Quidditch Stands || Secret Blossom Ball Event

~ * ~

Interacting with: @Xailah Alptraum, @Pericles Dralt, @Margo White, and @Breana Oliveire

Ruby considered Breana's proposal. In theory, her idea was okay. If they stayed with someone else, they still had support and backup, but they could also protect a wider area of land. However, why did they need to do that right now? While pairs could offer some protection, there were only five members of the group, which was an odd number. They couldn't risk someone going alone, and if there were only two groups there wasn't much point in splitting up in the first place just to cover more ground. They would be safer if they all stayed together, and it would be easier to pass information and share their knowledge this way, as well as assess a threat. So, while Ruby appreciated the younger girl's thinking and ideas, she didn't quite agree with this one. She chose to nod along with Xailah's concerns of what the fifth person would do.

She was a little taken aback at the hostility with which Xailah continued to speak. Ruby would have removed the swearing and insults, but part of her understood. She did like Breana—she had comforted and protected the Ravenclaw once, and she would be likely to do it again. However, the Slytherin thought she understood a small piece of why the prefect was reacting so strongly. The Gryffindor had seen something like this before. She had experienced hellish events that she shouldn't have had to, and she had lived through something where this exact type of plan had been followed through on and it had gone badly. Ruby felt sorry that Breana didn't understand that, and sorry that Xailah did understand that.

The older girl looked to her for confirmation, and that was all it took to prompt Ruby to say something. “Breana, I agree with Xailah on this one—we should stay together. We don't know what's out there yet and our combined knowledge and magic is better than just having one or two of us.” Hopefully it was enough that Breana wouldn't be too defeated by it, and Xailah would know that Ruby supported her, or at least understood a fraction of the pain. When the spiders had attacked, Ruby had felt so helpless. She was useless, unable to defend or help anyone, even when she had focused all her attention on helping one person. The pain of that failure as well as the physical pain of the bite was not something that would leave her thoughts for a long time.

Pericles was reacting with dismay. Ruby had not seen him like this before, but she wasn't surprised that Xailah's insults had provoked this. Yes, it was rude, but it could have been worse. It certainly wasn't as bad as what would happen if whatever was out there got hold of them. Sometimes, acting first and saving the kinder words and explanations for later could save lives. It was unnecessarily mean, sure, but it was an outburst. Xailah was clearly frustrated and the situation was bringing back bad memories, so while it wasn't a nice thing to do, it was understandable. The Ravenclaw prefect said that they were staying together, insisting that Breana would be included in that. “Xailah did not say that Breana should leave. Both of them are staying right here with the rest of us.” Her voice was soft and calm but firm.

Breana would not be leaving, and neither would Xailah. Ruby was shocked by Peri's implication that Xailah should leave. Even if she and Breana didn't get along and he was irritated with her, he could have still looked at it from a tactical standpoint. She was older than them and likely knew more spells than the rest of them and had more experience, and she had dealt with things like this before. She was a valuable asset to their group and Ruby refused to just let her go—but maybe that was also because she had taken a liking to her. Ruby was fond of everyone in this group and she didn't want to see any of them hurt. To see their words start to tear the group apart made her displeased.

Then, a warning. Xailah told Ruby to get someone on her broom and said that Mosps were approaching. From her vantage point, the Slytherin could also now see what they were. A shiver ran down her spine at the sight of them all flying towards the Pitch and the students within. Margo was the closest to Ruby, and she fully intended to pull her onto her broom, but at that moment one of the huge creatures flew over the railing and landed very close to Ruby. Freezing, she stared at it. It was terrifyingly large and it took all her willpower to avoid looking at the stinger. Do something. But what? The fear stopped her from moving, from acting to get rid of it. That was, until it started eyeing her friends. She took a step to make sure Margo would at least be shielded, and she was about to cast Diffindo regardless of Peri's cry to wait. She had to abandon that plan or anything else that involved attacking the Mosp when Xailah threw herself at it, clawing it.

