Before she could ask anymore questions, a Merperson popped out and gave them a warning. An attack was coming. Her eyes darted from Professor Noble, to the Headmistress, back to the newly joining Professors Stewart and Wayland. Her heart was thumping wildly and she was starting to sweat.

Evacuation. That was the best thing she had heard. Jessa was absolutely brilliant and she was completely supportive of getting out of there before any attackers came. What was she going to do? Her spell casting abilities were lacking and she wasn't sure who exactly attacking, so a hand to hand fight might not be an option.

Then she remembered her broom. Maybe she could get her broom and fly to safety if things started going south. She glanced towards Maddie and tried to access how panicked she was before making any decisions.

Needless to say, the headmistress was lost for words. She was just as clueless as everyone else about what was going on. She nodded her head at Ignatius when he suggested that the screech tustve come from a creature, which Regina thought was a little more than obvious. The question was which creature. The unknown was unnerving.

The words that came out of Maddie's mouth made her feel uneasy. What if this all was because of the hoard? Based on everything they knew, those items had been placed in a cave long ago that eventually was submerged underwater when the lake came to be. The woman was failing to see any connection, but was she wrong about that?

She wasn't sure what to think of Merchefianess Arethusa's presence. Surely they weren't upset over the hoard being taken from the lake? Especially after all these months?

Regina stood there for a few moments in disbelief, her brain still registering the fact that the merpeople village had been attacked. She didn't even notice that Arethusa had gone. She was trying to narrow down the options of what could have attacked the village and was apparently coming their way.

She then snapped out of it, her eyes glancing at everyone that was present. What was their plan going to be? "We don't know what we're up against," she said, retorting the comment about an army -- 'attackers' and 'an army' weren't exactly synonymous. "And we likely don't have time to wait for the Ministry. As for an evacuation," there was a slight pause, "I'm not sure if we will have enough time to get an entire school off the premises..."

There, really, was only one thing they could do given the circumstances. "Head to the castle and defend the entrances if you feel like you shouldn't be out here on the grounds. Otherwise, wands at the ready. Stay near an adult or an older student and stay vigilant." She took out her own wand and, with a wave, sent a silver alligator up to the castle, a call for reinforcements.

Maddie turned to Jessa as she rattled off a list of what they could possibly do. The older Ravenclaw girl seemed so calm and collected, and that attitude kept Maddie under control as she waited to see what would happen next. "We should probably get everybody out of the castle," she said, a little hesitant to speak up. "Professor Curtains told us that the last time the merpeople got involved with the castle, the whole thing almost flooded." They didn't even know who these attackers were either.

"I don't see my prefects out here, so..." Maddie sighed. "...I volunteer to go round up the Hufflepuffs." She caught the look Emmalyn gave her and spared a smile for the slightly younger girl. "Let's just stick together, Emmalyn. We might get ourselves in a situation we don't know how to get out of." Besides, she was sure the professors and the Headmistress would give them directions. This was Hogwarts. They were pretty used to this kind of thing, yeah?

But then the Headmistress spoke up, and apparently, the master plan was getting underway. Blinking and then growing wide-eyed, Maddie withdrew her wand. As she did this, she thought back to the tapestry she'd viewed with the other professors. Something about a wizard taking a treasure and then...what was the part about the skull? Now she was wishing she'd figured out more of the mystery behind that display.

Wands out, defend, and don't do anything stupid. Well, she was sure she could do the first two, but the last one was asking a bit too much. Didn't the Headmistress realize she was talking to a bunch of wand wielding teens that had just spent the entire year learning about spells that created ropes of fire and ate the skin off of their unsuspecting targets? Stupid was going to happen.

Pleased that there was finally some sort of plan in place, she went to stand beside Maddie. The third year was on top of it. A true leader. Emmalyn nodded in agreement with her. "Yes, stick together. No reason for anyone to be out alone and our odds are much higher in larger numbers." She was a bit nervous about returning to the castle though. It might be a bit safer, but, as Maddie had pointed out, it was the location of the flood they had just learned about in class. The Hufflepuffs weren't exactly in the best area of the castle to be dealing with another possible flood.

