EVENT: Wandering the halls

[ladyghostwidow]

Name(s): Open to anyone not in the Library log!
Location: All over-- except the Library and Great Hall
Week: 41
Time: Around midday Saturday onwards, following the posting of Cid's journal
Rating: Uhhhhhm. There is violence, all mun approved, and a crazy ghost.

Note 1:PLEASE SEE THE POST IN THE OOC COMM ABOUT INTERACTIONS IN THIS LOG. REPLYING THERE

Comments

[notthatharry]

Belladonna's words didn't register for a moment, as Harry was too busy trying to dodge the ghost's attacks, and trying to figure out some way to free Catty, his mind racing around the problem of how to get them both out alive. His whole world had coalesced around the simple fact that he had to save her. It was like when he'd decided to go back from Elaine, and if it were any other situation Harry might have been shocked at how strongly he felt the need to protect this girl.

Right now, though, he was too busy fighting for his life to think about that.

Suddenly, though, she mentioned Professor Rangiku, and Harry's heart skipped a beat. That moments hesitation almost cost him dearly, and Harry threw himself back through the sludge, out of the way of the groaping tentacles. Cursing himself, he fought down the little shiver of icy fear her words had inspired. The ghost was just trying to freak him out, get through his defenses. Nothing had happened to Professor Rangiku, she was too strong for that, and she'd...she'd promised she wouldn't leave him.

'Then again, so had everyone else,' a small voice inside him pointed out.

Clamping down on his fear, Harry tried to figure out some way to get to the ghost. He had to deal with her first and save Catty, everything else came second. His mind raced for a plan, and then suddenly he hit on one. It was utterly insane, but if it worked, he might live long enough for Ebenezer to kill him for breaking his promise and using that spell.

The first step was to allow the tentacle reaching for his leg to seize his leg, which really said a lot about the intelligence of this plan of his. Harry's teeth gritted down hard as he felt the appendage squeeze on his leg like a vice, and he felt like the bone could snap at any moment. Forcing his way past the pain, Harry gathered all his magic into him. He needed iron concentration if this was going to work, and if he slipped up for a second everyone here might die.

Remembering his training in pain control, Harry envisioned a flame, then pushed everything out of his mind but it. His fear, his pain, his anger, even Catty's face were all pushed down into the darkness of his mind, until only the flame remained. Harry let one hand sink into the tar to stabilize him, then put his wand to the tentacle, visualized the spell and clung to that image with desperate determination, and shouted, "If you liked that, you'll love this bitch! Fiendfyre!"

In an instant three flaming serpents, each crackling with utterly malevolent power, flew along the tentacle towards Belladonna. Sweat poured down Harry's face as he tried to control the spell, fighting the snakes urge to simply burn everything before them until there was nothing left. The spell's will was great, and Harry almost lost control, but then his eyes flashed up to meet Catty's, and his will turned to steel.

He would save her.

With a hiss of rage, the snakes flew towards Belladonna, staying clear of Catty.

"She might have, but you won't!"

[scroll_heir]

Part of Catty was beginning to feel like it was futile to try and free herself with each harsher tug of her hair. She felt like giving up, just let Belladonna do with her as she wished. No, no. What the hell was she thinking, wanting to give up? She did still considerably at Belladonna's words, though, her stomach sinking in horror. Had she lived to see the day? That... That couldn't have been what she heard the bitch say, couldn't have been it at all. Catty didn't even register the admonishment she received for her language, lost in her thoughts for a moment.

“Professor Ran...” She said softly, a piece of her breaking inside.

Crying out, she winced at being pulled from the mire, and she could feel the slow trickling of something warm and thick on the back of her neck. Blood. It had to be. Her scalp could only go through so much damage before this would happen.

Catty stared out at Harry as the tentacle reached for his leg, eyes growing wide in horror as it wrapped itself around the limb. She gritted her teeth together. Where were the professors during this mess? Why hadn't she grabbed one when she decided to search for Harry?

The snakes caught Catty's eye as they were summoned. Her eyes wanted to shut at the sight of them, but she had to watch. Something in her mind clicked. This wasn't a normal spell for a normal wizard to know.

