[Dungeons] Leave it to Hogwarts

[Myles Bentley]

Myles was sure he knew the dungeons inside out - every portrait, every looming candle, and every leaky crack. Even as his eyes narrowed just slightly when passing an unfamiliar painting of a skeletal woman, he didn't lose confidence. The dungeons were his vice, and he certainly wasn't going to get lost in them.

But even as he took all the right turns, every descending staircase, and was on perfect route to the Slytherin common room, the corridors continued to change until Myles had to admit he was lost. It was an unfamiliar feeling, as the Slytherin was sure he had mapped out the Dungeons to their very bare blueprints.

"Leave it to Hogwarts," He murmured ungratefully, stopping in his tracks and looking around. "No other school would just grow an extra hallway one day."

[Rosalind Matthews]

Finishing up her homework, Rosa sat there and re read her essay. In her mind it sounded just right, if there was one thing Rosa was good at it was writing essays. Her professors often complimented her which she enjoyed. Once she was satisfied she grabbed up her things and put them away. Then throwing her bag over her shoulder she headed out of the library walking alone. The corridors seemed to be rather empty and Rosa couldn't help but feel nervous about this. The school still scared her every now and then, it was hard to get used to the place because it was just so different from any place she had ever been.

Not paying much attention to where she was going Rosa soon found herself lost. Rosa looked up and around and could honestly say she had no idea where she was. Smart as whip Rosa had no sense of direction at all. Being lost in these hallways were never a good thing. Shaking her head Rosa tried to back track and found herself even more lost.

Somehow it seemed that she was in the dungeons or something because it was cold as ice and Rosa could feel herself shivering. She wanted to leave wanted to be up in her own common room with people she knew. Trying to get there she made another turn down another hallway and smacked right into someone just as he said "leave it to Hogwarts" Rosa was worried but then she replied "You've got that right. Where are we?"

[Myles Bentley]

Foosteps.

During his musings to himself, Myles was deaf to the approaching footsteps that could have meant salvation. And embarrassment, really - what kind of Slytherin got lost in their own haven?

But, just as he was continuing his rant to no one in particular, a figure crashed into him in what could have been a painful way had the girl not been so, seemingly, fragile. Steadying the Ravenclaw by her shoulders momentarily, Myles offered a bemused look.

"I didn't make a single mistake on my way to the Common Room," it seemed he'd decided to continue his ranting with even more vigor now that he'd acquired an audience. "Every. Right. Turn." Frowning, Myles shrugged and dropped his hands from her shoulders.

"But, I can't say I know where we are. I've heard if you walk in spirals you're bound to come across something you recognise, but I'm not so sure this particular castle will make it so easy."

Regarding Rosalind more intently, Myles stuffed both of his hands in his pockets. "Matthews, right?"

[Rosalind Matthews]

Why is it that when you were in a bad situation something or someone came along to make it all worse. Rosalind had learned when she first got to Hogwarts that Slytherins weren't the most friendly kids. People warned her to stay away from them as often as possible. Though she knew her uncle's girlfriend or whatever she was had been a former snake, was even the head of their house. That didn't matter much to Rosa smart as she was she could be a wee bit close-minded so in her opinion it was once a snake always a snake.

So when she spotted the Slytherin boy Rosa sort of became scared and clammed up a little bit. Who knew what he was there to do maybe he was about to hex her. When he didn't Rosa wondered what he was playing at. She kept eying him suspiciously the whole time even though he gave her no indication that he meant her any harm. Rosa wondered how this could be.

Now she was starting to feel a wee bit silly, and perhaps a bit prejudiced when he mentioned her surname Rosa jumped a bit. Her head snapped up quickly and she gave a nervous giggle. "Um yeah Rosalind Matthews, I'm sorry your name seems to elude me at the present time." It didn't really elude her she just didn't know it because she had never tried to find out, but saying elude was a lot nicer than I didn't really care to know who you were. "I don't even know how I got down here, I left the library and then" she shrugged her shoulders.

"You're lost too?" she wondered. It seemed odd since he belonged her more than she did. "Isn't this Slytherin territory?" The question came with a smile as she managed to calm down some.

