It was dark, damp and just as Damien had always imagined it when his mother had told him stories of Harry Potter and the Chamber.... It was a rare instance in Damien's life when the boy was speechless, this was definitely one of them.

He licked his lips, his blue eyes straining in the green light to peer at the strange surroundings. It was colder here, but the air was still and the silence seemed like a dark blanket that was more smothering than comforting. It was not a place of games and fun, that was clear enough to see, and yet Damien Anderson-Belfort felt no inclination to leave, rather he was acutely curious and eager to dive deeper into the murky depths of Salazar Slytherin's most famous secret.

"Lumos." He muttered, his voice echoing, he turned to Evie, hand still wrapped tightly around hers. "You okay?" Damien quietly asked. If she wanted to leave and turn back Damien would do just that, but he hoped, a bit selfishly, that this would not be the case.

Surprisingly, they landed upright. On her feet, her hand still in Damien's death grip, Evangeline inspected her robes in the dim light. It seemed as if no one had traveled down here since they had all gone down last year, because her robes were no longer very clean.

"Yes, alright." Since Damien had the light on his wand, Evie kept hers in her robes and tugged him further into the damp darkness, down the corridor towards the chamber. Her eyes wandered up and down and all around, noting that it seemed much creepier now with only one wand light and significantly less people.

But fear, Evie did not. In fact, she was still excited. "We should get a whole load of people and play hide-and-go-seek down here," she suggested with a grin. Good idea, right? RIGHT?

The sound of water dripping off pipes and from walls is not the only noise you hear as you explore the Chamber. The scratching and splashing sound of movement against the cold damp ground from an unseen entity alerts you that you are not alone down here...

Something...or somethings...or someone seems to be playing hide-and-seek with you.

"Hide and seek? Yeah that would be-" He stopped, the words getting lost on the way from his brain to his lips as the scratching noise reached his ears. "Evie... D'you hear that?" Damien whispered, the relaxed posture he usually carried himself with was now tense, upright and perfect as he listened for something.

A splash, coming from he-wasn't-sure-where, but the sound made his mouth go dry. maybe it was just a rock falling into the water... a mouse, something small scuttling through... Damien rationalized, licking his lips, his warm hand still holding on tightly to Evangeline's softer, smaller one.

"It... Sounds like there's something down here." He said, and for all the cowardly lion's worry, his voice was as steady and as calm as ever. Whatever it was, he could be brave, for Evie, if not himself.

She could feel Damien tense up right after he stopped mid-sentence, but at first she couldn't figure out why. Not hearing the noises at first, Evie looked at him to see what had made him stop. Evie tore herself away from her thoughts and listened to the sounds that echoed in the seemingly not empty chamber.

Honestly, she wasn't worried. Evie wasn't a worrier. Besides, why would the Headmistress let this chamber be open if it was filled with.... what, a reincarnation of Salazar Slytherin's basilisk?

"It's probably just mice," she whispered reassuringly as she gave his hand a squeeze. Evie continued down the corridor, tugging Damien along, closer to the big open area. He was a Gryffindor; they were brave, right?

"WEEEEEEEE!!"

Haha, this was so much fun. Lux loved slides. BEAM.

after what seemed like ages, she finally reached the bottom. Yep, now she was waaaaaay down at the bottom of Hogwarts. Under the lake even! She remembered a lot from the Cartography club meeting, including the fact that there was a hidden staircase down here. She would just need to remember where it was located...

Getting o her feet, she heard a boy and a girl nearby. "Damien? Is that you?" It sure sounded like him.

The scratching and splashing intensifies as the sounds grow louder and come to include the crunching sound of bones being stepped upon and pushed to the side.

Movement in the shadows alerts you that whatever else is down here with you is close. And there is more than one.

Hungry whispers from the darkness reach your ears and send chills down your spin. The words, however, remain muffled.

For now.

Okay. Not Mice. The sounds that were reverberating through the chamber could hardly be created by something that small.... Not to mention... Damien was sure he could hear words, or something like it, he was straining to understand them, but he couldn't. It was unfortunate timing for his Hufflepuff friend because her words had been drowned out by the symphony of noises all around the chamber and the pounding of Damien's own heart in his chest.

