[Corridors] Halfbreed's Brother (Girty)

[Ricky Daine]

It was late on at night, the half moon perfectly covered with the clouds in the darkened sky. Ricky didn’t need a crystal ball or some prophet to tell him something was really weird in the castle lately. After all, something must be screwed up if he had helped a first year Hufflepuff, to which he was disgusted with himself when he was back in the common room and able to think. All rules and regulations had gone to pot now, even the teachers were becoming unruly and no longer caring what the students did. It felt weird to him, like someone had everyone in Hogwarts on strings. A puppeteer behind the weird goings on. Someone pulling the strings and making everyone bend to their own will. “It’s utter madness.” He mumbled to himself as he walked past a portrait who answered curtly, “Hogwarts dear boy, Hogwarts”

Ricky blamed Dan for this fall of the school. Brother to a halfbreed and married to a moron. He was one of those against appointing Hubbles for headmaster, he knew things would go bad if Daniel was in charge. Though if he was honest, he didn’t think it would go this badly. House-elves running riot, the forest becoming even more of a danger, creatures coming to the edge of the trees, the squid making a nuisance of themselves and dirty mud bloods thinking themselves better than those of Pure blood in Slytherin. It was unheard of, and if he could, Ricky would not stand for it any longer.

“Mudbloods… Halfbreeds… Scum. Thinking they own the place, walking around with their noses in the air thinking their dirty blood is better than ours… than mine!” He kicked a suit of armour when he walked past it, a woman in a portrait awoke suddenly from her sleep and began to try to give him a hard time. “As if I care what you say. You’re a picture, a painting. Your views don’t even count.” She looked startled at the lack of respect as Ricky rounded a corner. Everything he had thought noble about the school has lost all its nobility. People he thought were true had turned out to be mud-blood loving imbeciles, he himself had even developed a weak spot and began to change. Though it took a lot of fight, he had managed to retain the little bit of himself he had left. He wasn’t about to give himself up yet, he would not disappoint his family like Catrina had done. He would never marry a mud blood. Never become friendly with a halfbreed and certainly never create an abomination. “Filthy… idiotic… eugh they all should be shot down with a good curse!”

As he rounded another corner, he collided with something. His hands resting on the persons shoulders for a brief moment. Until he realised who it was he was holding. Pulling his arms back as though he had been burnt, he wiped his hands on his robes as though his hands had some nasty disease on them, planning to throw these robes away. “How dare you walk into me. How dare you touch me.” Ricky spat through gritted teeth as he looked at Girty, his hand ready on his wand. “This is your brothers fault. The reason Hogwarts had gone to crap, its his fault we’re all at our wits end.” Standing up straight he smirked, “Though what did I expect from a Halfbreed’s brother?”

[Girty Hubbles]

The castle in January was never normally a happy place. All the Christmas cheer and colour had drained away being replaced with the gloom of the grey clouded skies of January and students moaning about having eaten too much over the holiday period. With this in mind it would be safe to say that January in Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry was a miserable place indeed and no one was showing that discontent more then Girty Hubbles. Her moods changed faster then the Scottish weather, bright and sunny one moment then a face like thunder the next.

It was this stern faced, fowl mouthed, bad tempered Hufflepuff that was storming through the corridors that day. Her tongue ran over her teeth, lingering over her canines longer then the others, they were a lot sharper then normal, perfect from ripping into a nice bit of raw meat… ‘Whoa! Where did that come from?’ Trying to push this thought out of her mind Girty continued to walk down the corridor, or at least she was until she walked straight into someone, someone who, in all honesty, never brought a smile to her face.

“Oi! Watch it you Slytherin brat!” Girty quickly stepped away from him brushing the invisible dust off her shoulders from where Ricky’s hands had previously been but that was not the only thing that was bothering Girty, he was making it out to be her fault. But the Hufflepuff did not even have a chance to respond before he was personally attacking her brother. Oh that was one thing you did not do, you never insulted a Hubbles and got away with it.

