The Darkness of The Night pv Closed

To bestow a curfew on Alice Stormblood was an open invitation for mischief.  The young witch practically felt obligated to break the rule for the simple sake of rebellion.  Alice prided herself on her slick covertness.  Moving unseen and silently was a skill she had mastered from her time at the orphanage and the streets of Birmingham.  She moved with a noted agility through the halls; ducking behind sculptures and gluing herself to the shadow.  Sure enough she eventually managed to find the welcoming embrace of the cool night's air via a quick shimmy through a window slit.

Alice faced the castle proudly and gave a snarky bow to the building for her presumably stealthy performance.  The tall blond spun at her heel and began to wander into the chirping of the night.  It was darker the further she moved from the castle's warm light however the stars provided just enough luminescence to guide a path.  Down through the trees and thick she moved with an adventurous curiosity tugging at her waist.  It was a rare point where Alice smiled without hindrance in appreciation for the serene silence of the night.  A smile she'd proudly adorn when none were around to witness.


Just another of the many fallen twigs crushed beneath her feet.  This one, however, came accompanied by a demand for attention from some shaken voice.  It was easy to identify the source, or at least the source's shape.  The shadow seemed to have an arm extended with wand in hand.  Alice's hands darted up to her sides with an immediate submission.  "Hey! Hey!" She scrambled. "Easy with that, lady!" Alice had no spells at her disposal but she was not to let a stranger hold her at wand-point without a struggle.  If Alice could hardly see the other girl it surely followed suit that the other girl could just barely make out Alice's visage.  A calculated foot dug deep into the pebbles and twigs of the beach and kicked upward to distract the shadowy figure before her and eliminate any remaining visibility.  In this moment of opportunity Alice would dive to the right and use her advantageous stride to dash toward the figure and tackle her down.  An extended left arm reached hopefully toward the stranger's wanded arm with ambition to restrain.

The figure yelled at her but Aurelia heard nothing, she could only hear her beating heart pounding in her ears. Here eyes continued to dart in all directions. She was cornered with her back facing the waters. The previously soothing laps of water now sounded like crashing waves, ready to swallow her up if she put just a tie in its waters. The girl had no where to run and was cornered. The figure was around the same size and build, she was as tall, the clouds moved and the moon loomed over them. It’s light did little to brighten the shadowy grounds. The figure approached her slowly, however taking huge steps as she cake closer. It’s hands was up, maybe there were claws on them ready to rip at her flesh.

“Stay back! Stay back!” The brunette yelled menacingly. But the creature took a step closer. Her grip tightened on the thin wand. Aurelia took a step back as the creature took another step towards her. Now she was at the edge of the waters, if she were to fall in, who knows what other creatures were below under it’s depths.

A list of spell was run over and over in her head. She should use a spell that would scare it off but not hurt it. Her worst fear came true as the creature lunged at her. “Periculum!” She screamed. Bright red sparked from the tip of her wand and it flew towards the creature, crackling in mid air.

Alice was fast in her movements but hardly instantaneous.  Her tactics may have been blinding but the stranger could surely hear her charging from some angle.  Or at least that was what Alice had assumed.  Whatever it was that gave her movements away was enough to make the stranger respond.  With a shout a burst of red light spat out from the wand, igniting the scene with light.  If not for Alice's aforementioned dive to the side she'd likely be smacked by the burning light head on.  The threat of this only pushed the young witch's temper even further.

The experienced street rat wasted no time in her pivot to dash toward the other witch.  However, the dazzling crimson light was enough to shock the eleven-year old girl and make her calculated tackle become more of a lumbering fall of momentum to the other girl's lower body.  The two would likely fall down with a loud splash into the shallow pool of water just behind the unknown witch.  "Damn it!" Alice growled, climbing on top of the other girl. "Now I'm all drenched! What's WRONG with you!?" Alice reached out, aiming to reattempt a restraint on the girl's wanded arm.

Her hit missed as the creature as the creature dived. The light from the ball of light lit up a side of its face briefly for a short moment a it dodged. This wasn’t a hag, Aurelia could identify that this creature was in fact a girl. But she wasn’t sure of her intentions or if she was from Hogwarts or not. She was another creature of the woods as Aurelia only saw her features for a split second and might have been wrong.

Whatever it was, the creature suddenly ran into her, her back splashed into the shallow water. The brunette scream and thrashed around, all her muggle defence training kicked in. The creature was on her grabbing her wrist that held the wand. It wanted to disarm her and then eat her eyes out. It was indeed a hag. Aurelia let out another ear peircing scream, from her stomach. She needed to defend herself, the creature clearly had an upper hand on top of her.

She heard the creature say something, but it was drained out by her screeches and cries for help. She knew nobody would be at the lake at a time like this. She wasn’t going to let herself die, not without a fight. Her wanded hand was pinned down, her left hand fortunately was free. Her hand curled up into a fist and she swung it hard, meeting the creatures jaw.