Yes Skylar heard the screeching but like the good seventh year she was TRYING to be as she finished out this roller coaster of a year and started buckling down the beginning of the month when she realized NEWT examinations were less than two months away, the Slytherin Captain had found all her free time used up with studying and quidditch strategies for their final match against Hufflepuff.

So of course, she was right in the middle of what she liked to say a successful study session in the library, but the screeching was definitely recognizable as someone who had been studying mermish the last couple of years. Haphazardly throwing her things into her bag, she hurried down the stairs as quickly as the moving stairs would allow her, which was not an easy feat when the stairs insisted to make things complicated whenever you had someplace to be.

Finalllllyyy arriving to the crowd at the Great Lake, she arrived in time to hear the tail of what the headmistress was saying: 'Head to the castle and defend the entrances if you feel like you shouldn't be out here. Otherwise, wands at the ready. Stay near an adult or an older student and don't do anything stupid.'

UH ... from the looks of the crowd it was a lot of young students, plus Ronan and Jessa, plus adults. Guess she ought to stay. And observe for now, until further instructions would be given.

Gaston had been heading toward the entrance gate, intending to apparate home for some time with his wife and daughter as soon as he left the grounds, when he heard an inhuman screech in the distance. He doubled back, running in the direction of the sound, wand drawn. By the time he reached the lake, there were several people already there and - a merperson?

He arrived about halfway through the merchiefianess's warning; his blue eyes widened in shock, and the color drained from his face. "Wait, what's attacking? What do they want with us?" he asked, but the merchiefianess was already gone. His mind buzzed with possibilities, but there was no time to riddle out what was attacking. They had to come up with a plan!

Gaston gripped his wand tighter, his overprotective dad!professor instinct going into overdrive. Whatever was attacking wasn't getting to the students without going through him first! Setting his jaw against the tidal wave of panic that threatened to wash over him, he looked to Hawthorne for orders. He nodded in reply, a resolute look on his face; then his eyes darted toward the two young Hufflepuffs (Emmalyn and Maddie). What if... whatever they were up against got to them before they got back to the castle? And what then? There was bound to be chaos at the entrance. "We need at least one adult at the entrance," he mused out loud.

Gaston sighed. He wanted to stay and fight, but he knew he couldn't leave the students to defend the entrance by themselves. He felt like such a bloody coward, once again backing away from the fight. "I'll check on the Gryffindors, then head to the entrance in case... whatever this is makes its way to the school," he said, giving his colleagues a look that said, stay safe. Then he addressed the group in a louder tone, "Anyone heading back to the castle, follow me please!"

Vivian was here, of course. Always had been here. And she was observing, listening intently to everyone present. Next thing she knew it, that little ripple thing on the lake turned out to be one of the merpeople. Who had body guards. The Head Girl immediately assumed that it was their leader or someone of important in their mermaid village.

Interesting enough. That should mean something. And HOLY MERLIN, they actually spoke the human tongue! This was all very intriguing.

Except for the fact that they are coming this way. Whoever they were. Vivian made a low grumble because... really? Was there never a regular day here at Hogwarts, where they were actually safe? This was why she was somehow glad she was supposed to leave soon. But for now, she had to face this first. She can't possibly graduate if she couldn't live to see the morning. She had a summer to look forward to.

And that meant... she had to check her Slytherins. Because, of course, Flynn wasn't around. That was not at all surprising. "Me, Professor. I'll pay a visit to my common room," the Head Girl said to their Charms professor. "Maybe I'll find Flynn and then I'll drag him out here." If anything, she knew her co-prefect had a liking for attacking people. It didn't have to be with the use of a wand.

