Campout Private + Hufflepuff Finished

James had a general rule when it came to dealing with anyone or anything. His first action would be to try and show kindness and care for whomever at whatever it was; but if he was attacked after he made it clear that he meant no harm, then was when he knew to abandon his attempts at "friendship-ing.
(Not "friendshipping", but "friendship-ing"! There's a difference! He's not shipping friends, he is just acting with friendship!)
James new that this was one of those times.
Seeing that the spider that had been on his head was already on the stick, he carefully placed it on the ground and stepped over it, before breaking into a run for possibly his life. He also saw Reid nearby still, trying to get away from the spiders, if James understood his actions correctly.
James didn’t want to hurt any of the spiders, but he could see that they wanted to hurt him. But there was still that thought in his head that maybe they weren’t really bad, and there was something James didn’t know that explained their actions as rational, and not really rendered towards the intent of hurting James, or Reid, or anybody else who was around in the area.

Action: Attempts to cast the spell Lumos and attempts to flee in the direction of Solomon. 

Roma is a bit confused by the multiple instructions she was given, but soon notices the screaming coming from the woods. She puts her hands to her mouth in shock, and wonders if she should go in the woods and try to help. There was probably nothing she could do though, being raised in a muggle family and no lessons in charms yet. She'd picked up a good deal of the wizarding terms for things like "muggle," but muggle technology? From what little she knew about campus, she did know that any 'muggle technology' would go haywire the moment it entered school grounds. But perhaps that's the problem, she thinks to herself. Watching one of the other students say "Lumos!" to ignite the tip of his wand, she decides to try it. In an attempt to make sense of all of the professor's commands, she grasps her wand and shouts "Lumos!" while running towards the woods. In her eyes, she was running towards the woods to find and destroy a muggle artifact, while staying in the feeble light of the sparks that came out of her wand to her inexperienced command. She'd learnt one spell so far, and she figured that it might help attract the other students. Sheltering her face with one hand in the case that her wand exploded, she screams "Periculum!". After doing so, the wand shot up a red flash of sparks.

It would have been smarter to run, when the girl grabbed him in a panicked state he almost did, but he couldn't He couldn't run, not when there was so much suddenly going on, his feet stood rigid planted in the ground and the girl behind him along with a multitude of students were in danger, but he'd done something the rest of them hadn't been able to so far, he'd killed one of them. It bolstered him, for the first time in his life he'd done something that felt right, his stutter, his small size, his cowardice had always locked him down, but for the first time ever, he'd done something spectacular.

Holding the small wisp of light that he'd summoned out, a successful lumos! He looked at it, the first glimmer of success in his life, like a fire it needed more fuel, and he felt he could provide that fuel and save his friends and newfound family at hufflepuff, he wasn't afraid to get hurt protecting him because he knew they would do the same for him. Thrusting the wan high up above his head he shouted the spell. His stutter briefly conquered as his body surged with emotions.

Sarafina watched as Orion didn't run. She was afraid something would happen to him. Her first instinct was always to protect the people around her first, but as she saw the successful spell, she realized she didn't need to. These Hufflepuffs were strong, and she knew she was too. They may have been underestimated by all the other houses, but she no longer cared. She was going to fight with them, fight for them, and protect them whatever it took. This was her house, her new family, and she was not going to let anything happen to them. She pulled out her own wand nervously and cast her own spell.
"Lumos!" she said, more of a yell than a word. Orion's had made the dark, shadowy thing go away, but that didn't mean there weren't more. He had said to cast Lumos and protect each other, and that was what she was going to do. She wondered what had happened in the camp that had caused all this to start. Something must have gone horribly wrong. If not, then why would someone do such a thing? Surely they didn't know it was going to attack all the Hufflepuff campers. She hoped her spell would work.

