► School Attack: Main Thread

[The Headmaster]

The dining hall was filled with activities. The refugees from the Senate attack had been pouring in, their wounded in tow. The headmaster was doing his best to keep things as calm as he could. It was nearly impossible. Securing the building was his number one priority. Doing this without letting the students learn what was going on was a more difficult task. The steady drum of rain on the building helped him stay focused on the task at hand. There were the wounded to look after and students to keep calm. There was still no word from Salem. Mr. Bodaire was talking with the senators who have returned while the headmaster continued to wait for news.

It had been 15 minutes since the final group had arrived from the Senate when the magical contraption came to life once more. The headmaster looked down, positioning himself so that only he could read the message. An attack on Salem was confirmed. Several casualties. Law enforcement was being directed to both schools. A crash of thunder shook the building causing the headmaster to jump. It was then he realized the storm had grown worse. A bad feeling went through him before the windows shattered and the lights began flickering. The building began to shake as he heard a voice being carried by the wind. He couldn’t make out the words she said. Even if he could, it wouldn’t have mattered. The damage was already being done.

With the help of magic, roots were breaking through the foundation and cracking the walls. Plants were threatening to overrun the dining hall. A buzzing sound began to grow, slowly overcoming the sound of the storm outside. “Close the doors!” The lights dimmed. Dark witches and wizards were forcing their way into the dining hall while doxies overwhelmed those outside the room. A pale, dark haired woman sat on the windowsill, her words quiet as she urged plants to grow throughout the building. Traps were being set for those unfortunate enough to walk too close to the vines or fall into the Devil’s Snares. A group of dark druids remained just outside of the dining hall, urging the plants to weaken the structure. The shamans worked hard to keep the storm raging outside, eager to take out the aurors who had rushed to the aid of the school.

The headmaster had been so preoccupied by the wizards who wished to cause harm he missed the black cloak looking creatures making their way towards the wounded. The Lethifolds began to claim their victims, gliding towards the unconscious and suffocating them. The room erupted into chaos. It was impossible to keep everyone together. Some run in fear, others were being herded out of the room. Doxies swarmed those who left the dining hall, eager to bite those they had deemed a threat to their new found nests. In all the chaos it was easy to miss that compared to the Senate attack there were fewer humans involved.

[The Headmaster]

The Scenarios

Adults

Alexandra Crowley: It seems the senate attack has taken a lot out of you. Go home, relax. The school may still be under attack when you get back.

Izzy O’Brien: Izzy, Izzy, Izzy… What are you going to do? You’ve been acting as a spy for the bad guys and suddenly the school has been attack by those same bad guys. Do you blow your cover and join their side or are you going to continue your ruse in order to remain as a spy? Careful now, we don’t want you forgetting about the dark shamans intent on making sure the school is defenseless and who seem to have no problem taking you out in the process. Luckily you find yourself with one PJ Bates.

Patrick Bates: Well Mr. Senator, you’re in the school while it’s being attacked by an escaped inmate. I say it’s the perfect time to campaign! After all, who wouldn’t vote for a dashing young Senator who just saved the lives of his voters? You’ll need all the good PR you can get. Luckily for you there are plenty of situations that make your voters ripe for the saving! Along the way you happen to bump into Izzy, just as the dark shamans are closing in. It seems they don’t exactly like your politics. Now are you going to work with Izzy and keep your cover or risk a career assassination?

Silas Hawkes: You will be used as an npc for anyone who needs one!

Wes Bailey: You’ve survived the attack on the senate, watched your friend float by, and finally made it back to the school. You have had a moment to catch your breath before you have to decide whether or not to break the news to the Dunstan kids. Of course that calm never lasts long. The school is under attack! Your rough day is about to get rougher! The inmate has turned the dining hall into a jungle! Forget about what happened to Mrs. Dunstan and end the little shop of horrors before Sadie is fed to Audrey II!

James Gallagher: Looks like you’re injured. Sorry, but you need to get help!

Elliot Finley: Looks like you’re injured! Sorry, but you need to get help! That means no school attack for you!

Marcus Barker: I’d focus up on Anna if I were you. Can’t have her dying on her way to a safe place.

Anna Dunstan: Looks like you’re injured! Sorry, but you need to get help! That means no school attack for you!

Students

Art Hollandsen: The problem with friends is sometimes they’re a bit too distracting. While talking with Deidre and Peter you notice Hestia has gone missing. She’s nowhere to be found! At least not in the dining room! It seems your sister has been captured by voodoo priests and taken to the library where they’re planning on using her as a sacrifice in order to curse the entire school. Don’t worry its Big Brother and Super Dei to the rescue!

Blake Harper: Welcome back to the world of the conscious! Sadly it isn’t a good time to be awake. The school is under attack and Cassie has just run off like a crazy person. Outside of the dining hall there is nothing good. Doxies swarm the halls; dementors are feeding off those unfortunate enough to go running around the school. In fact you’ll find one going after Cassie. Of course this isn’t your biggest problem. No, the problem is the giant spider who has made the third floor his home and won’t be too happy about either you nor the Davis girls interrupting his domain.

Carol Lee: It seems you missed out on the adventure at the senate. Well good news for you, the school is under attack! Wait…that really isn’t good news. Unfortunately the news doesn’t get any better. Not only is there chaos everywhere but it seems Lethifold are attacking the stunned and unconscious near you. Problem is the only way to defeat one is to use a patronus. I’d start thinking of happy memories if I were you! The lives of those unconscious are counting on you!

Casey Jones: You’ve survived a Death Eater trying to take you out and now you’re finally back at the school. But how did you get out of the dining hall and into the DADA classroom? At least you have Logan with you. Problem is that crafty inmate is remarkably good at causing plants to grow. She was put in Alcatraz for a reason you know. Now you’re both stuck in the back of the classroom filled with Devil’s Snare! How are you going to get out?

Cassandra Davis: Little Lucy is nowhere to be found. It seems she decided to stay in bed rather than head down to the dining hall. On the bright side you’ll find the little Joyeau right next to her house. The down side? Well you certainly won’t be able to go back the way you came. Not only have you sprained your ankle on the stairs, but it seems those pesky dark druids have brought a friend of the eight-legged variety. Nobody likes spiders. Especially spiders who are big enough to eat you. Luckily for you, Blake has followed you and has your back.

