Challenge Accepted! [Hunter]

So, Ariel had been playing it reckless. She'd been going on a rampage the last couple of days and she had tried to remember all of her pranks. But, of course, she had managed to leave her diary behind at home. She had sent a letter to her mother, and Mary had said she'd send it as soon as she was able to. So Ariel was expecting it any day. Until then, she had to improvise. Which was actually kinda fun!

The classes that had been up until now, hadn't enlightened Ariel much, but she wasn't disappointed. The feeling of being back to the everyday life was a good feeling. She enjoyed it, and it was only when she saw Darcy or heard from Mary that she felt that overwhelming feeling of sadness. And the nights. The nights were bad. And sharing a room with two other Gryffindor's sucked. Sometimes she walked to Darcy and slept with her sister in her empty dormitory.

But now, Ariel wasn't going to be boring and sit down in the library to do homework. No, she was going to make new discoveries, and she knew just who to bring. She had thought of Blake too, but she hadn't gotten the chance to properly talk to him since school started again. So Ariel trudged from her dormitory and down the steps to the common room, knowing the chance of finding Hunter there would be big.

BUT HE WASN'T. Ariel pouted to herself. Plot twists were uncool. She then pounded down all the stairs and out onto the grounds. Hunter's favorite place… What was that? The lake? Somehow, Ariel didn't think he'd be there now. So she walked on over the covered bridge when she saw the Whomping Willow rustling more than usual. She wondered if maybe it was an unknowing first year and quickly walked towards it.

And a shape she recognized easily made her shake her head. She skipped over to Hunter and poked his shoulder. "What'cha dooooin~?" she sang and looked at the tree. With her normal voice, she continued: "You trying to get yourself a free pass to the infirmary?" She looked back at Hunter with a inquisitive look, wondering if he was back to his normal, reckless self, or if he was still hurt and annoyed and a bit more than just reckless due to a certain red- well, bluehead.

Term was a few days underway, and Hunter was already bored to death by all of his classes. The only one that he took any interest in was Potions, but the others were either completely uninteresting or too hard. Hunter wasn't a very good wizard, and most spells and charms didn't come that easily to him. And in reality, he didn't find them nearly as interesting as everyone else did. He preferred to do things the normal way - or the muggle way, in the words of everyone else at Hogwarts. Being able to repair something with a single word was cool, but being able to repair something because you actually know how to fix it was much cooler.

It turned out that the time spent outside class wasn't all that much more exciting than class itself. Hunter didn't have enough ingredients to start working on his Felix potion again. Blake and Seren were always studying. He and Aoife had been strangely on speaking terms, but conversation was always awkward and a little forced between them. In other words, Hunter was dying for something interesting to do. So that morning, when he woke up, he headed out toward the grounds.

Hunter preferred the grounds to the castle. Usually, when he was alone and bored, he would end up leaning against his tree by the lake, watching the giant squid. Better to be bored outside in the company of a giant squid than to be bored inside and alone. But today, Hunter didn't feel like sitting around and doing nothing. So instead of heading down to the lake, he went a different way. And before he knew it, he wound up near the whomping willow.

Hunter had gotten himself into tons of weird and dangerous situations, but had surprisingly never spent time near the whomping willow at length. Now, as he approached it, he realized just how strange the thing was. What was the point of a tree that attacked anything that came near it? Why would anyone want one on school grounds? It didn't matter. A mix of curiosity and boredom taking over, Hunter bent down to pick up a decent sized rock and tossed it over in his hand. Then, pulling his arm back, he let the rock fly in the direction of the tree. It collided with the bark, and the tree went wild, flailing in the direction that the collision had come from.

Hunter grinned - it wasn't a very smart tree. He reached for another rock and tossed it at the tree in the same way. It was a pretty entertaining pasttime actually, and he got so distracted by it that he jumped when someone touched his shoulder from behind. Oh, but it was just Ariel. He grinned at her and gave his attention to her instead of the tree. "Just playing with the tree," he said innocently. He laughed at her comment about the infirmary. "I wouldn't mind that! The infirmary is a pretty cool place. You get to sleep as much as you want, all your food is brought to you, and you have Logan for company."

Turning slightly, Hunter whipped the rock in his hand toward the tree. Unfortunately, the tree swung at just the right time and sent the rock flying back in Hunter's direction. "Shit," he swore, dropping to the ground just in time to avoid the flying object. "Maybe not my smartest idea, though," he agreed with a smirk. Hunter glanced at Ariel, noticing her hair again. but once again didn't mention it. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. Hunter wasn't going to impose on her. "Here," he said, bending down to grab a rock and tossing it in her direction. "Throw it. But I'll warn you, it's pretty addicting once you get started."

Ariel made an 'o' mouth as he explained the situation, and she had to laugh a bit when he said all the good reasons for winding up in the infirmary. Ariel could list a few bad ones, but she decided that the good ones overrode the bad ones. Even though she had no idea who the healer was. She'd only see him at the staff table, and she never took her time to study the staff table. "Sounds very reasonable," she said with just a hint of sarcasm.

He threw a stone at the tree, but this time, the branches were quick enough to hit the stone, and it was sent straight back in Hunter's direction. Ariel quickly bent down as well, as the stone passed over Hunter's head. "Maybe not," she laughed, and shook her head slightly at him. For a split second she realized that she was actually having fun, and that this was what she had truly missed. The last days had been great, but they hadn't been anywhere near as distracting as she thought they would be. And now, she cursed herself for thinking about it. Honestly, that was taboo, she shouldn't think about it.

