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some things are best left unsaid (M); julian ^^ and val sorta?
Topic Started: Feb 28 2012, 10:40 PM (1,074 Views)
Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

Rounding a corner, Charlotte’s steps were soft and quiet. She was being as quiet as she possibly could. While there was an air of excitement that came with being out of bed after hours, the whole scenario didn’t really sit well with Lottie. It wasn’t the possibility of getting caught or anything, it was more the fact that the last time she had to actually ‘sneak’ anywhere, it had been when vampires were patrolling the halls. If you weren’t quiet, even on your way to your classes you could turn into a human practice dummy for experimental hexes, curses or just a cruciatus or two to let someone blow off some steam. It wasn’t a good feeling and Lottie had managed to associate the whole being quiet thing with the consequence of pain, so she didn’t dare make a noise. Not that any of the teachers here would hurt her anymore… but it had been engrained in her brain. It was one of those moments she was really thankful Julian hadn’t been in the castle, while she was treated badly, he was a rank below and she didn’t even want to think about what sort of tortures he would have been subject to.

Peering back to make sure he followed, Lottie moved slowly down the next hall, stopping in front of what seemed to be just a regular wall and took a breath. ”This is it…” Whispering she pressed her fingers to the cool stone, the rough texture was all too familiar under her fingertips.
Sighing quietly, she stepped back beside him and glanced from one side to the other before looking up at Julian. ”To open it you have to do this thinking thing… it’s easier if it’s one person because then the thoughts don’t get jumbled… just wait a second okay?” She didn’t want to make him feel left out or anything, she just… sort of had experience with this while he didn’t. Not that she knew of anyway…

Turning, she headed away from the hallway, walking quickly past where a door should have been, thinking hard. This didn’t feel right… she didn’t know why but helping the professor was something she really didn’t want to do. Why was she there? The look on Penn’s face… he was right, this was Louis. She needed to help Lou, she couldn’t just let him fizzle out of her memory. He was her best friend, he’d literally saved her life multiple times last year and she wasn’t about to abandon him out in the forest because of some stupid bloodsucker that couldn’t keep his teeth out of him.

Walking quickly back the other way, she wanted to hurry this up. If they could get whatever they came for, they could be out and done in a matter of minutes right? It couldn’t be that difficult if she was specific enough.
On her third march past the doors, they were actually doors and Charlotte stopped. She looked up at them and gave a quiet sigh. She hoped she would never need to see these again… they were a place of refuge but it didn’t mean she liked to hide.
Turning her head back she beckoned Julian on. ”This is it…” She murmured, pushing against the door. ”You’ve got to just… think about what you need, last year we thought about somewhere safe, and it gave us that safehouse… this time I asked for something to cure vampires but…” Coming inside she paused with a small frown glancing around what seemed to be a fairly empty stone room. ”I…. don’t know if it worked…”
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

While normally Julian wasn't opposed to breaking the rules now and then the idea of breaking them to help Professor Mason Caines didn't exactly sit well with Julian. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the new professor just didn't sit well with Julian. Actually, now that he thought about it, Julian knew exactly why he didn't Caines. First off there was the idea that his girlfriend called him creepy and from what he could tell Charlotte liked most people. Then there was the fact that Caines would barely say more than two words to him at a time or when he did say anything it came out more as an insult than anything else. Like how he vaguely insinuated the Julian was a coward by not being in the school last year. He hadn't even caught it until Charlotte had snapped at Caines for saying it. Part of Julian wondered how Charlotte had caught it so quickly, she said that she didn't blame him for running, but maybe a part of her still did.

Either way, Julian wasn't about to let something else happen to Charlotte so even though he despised the idea of helping Caines, here he was sneaking off to the Room of Requirement to find some potion. Julian still thought that they professor should be doing this himself instead of getting students to do it. But no, the Caines had instead decided to guilt Charlotte into doing it. Chalk that up as another reason Julian couldn't stand the guy. Sure Julian understood that she wanted to help Louis but he just didn't think that this was the way to do it. How did they even know that this existed? Or that this wasn't some kind of trick?

Julian had never been to the Room of Requirement, except for coming through it the night they broke back into the castle. Needless to say, remembering where the room was hadn't been high on his list of things. So he had to take Charlotte's word for it when she said they were here. "Yeah, I'll just wait right here." He glanced around for a teacher walking up to give them detention for being out late. Well for Julian it wasn't that big of a deal, after all he was in University so he was allowed out. But Charlotte could get into trouble. They both would get into trouble if they were found breaking into the Room of Requirement though.

