Secret meeting in the Shrieking Shack (Howl & Cryssie) (& whoever followed them if any1)

Crystella decided not to take the entrance through the womping willow. Her doppleganger body only had limited store of magic and energy to use. It didnt want to waste it tackling with a tree. So she took the longer route were student would stnad to stare but were too afraid to climb over the fence and approach the building in the distance. Crystella hopped over the fence and looked around to make sure no one was around before running up to the shack. She could not risk getting spotted or followed, and as her doppleganger body lacked the sense she herself possessed, it would be easy for someone to get by her.

She pulled off the wooden boards nailed across the back door of the shack and slipped carefully and quietly inside. As far as she could tell, no-one was in there, but people had been in there. Profesors for training purposes for what she could make out from the damage to the walls and the blood.
She cast reparo on the broken walls and pulled out shrunken objects from her cloak pocket and enlarged them. She started to clean the shack a bit. It was terribly dusty and grimey; she wanted her meeting with Sam to be a pleasant one and she prided herself on presentation.

This job could take her hours. She knew she didnt have the energy to clean every single room. And maybe she shouldnt if she wanted to avoid suspicion if anyone came in. So she headed upstairs until she approached a lone room that was locked. Alohomora wouldnt open it. There was a seal on it. Luckily, she was familiar with such seals and Herrick had taught her how to break them. Not all the time, but sometimes it worked. Thankfully it did this time. Like the other rooms in the house, this one was abandonned. But why the seal? She freshed the bed and pulled down the dusty bed curtains to clean them. "Sam is not sleeping outside. Its not summer just yet, and this room isnt as drafty as the others." She thought.

She moved furniture from other rooms into this one to make it more homey for Sam and more pleasant when they had their meeting. She even gathered up some stray wood to use as firewood later. She just hoped she wouldnt be disturbed or noticed. If she was reported, it was game over for her. As long as everything went smoothly, she would soon be face to face with Sam again. "I just hope these walls dont have eyes and ears..."

Crystella felt discouraged and broken hearted. Sam hadnt come. Surely he hadnt forgotten? No. He wouldnt have forgotten. He had had a lot of cleaning to do himself around Hogwarts. Maybe thats what it was. Hogwarts was a huge castle after all. He must have fell asleep on the job as he often used to when he worked for his Uncle.

At least the room was prepared. It was probably a good thing her plans were moved 4ward after all, because a lot of her enery stores had diminished after working herself so hard. At least no-one had entered the shack so she was safe to sleep there and wait.
"He'll come 2moro" She thought. "If he cant, i'll just have to change my plans again. Thats if i can... Kerew isnt too far from here..."

She lay on the bed and turned back into a small wooden figure.
Her mind retunred to her real body, which was being guarded by Saizilia. She dreamed of Sam. Of what had happened between them. Of what Kerew had done. It made her all the more determined to set the record straight. She just hoped Sam would listen and understand.
"Please Sam... come soon..." Tears rolled down her cheeks and her heart felt heavy. She was tierd. She decided she wouldnt wake up and wait for Sam, she'd just wait until he came.

Again, her heart was filled with woe. Oh why oh why hadnt Sam came? Somewhre, she could sense he was sad. Poor Sam, he must have had a lot on his mind that was causing him grief. But still, he wouldnt forget her surely. He never missed the oppurtunity to see her when they were in the muggle world. She had no other choice but to send him another message if that was the case.
She could do that via his dog Wolfie who had followed her scent to the shrieking shack. He was dubious of her at first, knowing somehow she wasnt really real, but still ahppy to see her all the same. At least she had company now until Sam arrived.

She had had enough! How dare Sam forget about her! She felt so hurt. She had wasted so much time and energy on nothing.
"That's it Sam, Wolfie and I are gonna hunt you down"

Suddenly, she heard commotion from people outside the shack. She would have to tell Sam they would need to rearrange their meeting plans anyway; they couldnt have a private meeting in an abandonned building that wasnt even abandonned! She remained as silent and still as possible. She had done this for a few nights now. Too afraid to move or make herself known.