She could feel the anger raging inside of her and before Girty knew what she was doing she had took hold of the collar of Ricky’s robes and had pinned him against the wall. Her face was inches from his, her teeth were bared and she was breathing heavily. “Don’t you dare insult Dan!” Her voice was harsh and rough and not quite her own, her eyes were wild with furry and with one last sniff of the Slytherin she let go of his robes and took a step backwards giving him the change to whimper and run away.

[Ricky Daine]

No, January was never a happy time. It was cold, and dismal, and made Ricky's cheeks flush red, which he hated as he looked all patchy and blotchy. Luckily for him, Erys knew spells to get rid of it and thankfully she did each and every time. People got sick very easily in this season, and Ricky did not like germ infested people. No matter how he tried though, someone was germ infested wherever he went. As he walked past portraits getting some snippy comments from them, he had every intention of setting more than one of them on fire, it would teach them to badmouth him. Besides, a couple of burning portraits, it would make the castle slightly warmer.

He had no idea that what was waiting for him around the corner was not the usual Hufflepuff he often wound up, but a more vicious kind. The kind that Ricky would usually wind up and then run away from. Of course, had he been thinking straight he would have bolted upon seeing the nasty glow in her eyes. One worthy of his own house. He knew Girty Hubbles was dangerous, having the wolf inside her an' all. But since it wasnt a full moon he didnt worry about it. She was no threat to him right now, even if she hit him, he could easily cover it up.

"Dont you dare call me a brat." He bit back, "I am nothing like you." He was a pure blood Slytherin who abade by the laws of the pureblood. He would never get involved with a blood traitor, mudblood or half breed. As far as he was concerned, she had walked into him so this was her fault. Really, Ricky was just being pathetic and looking for a fight, and with the Hufflepuff, he didnt think he was biting off more than he could chew.

"What the--lemm--gerrof me" As she took hold of his robes by the collar so they were strangling him, Ricky felt himself being pushed back onto the wall with a considerable amount of force, the wind was knocked out of him as his eyes scanned the depths of her brown ones, which were inches from his own. Thier noses were almost touching and he felt sick at her being this close to him. "I will insult whoever the hell I want, dog." He spat back, the two of them remaining close to eachother for a little while longer before Girty finally let him go. His hand went to his throat as he looked down the corridor. Now would be a good time to get out of here yet Ricky couldnt help but push his luck. "I guess the Psychopath Gene runs in the family." Ricky spat. "Has a Halfbreed for a Sister, a Mudblood for a Wife. Not to mention the rest of them." Narrowing his eyes he looked at her with a smirk, "And I hear he's finally losing his mind. About time if you ask me, having you for a sister and a mudblood for a wife would be enough to drive anyone insane."

[Girty Hubbles]

The little person who lived in Girty’s mind had just hit the palm of their hand to their forehead when Ricky insulted Dan. It should be clear to anyone who knew anything about the Hubbles family that their relationship was so tight knit that you should not dare insult one when another was around. In Girty’s current state even the slightest stab at her sister-in-law, someone who on many occasions she lead the war against, was enough to make her want to hex this Slytherin to the next century and make sure he paid for the insult to the family name.

The terms mudblood and half breed were not ones you heard in civilized conversation but then when Girty talked to Ricky and vice-a-versa, it was never what you would call civilized conversation. The two students hated each other with a deep passion that it made the old tales of Potter and Malfoy seem like child’s play. Verbal and physical abuse was batter around quicker and faster then in the final of Wimbledon and just like the famous tennis final the adrenalin was pumping fast in their veins.

“DON’T…” Snapped Girty, her long pointed fingerer directed straight at the blond haired Slytherin. “…insult Dan or Dia in front of me. You can call me names and belittle me as much as you want but never insult my family.”

Her dark brown eyes were glued to his dark green ones; all of Girty’s senses seemed to be working overtime. His fear was well masked but the potent smell of his aftershave could not hide the sight of a cold sweat glistening on his forehead. She was getting to him but then on the flip side her was getting to her, she was the one who had pinned him against the wall, she was having to fight herself from shaking with anger…this was not going to end well.