She’ll figure out where she'll place herself later once she makes sure her snakes were okay. And her sister because she wasn't all that biased, duh.

.......

..............

So not leaving then. Right. Got it. Stay and face whatever unknown force had attacked the merpeople and wait to find out if they would make a better match than their undersea counterparts. That was the plan. Wow. Alright. It took Jessa a moment to reconfigure her mind that had once been set on beating an efficient retreat while it seemed they’d still had time but outwardly, the calm, somewhat detached expression didn’t waver. Professor Wayland hadn’t been kidding when he said the answer was coming. She just didn’t know how she felt about it.

Just give her a second. This wasn’t making much sense to her.

Okay. Staying. Okay.

Got it. The Ravenclaw looked to the younger students who’d decided on heading back to the castle before settling on Professor Marchand and the other new comers. By the sounds of it, he’d be heading back to defend. Everyone seemed convinced this was the answer and that there was no time for ministry intervention. If you asked her, holding up while they waited was a viable option but....it was what it was.

Personally, if everyone standing here was resigned to dying then she wanted to see. Call it her Ravenclaw curiosity or anything else you’d like but if that was the choice, then Jessa would allow herself her final moments of curiosity. Silently, she drew her wand but didn’t move, an indication she planned to remain and face things.

Isa had been tending to some of her plants in the greenhouses when a loud screech drew her out to investigate. The sixth year Hufflepuff headed towards the lake because it looked like a crowd was already gathering there. That must be a spot near the origin of the sound, and maybe everyone would know something more about what caused it. Was that the sound of mermish? Hopefully it would be safe with a group of people. It became clear to Isa that she must have just missed something important as she arrived at the lake. The words attack and evacuation caught her ear, although she didn’t quite hear the full context of the situation. A chill ran down Isa’s spine in fear as she thought of the danger that might warrant an evacuation. So far the scariest thing she had experienced at Hogwarts was her second year with the portal and the monster. Was this going to be as terrible as that? She hoped not. ”What’s going on?” If Hogwarts was in trouble she needed to go find her fellow Hufflepuffs and make sure everyone was safe, especially the younger ones like Emmalyn and Maddie. Isa remembered how she had looked to older students for support in scary times like this in her younger years, and now she needed to be there for everyone to protect them to the best of her ability. Where was Derf? She would have to warn him of the situation if she could find him. Hattie too. As soon as she found out what exactly was going on, Isa planned on leaving. ”I need to go make sure all the Hufflepuffs are safe.” She wasn’t very good at defensive magic anyway, so she would be much better off taking care of the younger students back in the common room anyway. Maybe she would be able to make tea for everyone to keep them calm. What was that about following the professor back to the castle? Sounded like the sort of thing she needed to get in on before the school was attacked.

Maddie wasn't sure what to do--stay here? Entrance gates? She still thought it was a terrible idea for anybody to head back into the castle, and if Professor Couch's story had taught her anything it was that a few students standing at an entrance gate were not a match for magical forces of nature.

The tapestry and hoard viewing was still bothering her, though, and it was for that reason she was lost in thought and just staring at the ground. "Professor Marchand?" she asked, calling out to the man. He had been there with her! He had to remember! "I have some ideas. You were at the tapestry and hoard viewing the same time I was. We were discussing it together." Some of the other professors were there, but she didn't think any of them were out here now.

"The tapestry's story---remember? There was a fight, and then a wizard took a treasure and hid it in a cave," she recalled. "The pictures were right there. I think we have to return the treasure!" Sure, she was on the eve of her fourteenth birthday, and everybody kept lumping her in with the little kids (grrr), but she thought it was at least something they should consider.

With her wand in hand, she looked to Professor Marchand, then back to Maddie, torn over what she should do. There was no way she was leaving her friend there to defend Hogwarts against whatever might be coming, but she really wanted to get out of there and head back with the safety of Professor Marchand.

