After wandering through Hogsmeade for an hour, Sophie turned a corner and found herself plunged into darkness. The smell of rotting garbage filled her nostrils and she grimaced in disdain. "This place is nasty," she whispered to herself. "The shopkeepers should really try harder to keep their alley back here clean!"

The disgusting pigsty effect soon became the least of Sophie's worries, however, as a strange rattling sounded from one of the overflowing dumpsters. "What the..." The nervous first year crept forward, eyes locked intently on the offending dumpster. Something suddenly leapt out of the mounds of garbage, emitting a high-pitched squeal that rung painfully in her ears.

Sophie backed away slowly, trying to convince herself that the small shape hadn't been anything to be frightened of. "Just a little rat, maybe," she murmured under her breath. "Or a trapped bird." The quiet reassurances she attempted to use to console her herself did little to assuage the panic rising in her throat, though. The shadows from the buildings seemed to get longer and more substantial, the air growing colder and unnaturally still.

A tiny shriek almost escaped her lips, but she simply shuddered instead. "Girl," she told herself, "This is nothing. You're a Gryffindor, for heaven's sake! Now so cowering in the corner and act like one!" Despite her motivational self talk, the inescapable feeling of terror continued to grow faster and faster. She had to get out of here, and soon.

The racket that whatever had been rustling in the trash was starting to get on its nerves. Hadn't the little creatures here learned that this territory did not belong to them? It was tempted to scare the living daylights out of them. Whether rat or bird, the boggart could have easily morphed itself into a cat and chase after them for some distance before retrieving back into its dark bin. It had sensed their simple fear many times before.

But there was a new fear in the air that it could sense. A little girl was approaching, unknowingly, toward its bin. Her fear was easy to morph into, for it was easy to tap into the innocent girl's mind to retrieve it. If the girl thought that the back alley was something to be frightened of, then her motivational self-talk would do her no good in preparing her for what was to come.

Suddenly the bin that the boggart had found refuge in tipped over and started rolling its way toward the girl's feet. It was enough to keep the girl distracted while the boggart snuck in the dark space between two of the shops and took on a new shape. It stood there, waiting...

As Sophie backed toward the corner, something skittered across the pavement straight at her. She gasped, leaping away from it. "What is that?!" It bumped gently into her foot and rolled to a stop. Biting her lip in anxiety, Sophie crouched down to examine it. A small laugh bubbled up in her chest as she discovered that it was nothing more than a small bin. "See, Sophie? There's nothing to be afraid of. It's all in your head!"

Clambering back to her feet, Sophie took several deep breaths to calm her racing heartbeat. "This is all in your head." A tiny smile graced her face. "In fact, once you get past the endless piles of garbage and the occasional creepy noise, this place isn't so bad!"

As soon as the words had left her mouth, a shadow in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Spinning around, her eyes landed on a dark figure standing in the darkened space between two buildings. It was roughly the size and shape of a human, but something about it seemed ... off. Sophie's hand shook ever so slightly as she drew out her wand. "Come out into the light," she demanded, trying to make her voice sound more intimidating. "Who are you?"

As Skylar was wandering around Hogsmeade, that was when she heard voices from an alley. Or not voices, but a voice. Come out into the light and who are you? were not things that the fourth year wanted hear from the depths of Hogsmeade. Especially in a voice that was clearly a young person. Though she probably SHOULD have turned back around and went to find an adult, it seemed more pressing then that. Someone was in trouble. Withdrawing her wand and holding it down on her side, yet pointed just in front of her, "Lumos," she whispered.

Other than the fact that this place was plain creepy and clearly where all the shopkeepers of Hogsmeade tossed their refuge, it was more than that. Bad vibes. And not only that, but there was a young Gryffindor, as she suspected there might be, though she didn't know it was a Gryffindor, just a young child.

"Hello. You shouldn't be back here by yourself." So they should go; both go. Because she wasn't leaving the girl by herself and she didn't really feel like sleeping amongst the rats tonight. Or dying, for that matter.

Straining her eyes to see into the darkness of the alley, Sophie was nearly completely oblivious to the world around her. It was a creature that stood there, she was almost certain of it. Whether it was human or not, she could hear it softly breathing. The question was, what exactly was it that lurked just feet from her? Was it another student? A shopkeeper? A goblin? An elf? Or was it something else entirely?

A sudden voice near her ear startled her so much that she jumped at least a foot into the air. "Agghh!" She hollered, more surprised than afraid. Whirling around, she was extremely relieved to see an older student. "Oh, thank goodness," she exhaled with a sense of security and safety. "I'm sure you'll know how to help me!"

Pointing into the dim shadows, Sophie explained, "You see, there's something in there. Some kind of creature, I reckon. But I don't know how to get it to come out so I can deal with it!" She paused, mulling over the issue in her mind. "Then again, even if I could get it to come into the light, I probably wouldn't have the foggiest as to what to do about it." She turned a pleading gaze to the older girl. "But you know what to do, right? You have to!"