But she didn't have to force her joy for long as Hunter gave her a stone. She raised an eyebrow. Then she looked at the tree. Her mouth broadened into a grin and she threw the stone with all she had. It barely escaped a branch and it hit the trunk, ricocheting off it. But that wasn't near the funny thing. The funny thing was how the tree seemed to jolt in shock and trying to find whatever it was that had gotten close to it. Ariel let out a bark of a laugh and then turned to Hunter.

"That is hilarious! Again," she said and bent to pick up a rock. "You gonna join in, or simply watch my awesome throws of doom?" she asked mischievously. He was right; it was addicting.

Hunter grinned widely at Ariel as she whipped the stone he'd tossed her at the tree. He laughed along with her as the tree flailed toward where the stone had hit it, although there was no longer anything there for it to attack. "I told you," he said mockingly when she bent down for another rock. "Now you're stuck here," he pointed out. It was kind of like eating potato chips - you can't just eat one, and every time you say you're only going to have one more you undoubtedly fail. Until the entire bag is gone.

"Your awesome throws of doom are pitiful," he teased her, scooping up a rock of his own. "Watch, I bet I can hit that branch way up there," Hunter told her, pointing at one of the club-shaped boughs at the top of the tree. He pulled his arm backward and then released the stone with as much strength as he could - and amazingly, he actually hit his target! "Told you!" he grinned. "Beat that!"

Now that he'd gotten an idea of how the tree reacted to things, Hunter took a few strides closer. "How close do you think we can get before it goes after us?" he asked Ariel mischievously. Did the tree know they were standing there, or was it only aware of things that actually touched it, like the rocks they were throwing? "What's the point of it, anyway? The tree, I mean."

Now closer, Hunter tossed another rock in the tree's direction, chucking it lightly toward the lower part of the trunk. The stone bounced off the trunk and fell to the ground. Hunter's eyes followed it's path to where the stone should have bounced off the ground - but it didn't. It seemed to disappear below the earth. Hunter furrowed his brow and stood on the tips of his toes to try and see past the roots of the tree - and there was definitely something weird about that spot. Though it was probably not the smartest decision, Hunter took couple daring steps even closer to the trunk of the tree so that he could see better. "Ariel look," he said, beckoning her toward him. "What is that?"

Ariel snorted. "Stuck here? I just have nothing better to do," she said with a laugh as she threw a second stone at the tree, watching how it flailed. Of course she knew this would be addictive. And then she frowned. "I never knew I could be such a bully," she said, giggling at that thought. She was throwing a rock at a living tree which did not seem to enjoy it. But she just found it too funny.

Ariel instantly punched Hunter's arm and gave him a death glare. "Please, you're just showing off," she said with a snarky tone. But then he did hit it. And she pouted. "Fine, you've got good aim," she agreed. She looked at a spot a bit further up. "That branch," she said, pointing to it.

She picked up a stone, and threw it, missing the branch by an inch. "Meeeh, fine, you're a better aim than me!" she surrendered, and picked up a new stone, continuing to throw them at the trunk and some at the branches, some of them being blocked by the branches. "But I will never admit that again, so savor the feeling!" she said wickedly.

Grinning, Ariel took a step as well and shrugged. "I dunno. Perhaps it has been here all along? Perhaps it was a way to punish the students when they misbehaved back in the medieval times. Or perhaps it was a challenge to the students. Die, or touch the trunk," she said, the last part in a deep and threatening tone, which worked pretty well due to years of practice. She had taken on many a disguise, but they never worked without the right voice, so she had worked with her voice for a long time to be able to change it.

Ariel fell into thought, staring at the tree. Why was it there? Was it really that old? Because it didn't look that old. And then Hunter was saying something. Ariel looked to where he was standing and slowly moved towards him as to not startle the tree into a fit. "I dunno. You trying to get yourself killed?" she asked humorously before reaching him. But she looked to where he was looking and saw something weird in the ground by the trunk. She frowned. And took another step.

What happened next happened so fast she couldn't really explain. But she was suddenly hit and thrown backwards a few meters. She lost her breath but quickly regained it, getting to her feet quickly. The tree seemed to be much more lively now. Stones were only an annoyance. Humans coming close… Unacceptable. She looked to Hunter. "It's guarding something!" she exclaimed, now beyond curious to find out what it was. "We have to find out what!" she said decidedly and looked at the tree with big eyes. "Challenge accepted!" she shouted and started at the tree, dodging branches for the life of her.

"There is nothing better to do - I mean, what could be better than hanging out with me?" Hunter replied, shoving her lightly in a joking way. He grinned at her words. "I don't think we're bullying it," he told her with a shrug. "We're just giving it something to do - it must get pretty bored just sitting there doing nothing all day since everyone's afraid to go near it. If you were a tree called a Whomping Willow, don't you think you'd like to whomp things?" Was whomp even a verb? Probably not. Wizards made up a lot of words.