[Ricky Daine]

He saw the flash of anger within her eyes, and while she had hold of him the slight tremble in her from her anger. He was getting under her skin, and he loved it. He loved the fact how easily Girty was wound up, he loved it how he only needed to say certain things and she would lash out, leaving Ricky with amble opportunity to strike her back down. He had never quite gotten over his Quidditch injury and had certainly never forgiven her for it, now he was making her life a living misery, putting her down for all he could and currently, the blonde haired Slytherin was loving every second of it.

"Fine, I wont insult your precious Dan or lovely Dia," He snarled their names as though they were mud, which to him they were. But more than that, he was hissing at her finger being jabbed at him. "How about perfect Alex? Your dimwhitted boyfriend? The one who thought a card in his second year would answer all his problems only to have you burn it? Does he know about that?" Ricky smirked, insulting her boyfriend was easy, Ricky detested Alex, so sweet and thoughtful, always helping those who needed it. Disgusting. "Or Thom? Does Alex know you still have a thing for him? That you still love the dead guy? No wonder he got himself killed, hell I would have done if you'd have confessed undying love for me," He laughed, "But then I guess he did die didnt he? What a shame."

Of course, Ricky didnt see it as a shame, he didnt care for Thom or Alex. Alex, the idiot who went out with a halfbreed, who loved her from day one but was never noticed. Rebound guy? Possibily. Ricky folded his arms over his chest, the young Slytherin was fully enjoying himself, though her anger was slightly scary, if it was a full moon Ricky would be nowhere near her, he knew she wouldnt hesitate to chomp down on him if it was, he would never go near her the night of a full moon, as though this thought made him nervous, he glanced outside to make sure it wasnt. Thankfully, it wasnt even a halfmoon yet.

"How often do you see Jac now?" He asked, "She's too busy shacked up with Professor Shaw I guess to worry about you, right? A nice stable man who can provide for her, love her, and hell, they can even have kids. Halfbreeds. Can they have kids? Or cubs." This cracked him up, he ended up laughing, imagining a cub with the head of Alex. Serious disaster. "Theres another friend who's left you, the first one was Grace wasnt it?" He tilted his head, "You got bitten for her and became a disgrace for her, only to have her swan off, live her life and forget about the person who gave their life for her." He smirked, "Kind of pathetic, wouldnt you agree?"

Ricky, too far?
Maybe.

[Girty Hubbles]

Had Ricky gone too far?
Yes!

As a Hufflepuff and a Hubbles Girty had always been taught to try and look on the brightside of life and the only thing that she could think of at the moment was that at least he was no longer insulted Dan and Dia even if the personal insults had, well…moved up a notch, or three. Gone was the name calling and the small grudge about her hitting him a little too hard when they were playing Quidditch, now came the almost stalkerish moments when he knew everything about her. He had just pulled the pin out of the hand grenade and it would not take long for it to explode and his words simply sped the fuse up.

Tick, Tick, Tick

As soon as the name of Alex escaped his lips her muscles tightened and she grew stiff, she had a terrible feeling she knew where this was going although the small detour about the burning of the letter that was unexpected. The colour drained from her face as she stared on at the smirking Slytherin, Girty wanted to interrupt, she wanted to find the words but she could not make a sound. Instead she just mouthed her words of disbelief, ‘how’ and ‘what’ being the most common although a few expletives were thrown in along the way. But then Ricky plunged the knife into her heart when he said the name she had feared…Thom.
Suddenly the words were so easy to find, rage built up inside of her, tears stung in her eyes and before she could think straight she was seeking revenge.

“Never say his name again.” Her voice cracked and wavered with emotion. “You are Slytherin scum and you have no right to even speak his name. Thom died a noble death, for something he believed in. But I do not expect you to understand the concept of nobility and kindness.”

Girty could not take anymore of this, she did not care if Ricky would crow over her and the story would spread around the school at how quickly she broke down, but when it came to Thom nothing else mattered. At night Girty still lay there at night thinking about the time in the forest in the unicorn graveyard. She could still smell the damp earth from the rain, hear the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and that look in Thom’s eyes. She missed him so much it hurt, every month she would go to his grave and just stare at the pathetic excuse of a gravestone and the burnt ground which still years after nothing grew. How could Girty ever love another when she was still obsessed with a man who was dead?