Deirdre Chay: Your friends have all returned safe and sound. Well, they’ve all returned alive. Unfortunately things don’t end there! Not only is the school under attack but in the chaos Hestia has gone missing and you manage to catch a glimpse of voodoo priests dragging her out of the dining hall. Now it is up to you and Art to find her and stop them from completing their rituals. Did I forget to mention that once outside of the dining hall you find a swarm of Doxies? Be careful, one Doxy bite may hurt but a swarm of them is deadly!

Henri Ritter: You just learned your father was responsible for the attack on the senate. Your best friend has accused you of being involved. Now that the school is being attacked, here’s your chance to prove that not all Ritter are created with an extra helping of evil! The druids are trying to pull down the school. Roots have infested the walls and the floor. It’s starting to look like a jungle in here! Most everyone else seems to be distracted. With your talents in Herbology there must be some way to keep the school from being overrun with plants from hell!

Ian Dunstan: You just learned that your best friend’s dad was involved in the attack that has taken your mom out of the game. Now that the school is under attack, here’s your chance to escape from everything! Run run run, as fast as you can!

Logan Stockholm: Ah, you’ve finally made it back to the school. Not only have you been forced Yet somehow you’ve found yourself out of the dining hall and into the DADA classroom with Casey. Outside the room the doxies are buzzing. Inside the room the Devil’s Snare has you trapped. The school is being overrun by plants! What do you do? How do you escape without becoming plant food?

Lorraine Ritter: Now where were you during the senate events? It certainly doesn’t look good on the family reputation to have you suddenly disappear when all the action is happening. You’ve gotten back into the dining hall just before the attack occurs and have easily lied about your previous actions. Wait. Why are you suddenly being cornered with Richard by dementors? And why are there Death Eaters coming towards you? Maybe the bad guys didn’t get the memo on who your daddy is.

Maya Rodriguez: Seems like you finally caved. It must have been all those days humming “I like big butts”. Whatever it was, you ditched the trip and the viewing to be on the quodpot field with RJ. Too bad. Guess you won’t know the reason the field suddenly has dementors all over it. Or why there is a death eater with his wand pointed at you. I’d watch my back if I were you. I don’t think he’s going to be a fair ref.

Peter Blackburn: Just as your family is slowly finding each other you’re suddenly under attack again. If I were you I’d keep an eye on her. Especially given the fact that not only do you have some Dark Voodoo priests headed your way but they have brought a friend. A 6’ Runespoor has joined the party. It looks pretty hungry to me.

Richard Lumine: You’ve had a few minutes to catch your breath and relax. After all that happened at the senate relaxing sounds perfect. Of course relaxing would be easier if the school wasn’t being attacked. Instead you’ve been cut off from everyone else except Lorriane Ritter. Now the two of you are being surrounded by Death Eaters! To make matters worse those pesky Doxies have begun to swarm near you!

Roman Kelly: You decided to ditch both the senate trip and the ceremony to watch the bill in order to score some extra time on the quodpot field with Maya Rodriguez. Due to this you have no idea why your game is being interrupted by the Daring Dementors. Game On.

Sadie Dunstan: Now you see him, now you don’t! Ian has up and disappeared from you in the chaos of the attack. To make matters worse the dark druids have managed to get roots into the building. It seems the escaped inmate likes to bind her prey so they won’t run away. There’ll be no chasing after your brother now. Thankfully your favorite Uncle Wes is here to help!

[Patrick Bates]

“I NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!”

Patrick had appeared in the dining hall of Seiseux carrying an unconscious sixteen-year-old rescue from the Senate attack and leading his equally-dull-looking friend from the fray. But what matters was that people saw his bravery and took notice of his helping of these children. He was a little upset that all eyes weren’t on him whenever he had made his announcement that he needed help, but at least he had garnered a few glances and a few people nodded in recognition. He pursed his lips together, scanning the room for reporters and photographers, but he could see none. Naturally, when he made a social faux pas, they seemed to have the story covered within minutes; but whenever he seemingly saved two students in need, they were nowhere to be seen. Typical reporters. Always around when you don’t need them, never around when you do.

But he needed to keep up his charade in case any of the refugees were watching and were ever interviewed for the media. “He was stunned in the Senate. I came across him and his friend while I was running for the port key.” He said to anyone who would listen. He took the teenage boy and laid him down on the ground. Someone had come over to help him, and even though he had asked for help, Patrick neither needed it or wanted it. It was the attention he had garnered from his dramatic entrance that he wanted the most. He had hoped that while he had all eyes on him that he could revive the boy and the approval of the witnesses. Public relations at its finest. So that’s why as the mediwitch took out her wand, Patrick threw up his palm in protest and proclaimed, “Rennervate!” The mediwitch gave him a confused look, but Patrick did not explain.

The boy stirred slightly and moaned.

“Are you okay, son?” Patrick asked, cutting off the mediwitch who was about to ask the same question. The dull boy with the blinking pin mumbled something inaudible, and Patrick repeated the question, “Are you all right?” Damn it, kid, just say yes. How long did it take to wake up from unconsiousness? Seriously, he did it every morning when he woke up. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the boy said that yes, he was all right, and Patrick, ever the dramatic, exclaimed, “Fantastic!” He forced a hearty laugh and clapped the mediwitch on the back. With a proud smile, he said, “Good to hear, my boy! What’s your name?”

Patrick forgot it the moment the name fell from the boy’s lips.

“Brilliant! Nice to meet you. I’m PJ Bates. You gave us quite a scare in there, son!” He was grinning from ear to ear and wondering if anyone in the crowd could notice how white his teeth where. He had been using a new potion to keep them extremely pearly white. A good color for the cameras. Suddenly, a red-haired girl launched herself on top of the boy and bear hugged him. Patrick nearly lost control of his faux happy demeanor. Why was this girl stealing his spotlight? He was the news-worthy one here?