"Hey, no need to be violent!" Hunter exclaimed when she punched him, laughing. He gave her a pointed, I told you so look when he hit his target. "Just showing off, huh?" he repeated. "What good is it to show off if you don't have any real talent to show off?" he said. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "And I also pitched for my baseball team at home since I was about eight." He watched on in surprise as Ariel tried to aim for an even higher branch and only missed by a small amount. "Alright, fair enough. That was actually pretty good. For a girl," he grinned.

Ariel apparently had a lot of creative reasons why the tree was here. Hunter listened to them and nodded thoughtfully. "Or maybe some old messed up wizard just thought it would be cool to own one." But the weird spot on the ground was more interesting than the tree's purpose. Ariel asked if he was trying to get himself killed. "No, of course not, there's something there - seriously!" When Ariel drew alongside him, she could see it as well. And she took one step closer - but that one step was apparently one step too far. And before either of them could react, the tree attacked them.

"Shit!" Hunter exclaimed, diving to the side to avoid a flying branch. But the tree had collided with Ariel, and he quickly ducked another branch in an effort to reach where it had thrown her - at least it had tossed her out of it's range. "Are you okay?" he asked her, sliding to a halt by her side - but she was already getting up, and she had an excited glint in her eyes. She said they had to find out what the tree was guarding. "Wait, Ariel, what are you doing - "

But before he could finish, his little veela friend had taken off running straight at the tree. Without even thinking twice, Hunter took off after her - yeah, he wanted to find out what was there, but he was driven more by the fact that Ariel was running directly into a storm of wooden limbs and boughs. He caught up to her easily, and tailed her closely for a moment, but they were quickly separated by huge branch slamming into the ground between them. "Damn it," Hunter murmured, readjusting his course and leaping over a swinging branch.

He looked around to see where Ariel had ended up, but in his momentary distraction another branch swung straight at him. And he didn't dive out of the way in time. His breath was knocked out of him as the branch caught him in the stomach and flung him a few yards way. Hunter landed on the ground in a heap, and quickly flattened himself onto the ground to avoid the limbs overhead. Catching his breath as quickly as he could, he made to pull himself up - he still wasn't safe, even flat on the ground. One of the club-like limbs could slam down on top of him in an instant. One of his hands pushed off the ground, and another grabbed a large knot that stuck out of one of the roots - and then, out of nowhere, everything stopped.

"What the hell?" Hunter murmured in confusion, freezing in place and staring up at the now-still tree. Where was Ariel? "Ariel!" he exclaimed, looking around for her. Maybe she'd ended up on the other side - hopefully she hadn't been hurt in the onslaught. Then, he realized that he'd ended up right at the spot they'd been aiming for - and he could see what the tree was hiding. There, beneath the roots of the tree - and extremely well hidden - was a tunnel. It was pitch black, and Hunter couldn't tell which way it led, but it was undoubtedly a passage. "Ariel!" he shouted again, this time his voice filled with excitement. "Ariel, hurry up, come look!"

A laugh ripped from Ariel as he said 'whomp things'. Honestly, her humor had changed over the summer. As if whomping was a funny word… She also let the 'for a girl' comment go, since she knew that Hunter meant no ill by it. Had it been a stranger, she would've kicked him in the nuts and said something like 'well, a girl can handle that, can't she?' just to be mean and annoyed. This of course due to the temper that was a veela.

And now she was running alongside Hunter, until a big branch separated them. She had to dodge and run in circles a couple of times before she tripped and did a somersault, getting back on her feet quickly. A branch then tripped her and she went down again, but this time her foot took the fall and she twisted her ankle. She looked up and saw a huge branch coming down at her, seemingly ready to smash her to pieces, and she couldn't move, other than shielding her face with her arms. But then the three stopped. Completely. It literally froze. Well, it did figuratively freeze, but the concept freezing was literal. She looked shocked up and removed her arms from her face.

When her mind accepted the fact that she was no longer in danger of being flattened, she noticed the throbbing in her ankle. She rolled over to her stomach and pushed with her arms. She got up on her right, unharmed foot, and tested her left foot with her weight. Good. It could hold her. She stood completely on the foot, and it hurt like hell, but she could definitely stand. She heard Hunter call to her, but she continued to step on her foot to try to make sure she could walk.

And she could. With a limp. She sighed. She hated limping. She had been nastily brought down at a basketball game once, a long time ago, which had lead to her spraining her foot. She'd been walking with a gauze and a limp for ages. And then Hunter called out for her again. She grinned, remembering what they had been doing a few moments ago. She started limping around the trunk when she saw Hunter standing there, looking at the hole in the ground.

She walked over and put her hand on the tree trunk. "Awesome," she whispered, still heaving for breath. Running and diving and almost being crushed took its toll on her. Not to mention the ankle. She grinned at him. "Ready for an adventure?" she asked, curious of what on earth could be down there, sitting down and putting her feet into the hole. She gave Hunter one last look and pushed off, sliding down not a very long path, before her left foot (of course) found the ground first. And that hurt. A groan escaped her lips, and it echoed through the pitch black in front of her. She stood up, her foot pounding blood.

Hunter looked around anxiously, and was about to leave his spot by the tunnel to look for Ariel, when he caught sight of her coming around the tree. He let out a breath he hadn't realized that he was holding - she seemed fine. He frowned a little as he noticed her limp, but it didn't seem to affect her enthusiasm at all so he let it go. She probably had just twisted her ankle, or sprained it. "All right?" he said to her as she neared him, just to be sure. He put a hand on his stomach absentmindedly, where the branch had hit him, and winced. That would probably hurt pretty badly later on.