Tick, Tick, Tick

It was that cold truth that made the Hufflepuff turn around, her fists were clenched as she tried to hold in the rage and emotion. Her throat was dry; her hazel eyes were stained with tears but as the slow sound of her solitary footsteps echoed around her Girty heard Ricky speak once more and for some reason, as if she needed him to tell her these sad truths about her she stopped and listened but it was not what she wanted to hear. With so much emotion running through her, so many confused feelings and not to mention the dark magic in the castle Ricky was pushing all the right buttons for a complete breakdown.

He mentioned Jac, her so called friend who had gone off to have her own life and he reminded her, as if she needed to be reminded, that she would never be able to have a normal family. Breathing in deeply, nostrils flaring and a new sense of courage filling her Girty turned back around and glared at the laughing Slytherin. She did not say anything out loud although in her head she was just daring Ricky to say more. It always angered her that family was something that the Hubbles clan held so dear and here she was in a situation where it would all but be impossible, that Dan would outshine her in that area too and she would be pitied among her own family.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Still Ricky had more to give; it was like he was reading her mind, her soul. He knew everything about her; he knew the thoughts that had been haunting her…her worst fears. He even knew how she got bitten and why. It had been to protect Grace, at the time she was her dearest and closest friend and in being the loyal Hufflepuff Girty did the thing that at the time seemed sensible. The heat of the moment when the werewolf (who ironically was her other close friend Boggleworth) was looming in on them, knocking both to the floor and as the creatures menacing eyes looked over Grace all Girty could think about was how Bog would hate himself for hurting Grace and how she could never live with herself for watching her friends destroy each other…clearly they did not feel the same way.

Automatically Girty’s hand moved up to her left shoulder, the scar from the bite was burning, it was sending shockwaves of pain through out of her and as her hand lay over the hot war wound Girty’s eyes were misted over as the internal war still raged on.
Ricky had been right, she now had to bare this curse something that hindered her life, stopped her from reaching her goals and the person who she had saved was living her dream. There was no fairness in that and that annoyed her, almost as much as admitting that Ricky was right.

“Yeah.” Girty’s voice was deep and rough, as if she had not drunk or spoke in days. Not that she heard that, all Girty could hear was the sound of the blood pumping in her ears perfectly in time to the fast beating of her heart. She was tense, her muscles were contorting and her veins shone perfect blue through her skin making it seem almost transparent. Her breathing suddenly became irregular as she tried to get enough oxygen into her lungs to keep up with the fast beating of her heart. She normally only ever felt like this once a month and it was not that time yet why was this happening to her.

Tick, Tick, Tick

Anger, depression, confusion, fear, all these pumped up powerful emotions were never good thing anyway and this mixed cocktail of feelings was made worse with the sprinkling of dark magic that has befallen the castle. The situation was out of Girty’s hands it was too much for her to handle, she was not powerful enough to over come it and so it was with a small cry of pain that she clenched her chest and bend over forwards, her lungs were screaming for oxygen, her limps demanding more blood and as her brain gave into her wolf instincts, pulling every aspect of rage and anger it could muster (which in her present state of mind was not hard) and after an excruciatingly painful minute it was no longer a Hufflepuff standing in the corridor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but a Werewolf!

[Ricky Daine]

Ricky was really enjoying himself to an immense level, he was loving the effect he was having on Girty, the way she couldnt seem to control her anger. He knew she was an inch away from punching him, and if she did he would probably laugh harder. He had stopped insulting Dan and Dia, but now he had taken his torturing to a completely new level and gone to bringing up past memories. He never usually sank so low when really winding someone up, he never thought them worth the hassell, but Ricky didnt hate anyone as much as he hated Girty and so he had gone and found out as much as possible about her so he could use it against her. How was he supposed to know that he had started something he would later come to regret? As far as he was aware, she was harmless.