She heard a shot and could feel blood escaping from someones veins. She was so scared. She wanted to see what was wrong, to do something, but she couldnt move. Wolfie too knew to stay quiet and exactly where he was, even though he did give out a low quiet sad whine. What was happening? Why was someone hurt? Why would someone want to hurt whoever it was? Maybe it was best she and Sam did not have their meeting there, in a house full of violence and death where all hopes of love were tainted.

Upon hearing another shot, she couldnt take it anymore. She hated herself for not doin anything, but what could she do? She opened the window quietly and helped Wolfie onto the roof. She got on his back and he leapt from the roof speeding her away from there. She felt so ashamed of her cowardice. When they were far enough away, she buried her face into the back of Wolfies neck and cried and cried and cried.

It was very early hours in the morning when he knew everyone would be asleep. Plus, after what happened to Richard, nobody wanting to go near the Shrieking Shack any more. He had to go there, where it happened. To see what scents or senses he could pick up, surely he would find something that what help him find Richard and put Briony's mind at rest. He searched the outside the shack and found the spot where Richard had died. A pool of blood stained the ground. Sam shivvered and swallowed back tears.
"I wish i could have been here...i could have done something" Sam clenched his fists and struggled to keep his breathing steady.

Being careful not to disturb anything, and headed inside the shack to search for more clues becuase there was nothing he could pick up outiside. No bullet cases or anything. Whoever Sam was up against, he didnt miss his mark or leave behind anything. "Damn... there's nothing... come on Richard buddy... there has to be something... point me in the right direction..." Sam closed his eyes and spoke out loud in a hushed voice. Nothing. He stood still in the middle of one of the rooms listening to the wind outside that rattled the windows and make the house groan.

He suddenly felt a creak on the stairs behind him. He nearly had a heart attack as he darted around to see who was there. Surely no-one could be? But to his suprise, side stepping up the stairs, was a little girl in a white dress with white. She looked too young to be a student.
"Hello...?" Sam edged closer towards the stairwell. "What are you doing in here miss?" Sam spoke in a soft voice.
The girl continued to back away until she was at the top of the stairs."You didnt read the letter yet did you Sam?" Asked the girl.

This chilled Sam. How did she now about that? Then something clicked about the white hair. "Clarian...?" Sam advanced up the first step.
The girl was holding something behind her back. "You should be more careful with this. You didnt even notice i'd taken it from you." She spoke as she held up the pendent Sam wore around his neck. He panicked and looked down, hitting his chest as he searched. He jerked his head back up towards the top of the stairs but the girl had disappeared. "Hey! You give that back to me! Sam pounded up the stairs two at a time. He tried every door he came across but they were locked or empty.

Suddenly he heard a creak of a door and saw Wolfie's head sticking through one of the banisters. "Wolfie? What are you doing here?"
Sam chased Wolfie up the last lot of stairs to the very top room. He pushed open the door and closed it behind him as he entered. Wolfie was sat on the bed and the little girl was stood in the corner of the room with her back to Sam, only she was taller now.
"I came back to get the things i left behind..." She explained in an almost ghostly voice. "I didnt think you would come here now... not after..."

Sam stayed were he was, staring hard at her. "Alright, no more games Clarian, i know its you. Give me my pendent back and tell me whats going on."

"Im not sure if now is the time to tell you...if you're ready Sam... I didnt want to tell you in these circumstances like this..." Clarian sighed, restored to her height.

Sam noticed her hair was darkening.
"Please, whatever you have to tell me, i need to know. My head's as already messed up as its ever going to get. What's the big secret already? Who are you?"

"Are you sure you're ready to know? Becuase once you know, we cannot change or prevent anything that happens after this point...I wish we could have done this anywhere but a house surrounded by death in a room of solitude and neglect...it doesnt feel like the right time...its a bad sign..."

"Please, i dont want to play around anymore and neither do you."

"Alright, but before i show you who i am... i need to beg of you to forgive me... i couldnt...didnt...should've done something but i was too afraid..."

"What do you mean....?" Sam took a step forward and slowly reached for his wand in his back pocket. He didnt like where this was going...

Crystella had entered the shack not long before Sam. She used her powder to make herself look like a little girl. This way she could step about the house more quietly and be more inconspicuous. She didnt want to come back there. She felt ashamed of herself for running. She looked outside the window at where Richard Romain had died. She thumped her head on the window frame and cried. She hated herself for not doing anything.
She hadnt seen the face of the assailant, but when she had turned around as she fled, she saw a spec of a person a distnace away hidden. If only she had made a connection with the earth then, she could have tied her mana to him and tracked him down. But of course she was too in shock to think of that at the time.