Serena

The darkness was the void. It was the absence of light and sound, of presence and substance. She would feel nothing when they lashed out, not until the darkness passed through her and a searing pain could be felt both hot and cold, sharp and blunt as if she was cut and struck in a single blow. Blood would drip from a fresh wound, it was deep. Had the shadow cut her so close to the bone? As the air hit the wound she would feel a searing pain but her injuries were deeper. So much deeper, it had reached deep into her. She was damaged more internally than externally, she would fill something building up inside of her, a pressure and a difficulty breathing. Eventually it would reach an apex and she would let out a hacking cough, a spray of blood splattered the ground before her as her shirt was soaked in the same deep sanguine color.

The shadow was intensely more powerful than her. The bloodied girl would gasp for air and point her wand at the encroaching threat. She only had one chance, one way to survive the onslaught. It came for her again. [Attack 15, Evasion 3]. The shadow reachd for Serena once again, its phantom limbs would embrace her and she would feel as if she was being crushed beneath the grip of the darkness. She would feel her bones bow and break, a final word would escape her lips before she went limp.

"L-Lu..."

"LUMOS!"

It might be the last thing she ever says. (Roll 16, DC 10)

The distal point of her wand would start like an ember and then grow, like a flourescent light withoutout a shade. The light would break through the darkness, purging the shadow. In a puff of smoke, the shadow would disappate but the damages done to Serena would not fade as the shadows did. She would fall to the ground unconscious (Health reduced to 0) in a heap, a pool of blood staining the ground where she fell.

The apparition was gone but Serena remained in peril. She was dying... This was supposed to be a fun picnic. This was supposed to be a chance to enjoy eachother's company. A chance to make friends, fall in love and to share what you are passionate about with peers. It was not supposed to be like this.

Cynthia

She would not attempt to turn off the flashlight again and she would announce that the flashlight was incapable of doing such. Solomon would snatch the flashlight from her, his meaty fingers would fumble with the cylindrical muggle device. He was remotely familiar with the object, it was a muggle lumos basically that was powered by some sort of internal energy source within the confines of an inflexible shell. A light would emit from one end and there was often some sort of toggle or button that needed to be depressed or slid to turn the device on or off. He would try, the light would flicker but it would not turn off as he attempted to test his luck. The muggle device was stubborn and erratic due to the presence and use of magic.

He would fling the flashlight onto the ground hard. It would crash and with a lound bang the carapace would semingly crack but the light would endure still. Magic and technology were not supposed to exist hand-in-hand for good reason, they made the other fail, work in unanticapated and dangerous ways. Solomon would let out a yell that sounded more like a maddened battle cry as he stomped on the fallen flashlight. The switch might have failed him, but a crushed device could no longer work. Broken bits of flashlight were scattered on the ground, the bulb seperate from its powersource would flicker thrice before it too shone no more.

“I know you must be upset with me right now, Professor, but I do want to help.  I feel partly responsible for what is happening right now and couldn’t live with myself if anyone got hurt because of a mistake I made.”

Professor Lear stared into the darkness, he could hear them yelling.

“Please let me help."

"I think you have done enough," Lear snapped. It was rather uncharacteristic of the often smiling and warm Professor to do so, but in moments of tension such as these the congenial facade he often maintained fell to the wayside."Stay behind someone who knows how to cast Lumos," he instructed. [OC: The writer is super sorry and does not hate you.]


James:

James was a friend to all creatures great and small, but all creatures were not James' friend. The one spider whom had found purchase on James' head was released back to the wild. there might have been a moment there in the chaos, James and that spider were apparently bros. The spider's thick, hair legs seemed to dance on the dirt and dried leaves. Sadly, that spider was the exception, she found Jame's messy hair a refuge or perhaps a nest. Sadly, the sentiment was not shared by that spider's arachnid peers, a swarm of spiders skittered about, like a rolling dark fog. Several spiders would chase after James, had he disturbed their home? Kidnapped their queen? Were spiders hive minded? It really did not matter why, what did matter was the fact that James was in peril.