But he couldn’t push the girl off the boy nor could he force the boy to tell his story to everyone that was going to listen. So Patrick, trying to make the best of an annoying situation, said quietly (but, of course, not soft enough so everyone around couldn’t hear) said, “I see he’s got himself a little girlfriend.” He smiled at the girl, who was paying him no attention, the bitch. “I’m glad he’ll be in good hands. And I’m sure my help could be used elsewhere.” He bowed his head slightly and moved away from the boy and girl, making sure that everyone could see him as he left. He was hoping that anyone who hadn’t seen him would recognize him and begin asking those around him why he was there and what had happened. If the newspapers weren’t going to help him, he would have to turn to the public.

Besides, the show was going to start pretty soon. He grinned, unable to suppress his excitement. Any moment the school would fall victim to another attack. That means that he would be able to, once again, “save” as many people from certain death and better his campaign. So long as he stayed away from anything he couldn’t handle, Patrick was certain that everything was going to go his way. After all, who could slander a hero who fought against evil to save a school filled with children? Who could write gossip (however true it may be) that he dabbles in dark voodoo? What kind of person would believe such nonsense? And that was exactly how he planned on responding to those allegations once this whole attack blew over and he was able to get back to the Senate—which, he supposed, was going to be in need of some serious maintenance after the day.

The lights flickered as if it were the start of a dramatic play in a crowded theatre. He suppressed a maniac grin as the ground began to rumble and the scared voices from the people in the room rose to terror as the dark wizards suddenly burst into the room. Even with panic all around him, and though he was certain that most of the attention would be on the enemy instead of him (unfortunately), he had to keep up appearances. He decided not to scream in terror. He didn’t want to seem weak. He decided to be angry. So he furrowed his brow and pursed his lips together and clenched his wand tightly. He wanted everyone around him to know that he was not going to let this happen.

Now to look for a suitable person to rescue. His eyes scanned the terrified crowd as he saw people darting all over the school already shooting off spells and curses. The room had already erupted into chaos—and he loved it. Then he saw her. A very pretty and seemingly helpless blonde woman not twenty feet away from him. She was gorgeous, and the photographers would certainly love her. And, as luck would have it, he could see a group of dark shamans approaching from behind her. Patrick raised his wand and shouted, “Look out!” He sent a disarming spell toward one of the shamans and missed. He clenched his teeth. He did not like it when he missed. He raced over to the blonde and took up arms with her as he began to fire curses toward the shamans, who did their very best to deflect them (and for the most part, they did). Patrick was seething. They were not going to stand in the way of his getting the PR that he deserved.

[Izzy O'Brien]

Izzy had been quite anxious during the Senate Attack, not knowing what exactly to do, or how to react, so she had stayed far away from the Senate Ceremony or the visit. Because of her ties with the 'dark side', the Druid had known about the attack on the Senate, and had wisely decided to stay out of it. After all, she knew her orders; don't blow your cover until you're explicitly told so. Now, with the refugees coming to the Dining Hall, the professor knew she should show her pretty face. She could not stay away after all she had heard and thus had come, to 'comfort' some of those snotty monkeys who had tried to be a hero and failed in doing so. Ofcourse. Izerine purely hated kids, they were cocky, ignorant and stubborn, always menacing and thinking they knew better. Oh, how often had she wanted to strangle one of them with her plants. But she couldn't. Oh no, never would she do that. If it wasn't for the miss 'I'm-so-pretty-and-nice-and-innocent' act, she might have, but now, any weird behaviour would arise suspicion. Izerine c0uld not use that.

"C'mon, sweetheart, don't cry. We'll find your mother." Izzy soothed a third year with a snotty nose, who was crying loudly and screaming for her mommy. Where is that damn woman? God, parents should take care of their kids and not bother me with them, the blonde thought, holding back a grawl and a sneer to shut the hell up at that little crying girl with her little fucking braits. Hell, Heidi all the way. Fuck you, Heidi. The third year, still sniffing, looked up at the pleasant face of the Astronomy professor and put all her faith on the woman. Great, now she'd be followed around until she found those parents. Paaaaarents, where areeee you? Pretty -fucking- please!? Izzy was slowly loosing her patience as she slowly dragged the little girl through the Dining Hall, in order to find her parents. Damn, how hard could it seriously be? And then suddenly, a cry made Izzy sigh relieved. "Molly! Oh, there you are, thank God!" An ugly father and an even more ugly -yes, it was possible- mother came running towards O'Brien and their little ugly kid. Though Izzy was horrified by their appearance (unfortunate souls) , she smiled kindly and calm as the parents -the McConaughies, she believed- thanked her a thousand times for finding and taking care of their daughter. "Oh, no problem, miss McConaughy, I just saw little-"Oh crap, what was it again? Mary? Melody?"-Mathilde wandering around. I couldn't leave her alone, she was so upset. I'm glad to have found you." Izzy said with a reassuring smile, her special teacher-to-parent smile (it took some practice, but she had perfected it by now), though it hurt her face to smile like that. Honestly, sometimes she was just disgusted with her own miss goody-two-shoes behaviour. Well, more than sometimes, actually.

And that was when she spotted the woman in the window sill, uttering words that came along the wind and were oh, so familiar to Izzy. She froze right at that instant, when the bad guys came crashing into the building, attacking Seiseux. Mathilde and her parents had long gone running. "Expecto Patronum!" The blonde yelled, her silver dragon hitting the Lethifold in the back. Damn, nasty creatures, those lethifolds. Izzy had long forgotten what happy memory she used to produce a patronus. One day, she just thought of something and managed to do it. It was probably the first time she excelled her aunt Saun with a Druid exercise. Yes, that had been fun. It brought a smile on Izerine's magnificent crimson lips, only to falter a moment later. The devil's Snare was taking over the building. What would she do? Would she side up with the bad guys and stay alive? Or should she fight them and keep her cover? What on earth did she have to do? And then her commands rang in her head. 'Don't blow your cover until you're explicitly told so'. If the attack failed, she would still be valuable for the bad guys, but if the attack succeeded, she would sure find her way to wriggle herself back in grace. She always managed to do so.

Izzy's hand were itching and she muttered a couple of rapid words in Gaelic, making one giant cannibalplant rising up to fight the Devil's Snare that was coming towards everybody. It would eat them up once coming across it, but Izzy knew, she couldn't fight them all. She was talented, sure, and she was very excellent in dark druidism, but she could not fight a group of dark druids on her own. She was clever enough to realize that. There's was only this much your power could take on it's own.

