In Darkness Unseen [Ian]

[Loren Hayes]

Loren cursed under her breath as she sped into the darkened kitchens, running straight into a precariously stacked tower of small cauldrons and burnt cooking pots, their clangs and bangs echoing loudly in the cavernous room as they hit the floor.

The house elves had all escaped from the kitchens, as they did every night, to dust and polish the common rooms - the whole place was eerily silent, and without the house elves she had no idea if there were any other exits from the room. Was she trapped? She had been sneaking around fearlessly for the last half an hour, when approaching footsteps had driven her into the closest door, which just happened to have led to the dead end of the kitchens...

The portrait hole creaked open slowly, her mysterious pursuer quietly creeping forward. Was it a teacher? A prefect? There was only the moon light from the outside corridor to indicate where the stalker was, and she gasped gently as they glided past the sinks just three work tops away from her. She took a cautious step back, managing to kick one of the smaller pots with her heel. It gave a sharp clank. The figure stopped shuffling for a moment, listening.

'Lumos!' A voice muttered. Loren dived down onto her hands and knees just as the sudden wand light flooded the room. Looking up, Loren realised she was in the center of the network of work surfaces. The shadows cast by the glow shifted across the ceiling suddenly, the hunter on the move. Hurriedly Loren scuttled along until she bumped against the stone wall, her forehead stinging sharply. 'Ow!' She hissed. The light was terribly strong - how had she not seen where she was going?

Sighing, she realised her mooching had probably come to an end, and that she may as well surrender with dignity. Standing up Loren brushed off her robes, tossing her fringe from her eyes in irritation. 'I give up,' She declared matter-a-factly as the person's wand light swept down the isle, blinded her painfully..

[Ian Gray]

Ian was often lingering around the abandoned corridors during the late hours, his sense of curiosity more than intrigued when it came to the dark castle. Skillfully avoiding the prefects, as he had taken great care delving into their personal schedules, he had padded softly down the isolated hallways, looking for any stray, hidden, passage that would serve handy in the future.

It was when he stumbled onto a corridor which he knew was free of prefects that night, that he encountered a surprise. Quiet footsteps perked his interests, and he frowned, holding his figure close to the stone walls. The hallway was supposed to be empty, excluding himself, and he followed the peculiar footsteps, squinting in the dim candle light.

Just as he was about to call out to them, they realized they were being followed and made a mad dash around the corner of the corridor. However, when Ian made the same swift turn, he was faced with an empty corridor and the stunning realization that someone had managed to escape him. Raising an eyebrow, he took in his surroundings and walked forward slightly, half-expecting someone to jump out at him from the flickering shadows adorning the castle walls.

Stopping suddenly in front of a familiar portrait, Ian stared at it for a long moment, before grinning. With a steady hand, he reached over and tickled the pear with nimble fingers, feeling an adrenaline rush as the portrait swung open silently.

Stumbling inside, he held out his wand and cast shadows across the kitchen tables, seeing a skitter of a figure before it disappeared quickly into the darkness. An abrupt scrape of a chair caught his attention, and he turned toward the noise. His eyebrows immediately shot up in surprise.

A girl, who looked innocent enough, stared at him through a half-lidded gaze, shielding her eyes. Whispering a simple nox, the light extinguished and left them in the dark once more, though the steady stream of moonlight was enough to make out vague features.

"Here I was expecting a criminal of sorts," Ian finally said after a long pause, shoving his wand back into his pocket with a crooked smile and glancing at the girl with a somewhat-amused expression.

[Loren Hayes]

'Eh?' Loren dropped her hand as the light was extinguished, her vision suddenly plunged into total blackness so that for a few moments she could not see a thing. Her eyes soon adjusted however, and she took a careful step forward so that she could examine the rather devilish individual who had tracked her down. Loren titled her head sideways, considering him for a moment. 'You're not a prefect, are you...' She said, although it was more of a declarative than a question.

