking slightly, but his voice crisp and clear.

His eyes squinted in the dark, and he softly whispered, "Lumos." The wand held in his left hand blazed with light, and he turned around, his eyes searching.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa stopped, panting, watching as Malfoy lit his wand with the simple light spell. Trying to catch her breath, she walked over to him, making sure he heard her so she didn't startle him.

"It's only me," she whispered, hearing the buzz of the forest. Closing her eyes, she turned around, seeing a figure shaping in the shadows of the trees, most-likely Ashlee. "I told you we shouldn't have come," She held out her own wand, looking fearfully up at the dark sky. It was funny how it was so incredibly bright outside of the forest, but so dim and dismal inside of it.

[Ashlee Van Dort]

Ashlee sighed and ran into the forest after them. "Why do you do this Ashlee?" she asked herself. She finally caught up with them.

"Draco Malfoy... I told you NOT to come in here." She grabbed his arm. "Come one... I'm gonna try to find away out." she sighed.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco scowled, pulling his arm away. "The trees have blocked our way out, in case you haven't noticed," he snapped.

Then, turning around, he heard a rustle of leaves. "This place... It's really horrific, isn't it?" He said softly, picking up a decomposing leaf off the ground, his nails filling with dirt. Making a face, he dropped the leaf, watching as it fluttered to the floor.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa's gaze followed the leaf as it fell to the floor silently. Her eyes moved upwards to stare at Malfoy and she gripped her wand, feeling her palm begin to sweat.

"It gets worse." She said softly, watching as the trees crackled in the soft moonlight that managed to streak through some of the branches.

[Erich Aubry]

We are so many. This hunger is his, we become ravenous; we see worlds far from us. There is a single moment at the heart of time. There is time and no time.

Child, you are a universe. You are a multitude.
I am a poison. I will hear your call.

***

The ground destablizes, the soil and rock melting without heat. Qucksands and roots, muscle traps and bear claws of the earth. The three students feel themselves sinking before they look down to find that its true.

Erich breathes hotly against the back of Draco's pale neck. Whispers.

***

I know who you are.

[Ashlee Van Dort]

Ashlee started freaking out at Malfoy. "YOUR LUCKY I HAVE A CONSCIENCE OR I'D KILL YOU MYSELF!" she struggled to get out and looked for anything to grab onto. Ashlee took off her jacket and wrapped it around a nearby tree and tried pulling herself out. no use, she said to herself. She looked at Malfoy with eyes full of anger and saddness... not like the Hufflepuff she was, but with the eyes of her murderous grandfather.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco felt mud seep in through his socks and he frowned, dropping his head to find the problem. His eyes widened with what he saw- His feet ankle-deep in dark, thick mud. Looking to his companions, he found them staring at their own feet, looks of horror on their faces.

Struggling against the pull, Draco clenched his teeth, trying to release his foot from the ground's hold. He stopped suddenly, however, when hot breath trailed down his neck, making the tiny hairs stand up.

Swallowing, Draco pulled out his wand, determined not to let the forest bury him alive. Seeing Ashlee's feeble attempts, Draco's eyes flashed with an idea.

"Incarceratus!" Instantly, ropes flew from his wand, tying themselves first to the nearest tree, then wrapping themselves around his right forearm He felt the tension in his body as the ground tried to claim him, struggling against the trees hold.

[Lisa Turpin]

Her gaze left the trees and looked to the floor, where leaves began to scatter and the soil began to merge with the rocks, melting around her. Eyes widening in horror, her head spun around to face Ashlee, before looking over at Malfoy then back at her feet.

Hearing the Slytherin's yell, Lisa turned her head toward him, feeling the mud reach just above her knees. She watched as ropes flew out of his wand, securing himself against the tree. Suddenly, he stopped moving, though there was a look of pain on his face as either side pulled and tugged at him.

Biting her lip, she looked at Ashlee, before copying the spell, feeling the mud stop above her knees, halfway to her waist. Letting out a breath of relief, she looked toward the boy, sending him a grateful glance before shuddering slightly.