A quartet of spiders would attempt to bite James (50 damage each). The first spider would attempt to bite his leg (Attack 20 *crit*; evasion 14). The spider would find a superficial blood vessel and its tiny fangs would dig in. A spider's actual teeth are dardly dangerous, however the venom is. James would feel a prick but that was hardly painful yet he would feel immediately weaker. -- James took 100 damage and -2 evasion. His knees would try to buckle but James would have the strength still to endure. A second spider would try to climb higher (Attack 1, Evasion 18), but would be shaked off. A third would also try, its little legs faster than one would expect. It would try to bite into James like the first three (Attack 18, Evasion 15). It would miss like the second, the small dangerous insect would audible hit a tree as it too was shaken off. A final spider would try to bite into James (Attack 15, evasion 11) and be successful. His arm would feet a prick, it would be quick bjt he would feel weaker still. (Took -1 accuracy debuff and 50 damage).

The spider James had released to the wild would start to follow the fleeing Huffle. Would the spider be James' glorious benefactor or the one to finish off the job?

Reid:

Reid was in mortal peril, he had only come to assist his housemate. To warn them of the arachnid on the back of his head. Alas, muggle devices here proved to be more dangerous than devious. The shadow made no noise, the earth was not displaced however it was there. There was something coporeal about this shadow. Some sort of substance within the absence. The shadow was a contradiction of itself, something common in magic. magic in and of itself was a defianc of nature and of science, that is why they were diametrically opposed.

It was dark around Reid, now that he had successfully turned off his flashlight. He would have a hard time seeing them, the darkness that was. The shadow would lash out at him again while James fled a spider army. The shadow would come for Reid again, it would attempt to reach through the young Prefect. [Attack 15, Evasion 10] The shadow would pierce through Reid's midesection. He would feel as if he was skewered alive, mostly because he was. His shirt would remain intact but would start to stain red around the lower portion of his abdomen. The same on his posterior, near the curve of his back. It would be a pain he has never felt before. There would be a sense of nausea, a wobbly sense of weakness. He was bleeding profusely but he was only aware of half his injuries. [Reid has taken 150 damage]

He would try to cast a spell, he would somehow find the strength and courage to at the very least try.

"Lumos!"

[DC 10, Reid Cast attempt 4]

Nothing would come of his attmept. The tip of his wand as dark as before. He only had one option: to run. Reid would dash through the woods towards Solomon. The ring of light from the tip of the Professors wand would represent safety... a refuge. A refuge for some, sadly not for all. Serena was going to die out there wasn't she? It was hard to be brave when you are dead.

Roma:

She would find herself confused, this was not how a campout should go. Was ths how all magical campouts went? Hopefully not. She would find her life imperiled, she would have to learn quick. [Consider your stats because you have 0 in everything except stamina which is 1 until they are allocated].

"Lumos!"

She would try to cast the charm. To expell the darkness that had encroached upon her peers. [DC 10 to cast, Roll 13] The very tip of her cherry wood and dragon heartstring wand. The light would bathe the round woman in a hao of safety. it was beyond the several foot perimeter of light that she would have to fear. There was something in the darkness and she was one of the few lights in the woods. She was not alone, a concept that should be a relif but not in this case. She might have had her peers, sure. There was also others, others that were not students. Others that were making her peers scream. Others that were causing her Professor to yell out in worry.

She was not about to run away from the obvious danger. That would have been the safe thing to do. The right thing? Well, that is a matter of perspective.

Perhaps she felt that she was more capable after she had sccessfully cast that first spell. Ambition was unlike them, unbecoming truly. She would raise her mind and attempt to cast something more.

"Periculum."

[DC 15, Roll 20] A shower of red sparks would rocked from the end of her wand and shoot skyward. It was like a firework fountain had been released as she reached the fringe of the wooded area. It did not grant a greater radius of light, however it would catch the eye of anyone else that might be traveling these woods this late at night. There would of course be few, perhaps a couple of students who were curious would be looking on from a window and see.

Even if they did, they would never be able to convince help to come in time.

Perhaps a Prefect would be rounding these grounds as it was not too late. Not that a Prefect from another house would be any more successful than the Huffle Prefect and Head Boy that were already inperiled but ther was security and safety in numbers. [Open Invite to ONE Prefect OR Professor that has been rounding due to this regardless of House] Perhaps a Professor was rounding, someone capable of casting something greater than a light charm. Hoipefully someone that can heal wounds or better yet as things were going, raise the dead.