Why?! she wanted to scream. The magic would have been effective enough, but now she couldn't risk casting anything at the insect in case it hit the Gryffindor instead. She appreciated the act of bravery and the attempt to protect them, but if the attack failed, the third year would be exposed to the creature's wrath and Ruby would not be able to do much about it. Xailah had formed a plan, though, and Ruby would turn to Margo to pair up with her on a broom, assuming that was what her friend wanted. Pericles had pointed out that smoking the Vampyr Mosps out would smoke the students out, but Margo had mentioned clearing the students out first. This sounded… difficult, to say the least. How would they get all the students to safety? It would likely create chaos and they would have to find some way to usher the partygoers out into the darkness. She doubted they could do that efficiently enough and then isolate the Mosps.

“I don't know how we'd efficiently and safely smoke them out…” she mentioned, turning back to Margo, who seemed to be trying to pull her out of the way. The prefect extended a hand to her friend, helping her onto the back of her broom. Ruby wondered if she would be able to cast and control the broom at the same time, so she said, “Be ready to defend Xailah if she needs it, okay?” Worry lit her eyes, but there was not much she could presently do for the Gryffindor, so she had to take care of the escape method for Margo and herself in case it was needed.

It was then that Margo confessed her fear. Fear of the Mosps? Fear of the darkness and the way the ball was headed? No… it seemed like something else. Flying or heights? Oh. Ruby reached for her friend's hand and squeezed it in an attempt at comfort before returning her hand to the broom. “You must have practiced in class, though, yeah? We'll get through this. Hold onto me if you need, do whatever makes you feel safest. I'll try to avoid going too high or too fast.” It worried her that this was the condition of the group when they were just starting to be faced with the Mosps. They were arguing and in a bad mood, the plans seemed to be mostly flawed, and Margo was scared. It was a normal human emotion, so it was fine, of course. Ruby had no intention to make fun of her or think that she was incapable just because of this. All she wanted was for her friend to be okay and feel safer.

Action: Talking, fairly ready to defend Xailah, helping Margo onto her broom and hovering near the others

~ * ~

Interacting with @Xailah Alptraum, @Pericles Dralt, @Ruby Cazares, and @Margo White

As she was prepared to converse with the rest of the group with other possible plans that they can carry out, she was surprised to see the Xailah girl come back. Maybe it's because she wants to give a battle plan for the group? Unfortunately for Breana, it wasn't a battle plan that Xailah laid out for the group. It was an array of rather rude comments, directed straight at the freckled girl. Her eyes widened, stammering as she tried to answer Xailah's statements. "Er, w-well, technically I was making a light joke there--" Breana stopped as the older girl commented on her dress again. "Oh, uh, I tried to kinda do a detachable skirt," She said, fiddling with the skirt of her dress. "But I'm not good at sewing ye--" Breana blinked, as Xailah commented on her being slow. That hit a blow on her. "I... I'm sorry. I mean, I-i can just--"

It didn't stop there. Now the girl's picking apart her plan. Breana didn't know if they would even go through with the plan in the first place. She wasn't expecting the strategy to be at the forefront of it all. "I-i..." She continued to stutter. "... it was just a s-suggestion... And I thought you were going to go with that other guy in the air, s-so..." Breana looked down as Xailah continued to tell her off, fiddling with the edge of her skirt nervously. She closed her eyes as the Gryffindor continued to drown her out.

"You sssicken me."

That hit Breana to her core. She rarely had any personal verbal attacks, much less coming from someone that would have some sort of educational seniority above her. She was sickening to her? The girl didn't look like someone who would know muggle lingo, so clearly it wasn't a term of endearment. But why tell this to her, when they clearly just met? Is Breana really that much of a nuisance? She can feel her eyes start to well up, making her hang her head lower.

Breana jumped out of fear as Pericles spoke up, for a split second thinking that he was going to tell her off as well. Thankfully, he went out of his way to defend Breana instead. On the one hand, she was grateful that her friend stood up for her whilst she was like a deer in headlights but on the other hand she felt guilty that Pericles had to be the mediator for this confrontation. Still, she was grateful for his response, giving him a small smile and mouthing the words "Thank you" to him.