He turned back to look at her when she said that it was ready. He still thought this was a bad idea. Following her through the doors, he looked around to an empty room. Not exactly what he was expecting. "You sure you weren't thinking about wanting some alone time with your boyfriend," he said with a grin. Obviously it didn't work, which put Julian in a much better mood. So much for doing anything to help Caines. At least now the guy could stay dead for all eternity.
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Valkyrie


The empty stone room suddenly stretched out in front of them, lengthening the room to extend like a long but wide corridor. Worn, medieval-looking tapestries dropped in place to line the walls as they grew outward, giving the corridor a familiar yet eerier feel of Hogwarts. The loud sound of stones colliding and dropping onto each other finally ended as the the room enclosed itself, entrapping the two students in complete darkness.

It was only when the lanterns came to life that the glimmer of a crimson red chalice could be seen on a tall wooden round table across the rectangular room. It reflected in the light like treasure - something desired, something ancient and beyond priceless. The lanterns were scattered and few, yet the light cast from them lit up the room extraordinarily well. On closer inspection there were even fewer lanterns than what appeared. Somehow the stone walls were like mirrors, seeming to cast the same image no matter where one looked. But at least it lit up the room enough for the two students not to be completely terrified when a ghostly familiar voice filled the room.

It was undeniably Valkyrie, and her voice was sickeningly sweet as she read the words engraved on the chalice.

The Life of the Legend
Eternal as the Philosopher's Stone
The Quest for the Grail
Sought but Lost by Wealth and Throne

The Chalice that Grants Mortality
Only Won by the Noble and True
Must be Brought to the Mermaid
To Drink in the Soul from the Blue

The Armour of the Virtuous
Loyal as the Truth is Told
The Quest for the Soul
Leaves One Saved and One Sold


The voice ended with a laugh before leaving the two students completely alone with what was apparently The Holy Grail itself.


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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

Well this wasn’t right…
Looking around at the stone walls, Charlotte’s brow furrowed. She’d never seen it look like this before… Rolling her eyes, Charlotte gave Julian a playful shove. ”Oh be quiet, it’s probably just because there is no cure.” She glanced over at him. ”That, or it’s not here, I mean… this place is empty. Anyway, I wouldn’t this kind of a room for ‘alone time’.” She threw him a smirk before peering around a little more. She knew that he didn’t like being here, she’d seen the expression on his face when Penn had mentioned going tonight. To be honest she didn’t want to do this either… if it weren’t for Louis needing it, she wouldn’t have come to the room at all. There were too many memories here…

The room was quiet, and it would have been peaceful if it didn’t have that feeling to go along with it, the eerie one that made Lottie thing something was wrong. It was the same sort of feeling she used to get when the halls were too quiet last year.
”Okay… well we might as well go.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned back towards the door. She was tired, it was past midnight and she had transfiguration first thing tomorrow. Unfortunately, the room seemed to have a different idea.
The moment she turned for the door it vanished, or maybe it had disappeared when they walked in...
”Julian… the door..”
Where it used to be stood only a stone wall, suddenly Charlotte felt like her insides were crawling. Gushing wind pulled at her hair and she turned back around, eyes widening just as the room did. Well… this was unexpected. The room seemed to be making some other sort of hallway, it reminded her of the castle but something was wrong here, something was very, very wrong.

Just as sudden as it had started, it stopped. ”What’s going on…” Merely a whisper she squeezed the words in just before a voice she hoped she’d never hear again made it’s way through the room, booming and echoing but soft and sickeningly sweet all at once. Shivers ran down Charlotte’s spine and she visibly tensed. She knew that voice far, far too well. She almost forgot to listen, the horror in her eyes too much, but finally realizing whatever it was saying might be important, she forced herself to listen close.
The laugh made her shudder, literally, and she stared at the cup that had made it’s appearance at the end of the room.
”Ok…” Taking a breath, Charlotte let it out slowly, trying to calm herself. It was just a voice… just her voice, it wasn’t actually her.