She heard someone enter and hid herself in the shadows. It was Sam. Had he not yet read her new letter, that they were to meet in the muggle world at his Uncle's countryside house instead? Then she saw him choking on tears at the sight of blood and trying to find anything that would give him some hope of finding who had done such a terrible thing.

He had his eyes closed as he listened to the wind outside. Her steps where so soft and silent that he didnt even hear her come behind him and untie the pendant from around his neck and retreat back to the door. To gain his attention, she stepped on a creaky stair step on purpose. Sam jumped as her turned around and spotted her there. Surely her white hair and the mention of the letter would give him a clue as to who she was.

"Clarian...?" Sam started to come up the stairs. Crystella was hurt that he hadnt even noticed the pendant was mising from his neck. She held it up to him to get him to follow her to the top room of the house. She could hear him bounding behind her and barging noisily through numerous doors trying to find her.
"Wolfie...go fetch him..." She whispered, as she positioned herself in the top room. It would have to be now whether she liked it or not. Her powder was wearing off.

Her voice was distant and trailed into a low murmur as she tried to explain herself to him as he entered the room. He demanded his pendant back. She gripped it tightly in her hand. He demanded she come clean but she didnt even know what he wanted her to tell him. Where should she begin? Should she even further burden him when he had enough to deal with as it was?

She knew nothing good could come out of meeting this way. But he was so desperate to know the truth. She didnt want to torment him for much longer, but she warned him. She ran her finger acorss the time necklace all her idol bodies wore. She had a horrible sense of forboding but knew her time was limited and not something she could afford to waste.

She choked on tears, despising her own cowardice. "Forgive me...i was afriad..."
She could sense Sam's tention and frustration; he was reaching for his wand.
"I was here when Richard died...in this room...but i ran away...i wanted to help him, i did, but i..." Her shoulders shook with tears and self-directed frustration. Sam was going to flip, she knew he was.

"You what?!" He screamed, rage flaring up inside him. "How could you just leave him there to die?! A good man, who had JUST proposed to the love of his life, MY FRIEND, died!!" He darted at her to try to grab her shoulder to turn her around and make her look at him but she had a defensive sheild around her.

"DONT YOU THINK I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING!" She screamed back at him. "I was so bloody terrified! I was here all alone with some gunman outside! You might not care enough about your own life to throw it away fro people who dont even care about you! But im not that dumb anymore! And i didnt have the strength! Dont you think i would have done something if i could have?! Dont you think i hate myself! I wouldnt even have been here if it wasnt for you!" Clarian was hysterical and cried into her hands.

Sam didnt know whether to feel sorry for her or give into his rage. "But you were there! Surely there could have been something?!"

Sam clamed himself down. Shouting at her wasnt helping and it wouldnt bring Rich back. "Im sorry, that must have been an awful situation for you to be in. And you're right im sorry, if i'd have remembered our meeting, you wouldnt have had to wait for me here. But understand, i want to do everything in my power to find him. You were a witness and you didnt even say. Was that what the slap to the face was for then?"

She continued to cry and ignore him. He handed her a handkerchief from his front pocket and passed it to her. "Im sorry Clarian, it wasnt fair for me to take my anger out on you. Dont cry. I promise i wont get angry again. I really want to hear what you have to say. If you still want to tell me."

It didnt help that Sam was shouting at her. He had never been mad at her before. She already felt bad enough as it was. She could only take so much abuse before she lost it, clenched her fists and eyes and screamed out her frustrations. Didnt he think she wanted to help? Didnt he think she would have done something if that was possible?! An idol body was weak and limited. What did he expect her to do? She had never been more scared in all her life.

It was alright for Sam; he was the type to sacrifice himself for anyone and everyone; he suffered with depression, his life meant nothing. Sam was used to being surrounded by death, she wasnt.
Herrick had tried to shield her from that world; creating for her a little bubble where the world was good.

She sobbed hard into her hands. Wolfie looked at her and whimpered as if to ask if she was ok, but she couldnt stop herself from crying becuase it hurt so much.