[Myles Bentley]

With a smirk, Myles began walking a little bit forward, nodding for her to follow. "Hmm, yeah? Well, then, Rosalind Matthews," Striding down a hallway he had never seen before, he felt a stir of amusement. "Maybe we should have a little chat to help you remember."

With a grin, aware the girl probably hadn't ever known his name, Myles paused at a portrait to stare at it intensely. "I can promise you no Slytherins know the existence of this corridor." It was a painting of the same skeletal woman, this time sitting completely still in the middle of a meadow with wilting flowers. Frowning, feeling a chill crawl up his bones, he swiftly turned back to his company. "So I doubt I can call this particular hallway Slytherin territory."

His voice became barely audible as he beckoned her forward. "She seems to be in quite a few of these portraits. Maybe it's her territory."

[Rosalind Matthews]

Rosalind was hoping that this boy being a Slytherin would be able to help her get out of this place, but he seemed to be just as lost as she was. This didn't really bode well for either of them. Rosalind sighed a little because she could feel tiredness start to wash over her but she wouldn't be able to lay down in her own bed because she couldn't seem to find her way back to her own common room.

"How is it that no Slytherins know about this part of the dungeon, I mean I know the stairs in the school change, but I never heard about the corridors changing," she asked suspiciously wondering if he was toying with her and if this was some sort of trick to lure her into a false sense of security, making her think everything was copacetic when in reality they weren't. Rosalind started to get scared again.

"What's going on around here I mean seriously one minute I was headed to my common room and now I'm somewhere in the dungeons and neither one of us seem to know where we are. This damned place is so odd if I had of known" she muttered but did not finish her sentence. "I just want to go to sleep," she said sadly.

[Myles Bentley]

Noticing how tired and emotional she was getting, Myles grimaced.

"Er - look, I know they seem bad, but the dungeons are all right, really. I'm down here all the time, and all those stories you hear are just myths."

Well, almost all of them. A lot of the Slytherins were known to pull pranks and the like in their realm, but Rosalind didn't need to know that. After all, he wasn't prepared to do anything that night, and as a senior in his House they didn't often try anything with him.

"Anyway, I'm telling you. I've seen this woman at least half a dozen times since I've been lost." Reaching out a finger, Myles touched the portrait hesitantly, trying to get the woman to move. She didn't, and continued to stay still. "It looks like it's a Muggle painting - isn't that strange? Of all the places to find something like this, the dungeons would be the last..."

Pulling back his hand, Myles' eyes suddenly widened. The frame of the portrait had followed it, as if a magnet to his finger, essentially swinging forward. Behind it was a small doorway to a corridor that he recognized. It was a few turns away from the Potions classroom, in fact.

The Slytherin looked back at Rosalind curiously, his eyebrows raised.

[Rosalind Matthews]

Rosalind was trying hard to trust this boy, and not think him an evil Slytherin boy, but things were not going so well. They were no sooner leaving the dungeons then they were when they first got there. Rosalind was starting to get weary and kept looking around her as if waiting for some unknown person to jump out from behind a tapestry and yell "GOTCHA". Now she regretted leaving the comfort of the library because at least while she sat in there she was safe and in a place she knew well.

He was talking to her but Rosa was barely listening, her fear and anxiety increasing every minute they spent trapped in the dungeons. Maybe he had no problems being there, but she sure did.

Looking up she found him looking at and going on about some lady in a painting. Rosa looked at said lady and didn't really see the big deal she wasn't much to look at in the first place, she probably didn't fit in anywhere and kept looking for someplace to fit in, but when he touched the painting something odd happened. It opened up and there was a passageway there one it seemed neither one of them had ever noticed before. "What the..." Rosalind muttered while staring transfixed. "You didn't know this was here did you?" Rosa just had to ask.

[Myles Bentley]

"I had no clue," Myles breathed. He felt relief at seeing a corridor he recognized behind the portrait, but a suspicion also unfurled within him. Walking a bit closer to the frame, Myles took in the area - he knew every detail, and if something was amiss, he would catch on right away.

