[Forest] hang me up to dry.

[Prudence Russo]

The Russo twins were undeniably close, but that didn't mean Prue was hanging on every word Addy said every day. It would drive her crazy, considering her twin wasn't one to be quiet and she was just the same as her. Half the time, the girl tuned her out when she was talking and Prue just nodded at appropriate moments and gave a few 'uh-huhs'. And then when Prue wanted to talk, Addy did the same. They were both extremely excellent listeners, not really. But this night was starting out just like any other.

"Anthony wrote me a letter."
"Uhh-huh."
"He's going to come visit us!"
"Mm, that's nice."
"Tonight, and I think you should go."
"I'm busy."
"Fine, then!"

Prue was sitting on her bed with her care of magical creatures book cracked open and a quill in hand to scrawl down notes all over it. She wasn't a big fan of the class but did love that they often got to see some fresh air. And putting what you learned in a book to action never hurt either. Unlike History of magic, snooze-fest. She wasn't gonna run into Salazaar Slytherin and duel him any time soon, so why'd she have to learn about all the mistakes the crazy man made? It was dark outside already, meaning that the students were supposed to stay in their common rooms. Even still, she didn't question when Addy slipped out of their dorm. She was probably just going to go sit in the common room and talk to some people and leave her homework until later or never.

A few assignments later, Addy still hadn't returned and she was starting to get quite lonely, talking to herself wasn't healthy. Prue eyes drifted over to the table between their beds where she saw the moon calendar that Anthony had given them for Christmas last year. For some reason, he treated them like one person and they got group presents. It was rather cool though, with a moon projected up above it displaying how it should look outside. Tonight was going to be a full moon, and she smirked as she picked up the small black base. The first night of the cycle.

"Guess Anthony's going to have a rough night. He's probably in some mountains somewhere... slacking on his potion because mum's not around to make it for him."

She muttered to herself before noticing that a slip of paper was knocked off by the calendar. Picking it up, she checked that it wasn't one of her essays but noticed that instead it was one of Anthony's many letters. He only wrote to Addy, because Prue could hardly decipher his writing. She could just make out the words forbidden forest, and then she recalled Adelaine's babbling. Anthony. coming. tonight. on a full moon.

Eyes widening, she slid off her bed and made her way to the window. Currently there was cloud cover, she just knew that Addy was not sitting in the common room like a good little girl. Prue could feel her heart start beating faster and faster as she ran to the mirror to pull her hair into a quick messy pony-tail while she started pulling off her comfy clothes and pulling on the nearest outfit she could assemble. A hoodie that was hers and shorts that she was pretty sure belonged to Addy, but they didn't differ much in size. She was already out the door while she was pulling the sweatshirt over her head and had a pair of shoes in her hands. Grunting while she hopped on one foot to get the gym shoes on, there was a few colorful word choices for each time that she tried to stomp her foot in. One of them fit, but the other didn't. Damn matching clothes, she was too old for that! And this was important!

As soon as her hasty dressing was as done as it ever was gonna be, she ignored whoever was in the common room and left straight out the portrait hole. Prue didn't really care about any sort of tact with sneaking out right now, for all she knew Addy could be lying in a pool of blood somewhere in the forbidden forest! As soon as she was out in the corridor, she broke out into a sprint towards the nearest exit. She thought she heard someone calling after her, but they obviously weren't going to stop her unless they physically dragged. She was completely focused on one thing. The forest, and getting there as quickly as possible.

[Max Hennerdale]

It was rather a nice cool night as Max began his walk back to the common room after being in the library so late, again. Recently, Max had been taking to going to the library a lot, maybe he was trying to set a good example or maybe he just found it comfy surrounded by musty books which made him cough and sneeze a lot. He was looking forward now, to just crashing out on the couch in front of the fire and doing absolutely nothing until later when he would have to patrol the corridors with Ellie. Sometimes, he hated being Headboy. All these late nights were not good for a person, especially a person like Max who got grouchy with lack of sleep.