After hearing Maddie speak of the tapestries and the story, she once again felt for her pocket containing the mysterious coins she had found on the pathways. If what was saying were true, maybe they would be coming after her. If she went back to the castle, it would only give those coming more of a reason to go to the castle. That was something she wouldn't allow.

Her hand gripped her wand even tighter and she pointed it out towards the lake in a ready stance. "I'll defend Hogwarts. I can do it." Her hand shook a bit as she spoke, but her feet were firmly planted on the ground.

Haraldur hadn't missed the Merchefianess appearance. Nor the deafening screeching sound earlier. Although, he hadn't taken his broom straight to the Great Lake to investigate further. Instead, he had his attention turned elsewhere. Away from the Lake, his colleagues and the kids. Towards the rest of the Grounds.

Quietly, he hovered on his broom, eyes narrowed in the direction of the Forbidden Forest before he looked over his shoulder at the Pathways. There was something.... Something. The now not so young flying instructor reached inside his robe for his wand, pointing it in front of him.

He couldn't place whatever it was that gave him chills (even though he was wearing a big furry robe in May). Lingering for a few more moments, he leaned forward on his broom, quickly whipped around and headed towards the group of people by the Lake.

Still with his wand out, he hovered up next to a group of students, looking over their heads at his colleagues with a brisk nod. He watched how Gaston lead a group of kids up to the castle and returned his look. Whatever happened next, they would defend the school and protect the kids.

"Stay close, kids. No one wander off alone. Stay close to an adult."

Nettie had been in the courtyard, trying to get some reading in while enjoying the remainder of this lovely day when a loud piercing SHRIEKING noise had snapped her out of it. It had sounded like it was coming from the lake, and after a few minutes of thinking, she'd managed to put two and two together - she didn't have a CLUE how to speak Mermish but even to the untrained ear she could tell that was what the screeching was. Her thoughts instantly went back to the treasure that had been in the back of her mind all term. Something was HAPPENING down at the lake, she knew it!

She finally managed to make her way down to the lake, finding a large group of people standing around with the Headmistress, which instantly tipped her off that something was going DOWN.

Slipping through the crowd, she looked around and found the first familiar face - Maddie - and hurried to her, tugging on her robe sleeve. "Maddie! What's going on?" she hissed. Her other hand quickly went to her wand holster, making sure she still had it - and she did. Thank Merlin!

Really. You couldn't enjoy a meal in peace at this place.

Hirsch had arrived a little later to the scene but he'd also arrived just in time to catch the Merchefianess' warning about an attack and the attackers arriving towards them. The man glanced over at his fellow colleagues that were gathered there, and especially Regina, to see if they were feeling just as worried about this as he was. Sure, this was very typical of Hogwarts but the danger was still there.

Although, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at Jessa's quick thinking skills and her, and Miss Kemp's, willingness to gather up the rest of their houses. He couldn't say any of this - and it probably wasn't the time - but it was enough to cause his lips to twitch up into a slight smile. He nodded, especially at Gaston, who'd volunteered to head up to the castle with the students who weren't staying behind.

As for him, he was staying exactly where he was. It was a Roderik Hirsch thing to do, wasn't it? Stay and fight. Besides, there was a very small part of him that was intrigued (and a little excited) to see exactly what the army was. But the expression on his face was very similar to the one he had on when the portal had opened up within the school and they had to rescue the students who were stuck there: a look of fierce determination and as if he was trying to mask his worry.

Anyways. Wands at the ready? He didn't need telling twice.

Did he need to mention constant vigilance?

Probably not.

Gaston took a quick head count of who was going back to the castle with him and who was staying behind, his eyes scanning the area. He nodded in reply to the Head Girl as she volunteered to check on the Slytherins. "Thank you, Miss Fairfield," he said, and another appreciative was given to Isa, who volunteered to do the same for Hufflepuff. "You too, Miss Wright." He motioned the two girls to come to him. "Get behind me, ladies," he said. He looked around. Was anyone else coming? He'd wait another moment or two before heading back, in case of stragglers.

