[Library] The Alive Paintings

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

If Dan had not been feeling so tired and beaten up already he more then likely would have started to bash his head against the stone castle walls as it would have done as much good as trying to convince these students to get back to their common rooms and safely back in bed! Did they not understand that the longer they hung around the increased probability there would be that one of them would get injured and if someone gets injured it is his job and reputation on the line. But no, it would not just be his job on the line; it would be his wife and sister’s as well. Dia often teased that he was the only thing keeping her in the castle so he knew that if he was not there she would not hang around and his sister…well would the new headmaster really allow a werewolf to be around?

Running a hand through his greasy hair Dan closed his eyes and took a deep breath trying to compose himself and as he exhaled his bloodshot blue-grey eyes wearily looked around the corridor and at the three girls in front of him. They were all being so stubborn, and he knew that he normally was also but now was not the time to try and be a hero, heck it was not even the time to try and be clever and work out what the hell was going on. The top priority was to make sure that everyone in the school was safe and away from harm!

“I am sorry Miss Thimble.” Dan said earnestly. “I will be taking all three of you back to your respective common rooms and seeing as the Gryffindor tower is closest then that is where we shall be heading first. Need I remind you all that only Miss Rook has the right to be out of bed after hours? You’re lucky I am not taking points off your houses.”

Dan hated having to be serious, he hated having responsibility but when push came to shove someone needed to act like the adult and seeing as he was headmaster and a good ten odd years older then these students it was only right he did take up the mantle that had been thrust upon him. And to show that he was serious on the matter Dan began to walk down the corridor, his wand held out in front of him emitting a small beam of light that light the way as he nervously glanced from side to side in case something else decided to creep out its frame and attack them.

[Kristiana Thorn]

Just when she thought they were about to be rid of this hallway, and back to their own common rooms and to their semi-normal lives here at school something happened to stop that. Again that Sarie girl was busy trying to defend the psycho paintings. Kristi had to look at her and wonder if she was right in the head, she couldn't be normal because if she was she would be walking along with the rest of them trying to get as far away from this insanity as possible, but of course she was acting a fool thinking that it was right to stand there and refuse to go back to her common room.

Kristi wondered if one good smack would help move her along, because Kristi would be damned if she was going to stand around there waiting for these painting to launch another attack. Kristi shook her head and whispered to herself "The freaking girl has gone mental she doesn't need her common room she needs the damned hospital wing" and that's just what she thought. There was something wrong with that girl very very wrong.

Lucky for them Headmaster Hubbles wasn't allowing her to get away with that nonsense for once he was actually taking charge and acting like a real man instead of the simpering fool she was sued to. "About time" she muttered looking over at him. "Sarie let's go the rest of us don't want to be here can't you just forget about it? I mean obviously you can see there's something wrong here and we need to get away from here" surely the girl couldn't be that far gone.

[Sarie Thimble]

"That's a good idea, what happens to the next person who walks down this hall. Even teachers are going to be caught by surprise." She was shaking she knew that the paintings where dangerous but they even more dangerous to people that didn't know. "What happens if this happens during the day, in common rooms there are paintings all over this place. People aren't going to know what happening by then it will be too late to explain. Why not find out what they want and not have to worry about it later." She stood there she was the youngest and could be easily be over powered by them but what about the paintings didn't they deserve to be saved as much as the students. If the painting where truly evil like they said they wouldn't wait for the cover of darkness they would strike when they could. Students would have gone missing by now if these painitngs where truly evil.

"I may sound like a foolish little Gryffindore but I at least worry whats happening to my school, what going to happen this is a test. I can feel them they're calling for help. I know I sound crazy I've always have but at least I know that I'm ready to face what ever it is evil or not what about you three?" Sarie was little Sarie any more she feared for the rest of the blind school who had no idea they would see the extreme damage to the hall and questions would be asked but if the situation was handle if would be one not many. If she was stopped to night she would go out every night till she found what she needed to find. "Ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away it makes it worst trust me. I've ran from every one of my problems and all it did was blow up in my face. It was a fire breathing dragon today what do you think it might be tomorrow if the source isn't found."