His wand was tucked inside his robe, his badge glistening embarassingly on his chest. He had been Headboy for a year already, and Professor Hubbles had not wanted to take the badge from him, he must have done a pretty good job then, right? Max had a few things left to square out before he could really begin living his Hogwart's life again, like coming to terms with Ash being back on the scene, that was one thing he could honestly say he didnt like. Still, he didnt really have to see him now did he? Ash was flying professor who taught the first years. Max couldnt help a scornful thought coming to his mind but quickly tried to wipe his memory clear of it.

"Earwax."

The portrait swung open for him. Making his way upstairs he took off his headboy badge, put it in the drawers beside his bed and changed from his uniform into a pair of baggy jeans and a loose fitted t-shirt. Something he could be comfortable in as he lounged around the fire. He was pretty much caught up on his homework now, the only thing he had left to do was an essay on Astronomy and the Phases of the Moon. He wasnt particulary interested in Astronomy, the thought of all those little gasballs in the sky meaning something just made his skin crawl, although it was much better than going to Muggle Studies which he found quite dull. Max didnt dislike muggles or anything along those lines, he just wasnt in the least bit interested on how they lived. Why does he want to know what good a plug is? The word itself sounded completely odd to him.

Max sat on the couch as he came back down and found himself immersed in a rather random discussion with the Kennedy twins. Those two often made him laugh, Bryn and Brooke were just not normal and it made a refreshing change to come back to the common room and have something to take his mind off all the seriousness which actually goes on around here. He looked out the window, by now everyone should be in the common room, nobody was allowed out after curfew. "Oy! Kid!" He shouted and made his way to the portrait who was about to swing open to let some lad out, "Curfew started ten minutes ago. You're not allowed out now." Bryn backed Max up saying only prefects and the heads could go out. The first year looked disgruntled but chose not to argue. A wise choice as Max was not in the mood.

Ten minutes later, just as he was settling back down, he saw someone rush out the common room. One of the Russo twins. "Where does Addy think she's going?" He said aloud, Bryn laughed "That was Prue, Max... not Addy." It amazed Max how Bryn could tell them apart easily, he supposed you could if you were a twin yourself, but Max wasnt. "This is gonna be a long night." Standing up he rushed out of the portrait hole and into the corridor, watching her run-hobble as she tried to slip on her shoe. "H-hey! Prue! Where are you--" Before he could finish she'd dissapeared around the corner. "Oh for the love of merlin." Running around the corner, he chased after the Russo twin and found himself soon running on level with her. Long legs do come in handy sometimes. Unfortunatly for him, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. As the two broke through the doors leading to the outside, it hit him where he may be going but hoped to god he was wrong. Standing infront of Prue, he held out his hands stopping her advance. "What the hell is the rush? Prue, what's going on?" He wasnt sure whether he should drag her ass back inside or not, but something stopped him. Perhaps the slightly panic expression in her eyes? Or the sheer determination of her face.

[Prudence Russo]

How could she do this? How could she be so stupid?

Sometimes Prue was known to be the dumb one, only because she liked to do crazy things and did not care what people thought of them. But this... this was just crazy for anyone's standards. Anybody with a lick of common sense knew to stay out of the forest in general, but.. on a full moon? She had to hurry. Prue's footfalls were awkward and unsteady as she still struggled to push Addy's shoe on. It took a few more near-falling instances before it finally seemed to sense the urgency in the situation and pulled on so that she could finally run properly. Just in time too, because around the corner would be the door that she could escape out of. That was when she started to hear someone calling out to her from the common room. The fact that they were able to recognize her while she was running was almost impressive enough for her to stop and see who it was, but she couldn't just abandon her twin over a mere fascination!