Peering up to Julian, Charlotte hesitated and took a wary step towards the chalice. This thing… this was what he’d been looking for right? The professor? So she’d grab and go, it didn’t look like there was anything stopping her. She wasn’t that stupid though.
”There’s… probably some sort of enchantment or.. something? Don’t you think?” She peered up at Julian. Last year had been wonderful for Charlotte’s acting skills. To the trained eye, you could tell she was tense, starting to get scared. But to just an onlooker, she seemed perfectly calm, strong and ready. It was really her only option for last year, there had been too many students looking to her and Lou for Charlotte to have backed down just because she was scared.

Right now she couldn’t be scared she had to focus, finish this up and go to bed. At this point she might just sneak Julian into her common room so she could keep him for the night, she would feel much safer.
Well first things first… maybe there was something keeping it sitting there.
Reaching into her robes, Charlotte brought out her wand and chewed her lower lip. ”Wingardium Leviosa,” murmuring the words, she watched as the chalice gently levitated itself off the pedestal. Holding it there, she stopped then, watching, waiting… nothing.
Relaxing slightly, she glanced to her boyfriend before bringing it over towards them a little more. She rested it on the ground at her feet and knelt down, carefully touching the tip of her wand to the brim. Nothing again. ”Finite,” You couldn’t be too careful… and sure she was seventeen, sure she didn’t know all the curses out there… or how to detect them but she was doing the best she could.
Sighing softly she sat back on her heels. ”Do you know anything else to tr-..”

Making a move to get up, Charlotte’s hand brushed ever so slightly against the chalice’s rim. But it wasn’t that, that she noticed. It was the sudden change of the room that had her standing bolt upright, looking behind Julian and slowly the colour drained from her cheeks.

Just over his shoulder she could see a girl, a girl with dark locks, tangled and uncared for. Her hands were drawn up over her head and chained to a disgustingly pink wall, one where shackles seemed incredibly out of place. A weak sniffle came from the body, her skirt was ridden up to mid-thigh and her robe and cardigan were lying discarded not more than three feet away. Only her blouse stayed and it looked rather wrinkled.

Charlotte’s heart, which she had managed to keep from quickening up until now started to pound and she shook her head and took a shaky step backwards. The girl on the ground shifted slightly, chains rattling. The noised was paired with a whimper, and lifting her eyes to look up at the door, Charlotte’s own face plastered with tears and bruises emerged from the mess of curls. The occasional cut here and there scattered her cheeks and forehead, strangulation marks on her neck were visible and she gazed at the door fearfully before her chin dropped to her chest in defeat, finishing off the movement with a sob.

Charlotte’s head spun, she looked around, feeling sick all of a sudden, entirely forgetting Julian was there when she took in the headmistresses office… complete with blood splatters on the walls and hold from Rose Weasley’s head having been shoved through while they were painting… oh god.. this wasn’t happening.
Chalice forgotten, she backed up further, tears stinging at her eyes, watching herself just sitting there. What the hell was happening?

No, no, no…” Her breathing trembled as she stared, unable to take her eyes off of herself, her past self… what was this? A memory? Chained Charlotte didn’t seem to realize they were there, or care…
Lottie stood frozen, until footsteps started from outside the room and at the same moment, a look of dread came over both girls, only present Charlotte actually had the strength to turn her eyes, staring at the wooden barrier, she knew exactly what was coming…
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

Hearing Lottie say that there probably wasn’t a cure here gave Julian some hope that they might get out of this without getting in trouble. Plus it meant that he could rub it in Caines face that there wasn’t a cure, though from the last few impressions that he got of the professor if there wasn’t a cure it was going to be because Julian was too incompetent to find it. He didn’t know what it was, but Caines always seemed to find a way to insult him. Julian didn’t know how he did it, but the professor always seemed to know what was most likely to get a rise out of him. Tonight though, Julian could celebrate the fact that they weren’t going to have to do any work for Caines.

He smirked at Charlotte before wrapping his arms around her, ”You know, I do have a dorm room. You’re not really supposed to be there after hours, but since we’re already breaking a few rules might as well break a few more right?” His mouth grinned playfully, he really was in a good mood now that this had turned into nothing. He nodded when she said they might as well go, really they should never have come, but Caines had played the Louis card and both Penn and Lottie felt they needed to try and help him. It wasn’t that Julian didn’t want to help, he just didn’t think Caines really had Louis’s best interests in mind when he sent them on this little mission.