And there it was. The portraits on either side of the hallway were switched from where they normally were, and as soon as he saw that, a million subtle differences made him reel back.

"I'm not going in there. I don't trust it." And without waiting for the Rosalind's input, he slammed the portrait shut, blocking the corridor once again. Myles was about to turn back to his companion in satisfaction, when he did a double take.

The woman was no longer in the picture, having vanished, and for an unmoving portrait, that was certainly most strange. "She's gone," he whispered, feeling for the first time, that the dungeons might not have been safe anymore.

[Kohana Engel]

From beyond the closed portrait issued a soft tapping. It was the sound of light, delicate fingernails drumming against the wooden frame, emitting a rhythmic tune into the Myles and Rosalind’s limbo. Upon the desolate woman vanishing from her post it must have been easy to imagine she had found a way out of her prison, and was now attempting to find them.

The reality was in fact one Kohana Engel, desperately confused and swearing to having just seen a Ravenclaw and Slytherin peering at her from behind a portrait-come-doorway. For a moment it had offered her both hope and fright, startled by their presence, though relieved at the revelation of an exit from the corridor she wandered in – one with no way out of it.

But the Slytherin, much to her offense, had closed the frame without even beckoning her. ‘Don’t pretend you didn’t see me!’ She shouted as she ran up to the portrait, one of an emaciated woman pointing into a forest, and dug her fingers into the frame. She could suss no obvious hinge.

‘There are no doors down here, I need to get out!’ Kohana pressed her lips to the canvas for fear he couldn’t hear her, the responding silence taunting her. Was he merely playing games, keeping her trapped like this? Forlorn and frustrated, Kohana tapped at the material, the woman’s eyes staring down at her intently.

[Myles Bentley]

There was a sudden creak, like a doorway opening, and Myles withdrew from the portrait completely. The droning colours began to fade away, leaving what was left of the meadow in a sharp contrast of black and white, and with it faded Myles' resolve.

"Something's really wrong," He turned to Rosalind, his face somewhat pale. Ghostly noises were echoing around them, obscure and distant as though they were fighting through fog.

He once again didn't consult his counterpart, there was no time. The noises seemed to get closer - the scent of decaying wood and fresh pine assaulting their sense of smell. In an instant, Myles was grasping at the portrait in front of him, willing the frame to come apart and show them the familiar corridor again.

At last, it swung forward, scraping his shoulder in its haste. Feeling the strange sense that the portrait was offering them a safe haven, Myles pushed through, hearing rather than seeing Rosalind next to him. Though he had tried his hardest to avoid looking at the corridor they previously occupied, as Myles was not particularly brave, he caught sight of gnarly roots reaching out toward them before slamming the portrait hole shut.

Letting out three rather disjointed curses, damning his luck, Myles turned back to Rosalind expectantly. He found him staring at a rather fuming Gryffindor instead.

"How did you get here?!"

The Slytherin had taken in every detail of the room - portraits and tapestries alike - there was very little chance he missed the obvious silhouette of another student.

[Kohana Engel]

‘Well have it your way then!’ Kohana thumped the canvas thuggishly, feeling thoroughly mistreated. The Slytherin’s rejection might not have felt so harsh if she had not seen the Ravenclaw at his side, a House valued for its common sense, and thus, by extension, common courtesy. Or so she had assumed, and quite foolishly too. Is the castle legally allowed to just leave me in here? she speculated, face growing vacant with paranoia.

Her gaze wandered back to the portrait.

The woman remained motionless before the trees, continuing to point into them with patient, pleading eyes. Kohana needed little inclination to break eye contact with the being, having never been comfortable with such a haunting, unnecessary strain of magic. Moving portraits were merely decorative ghosts in another realm, and though they could not touch her... Kohana shivered, unable to think about it anymore.

With little warning the portrait swung outwards; damp, scented air pressed against Kohana’s bare skin like cold breath, and she gasped, coming nose-to-nose with the cruel Slytherin. ‘Oh, so you can see me now, can you?’ Kohana’s expressive eyes bulged in accusation, unforgiving. ‘What did I ever do to you?!’