He watched with a satisfyed smirk as the colour drained from her face and she stiffened up. This was turning out to be well worth tonight, Erys was off doing whatever it was she did when she wasnt with Ricky and he found himself bored. So, who had he run into? None other than Girty hubbles and took the pleasure in humiliating her and torturing her with all of her past regrets. Though he was an arrogant asshole, he was truthful. Ricky never spread lies about anyone and he never told anyone a lie. He may twist the truth and make it sound worse than it was and exagerate everything, but he was not a liar.

"Thom, Thom, Thom, Thom," Ricky repeated over and over again. "What are you gonna do about it? I'll say whatever I want to say, what are you gonna do? Glare me to death?" He smirked, "Oh, I understand nobility and kindness just not to the likes of you. Noble and kind to me means different to you weaklings."
"So, you admit it then?" Ricky smirked, "You do still love Thom?" This was simply too easy, she was giving everything to him on a platter. He could see it in her eyes, the mention of his name was painful. "How does Alexander feel about this? Does he know you will never love him the way he loves you? Shame, he's willing to give up everything to be with you too. You're not exactly a catch you know, you'll be a lot of work. Heaven knows how many times he'll be hoovering up your dog hairs. Not to mention the fact he wants kids and you cant have them. Yet he's willing to give up on children to be with you, and you wont even love him. How is that fair?"

Ever since Girty had broken Ricky's shoulder, he had had a personal vendetta against her. Everything that happened to him he blamed her for, even if she was never around. He always found a way to pin the blame on her. Though in truth, he felt sorry for Alex. He loved her with everything he had and yet she couldnt find the decency in her to love him back or let him go. She would never love him, but she needed someone to love her, it was unfair on Alex to be in a selfish relationship. She wanted her cake, and he was giving it to her. "I'll tell you how. It isnt. How can you be in a selfish relationship? He loves you with everything he is and you do not love him. How can you? Being hell bent on a dead guy, he's dead for crying out loud. Get over it move on! Thom never loved you! He never even liked you! You were like a sister to him... A good friend."

The dreaded F word. Everyone who liked someone hated them saying 'your a good friend'

Ricky always had more to give. He was the eyes and ears of Hogwarts. He knew everything about everyone. He didnt know why he just did. If someone told him something he wouldnt forget it, just like now, with everything he was saying to Girty, he had heard it all over three months ago and had only chosen to use it all now. Why? he didnt know. Maybe he had some kind of deathwish. He should know never piss off a werewolf, even if it wasnt a full moon. But would he stop?

No. Would he hell.

He did it. He had her.
Her hand went upto her shoulder where he knew she was bitten. She was feeling it, the weight of his words and worse, she knew he was right in everything he said. This, he also knew, disgusted her to admit. He was right. Ricky Daine was Right. Never she thought to have those words in her head. How was he supposed to know he had gone too far? How was he supposed to know a powerful emotion would trigger her change? He didnt. If he did, he would never go near her in fear of the beast inside.

She was a ticking time bomb. And he didnt even know it.

"Was that..?" Ricky asked sarcastically, "Oh my days was that Gertrude Hubbles agreeing with Ricky Daine?" At this moment, Ricky didnt know his luck was running stupidly thin. If he was anyone else right now he'd have apologized and walked away, but he wasnt. He was Ricky and Ricky was an arse. As far as he was concerned, Girty was no threat to him, an annoying pain in his side sure, but not a threat. Oh. How wrong he was. The clock was fast ticking down now, and soon enough Ricky would regret everything he ever said to her.

His last taunt threw her over the edge, Girty convulsed, clutched her chest and bent forward. "What the..." He mumbled to himself, it was only words and yet she was acting like he had pierced a hole in her chest. Ricky backed away from her a couple of steps and watched as she seemed to wriggle in pain. "Okay dude, this isnt funny." So, Ricky was beginning to get a little nervous now, he didnt want to explain he had talked her to death. How stupid would that be? One cry of pain and shredded clothes later. All of Ricky's worst nightmares were now staring at him in the face.