"Look out!"

The druid looked around to see who was calling out and then suddenly saw PJ Bates (her ally and probably the closest thing to a friend she had) running towards her, and then they were circled by Shamans. Alrighty, Izzy, now upmost concentration, the woman thought, taking a deep breath before muttering another long line of fluent words flowing into each other. The next moment Devil's Snare shot up all around the Shamans, circling them, and took out the most of their opponents, but ofcourse, this couldn't last very long. "Stupefy!" Izzy cried out, cursing the first Shaman who got out of the Snares. The blonde muttered a curse under her breath before turning to PJ, swinging Pertificus Totalis at another Shaman to make him fall back into the Devil's Snare trap. "Too bad you can't use your own special powers, huh?" Izzy hissed at him, so softly that only the Senator could hear her. It would be so much easier to fight those damn Shamans with the help of a little Voodoo. Disillusionated Shamans were easier to take down than the fully aware ones, though they were not as good as Izzy, they could still produce a fire to kill off her Devils' Snare for atleast long enough to escape. The next moment Izerine created a flock of birds with the spell 'Avis', to sent them at the Shamans by calling:"Oppugno!" Then she decided to take out the group. One by one.

Her blue eyes scanned for the weakest links in the Shaman pact and soon found it. The youngest shamans were usually the weakest, and this one seemed to hide behind his comrads. "That small one on the left will be the traget, PJ. And then the others one by one, taking out the weak links. Can you do that?" Izzy hissed again, knowing PJ would not use his VooDoo to help her out, because it was bad for his political image. But still, he could help her killing them off. Time for the big finale, Izzy thought, a wicked smile forming on her red lips as her piercing eyes.

"An bhfásann sé ó nádúr, ó dhúchas dul leis an namhaid cé an aimsir fháistineach bheith maraím mise. A stór! Más é do thoil é cabhraím mé!"

The ground was rumbling vigorously, and then it happened. Large plants cracked open the ground and grabbed the youngest Shaman, dragging him back into the hole where they came from. He would be buried alive. A shot of thrill and adrenaline went through Izerine every time she managed to do something like that. Dark druidism, it gave so much power and power, it made Izzy feel alive. Soon the plants were attacking other Shamans, until the ones that could defy them were left. And now the real fight would start.

[Art Hollandsen]

"Hes, it's alright.. I'm here now.."

It had taken Art a while to calm down Hestia, who was sobbing uncontrollably, only to dig herself deeper into Art's embrace everytime he tried to let go off her for just a bit. She wouldnt'let him go, just kept on clutching her arms around him,pressing her head in his chest and just cried and cried and it made hm realize how terrified she had actually been to loose him. How much she actually depended on him. "Hes, please. I'm still alive after all." He whispered in her ear, comfortingly caressing over her hair, pecking her on top of her head. This was exactly why his motivation had been to stay alive -besides the fact that he actually enjoyed life and did not want to go yet-, his sister. His family. In fact, she was the only one he still had. His father, his father could go screw himself, and his aunt.. Yes, she was family, but not in the way Hestia was his family. Art instantly forgave her for telling off to their aun about his behaviour at school. And then, when she had calmed down, Art told her gently to breathe in and out slowly, so she would not start hyperventilation. He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs, a tender, loving smile on his face. It was the expression he saved for his sister, and was only for his sister. In the end, she meant more to him than anyone else in this world. "Alright, sweetie, relax.." He said, as she started to let go off him, now calmed down and smiling too.

He stood besides Peter with Hestia, his sister looking up at Art's friend with her big blue eyes, admiring his handsome friend. He grinned, Hestia was such a fool when it came to guys. Nope, she sure hadn't inherited her dad's ability to charm the opposite sex like the Joyeau had. And speaking of which, where was- Suddenly he saw her. Dei. Her face was puffy and her beautiful eyes teary, showing she had cried. Had she also cried about him? Was she worried about him, like he had been about her? Ofcourse, Art. You're her best friend, An intelligent voice in his mind spoke, but Art wanted it to be more. He just couldn't stop himself and before he knew it, he had approached her swiftly, clasping his strong arms around her waist while pulling her in a tight embrace. "Hey babe, no need to cry, we're all safe." He whispered in her ear, while briefly smelling her typical Dei scent. It was delicate and sweet, with.. oh he didn't know about flowers, but something like that. and it was just her. Art didn't feel like letting her go, but knew he had to in order not to cause awkward moments. "I was so worried about you," he said honestly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. He was being sincere.

And then, the chaos started. In one moment, the peace was broken and they were surrounded by Lethifolds, coming closer and closer, slurping up innocent wounded people on their way. Art think! What could stop a Lethifold?! Suddenly he knew. Patronuses. "Expecto Patronum!" He yelled a couple of times, shooing away the dangerous creatures from himself and Dei. When Art gazed around, wounded people and dangerous people were crowding the Dining Hall. He saw his astronomy teacher fighting side by side with senator PJ Bates and some heavy stuff happened around there. But he could not focus too much on it, since he realized something. He did not see Hestia. Anywhere. His heart was pounding anxiously, as he gazed around his despair growing with every second that he did not see her. "Hestia!" The 8th year called out, knowing it would not help anyways. He shot a fire at a nearby Devil's Snare that was trying to get them, but still gazing around for his sister. Where the hell could she be? "Dei? My sister!" He said to his friend, utterly scared out of his wits, not for the opponent, not for his own life, but for his sister. What they would do to her.

"We must find her! Help me, please." The boy said, casting a begging look at his best friend, before taking her hand and barging out of the Dining Hall. He had to find her. He would find her.

Oh, if the boy only knew what was hanging above his head.

[Peter Blackburn]

“Mum, not the face! Not the face!” Peter unsuccessfully tried to thwart his mum’s attempts at cleaning the dirt off of his face. Squirming like a five year old, Peter made a face at Vivian before scrunching his nose in disgust. “C’mon off it, mum! It’s a bit of dirt!” He whined immediately recognizing that his mother was about to harp on him about cleanliness and appearance.