Why was the girl still standing there? Had she been petrified? This Alley was right alongside with Knockturn Alley as places one did NOT go, especially not alone. Judging from the sudden screaming, Skylar had startled the girl too, which was not her intention. However, at least she wasn't stunned.

Something there? Okay, Gryffindor girl. Did no one tell you of the monster last term? She wasn't even allowed to deal with the monster as a third year, so what made her think that the girl could deal with an unknown creature by herself?

"Oh yes, I do, of course I do," Skylar said, trying to sound the least bit confident when the girl seemed to have faith in her abilities about what to do. Glancing back behind her from where she had entered the Back Alley from the main street, she then faced the girl again. "I think, what we do now, is turn back around and head far away from here. And just pretend like we saw nothing." Yes, that was her great big plan. Unless the thing followed them out onto the main street, but at least they wouldn't be trapped in some dank place, with nowhere to go. Unless of course the girl was stuck in a pile of rubbage and needed help moving her feet.

It was waiting in a human forum, waiting to step out of the darkness and reveal itself to the young girl when she took a few more steps ... but then another girl randomly decided to show up. The boggart could sense the older girl and an inkling of fear. However, it was the younger's fear that it was latching onto. It was so present, so pure, so irresistible.

"Sophie," it whispered. The girl would know the voice of her own mother and would step into the darkness, right? There was no need to take the other girls' advice. "Come."

It hoped that the young girl would come forward without the aide of the older. It hoped that she would tell the other that everything was fine because her 'mother' was there. Should the older girl tag along though ... well, it knew how to deal with her all the same.

Sophie looked up at the older girl and nodded slowly.
"You're right, she whispered, not daring to speak any louder. "We should probably go." As she turned to leave the dark alley, however, she heard a voice calling her name from the shadows. It was a voice she recognized, one that she knew very well.

"Mother?" She questioned in disbelief. "Mother, is that you?" Shooting a glance at the girl who had come to rescue her, she beamed brightly. "Can you believe it? That's my mother!"

Laughing softly at her silly and obviously unreasonable fears, Sophie took a step forward. And then another and another, each one taking her further into the all-consuming blackness. Before long, the darkness enveloped her and she couldn't see anything.

The worry returned to Sophie's mind. "Mother?" Her cries were becoming more desperate now, more anxious and afraid. "Mother, where are you?"

Yes, of course she was right. They should definitely go. Except before they had fully had the chance to go, the girl, Sophie it seemed was her name was being beckoned to come. And Skylar was just left, standing there, torn. Why would her mother be in Hogsmeade? But then again, shouldn't she trust the girl to know the sound of her mother's own voice? There was something off about the whole situation and Skylar just had this bad feeling in stomach.

She knew one thing though; she wasn't about to leave the first year until she knew for certain it was truly her mother. "Wait... Wait, Sophie, is it?" she said, taking a step forward. "Let's be logical here. Why would your mother be calling you from the depths of a deserted alley filled with rubbish and rodents?" If her mother wanted to surprise her baby girl on a Hogsmeade weekend, wouldn't it make sense to meet in the brightly lit streets?

Yes, something was definitely off and it wasn't the croissants from breakfast.

"I'm over here, darling."

A devilish grin grew on the boggart-woman's face as the child grew closer and closer, letting the darkness slowly engulf her. Nothing would stop a determined girl from seeing her 'mother' now, even with the older girl trying to bring logic into the situation. The young girl had fallen into its trap. It was too late.

In the semi-darkness for the older girl's spell was bringing some light into the alley, it grabbed onto one of the girl's shoulders, unable to let the fear growing inside of her fester any longer. It wasn't a gentle grab by any means at all. It was forceful. It was meant to hurt. The girl feared being deceived or attacked by someone she cared about. With the deceiving part out of the way, it was the attack that was happening now.

"How could anyone love a stupid brat like you?" it hissed as it clung onto her shoulder harder and started pushing her deeper into the darkness, away from any source of light.

Sophie could hear the older girl calling her back, but she knew that her mother was in here somewhere. As she paused for a moment in the dim shadow, a hand suddenly yanked on her shoulder. "Mother?" Sophie whimpered, trying to escape the iron grip of the strange force. "Is that you?" A small cry of pain tore from her lips as the hand bore down and began to drag her away. "No, Mother, please! You're hurting me!"

The pain inflicted on her shoulder was nothing compared to the words that came next, though. "How could anyone love a stupid brat like you?" The phrase scalded her ears, burned straight to her heart, left her aflame with pure terror. Eyes wide with fright and confusion, Sophie took a sharp breath in. "Wha...? You... Why?"

