A Secret Mission Abandoned

The light? What light? George lifted up his wand, ready to cast lumos - but he froze halfway through the motion, realizing what he meant. The nightlight was still in the classroom. Jack had it with him when he ran away, and he brought it when he looped back - it was damning evidence. George doubted that there were anybody else in the castle with a nightlight, let alone one that had belonged to Professor Browne. That was the one thing that he had to recover from this mission - George and Jack had already uttered each other's names, so they were compromised. One agent was coming out unscathed.

George patted Jake on the shoulders and gave him a firm squeeze, making sure he was full of vigor and bravery when the running suddenly stopped. "Stay right here!" he instructed, pointing to the cold stone under their feet. George was already turning to go, leaving the poor badger in the icy darkness. "Remember - nothing is there in the dark that wasn't there in the light!"

Well, magic notwithstanding. That phrase had been a lot more sensible when his mother told it to him in the muggle world, where there were no books that moved and statues that would suck out your soul or anything like that. Jake would be fine waiting for a few minutes - when George was back with the nightlight, he'd feel safe as ever.

Inside the classroom, it was a standoff. Nico had on her brave face - she was close enough to touch Jack, and they were having a stare down so intense that either one's gaze could burn a hole in parchment. It was an unstable moment of peace - waiting to be shattered by a sudden act, a motion from either, an unexpected entrance.

George smashed through the doorway of the classroom with a start, tripping in the dark and stumbling into a desk with a crash. He hastily pulled the chair and table back into place, brushing off the front of his pants from where some dust had stuck to him. It seemed he was destined to jump-scare the poor prefect again on this horrible night.

"Light!" he said to Jack, running up to try and take the nightlight from the eldest boy. The pair were back together, outnumbering the poor prefect once again, but they were distracted and hasty. Maybe she could make a move. "Thank you, sorry!"

@George Henry @Jack Warren @Nico Shymane

George turned back to Jake, but he didn't mention the nightlight. Instead he put his hands on his shoulders and gave Jake a squeeze and a command that made his eyes go wide.

'Stay right here!'

Jake realized with a sinking feeling what was about to happen - he was gonna get left behind - but before he could object George was off leaving him with one final piece of advice to pacify him in the darkness.

Nothing is there in the dark that wasn't there in the light

Jake swallowed, thinking over the words...Nothing was there in the dark that wasn't there in the light. But lots of stuff was there in the light. Even more than he had ever realized existed until he got to school. The only difference was that now you couldn't see them until it was too late.

But Jake couldn't move. No room had been left for disobedience. George had pointed and told him not to and hadn't given him a choice, so he stayed. And it didn't really matter cause he was too scared to run even if he'd wanted.

The tiny badger whimpered, and peered into the black.

'Nothing is there in the dark that wasn't there in the light'

It was quiet. He could hear his breath in his throat, George's running footsteps, and other things he couldn't place from whatever else was lurking. Were there monsters in the light too that he hadn't met yet at Hogwarts? And what was really inside all of those classrooms? What if one of them was Defense Against the Dark Arts? He still couldn't remember which classes were which. What if the ghosts were about? Or worse...Peeves.

Jake heard a loud crash, and gasped, hugging his body tightly. He could see shapes in the dark. He closed his eyes tightly, muttering under his breath that it was just imagination but he didn't know if it really was. The boy rocked himself forward and back, his feet unmoving like he'd been told. With relief he heard George's distant voice. He needed him to come back, and Jack too. Even the prefect. The girl could take him and yell at him and get him in trouble if he had to but then she'd take him home and into the light - back to Professor Browne and the Hufflepuff common room.

They were going to arrive back soon - George wouldn't have said to wait if they weren't.

He hoped he'd still be there when they did.

Jack just had to pull his wand, didn't he? The look on the girl's face was not a reassuring one. If looks could kill, Jack would be deader than a doornail. A general sense of unease came over the boy. It was like when you could smell a thunderstorm coming in from a distance or blow air on a dog's ear one too many times. Something rough was going to happen, but Jack couldn't Just back down! Keeping an intense game face, he stared at the rather scary looking girl. "Seriously, back off- I'm not sure you want to do this..." The boy warned. He wasn't going to do anything with the cherry wood wand, but he wasn't going to let that be known. It was a game of chicken, and Jack had no intention of swerving out of the way.

Before any other word could leave his mouth, George stepped back into the room! What the hell? The light? What light? Oh crap! Jake's nightlight! Pulling the light from his pocket, Jack just tossed the dang thing over his shoulder towards his future best friend. There wasn't much else to say. All that was left was seeing if this prefect pulled away, or see if there was a head-on collision.