Seeing the door vanish at the same time Charlotte mentioned it put Julian on edge. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was just an empty room and now they were stuck here. A cold breeze suddenly filled the room and made Julian’s skin crawl. What was going on here? He turned back around to see that the room had suddenly gone completely dark before lanterns flickered to life giving the room a new eerie glow. Okay, this definitely wasn’t normal and he could see that Charlotte was on edge too. Apparently this wasn’t anything she had witnessed in her time here, which only made Julian more nervous. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wand and held it ready for whatever the room decided to throw at them.

Only there wasn’t any way to combat a voice was there? It seemed to be coming from everywhere and it wasn’t a voice that Julian recognized. It was speaking a rhyme though what it meant Julian had no clue. That was all this was, just a way to get people freaked out before giving them some stupid rhyme that was probably designed to lead them to the cure. Well if they did this part then Caines could do the rest, if they could actually remember what the voice was saying. All they had to do was take that chalice to the professor and forget this ever happened.

As the voice ended, he was about to reach for it before Charlotte said that there was probably an enchantment on it. Almost eight year at Hogwarts and Julian still forgot about things like enchantments and curses on objects. The realization that if he was still at a muggle school he wouldn’t have to deal with things like this passed through his head. Stepping back he watched as Charlotte floated the chalice back toward them, noticing that the riddle was engraved on it. At least that meant they wouldn’t have to remember it. Which was good because Julian had already forgotten it.

He was about to say that he had learned a charm for detecting curses but before he could, he noticed Charlotte staring behind him, looking more frightened that he had ever seen her. Slowly he turned around to see what had appeared. It was an image, of a girl chained to a wall, disheveled and bruised, and her clothes a mess. It took a moment for Julian to realize what he was looking at. It was Charlotte, only it was the Charlotte that he had rescued almost a year ago now. What was this? A memory of what had happened? And why were they suddenly seeing it now? He turned back to look at Charlotte to see if she understood, but it was like she didn’t even remember he was there. He reached out and grabbed her hand as she started whispering “no” over again. Hearing footsteps approaching he turned back to the image, seeing fear on the other Charlotte’s face. He had never learned what had happened those four days that she was chained there, but it seemed like he was about to. As much as he had thought that he wanted to know, he had a feeling that seeing it like this was going to make him wish that he hadn’t.
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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

[[KELSEY you weren't on and you said go ahead xD so if there's anything you want to change or whatever just let me know haha]]

Everything else around her seemed to melt into the background, all except for the scene in front of her. Charlotte’s face was chalk white, she shook her head staring horrified at the door along with the girl that was shackled to the wall. To be honest, she entirely forgot Julian was there until she felt someone take her hand. Jumping, she almost pulled away, eyes flickering to the older boy, the panic in Lottie’s face was evident. No more putting on the brave show, no more pretending nothing bothered her. This bothered her, this scene, that she’d been dreaming about for months after it happened, this terrified her. Penn had come into her dreams who knew how many times to find her pinned beneath Reid, sobbing and begging for him to let her go. But there was no Penn here right now to pull her into his arms or give her a supporting pat on the shoulder and make everything go away. This was a memory or something, sure it wasn’t… real, real it was more past real but she was still awake and there was no where to run.

Realizing Julian was in fact in the room with her she grabbed onto his hand, her own shaking badly as the footsteps got closer and her eyes moved oh so quickly to the wooden door. There was a pause, silence filling the room. Maybe Reid just liked waiting, maybe he knew that that alone was torture.
All of a sudden the door burst open, Charlotte tensed, frozen and staring but the girl against the wall cowered against it, whimpering softly at his eyes swiveled to rest on her.

”You don’t look so happy to see me dollface.” Reid’s grin was sickening as he sauntered over, nudging her leg with his foot, grinning at the reaction. Other Lottie peered up at him, her eyes broken but glaring all the same, weak and hurt. Still, she pulled herself out of the way as best she could.
”When am I ever happy to see you.” Her words were dry, like she hadn’t tasted water in days. Well at this point that was probably the case.

Smirking, Reid raised his eyebrows and wandered to Valkyrie’s desk, his eyes scanning absently over some papers before turning to look back at her with enough intensity that she cringed. ”Poor little mudblood Lottie, still don’t know your place.”
Charlotte stared as her own self kept a steady glare to the man, she remembered this… oh god she remembered today and it made her blood run cold. ”Julian…” She didn’t know what to say, she just wanted to know he was still in the room, her heart was racing and she felt like she could pass out. Why was this happening, how could this possibly happen?
Thoughts of the chalice were lost in the back of her mind as she shook her head. Reid must have said something she didn’t quite catch because her own chained self looked disgusted and started spitting out curses. Oh… oh right.. she remembered, he’d been tormenting her about Louis… what he did to Louis…
Feeling sick to her stomach she couldn’t tear her eyes away. ”Julian wh-“

Shut up!” Reid’s snarl echoed across the room and both girls fell silent, even as a memory, playing out in front of her he had power. She’d been denying it for months but Reid had power over her no one else ever would. He’d broken her, he’d stared into those dark brown eyes when she’d snapped, and she remembered.