Loren realised she had been brash in assuming he had been a figure of authority. Hogwarts was well known for its wayward, adventurous residents that never seemed to stay in their beds. The Gryffindor boy was of about Loren's age, with neat brown hair and long, lanky limbs that were not unusual for a boy of his height. Had he been a little shorter Loren would have judged him as somewhat impish, but instead he just reminded her more strongly of a dog - a fast one. Above anything else it was quite clear he was no enemy.

Placing her hands on his hips, she regarded him with a relaxed smile. 'Merlin, I really thought I was in trouble then...' She said in relief. She raised her hand to wipe the prickle of sweat from her forehead, only to tut loudly as the skin throbbed painfully. 'Be honest - is there a great beasty mark there?' She asked apprehensively.

[Ian Gray]

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ian leaned against one of the tables as his gaze trailed over the items scattered across the kitchen's, usually neatly cleaned, floor. Looking back at the girl, he raised an eyebrow as she winced, and leaned forward to inspect.

"Had quite the run, haven't you?" His tone was light and the Ravenclaw's expression moulded into one conveying a deep trickle of pain. "I can't say the skin's unmarred, but beasty would be overexaggerating a bit, I think." He said finally, grinning in the nearly pitch-black darkness of the room.

As he was moving back to his former position, his foot made contact with a small cauldron which had fallen from it's tidy stack during their miniature chase, and he cringed as the sharp noise of it flittering across the stone floor echoed within the enclosed walls. When it finally came to a stop, he glanced at the girl once more, letting out a long breath.

"We've probably attracted some unwanted attention," Ian said slowly, walking carefully among the strewn pots on the floor. "I'm nearly positive that a Slytherin prefect is patrolling the corridor now, if the schedule hasn't changed any." He ran a hand nervously through his hair. "That blocks off the portrait exit, and I'm afraid if we don't get back soon the house-elves will catch us."

Pulling himself onto one of the tables, he sat on it contemplatively, before looking over at the girl hopefully. "So, Miss. Ravenclaw," he said, leaning back on his stretched arms. "Have any ideas?"

[Loren Hayes]

Loren tutted once more, screwing up her face in disapproval of having an ugly red mark anywhere on her body. 'Grindylows,' She cursed, whipping out her wand and aiming it at her brow with difficulty, eyes crossed to see where she was aiming. 'Wanindo!' She muttered, a soft pop sounding from her wand, accompanied by a shimmering sphere of warm air. It settled gently on her skin, the red mark ebbing away.

With that done Loren strode past the Gryffindor, peering round a set of shelves to spy on the portrait hole. Nothing moved beyond the door, no sound drifting from afar - but she had no doubt someone was aware of their presence. 'Well Miss Ravenclaw - also known as Loren - thinks there must be some other way out of here aside from that hole.' She replied thoughtfully. After a moments hesitation she silently tip toed to the opposite wall, bending down to peer closely at the stone. 'D'you think the house elves have other passages perhaps? You never see them about... they must do...'

Scrapping at a particularly crumbly block to see if it had been moved recently, Loren frowned in annoyance when it proved to be undisturbed.

It was then that she remembered where she had hit her head a moment before. No wonder it caught me off guard - it was sticking out! She realised gleefully. Darting back past the boy - who looked rather dizzy by now - Loren found the peculiarly large block of stone from before. 'Look at this!' She gestured for him to come closer, pointing at what appeared to be hinges on one side where it joined the next stone.

[Ian Gray]

Ian watched as the red mark slowly faded away, tilting his head to one side in amusement. "Impressive," he nodded, watching the slightly translucent sphere disappear onto her skin. "Although, us Gryffindors do like keeping our scars." He gave a lop-sided smile, craning his neck to watch as she walked circles around him, a look of concentration on her face.