Pericles steered the conversation into a more neutral and strategy-heavy response, thankfully. She shot her head up, surprised as Peri called to her. "H-huh, oh, yeah I-i mean, it may be a squeeze, but--" Her response was cut short as Xailah practically ordered Pericles to get a move on. She was right, there was no time to lose. Ruby chimed in with an important note, however: Even if they go through splitting up, that'd just be two groups. What good would that do? It may bring out the dangers of being in a large group, but that's a risk that'd be worth taking.

As they were figuring out what to do, however, a soft buzzing started ringing in the little girl's ear. As Xailah brought up, there were two mosps nearby the group. Unfortunately for Breana, she only knew vague facts about the creatures, but she can only assume that they are far from friendly. The gravity of how dangerous these insects are slowly sunk into the girl. This was far from her expectations of how adventures were supposed to go. Who knows what would happen if the mosp would aggressively attack a student? Breana would rather not find out.

She walked up to Pericles, her face showing a more serious expression than her usual cheery disposition, her eyes furrowing at possible plans to lure the creatures away from the pitch. "Is it alright if I pair up with you?" She asked, removing the flowers that were on her hair and dropping them aside. Xailah maybe rude to her, but if her facts served her right, carrying a flower on Breana's head would spell dinnertime for the mosps. "Or should I take my own broom?" She said. As she waited for Pericles's response, she looked down at the skirt of her dress. Xailah's words continue to echo through her mind and, without a second thought, Breana took the hem of her skirt and ripped it apart from the side. It wasn't a total transformation, but at least it gave her a bit more legroom. She looked up at Pericles and gave him a shrug and a light chuckle to play it off. "Just another alteration I think it needed. So should I grab a broom or stick with ya?"

Action: Ready to mount on her own broom or pair up with Pericles's

dress: Reducio

shoes: Reducio none

| sta: 6 | eva: 7 | str: 6 | wis: 8 | arcp: 4 | acc: 10 |
race: metamorphmagus iiii abilities: sixth sense

mentions: N/A | interacting with: @Celynne Gray @Dmitri Jones

As the claws of Dmitri's cerulean flame ripped through the darkness, Cecily took a shaky breath and a step back from the rail. Giant insects? This was a new one, and she was very much not excited for these new and dangerous party-crashers. Of course, there was always the chance they were passive, just smelled the sweet nectar from the millions of flowers strewn around the pitch, but was that really the likely scenario? No, this was Hogwarts. Everything was out to kill them, or else, god forbid, it would be normal. Not a Hogwarts event that's average! How will we ever bond with people without killer bees?

But as Cecily was busying her thoughts with how awful it was to be a student at this god-forsaken event at this god-forsaken school, Dmitri seemed to be putting his brain to a better task-- trying to get the three of them out of here alive. Judging by his and Celynne's reactions, they both seemed to know exactly what was coming for the student, which worried Cecily just a little bit. Did she, um...did she miss something? Clearly at some point the students had learned about these things, unless the other two third years just happened to have read the same book on vaguely obscure yet dangerous magical creatures. The blonde girl felt more that slightly unprepared, being the only one in their group that was unaware of the threat at hand, but it would be fine-- she was a fast learner. Plus, what did they really need to know? They were bee things. Dangerous, pointy, likes flowers, could probably hurt them. If they didn't get anywhere near her, there wouldn't be a problem. Really, there was very little they needed to know about two-foot-long bees in order to defend themselves against the beasts. Unless they had some special strength that would make it hell to try to kill them-- although that seemed about like a shitty scenario that would befall the children of Hogwarts.

Okay, so Cecily was unprepared. At least she knew they were bee things. That was...helpful. And she knew they were, uh, scary. And big. And their stingers were long and pointy ad dangerous. And...one was coming right towards them. Oh, shit. Well, if they were going to defend themselves, now would be the time, although it looked like Dmitri had a different idea.

"Please tell me you two know how to cast Engorgio!"