"Oh shi--" The end of his sentance was cut out by a deafening howl. "Time to go!" He mumbled, almost worried for a moment that he was too scared to run, though it was amazing what you could do when you needed to, as Ricky had turned and belted off down the corridor, hoping to out run the wolf. As he rounded a corner, a suit of armor dropped it axe infront of him "Shii--" He cursed, "I so dont need muderous armor suits too, I'll borrow this! Thanks!" He picked up the axe and bolted down the corridor again, he hoped he wouldnt have to use it if he kept on running. As he rounded the next corner, he couldnt hear Girtywolf anymore so he leant against a wall to catch his breath. He knew she was still around somewhere but he didnt know where. His heart was pounded in his chest, a cold sweat running down his back from fear and every sound had been magnified.

A couple of minutes passed by and he got off the wall, though as he turned, the wolf was right there infront of him, snarling at him. Would she not hurt him if he apologized? "Okay okay! Lets not be hasty now! We dont want to be doing anything we may regret!" She howled at him, okay so talking was over was it? "FINE!" He swung the axe and turned on his heel and ran, he had dropped the axe after one swing, well that was clever now wasnt it? Running around a couple of bends, hearing the padding of paws behind him, he was truly bricking himself now, once around the next corner;

"Ah, hell." Dead end. Nowhere left to run. "Crap." Turning slowly he saw the wolf between him and his escape. Hunger in the beast's eyes, fear in his. His heartbeat pounding at his ribcage, backing off until his back was against the wall, he held his hands up. "Okay, we dont have to be doing this. There's got to be some other way to resolve this. I mean, you dont want to eat me I'll taste horrible! I'm a snake, remember? Snake is bad. Oh hell..."

He. Was. Screwed.
It was official.

[Girty Hubbles]

Everything was now black and white, the gentle breeze that came through a near by window ruffled the fur on the werewolf that stood on its hide legs, slightly hunched, breathing heavily through its snout. Over the years Girty and the wolf had become more in tune with one another and the animal instincts never fully took over anymore and as a result the Hufflepuff always had the tiniest bit of control over some situations, but today, as the would slowly raised its head and fixed its brown eyes upon the human at the end of the corridor Girty did not want to have any control.

She wanted to kill the bugger!

With a loud howl that echoed around the small corridor the wolf dropt down onto all fours and started to slowly prowl forwards. Its padded paws creating gentle thuds that sounded more like it belonged to the common house dog…but this canine was not one you would want as a pet, unless of course you had a death sentence. And it seemed this human actually did have the tiniest bit of common sense about him as he was soon running away as fast as his small, puny two legs would carry him. If it was possible the wolf gave what could only be classed as a smile but it did not bound after the human, clattering into the suits or armour with their pointy shiny sticks, instead the wolf continued to prowl the corridor, sniffing the air and following the bitter salty taste of the human’s smell of fear.

She was getting closer, the wolf could taste the bitterness of sweat on the air, it grew stronger with every step the creature took until suddenly the human jumped out from behind a wall wielding one a shiny pointed stick. Maybe this human was smarter then the she had thought. It swung at it and the wolf took a step back in fear of seeing the red liquid…but for that small moment in time the wolf had overestimated the human as it stupidly dropt its weapon and started to run once more.

This time Girtywolf thought it would be wise to keep up with the human and so it padded along happily after it’s pray at a sensible speed so that it would not lose its footing on the smooth stone floor. Then the human stopped, the smell of fear was ripe and the closer the wolf got the more the smell grew, the more it made the creature long to sink its teeth into the soft flesh of the human. It was talking, to the wolf it was just noise, to Girty it was Ricky’s vain hope of talking his way out of the situation but neither parts of Girty was willing to see reason…it just wanted to taste blood and raw meat.

How would be the best way to get Ricky Daine back for all the pain he had caused? What was the one thing he feared? The one thing he despised most of all in the world? The answer, half breeds. What would be the best revenge? Death was too good for him, Girty wanted him to suffer, she wanted him to look in the mirror and hate what he had become, she wanted his fellow house mates to turn their noses up at him for what he was she wanted to cause him so much pain that he would be forced to become an outcast, just like her. And so it was with much joy and pleasure that Girtywolf closed in on the cornered the human, the creatures jaws getting further and further apart revelling a set of rather sharp looking teeth, although Ricky would not have seen them for long as the wolf had sunk them into his shoulder.

