Danger Days| OPEN

Iva sat under a large willow tree, watching its leafless branches way in the breeze. It wasn't a whomping willow like the one closer to school, but its smaller, wheeping cousin. She left alone in this part of the forest and that's how she liked it.

Picking at her bandaged hands, Iva found herself feeling that grim, crawling feeling again. That feeling the made her want to wash everything.

Snap

Eyes wide and hands forgotten, Iva looked into the forest around her. "H-Hello?" She called out, amused, "This is not funny!" Nothing answered. Sensing that danger may be afoot, Iva began to head back to the school, only to be tripped up by a root. She feel forward with a yelp

Sprawled on the forest floor, her ankle throbbing, and something out there, Iva sighed desperately before called for help.

Technically, Dame told himself, the Forbidden Forest was kind of part of the school. Therefore, exploring the forest wouldn't be considered misbehavior any more than exploring the castle would.

Granted, the last time he explored in the castle, he and Aquila had let something loose...

Shaking off the thought, Damian continued onward. He was supposed to become a hunter, after all, like Asric. How was he supposed to do that if he couldn't even do a bit of exploring on his own?

The boy froze as he heard something. It was several yards off, but his enhanced hearing picked it up. There was something large in the forest nearby. He was taking near-silent steps back, intent on turning around an going back to the relative safety of the grounds when he heard something that made his heart stop... and then start hammering against his ribcage.

It was Iva. And she was calling for help.

Without a second thought, he hurried in the direction of her voice.

Iva rolled on to her back, groaning. No one was out here anyway, she might as well at least try to get out of there. Sitting up, the heard two sets of foot steps; soft, slow ones towars the middle of the forest and fast approaching ones from behind her. She quickly rolled to her feet- only to fall back down. Her ankle twinged with pain, leaving her alone in this forest.

Drawing her wand and whispering "Lumos," Iva watched the darkness with a careful eye.

"I am not afraid of you!" she called out, her voice shaking, "I-I can fight you off!"

Damian held out his hands in the universal sign for 'Shit! I'm unarmed - cease fire!' as he broke through the trees to find Iva brandishing her wand at him.

"It's me!" he hissed, muscles tensing to leap aside if necessary. Once he was pretty sure he wasn't about to be hexed or cursed, the boy moved over to her, a hand briefly going to her cheek, but halting before it made contact.

"Are you alright?" He studied her as best as he could in the darkness, keeping an ear out for whatever-it-was in the darkness. "You hurt anywhere?"

Iva sighed in relief as Damian broke through the trees. Her heart quivered slightly at the sight of him, but that soon disappeared when he spoke.

"Idiot!" she snapped, slapping his chest, "I almost killed you!" Merlin, if she had actually hexed him, she would have never lived it down.

"I twisted my ankles," she mumbled, "It hurts a little,"

Suddenly, she reached out and pulled him into a hug, her heart pounding with terror. SHe tried to put all of her unsaid emotions into the hug: the sorrow, the thankfulness, the longing, and her absolute fondness of him.

"Th-There is something out there," she whispered, "Let us get out of here,"

"Ouch!" Damian said, rubbing the place she'd slapped him. "Sorry." He was fairly certain she didn't actually know any lethal spells, but he was none to eager to test the theory.

The boy turned his attention to her ankle, prodding it gently, even as he winced in sympathy. He started in surprised when she suddenly pulled him into an embrace, but he hugged her tightly back. He had missed her - more than he cared to admit. The boy rubbed his hand soothingly up and down.

"I know," he whispered back. Damian was pretty sure it knew they were there, too. "Let's get you back where it's safe." Rising to his feet, he helped her up, wrapping one of his arms securely about her waist.

"Hang on to my shoulder," Damian told her, pulling his wand out with his free hand. "And try to be quiet."

Iva nodded in agreement, slinging her arm over his shoulder. She lifted herself off the ground carefully, trying to hurry out of the forest.

The quiet thing was a bit of a problem though. Iva was never extremely light footed normally, but now she found herself seemingly stepping on every branch. She winced apologetically, trying her best to hide her injured gate.