Then she heard the footfalls of the pursuit, man that kid sure was stubborn. Rather than slowing down to let herself be caught, she pushed herself harder and urged herself to go faster. Running wasn't her strong suit, she was a chase; she liked to sit there and let her broom do all the work. Prue obviously wasn't fast or full of stamina, since it didn't take long for him to catch up. Even in her peripheral vision, she recognized him at once. There wasn't a ton of tall, blonde Gryffindors running around aside from the Max Hennerdale. She didn't even bother trying to pass him up any more, every step of his was like two of hers. Prue's breaths were shallower and shallower, and her lungs felt like they were on fire. It was enough just for her to keep pace with him. Just like the show-off he was, he passed her up and she couldn't help but glare at him with nothing else to do about it. He blocked her path and Prue put her arms up to brace herself and tried to slow down. She was a witch, and sadly not equipped with breaks, she inevitably ended up smacking straight into his arms. "Guh! Stop it!" were the only words she could think of saying at the moment, and they didn't quite make sense.

Stubborn as ever, she tried to see if she could just walk around him and run away again. But after only a few steps she abandoned the idea based on how she was still gasping to catch her breath again. Prue then tried to scare him off with a fierce glare she reserved just for the Snakes, but found she could only keep eye contact for a moment or two before she looked away again and back to the exit. Stupid headboy, how could she fight with him? He was Hubbles' little buddy. Sighing in defeat, she finally decided that the only way around the road block would be the truth and on top of that he didn't sound like some heartless prefect that just wanted to save house points. If he was going to be like that, she would've kicked him in the shins already. "I have to go, you have to let me." Desperation was clear in her voice as she looked down at her somewhat mismatched shoes.

"Addy.... she's in the forest!" It sounded bad already, and that wasn't even the full story.

[/blockquote]

[Max Hennerdale]

Last year, Max could tell the difference easily between the two twins. One had blonde hair the other had dark. This year both had returned with dark hair and had completely confused him. It worried him where Prue was running to in such a hurry, he knew she was heading outside and that was bad. Even if Prue was only heading to the lake, she'd have to pass through some of the tree's of the forest anyway and anything could happen to her even in those thin parts. Max had to follow, not because he was headboy and it was his duty to do so, but because he honestly cared about people. Knowing someone was about to run off somewhere and do something life threatening, he couldnt just sit back and watch and do nothing. It went against his nature. He didnt know she was rushing to a life endangering situation to save her twin, if he had, he wouldnt have tried to stop her.

Prue was fast, he would give her that. Though, when she pushed harder so did he. He had to catch up with her, he had to do something. Finally, he found himself infront of her, but she didnt manage to slow down enough before she crashed into him. He caught her and managed to steady her enough for her to tell him to stop it. "I cant. You know I cant." He answered simply, his breath showing that he was a little tired. Not much, but a little. He didnt know what she was telling him to stop for but he couldnt just let her go now could he? Max was stubborn, probably too stubborn. By stopping Prue, he was putting Addy more at risk, but how was he to know? He was no mind reader.

She walked around him, but Max stayed by her and soon she stopped as she tried to catch her breath. Max placed a hand on her back, for what purpose he had no idea. He saw her glare, but ignored it. If he ran scared of every glare he'd gotten he'd probably be hiding under a rock by now. The last few years he'd recieved nothing but glares, he'd gotten over it, held his head up high and didnt let them bother him anymore. "I dont have to do anything." Max corrected her, his voice calm and rather steady. The only thing he had to do was either get the truth or get her back to the common room, and if he had to drag her there kicking and screaming he damn well would. However, what she said next terrified him.

"Addy.... she's in the forest!!"

The first thing he did was look at the sky. Full Moon. He knew of two wolves who would be in there tonight. Ricky and Girty. It wasnt widely known about Ricky but all the heads and prefects knew. He didnt know how many more wolves were in there, but what he did know was Addy was in serious trouble. Grabbin hold of Prue's hand he ran as fast as he could towards the forest, his other hand had gotten hold of his wand. Stupid girl what the hell is she thinking?! He asked himself, some headboy he was, he didnt even know his own Gryffindors were sneaking into the forest on a full moon. "Damnit! Does this sister of yours have a bloody deathwish!" Even he was panicking now as he bolted through the exit and across the lawns, making his way to the forest. "Wait w-w-w-wait! Do you have your wand? You aint gonna be much use in there if you dont!" Max looked from where he was stood, to the Moon, to the forest, to Prue and back again.

"I didnt think I'd be spending my night quite like this... come on, lets go."