But Ariel didn't hesitate to lower herself to a sitting position with her feet dangling in the hole. And the corner of Hunter's mouth turned up in a smirk when she asked if he was ready for an adventure. "Always," he replied with excitement in his vioce. "Wait for me once you get to the end," he told her just before she slid down into the opening. He leaned over it and listened, but didn't hear any loud or dangerous noises. So he waited a moment to be sure he wouldn't run into Ariel, and then followed her.

The entrance was a slide, and he had no control over his continuation down the chute. It wasn't very long, though, and he reached the bottom pretty quick. He dug his heels into the ground so that he wouldn't collide with her and slid to a stop. She was just ahead of him, and he heard her release a moan. Hunter frowned, standing up quickly and making his way over to her, and lit his wand with a quick "lumos." She must have hit her foot. "You okay?" he questioned. But it was clear that she was in pain.

"Here, let me see," he said, not waiting for her permission before bending down and inspecting the ankle that she was keeping her weight off of. "This might not work, but it won't make it worse," he told her. Then, he pursed his lips and pointed his wand at injured joint. "Episkey," he said, concentrating on the spell as best he could. Hunter wasn't the best wizard, so it may not have done anything. But with luck, it would help a little. If it hadn't, then Ariel would just have to deal with it until they got back.

Standing up, he held his wand out in front of him to try and see his surroundings. They were still in a boring, dark tunnel. "Come on," he said to Ariel, catching her elbow and heading forward. "It has to lead somewhere." The tunnel wasn't very tall, and Hunter had to stoop as he walked. But after a short time of walking, Hunter could see that they were getting somewhere. And soon he could stand up straight. Because the tunnel had widened. And they were in a room. Well, not a room. A hallway. Suddenly, they weren't surrounded by dirt, but wood, and a rickety staircase extended upward before them.

"We made it!" Hunter said, grinning at Ariel. He wasn't sure where they'd made it to, but they'd made it. Cautiously, he pushed forward and made his way up the stairs - there wasn't anywhere else to go. As he neared the top, he found that his wand light was no longer necessary. They were in a room with dusty old furniture and boarded windows - but it was daytime, and light leaked in through the gaps between the boards, illuminating the floating dust in the air. "What is this place?" Hunter asked in confusion, looking around from where he'd stopped at the top of the stairs. "Why would they need a killer tree to hide a boring old house?"

Ariel gave him an exaggeratedly brave smile. "I'll live," she said, contorting her face into that of pain, emphasizing her sarcasm. It really didn't hurt that much now. That was, until she hit her foot when she went down the tunnel after nodding to Hunter at his request. He was soon right behind her. Ariel looked at him skeptically as he lit his wand and walked over.

"I'm all right," she said softly. She tested her left foot again and though it hurt quite a bit more, she could still walk on it. But Hunter walked over and leaned down. Ariel frowned as he cast a spell that sent a warm sensation through her ankle. It didn't heal completely, it still hurt to step on, but it was much, much better; she could almost walk without a limp at all! "Woah, thanks! When did you learn that spell?" she asked surprised, memorizing it to herself.

She then looked around in the dim light Hunter's wand gave off. She fished out her own wand and lit it, looking at the dull, dark walls. She accepted his support by her elbow, though, as it made it even easier to walk (Hunter was such a good friend) and they started walking forwards. The tunnel was boring. And tight, and the air was close. It was a good thing Ariel wasn't claustrophobic! She could stand up straight, but Hunter apparently couldn't. One of the many reasons for why being a girl was so awesome!

The tunnel went from that side to that and slithered on like a snake's body. But after what was a rather all right time, the tunnel widened and turned into something else entirely. She grinned at Hunter and nodded. "Yes, we did," she said happily. They walked up the dusty old stairs that creaked underneath their feet, and when they got to the top, Hunter whisked out his lit wand, and Ariel followed suit; it wasn't necessary. Though the room - or maybe house was more appropriate - was bolted and dusty and smelled like old nasties, the sunlight outside poured through the bolted windows.

Ariel frowned and looked around at his question. She had never been there before, but it somehow felt very familiar. She looked at the furniture that barely was deserving of that word and at the old boards of the house. Her eyes drifted back to the bolted windows. And she only knew of one place that she had been at that had bolted windows and barred doors. "We're inside the Shrieking Shack," she breathed, surprised. All right, so awesome whomping willow or not, she had not expected this. "It's supposed to be haunted," she said and looked at the furniture again, "But I'd say that whatever did that, it was no ghost."

She wasn't worried, though. The furniture was so dusty and old that she was sure the last time someone had been here would have to be a decade ago. She was once again reminded of her fathe- Her mind started to reel. She hated thinking of her father. But now it was important. "Hey, remember that time we talked about animagi and werewolves?" she asked Hunter and continued: "Well that family friend's name is Teddy Lupin. He's about ten-twenty years older than us, I think. He's engaged to a far off relative of ours, Victoire Weasley. At least, I think they're only engaged. Could be married now for all I know. Or broken up. Point is, if he was a werewolf, they couldn't just let him attend Hogwarts, could they?" she asked figuratively. "I'm not saying this tree was grown here because of him, and the Shrieking Shack history goes further back than his time at Hogwarts, like, around the 1970's, but there are many creatures that are both human and something else that might be a danger to others. So maybe they made this spot so that those people would have somewhere to go?" Ariel wondered if she was at all making any sense to Hunter. She wasn't sure if she made any sense to herself.