"Still want to meet him?" She whispered, her voice slightly accusing, but filled with more fright than anger.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco looked at her, his gaze neutral. He didn't know how to feel about putting two people in the extreme danger he had. Breathlessly, he leaned his head on his forearm, listening as his heartbeat echoed in his ears.

Finally, he looked back up at Turpin, his eyes narrowed with determination.

Why I was so unfortunate to have you as a son, i'll never know...

"Yes." He said, his voice strong and his eyes blazing with a fire that had never been there before.

[Ashlee Van Dort]

Ashlee looked at Malfoy and sighed. "Why must you be so difficult child?" she mumbled under her breath. She looked at Lisa with pleading eyes. "We've got to get this hot head out of here." she said.

[Erich Aubry]

The Last Thing You See Before You Die:

Rainer can be seen, through smoke and the powdered remains of their classmates that drift between them. He is clutching his left knee, which has been shattered with a spell aimed at his face. Raising his right hand, he mutters slurred spells and clears the air.

"I will kill you. I will kill you. I will k-" he murmurs as the smoke clears, revealing his scratched face and blasted eyes. Rainer spits out a bloody tooth with absolutely no ceremony. He raises his right arm, wand scorched and still hot in his shaking hand.

"Gott verdammtes Tier. Holle ist ein zu freundlicher Platz fur Sie."
'God damned animal. Hell is too kind a place for you.' This is the last thing Rainer ever says to him.

Erich can hear himself laugh.

***

Watching from a high tree, Erich cannot help but smile at Draco's insistence. His vehemence was familiar, comforting in an absurd way. He counts the visible similarities between them before he descends. There are fifteen. Sixteen if you count the father issues.

His body vanishes from the tree and rises seamlessly as ambient heat from the ground. He presses his invisible form against Draco's, aligns his intangible silhouette against the younger man's body. A hand forms of air pressure and runs up his thigh, moving as hot water would without gravity.

"Get this hot head out of here? I would be more than happy to oblige." He apparates him then, before any of them find their surprise.

***

Yes. I move in the grace of two heavens. Rainer, fifteen and painted gold by the sun, holds a gun to my head and insists that he is free.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco sighed, assured that a Professor would find them soon and release them from the forest’s hold. He closed his eyes, relaxing his tense body, only somewhat aware of the strain in his limbs, his mind only focusing on the man the girl’s had mentioned. His determination to meet the haunting presence was diffusing slowly, replaced with fear and the familiar sense of failure. The failure to be brave.

Just as he was about to reply to the Hufflepuff, first denying he was a hothead and then submitting to their pleas, he felt a lingering company behind him. With a slight frown, he turned his head, seeing nothing. Turning back to the girls, who were staring at him curiously, he felt the presence once more, this time closer… Almost touching. His eyes widened when there was a pull at his navel and the forest abruptly disappeared, along with the familiar faces of his companions.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa nodded to Ashlee, though knowing any attempts they made would be in vain. With a sigh, she turned to the Slytherin, noticing he was fidgeting and glancing around. Sending him a questioning look, she watched as his eyes flashed with fear.

“Malfoy..?” She asked, though he ignored her, almost as if he didn’t hear her. About to repeat herself, louder this time, she stopped, listening in horror to a voice that sparked recognition in her mind.

Then, he was gone. Lisa felt her heart beat quicken, shouting out his name one last time, her voice filled with panic.

[Erich Aubry]

I see you. I see you. I see you.

Be sure that at the center of any haunting is a sorrow. Humans are defined only be the distances between them. Who are you to anyone. Be a desert instead and fly from anyone who would harness you.

Open your eyes.

***

Draco manifests, suddenly and without aim. Falling face first from his teleportation, in to the bare clearing. Erich's wish moves upon Draco, and with his magic floods the barren landscape with life.

"The nausea will pass, apparition is always disorienting at first."