Sam calmed himself down and tried to apologise. There was hope the old Sam she remembered still existed after all. She took the handkerchief and tunred away from him again before he managed to catch a glimpse of her face. She stifled her tears and took deep breaths to clam herself down. It was time to tell him. She hoped he had braced himself for this. She lowered her cloak, revealing her long brown hair that swished and cascaded down past her shoulders.

She took a deep breath for courage and turned around slowly to face Sam now that she knew the effects of the powder had completely worn off. "Hi there Sammy..." She spoke almost in a whisper with teary eyes.

This was it. He was finally going to find out about Crystella and his sister Saizilia.
He felt bad aboout upsetting her. He didnt set out to hurt people, it wasnt in his nature to do that.

She tunred around and took the handkerchief off of him, but she turned back to face the wall too quickly for him to catch a glimpse of her face, but she looked different now. Almost familiar. He was always dubious of people who donned disguises. It meant that had to hide something which usually made them a hard person to trust. Unless it was necessary for their survival or something.

He couldnt pick up a sense about Clarian. It was like she lacked some human quality, as though she wasnt completely...real, almost. She removed her cloak and let it drop to her shoulders along with her dark aurburn hair. He was finally going to see her face. The anticipation was killing him.

When she turned around and spoke, Sam's heart felt like it had just been hit with a hammar. A beam of light from a hole in the wall streaked across her face and made her teary eyes sparkle like diamonds. He knew those eyes, there was no mistaking them.

He fell to his knees and keeled over until his arms and face where on the floor. He let out hard loud cries and refused to open his eyes. Was this someone being cruel to him? Was this really real? He wanted to believe, but he was so scared that it was a trick. He couldnt feel that pain again...not again...

The look on Sam's face was so heartbreaking. The anguish.

He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands of the floor and cried. She knew it must be a heck of a shock for him.

She knelt before him and stroked his hair. "Don't cry Sambie. It's me. Well, sort of. But i'll explain that in a sec. What's wrong? Open your eyes Sammy. Look at me, please."

He sat back up but kept his eyes closed. His face was stained with tears. She stroked the side of his face with her hand to wipe away the tears. "Sammy..."

Sam heard her kneel on the floor in front of him. He sat up so his face wasnt getting covered in the dust from the floor but he couldnt open his eyes. She stroked his hair and face to try to calm him down. Thats where he must have got his mannerisms from then he figured, copying Cryssie's caring, motherly heart.

He was in shock over the whole thing. He thought Clarian would take him to a portkey or something; he never thought she would turn out to be Crystella.
'Sambie'. He knew it had to be her. She was the only person that had ever ever called him that.

"I cant look... becuase once i open my eyes...you'll be gone again... and all this will just be becuase ive gone mad or something... i cant get my hopes up again just to have them dashed... i want you to be real...i so do, but," He grabbed hold of her hand. "It is you..."

He strained out a joyful cry. She hadnt died after all. She was here with him now. "But you just... you dont feel real... its like you're an allusion of my own mind and my head cant take it...i just... i cant make sense of any of this... is this real?" He blinked his eyes open and she was still there.

"Doth my eyes decieve me? Can it be?" He laughed with manic joy and smiled with relief before he threw his arms around her. "Crystella! I never thought i'd see you again..." He pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her back and grabbing hold of her hair crying into her shoulder. Real or not, he wanted to hold on to this moment, were he was finally granted some small happiness.

Crystella was nearly crying again. "Oh Sam...i'm not going anywhere. Im never going to leave you again, i promise"
It must have been awful for him, going to the hospital to find she wasnt there, then never hearing from her again; being told a week later she had died, then years later, he finds out everything he was lead to beleive was a lie. It was a lot to take in. He must of been so sad and full of blame for so long.

He grabbed hold of her hand and blinked his eyes open to look at her. She had never seen joy sweep over someone like it did in Sam's face. He pulled her into a hug and she held him tightly back, so happy to feel him warm, loving embrace again. "I've missed you so much Sammy...its been so long..."

Sam never wanted to let her go. The last time he saw her, they had agreed to date, his werewolf self put her in hospital, and after a week she was gone. He had lost her before that too, when she moved away.