Hunter grinned over at Ariel when he heard the inflection of her voice. "Always the tone of surprise," he said, laughing. "I'm not completely incompetent you know - I know some spells." But not many. "But if you'd like to know, when you spend as much time in the hospital wing as I do, you tend to pick up a few things." Logan had used that spell on Hunter more than once to heal a broken nose or a minor abrasion. So it was just easier on everyone if Hunter was able to clean up minor injuries himself - Merlin knew that he got enough of them on a regular basis.

Hunter was still gazing around the room from the top of the stairs when Ariel announced that they were in the Shrieking Shack. "The Shrieking Shack?" Hunter repeated in surprise, looking over at her. "That old building in Hogsmeade?" Hunter wasn't exactly an expert on wizarding history - in fact, he didn't pay attention at all in history of magic. But he knew the story of the Shrieking Shack - it was supposed to be very haunted, and that was why nobody was allowed near it. And they'd somehow found their way inside of it!

Hunter stepped across the dusty floor, approaching one of the boarded windows, and peered out through one of the gaps. "You're right!" he exclaimed, turning to grin at her. Through the window, Hunter could see the houses and shops of Hogsmeade stretched out before him. "Haunted my ass," Hunter replied, looking around himself. "There's nothing here. Not even one of those friendly ghosts like Nick." So then where had the stories come from?

Ariel's next words drew his attention to the tattered furniture around the room. And at closer glance, Hunter could see that it was more than tattered. More like ripped to pieces. "Woah," he said lowly, walking over to the dusty old couch and running his hand over it. "You're right, it's been torn to bits by something." And ghosts couldn't do that.

Then Ariel was launching into a story, and Hunter nodded in recognition when she mentioned the shapeshifter they'd talked about last term. He listened carefully, furrowing his brow as he thought about what she'd said. "So you think he came here to transform?" he replied, looking around himself once more. "Well, judging by the state of this place, that makes just as much sense as the next theory," he said, nodding.

Thanks to the direction that the conversation had taken, Hunter instantly thought of Ryland. In second year, Hunter had somehow ended up running across the grounds with Lucy and Morgana in an attempt to get something to Ryland - who Lucy had identified as a werewolf. And Hunter was very sure that Ryland hadn't come to this place. But then again, they'd been being very secretive. So the staff didn't know what had happened to him - so they wouldn't have been able to offer this place as an option.

And now, looking around the room, a big grin spread across Hunter's face. "Ariel, this is awesome!" he exclaimed. "Do you realize that we're probably the only students who know how to get in here? We have to be - I mean, who else would be crazy enough to get close enough to the whomping willow to find it?" Excitement filled Hunter's voice now, because it was so awesome that they'd found something that nobody else had. "And it doesn't look like anyone's been here for ages! This is great! Think of all the things we can use it for. We could plan pranks in here - I could work on all kinds of potions that I'm not supposed to know about and never get caught. We could even get firewhiskey and nobody would know!" The possibilities were endless. "C'mon!" he said excitedly, heading in the direction of the next room. "We have to explore!"

Ariel raised a pointed eyebrow at him as he was saying how she was surprised. And then, after a moment of defending himself, he finally said the real reason. "Aha, so you're self-inflicted injuries are the reason for you competence?" she asked smugly. She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Sure, Hunter wasn't stupid, but he didn't spend a lot of time trying to learn new spells.

Ariel shrugged. "Maybe," she said, but sighed. "I don't know." She wondered if it was so. That would be an explanation at least. Were there other possible theories? There was a reason for why the only non-barred entrance to the Shrieking Shack was at Hogwarts. Even though barred gates were nothing compared to a malicious tree that wanted to squish you.

"We don't know how old the tree is, though, do we? Even though we know the Shrieking Shack got the rumors in the 70's, doesn't mean the house wasn't there before. It could be haunted, really. Like, if Hogwarts had a dark age, and they sent students here to be punished. Maybe they went crazy, maybe they were driven crazy. And then they died and started haunting the Shack? Even though that doesn't really explain why the rumors of a haunted house started in the 70's," Ariel said. Then she looked at Hunter. "Or do you know how old the tree is?" she asked curiously. Perhaps he'd surprise her again.

Hunter seemed to be thinking about something, and Ariel let him. She watched his face go deeper into thought, before slowly coming out of it, a smile broadening on his lips until he seemed filled with excitement again. And it was contagious times a thousand and Ariel started sniggering. "You certainly got that right!" she exclaimed happily.

Ariel actually had to jump a bit up and down, even on the creaking floor boards, when he said what they could use the place for. "It's gonna be bloody brilliant!" she laughed, definitely psyched about the prank part. And the firewhiskey part? She wasn't very interested now, but she knew herself enough to know that she would be. Definitely!