Gaston's eyes fell to Emmalyn & Maddie. He half expected them to follow, nut then Maddie spoke. He nodded at the mention of the tapestry, unsure where she was going with this at first, but his eyes widened as she brought up the story.
Was there some sort of creature that killed the wizard from the tapestry when he tried to hide the treasure? Maybe the creatures had guarded it all this time and come back for revenge? The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. "I think you may be on to something, Miss Kemp," he said. "Let's see what the headmistress thinks before we do anything, though."

He glanced toward Hawthorne. Had she overheard Maddie's theory? Just in case, he approached her and said, "Excuse me, Regina? Miss Kemp thinks this could be related to the horde and that returning it could stop the attack. I believe she may be correct. Should we send someone to get the treasure?" He felt shy asking; usually when disaster struck, he just followed orders and didn't say anything. Hopefully she wouldn't bite his head off for It!

Gaston was about to start back toward the castle, but his dark head whipped around in disbelief as he heard Emmalyn say she was staying. No... He drew in a sharp breath that sounded like a sob; his heart dropped. He nodded, biting his lip hard to stop it from trembling, though his eyes pleaded with her to reconsider. All the feelings of fear and self-doubt he tried to push down came back stronger than ever. Here a little girl was willing to stay and fight while he ran away! He tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing... He was protecting the students from getting ambushed by whatever was coming on their way back to the castle. He was making sure they didn't have to defend the entrance hall on their own...
but if he was doing right, why did it feel so wrong?

Gaston ardently returned Hirsch's nod as he glanced around sadly, his face darting from one face to the next. If anything happened to these people, anyof them, while he wasn't there to protect them,
he'd never forgive himself!

He really needed to get out of the castle, the heat had been too much and the Lake would be the perfect studying area. He was behind on his Transfiguration homework as the deadline was tomorrow morning... But even he could not concentrate inside the castle.

Fresh air thats what he needed.

He followed the trail down to the Lake, taking in the beautiful scenery as he walked. Nothing could ruin this beautiful day....Until a shriek happened that send a terrifying shiver down his spine. What had that been? Dorian looked around trying to find out what was happening and although every instinct inside of him told him danger danger danger, he still went down to the Lake where a group of students and professors were. He had not seen the merpeople yet.

"Wait, don't tell me we have a class?" he asked, confused. Did he have the wrong roster? He was pretty sure it was a free period for him?

Isa didn’t need to be told twice to get behind Professor Marchand. At his command, Isa followed him to head back to the castle. It seemed like they weren’t leaving yet though. Isa heard Maddie’s theory about attackers coming back for the treasure that had been discovered earlier in the term. The idea was absolutely terrifying but it sounded like a very plausible scenario. Maybe the coins she had found by the lake with Skylar and Ronan earlier in the the term had been left there by someone or something that had come back looking for all of their treasure? Whatever it was, Isa had a feeling that they would all be finding out soon enough in a bad way. Maybe the attackers wouldn’t reach the common rooms if all they wanted was the treasure. Isa really hoped that she and her housemates would be safe throughout the whole thing. Somebody had once told her that Hufflepuffs were the most likely to die and whether or not that was true Isa wanted everybody to stay alive. What was this about Emmalyn staying behind to fight? Emmalyn was so young! What a brave girl. Isa had expected her friend to come back to the castle. It was almost heartbreaking to think of Emmalyn staying and fighting out here. What if something happened to Emmalyn? Isa would never forgive herself. ”Emmalyn… Stay safe, whatever you do. Please.” There was no way that Isa could make Emmalyn come inside, so she could only hope that the professors and older students would keep the younger students safe. As for herself, she was going to go back to the castle with Professor Marchand. Find the Hufflepuffs and tell them what was going on, comfort anyone who was scared, keep them safe, and defend the entrance if it came to that. She was determined not to let anything harm her friends.