Cecily nodded in response to the boy's plea, surprised, relieved, and slightly annoyed all at the same time of how quickly this boy managed to formulate a plan-- because clearly, he had one, and he seemed pretty confident in it. And, as he attempted to cast avifors on his textbook and the gold armband that Celynne had practically thrown at him, Cecily began to see where he was going with it. There was always something higher on the food chain, and when insects were involved, that something was often birds. But-- bigger insects called for bigger birds. Of course, hence the engorgio. Really, if this were a different situation, Cecily might have applauded the boy's incredibly quick thinking. But for now, there was no time. Cecily pulled out her wand, taking a deep breath. Sure, she wasn't the best at casting spells, but she was at least okay, usually. And this wasn't even a particularly difficult charm. Pointing her wand, Cecily exhaled before speaking the incantation. "Engorgio."

This plan had better work. Judging by the twin columns of blue flame that had shot out of Dmitri's wand just moments ago, the kid was clearly a powerful spellcaster, but there was so much else that could go wrong. The birds could be tiny. They could be attacked and defeated by Giant Killer Bees. Cecily prayed to whatever force may be watching over them that this might go the way they wanted it to. She really wasn't interested in dying today.

action: cast engorgio on one of Dmitri's or Celynne's bird(s)

Moderation Post

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood had quickly cracked the code of these creatures: they were drawn by the sweet scent of flowers, a common accessory at the Blossom Ball. She tossed their boutonnieres and instantly, the mosp's aggressively sniffing proboscis pointed after them. Electing for an intellectual tactic over magical strength, she tried to intercept the cast of her companion, @Alexander Varellion, by tackling him. However, Alexander withstood the impact just as the spell left his lips (rolls 15>21), proceeding with his Incendio. A gout of flame burst from his wand, and the clumsy creature barreled into it, issuing a horrific screech of agony. Enraged and partially blinded, it lost all intent to eat the boutonniere. Those twin stingers flailed frantically as it barreled towards the two.

@Elena Jangleton, unwilling to leave her peers at the mercy of the mosps, attempted to cast Immobulus at the fourth mosp (rolled 20). Both parties presently stood in the dark, impacting their accuracy, yet her aim exceeded the thing's evasion (rolls 24>5). Joining her in aiding Aida and Alexander, @Lamik Fillestar also attempted an Incendio of his own. Another gout of fire erupted into the air, easily consuming the presently immobile mosp, and thankfully not catching the stands in the process. In that moment, @Xailah Alptraum had unloaded a fistful of boutonnieres onto the head of @Lamik Fillestar. As they rained down upon him, a sniffling mosp (#20) shifted its trajectory overhead, greedily pursuing the fragrant accessories. It descended upon them.

Mosp 4
• Alexander's Incendio Damage: 50 + (AP x 10) = 110 DMG
• Elena's Immobulus: success
• Lamik's Incendio Damage: 50 + (AP x 10) = 150 DMG
Lost 260 HP, immobilized and taking -50 damage for one round

@Liv Hartley, cowering behind @Haven Bohannon, prayed for professor intervention. But the teachers would not notice a blackout if they hadn't known about the ball in the first place. No one was meant to know that they were here, thus the chances of their unprompted rescue was unlikely. Thankfully, the mosps were not fixated on she nor her friends (yet). Escape would be dangerous, but possible. @Charles Cutting had also avoided their attention despite his place at the edge of the stands, though a number of the big bugs would have buzzed by his head as they flew above the pitch.

Rather than hide, flee, or wait for an adult, a more seasoned set of students took action. Their plan was incredibly inventive, and just possibly crazy enough to work. @Dmitri Jones attempted to turn an armband and textbook into a pair of screech owls, and upon succeeding a dual Avifors (rolled 20), a pair of bright blue lights burst from the end of his wand, bolting downward... to strike his shoes (rolled 9 for Acc). The plan would take a morbid turn as both the boy's boots began to rapidly sprout feathers. @Celynne Gray and @Cecily Quinn, not wanting to waste the opportunity of a mostly successful transformation, cast Engorgio on either owl. Both struck true. As the boot owls (thankfully) dislodged themselves from Demitri's feet and took form, they began to grow with rapidity, becoming a pair of large formidable screech owls which obeyed the whim of their transformer. The third mosp was upon them by now, still absolutely angry about those blue flames from earlier. Its twin stingers flailed vengefully as it came closer. Barred by a pair of abnormally large birds however, rather than reach its target, it flew for the first owl in its way. The stingers dove. The jab was deep. A horrible cry rang out as the first of two owls was stabbed by a stinger, the venom now coursing through its body diminishing the poor transfigured boot's ability to aim or evade.