Orion:

That girl had tried to help him flee but he did not run, he fought. That is what made Hufflepuff unique. Where SLytherin had their ambition, Ravenclaw their studious grace and Griffendor their bravery, Hufflepuff had eachother. Hufflepuffs had an incredible power that few realized, the power of the heart. Power that through their friendship and relationships with eachother they were able to simply do more. To be better, smarter, stronger, more capable for the sake of others. Often seen as mere sidekicks, siuch was untrue, They were heros but not for the safe of self, for acclaim or wealth.

Orion would see the light at the tip of his wand, he had only barely cast that dim light. That light that saved his life. That light that might save his friends. All he had to do was be strong. Be brave. Be bright!

"Lumos!"

Orion had already successfully cast the charm but his light needed fuel. [DC 10, Roll 16] Orion had a natural skill when it came to spells, at least comparatively in regards to his peers. It was a natural proficiency he had even if he had not yet come to realize this. The light at the end out his wand would pulse brighter and brighter and as it did, the readius of the light around him would grow thrice over. He would see what was hidden in the darkness, what was forsaken by the night and concealed by the shade. Eyes, so many of creatures great and small, many harmless but fearsome when one hears them in the dead of night. There was something terrifying and terrible about knowing that you are not alone. Orion's light was not close enough to break the last shadow, the one that was assaulting reid but Orion would clearly see james dashing through the newly lit wood. in pursuit a swarm of spiders.

Reid would be barely more than a darkened outline as he thrashd and fled, hunched over likely from the pain and the blood loss that none but him could see.

"Cast lumos! protect each other!"

This was a Huffles purpose -- to work together. To protect everyone. That they were so much greater when they are together.

"The boy has it right!" Solomon shouted, "cast and converge!" It was a simple tactic, come together and don't let the darkness take you. Don't let the darkness take anyone.

Sarafina:

The girl would stop running, orion did not take her hand. Was he too scared to run, too foolish to do so? Did he really think that he would be strong enough to stand his ground and fight? He was strong enough to try. Would he win? No -- these shadows, whatever they were, was entirely out of their league as first years that had only just gotten started.

How these shadows came to be?

What could they do?

They could fight. They could be something more if they worked together. And they were...

She was learning in the heat of necessity. Raise your wand and say the world girl. Say the world and save your life. Save his life!

"Lumos!"

She shouted. Perhaps there was a hint of fear and desperation in those words but you cannot be brave if you are not afraid. You cannot be wise if there is nothing of worth value to learn. You cannot be ambitious without a goal. At this moment, for the sake of eachother you can be all of these things. [Consider writing up your stats, the Quiddich stats are going to be used for all systems. For the time being until you pick everything is going to be 0's except for 1 in stamina.]

The tip of her wand would start to glow. A simple, small ember that would grow and become bright, like a tiny star at the very tip of her wand. [Cast DC 10, Roll 19] She would be bathed in light. Success! She had cast likely her first Lumos spell!

Solomon:

What could he do, he could not leave the children at the camp but he could not hear Serena any longer. He would look towards Cynthia and then into the darkness. This was incredibly stupid. This might be the end of his career but it did not matter. He would thrust his wand towards Cynthia. They shared the same core, he recognized more than he was often credited. "Avoid dying," Solomon ordered as he relinquished his only defense and offense. He was still a man, he was still capable of enduring even if he did not know for how long. Magic is more than a crutch but rather a way of life, they did not know how to do anything otherwise.

"Reid, go to Cynthia and try to remember it is LUMOS!" Solomon ordered, he might have credited the Head Boy as being more clever than he actually was. "And DO NOT LEAVE THE LIGHT!" He was running into the woods, he was running to Serena. He was not particularly swift, his fastest days were nearly two decades ago but he was fast enough.

It was hard to see, the wooded thicket beneath a leafy canopy that blotted out most of the silvery moon made it hard to see. Serena could not call out, he did not know why. She might even be already dead. Solomon would look for her [Roll 8, exceeded DC to find with his core stats].