[Prudence Russo]

"I can't. You know I can't."

His blunt refusal made Prue's eyes well up. He didn't understand. He was just a stupid boy that refused to let her run into the forest like a knight in shining armor and wrench her hopefully still alive sister out of her brother's hands. If the Hubbles had a whore gene, then the Russos certainly carried around a crazy gene. Just look at Drea, wrestling trolls and all sorts of nasty creatures for her job and thinking it was fun! But this, this went beyond just the typical Russo craziness. This was just plain suicidal. It was almost embarrassing to still call Addy her twin.

Prue whimpered a bit at his stern comment. Max seemed determined in dragging her back to the common room, he probably didn't want to lose house points because of her apparent stupidity. Well, Hubbles did warn them about going into the forest. Her hand was itching to reach inside her sweatshirt and pull out her wand where at least on magic she'd have more equal footing with him. She would go, even if she had to hex poor goody-goody Max to get past him. And she'd waste time to move him somewhere more comfy, so he wouldn't be shredded by a passing suit of armor. The guilt from some freak accident like that would just kill her. She was teetering between taking him down and just coming clean, but based on the fact he had quite a few inches on her it would probably be safest just to come clean. Lest he fell over and squished her. Then she could always do a full body bind on him if he was like 'psh, just leave her to die.' And that would be letting him off easy for such snake-like behavior.

"You don't understand."

She groaned, really wanting to either kick him or burst into tears. The latter was much more likely. Her mum always preached that honesty was the best policy, so she grumbled a little ditty about Addy being in the forest and that seemed to do the trick. Before she knew it, her arm was nearly being yanked off as he took off running again without saying anything. Trying to catch up with him, she only managed to do so when he started to slow down and actually speak again in panicked babbling about her wand and their need to save her. Alright, now that was the Gryffindor spirit! Run towards danger!

"Christ Max, calm down just a bit."

Prue knew that Anthony doesn't want to hurt her. He just can't help it, it was simply who he had become. And Max doesn't even know the whole story. Giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, Prue grabbed her wand out of her hooding and held it up to him. Like she'd go anywhere near that death trap without some sort of defense. Of course, when she was hiding details from Max he was doing the same. She thought they were just having to worry about one werewolf, the cuddly werewolf she called her brother. How was she to guess that there would be more out there, and some of them her fellow students?

"Lumos." She muttered to her wand, pointing it away from Max's face to keep it from blinding him. He wouldn't be very useful then. Even though there was a full moon outside, it was fairly dark out with the moon stuck behind clouds. She hoped that it stayed there too, weakening Anthony's change and buying Addy a bit more time before she was mauled when his grip on reality finally snapped. As he seemed to state the obvious that they were going to go into the forest, the force of the statement finally impacted her. They were going to the forbidden forest. On a full moon. In search of a werewolf, or two, or three. It was madness.

"I don't think running straight into the forest screaming Adelaine would be helpful? Because that was pretty much my plan."

It didn't seem like the time to be cracking jokes, did it? But Prue was being serious this time.

[Max Hennerdale]

Now he'd done it. He saw her eyes well up and instantly felt rotten. He aways managed to make people cry, that was just typical Max. Maybe one day he'd actually become attuned to the way people feel and be able to avoid making girls cry. His brow knitted together and he placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew the Russo's were known for their crazy stunts, but this was too crazy even for him. He looked up to the full moon shining brightly over them and back to Prue. He wanted to help her, he did. Obviously whatever was going on was affecting her and being who he was he felt a desire to help, but he couldnt ignore the fact that going into the forest was forbidden, especially on a night like this. She said he didnt understand, well no he didnt. Not at all, he couldnt understand why anyone would want to go in there. He had spent time in there and he knew how dangerous it was. "Help me understand then."

It all happened so fast.