(FLASHBACK) ** "I wish you didnt have to go Cryssie. In fact no, i wont let you go! You can stay right here with Herrick and me and Sezzy! It's not fair, i wont see you again."
"Sure you will Sam. Distance cant stop a friendship like ours. I wont forget you and i'll come back to visit you again one day."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Im gonna miss you Cryssie" (Takes hold of her hand)
"Me too Sam..." (Shuffles closer to him) "Hey, remember the things we stole from your uncles store, well i made this for you," (Gives him a friendship bracelet) "And this pendant too. As long as we never take them off, we'll never be apart."
"Thanks Cryssie. Im never gonna take this off. Here, i drew this for you. Its us. Its so you wont forget."
"I wont forget. And i'll never take mine off either." (Giggles and smiles as they look out at the countryside) "And when i come back, it'll be for good unless you can come with me." **

"I missed you so much too. It wasnt the same after you left" Sam sat back at cup his hands on Crystella's face to take it in. "Wow, the late blosson finally bloomed hey? You're more beautiful than i remember." Sam smiled and placed a gentle loving kiss on her lips.

Crystella remembered Sam never dealt with separation well. He missed people terribly after a week, let alone years. She had missed him too after she moved away. She couldnt make other friends and her parents arguing and her brothers maliciousness towards her got worse. She was able to cope with it when she had Sam and Herrick to retreat to, or Saizilia to beat people up for her, but not when she was all alone. Like Sam, she hadnt done too well in school after she let everything get to her so she ran away. Thats when even more trouble started, but she wasnt ready to tell him that yet.

She cupped her hand over her own pendant and tied Sam's back around his neck, happy he had kept it after all this time. She wished she didnt have to leave Sam again, but she new it was inevitable.

She didnt really know how to react to Sam's hands on her face. The way he was staring at her. The whole 'beautiful' thing. She shoook with shock when he leant forward and kissed her. She gently pushed him away. "Please Sam...don't... I dont want us to go there again..."

Sam felt a bit hurt when she pushed away. "Whats wrong?"
"I dont want us to go there again..." She replied.

Sam remembered what happenened last time they had decided to date eachother. Two days after was the full moon... the morning after, Cryssie was lying in hospital.

"I wont let that happen again Cryssie, i swear to you."

"You cant promise that with only a week to go before the full moon... and its not just that..."

"Well, what else is it then? Please, whatever it is, we can work on it surely. I've missed you, you're all i've ever wanted, you're the only person i want to be with, please..." He took hold of her hands and quoted a poem he had wrote for her:

"My dearest angel with diamond eyes, she knows not how bright she makes the stars in heaven shine...
Hers is the name etched on my heart that is hers alone, she keeps us from falling apart,
Her smile has the power to banish the rain, to give me strength, to keep me sane,
My dearest rose who was lost for a time, for now and forever, i beg you to be mine..."

Crystella knew Sam never meant to put her in hospital. He had warned her to stay away, but she wanted to reach him. Seeing him in so much pain killed her. She placed her hands over where the scars on her real body were, one across her stomach and the other across her left shoulder. She also had some on her legs. Herrick was the one who had to save her.

It wasnt his Lycanthropy that was the issue, she had never minded that in the first place. Her body wasnt real. She couldnt let him love something that wasnt real and going to die within the month. She couldnt do that to him again...

Before she could speak he took hold of her hands and started to quote a poem to her.
"Please Sam, dont..."
He knew she was a sukcer for poetry. Sam was always romantic, writing poetry for her, conjuring chocolate roses. But it would break her heart again too. She had to stop herself from crying again.

"Dont give me that Sam... im sorry, i love that poem, its sweet, but you were in love with someone for yeeeaaaars before me. I wasnt even your second choice, i was your fourth. I'd had the biggest crush on you for years and it took me to actually tell you for you to realise. I was always going to be your last choice. I dont want to be the last choice..."

"Plus...you cant love me this way... remember that spell Herrick made me work on. Dopplegangers and idol puppets? Well, ta da... The real me is with Saizilia... i have to use fake bodies now becuase..."