It was then Kohana ventured a look into the other corridor, catching but a glimpse of it before the portrait closed – its darkness, its distant, ethereal howls; limb-like roots. ‘What have you done out there?’ She asked, indignation replaced with bewilderment. ‘Maybe it’s a good thing we’re trapped in here.’

[Myles Bentley]

"What did I do?" Myles glared at the Gryffindor, ready to vehemently deny any association with the madness that was behind the portrait. He didn't do anything, except maybe disturb a rather haunting photo - but what did that matter... they were always begging for attention anyway.

"Wait a minute," Myles' face contorted into a mixture of exhaustion and concern. "Did you say trapped? And hold on, this room was different before..."

It was no longer a familiar dungeon corridor, but instead a rectangular room that was as odd as it was captivating. It looked to be a classroom, but instead of desks there were round tables with cushions, and even though it gave off the air of being abandoned, it was incredibly clean.

Taking a step back in surprise, Myles felt his back hit the portrait again and he hurriedly fumbled away, not wanting to risk having it open.

"I remember this room," He breathed belatedly, "Vickers taught Divination here. I had detention with him once." As if to confirm his suspicions, Myles craned his neck upwards. And there they were, hundreds of portraits near the tall ceiling, only noticeable if one knew they were there.

Remembering an even more vivid detail, Myles' eyes abruptly halted on the gigantic door behind the professor's old desk. "You said we were trapped!" He exclaimed, and though he was aware the door was probably locked like it had been for the duration of Allion's Hogwarts career, he couldn't help but try to budge it open. With no luck.

[Kohana Engel]

Kohana armed herself with a mouthful of retaliations, but no sooner had she chosen one thad the Slytherin dismissed her, absorbed in the mediocrity of the hallway. ‘Don’t I get an apology?’ She demanded, spinning around with a touch of dramatics to pursue him. She was effectively stopped in her tracks, however.

‘Oh my...’

The dark corridor no long existed. Instead, it appeared to have expanded into a bright, amicable room of modest proportions, the walls painted astral blue where they were not dominated by enormous windows, which gazed out onto the skies of the North Tower. Neatly arranged within the room were intimate, circular tables, and before them all stood the desk of most beautiful craft, several devine instruments ticking away upon it.

But there was something more – or less, she supposed. Kohana could not fathom how she knew, but this place had not been visited in a long time. It did not surprise her that the door remained firmly bared against the Slytherin, for this was no doubt not Professor Vicker’s old classroom. Like the corridors that preceded, it was but an intelligent illusion.

‘I bet the windows won’t open, either,’ Kohana drifted up beside the boy, abandoning any anger to resignation. She ran her fingers over the wood for a moment, eventually coming to look the Slytherin in the eye.

She volunteered a reluctant smile. 'We need a miracle now.’

[Prof. Allion Vickers]

"But won't they?"

Allion appeared beside Kohana, pressing fingers against the glass. It was cold, harsh against his finger tip, and the ex-Divination Professor smiled brightly. "No, you're right, they won't." He walked over to a crystal ball, hovering a hand above it tentatively, before raising a brow.

Looking back at the students, Allion grinned. "Though, they never did -- Ah!" With eyes holding a disconcerting twinkle, the professor made his way past cushions and tables with an almost ghostly stride. When Allion finally reached the portrait, he gave it little regard before applying a faint pressure against the frame. It spun, revealing its back to the room's occupants - a blackboard with faint chalk lines spiraling across.

Turning back to both Kohana and Myles, he offered them a cheery expression. "You know, that crystal ball earlier told me it's going to rain. I really should stop buying supplies from thrift stores ... have you ever seen a clearer day?" Allion offered a smile as he looked out the windows, his dazed orbs deliberately missing the Augury that soared overhead.

In this distraction, a familiar piece of yellow chalk pulled itself from a particularly crowded shelf. And on the blackboard, it began to draw trees - many of them, standing tall and pressed side-to-side.

Allion was blissfully unaware as he pulled down one of his famous drapes, depicting Kohana's palm on it though she would never take the time to notice. [/color]