Damian tried not to appreciate being close to Iva again, too much. This was not the time to be thinking about the feel of her arm around his shoulder or the smell of her shampoo. There was something - a four-legged something, his ears told him - trailing behind them. The boy wasn't sure if he ought to be thankful it hadn't ventured closer yet, or not.

He gave her an encouraging smile and a reassuring squeeze. "You're doing great," Damian murmured. She really was, considering she could hardly put any weight on her ankle. Besides, the whatever-it-was already knew they were there; being quieter wouldn't really help. Hopefully, it was just curious, because Damian wasn't sure he could fend off a large, hungry beast.

Iva watched Damian closely, her eyes fluttering to his lips as he spoke. This was pleasant, well, pleasant for a terrifying experience anyway. In a way, this is what she had really wanted; Damian to be near her again. And, she knew it wasn't the right time to be thinking such things, he was so adorable when he was beings protective.

Iva squeezed back, trying to hurry her pace a bit more. If something was after them, she at least wanted to fight back, so she gripped her wand tightly in suspense.

"Are we almost back?" she whispered,

Damian slowed, partly because the animal's footsteps had halted for some reason and partly to get a feel for their surroundings.

"Yeah," he told her, softly. Where had it gone? Had it gone? Why had it stopped moving, then? "A bit further, and we should be able to see the castle through the trees.

His blue eyes squinted into the darkness behind them. Maybe he should ask Asric to enhance his sight? He'd gotten the hang of the whole hearing bit, and being able to see better in the dark would be rather useful about now...

"Let's keep going," Damian said.

Iva let out a shaky breath, a bit relieved by Damian's words. Still, she felt the uneasy quiver of eyes, watching them from somewhere deeper in the darkness. She looked behind them as well, trying to detect some sort of motion.

Stumbling for a second time, Iva cursed and tightly gripped Damian's shoulder. Her heart was pounding deep within her chest, making it hard to think.

Why didn't she believe this was going to end well?

It happened just as Iva stumbled, that and the sound of her soft cursing nearly covering up the fact that the creature had gone into motion again - rapid motion.

The boy twisted, practically shoving Iva off his shoulder so he could shove her behind him, turning to face the oncoming threat with raised wand. He waited a second; then, two. Then, he caught the first sign of movement.

"Immobulus!" he snarled, cursing the fact he didn't know any more dangerous spells. "Reducto!"

Iva found herself tumbling to the ground, barely having enough time to stop her fall with her hands. Snarling, she turned around, angry at the boy's sudden mood swing.

"What are you-!?" Then she heard it. The rapid footsteps of- of- something. She couldn't see it yet, fr Damian blocked her view, but her wand was raised, ready for attack.

"Leave me here!" she demanded, "Just go!"

The animal - whatever it was - evaded Damian's first spell, but not the second, the blast sending it flying back. There was a pained, angry cry... He wasn't about to wait around and see how quickly it came back, if at all.

Damian turned to Iva. "No," he snarled fiercely, pulling her back up. "Get on my back," the boy told her.

Iva flinched at the boy's anger, but didn't protest. She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was probably too heavy for the hufflepuff to carry, seeing as they were almost the same size, but she remained silent about that.

Merlin, he must hate her again; she brought him into this! How stupid she must have been, being out here! She gripped him tighter, thinking about this.

Iva was a bit heavier than Damian had anticipated, but he didn't care. Carrying her was the quickest way to get her to safety - and he really didn't think whatever he'd hit was down for the count.

As she tightened her hold, Damian reached up a hand and gently patted her arm. "It's okay, Tiya," he said softly. "I'll get us out of here." Then, hooking his arms under his knees, he hurried as quickly as he could towards the castle, ears straining for any sound in the night.

Iva blinked, then smiled warmly. "Damian..." This kid. How great was he, saving her from the evil of the forest? Merlin- he was even carrying her! Even though she felt absolutely disgusting at the moment, as soon as they reached the castle she was-

A long, pained howl interrupted her thoughts, sending her heart racing. Not good. The Slytherin tensed, a gasp caught in her throat.

Damian whirled towards the sound, eyes wide. Not good. Not good. Not good. He was only thirteen, for Merlin's sake! He hadn't had the chance to learn anything in the way of advanced defensive magic. What was that thing, anyway? It didn't sound like anything Damian was familiar with...