After watching Loren hurry around the kitchens for a little while longer, he jumped off the table curiously. Heading over to where she was standing, he stood a few steps behind her and tried to peer over her shoulder. "You know, I never thought of that. The elves must have all sorts of ways to get around the castle--"

He cut himself off, eyes widening at the sight of rusty hinges. They looked to be carefully oiled, however, and Ian suspected it was so the house-elves could exit quietly as they pleased. Sidestepping Loren and bending low, he gripped the stone with his fingers and turned to Loren, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"Wouldn't want you to break a nail, now would we?" He said with a wink, before pulling the block aside. There was only a tiny creak as it flung open and Ian creased his eyebrows, making a face of displeasure as a stale, musty scent reached his nose.

"It's a bit cramped..." He said, feeling giant as a boulder between the delicate girl and small passage. "But I suppose we can manage. A few scrapes are worth not losing points I'd say, especially with our current standings."

Grimacing, he looked over his shoulder briefly, before crawling inside.

[Loren Hayes]

'Nothing to break,' Loren said with a grin, holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers, showing off her severely bitten nails with pride.

Ian swung the stone door open, the weight of it aiding him rather than than working against him. It came away much smoother than Loren had expected, and she could see that the edges of the block that had time and time again scraped and ground against the other stone had worn smooth with use. It had made no sound either, which was lucky as someone had just entered the room, their shadow lingering as a tall strip stretching across the floor and up the wall a few feet away. They stood very still, listening, and Loren silently urged Ian on into the hole as he got down on his hands and knees, crawling in.

There would be no way to close the door after herself, as the passage was much too narrow to turn - or even look - around, and so she hoped whoever had come to investigate the disturbance did not cast their light upon the low tunnel until they were so far along they could not be seen.

Cold air flowed down the passage freely as they moved deeper, what little light there was completely vanishing into a vacuum of chilly darkness. Although there was the strong musk of damp, Loren could feel the clean stone beneath her hands and knees. It seemed the house elves cleaned practically everywhere. It suddenly occurred to Loren that they could quite possibly come out in a place that was not to their favour - a Hufflepuff or Slytherin common room for example. Or worse, there could be a dead end - and whoever was behind them could have easily closed the door by now. Maybe even locked it.

Prodding Ian in the back of the knee, Loren whispered, 'Cast some light. I want to know how long this is...' She was beginning to feel rather spooked and claustrophobic.

[Ian Gray]

Ian crawled forward, feeling the pressure of stone on his knees and grimacing at the thought of the purple bruise that'd surely be there once they got out. Luckily, the passage-- though it held a particular, bothersome stench-- was mostly clean, and the Gryffindor didn't have to worry about his robes aquiring a nasty stain, in fear of his reprimanding mother.

They started in silence, the only sound between them the light, familiar sound of breathing, before Ian let out a sharp gasp at the jab at his knee. Huanching his shoulders, trying to peer over them and catch Loren's eye, he reached for his wand. There was a somewhat agitated tone underlining what she said, and Ian felt his own nerves flicker with uncertainty.

"Yeah, light would be good.." He said faintly, casting a quick Lumos and shining it at the cramped walls. They were bare for the most part, though each time his forearm pressed into them, he felt a chill and the crumbly dampness of stone. Chewing his lip, suddenly anxious, he paused and looked straight ahead, feeling Loren's movements behind him.

The light cast immediate vision, but faded out into darkness, proving the tunnel was, indeed, quite long. "Looks like it goes on for a while--"

A loud snarl cut him off, and he widened his eyes trying once again to share a look with Loren. It seemed to echo from within the walls, and Ian stood on his knees a bit straighter, feeling his hair brush the ceiling. Placing both hands on the side of the wall, he reached higher, estimating where the sound was coming from, and felt a large dip in the stone.

His eyebrows shot up, and he felt his breaths quicken as he felt around a bit more, finding there was another passage higher up the side of the wall.

"The cry seems to be coming from here..." He breathed, hoisting himself a bit higher and gaining a slight footing on the elevated edge. Feeling his restless limbs spark with excitement, he turned back to Loren, finally able to reach her gaze.

Extending a hand, even though she didn't look as though she truly needed it, he smiled slightly. "Care to check it out?"