“Get away you filthy Hag!” She her voice was sharp and loud.

There was no dodging the sudden balled hand smashing against Alice's jaw.  Her head reeled back in a moment of disorientation.  For but a moment her sense of direction was thrown.  The pain was rich and sanguine as the iron taste filled her lips.  It wasn't the first time she had been punched in her life.  The crude nature of her personality near promised it from time to time.  Alice fumed with frustration at this point.  The unsolicited attack had escalated further.  This person, whoever it was, was surely out to hurt Alice.   Self-defense aside, Alice lacked the self control to not strike back after being hurt.

  Those emerald eyes of hers shot daggers at the hardly visible female beneath her.  Realistically she might be able to see that this assailant was merely a fellow Hogwarts first-year.  But between the fury and those watering eyes that fought back tears of agony, Alice was blind of reason.  The witch cocked back her dominant hand and swung from above against the opposing face.  With a heavy breath of release Alice would attempt to utilize the same fist for an aggressive slap with the back of her hand.  When enraged and threatened in such a way Alice could be striking Headmaster Zachary Winslow himself and feel no restraint.  So is the nature of violence.

Aurelia yelped as the hand had slapped her face. Her cheek stung from the impact, she had been bullied previously in her muggle and slaps were not foreign to her. Warmth folded her cheeks where the creature had hit her, her left ear was still ringing. Her back was in the cold water and anytime, the creature could drown her. Aurelia needed to get up from this vulnerable position, she promised herself repeatedly that she was not going to give up to have her body torn to parts and eaten by a hideous hag.

Her screams continued as the opposing hand continued its wrath. The creature still had her pinned down. Her mind was now haunted with thoughts of death. She was afraid and it was the first time in her life she felt so desperate to survive. She thrashed and rolled to her side. Her own hand throbbed from he punch she just threw, it opened, and this time, her fingers curled like claws and she swiped at the creature's face. Then her knees were pulled towards her and she pushed it forward, attempting to kick the creature in it's gut. She might have a chance to get up and run for her dear life or even maybe flee into the dangerous waters of the lake.

There was little time for delay before Alice pulled back another fist.  The witch made another swing only to meet the rasping claw of her opponent.  Alice was quick to pull away from the claw but left herself quite vulnerable to a heaving blow to the gut.  The young girl coughed up loudly and held her gut in a pained response.  Eager to escape a similar attack, Alice would roll off the girl and splash into the water beside her.  More water drenched her garments now.  Not that she wasn't wet from the moment they toppled down.  "G-gah..."  She'd grumbled. "Little... psychopath..."

Fighting through the pain, Alice scrambled to her feet again.  By now there was at least two yards between the two.  Alice swiftly pulled the fine polished wand from her belt holster and held it firmly in her right hand, pointed directly towards the opposing figure.  "Who the hell are you!?" She grunted out.  "Are you mental?!  Give me one good reason not to cast on you right here and now!"  Alice had few spells in her artillery.  After all, she was a first year with few if any classes under belt.  That is not to say, however, that she had nothing at her disposal.  There was a singular spell in particular her adoptive father had taught her for such an occasion.  

The creature’s knuckles slammed into her cheekbone. The pain was intense, it was possibly the hardest punch she hadn’t gotten so far in her youth. Aurelia was sure it would cause a nasty bruise tomorrow if she survived this attack. It was might have been bleeding already, the brunette wasn’t sure. Her kick was surprisingly effective and the creature stumbled backwards. Her wanded hand was now free. Aurelia jumped up on her feet and caught her step with her wand held stiffly in her hand.

The attacker was now a few feet away from her, it stood there and yelled at her. Aurelia, still in a daze from the punch, heard nothing but noise. Her eyes widened as another figure appeared, this time, there was light illuminating around them. Aurelia squinted and her eyes burned slight from the sudden brightness. Her left hand flew up to her face, shielding her eyes from the light.

There were now two creatures against her. She should have stayed in her dorm. She was going to die. Out of any other options, she had to put the spell she dreaded to use, the knockback jinx. The spell was taught in one of the Defense against the dark arts lesson and had a high chance of it backfiring if not done right. The terrified girl pointed her wand in their direction of the bigger and taller figure then screamed “flipendo!” A bright spark shot out from the tip of her wand and flew towards the two figures.

A split second later, she was forceful hit in her gut and was thrown back a distance. A deafening explosion sounded around her and echoed through the vast lake. Her body splashed in the water. She had been stunned by the side effects of the failed spell and her own legs refused to obey her when she tried to swim. Temporary immobility was one of the side effects of a countered Knockback jinx. The terrified girl screamed as her arms flailed wildly splashing in the freezing cold water in the desperate attempt to keep herself afloat. She truely was going to die if the effects fail wear off soon. She would drown.