“You think having to be in close quarters with you is easy?” She waited for Belladonna to toss her out, to let go of her already. She'd take the mire and the tentacles, because she had to admit to herself, the terror of not knowing what the ghost wanted to do by keeping a firm hold of her was enough to drive her insane.

[ladyghostwidow]

The word had barely passed his lips as Belladonna took action of her own. That spell was nothing she felt inclined to deal with. Her expression was one of tightly reigned in surprise, serious and she held her hand out, palm flat against the air. "Versitas secui!" she cried out, loud and clear. A violent burst of wind ripped through the hall and the very air groaned as it tore open, a vast opening into an endless void. The fire burned hot, the air about it rippling with it's intensity, but the parting between dimensions drank it up, draining the fire away from this reality and into another.

Her energy was focused on the spell, and she scowled. She had no inclination to let a child such as this engage her in such a manner. It was wearisome, wasting time with such infants. Belladonna whispered a spell, and as her fingertips dug into Catty's scalp, her energy began to drain into Belladonna's body. She may as well augment herself a little, even if it was from such a pathetic little slip of a girl. Energy was energy, after all, as blood was blood.

Finally the fire was gone, and Belladonna whipped her wand back to dismiss the void, and once again stabbed it towards Harry. "Fultacio!" Blue lightning cracked towards him, the same Lightning Curse as from that day, but for that now is was wielded by the hand of a far more dangerous magic caster. "See how you love your fool professor now! See what she has wrought on you!"

Still, energy seeped away from Catty, as Belladonna dragged her forward with her as she drew closer to Harry. "Look upon her work!"

[notthatharry]

Harry swore as yet another attack failed to even score a hit. No matter what he did the bitch was too strong, and if he didn't come up with something soon Catty would die. Yet even his strongest spell had been sucked up as if it was a child's cantrip. Just how the hell had she done that?

Then it hit him. He probably couldn't save himself, but he could save Catty. He had one more card to play, and in a way it was the ultimate trump card. When he was thirteen, Justin had taught Elaine and him a particularly difficult spell, one that he had only later realized was highly illegal. It was called a Death Curse, and despite the name the death itself was the casters.

What the spell did was take every last scrap of the lifeforce of the caster, and inflict a permanent curse upon the one who killed them. It was a way of ensuring that even if the caster died, their killer would not ignore their victory. Harry guessed Justin had taught it to them so that if they were ever killed they could still hurt his enemies. He'd had them as walking timebombs.

Closing his eyes, the sixteen year old braced himself for death, before opening them to stare Ghost Widow in the eye. His eyes widened slightly at the lightning spell, but then he smirked.

"Oh, so that's how that spell got out. I suppose I should have expected it was you. You know, I think I love her a little more. I'd rather get killed by one of Professor Rangiku's spells than the sloppy crap you throw together. I mean, a mud pit? At least the Professor has class. Besides," his voice softened, "She's not the one using it, you are. The only one I'll blame for my death is you bitch, and I'll die smiling knowing that eventually Muggleborns and half bloods will outnumber pure bloods and take over, and you'll be stuck around to see it!"

[scroll_heir]

None of Harry's spells seemed to be working, no matter how powerful they seemed to be. Catty choked back a sob as Belladonna, once again, toyed around with them like childhood playthings. She just wanted Harry to run. It, she, definitely wasn't worth this.

Things were starting to became a little hazy, and she wondered if it was from the blood now covering her neck. No, she didn't know a lot about anatomy or anything, but there was no way she had lost enough blood to make her woozy yet. Her eyelids fluttered a bit. Panic rose up in her like bile, but it was a brief flash, slowly being overpowered by the tiresome blanket being thrown over her.

Catty wasn't an idiot. She was being drained, fueling the old witch's magic with her own energy. Her energy was being used against Harry. Catty was powerless, being forced to watch blue bolts of lightning flash towards Harry, the sickening feeling of knowing that it was her own energy being used clenching at her.

She wasn't ready to die. She had so much to do, so much to make up for. She didn't want Harry to die for her. "H-harry..." This can't be the end. A tear slipped down her cheek.