"Serena!"

"SERENA!"

His voice broke as he called out the student's name. Where was she? It was hard to tell, the stones and the gnarled roots all looiked the same to him when shadowed. He would come upon her, she was not far from them where she fell. none of them had gone terribly far. She was not moving. His hand would plant itself on her and he would try to shake her but his hand would feel warm, sticky and moist. She was bleeding profusely. She would not wake up.

"Serena GET UP!"

He shouted as if it would make a difference. It made no difference, she was not going to wake up. He was too old for this. He would try to pick her up. It was the only option. [Roll: 20] Apparently Solomon (according to this roll) had Herculian strength and he slung the unfortunate Prefect over his shoulder and he would turn back towards the light. The light seemed terribly far away.


Notes:

• Serena has been knocked unconscious but before she was knocked out she successfully cast Lumos and destroyed the shadow that was attacking her. However she is in need of help!
• Cynthia feels bad.
• James was bit twice by spiders. He is still OK, 150 damage of his 600 health. He is suffering -2 evasion and -1 accuracy.
• Reid has taken 150 damage of his 300 health.  
• Roma has cast Lumos successfully.
• Roma cast Periculum and now ONE Professor or Prefect that is not a part of this House can enter the thread assuming that they were rounding the grounds.
• Orion has a powerful Lumos cast. He has illuminated James and can see James running for his life. Reid is still in the dark running towards Solomon.  
• Sarafina cast Lumos successfully.
• Solomon gave his wand to Cynthia, he is presently wandless. DC for Cynthia's success in maintaining Solomon's Lumos next round if his wand does not reject her.
• Solomon attempts to carry Serena back to the light.

Ezekiel was walking through the grounds, making sure no one was out except for the Hufflepuffs, who were out on a 'camping' trip if you could call it that. He yawned and stretched out his arms, looking out to the sky in the general direction of the campsite. He saw a few flashes of light and then something shooting off into the air. " Periculum?" He asked questioningly, quickly hurrying over to the area. "What is Professor Lear doing out here?" He muttered to himself, slowly approaching the main campsite where all the Hufflepuffs were supposed to be staying. He heard people yelling, and flashes of spells from around him in the woods.

Ezekiel continued in the direction of the Periculum spell. Unaware of what he may encounter as he went towards it. He hoped deep down that it was a first-year overreacting to something small like a spider. "Lumos!" He called, hoping the light producing spell would work. It was getting darker the farther away from the school he had went. "How many people are out here?
Who am I looking for..." He whispered the words as he slowly came closer to the caster's location.

What was courage? He didn’t know, his whole body still quaked with fear, his body sweating profusely in the cool night as adrenaline dumped itself into his system. He couldn’t run though, even if every fiber of his being cried out for him to do so. He could see them now, the faces of his peers each as afraid as him. They were afraid and fighting back, he could do so too. He could hear the cries of his comrades and he knew that if he faltered he might make a hole for the darkness to come through and consume them. He needed to be a guiding light even though he was a meek candle against the maelstrom.

Pushing forward he moved towards his friends. No, his family.

Serena, the Prefect, the smart one, the first one willing to show him that Hufflepuff was his home. From the start he’d adored her quiet fortitude and her willingness to help others, epitomized now in this moment of sacrifice. He saw her lumos extinguish and he heard Lear’s cries of desperation. He could not falter and allow her to be lost to the darkness.

Cynthia, even as chaos ensued that the girl felt in part responsible for she did her best to help, a desire to do good in the face of ridiculous adversity. Not knowing how to help had not stopped her from wanting to, she would no doubt continue fighting in the darkness, if she could he could too.

James, tenderhearted even in moments of chaos, Orion did not understand what the other boy was doing but he hadn’t given up running towards him from their countless foes the boy still held a look in his eye that showed anything but fear.

Reid, perhaps the most in danger of all of them standing tall and trying to fight back in the face of the dark. His figure once illuminated by his Lumos gave him courage  Orion knew that if Reid was where he was he wouldn’t think twice about helping him. He could do the same.