The girl against the wall’s bravery quickly diminished as he walked over, standing over her and slowly kneeling down to grab her chin harshly, seemingly he took care to put extra pressure against the darkened spots of bruises colouring her face. ”You, my pet, have a serious lesson to learn in respect to those above you.” Hissing, he somehow managed to squeeze a smirk in there, his fingers sliding to her neck. A sound of choking followed suit and she lifted her head to try and get rid of his hand, or at least get a little breathing room. Besides Charlotte’s strangled gasps and the rattling of chains that refused to dislodge, the room was disturbingly quiet. A smile slid over Reid’s lips as he moved his other hand down to her blouse, tugging at the fabric ever so gently, playing with each button until his fingers rested against the last and he popped it, chuckling at the look on her face which was straining for oxygen.

Finally removing his hand, he used it to stroke the side of her neck, back of his finger lingering against her cheek. ”Pity, so pretty but your blood’s just so dirty…” Sighing he shook his head, the hand that had been moving over the buttons was unbuttoning the top few now. "Now, are we going to be a good girl and tell me where you're hiding all those little mongrels?" The DA couldn't possibly interest him... could it? But maybe it was just an excuse to keep her there.
”Go t’hell…” Her voice was weak, breathy from the lack of air. Ignoring her he slid his hand over her shoulder just in time for Charlotte to reel back, using both legs and kicking him square in the gut. Unfortunately, being a vampire it barely did a thing but a moment later her cheek stung for a vicious backhand making her yelp as the sound rung throughout the room. Eyes darkening with amusement. Reid raised his eyebrows and stood ”You don’t like that? Fine, we’ll find something else to do, how about we work on those screams then huh? Crucio.” Stepping back, he grinned as Charlotte’s eyes widened and all other pain was forgotten but the curse. Shrieking, she writhed in her bonds, nothing was heard but the thick noise of torture before the curse was dropped and she was left gasping and trying to muffle the sound of her sobbing as she cowered away.

”Much better… lets try this again shall we?” Walking over, Reid knelt down, grabbing a fistful of hair and yanking her head around so he had full view again.
Then the scene disappeared.

The two were left in the empty stone room again, chalice rolled to the corner seemingly harmless. She didn’t know what to do, how to react…
Her body trembled as she stared to the place where Reid had been moments ago. She hadn’t spoken about it, the shame had been too much but there it was, played out right in front of them… oh god..
Taking in a weak, shaky breath, Charlotte’s eyes didn’t move, she seemed frozen, in shock.

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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

This was like watching a train wreck, he didn't really want to see what was going to happen, but he could bring himself to actually look away. Briefly he turned his head to see the look on Charlotte's face, noticing how it almost matched the Charlotte they could see tied up against the wall. A look of pure terror. His eyes were drawn back to the image as he heard a male voice start talking, one that he recognized instantly, Reid. Julian had already known that if he ever got his hands on the older male he might just end up killing him, but he had a feeling that that urge was suddenly about to get quite a bit stronger.

In the back of his mind he heard Charlotte whisper his name and he squeezed her hand, unsure what else he could do at this moment. His blood began to boil as he saw Reid touching his girlfriend, choking her. As Reid's hands drifted down to Lottie blouse, Julian almost forgot that this was just a memory and seriously considered cursing the image of Reid that was standing there. It made his sick to see what Reid was doing, to actually see it. He had always had a guess before this about what had happened but this was so much worse. How far had Reid taken this? Had he actually raped Charlotte? Julian wasn't sure that he could actually take seeing that.

At least Charlotte was still fighting back, Julian thought as he watched her attempt to kick him. It was too bad that kicking a vampire really didn't do anything. If he had been human though it would have been something different. The horrible part was how Reid actually seemed amused by the whole thing, the sick bastard was really enjoying himself. When Reid started using the Crucatius curse on Lottie, Julian started feeling even worse. He hadn't been able to stop this from happening before. It had gone on for four days and he hadn't been able to protect Charlotte then because he had run away. Caines was right, he was a coward. Even now, he couldn't protect his girlfriend from having to relive this.