He didn't think twice, he pulled Evangeline by her hand and ducking behind one of the snake statues. He extinguished his wand light, not wanting to allow the... Things to see them. "Okay... Maybe not our best idea." He whispered in Evie's ear, holding his wand tightly in his other.

Had it just been himself down here Damien would not have cared, but he was not alone, very much not so and Evie's safety was the only thing in the Gryffindor's mind, if that sort of caution made him cowardly, well, he didn't care.

Okay.

Lux was starting to regret coming down here. There were strange crunching noises that sounded kind of like bones and Damien wasn't responding to her...if he was even down here. Someone HAD to be lurking though, and they must be close by.

Taking her wand out of her pocket, she lit it even though she was scared. "Hello? Is anyone down here?" Walking away from the slide, she tried her best to ignore the sounds and shadows because they were terrifying her. Maybe she could find that staircase and get out of here with Damien...

Why was Cinna even following Lux into the bathroom anyway? Minus the fact that she really had to go. But she couldn't help but to notice that her friend had disappeared while in the bathroom. Did she go down in the chamber of secrets? Great, Bay wasn't here to protect her. So she better go down and keep an eye on her. She had too have.

Curiously she took a leap down the shute. She slid and landed on her feet not gracefully but at least her bum didn't hit the floor. She wasn't that clumsy. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and casted a silent lumous. Now that was much better. She walked around hearing whispers, crunching bones and dropping water. It was a cavern with plumbing she didn't expect much more that.

Going farther into the chamber of secrets she started to see shadows. "Lux?" She better be down here since she had thought she followed her down. "Lux are you down here?"

Evie's heart nearly jumped out of her chest when the noises got louder and more distinct. Mice did not make that much noise. Nor were they heavy enough to crunch... whatever they were crunching. Evie did not want to think of what that noise was... or what was making it. But it definitely wasn't mice. All air leapt out of her lungs when the inaudible whispers sent chills up her spine. Without question or hesitation, Evie followed Damien behind the statue and pressed herself close to him. She was sticking beside him, no matter what. Her defense work was good, so she could protect both of them if she needed to.

Fumbling for her wand inside her robes, Evie tried to keep her breathing calm. Was it a hoax? Maybe some Slytherins had snuck down here and were trying to be funny. "What is that?" she whispered to Damien, trying to keep her breathing even. It was hard to keep silent in such a giant chamber; even the whispers were loud. But where were they coming from?

Creeping through the shadows, the splashing and scratching against the ground ceased for a moment. The silence filling the Chamber was almost deafening, but did not last long.

Suddenly, something descended upon the two students and took a firm and inescapable grip on both their legs.

No one was answering her.

Lux was left alone with whatever was crunching bones and making shadows. She was so scared and started to cry. Where was Bay? She wanted Bay. If he was here, though, he could get hurt and she never wanted that to happen again. Maybe the creatures would leave her alone and she could find that staircase...

Wiping her eyes, she heard Cinna. She was so happy to see her but didn't want anything bad to happen to her. "Something is down here!" They needed to get out of this place as soon as possible...

IT HAD HER LEGS!!! SOMETHING HAD HER LEGS!!

Lux let out a terrified scream. "HELP!! SOMEONE HELP!" She was crying again.

Come on Lux where are you? The sixth year kept look around for her red headed puff friend. She had better be down here now. Through all of the other noise Cinna could hear crying. It was probably Lux it had to be Lux.

Finally she found the hufflepuff. Good she was down here and she didn't completely waste her time looking for her. Of course something was down here. She nodded "Come on Lux. Let's get you out of here." She reach over to Lux. Whatever grabbed her legs must have grabbed Lux's first on the hufflepuff reacted and started screaming. Something had her legs too. She tried kicking her legs to free herself. "Let go of me." She shouted The screams, oh Lux calm down. What to do? She couldn't think straight with the crying. She couldn't see what had there legs. She turned around with her wand as best as she could. The first thing that came to her mind "Stupefy! Stupefy!" She pointed her wand behind where the thing that had there legs was or should be.