It was coming for them. Furthermore, Damian was certain he'd pissed it off more than hurt it. They were going to die.

Now, what?

He'd been trying to save Iva, and now they were both in trouble. Who was going to save them?

Asric's face came to mind. 'You always have me', the man had said. And really, hadn't he always been when it truly mattered? Perhaps, it was Damian's own fault he'd felt so alone this year.

Closing his eyes, Damian focused on how much he wished his mentor was there to save him one more time - to save Iva, if nothing else.

"Please," he whispered desperately, "help."

Ric looked up from his work as he felt rather than heard the call. "You hear that Ghost?" He asked looking at his daemon as he got up out of his chair. Ghost being the knowing wolf that she was immediately sprung to Rics side ready to apparate.


They landed on the edge of the forest and seconds later Ric fell onto 4 paws so he could run fast enough to save his apprentice. "No heroics okay Ghost? I've got this one, you just look after your pups." He thought running flat out to where he knew his apprentice was.


Once he arrived he pounced protectively in front of the two kids and baring his teeth at the attacking creature, daring it to move; but the creature just couldn't understand danger when it saw it. He leaped forward creating the distraction Ghost needed to creep around the side and bite into its flank. That howl of pain was then enough distraction for Ric to avoid the creatures mouth, and sink his fangs into the beasts throat and tearing it out.

Iva clung to Damian, frightened by the Headmaster's sudden appearance. She didn't quite understand what was going on, but it made her feel absolutely useless. She wished she wasn't such a bother to everyone, she really did, but this sort of trouble always seemed to find her.

"Do not stop," she whispered, unsure of what else to do.

Damian released the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding, knees nearly collapsing in his relief. It was dead. Asric had come to help him, like he'd said. They were safe. He lowered Iva to the ground so he wouldn't drop her, pulling her around to wrap her tightly in his arms, instead.

"Thank you," he whispered, his voice a bit scratchy. "I'm sorry - I know I said I'd stay out of trouble, but thank you, sir, Ghost. I..." Damian squeezed Iva tighter. "Thank you, master."

Iva wrapped Damian in her arms, whispering sweet nothings in Russian. She leaned on him, trying to keep weight off of her ankle. Her heart was finally calming, watching the headmaster. She looked back at Damian, listening to him thank the headmaster. Something about him hugging her like that...

"Damian," she whispered, reaching up to troke his face. Grabbing his jaw, she pulled him into a kiss. Ignoring the teacher in her desperation, she made the kiss deeper and far from her regular chaste.

"Thank you!"

He nodded and turned back human to make sure Ghost was okay. He knew she was, he'd have sensed it if she was hurt but he had to check anyway. He turned to Damian and Iva and wiped the blood from his mouth with a handkerchief he'd had in an inside pocket.

He coughed urging them to break it up. "Iva you need to see the nurse. Unless you'd rather me take a look?" He said shoving the handkerchief back into his pockets once he'd wiped off all traces of blood. It just wouldn't do to have the kids find him covered in blood.

"What were you doing in here in the first place Damian? This place is forbidden for a reason." He asked.

Damian found himself a bit breathless after the kiss with Iva. If narrowly avoided getting killed got him kissed like that, he'd have to do it more often, consequences be damned.

"You're, uh, welcome," he swallowed, face flushing a bit.

Damian hung his head. "I thought it'd be alright if we only traveled in a little ways," the boy said. "When I realized there was something out here, we were going to go straight back, but Tiya... um, Iva twisted her ankle. I'm really sorry, sir. I was too arrogant in my own abilities. I'll take whatever punishment you have for me. It was all my idea."

Iva pulled away, a content smirk on her face. Now that was a kiss. She played with a piece of hair, looking at her ankle.

"I will go to the nurse," she insisted, unsure of the Headmaster's medical abilities. She took Damian's hands, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Demushka, do not lie," she said softly, squeezing his hand. This was her fault; not his. "I twisted my ankle and Dem-.. Damian came to help me. It was my fault, sir,

"Why would we even go into the forest together anyway? There is nothing fun out here anyway,"