Sarie didn't care if points where taken off or if she had detention this was about the safety of every one and the school. She was a Gryffindor and she wasn't going to let her founder down. It took more to stand up to the headmaster than any one else. Her whole body was shaking which what didn't know but she was ready to face whatever was messing with the paintings with or without them behind her.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie was getting a little annoyed with the younger girls. Though not much younger than her, as Professor Hubbles pointed out, they shouldn't have been out at this time of night anyway. Ellie wished that she hadn't stopped for any reason on her way back to the Hufflepuff common room. She should have just let her senses go.

Lucky for Ellie, it seemed as though the Slytherin just wanted to get out of here and go to bed, able to ignore everything that had gone on and deny her presence here later. Ellie also wanted to bring everyone to bed, and possibly go to bed herself. However, she wasn't about to drop the ball. She knew something was wrong in the castle, Sarie wasn't the only one. However, Ellie understood that there was not much more that she or anyone could do tonight. They would just have to hope for the best and the first thing to do was to figure out exactly what was going on before they went into a blind fight.

"Sarie, I care. Believe me I care, but you can't help anything right now. We all just need to go to bed and think about this at another time." Ellie sighed, fiddling with her wand. The sweat that had built up under her robes was beginning to dry on her skin, making her feel sticky as if she was in a humid room. "We all know you care about the school, so do I, and Professor Hubbles...even Kristiana, I'm sure." Ellie looked at the Slytherin, trying to show her that she needed some sympathy to get the little girl showered and up to bed. "But we'll handle it. Its not your battle anymore." Ellie said, hoping that she could a tleast keep the girl from wandering around in the night looking for something that could get her in trouble. She would be doing it out of the kindness of her heart, but Ellie was sure the Gryffindor didn't know how stupid of an idea it was.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

That was it, Dan could not take any more of this, even his Hufflepuff patients was wearing out. In the right sort of situation Dan was all for stubbornness and women being all powerful and determined but when he was the Headmaster and he was giving the orders Dan expected not only their respect but also for them to cooperate. The bickering that was passing between the three girls was as grating on him as the sound of someone dragging their fingernails down a chalk board. The accumulation of stress, fear and tiredness had worn his tether to the very end and when Sarie went off on her little rant about protecting the school it snapped.

For a moment he just stood there staring at the same cracked stone on the corridor floor, his breathing was heavy as he tried to get enough oxygen into his body to match the desperate needs of his pounding heart. He had not felt rage like this in a long time, in fact the last time was when he nearly threw a student down the stairs and then he ended up in the hospital wing bleeding to death. So maybe he should have been listening to Ellie’s words of reassurance to Sarie, but it was all just blah blah blahing to him and he was not even sure if she was finished or not when his head jerked upwards and his wild gaze looked around at all three of the girls in the corridor.

“You know what?” He stated with a small laugh “I don’t care anymore!” His gaze fixed themselves on the Gryffindor. “If you want to go wondering around the castle late at night then do so, I have tried to stop you, you have ignored me…” Dan tailed off, although still muttering to himself as he started to walk down the corridor away from the gaggle of girls. “…house points don’t matter huh? 100 points from Gryffindor…” His train of thought was going off all over the place as his arms were waving wildly in the air as if he was gesturing to someone miles away. “…and 50 from Slytherin, out of bed at night and 50 from Hufflepuff so people stop saying I am bias, bloody twa---“

The corridor fell silent, Dan had rounded the bend and consumed by an eerie darkness, an eerie and unnatural darkness. Even the light protruding from the end of his wand seemed to fade away and when it got to the point when his jagged breathes where the only thing he could hear panic set in over the Headmaster and the thought of the three students standing unprotected in the corridor made Dan think twice about walking away.

With long strides and fast pumping arms Dan ran the short sprint back to where his students had been and skidded to a halt right in front of Sarie. Despite his heaving chest and the sweat running down his brow Dan shot the Gryffindor his award winning smile and pointed his wand straight at her chest and muttered the words “Petrificus Totalus”. Quickly catching the Gryffindor before she hit the hard floor Dan pocketed his wand and lifted her up into his arms. “I hope you two are sensible enough to move under your own steam? I will have difficultly carrying all three of you.”

He hoped his bitter tone would not be wasted upon them as he started to stride off in the opposite direction to the darkness and down the corridor getting ready to take the Gryffindor off to her Commonroom. If only the journey would be this easy all the way!

