The Watcher in the Fog

'✭.<Alora Ivory>.*•
A bad feeling

We were muddy. Scratched, and barely halfway throughout the dragging detention when Hagrid led us deeper into the forest. Back at the threstrals were just simply another bruise in memory. No one had spoken, not after fight. Tristian stalked stiffly at Hagrid's side, his jaw
locked tight, fist curled like was ready to explode at any moment. Mattheo trailed behind us, far enough to be separate, but too close to forget. Hagrid's sharp eyes kept flicking between both boys, waiting if one will say something. "One more stop," Hagrid muttered, raising his lantern through the thicken shadows. The soft lantern light flicked across tall, damp grass ahead. "Mooncalves this time. Breeding seasons got 'em aggressive, jumpy-need calm hands."

Lorenzo groaned, dragging his feet through the thick muck.  "Why do all magical creatures turn killers after sunset." No one laughed at Lorenzo attempt to make us laugh. The tension was still there so joy didn't fit. The forest had felt still. Not in a quiet peaceful way but more in an unnatural way. Like the trees were holding its breath. You could barely hear an insects speak, and the mist curing through the long tall dark trees. The clearing was followed with thick fog and moonclaves hovered towards the edges, their pale eyes glinting in Hagrid's lantern light. They were already stamping, and twitching. I tried to move slow, careful, buckets of feed in my hand. One of the smaller calves approached let me approach, its snout nudging the feed with cautious curiosity. But before I could place the rest of the feed, Mattheo's footsteps crunched through the grass nearby. The calf hissed, spun and bolted.

"Shocking." I muttered, steadying the sloshing bucket. "Even magical livestock hates you." Mattheo shrugged like it didn't bother him. "It's mutual." I rolled my eyes as I lead down more feed. "Maybe try helping for once." I snapped, "or is standing there and looking smug a talent now?" He didn't move. "Apparently." He says, still not lifting a finger. Typical Mattheo.

Tristian, was silent and sharp. Worked without any aggressive comment on the opposite side of the clearing. He didn't look at Mattheo and Mattheo didn't look at him. But the tension between them didn't fade since the blow-up earlier. It just floated beneath the air, waiting. By the time the last bucket was done, the fog grown thicker. Hagrid clapped his gloves together and waved us on. "That'll do. Let's head back." We followed, weary and cold. Our shoes were covered in mud. The path twisted in a slow loop, the same one we took previously but it felt even more different. The different that made your skin tighten and the grip my wand tightened instinctively. As we rounded bend, the trees parted revealing the house. Revealing itself. The same tall, narrow structure that looked like it was plucked from some forgotten alleyway and dropped here by accident. And now standing in the same place it shouldn't have been twice, it felt even worse. My stomach turned. "We shouldn't be near it." Lorenzo slowed beside me, brows furrowed. "We passed this place earlier, yeah?"

"We did," I said tightly, "and I still don't like it." He looked over at the house, then at the rest of the group, "Maybe we just...take a Quick Look around." My head whipped towards him, "why would we do that?!" He shrugged like without a care. "Because it's weird." He said, "And usually weird means cursed, and cursed means answers. You've seen enough curses in Defense to know that." Alex didn't even wait, he already started drifting towards it, like something in the hair was pulling towards him. Not even looking, or responding to us. "Alex, stop now." I yelled for him, he didn't. "Hey, im talking to you!" He didn't even flinch, Behind me, Mattheo snorted quietly, voice low and annoying. "Careful Alora, at this rate , even the house is going to start ghosting you."

"Shut up." I snapped, he grinned, that lazy tired smirk, but I saw it. His eyes, the way they kept darting to the house like it was calling for him. Like it was calling for all of us. I stepped a couple steps behind, my palms were sweaty after how tight I hold onto my wand. "That thing wants us in there. Can't you feel it?" They all looked at me like I was crazy. "Oh no!" Mattheo said deadpanned, "Spooky vines and a sad little door. How terrifying. Should we all hold hands and sing lullabies until the big bad house goes away. Merlin, Alora if I knew you'd be like this I would've got you tissues."

"That's enough sightseeing." Hagrid yelled, stomping towards us, "I told you, you lot not linger here. Don't go near that house. That things been in these woods longer then I've been alive and it don't want visitors." He eyed that house but not in the way we looked at it but something about made me think that he knew something. "But-" Lorenzo started, "No buts. And if I see any of you so much out your toe on that porch, I'll have your detention extended." Silence. Even the house leaned in. Tristen glared toward it but said nothing, Mattheo stood with his arms crossed, still. And Alex lingered just way too close, thinking whether or not to obey or not. Reluctantly, we turned around as group. Heistantly, I kept glancing back as we walk, as the image of the house was refusing to fade.

The house had corrupted our mind, I know everyone was thinking about it. We moved closer, shoulder to shoulder but not Tristian. He was at Hagrid side, still tense as ever. From the way he stands you could see how annoyed he still is from everything and to be honest I don't even think he really wants to talk to anyone about it, maybe Mattheo but that would probably end in fists being thrown. Lorenzo exhaled sharply beside me, shoving his hand through his tangled hair. "If we're actually doing this." He muttered, voice low enough for only us to hear. "We go tonight." I turned sharply at him. "Are you serious? You willingly want to go back?" He didn't flinch. Just flicked a glance of his shoulder completely ignoring my question. "After curfew." He said, "we sneak out. All of us."