She skipped along with Hunter into the next room. She frowned. "This must've been a kitchen of some sort. But I would definitely not want to make food here!" she said wittily. And then she gasped, her hair drastically going from the dull brown to a much brighter one, almost copper. "I'M GONNA FIGURE OUT OF A CLEANING SPELL AND WE CAN BRING STUFF TO EAT HERE!" she shouted, suddenly feeling like a time-bomb; she loved making food. She's always made food with her father when she was- Her excitement bubbled out of her instantly and a sharp pain stung in her chest. There he was again. He never let go. Her hair had probably returned to the dull brown again, and she tried to keep her smile, but she had been so overwhelmed by going from that happy to such a painful awakening.

She sighed and leaned against the kitchen desk. Hunter was doomed to notice, and she just wasn't sure if she was ready to utter the words to someone else. And it was completely unfair to spring this upon Hunter when he was this excited about stuff. Forget everything she had said about eventually; she would like some Firewhiskey now.

"Hey, not all of my injuries are self-inflicted!" Hunter retorted defiantly. "Okay, so there was the hand thing," he admitted with a slightly defensive tone, flexing his knuckles unconsciously in the hand that he'd broken last term. "But a lot of my injuries aren't my fault - like the time Aoife hit me in the face with a bludger and broke my nose and then tried to fix it with reparo,"  he told her. "Oh yeah, don't use reparo on humans," he added, though it was a bit off topic. "Not unless you want to see a ton of blood."

Again, Hunter listened carefully to what Ariel had to say - she definitely seemed to have more insight about the place than Hunter did. Maybe she paid attention in class, or read books. Hunter didn't participate in either activity. He looked carefully around the room again, searching for any sign of a ghost - or for any sign of any presence beside themselves. There was none. "Well, if there is something haunting this place, it's pretty shy," he said, shrugging. He gave her a look when she asked if he knew how old the tree was. "I don't know if you've ever looked around in history of magic," he told her, "But if you did, you'd probably see me sleeping in the back of the room. So no, I don't have a clue."

It was nice to see that his excitement seemed to transfer to Ariel, and Hunter grinned at her as she jumped up and down. "Careful, you might go right through the floor," he joked, eyeing the floor mistrustfully. It definitely didn't seem to be in the best shape. The next room was definitely supposed to be a kitchen, and his grin broadened when Ariel started going on about bringing food. He could have sworn her hair even brightened a bit, though it could just be the bad lighting in the shack.

"We can keep a stash of butterbeer here, and nobody else will be able to steal it," he added, laughing as he thought of the time that he'd come back to his room to find Lyra eating his food and drinking his butterbeer and holding his best friend contract in her hand. "And to think, this has been here all this time!"

But then, as quickly as Ariel's excitement had come, it seemed to vanish. And Hunter realized that her lightened hair hadn't been a trick of the light, because he could clearly see it fade back to a dark, mousy brown that almost matched his own. Her smile remained, but barely, and Hunter frowned in concern as she leaned against the counter and let out a sigh. He almost hated to ask - she'd seemed so happy, and maybe he could excite her enough again to make her forget whatever was ailing her. But what good would that do? Just put off whatever was bothering her for a short amount of time.

And what better chance would Hunter have to find out what had caused the change in her? He'd continuously put it off because they'd always been around people, and Hunter didn't want to put her on the spot. But they were completely alone here - and it upset him to see the pretty veela that was usually so bright and cheerful appear so defeated. So he approached her slowly and leaned beside her, gazing down at her carefully. "Ariel, what's wrong?" he asked softly, his voice concerned. "You haven't been right since the first day of school. What happened?"

Ariel listened with big eyes at Hunter's telling of Aoife and the bludger and reparo. "She tried … reparo?" Ariel managed in her surprise. Not even Ariel would try that. Reparo… As if fixing humans would be as easy as fixing a broken mirror! Ariel started giggling, but quickly pulled herself together, which was a pretty difficult task, because she could just imagine the bludger and the blood and the reparo spell.

By the look Hunter gave her at her question, she had to give him an innocent smile. "I sleep through those lessons as well. Might be more interesting this year since professor Gracen is taking over the classes, though," she added thoughtfully. She hoped so at least. The previous teacher had been rather… dull. Professor Gracen knew how to use words that didn't put people to sleep. Hopefully.

Ariel stopped jumping up and down instantly and looked down at the boards. "True," she mumbled, but her smile was still huge, and her excitement equally as full. She didn't need to jump up and down to be happy. She could show her excitement clearly with only her eyes. Her shiny, sparkling eyes. Literally.

Her eyes only shone all the more at all the things they could keep here. All to themselves, not needing to worry about other people sneaking inside the tree. But Ariel and Hunter -though definitely experts in discovery- couldn't be the only ones who liked to explore. She really hoped no one else would find this place. That would be sad. But maybe they managed to keep it for a couple of years. That would be awesome!

When Hunter leaned on the desk beside her, and asked what was wrong, Ariel took a deep breath. 'My father died' wouldn't be the way to go. That would be cruel. That would be too shocking. She looked up at him, but couldn't hold his gaze as she started talking. "Last year, right before Christmas, Darcy got a letter that said that dad was sick," she said softly, her voice distant, trying to separate herself from facts and emotions. "It was pretty serious. After Easter, he got so sick he had to stay at St. Mungo's."

Ariel took a moment to phrase what she was going to say next. She didn't want to burden Hunter, but she also knew that if anything like this happened to him, she would want him to tell her. She would want to be there for him. So she felt it was about time that she told him. And she realized that -not only did she not want to burden him with it- but she was a bit worried he might be mad with her for not having told him earlier.