Sam felt hurt, she might as well have slapped him across the face again.
"That doesnt mean that i dont love you Cryssie. I didnt consider it back then becuase we were such good friends. I didnt think you would want to be more than that with me. You know i was clueless bak then. I didnt know what i wanted... but now i do... the real person i've loved all along was right there but i've always been too stupid to see... but you're not my last choice Cryssie, so please dont think that. It makes me feel like a a-hole"

Crystella pulled away from him and turned her head away. Sam had to rub his temples and digest the information for a minute to digest the information.

"I guess that explains why you didnt seem completely real or alive. So, what, does that mean im not even talking to the real Crystella...? Why do you need to use dopplegangers for? What happened...?

It looked like she was yearning and straining to tell him something she literally physically couldnt. A jinx curse. One of Kerew's tricks no doubt that swore people to secrecy. They couldnt tell you even if they wanted to. "Did Kerew do something that means you had to hide away with Sezzy....?" She wouldnt look at him. "Cryssie! What did he do?!"

"Oh Sam stop it stop it! Please!" Crystella covered her ears and turned away from him. "Im always the last choice, im nothing special, i accept that..." She sighed.

She stood up and turned to the wall again when she told him she was a doppleganger. She couldnt tell him. She wished she could but she couldnt... Kerew has placed a curse on her which caused her intense physical pain if she tried to tell anyone about what he had done or what he was planning to do.

She went stiff when Sam said his name. Kerew. She shuddered and choked back her tears. She had never been so afraid...

She jumped when Sam shouted at her again. "He did yes..." She strained. "But i cant tell you myself what that is. Saizilia wrote it in a letter for you hidden in Stargazer Square. My only purpose to exist is to deliver messages or take you places you need to be. She had a vision about you. Everything that is about to happen over the next month, she has seen... She's inherited your mothers gift..."

"Why are you avoiding the subject? Was it bad what he did? Did he hurt you? Has he scarred you? Is that why you dont want me to see you?" Sam was frantic and took hold of her shoulders to turn her around to look at her.

"Im not avoiding anything. Meet me in Hogsmeade tomorow and i'll escort you to Stargazer Square." She turned away from him again. "Yes..." She croaked out in a raspy voice. "It was horrible... and i have to use fake bodies becuase..." despite the pain she forced herself to say it "my body is in no fit state anymore. My mind is the only thing thats left for now... if you saw me now... it'd break your heart..."

She shook with pain and tried to gather her breath. "Don't shout at me to tell you, becuase i cant. You'll find out through Saizilia's letter. I need to go now, but you'll see me again soon." She picked up her bag. "I'll see you tomorrow Sam. Dont forget this time. We cant afford to waste anymore time when the full moon is only 6 days away... Everything will become clear soon..."

She stroked his face and brushed past him pulling her cloak over her face again. She wished she didnt have to be so unfair to Sam. She hoped he wouldnt lose it when he found out what Kerew did. She didnt want him to be filled with blind rage when he transformed because that would just make it all the more easier for Kerew, and all the more harder for him to reach him.

"You shouldnt think like that Cryssie, you know how i feel about you. I know you said it was down to wolf impulse but it wasnt, i swear, it me was me. And you can't keep avoiding the subject, if somethings wrong you need to tell me."

Sam didnt mean to shout, but she was being so secretive and it was driving him insane. And again, moe letters, more secret meetings, more crap to mess with his head.

He never knew his sister was a seer, but he was more concerned with what Kerew had done or was planning to do.
And what did she mean 'my only purpose to exist'? Did that mean once her purpose was fulfilled she was cease to exist? Well he wouldnt let that happen; he'd give her a reason to carry on existing, to stay with him. He would not lose her again.
Stargazer Square...he hadnt been there in so long.

His body surged with anger when she said Kerew had done something to hurt her. Then he was concerend and anxious. What did she mean her body was in a state? What had Kerew done!

She had to leave him again before he could ask anymore questions. It was probably best he take on new information bit at a time.
She stroked his face and brushed past him. The moon... was she afraid of what Sam would do when he turned...? Is that why she didnt want to tell him?

He felt sad and empty when she left, Wolfie following behind her. He refused to go on like this for any longer...
Tomorow...he would finally find out the truth about Cryssies disappearence and why his family lied to him. He would finally find out about Kerew. He would fianlly know what had happened in the 6 years since he left home. But did he want to know? Could he live with not knowing...?