"I don't know." The words were as quiet as he could make them, and though he tried, he could not keep the panic from leaking into his voice as he pressed close to Evie just as she did the same. She was clever, better with her wand than most others and Damien, though not as well versed in spells was quick on his feet and in his thoughts. Together he was sure they could protect each other and keep safe. Smart, he needed to be smart - He thought briefly of Rorie, his mind wondering how her crafty mind would have dealt with this situation - but he soon banished the thought.

He needed to be thinking clearly.

The shouts of terror and panic sent a chill through his very core. He knew that voice, heard it practically every day. "Lux, oh, hell." He said. His heart was pounding in his chest. He needed to save her, get her away from those-those things, whatever they might be, but he was frozen on the spot, his feet planted firmly to the chamber floor as he warred with the more cowardly parts of his own self.

"W-we h-have to help-" He couldn't see Evie exactly but he turned to where he thought she was, hoping he would see in her eyes the conviction he so needed.

Honestly, she didn't know why Damien WOULD know what it was. It was dark and whatever the thing was, it was sneaky and hiding and creeping up. A few more seconds of silence set in before the blood-curdling scream of a teenage girl send her stomach lurching and her heart jumping. She clung to Damien's hand tightly, her heart pounding in her chest.

"We have to get out of here," she whispered seriously at the exact same time that he said they needed to HELP. "No, Damien, we have to leave!" Evie exclaimed, trying her best to keep her whisper quiet, but demanding enough to get him the hell OUT of there. Now was not the time to be a Gryffindor! Evie grabbed onto Damien's robes and tugged him out from behind the statue. It was dark and she couldn't see much, but she knew the general direction of the staircase in which they exited last term and she was hoping that whatever was in there was too busy eating the other people to notice the two of them.

Just to be sure that Damien wouldn't try and save Lux and whoever else was screaming, Evie yanked Damien's wand from his hand and dragged his almost-heroic-and-DEAD-butt across the chamber. EVIE OUT.

With immense strength, the two girls were pulled further into the shadows by the unseen foes until they could no longer be seen or heard. All that remained was the shoe of the Gryffindor that became caught in a web and the torn remnants of a Hufflepuff robe on the ground from the other.

More movement came from the shadows still as unknown number of enemies scurried through the darkness towards the remaining pair (sarahlooo & nicole black).

"FEED! FEED! FEED ON FLESH!" they hissed.

Another appearing from the right, it leapt forward and just barely grazed the leg of the boy. But it was enough to puncture the skin.

A thud of a large body somersaulting upon the damp ground notified the two students that the attacker had fallen, momentarily preoccupying the rest of its accomplices from their pursuit.

Crying, Lux struggled to get free from the creature, but couldn't. It was only Cinna's blasting of Stupefy over and over again that caused her to even remember that she had a wand.

Hands shaking, she fumbled for her wand, finally extracting it as she was being dragged away. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Incendio!" She began blasting spells anywhere but in Cinna's direction, praying that at least some connected.

They were going to make it out alive. They had to.

Evie had given Damien no time to argue his point, dragging him with a strength he was rather surprised by and even taking his wand from him to further ensure that the boy could do nothing as the sounds of his fellow students... His friends, disappeared...

But the chamber was anything but silent, it was filled with the haunting chorus of voices screaming out for flesh and Damien's blood was running cold in his veins as he raced away from the attackers with Evie by his side.

Damien didn't notice his attacker, too focused on running as fast as his long legs could carry him, only when he felt the thing bite his leg did he realize how close he was to some horrific fate. It was only a graze but it stung and burned and Damien cried out as the pain coursed though his limb, slowing him down for a second longer than he liked.

"Run, RUN! HOLY- RUN," He exclaimed, almost shouting as much to himself as he was to Evie. He was a bit slower now because of the leg, but still he kept on, his adrenaline and fear keeping him from giving up. Damien could see the staircase, and the light that descended from it and his heart leapt at the sight. So Close. They were so close.

Evie was so focused on getting herself and Damien out of there that she didn't even notice that the screams of the girls had disappeared. All she heard was the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her head and the scuttle of things that were after them. She hadn't noticed how close they were. Whatever they were, they were blending in with the dark surroundings of the chamber. She was, however, very aware that whatever they were, they wanted to eat them. Fear jammed Evie's throat shut until a large mass of something landed right in front of her. She let out a shrill scream and noticed at the same time that Damien had slowed down significantly. She turned around to see him limping and another shot of fear a coursed her veins, filling her blood with pins and needles.