Breaking away from her grasp, he moved over to Art, relief upon his face upon seeing his friend. “I see you made it – Give it a break, mum! It’s dirt! It’s not going to kill you!” He yelled back at the red-haired woman who was currently complaining to a fellow mother about her “unruly son” and his “lack of personal hygiene”. Before he could turn to ask who Art’s sister was, having just noticed her, Peter was distracted by the sound of …he didn’t even know what the sound was.

Glass shattered as the winds began to howl around the school. Peter’s immediate reaction was to leap over to his mother throwing off his ripped and dirty jacket from his uniform to shield her from the glass. His mother took the jacket and held it over her head motioning her son underneath while the duo moved towards the end of the hallway. “Peter, I want you to listen exactly to what I say…” Peter turned towards his mother furrowing his brow as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t tell you what is about to happen, Peter, but I want you to do exactly as I say. Find us a safe place that we can wait out …this…attack.” Peter’s eyes widened as he spoke. “Mum…” Vivian raised her hand to stop him from speaking. However, before she could speak, vines began to grow on the walls cracking the school and damaging the walls.

He could feel his mother shoving him towards the doors that led out the dining room. Now allowing his panic to set in, Peter grabbed his mum’s wrist and started dragging her down the hall towards the staircase. They had to get to Renard’s common room. It was the safest place he could think of – foxes were burrowers – naturally the common room would keep them from harm. He highly doubted that Todd was going to allow some death eater hooligan to come and destroy his house including his students. The man might be an upstart but he was a papa fox for sure. Ignoring the familiar sounds of screams and cries from his fellow students and the refugees, Peter stopped for a moment at the painting of Worthington.

“LET US IN NOW!” There was no time for passwords or niceties. The rivalry could wait till they were both alive and able to continue it.

“…Intolerable manners, Blackburn. I do believe that rule 765 does say that talking to your elders in a rude manner warrants a detention. As I don’t see a professor, I suppose locking you and this lovely lady outside for the next six hours.” Todd began to preen his mustache looking down at Peter with a disapproving manner.

“The school is under attack! The President of Magic was just killed – LET US IN!” Peter felt the heat rushing to his face as his skin turned into a mottled red. He felt the urge to take the painting down and shake it. Feeling his mother’s hand on his arm, he shrugged it off. He had no time for her lectures on etiquette and how to act in social situations. People were dying and they were going to die if they didn’t get in the common room!

“Blackburn, do you wish to make that another six hours? Up to twelve? Perhaps twenty-four? Professor Bailey will be awaiting you with a long stack of detention slips after this is over, I assure you.” Todd paused for a moment glancing down at Vivian who had raised her hand. “Sorry, m’dear. Rules are set in place for a reason! Password, Mr. Blackburn, so your friend might come in.”

“Let my son in now.” If paintings could pale, Todd would have been called an artic fox at that moment. Vivian had her wand pressed to the painting with a very stern, and Peter had to admit scary, look on her elegant face. “If you choose to displease me and refuse to let my son entrance, I will complain to my husband – the senator. You will find yourself locked up in a dusty basement in the museum – History of Magic. Do I make myself clear?”

Without another word, the portrait swung open to reveal the door to the common room. Peter leapt inside not sure if he wanted to be around his mother any moment longer. Who knew if she would take it out on him next? Before the question could be answered, Peter stopped suddenly to stare at the crowd of people standing in the common room. From their dress, it was clear there was some sort of ritual going on. Ritual? He didn’t believe that death eaters had rituals – they were the boring “torture and kill” types. They weren’t druids either – no signs of nature with them. A flash of a shadow substance caught his eye as he paled.

Voodoo priests.

Hearing rustling behind him, Peter turned to glance at his mother who had her wand drawn. “Peter, get to your room and send an owl to Senator Lexington. I’ll handle them.” He opened his mouth to protest but a stern look from his mother caused him to shut it immediately. Diving to the wall, he crouched down as he ran towards the stairwell that ran to his room. How was he going to get an owl up that far? Perhaps his mother meant for him to get the letter then go to the owlery…that must have been it. One of the priests saw him blasting a spell at him that blew a hole in the common room over his head. Almost immediately, the portraits came alive with Todd’s shouting and curses about several of the priest’s mothers.

Hearing his mother shouting off counter-curses, Peter made his way towards the stairwell breathing hard. Looking up, he froze into place hearing three hisses motioning to his direction. Snakes?

A runespoor.

Bloody hell.

“A sword, dear boy! Use a sword!”

Turning around to glance at Todd’s paintings, one of many, that was above him, Peter nodded. “But my sword is in the room –“

“Behind the chair! You left it there when you returned from sneaking out last night.”

He was about to ask how Todd knew that he was sneaking out and where he had laid his sword but his common sense ruled through his mind for once. Shaking his head, he leapt down the staircase cringing as he heard the snake following him. His mother seemed to be holding off the priests in a series of dodges, counter-curses, charms, and general hiding behind the chairs. Seeing his sword, the one he always brought for adventuring, Peter grabbed it swinging it at the snake.

Bad decision.

The snake lunged at him knocking Peter off his feet as he made an effort to dodge the creature’s attack. Scrambling up, he swung the sword again at the snake’s head. This time, his luck was better, as the sword made its mark on the creature’s flesh causing it recoil in pain. If he could get one of the heads lopped off, Peter knew that he could diverge the snake’s attention to follow him out of the common room. Get to the dragons – he would get the snake outside and let the dragons defend the castle. On the way out, he could find help for his mother. It was a grand plan – now if only it could work.

Leaping to his feet, he ran at the snake with a roar of courage side jumping to the side to avoid its’ fangs as it snapped at him. Crashing into the back of a chair, he grumbled at his lack of foresight before rolling to the side to avoid the snake’s second attack. Unfortunately, one of the priests seemed to turn his attention towards Peter as he felt something beginning to mess with his – mind?
He began to feel trapped – in a tiny place – as his body began to sweat. He was back in the cupboard and it was filling with water…he was drowning in a cupboard! Feeling something tugging and pulling at his secrets and memories, Peter dropped the sword momentarily as he blinded began to fight off the shadows that were surrounding him. Something about a wand….a wand….he need…..there was water again. The closeness – the water -….was his mind playing tricks on him?