The next thing he knew, the room had gone back to normal as though nothing had happened. He turned to look at Lottie, he had never seen her like this before. It was like she was frozen. She had never wanted to tell him what had happened in "detention" and now Julian completely understood why. He was sure this wasn't the way that she had wanted him to find out, this wasn't the way he had wanted to find out. He had just assumed that one day she'd feel comfortable talking about it.

Quickly he moved to stand in front of her before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him. "It wasn't," he started to whisper before realizing that saying it wasn't real wasn't actually the truth. It had been real at one point. "It's over," he finally said, not letting go of her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered as he leaned his head against hers, the sorry covering that fact that he ran away, what had happened to her, and having to see it all again now. "I promise I'll drive a stake right through his heart when I find him," he said with determination through a clenched jaw.
Edited by Julian Spencer, Mar 8 2012, 05:54 PM.
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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

That really just happened.
Charlotte stood, knees weak and eyes stinging with tears. She couldn’t move, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. That Reid had done to her had scarred her for life. Sure she had physical scars… one from Valkyrie was still visible across her cheek if she didn’t take care to cover it every morning. Reid’s were much more deep than that. Like when she would doubt herself, and hear his words in her mind, or dream of his hands across her neck or slowly inching up her leg. She couldn’t seem to stop the nightmares from coming.

Shuddering on the spot she wanted to cry, she wanted to run, she wanted to curl up in a ball in the corner and just hide from the world, but her body wasn’t co-operating. She couldn’t do anything, she could just stare, purely in horror at the place the scene had played out. It wasn’t until the light was blocked and Julian’s strong arms pulled her close that she started to come out of her horror struck daze.
His voice was soft, gentle. She didn’t really hear him at first, just frozen in his arms. But his whispers seemed to be doing some good. Feeling her eyes dampen, Charlotte shut them tight and turned her face into his chest. She found control of her arms and bringing them up her hands clutched at his shirt, holding tight.

Opening her mouth to speak, she choked back a sob and her knees wobbled. ”T-that was horrible…” Her voice was merely a whisper, strained in her throat and she clung to him tightly. ”T-that happened, that was a memory it didn’t make that up, it was perfect.” She could barely get the words out and had to fight hard to hold back the tears, her hands balling into fists around the fabric against his back. ”T-the voice…. The voice from the chalice, that was her… but I didn’t..” She stopped, not trusting herself not to sob for a moment before continuing, never lifting her forehead from his chest. ”Didn’t think she’d make me see that again…” It was cruel, and disgusting punishment.. just when Charlotte had thought she might be getting better, that obviously wasn’t the case. ”M’sorry you had to watch…” Guilt embedded her tone through the quiet whimper. He shouldn’t have to see her at that low a point… he shouldn’t have to see her with Reid.
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

Julian didn't say anything as Charlotte's hands grabbed onto his shirt. What was there to say really? Everything was made worse when Charlotte admitted that it was a real memory and not just some type of worst fear. Reid really had done all that and he had enjoyed it as well. The guy was sick, Julian still couldn't believe that for a short while he had actually thought that Reid was a good guy and that they might actually be friends. Of course, according to Penn, Reid might actually want revenge on Julian because apparently he hadn't told him that he was muggleborn. Julian couldn't help but wonder if Reid had known about him and Charlotte when he brought her for detention. Just another reason why he was to blame.

Though she couldn't see it, his head cocked slightly to the side when Charlotte started talking about a "her" that made her see this all again. "Her?" he asked softly, wondering who she meant. Julian's mind was only on Reid now and what he would love to do if he ever found the guy. Even though he had said it earlier, he wasn't entirely sure that you killed vampires by driving stakes through their hearts. That was all he had learned from watching some vampire movies, he probably should look into how to kill vampires before he ever actually went after Reid.