Hmmm...

She watched everyone around her, though she said not to worry the headmistress would figure it out, it seemed being a first-year meant no one really saw you there. Shrugging it off and looking back to the lake she wondered over closer to see if she could get a better look at where the merperson went.

"Maybe she was joking?"

Do they have that sort of sense of humor? She wasn't sure, but everyone seemed to be taking her very seriously. Chloe wasn't very good at magic yet, but she didn't want to go inside either. Her eyes grew wide as her most favorite adult at the castle came flying over.

"Can I grab a broom and go with you sir?" That wouldn't be too dangerous, could it? She was really good at a broom.

Maddie was still deep in thought about the tapestries and the story behind them, when she heard her name. "Nettie!" she greeted. MERLIN. The lake area was starting to get packed. That couldn't be good. The more and more Maddie thought about it, she didn't think staying out at the lake was such a good idea. "There's not much time to explain, but Hogwarts is under attack! We got a warning from the merqueen."

She turned her attention back to Marchand, who'd apparently taken her thoughts very seriously and was discussing them with the headmistress. Maddie would wait to hear what the woman had to say, but in the meantime, she turned to Emmalyn. "I'm heading back toward the castle. We're too small in numbers out here. Especially since we don't even know what's coming." The beating of her heart picked up in pace as she said that. "I think we need to warn the others."

For the time being, though, she stayed in place. She wanted to hear what the headmistress thought about her theory.

The sun has fully set. The moon is slowly rising against the dark sky, the reflection of which you can see on the smooth surface of the lake...

But something was breaking that smoothness. A ripple grew... and grew... and soon, a hand can be seen. A white, scaly hand that looked like it had all the flesh sucked out of it.

The hand was followed by another. Both latched onto the bank of the lake as the figure emerged from the depths of the water. The skeletal figure of an Inferi pulled itself up, its wet, tattered clothes clinging to its body. Many others followed, some with Viking attire and some with coins falling out of their torn pockets.

There was a moment of silence apart from the plonk! of a few gold coins. Their cloudy eyes surveyed the scene ahead.

Then they moved. Forwards. And towards the humans.

Hearing one of the girls (Maddie) talk, but not to her, she looked back in the air to see if she could grab a broom, but she wasn't looking long before she heard noises that sounded a lot like when her and her brothers were skipping rocks or really just throwing rocks. Maybe the merpeople were back and she could see how neat they truly were.

Turning her head towards the lake she froze....


IT WAS DADA ALL OVER AGAIN!!


Her wand hand went out, but her wand was still in its holder and her small hand was shaking. Chloe McCarthy was frozen to the spot with fear all that was coming was her high pitch scream at whatever was coming towards her!


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

While she found some of the younger students' courage and willingness to help defend the school admirable, she honestly did not want them out on the grounds risking their lives. Most could barely turn a Kneazle into a tea cosy. It wasn't anything personal. The older students had more magical prowess than of the first and second years, and the younger ones could still be useful up at the castle. She casted a look over to Gaston, the sincereness in her eyes saying everything. Please take them with you for the love of Merlin.

The question posed by Dorian Katharos was overheard, and it took all of Regina's might not to stare at the boy dumbfoundedly. Did he just ask if a class was in session? Really?

Before the thought of even chiding the third year Ravenclaw for his aloofness could cross her mind, the headmistress faced Roderik and exchanged a look with him, one that expressed just how worried she was about the current situation. Arethusa's warning was appreciated, but it made her incredibly anxious. It was unnerving not knowing what to expect or how to even prevent whatever was coming. Where was Laurel with that Inner Eye of hers? She would succumb to taking a Seer's word seriously for a change if it meant having a leg up on fate.

She broke her gaze from Roderik when she heard Gaston say her name and then continued speaking, mentioning the hoard. Most of what he said, however, went through one ear and out the other. A sudden movement coming from the lake had caught her attention...