“LUMOS!” His mother’s powerful voice rang out knocking the sensation of drowning and being trapped out of his mind. Shaking his head widly, he looked up to see the snake looming over him. With one last tug of strength added on to his frustration over the mind spell, Peter swung his sword at the snake letting go as it cleanly cut off one of the heads. The mass fell to the floor oozing out green gooey liquid as the snake recoiled in pain. It seemed to distract the voodoo priests as well. Knowing his was without sword and a weapon, Peter raced towards his mother grabbing her by the waist and shoving her out of the door.
“WE HAVE TO GET TO THE DRAGONS!” He yelled as he pulled out his wand and fired a shield blocking charm over the door. Hopefully, that would keep them safe for five seconds at least while they raced towards the entrance of the school.

[Carol Lee]

"And if I do that, I can..." Carol said to herself, focusing as she waved her wand again. A steel idol at the end of the wand and fell the remaining few inches to the desk. She smiled at the result. After a month of classes and several hours outside of class of practice, she was really getting the hang of it. Conjuring a desk had turned out to be rather easy compared to the things she actually wanted to make with magic, but she was now making strides in the right direction. Sure, nothing would last forever, and in fact everything she had managed to make in the first couple classes had vanished by this point, but she didn't need anything to last forever. Some of it didn't even need to last for more than a moment. Food and money were out, of course, but if there were really no other limits beyond the Five Principal Exceptions and the conjurer's imagination, then most of the mundane world had just been opened up to her. She could make a blade when attacked, or one of those rocket fuels her grandparents always told stories about. Or even...

The door burst open and another student ran in from the hallway, breathing heavily. "There you are!" she said. "What are you doing in here?"

"Kit?" Carol asked, picking up the figure. "I was practicing conjuration."

"You were supposed to be at the ceremony in the dining hall!"

"That was today?!" Carol asked. "No wonder I haven't heard anyone since I came in here. Am I in trouble?"

"No, but you need to get back to the Dining Hall right now!" Kit said, gesturing. It was then that Carol noticed the tremble in her voice. She looked up at Kit, seeing her wide-eyed, almost panicked face. She wasn't angry, she wasn't frustrated, she wasn't even relieved. She was scared. "The Senate trip was attacked. And you need to come with me?"

"Why?" Carol asked, nonetheless getting up to follow her fellow sixth-year. "They know I didn't go, can't you just tell someone where I am?"

"No, I was told to bring you if I found you. And the school's under lockdown now so I don't think that'll work. Besides," she shot Carol a bitter look as they ran down the corridor. "I've been looking for you for at least half an hour now. You've caused me enough trouble without me having to explain why I left you behind."

"Fair enough."

They had only just gotten to the dining hall when a crash rocked the corridor. Kit froze in her tracks at the sound, causing Carol to run into her and knock them both into the hall.

And that's when all hell broke loose.

Plants grew over the dining hall so fast they might have exploded into existence. The storm, which Carol could now recognize as a storm now that she wasn't holed away in an empty first floor classroom, was being drowned out by the sound of buzzing. She looked up to see doxies swarming in from all sides for a few seconds before the overgrowth obscured her vision. Around her, several unconscious students that had to have come in from the Senate attack were trapped in the same small space as her, while strange black shadows were creeping across the floor toward them. And Kit was...

Carol looked down to see her friend on the ground as well, knocked out by debris that had been knocked loose by the sudden overgrowth. Another shadow crept toward her, and Carol finally recognized them from a description in her Care of Magical Creatures textbook. Lethifold.

"Ohh, shit," she said. Carol was rarely ever one to swear. When she did, she made it count. And if there was ever a situation that called for an 'oh shit', it was one where she was the only conscious person in the immediate area of a killer plant infested room, with several unconscious students around her that would die if she couldn't do anything. Not to mention their attackers were among the most dangerous magical creatures in existence, and the only known defense against them was a spell she just plain couldn't do. "Think fast, Carol, think fast," she said to herself, sending a Stunning spell at the nearest living shroud. Nothing. Predictably. "Larcarnum Inflamarae," she tried next, igniting the nearest one on fire. It should have worked. The only real use of the spell was to light clothes on fire, and the Lethifold was nothing but a cloak. But instead of defeating it, she was now trying to figure out how to save several students from several Lethifolds and one Lethifold on fire.

"Locomotor mortis!" It was time for take three now. She pointed her wand at the nearest unconscious student, raising her off the ground and levitating her away from the crawling cloak bearing down on her. Repeating the process with the others, she managed to pull everyone she could see out of the way and into the corridor behind her. Which in turn left her facing down all of them, including the burning one, herself. Stunning it hadn't worked, slowing it down probably wouldn't work, even lighting its very being on fire had only served to turn it into a Lethifold On Fire. Just running away would be much harder when the corridor was starting to look like a jungle of evil too. And an emergency situation was not a very good time to force her to learn something she just plain couldn't do before. With nothing else coming to mind that she would actually have adequate time to prepare for, she fell back on what she had just been practicing.

Backing away as much as she could, Carol mentally reminded herself of everything she would need to focus on. Material. Mass. Density. Not making some cheap illusion instead. She needed something heavy, that wouldn't break the moment it hit the ground. And more importantly, she needed something big. Visualizing it, she waved her wand and pointed it near the ground over the Lethifold and conjured a large block of iron over them. It fell, crushing them under it.

Carol took a deep breath, then turned back to the corridor behind her. The roots would make it hard enough to get through herself, much less levitating a bunch of unconscious students with her. Briefly she considered just taking Kit and leaving the others, but banished the thought soon after. She was completely out of her element, but she still had a heart.

Just then, she noticed the shadow at the base of her iron block getting larger. "Now would be a good time for someone still conscious to show up," she said.

[Patrick Bates]

To his surprise, the blonde actually spoke to him as if they knew each other personally. Patrick was a little annoyed that someone would speak to him in this manner. It was undoubtedly due to the fact that he was all but forced to use the annoying-common moniker PJ whenever he spoke in public. And she even dared to insinuate that he had “special powers” that he couldn’t use in the public eye. Even if what she was saying was true, she was completely wrong to bring that up when someone could be listening to them—even if the room was filled with screams and breaking glass to drown out what she said. But the blonde kept talking, coming up with a plan of attack for their attackers.