Alex gave a slight nod, "it's connected to something. I could feel it. Like it was calling to me, pulling me in." Theodore scoffed, pulling his coat tighter, "Right, Brilliant idea. March straight towards a cursed house at midnight together." He paused, then jerked his chin towards me. "Even her? She looked like she was ready to bolt the second we saw it." I felt my self go rigid. "I'm not scared." Which obviously I was put I was too proud to admit that. "Mattheo titled his head, brow raised. "Didn't you just say—?"
"I'm not scared." I cut in, "I'm cautious. There a difference between being brave and being reckless."

They just looked at me and didn't say anything after that. We remained in silence, the castle creeping in view behind the trees against the night sky. Hagrid stomped in front of us tense, muttering things that none of us could decipher. His temper still lingered through the cold air, we didn't want to anger him more so we tried to be on our best behavior. So we didn't dare to speak.
The castle had grown closer, the warm light in its windows shined brighter the closer we got. That's when Lorenzo decided to speak—his voice low just above a whisper. "Heres what we are gonna do. After curfew starts, meet at the one-eyed witch statue. Passage behind her out near the greenhouses. That's our best shot."

He paused, scanning to see if Hagrid was listening in on him. "But it won't be easy. The halls will be crawling with ghosts, staff, Flich and nosy prefects. Wherever you guys are sneaking out from-be smart. Don't get caught, if any of us are caught and reported back to McGonngall—" he didn't finish his sentence, he didn't need too. Mattheo let out a quiet chuckle. "You think she'll give us house points if we survive? For participating in exceptional extracurricular curiosity." I didn't even blink. "Absolutely. Right before she turns all in ferrets and uses us in a demonstration for transfiguration." That got a laugh for him, "you're brutal." He said, shaking his head. "You're delusional." He smiled, cockily and unbothered.

Lorenzo's voice snapped at us, "Can you two stop joking around and focus. This plan won't go good if we have two who are screwing around." The smile dropped from Mattheo but not fully, he moved his hand toward Lorenzo wanting him to proceed. Lorenzo continued, "Wear cloaks, hoods up. To hide you as much as possible when you are roaming the hall. Being what you need. Wands, light, shield charms. Anything that'll keep you alive if something goes wrong. No one goes in empty handed." Alive. He said like it was possibility that we might not be. Theodore gave a slight nod, "we don't have to go deep. Just close enough to see what made it called us."

"What it wants." Lorenzo corrected, "Places like that...they don't just show. They feed and they wait." My hands tighten at my sides. The forest felt farther away, but the pressure it left behind hadn't left my chest. "This is a terrible idea." I muttered. Hagrid turned around at us, his voice was loud, booming through the forest. "Less chatter! We're not here for sightseeing." We all froze, looking at each other. Wondering if he heard what we were discussing-we decided not to argue back and continuing following back to silence. Hagrid's heavy steps led us to the rest of the way up the sloping path to the castle. We had returned just before curfew and each step away from that forest made me feel a lot better like I could breathe and my chest wasn't tight anymore.

When we reached school grounds, Hagrid's lantern swung low as we reached the split in the paths. "All right," Hagrid said, stopping, his voice was more rougher and more intense then before. "Before you go all running off going to bed..." We stopped unsure what he was going to say. "That place you saw," Hagrid muttered, eyes narrowing through his thick brows. "It's not just dangerous. It's wrong. I know many cursed places, but that place is like not any other cursed place—that house eats off of guilt. Pain, regret. People who go in don't come out and if they do, they don't come out the same." The silence between us cracked. "I don't know what you lot are thinkin'," he went on, looking at us one by one, "but I'm tellin' you now-it's not worth the risk.whatever is pulling you in...let it go." Hagrid stared at us hard, wondering if one of use of gonna argue back but none of us said a word. A long breath slipped from his chest as he ran his massive hand down his bear. "Get some rest." He said finally, "And stay there. Let that house rot out there."

With that, he gave us one final look, then turning around and disappeared down back to his hut. The second he was gone, Tristian pushed ahead without a word, storming through the main doors and storming off. Lorenzo turned, lingered and looked back at the rest of us. His voice was quiet, "Meet at Eleven," he said. "Greenhouse. East wall. Don't be late. Try to get some rest. We are probably gonna need it." Then he was gone. Alex followed giving a tight nod whereas Theodore said nothing and vanished. I had lingered a while longer, staring at the windows that lead up to the Ravenclaw towers. It was only here that made me feel so much alive and the glimpse of the outside haunted me. I had turned to climb the stairs when a voice rose behind me—low, smooth and far too casual. Mattheo. Of course. "Leaving so soon?"

I didn't stop right away. I wanted to. I wanted to keep walking up, keep pretending like voice was not there and just a voice in my head. But of course. I looked over my shoulder. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, hands shoved into his pockets like he had no care in the world. "Didn't think you were the type to sneak off without saying  goodbye." He said. I turned slowly around to face him. "I didn't realize I owed you one." His mouth tilted into that stupid-smirk he does. "Not asking for much. Just making sure you're still planning on showing up." I stared him down. He didn't get it. Everything he had said to me about me dramatic and being paranoid rushed back to my head. He thought that I was afraid of nothing. Scared of fake shadows that are lurking in that forest. But I could see it now. The way he kept his shoulders squared and up, his hands always pressed in his pockets or held together to keep them from shaking. He wasn't as affected as he looked, but I knew he was. I just covered that role of being afraid for the both of us.

"I'll be there." I said flatly, "Good," he replied, stepping back still trying to play it cool. "Wouldn't want to lose my favorite over thinker, now." I didn't give him the satisfaction of a reply. He gave me a lazy salute, already turning to the dungeons. "Try to get some sleep, Ivory. I'd hate to lose all your wit and charisma." I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help the tiniest twitch of a smile growing.  "Good night, Riddle. I'll see you later." He laughed, low under his breath, then strolling towards the dungeons, whistling softly like this was a simple reckless prank.