[Kristiana Thorn]

Kristiana was simply getting sick of all of this, had she had any common sense she would have simply walked away after all of this got started. What did she care if the paintings went wild, they had been going wild for a while now and no one had done anything to stop it before. The other students weren't dumb they knew very well what was going on. This little Gryffindor girl had herself thinking she was some sort of savior for the school. That was the problem with Gryff's they had this hero issue. Kristiana was tired of the girl she was acting as if she was going to save people in one night and that wasn't going to happen and she didn't seem to understand that.

Even Ellie the Hufflepuff knew that nothing was going to be solved tonight. She was trying to reason with the young girl saying that nothing could be done tonight. Kris totally agreed with that all she wanted to do was leave this hallway and never think of it again. "Yes Sarie I care about the school too and wouldn't want to see anything happen to it either, but like Ellie said there's nothing we can do about it tonight" Kris had to keep a straight face throughout that little speech. Her agreeing with a Hufflepuff was something unheard of, but if it got them out of that hallway any faster then she would do what needed to be done.

Hopefully the younger girl would simply listen to them, they were all older than her and they knew what they were talking about at least in this instance. Plus who knew what would happen to her if she went wandering around the school by herself, if she ended up hurt or killed they would all be blamed and she wasn't about to have that guilt on her shoulders though she probably wouldn't feel too guilty about it if the stupid girl wanted to do what she did then it was her problem anyway.

After several moments of the drama the Headmaster stepped in. Kris could only think finally, but that thought was short lived as he started to go on a rampage taking points away left and right, 100 from Gryffindor, 50 each from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Kris was pissed off she had already been sweating, but now she was hot under the collar and it made her even hotter. The sweat dripped off her face as she tried her darnedest to keep her mouth shut so she didn't cost her house anymore points. No matter what it was unfair what he had just done. Kris folded her arms and her face was set in annoyance.

Now she really wanted to get the heck out of this hallway she was done with this whole thing, to have points docked after what she helped do was total bs, but she never should have expected anything less from Hubbles, he was just as whacked out as everyone was saying, so much so that he actually used a spell on a student. He froze Sarie, taking full advantage of his power. Kris was actually shocked that he was so brazen. For once she and she was sure it would only be once she admired the man for finally acting like a man and taking charge. Now that Sarie was dealt with all that was left now was for them to leave that hallway and go to bed. "Well now that we have that all settled I figure we can now make our way back to our common rooms. I need some time to figure out what to say to my house mates about why I cost them fifty points" she couldn't help it she had to say something. "Yes, I'll just tell them I risked my life and all I got was lousy points deducted." Frustrated and annoyed Kris didn't even wait for any response she finally did what she wanted to do and walked away from all of them.

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie was very surprised that the Slytherin was actually agreeing with her for once. The prefect expected that this would be the one and only time she would. Ellie knew very well that the agreement was based solely on the fact that the Slytherin wanted to get out of here fast. However, she was still grateful for the backup. This considering that the Headmaster had been quite silent as the girls trying to convince Sarie that her work was done for the night.

All of a sudden, the Headmaster was not so silent. Ellie's eyes, though heavy with want of sleep and ash and dirt, widened as it seemed the Headmaster finally grew a pair and used his authority to get them going. Ellie stifled a laugh, though she knew that the situation was serious. Ellie had never seen the Headmaster actually take so many points away from someone and like everything else he did it hurriedly and in a scatter brained manor. Ellie understood why he had taken points. She knew that it would at least get Kris to leave, but she wasn't sure that Sarie would take the bait. The girl's heart was like gold, and Ellie was sure that points didn't seem so important anymore.

The headmaster stormed off and for a second Ellie wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. She was suddenly handed the adult card and wasn't sure how to use it. Thankfully, within a few seconds, the Headmaster must have realized that he left his students to the darkness and what ever else was lurking in it. Ellie opened her mouth to thank him for coming back and that they would listen to him now, but she saw his wand out and ready to go. Before any words could come out of her mouth, she clamped it closed with surprise. The Headmaster had just incapacitated a student. Sarie now stood sideways in the arms of the Headmaster, stiff as a piece of wood.

Ellie exhaled. She couldn't believe what she had just saw. Kristiana was the first person to speak up, and in her Slytherin fashion, just like Ellie had thought, the points being taken away was too much for, her and now she walked away, bitter, leaving Ellie and Hubbles with Sarie in full rigor. Ellie stepped up to the Headmaster. "Wasn't that a little bit rash?" she said as she bent down to pick up Sarie's legs to help the Professor deliver her back to the Gryffindor tower like a parcel in the post.