"When summer started, he was still at the hospital. Darcy and mom and I basically lived at the hospital for a week, but he couldn't really have visitors in his room. We posed as a threat due to our own, normal bacterias. So we had to wear these … these suits. It was pretty uncomfortable. And we couldn't even …" Ariel's voice broke, but she didn't cry. She cleared her throat. "We couldn't even hug," she continued, "Mom sent Darcy and me home. We were going to go out and eat something when mom got home and told us that dad-" Ariel stopped and looked up from her shoes and up at Hunter. "That dad was dead." Ariel felt her eyes water, but the tears didn't spill. She was tired of crying, so blinking the tears back wasn't really a problem.

She looked away from Hunter, onto the wall opposite them. Dead. It was such an ugly and nasty word. Just cold and heartless. Distant. Very distant.

Hunter loved being friends with Ariel. They were perfect for each other - in a friend kind of way. Hunter used to think that Aoife was the perfect best friend for him. But he was wrong. She was too loud, too headstrong - too much like Hunter himself. And eventually, they had clashed, and it became obvious that they were both too stubborn to make amends.

But Ariel - she complemented him perfectly. Ariel got his humor, and he got hers. She was confident and stood up for herself, but in a quieter way than Aoife. She would never let her pride ruin a friendship - and her presence was a reminder that Hunter shouldn't let his own pride get the better of him either. Since last term, Hunter had changed in ways he hadn't thought he could, and Ariel had been there for him through all of it in a way that Aoife never could have been. She'd literally been a light in the dark for Hunter - a constant source of happiness, always.

Which was why seeing her so distraught - to the point that she couldn't even meet his eyes when she started talking - instantly sent a jolt of worry through his body. And he realized then that whatever it was that was ailing her, it was worse than he'd originally thought. Her voice was soft, and Hunter listened quietly as she explained that her father was ill. Then she paused, and part of him had hoped that she would end it there - that there was nothing else to tell - but his face fell completely when Ariel kept going.

Halfway through, when Ariel's voice broke, Hunter sighed and closed his eyes. It only took her a moment to finish after that, and the word dead echoed in his ears. And then one sentence crossed his mind. You're a git. Wasn't it just last term that Hunter had let himself fall into depression just because he'd gotten into a fight with Aoife? Wasn't it Ariel who'd helped him? Wasn't it Ariel who hadn't once accused him of overreacting? And now, when faced with something unfathomably worse - something that Hunter couldn't imagine dealing with - Ariel was holding herself together better than Hunter had ever been able to. He'd never realized just how strong she was before.

A small wave of panic crossed him as he tried to figure out how to react - this had never happened before. It was always Ariel who was able to cheer Hunter up. Always Ariel who was there for him. And for a moment, he was worried that he wouldn't be able to come through for her in the same way that she did for him. He wasn't like her - happy and amazing and perfect. But when her eyes met his, and he saw that she was blinking back tears, he reacted almost unconsciously.

"Hey," he said quietly, his arms instantly sliding around her shoulders and pulling her into him. They tightened protectively around her, whether she wanted them to or not, and Hunter took a deep breath - though he wasn't sure if it was to steady her or himself. "It's gonna be okay," he told her. "I'm here for you."

What else were you supposed to say when somebody told you their father passed away? Hunter couldn't imagine losing any of his family - he didn't think he'd be able to bear it. And he knew that nothing that he said would make things any easier for Ariel. But looked down at her and murmured one more thing. "Mum always told us that people don't really die - that they keep watching over us. Just because you can't see him doesn't mean he isn't still there."

Having said the truth, Ariel tried to keep herself calm. But somehow, telling Hunter hadn't been the help she had expected it to be. Actually, it had only weighed her down. She had thought telling him would be a good thing. But it only seemed so real now. Her mother and Darcy had been one thing, because they were both up in it, unable to escape and all feeling the same pain. Hunter… Hunter was her best friend, who'd never met her father. He was distant, but telling him had made it seem more real than anything.

As she looked at the wall, it took only a moment before arms wrapped around her. Ariel was surprised by the action, and her eyes widened for a moment as her forehead hit his throat. Her fight to keep her tears at bay failed miserably, and as he said he was there for her, a sob shook through her body, and she started crying. Not a howling sort, but not quite silent either. Her hands went around Hunter and she knitted her fingers into his cloak. It hurt so bad… She clung to him, afraid that if she let go, her chest would rapture.

She listened to him talk as she cried, her ear on his chest amplifying the noise and making it more rumbly. She found comfort in that and wished he wouldn't stop talking. But as he did, she mulled his words over. He was right. Her father would never leave her. Not completely. Ariel wasn't a person who'd believe in God, but she wasn't the person who completely banished the idea of something bigger than them. That would be conceited and narrow-minded. And Ariel wasn't narrow-minded.

She felt herself calm down though she was still breathing heavily. And she came to realize that this helped. The hug. The crying. When she was with her family, she couldn't cry. She wanted to be strong. For them. They didn't need to see her suffer in all their suffering. But Hunter… He was her rock. He could take it. She almost smiled at the thought. She took one more deep, ragged breath and pushed a bit away from him, looking up at him with what was quite possibly very blood-shot eyes.