Mosp 3
• Dmitri's Avifors: success, but miss. You are now barefoot. Your boots are birds mate.
• Celynne and Cecily's Engorgios: success.
• One of the two owls has been attacked by the mosp, losing 151/200 HP.
(Dmitri: controlling owls requires Concentration. Their actions are your actions.)

@Quinn Healy, entering from the changing rooms, scoured the stands for @Nico Shymane. The witch casts Lumos (rolled 8 ), and for a moment, he may see her face reflected by a bubble of light before it flickered out again. Thankfully, she was still standing in the illumination provided by @Serena Towers, sustaining her own Lumos. Serena discouraged those in range to avoid using fire, instead opting to try and signal for help. She selflessly offered out her Shooting Star to @Saskia Nicholson, who made the tactical decision to fly high and cast Periculum into the night sky. A great jet of crimson light erupted up, soaring above the pitch, burning with a frantic red glow to express their distress.

Saskia's Periculum is visible above the pitch.

The first mosp, aggressively eyeing another group, fluttered a warning with its wings. @Pericles Dralt, following the instructions of @Xailah Alptraum, cast away his floral boutonniere. The moment he did, the thing tried to take flight, following the carnation as a violent dog pursues a discarded snack. It was taken by surprise when Xailah attacked it from above, slicing at its bulbous body with her metal claws. Buzzing in the light of Lumos sustained by Pericles, it made for an easy target (13>9), and metal met fleshy carapace. Though this brought her all too close to the thing. Not only was she in range of its stingers, but she placed herself in the path of the others nearby- Pericles, @Ruby Cazares, @Margo White, and @Breana Oliveire. None of the students risked spelling the thing for fear of hitting her instead. They would witness it whip about with an infuriated hum, lashing out with its stingers and landing a successful hit (20>18). While these did not dig deep, they sliced through the fabric of her tidily tailored dress, cutting a shallow but bleeding line into her right thigh. The cut itself was not all that bad, but the venom caused a searing pain, reducing her ability to aim or evade.

Mosp 1
•Xailah's physical attack: 51 damage
•Mosp's physical attack: 95 damage, venom

@Arc Perscivious, seeking to escape with @Raine Sage, lifted his wand to cast Lumos (rolled 26). A bubble of illumination enveloped them both. Helping him search, Raine would have no trouble spotting a pair of school brooms set aside specifically for this occasion, placed between the bleacher seats where two could easily grab them and go. Fortuitously, the light did not succeed in drawing any attention. Yet.

First Mosp Battling with Xailah

Second Mosp In a goal-hung flower pot

Third Mosp Violently attacking 1 of 2 owls

Fourth Mosp Immobilized and burning

Twentieth Mosp Investigating Lamik's boutonniere collection

(Post 1: lights out) - (Post 2: mosp faq) - (Post 3: you are here)

If your character engages with a mosp, you may no longer move freely between areas.
Some stats may seem off if your character was previously noted as standing in the dark.
Mosps are numbered by their arrival at the ball as a whole (counting all scenes)
Thank you all for taking the time to list stats and abilities it helps!
The next mod post will take place in one week on 5/24

Action: Cast Knockback Jinx at Mosp 1.