"Damien!" Evie only panicked for a short moment and she didn't even have time to do that. Damien was injured which meant Evie had to get him out of here or they were both going to get eaten. Evangeline Shacklebolt would let monsters eat a Hufflepuff, but she would NOT let them eat her best friend!

Evie handed Damien his wand for self defense and pointed her wand at him. "Locomotor body!" she cast with determination, and with the raise of her wand, Damien was lifted off the ground a few inches, enough that Evie could move his injured body up the staircase that was before them. The adrenaline and fear kept her going. Evie stepped around the large mass of WHATEVER just landed in front of them and leapt towards the staircase, keeping her spell focused on strong to levitate Damien up the stairs in front of her. Her long lanky legs began to push herself and Damien up, up, up, as she silently prayed that the beasts would stay behind.

Recovering from it's tumble, it scrambled back to its feet with several of it's companions pressed on. Some began climbing the walls up towards the ceiling to attack from above.

Another, thinking it had come close enough, leapt at the girl as she ran. It only managed to tear the sleeve of her robe. Leaving a searing crimson scratch on her forearm, it would have tried again had it not been for a booming voice from somewhere deep within the Chamber.

"Not yet," it commanded.

All movement ceased and retreated back into the shadows.

For now.

His wand was being handed back to him and Damien first thought was that leg or no leg, he was turning back to try to rescue Cinna and Lux, but not even a second later he was being lifted into the air by Evie's spell and she was pushing him up the stairs. "Evie! Wait!" He said, he daren't struggle and cost the girl energy or throw off her concentration, too worried that she might fall back or be caught by the creeping things, and so he could only call out and hope that she would put him down.

Damien growled with anger as teared at Evie's sleeve. No. He pointed his wand at the creature and sent out a stunning spell, but he was in an awkward position and the spell hit nothing but the chamber wall.

It hardly mattered, for a second later something, somewhere in the darker recesses of the chamber called out and... The things... The things stopped. He couldn't believe it, he didn't believe it, not at all and when he saw the rope that was attached to the door leading up and out of the chamber, well he had never been so glad.

He knocked it open from where he floated. "Evie, come on!" He could see the sky. They were safe.

WAIT?

WAIT, DAMIEN???

EVIE WAS NOT WAITING.

She started up the stairs as fast as she could, but the stumbled creature got to her before she got far enough. A pained scream of terror escaped Evie's throat as she felt something sharp tear through her robes and a thin layer of skin on her arm. It hurt like hell, but that only made her run faster. And Evie was not a runner.

As she ran up the stairs, Evie heard a booming voice below them in the chamber. Not yet... it said. Not yet? What did that mean? Were they (whatever they were) planning an attack? That meant they had a leader. It was too much to comprehend at that moment, since Evie was rather busy running for her life, concentrating on the spell holding Damien up, and not tripping over stairs. It seemed like she had been running forever, and her pace was slowing significantly, but she saw the light of the sky through the opening above them right as Damien called out to her.

Evie continued to lift Damien out of the stairwell and crawled out of it after him, dropping the spell once he was over the ground. Collapsing onto the ground, Evie let out a groan and clutched her arm to her abdomen as she rolled onto her back. She was panting for air after her long haul up the stairs and her arm hurt. She was pretty sure Damien's leg was in worse shape though.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she sat up. She reached over to shut the access door and tried to take a look at his leg.

She slid down the tunnel first and hurried to stand. Flicking a light with her wand she looked around quickly. Her heart was beating quickly sensing the chatter. If she didn't have her gift she wouldn't have attempted this, but if it could help protect them she had to try. Hearing the others behind her she turned and made some room.

"Keep together, groups of at least two if not more. Work quickly find any teeth you can. If they are cracked or decayed too badly leave them. We need at least three good ones. Once you find one let the rest of us know so we can keep count and get out of her as quick as possible."

She turned forward and began to move into the chamber more, her eyes moving to the shadows and keeping her mind focused on anything she could sense. "Does anyone have any questions?" She could answer as she walked.