Who the fuck was she? Had they slept together? He couldn’t remember. But as he thought about it, he was certain that he knew her face from somewhere. But he didn’t care enough to strain himself too hard. She was obviously not that important if he couldn’t remember her name, so he pushed her out of his mind and focused on the task at hand: impressing anyone who was watching.

She had instructed him to take out the littlest and weakest attacker, and Patrick did not like that idea at all. She wanted him to take the back seat so she could take all the glory? Nuh-uh. That was not how things worked around here. He was the one in the spotlight. He was the one with everything to lose by being here. And he was not going to let some dumb blonde stand in his way of that. He raised his wand to completely wipe out the whole lot of them, but she began hissing in some God-awful tongue. The ground shook and swallowed up the man he had thought she had wanted him to get rid of. His eyes narrowed to slits. Fine. If she wanted to make it a competition, he would make it a competition.

He brought his wand down as if he were swinging a sword and sent a stunning spell straight for one of their attackers. The spell missed. Again. He was absolutely furious. He had yet to take out one of their opponents, and it was making him red in the face. They were embarrassing him in front of everyone! They were making him look weak! They were making him look pathetic! And there was no way he was going to let that happen. To hell with his advisors telling him to keep the fact he knew voodoo a secret. This wasn’t about some silly election anymore. This was about pride, and he had to let those bastards know that no one makes a fool out of Patrick Bates and gets away with it.

“Protego!” he said casting the shield charm in front of himself. He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a neckace on the end of which was a token with markings etched into it. He gazed upon the group in front of him, his eyes shooting daggers at them. He began mumbling under his breath, not daring to blink or else risk breaking the curse. “Ti-Jean-Petro,” he commanded, invoking the loa of black magic sorcery. He extended his hand forward and clenched his fist tightly. The shadows of a few of their attackers shot up from the ground and began to choke them. They gripped at their necks, trying desperately to breathe, but he did not release his grasp. Those bastards were going to pay for what they did. They were going to burn for it. And that blonde bitch was going to know who was in charge here.

[Ian Dunstan]

He couldn’t handle his sister sobbing. He didn’t want to deal with the fact that his mom was most likely dead. He just wanted to turn everything off and start the day over. It wasn’t going the way he wanted. It wasn’t going the way anyone wanted. He needed a do-over. So Ian backed up, his hand keeping him from hitting the table behind him. He looked around wildly, trying to fight off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him. In the end he did the only thing he could think of. Ian turned and ran to his room.

“If you want in so badly I’d suggest you either answer the question or you march yourself back down to the dining hall and find Professor Bailey. Or was I not correct in my hearing that all students were supposed to check in with their hall director?” In all honesty, Mr. Wes was the last person Ian wanted to see. He wanted nothing to do with anyone who knew his mom. He didn’t want to be around anyone he recognized in general. He wanted to leave. “Just let me in Todd!” Ian froze when the lights began to flicker and finally went out. He looked at the portrait, the normally chatty founder had suddenly grown quiet. Ian could hear buzzing coming from the floors beneath them. “Damnit, let me in!” But the portrait didn’t move. Why did he think the man would budge? His mind went back over the riddle but he couldn’t figure it out. He was just going to have to think of another way into the room.

Ian took a step back, about to ditch his plan on getting into his room when he spotted acrumantulas coming into the third floor and heading into Joyeau. Ian looked back at Todd, his mind now just spouting out random answers. “A toy? A car? A cloud? A--”

“Oh shut up already, you twit! Just get into the room!” Ian didn’t waste a second. He jumped into Renard and made his way straight to his room. There he quickly grabbed the binder from under his bed, some fire crackers, and the smaller bag of rat food before shoving them into his pack. Ian quickly grabbed Bandit, pushing the rat into his pocket before he opened his door to leave. He hadn’t expected to find voodoo priests in the common room. Before they could set their sights on him, Todd had opened up again. Ian wasn’t about to stay to see who was entering the common room. He saw his chance to escape and he was going to take it. Ian ran towards the back of the house, looking around for a window that appeared clear. When he found one, he quickly broke the glass before crawling onto the windowsill.

He looked down, gulping as the ground suddenly looked much farther down than it normally was. The howling wind and rain did nothing to help him regain any confidence he had quickly lost. He carefully placed his foot on the ledge next to the window. After testing it and feeling fairly confident he wouldn’t slip off Ian began to slowly make his way towards the balcony. He just had to get to the balcony and then he could jump down. He’d done it before, so what said he couldn’t he do it now?

The wind and the rain certainly didn’t make it easy. He nearly slipped a few times but managed to find himself close to the balcony. Close enough that he let go with one hand and began to stretch himself out towards the balcony. He could almost grab the rail.

A spell whizzed past him, startling the young boy enough that his foot slipped off the ledge. Ian’s left hand barely managed to grab the balcony but the action shot pain through his shoulder. He dangled there, desperately trying to at least angle himself so he would land on the balcony below him if he fell. Not if; when. Ian’s fingers began slipping as the death eater walked towards him. He curled his fingers into a first before slamming it down on Ian’s fingers. He cried out in pain and fear as his hand let go and Ian fell.


(Ian's post will continue in the next round)

[Henri Ritter]

There would be no escape for Henri Ritter.

Before he could even attempt to go after Ian or seek the solitude of the Joyeau common room, the lights flickered out in the dining hall leaving the entire room in pitch darkness. His stomach curled as he frantically began to try to gain awareness of his surroundings. His father wasn’t crazy enough to perform mass murder on students was he? Then again, till a few moments before, Henri had always thought his dad was a very opinionated man who was slightly off his rocker in eccentricity. Not the type of man who sat there in the library listening to classical music and scheming the downfall of his fellow co-workers and president. He didn’t even know what his dad was capable of now and he wished he didn’t care.

The lights flickered on again as the walls began to erupt where large vines were wrapping around the school’s structure. Narrowing his eyes, Henri tried to calculate the species – devil’s snare…. why would someone want to bring down the school with devil’s snare? Almost immediately, his train of thought was broken by Sadie Dunstan’s frantic screaming as a carnivorous plant took her by one it’s vines. Paling, the younger boy took a step back running for the exit – he could escape! It was the genius plan of a Ritter – when chaos became reality, you simply escaped and went on like it never happened.