[Ricky Daine]

He was in trouble. He didnt need the pounding of his heart, the rush of blood fused with adrenaline or the soft thudding he could hear in the distance of the wolf to tell him that. He was breathing heavily, he never had to run anywhere in his life before he much preferred to fly. Of course, Ricky wasnt the best of thinking under pressure, but even if he did accio his broom, there was no guarantee he would be able to outrun the wolf until it came to him. For him right now, running was his only option, but any sense went out of the window.

Surprisingly, for someone who hated Halfbreeds, he knew quite a bit about them. How you became one, what they were like, how their animalistic minds worked and how the lust for their prays blood was deeper than any other sense. Ricky knew, though he wouldn’t admit it, if he didn’t think of something fast he was pretty much screwed. It was no secret to anyone that he despised Girty because she was a halfbreed, breaking his shoulder in Quidditch fuelled that hatred and he always vowed he would get her back for it. However, now it was looking like she was taking control of things and getting him back for everything he did to her.

“If, by some miracle I get out of this alive. I will… No, even if I said I would never… no, I would actually. Merlin I don’t know. Think! Think!”

Stopping at the end of a corridor, it spanned off to the left and right. Ricky swivelled from one to the other, running his hands through his hair as he did. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and this wolf as possible. Though time was running out, he was nowhere near the dungeons so he couldn’t escape to his common room. Besides, he would have to get past the wolf to get there, so that plan was out of the window. “Left. Right. Right. Left.” He mumbled. “Dodgy shoulder is left so… I go right.” Though his logic made no sense, Ricky spun on his heel and sprinted down the right hand corridor. His breath was now coming in short rasps and his chest burned. If he wasn’t running for his life and or sanity, he’d have given up long ago.

Dead End.

“Great!” Ricky moaned, he had sprinted straight into a corridor which went nowhere. Banging on the wall in front of him in frustration, or maybe hoping to find a loose brick leading to a secret passageway (you never know) but unfortunately, it was just solid stone. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as a second breathing, deeper than his own, met his ears. Turning slowly, he saw to his horror the wolf. Backing up, though where could he go exactly, he pressed his back to the wall as the creature advanced on him. “When they write a book on my life, they better not say ‘death by wolf’ or I’ll haunt them for eternity.” He mumbled to himself.

The wolf was now inches from him. Ricky could smell the breath, feel it on his cheek. His face went pale and his eyes grew wide. His forehead was moist with sweat and he was shaking, visibly. He knew that the wolf knew it had won. Its jaws were wide and he could see the long pointed teeth of the beast in front of him. He was going to die and knowing his luck of late, it was neither going to be pretty or quick. The wolf lowered its head towards his left shoulder, Ricky was actually frozen with fear, which was more embarrassing for him than manhood disfunctionality would have been. He was mumbling, probably pleading but he couldn’t even hear what he was saying. He felt the teeth graze over his shoulder, in his mind Ricky was still cursing the wolf, especially as his left shoulder was already defected.

Sharp white hot blinding pain shot through him, followed by a wet feeling dripping down his shoulder. Saliva or blood Ricky couldn’t tell you. His knees were going weak, and his eyes fluttered shut. Without realising he had been pushing on the wolfs shoulders trying to keep it away, which obviously wouldn’t have worked. His arms fell to his side, his head drooped and he felt his knees buckle from underneath him. Slowly he slid down the wall, he was still conscious, but barely, he knew what was going on. He was going to die soon and there was nothing he could do about it. “Erys…“ He spoke weakly. Though, within a few minutes the beast let go. What was it doing? Why wasn’t it killing him dead?

“You son of a…” He mumbled, but he was too weak to speak properly.

Girty didn’t want to kill him.
She wanted him to hate himself.
She wanted him to be his own worst fear.
And she succeeded.