Roma, the girl who hadn’t even been in the woods who could have stayed where it was safe charged forward to help those who were at risk, throwing herself into harm’s way willingly for the sake of everyone else.

Sarafina, the girl who’d tried to save him, he could have gone with her, she could have run away alone, yet she chose to stand by him even when he’d chosen the most foolish route  and stood his ground, she stood by him adding her own light to his own her courage adding to his own.

Serena, the Noble.

Cynthia, the compassionate

James, the Benevolent

Reid, the Stalwart

Roma, the Courageous

Sarafina, the Auspices

These were his friends, his family and they needed him to shine just as brightly as they were. In his chest he could feel a righteous indignation that anything would dare try and harm those that he loved.  Stepping forward one foot at a time towards those he cared for he lifted his wand above his head once more summoning whatever vestiges of energy he still had in his body and force them towards his spell.

Sarafina watched as Orion moved forward. She didn't know where he was going, but this was her family and she needed to help. She would not let anyone in Hufflepuff, in their growing Hufflepuff family, get hurt. She would stay beside them no matter what. She didn't even know the majority of them, but what she did know was that she would protect them at all costs. She stared at her lit wand. The spell had been successful! She was proud of herself, but had to push the thought away. There were MUCH larger things to focus on, and she was no about to let herself get distracted. She followed Orion with her wand raised. He was nearest so she would make sure he was safe first. He started shouting.
“L-U-M-O-S!" Then, “To me everyone, To ME!” She nodded and smiled at her...friend? She didn't know if they were friends. Maybe. Hopefully. She shrugged off the many questions she had and joined in.
"Over here! We're over here everyone!" she yelled, hoping the others would here. She didn't know what Orion intended to accomplish. Maybe he just wanted everyone to be safe, like she did. Getting them all in one place where they could work together seemed like a good plan. One she was willing to help with. She knew the others were probably in a terrible position, maybe even hurt or dying. She wanted to help them. She didn't know whether to stay with Orion or to run off in search of the others. She would need to make a decision, and quick. If she could help people, that would be worth it. It would be worth the risk if she could save just one person. She made up her mind. She talked quickly. "Orion, I'm going to see if I can help some of the others. Keep shouting and keep your wand lit please. After I find someone I'll meet you here again, hopefully with them. Keep gathering people. If we can find everyone then we might have a fighting chance once we're all together." Without waiting for a reply, she shook off her fear and ran off into the dark forest.

The darkness came for her before she could dodge it. It moved faster than she realised. She could not see as it engulfed her whole. She could not hear anything. It moved through her before she could even register what was happening. Though she did not see or hear it... she felt it. She felt a pain intensify in her body that could not be described in words. Her mind could not even begin to comprehend what the feeling was. Serena's wand arm gave way, struggling to keep it up under the pressure. It fell to the ground but she gripped it with every ounce of strength she could. It was her only hope now.

The pain in her chest felt like it was on fire, whilst also in ice. It felt like a knife had sliced her whilst her hammer hit her. She had no idea if the shadow had a claw that had pierced her skin or had just punched her. She could not tell. Blood dripped out of the freshly made wound, however. The deep wound, perhaps enough to expose her rib cage if there was enough light to see it. The pain did not end there. The cold winter's air hit her new wound, causing a raspy gasp to escape her lips. She could not breathe. It hurt. Everything hurt.

This was it. This was how she was going to die. 

She knew nothing at this moment in time, other than that. This was it... This was the end... The physical pain in her body was so intense that she failed to even notice the emotional damage it was doing to her. In the darkness, her thoughts were completely blank and empty. People always say your life flashes before your eyes in this moment. But it didn't for her. Perhaps eleven years was not enough of a life. Perhaps she did not love her family enough. Perhaps her heart was just as empty as the void.