She told him what was going on, not in so much detail but enough to make him panic, grab her arm and sprint as fast as he could towards the forest's edge. He began to slow down as the tree's became more prominant around them. The darkness was not inviting, not at all. Max knew his senses were telling him to run but he was no coward. He turned to Prue when she told him to calm down, he wasnt sure what he was doing this for. Was it because he was head boy? No, it wasnt that. It was because he was worried, sure he didnt know Addy, but even so, it didnt stop him worrying. "Calm down? You tell me your sister is in there on a full moon when its going to be... there are werewolves in there, every full moon. Not to mention other creatures which are just as dangerous and you say calm down? We may go in there now and we might not come back out."

Max felt her hand give his a squeeze, the kind which tried to reassure you. He squoze hers back and gave a nervous smile as he pulled his wand out too. With a deep breath, he stepped through into the forest, his ears seeming to pick up even more sounds now and he found himself wishing Rie was here. Her animagi form would be very helpful to them right about now, but she was sat with Ollie being all couply in the common room. She couldnt help them right now, and even if she could. Would Max want his cousin in this type of danger? No. As for werewolves, he had no love for them. He didnt even care they were human most of the time. He despised werewolves, when he was around Girty, he had to be careful to not think of her as a Werewolf or he wouldnt have been able to speak to her. He'd have pushed her away with so much disgust it was unbelievable. Of course, she knew his hate for the creatures and she made it easier on him. Not many people knew of his dislike for them, he didnt know Addy had gone to meet her werewolf brother, and Prue didnt know that he hated them and for what reason.

"Dim that!" He hissed, he didnt mean for her to put it out completely, just to make the light dim slightly. "Do you want every creature in a ten mile radius to know we're here?" He kept hold of her hand, walking slowly, keeping his eyes and ears peeled for any movement which wasnt them. The forest was huge and Max had no idea where to start looking for Addy. "Do you have any idea where to begin?" He whispered as he looked through the endless amount of trees. He felt slightly helpless if he was honest, even if they found Addy, would they be any match for a Werewolf?

"No, that wouldnt be helpful." He smiled, "Would be if you wanted us to get killed though... but that is not in my game plan."

[Adelaine Russo]

Prudence Russo was the closest person to Adelaine, and that spot wasn’t going to be gien up any time soon. But next out of the siblings would have to be Anthony, the sweetheart turned werewolf. He listened to her when Prue didn’t, and after ‘the incident’, the two had only grown closer. Anthony wrote to her at least once every month, just as a checkup for both him and her. Addy would ask about the family and Anthony would inquire on the lives of the Russo twins while in Hogwarts. Prue didn’t care much to read Anthony’s letters, and just left it to Addy to decipher. His handwriting wasn’t that bad, not as bad as their father’s at least.

This was a normal setting for the twins, sitting in their dorm working on homework at late hours in the evening. Adelaine sat perched on Prue’s bed, leaning against her twin’s back as she read through another one of Anthony’s letters. It was shorter than normal, with little information about the family. The note simply ended with Anthony saying he was going to come see the twins tonight. Her brow creased in worry and she nudged her twin. Prue seemed unsympathetic when Adelaine announced that Anthony was coming, so with a sigh she slid off her bed and walked to the dresser to change.

Prue was too engrossed in her homework to notice Addy slip out of the room and skip down the stairs. The common room was near empty, with the prefects still out on their runs and students heading off to sleep. Only one kid remained, but he was sleeping on an arm chair, so Addy didn’t worry about him snitching on her. She walked over to the portrait and opened it a crack, just enough for her to see if anyone was in the hall. The coast was clear. She slipped out of the room easily and walked as quietly as she could down the hallway. Adelaine made sure to keep into the shadows, in case someone unexpected showed up. She kept her wand firmly at her side, refusing to light it in case someone was close enough to see it.

With practiced ease, Addy slipped out of the school undetected and made her way across the school grounds. She wore dark clothes for a reason, easier to blend in. Adelaine slipped into the forest and glanced around wearily. "Lumos” Her wand glowed dimly, just enough for her to see in front of her. She started walking forward, glancing left and right as she went, not sure where Anthony would be. Or what else would be with her. Trembling at the thought, she gripped her wand tighter.