Regina couldn't help but swear under her breath at the sight of the Inferi.

"If you are wanting to help up at the castle, you need to leave NOW!" she ordered, her eyes wide and her wand pointed directly at the skeletal beings. As for those who wanted to stay, she had orders for them as a jet of flame left her wand. "Stay together as a group! Use fire spells only!"

Too late.

Maddie was about five minutes too late in having her idea to head back to the castle. There was another ripple in the water, and as much as she hoped it was the merqueen again, she had a gut feeling it wasn't. She felt a lump forming in her throat and swallowed hard. Pretty soon, a white, scaly hand emerged from the water, causing the Hufflepuff to take a good step back.

...and then they were everywhere!

She closed her eyes and tried to figure out if she was having a nightmare or not, but when she opened her eyes again, there they were. When the sound of the coins broke the silence, Maddie thought back to how they'd started randomly finding loose coins in the springs and lakes. Everything was starting to come together in a sickening sort of way.

"Ig---Ig...Ignisio Funem," she said, speaking the words, but not casting them. "It's the fire spell we learned in class." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "A whip-like movement...tracing the path...the flames should follow." She wasn't even sure if anybody heard her, though. Was there even any sound coming out her mouth?

She held her wand at the ready, even though her legs suddenly felt like jelly, and her eyes threatened tears. She had about .5 seconds to decide whether to stay or go. Something told her she needed to go, though. "Emmalyn! Nettie!" she called out. Who else was around. The kid who thought there was a class going on, maybe? "Chloe? Dorian? Let's form a group and get back to the castle!"

Uh..duh. That was pretty much what he had just said. But he was glad that the Headmistress agreed and that he wasn't being told to go back to the castle. In fact, it seemed like he was expected to fight. Which, he was ready. He pulled his wand out of its holster and moved out of the Headmistress' shadow. An excited expression briefly crossed his face before being replaced by a serious one. This was the type of thing he had been looking for, well if he was being honest with himself, ever since the day he heard of the Creature Companions incident.

Wait, what if it was about the treasure? Really. Something attacking a school full of children over some money? That was basically useless these days anyway? I mean, the coins weren't even galleons or sickles or pounds or euros! "This is why you should always value friends and family over money and treasure. Because when you value money and treasure over everything else, it leads you to do crazy things like attacking a school." Just saying.

As his Head of House spoke, a thought crossed Ronan's mind. Maybe he should've volunteered to get the Gryffindors? But, what was done was done and those out here needed the most help. And he did think that he would do the most good, be the most useful out here. So, yeah, staying. And ignoring the clueless ones, before he lost all faith in humanity. Also, what the hell was Emmalyn thinking?!

Then he heard it. A sound that sounded like a twig snapping in the forest. Quickly followed by......

"They're here!" he said in a hushed tone. The 'they' in question being INFERI. Like honest to goodness magical zombies. With zero hesitation, he cast a silent 'Ignisio funem' at the undead creatures, a fire rope quickly snaking their way. Some of whom looked like they had been Vikings.

Standing near the lake, wand ready, she didn't really expect anything to happen. Not really. She couldn't imagine who would really attack Hogwarts. That would be just silly, right? All the excitement was going to pass and they would all simply head back to the castle, or would they...

There was something moving in the water. She turned to Maddie to see if she was seeing the same thing. Ripples, then something was coming up. Some sort of hand, followed by the most disgustingly scary creature she'd ever seen. Her eyes widened and her hand gripped tighter on her wand. She was far too frightened to run, so staying to confront whatever they were was her only choice.

"What do we do?" She called out, to anyone willing to answer. Maybe that's what Ronan had meant about the younger students needed to be hidden away. She was willing to fight, but she had absolutely no idea what to do.

Just after she asked, Maddie started to call out a spell. "Yes, the fire spell!" She was all about the fire spell, if it worked on wet things from the lake. "Do we attack first?" She asked again, still not wanting to do the wrong thing.