[Loren Hayes]

The sudden noise caught Loren off guard and she raised her head swiftly, bashing it on the low ceiling. 'Merlin!' She hissed angrily, gingerly rubbing where the skin began to throb. 'What on earth was that?' She whispered in bewilderment. Was there something in the network within walls that was not meant to be there? Loren was suddenly very anxious, the image of something racing up behind her and grabbing her ankles, pulling her off into the darkness more than she could stand...

Her question was not answered however as Ian had come across a ledge just above his head. She glanced up to see him looking back at her with an accomplished grin, the space he was in of the same size as their current passage. He extended his hand suddenly and Loren took it, pleased to no longer have her palms pressing against the cold stone numbly.

Ian's wand light illuminated yet another passage exactly the same as the one below, only this time one direction ended much more abruptly. While the other stretched on into uncharted, eerie darkness, the other direction beheld another door - only this one was made out of wood.

'But... the kitchens are in the basement... and the ground floor has got to be at least another couple of feet over out heads.' Loren questioned with a frown. Pulling out her own wand and mutter 'Lumos!' She hoisted herself up fully into the next passage, this time choosing to be the one in front. 'Surly its not a classroom? Not this low? We're still underground.' Loren was thoroughly taken with the mysterious location behind the door now, and without waiting for Ian she quickly crawled toward the new exit at top speed.

There was another frightening snarl.

[Ian Gray]

Ian pulled himself onto the ledge after her, feeling his palms scratch as they gripped the stone for balance, before finally climbing into the passage. Loren seemed to have seen something of interest, as she was quickly speeding toward the end of the tunnel, far ahead. With a wry grin, Ian held out his wand in front of him, about to call out for her to wait up when his expression suddenly took on a puzzled look, noticing the door up ahead.

Using his long limbs to his advantage, he quickly scrambled behind Loren, grabbing her arm gently and stopping them both from going any further. "Listen..." he whispered, breathing harshly and settling uncomfortably on his heels.

The snarling was growing nearer, but that much was easily heard without their hushed voices. Instead, there seemed to be a dull pound of footsteps echoing around them, and, listening closely, Ian could hear the soft sound of scratching at the door. He swallowed uneasily, leaning back as the noises grew louder and the door knob began to quiver.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren shuffled to a halt as Ian stopped her. She realised he was listening for something - and it appeared to be on the other side of the door. Was it house elves hard at work, cleaning a classroom? Or perhaps a teacher in their quarters? Loren shudder at the idea of bursting in on one of them. They would surely be expelled or at least disowned by their respective houses.

The footsteps drew close to the door for a moment before moving away again, the small spill of light escaping under the door frame flicking orange - there was obviously a fireplace in the room.

Turning round to Ian, she rose her hand and signaled for him to put his wand light out.'Nox!' She muttered, but still keeping her wand in her hand at the ready. She wondered if they should silently turn back and hope that whoever was in the kitchens had given up on their search... but something did not seem quite right about the room. Why was it in such an odd location, and why was the small square door wooden instead of stone? Was it a place only the house elves frequently ventured?

The heavy smell of damp stone had been replaced by something a little worse - rotting flesh. Loren pulled her sleeve over her hand, covering her mouth. With a worrisome expression she looked back at Ian, silently asking him what they should do next.

[deek]

Deek threw open the door, feeling his sweaty fingers slide on the knob as it shuddered in his grip. His left eye was pinched closed and he could feel the smooth trickle of blood pool at his eyelashes before coming down in thick streams at the side of his face.

The screeching behind him was like that of a furious eagle, however it vibrated through the stone walls as loudly as a lion's roar. Talon marks decorated various patches of his robes, and just as the shrieking behind him grew unbearably high, he flung himself through the doorway and landed in a muddled heap at it's floor. Kicking it shut with a hard push of his leg.

Opening his uninjured eye, he let out a pained grunt, and sat up. A relieved sigh escaped his lips, and he didn't seem at all disgusted as he pulled fleshy remains of decaying rats from his tangled hair. Instead, he let out a high-pitch laugh of disbelief as he dug in his pocket, completely unaware of the two frightened students just ahead of him.