A twig snapped next to her, and Addy spun around instantly and stabbed her wand in that direction. The light from her wand illuminated the figure, and with a tone of glee, Adelaine flung herself at the figure and wrapped her arms around him. "Anthony!” She cried happily. He wrapped his arms around her in response and lifted her off the ground with the force of his hug. After a moment, he set her back down on the ground and unwrapped her arms from his waist.

As Addy looked up, inspecting him more closely, she noticed the slightly haggard look with his hair askew from running through the forest. An easy smile rested on his lips as he looked down at Adelaine. Anthony wasn’t one for talking, but whenever he spoke it was usually words of wisdom. He gestured to a fallen tree for them to sit on, and Addy sat down with him—albeit grudgingly because these were good shorts. Adelaine instantly started babbling, trying to catch him up on what was going on in school and the antics that her and Prue had pulled already. Anthony laughed at her stories and smiled a knowing smile. Of course he wasn’t surprised, he was their brother after all.

"But enough about what I’ve been up to. How have you been?” Anthony hesitated before answering, and Addy’s face fell. "Anthony…if they’re still hunting you, you know you have to tell mum and dad. They can make you safe and-”
“I don’t need their help.” He snapped in response, and Adelaine recoiled. "But it’s not safe for you.”
“Look who’s talking.”

Adelaine blinked in shock at his blunt response and shook her head. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I told you that detention thing was no big deal, it was just a fluke anyway and the professor was really nice about it..”
“That’s not what I’m talking about!” Anthony snarled, cutting her off. Addy fell silent, staring up at him with wide eyes. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”
"You need an extra large dose of ‘chill pill.’ Doctor’s orders.”
“Haha, very funny.”
"I thought so.”

Adelaine grinned at Anthony, who offered a small smile in return. "So if you didn’t come here just to see my beautiful face, why did you come?”
“I’ve heard rumors about the school. They say the headmaster has lost it.”
"He’s always been off his rocker.”
“And strange things are happened at the school.”
"Hogwarts is a magical school, weird stuff usually—”
“You’re not listening! It’s not safe for you or Prue any more. You two need to come home.”

He looked at her pleadingly. Addy rolled her eyes at him. "What kind of Russos do you think we are? We can handle ourselves.” Anthony glowered at her. “How do you know? Something worse could come around and hurt both of you! How could I stand letting you stay here and be in danger when I can take you home to safety?”
"You just have to trust us.”
“Oh that’s a comfort! I can’t believe you just expect me to—” Anthony cut off, his face frozen in whatever expression had been there before. Adelaine prodded him gently, her voice taking a worried tone. "Anthony? Anthony this isn’t funny. Stop it!”

Adelaine was shaking him now because he had frozen solid. Light passed over the pair in that moment, and Addy looked up at the sky. The full moon shone brightly back at her. Anthony let out a strangled sob and lurched off the tree. But, it seems that Adelaine was frozen, her eyes wide in shock. Anthony was doubled over, clutching his stomach and clenching his teeth. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. Not to her. Not to him. Oh, but it was. There was no stopping the transformation. And Adelaine watched on, with a horrified expression as her beloved Anthony began to transform into this terrible beast. She noticed in shock that she was crying, fresh tears ran down her cheeks as fear caused her body to tremble.

And then Anthony stilled, and for a moment Addy actually believed that she might be safe. Ha! If she could be so lucky. The Anthony beast looked up at her, pulled back its lips and let out a feral snarl. Adrenaline pulsed through Adelaine’s veins as she drew her wand up. "Protego!” A wall formed between her and Anthony, who snarled in response. She was trembling all over, her breath coming in little gasps as she tried to not break down into sobs right then and there. Anthony ran and lunged against the magical wall. The wall trembled but held.

Fight or Flight response overruled her emotions and she turned the other way and ran, not checking to see if her wall held up or not. Her tears were blurring her vision as she ran through the trees, the branches scraping against her face and exposed legs. She couldn’t think, couldn’t feel, all she could do was mutter Anthony’s name over and over in agony. And as if in response to his name, the beast howled.

That was when Addy lost it. Her mouth opened on its own and a blood curdling scream ripped from her throat.

(Longest post ever, omg xD )