However, a sharp cry to his right caused Henri to pause. A small first year was being dragged towards the wall …to go unde…the plant was going to drag the girl underground! Gritting his teeth, Henri pulled out his wand and spoke in a clear voice. “LUMOS!” Waving his wand at the plant, he grimaced as it let go of the girl’s waist to writhe away from the light. Picking the girl up by her sleeve, he allowed the first year to cling to his leg while he frantically looked up at the ceiling. The chandelier…if he could get the light to reflect off the chandelier…the plants would stop…

Without a moment’s ado, he placed the first year with a teacher before grabbing several housemates that looked alive and somewhat capable of doing the task. Telling the plan to his peers, the group began to rally up the remaining students of the ceremony. Suddenly, there was a large burst of light as students stood together with their wands waving. A simple spell – Lumos! Yet, it would be the spell that possibly would save the school and their lives. The chandelier shook as tiny flecks of light began to reflect off it towards the vines that were crawling over the walls pulling the structure and injured students into their depths.

Perhaps not all Ritters were bad after all.

[The Headmaster]

Chaos. It was the only word that could describe the school at this time. Students and teachers were divided. Each of them were dealing with their own problems as the inmate continued to focus her efforts on bringing the school down. Cracks were climbing up the walls and breaking through the floorboards. Plants were covering every floor and had gotten into just about every room. The headmaster was focused on the dining hall, focused on trying to keep the students around him safe until help could arrive.

The wind brought the rain into the building, only adding more obstacles for those fighting against the intruders. There was just too much going on. The headmaster looked around desperately for a plan. The entire building shook, groaning under the added stress of the vegetation. He was backed into a corner, sending out his patronus to discourage the lethifold from attacking the unconscious near him. The school wasn’t going to be able to handle the attack much longer.

It was the popping sound that had the headmaster looking up. Several flashes of color were flying past the windows though the headmaster couldn’t tell if wizards the spells were coming from were on their team. He didn’t have to wait long to be sure. Aurors began to fight their way into the building. The aurors were coming from all branches of Law Enforcement, anyone who could be spared from their own department had made their way to Seiseux once contact had not been reestablished with the school. Slowly they made their way into the dining hall, focusing on the human threats before moving onto the Lethifold that still plagued the hall. Once they had left the Dining Hall, their focus remained on stopping the inmate and her followers rather than removing the pests that roamed freely.

***

The inmate knew the moment when the odds had turned against her. She slowed her own chants until her voice had stopped entirely. She looked around, watching as the aurors helped give the adults and students the hope she had thought she was going to crush out of them. No, this wasn’t exactly the big show she had in mind. Sending a quick smile to the nearest Dark Druid, she waved goodbye before apparating out of the school and into Magical New Orleans. There she planned on finding herself a portkey and meeting up with her fellow inmates. There was no way she was going to take the chance of getting caught. She’d rather die than return to Alcatraz.

***

Once the villains had been either caught or killed, the aurors slowly began to leave. The infestations were the school’s problems, not their problem. Only a few stayed behind to help transport the Senators to a secured facility. The headmaster sighed as he looked around the dining hall. The entire building was still covered in flora and his students were scattered throughout the building. He grabbed his wand before quickly casting a spell to amplify his voice. “Attention students: You must check in with your house directors. Please be advised that while the attack may have ended we have not had a chance to remove all the creatures from the building. If you are trapped, send out a signal and professors will make their way towards you.” His voice echoed through the halls, the magic ensuring it traveled the entire building. For those outside of the building, there was no chance of hearing him. The Headmaster made his way towards the professors, talking with each of them. They had to get ready. He needed all house directors to remain in the dining hall until they had a list of all the students. The rest would have to go find the ones who couldn’t make it back down to the first floor.

The headmaster looked around slowly at the destruction of his school. It was still standing. They hadn’t been beaten, but the effects of the attack were still visible. Sighing once more he prepared himself for the days to come. There were the senate students who needed to speak to Barker and there were the injured who needed looking after. Not to mention figuring out how to ensure something like this never happens again.

[Ian Dunstan]

Ian desperately tried to grab onto anything to slow his fall. He managed to catch the second floor balcony, only to lose his grip once more. He slammed into the bushes below him. Ian lay on his back for a minute. He couldn’t tell if he had survived the fall or only thought he did. Ian took a few more breathes. Before he slowly tried to roll over. Everything hurt a lot more than he had been expecting it. At least nothing seemed broken. Something squirmed in his pocket and Ian shot up. He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out Bandit, sighing in relief that the rat hadn’t been hurt.

He put the rat back into his pocket before he slowly pushed himself up. He looked up to the third floor, panicked that he might see another death eater. No one stood up there. Ian looked around, squinting to keep the rain out of his eyes. He spotted dementors flying over the quodpot field and more brooms around the skies of the school. He couldn’t tell who was good and who was bad. It didn’t matter in the end either. It only acted as more incentive for him to get out of there as fast as he could.

Ian paused at the edge of the bayou, thoughts of his family going through his mind. He should have grabbed Sadie. He should have made his sister come with him. He should have waited for his mom to come back. No! She’s not coming back! The thoughts silenced any desire to stay. He couldn’t stay. He couldn’t handle it. He couldn’t look at his own sister without thinking of his mom. He couldn’t look at his best friend without seeing the man responsible. He just wanted to turn everything off. So Ian ran. He’d rather take his chances in the bayou than to risk the pain that came from staying.

By the time Ian had made it out of the bayou and found his way into the magical district of New Orleans, the attack on the school had ended. Ian had no way of knowing this. He couldn’t know that the school had survived. That his sister was alive or that Henri had not followed in Mr. Ritter’s footsteps. He avoided any source of news, any person he could potentially bump into at all costs. He didn’t want to think of anything else. He didn’t want to accept the fact that he had left his sister to die just as his mom had. No. From this moment on he would stop thinking. The exhausted and wet boy made his way towards shelter, doing his best to think of lies that could keep anyone from getting too curious.