"Thank you, Hunter," she whispered solemnly with a thick voice, and lone tear slid down her face, "I really needed that." She then hugged him again, and her cheek now registered his wet shoulder. She pushed off again and grinned up at him. "Sorry for showering you with snot," she giggled and took another steadying breath as she completely left his embrace, which made her feel cold and fragile. But she figured that if she were to manage this, she'd have to get used to the feeling.

She knew he'd be worried about her now. She didn't know what to say so he wouldn't worry. It hurt, it broke her, but every day her body adapted to the pain, though it sometimes broke her down again. "I don't want you to worry too much, though. It's bad. It's horrible. But if it wasn't manageable, I'd be dead or mad, wouldn't I?" she asked rhetorically, more to steady herself than him. She could do this. She just didn't understand how.

Hunter noticed that Ariel didn't react immediately when he hugged her, but sure enough it only took a moment before she started to cry. In a way, Hunter was used to this - felt comfortable here. He did have two annoying little sisters who cried over the stupidest things, after all. And while Jack was the go to for most things, he was terrible with handling tears. It was always Hunter that the twins sought out when they were upset. Especially Lyn - who got disheartened much more easily than Lyra. Not that they'd ever cried over anything as serious as this.

Hunter knew perfectly well that hugging someone on the verge of tears was the surest way to actually make them cry. Not personally - Hunter didn't cry. He just got angry and punched things. He wasn't sure why that was - maybe crying made people feel so vulnerable that they didn't want to do it alone. Maybe it was only when a protective set of arms wrapped around them that they allowed themselves to break, if only for a few moments. Regardless of why, he wasn't surprised in the slightest at Ariel's reaction.

He felt her fingers grasp at the back of his cloak, and could sense the desperation with which she was clinging to him. And it felt all wrong, to see her like this. And all he wanted was for her to be happy again. He kept his arms tight around her, securing her to his chest, and lay his chin on top of her head. One of his hands came up to brush against the back of her hair and he took a deep breath for Ariel's sake, hoping it might calm her. "Just breathe," he murmured softly. And then slowly, after a while, Hunter could feel her breathing become less choppy, her grip on his cloak loosening.

When Ariel pulled a bit away, Hunter loosened his arms but didn't completely release her. He looked down at her, meeting her gaze. She looked terrible - but then, at the same time, not terrible at all. Even with red, puffy eyes and tear-splotched cheeks, she was as perfect as ever. Damn Veelas. He gave her a reassuring half-smile when she thanked him and hugged him one more time. "Anytime," he said sincerely. "You okay?" Of course, the answer to that was probably complicated. But hopefully she was alright for the time being.

He released an amused breath when she grinned at him and apologized. "I think I'll survive," he told her, rolling his eyes. His eyes lingered on her when she explained that she didn't want him to worry about her. Deciding it was better to keep the conversation light now that she'd ended the solemnity, he grinned at her. "You mean you aren't mad already?" Then, his grin lightening into a more serious smile, he added, "If you want to know the truth, Ariel, you're the last person I would ever worry about -" Okay, that didn't sound right. So he sighed and tried again. "I just mean that you're not the type of person to let anything break you. Not for long. Not even this. You'll be fine."

Being hugged by Hunter was much more comforting that Ariel had suspected. He was a good hugger. Then she figured that Lyn and Lyra were some of the reasons. She gave him a numb smile and a shrug. "I'm okay," she said softly. She felt better now. She felt safer now. And less fragile. That was the worst feeling in the world; feeling as if the pain in your chest would break you like glass, feeling as if you're stepping on broken shards with every step. But it was better now.

With a thick chuckle and a sniffle, she playfully punched Hunter on the arm. "Haha, very funny," she said sarcastically. She was happy to hear that he didn't worry about her much. She understood what he meant, but he seemed to want to make sure that she got it right. She wasn't quite sure if she ought to take it as a compliment or not. Being able to move on was, for now, impossible, but she supposed it would be more and more possible after a while. She wasn't sure if she liked the 'you'll be fine' comment, but she knew he meant no ill with it. She knew she wouldn't ever be fine. But she'd be fine at the same time. So she was sure he was thinking about the capability to keep living happily, and not the 'you'll heal and it won't hurt anymore'. Some wounds just never healed.

"Thanks, Hunter," she said softly, with a smile. And then she took a deep breath. "So, the Shrieking Shack!" she said, wiping away her tearstained cheeks. Even with the sadness and pain, she knew she'd be having loads of brilliant times here. "This will seriously be the most awesome place these next years! I'll be way too superior in pranks soon!" she said happily. She started walking back to what would have to be the living room. "Next time we're going here, we should bring food though, because I'm starving," she said spinning around for dramatic effect.

She grinned at Hunter, feeling lighter than only a few minutes ago. "We should go eat," she suggested ecstatically and jogged down the stairs. A bad idea, as the stairs were rotten, and the third last step broke underneath her foot. She went forward and stumbled down the last two steps and was reminded of her nasty foot. "Well, shit, that hurts," she swore, leaning against the mouldy wall in front of the staircase. She grinned up at Hunter. "I'm becoming clumsy, Hunter. I thought I was going to be one of those awesome people who just never stumbled," she stated with a laugh. She then walked around in circles to check her foot. It wasn't bad. It'd heal quickly. Thanks to Hunter's spell. She wondered briefly if he himself understood just how much he actually did help her. She also wondered if she'd ever have the chance to return the favor.