[font="Monotype Corsiva"]Action: Moving to defend @Nico Shymane[/font]

[font="Monotype Corsiva"]Perceptive as always, Quinn needed only a moment to find the person he was looking for amongst the chaos. Spells were being flung out, bugs were attacking and from what Quinn could tell panic was setting in. It wasn't good but all Quinn could think about was not their safety only Nico's. The who captured his heart and had him wrapped around her pale fingers like fine twine.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear the amused chucklings of an all too familar voice that he knew wasn't his. Strangely the voice stayed quiet almost silent. It broke Quinn's concentration for only a moment, but it wasn't getting any louder so with steeled resolve. The young redhead proceeded to make his way through the crowd. Shoulders back, chest out and face hardened he would more or less make anyone or anything that was in his way move out of the way.

"Nico!" The young Half-Giant would yellow out, in his baritone voice he normally didn't use. If by the gods he made it to her unharmed he would waste absolutely no time picking her up to bring her close to his body. The ease with which he would lift her would be incredible as to him she felt more like a slightly heavy paperweight. Not at all cumbersome to lift just noticeable enough to be remembered. "Are ye okay? Are ye hurt?" The chuckle in his head was a bit louder but he ignored it. Quinn had ignored everything else but her now looking at her worriedly stress and worry clear in his expressions.[/font]

Reducio

[font="Monotype Corsiva"]Character Stats:
Stamina: 12 Evasion: 2 Strength: 13 Wisdom: 8 Arcane Power: 2 Accuracy: 5
Ability:
Sixth Sense[/font]

Interacting with @Cecily Quinn @Celynne Gray

Dmitri expected a lot of things from following his gut instinct while being chased by a literal freakbug. Probably a magical moment of perfectness, the objects in his hand softly glowing blue as they elegantly sprouted feathers and burst into gorgeous owls in midair. Maybe even a pretty anticlimactic failure, his wand sputtering embarrassing blue sparks from its tip as the freakbug comes at him with its double stingers--pain and suffering an inevitable result.

What he didn't expect was for his boots--his favorite, expensive, beautiful boots, the first article of clothing he has ever bought with his own money--to start transforming while on his foot. Falling over from shock, Dmitri's ass bounced painfully off the stands' wooden floor. The Slytherin watched, horrified, as feathers grew from his shoes, almost fully an owl in mere seconds. There was one moment he was scared the owls would transform on his foot and end up being a gory, bloody mess of feathers and bone--but he was relieved when the transformation happened in a way where the boots--now turned owls--detached themselves organically from his lower extremities in a single flap of their wings. With glorious twin screeches, the owls--now gigantic--spread their wings and flew.

Dmitri didn't even get to admire his handiwork and the results afterward, because that was the moment when the visions and sensations started.

Starvation. Hunger. The uncontrollable desire to hunt.

There was freedom. A renewal of senses--a feeling of belongingness and just... liberty.

The sky was big and the moon was out and they were--I was--we were--here and ready. For anything. For the chase. For the hunt.

They were--I was--we were big, getting bigger and strong. Getting stronger. A feeling of growth.

And then the pain.

There was a distant, horrible screech of pain and agony.

Then there was a also a distant feeling one can only describe upon hindsight, similar to salivation, slobbering. A sensation one can only have when presented with a buffet from a lifetime of fasting.

The beating of strong wings.

And pain again.

Then anger.

Fiery, red hot, anger.

You see, what the boy was experiencing was partly due to the fact that he was controlling two separate entities that, though similar, were driven entirely by their instinct--strong, almost-unbearable ones at that.

First of all, though accidental in nature, his spell could not have chosen better targets. The owls were transfigured from a pair of boots. Like any other pair of shoes, it was an object that started out empty and needed to be filled, its spaces to be taken up by a human foot. It was what initiated the clawing, almost-desperate need to feed. The need to hunt. It only made the hunger worse when presented with prey. Both the owls also originated from the same pair of boots, crafted at the same exact time, meant to be the other's perfect partner. It explained the rage that exploded in Dmitri's mind when one of the two creatures got injured.

The feelings and sensations were so powerful, the boy couldn't do anything but be swept by its gale force. He stayed there where he was, on the wooden floor--though he didn't really have a choice--and stared unseeingly into the darkness, lost in the confines of his overloaded mind. He didn't know for sure which thoughts were his, and which thoughts weren't; they were all running through his mind at lightning speed.