A barrage of cold emotions stole through her body, taking all joy and life. She felt alone, afraid, abandoned. Hot tears of fear streamed down her face, each one bringing her back to the painful realities of what was happening. "No!" she screamed, wounded pride pounding through her veins. "No! I trusted you! I loved you! And I believed you when you said that you loved me!" She shook her head violently, sending the tears splattering into the hard pavement below. "No!"

Skylar didn't like this, and was grateful for the light her wand provided. The hissing, the tone of voice. She read about these creatures and it was feeding on the first year's fear, because she was being so gullible and she was eighty percent sure she knew the counter spell, as it wasn't terribly difficult. But before she could do it, she needed to confuse the creature and get it to take her form. Assuming she was right in her feelings and worries.

"Wait, wait! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" She called after the stupid creature, who seemed to fearing her light. Which made her even more convinced about what was amongst them. So she moved further, holding her light up after the creature, to hopefully get it to drop its prey. Please?

At least she was staying put together, which was something... that was needed. The thing hated confidence and light.

It wasn't so much the pain that it cared about or the tears that were falling down her face. It was the girl's fear that it was feeding off of. And the fact that she didn't know how to defend herself satisfied the boggart greatly. It wasn't going to let go of it easily.

The light that followed after it and the Gryffindor made it continue pushing the girl forward. It didn't fear the light. It feared nothing, but it was the darkness that it preferred. When the older girl was close enough, it suddenly turned, not letting its grip loosen, as it stared at the light and then at its source.

What was this one afraid of? Buried beneath all of that confidence she was mustering was fear. The human-boggart's eyes narrowed, only to then morph into something else entirely.

At the feet of the eleven year old was a teenage girl, her face covered by her robe. She wasn't moving. Dare you take a look?

Given that it was the first Hogsmeade visit of the year, and he hadn't seen his sister or friends since school started, Noah Diggory had made it to Hogsmeade earlier than planned in hopes of catching a couple more friendly faces while he waited for Skylar. They were meant to meet at the Three Broomsticks, and when the time came and went, the former Ravenclaw became a little suspicious.

It was unlike her to not be on time, but perhaps she had run into a friend, or that boy he's been hearing about. Still, he only had a few good hours with her before he'd have to walk her back and head home himself, so abandoning his table at the crowded teen-central pub, the sixteen-year-old proceeded to wander the street.

There were plenty of dark haired girls, some of whom were even familiar, but none that were the younger Diggory girl. Grey eyes scanned here and there on his slow trek, his ears picking up voices from the alley and... young girls, by the looks of it... he could hardly tell from here, and something about the situation drew him in. Before he could really think it through, he was walking toward them, only then realizing- "Skylar!" He called loudly, lighting the tip of his wand with a mumbled incantation as he approached, gaze immediately going to the girl on the ground. "What's going on here?"

This was not going well. Skylar took a deep breath, feeling worry over the Gryffindor. She should have turned around promptly to get an adult, but the thought of a young first year alone in this alley was not at all comforting.

Getting it to shift shapes thought was prudent to her plan to save them. Not that she thought she could do it alone, but she had a better chance of it than the first year. At least she actually had the opportunity to have a lesson on the matter, whereas Sophie hadn't. Yet it all seemed hopeless, until the creature finally turned toward her, albeit still holding onto Sophie.

Teenage girl. Not moving. Dead. She didn't have to go closer to know, as she'd experienced a mock of this before.

Closing her eyes to focus her mind on making the situation humorous, she was about to cast a spell when she heard her name. Noah. Oh no, she'd completely forgotten about her plans to meet him at the pub. Noah. Another person who knew what to do.

"Boggart," she whispered behind her, not willing to take her gaze off the creature now that she got its attention.

"Riddikulus!" She shouted, picturing the teenage body alive and dancing with a tutu and completely out of sync, but totally hilarious. At least it had been before.

Baa....Baaaaaaaaaaaaa....meeeeeh....baaaaa

He had done it! Derfael Mitchell Ashburry-Hawthorne had found himself a GOAT! A REAL GENUINE GOAT! He could not WAIT to show Stasya either...assuming he could get said goat to cooperate and walk with him back to the castle. Which was not going so well and he had somehow selected one that was considerably stronger than himself. Which really wasn't all that difficult to achieve. He was rather gangly and scrawny for a 12-year-old.

"No no no noooooo," he pleaded with the goat as it dragged him into the back alley by the leash. "Not this way...THAT way..."

He was just in time to hear someone shouting RIDICULOUS and, well, he couldn't REALLY disagree with him. "I knooooooow," he sighed. He imagined that it was rather funny seeing a blonde boy being pulled around by a male goat - a buckling, if his analysis was correct.

It would have been wise of him to look UP from his struggle with the goat of a pleasantly tawny color, but it was currently attempting to nibble at his vintage early 1900's era Hufflepuff scarf.