All she knew was that she had failed. She had failed. There was no way she was going to be able to save Reid. There was no way she could save anyone.  She could not even save herself right now. Serena had let the darkness overcome her. It had won. It had succeeded. The shadow had attacked her multiple times. It hurt her physically - causing wounds to appear on her skin and causing even more damage internally. But it also invaded her heart. It took away every feeling of love and destroyed it. It made her feel so empty, alone and heartbroken in a way that she hated more than anything. 

Her body was in too much pain and stress to even cry. She did not have the energy to cry. Right now, death seemed like the only escape from this pain. She did not want to die. She wanted to get through this, get up and go save her friends. The family that she chooses. 

So what if she did not have flash memories of her parents and relatives? So what if her life before Hogwarts was dull and boring? The past few months had changed her. She went from a shy nervous awkward girl to a slightly less shy, nervous and awkward girl. She had become a Prefect, which may have been the one and only thing that her parents were proud of her for. Of course, they would have preferred if she was a Ravenclaw or Slytherin Prefect but this was her home. Hufflepuff was her home.

She did not care what anyone else thought. Hufflepuffs were the amongst the best people she knew. They were the epitome of kindess, loyalty, honesty, fairness, hardworking and loving. She had wanted to hit a Ravenclaw who arrogantly looked down on her. She had wanted to scream at a Slytherin who tried to sneak into the Restricted Section. She had been betrayed by a Gryffindor who she thought was her closest friend.

And yet, she had never - not once - been hurt by a Hufflepuff. At least, not intentionally. Reid did not mean to hit her with the pebble and slingshot, after all. No Hufflepuff had ever been rude to her, annoyed her, upset her... They were just amazing. Each and every single one of them. She had never had a bad interaction with any. 

Despite that, she could not even save one of them. She had wanted to save Reid but failed. Again. This was not the first time. It wasn't even the second. Countless times Reid had gotten hurt in front of her eyes and she had failed to protect him. She had failed to be a good friend. He got hurt once because she was not strong enough to overcome her own emotions. 

Today was no different. Yet again, she had failed to overcome the darkness within her. She had failed to save one of her closest friends. Was he going to die? Was he experiencing this hell she was through? She hoped not. Someone would save him. Someone. Anyone. Hufflepuffs stick together. They would be fine. Perhaps. Serena could not even feel the hope anymore. It had left her. The shadow had stolen all of the light from her heart. There was no hope. This was her fault. 

The pain did not end though. The shadow did not falter in its attack. Whatever it was, something was building up inside of her. A pressure that made it hard to breathe. Deep within her, something was very wrong. The pressure hit a climax. A raspy gasp was heard before a fit of cough followed. Blood splattered everywhere. The ground beneath her was painted with her blood. The white tank top she had worn was now a deeper shade of red than the sports jacket she had on. 

The shadow was powerful. There was no comparison in their power. She was too weak. This was her fault. For being too weak, for being a failure. Gasping for air, Serena gripped her wand tightly. It was hard to speak. There was no choice, however. She had to do it, she had to pin her hopes on this moment. If she failed again, the darkness would swallow her whole and she would never be able to help anyone ever again. She knew that much. The shadow reached out for her again. Serena's entire body shivered in pain within its embrace. She could not even exhale air properly. The darkness hugged her to point that surpassed her pain tolerance. Serena felt herself get crushed in its grip. Crushed within its claws. What little life she had left being crushed out of her. The pain of her bones breaking put her so far over the edge that she could no longer hold on.

The darkness won. It had taken her heart away from her. She had let it win.

She could no longer go on. This was it. Her final words escaped her lips before she fell to the ground. Pools of blood escaping her open wound and saturating the ground. Her open eyes saw a glimpse of hope. A soft light that suddenly grew florescent purged through the darkness. Serena's head was in line with her wand as she lay there. She saw the tip shining brightly. Perhaps... there was hope. Her consciousness faded quickly. In the light, her eyelids fluttered shut. She could no longer go on. This was the end for her.

Professor Solomon's voice never reached her ears. She fell unconscious not knowing what had happened. If anyone even knew where she was... If Reid and the others had managed to escape. She may never know. The camp out was not supposed to be this way... But alas, she had failed to protect those she cared about. This was her punishment for that failure.