So when the two owls let out twin piercing shrieks that reverberated through the air, and decided to attack--both in retaliation and in the urge to feast--the Slytherin couldn't help but let them.

His companions, Quinn and Gray would only see a dissociated young man on the ground who couldn't be snapped out of his trance. For all intents and purposes, Dmitri was the owls and the owls were him.

STATS AND ABILITIES

Reducio

DMITRI'S ACTIONS (can't act when owls act during the round)
Stay on his rump on the Stands' floor and stare off into space--lost in his head and the multitudes of sensations inside of it.

OWLS' ACTIONS
Screeeeeeelena: Screech in murderous rage and attempt to bite a chunk off the bug's bulbous body.
Reeeeeeeah (injured): Follow Scree's lead and attack the bug (whether healed by allies or still injured), this time with its claws outstretched, aiming to rip and tear its prey.

Target: MOSP #3

Mentions: @Alexander Varellion
Action: Running to where the immobilized mosp #4 would fall and trying to extinguish its flames with her large riding coat
Ability: Blindvision
Character stats:
Stamina✵ 5, Evasion✵ 5, Strength✵ 4, Wisdom✵ 8, Arcane Power✵ 9, Accuracy✵ 4
Color code: #351C75 (Persian Indigo)

Interacting with @Quinn Healy, @Serena Towers and @Saskia Nicholson

As she tried to cast Lumos, her determination apparantly wasn't enough on its own to succesfully create light. Just for a moment it lit up, but quickly died down. 'N-No!' Her internal panic clock was ticking. Truth be told, she would've lost it, if Serena hadn't succeeded in casting the Light charm. What else could they do?

Saskia, the Hufflepuff who just joined them, was offered Serenas broom. Flying up to cast a fireworks spell would be alot easier to attract attention to than just Lumos. As Saskia asked them all to stay safe, Nico nodded at her, once more filled with determination. 'You stay safe up there aswell!' Every tiny bit of hope, fueled the dhampirs light in her heart. Especially after she flew up on the Shooting Star and succeeded on lighting up the sky. Slightly in awe, the ice blue hues of the pale child watched the red colour fill the dark night sky.

'Nico!'

She almost jumped out of her skin. Who was that? Looking over her shoulder, she noticed a tall, big figure. Was it really him? Finally? 'Q-Quinn?!' When he finally reached to where she was, he swiftly scooped her up. She was as light as a feather to his still developing muscles. She noticed by the touch of the fabric of his clothing that he most likely looked real dapper. Was he wearing... an actual suit? Her hands were still clutching onto her Tinderblast, holding it close to her. After slipping her wand back in her hidden dress pockets, her hand would search for his face, gently resting it against his cheek. Shadows moving over his face caused by the light. 'I-I'm okey! S-Serena is here. She keeps us safe with her light. Are you okey? You're not hurt right? Did anything happen? You took so long...'

However, held up in Quinn's embrace, she had a better look at her surroundings, the Periculum lighting up a big part of the stands. Revealing more of the creatures that started to sound more violent by the second. They looked like big wasps. Big bugs. With scarily big stingers. The dhampirs eyes widened in fear as her hand now clutched onto his blazer. 'Q-Quinn! What are those?!' As tears of unsetteling anxiety welled up in her eyes, Nico didn't dare to take her eyes off the bloody scary things. 'S-Serena! B-Big bugs! What are those?! W-We have to get out of here!'

The Prefect whimpered. She started to get overwhelmed by fear again. Why did it always had to be bugs? First spiders, now flying wasps? A few small tears rolled down her cheeks, imagening the many worst-case scenarios that could unfold, her eyes trying to look elsewhere, to find hope. She noticed her Tinderblast which she still held tightly. Would the Professors really come? Were they back at the castle? What if they didn't see the flare? Shouldn't someone fly over? It would be faster than sending light signals out right?

'Serena... Will the Professors really come? W-What if someone flies over to the castle? What if they're asleep or... Busy with other things?'