Something silver glinted in the wand light, and it took a moment for Deek to register that the stone passage should have been pitch dark. Raising his head, his free hand reaching for his daggers, he stood up abruptly, only wincing slightly at the restraint from his torn knee.

"Who's there?" His voice was gruff, and he strained his vision until he could see the slightly shadowed figures holding out wands. The Ministry, was Deek's guess, and he gave an eerie grin as he moved forward.[/font][/color]

[Ian Gray]

Ian caught the look Loren sent him and, regretfully, didn't have an answer. Instead, he moved somewhat closer to the wall, noticing the sounds were easily heard through them as great vibrations. Pressing his ears against them, he chewed agitatedly at his lip before hearuing a sudden screeching noise and the sharp scrape of talons dragging across the wall.

Moving back abruptly, not having to hold his ears against the stone to hear the wailing any longer as it had taken up an insanely high pitch, Ian grasped for his wand. It seemed he managed to get it out just in time as the door ahead of them rushed open, surrounding them in a wafting smell that made his eyes water.

Shrill, furious, roars could be heard for a quick instant, before they died out behind the wooden door once more. Ian sent a wide-eyed gaze toward Loren before a slightly manical laugh caught his attention. Pulling himself up, he held out his wand and kept close to Loren's side, deciding now would be the worst time for them to lose each other.

Through the shadows, Ian saw a rugged face loom over them, before widening his eyes. A teacher no less. He lit up his wand in surrendor.

The face that stared back at him was not that of an aging professor, but instead a rogue looking criminal. Ian took a sudden step back, trying to find his voice.

"Wha--" He watched the face flicker with the same amount of confusion and glanced at Loren quickly. "Who are you?" He finally choked out, his wand held out and grazing the man's torn cloak.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren fought to shuffle backward as the door swung open, a tall figure sweeping into the dark passage before she had had time to view his face. Whichever teacher it was, they certainly did not seem usual, a wolfish laugh rising from them as if they had some devilish intention. Although the passage was as narrow as ever, Ian maneuvered to squeeze to her side, pointing his wand ahead of them and uttering 'Lumos!'

What crouched before them was certainly no teacher. His hair was unkempt and tangled by wind and rain, falling about his rugged features freely, and his robes were so torn and tattered - some tears stained with fresh blood - that he looked as though he had stolen them from a corpse. Ian's wand light reflected off something in his hand, and Loren realised it was a short, sharp dagger.

'Ian...' She pleaded gently, asking him with a nudge of her elbow to start moving backward. If this man was going to attack them, she would have at least preferred it to be someplace other than a tiny tunnel underground where no one could hear them scream...

[deek]

Deek's grin disappeared beneath a frown, and he watched the pair back away, glancing worriedly at his dagger. They certainly weren't Ministry officials, as the thief had first suspected, and looked to be regular students-- if their Hogwarts robes were any indication.

"You two shouldn't be here," he said finally, narrowing his eyes and staring at their wands skeptically. In plain view, making sure they could see him, he tucked his dagger back into his torn robes and winced at the pain in his calf as he took a couple of steps forward. "Rule-breaking students," his lip curled, "Probably have professors chasing your heels."

Deek's eyes suddenly flashed as he came to a realisation. "And where there are Professors, there are those blasted Ministry officials." Steeping even closer, a menacing look on his face, Deek stared at the two students and pointed a filthy finger in the girl's face, satisfied by her cringe. "You never saw me, understood?"

A sudden screech echoed through the passage, causing a few stones to crumble from the ceiling, landing as dust on the trios head. Nervously, Deek glanced behind him as the door began to rattle and shake once more, before absentmindedly clutching at his robe pocket.

"Never saw me." He repeated, louder this time, overriding the shrill roars that vibrated the walls around them.

Then, with one last dark look, Deek ran off in the opposite direction, jumping over the ledge with practiced ease. His footsteps echoed loudly in the narrow passage for minutes, before fading away all together.[/size]