His hands stroked her hair gently, trying to calm her down. He had never seen Charlotte like this before. Even after they had rescued her, she had been obviously tramatized but never to the point where she couldn't move. At least not that he ever saw and he had a feeling that she would have made it a point to be like that around him, though he didn't know why. He kissed her forehead before murmuring in her ear, "You don't have to apologize, that wasn't your fault. This wasn't your fault. He's just a sick bastard who wanted someone to torture, I'm just sorry he picked you." He pulled her closer to him, "I just wish I could have done something." Maybe if he had stayed in the castle long enough to get her out, that would have been enough.
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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

Right now she was dedicating everything to not letting the tears take over. She wasn’t going to cry, she wasn’t going to let the water just pour down her cheeks like this had happened yesterday. Because it hadn’t. It was past, it shouldn’t scare her anymore… or at least that’s what she was trying to make herself believe.
Her boyfriend’s voice was gentle and soothing, it actually helped a lot, making her breathe easier, calm down a little quicker. Sniffling, she shut her eyes, ignoring the sting behind her eyes. ”Valkyrie, the vampire, the headmistress.” She murmured in response to his question, finding it a little easier to talk the more she breathed.

Julian’s fingers pulled carefully through her hair and she found it in herself to let out a shaky breath and lean into him, accepting his comfort. If he wasn’t here she’d probably be in the fetal position back against the corner of the room. Not something she was proud of, but this… this haunted her, it still did and she was sure it would for the rest of her life.
Chewing her lower lip she nuzzled her cheek against his shirt. ”He picked me because I had the army… I was friends with Lou.” She cleared her throat, blinking back tears and shutting her eyes again to try and block out the stone of the room. She didn’t like it in here, the sanctuary that the room had given them months ago was not this, definitely not this…

”I challenged them all… I skipped class a lot, I’m a half blood..” She sighed softly. Reid made her hate her blood, it was something she was ashamed of and would never speak of. She didn’t wish she was a pureblood, but he made her hate herself during that small period of time for something that she had absolutely no power over. It was her fault, that her father wasn’t full blooded. It wasn’t her fault that her parents had raised the twins with electronics and a couple muggle contraptions and it wasn’t her fault that the wizarding world had taken to classification via magical blood, but she felt like it was. Thankfully she was actually getting over that… to a point.
Frowning, she shook her head and hugged him tight. ”You did, you came and got me… I thought… I mean-..” Looking down she hesitated. ”I didn’t know if anyone would… so… you did do something, you saved me.”
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

Julian had only heard stories about the old headmistress, he had never actually seen her and from what he heard he was much better off having it be that way. From the students who made it back none of them had anything good to say about her. Well, they didn't actually have anything good to say about anything that happened over the year. "I guess Caines was right then and she really did have it the whole time." That was weird though, why hadn't she ever used it. Then again, from what Julian heard it sounded like drinking blood and killing everyone was her style.

He was glad to see that she was calming down, maybe talking about it actually was helping her. He wasn't about to let go of her yet though, her hands were still grasping the back of his shirt so she obviously wasn't all better yet. Though Julian ever doubted that she would get all better anytime soon. From what he just saw, he didn't think anyone could get over it that easily. He understood now though why she never wanted to talk about it. No one would want to talk about that if it happened to them. The thought passed through his mind that since she was kept there for three days that might not have been the worst of it.

Slowly he rubbed her back as she talked about why Reid went after her. "The first time I met him, he made it clear that he didn't like Louis," he recalled. He should have known then that Reid wasn't a good guy, but Julian hadn't known Louis yet. For all he knew at the time, Louis was a jerk. And of course, it always came down to blood. Julian probably would have been killed just because he had no connection to the wizarding world or he would have been tortured for months. Muggleborn students did have it the worst. "It's always about the blood isn't it?" It was a rhetorical question, that was always the most important thing to the Shadow Walkers.

He leaned his head against hers when she said that he saved her. "It was all I thought about from the moment I ran." Seeing what happened now, he felt even worse about what he did. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me. Or even if you thought we were still together," he admitted. In his mind they still had been, but they had only been dating a few weeks before everything happened. He had no idea what was happening to her nor did he have any idea if she hated him because he had ran.
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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

She’d had it the whole time… Julian was right, but why? How… that was a better question, how did the vampire come across something this powerful? Then again, Charlotte wasn’t all too sure how old she was either, maybe she had come across it when it was… just created or… brought it off someone? Older things were more expensive and valuable now a days but if she’d gotten it prior that would make sense.
Charlotte was trying to get her mind to work, she wanted to calm down and get the hell out of here.
Pressing her forehead against Julian’s shirt she breathed in his scent. His strong arms still held her close, his hand moving melodically up and down her back making her feel at the very least protected and safe. That was more than she could ask for right now. If Reid really was here, he was a vampire and Julian might not be able to fend him off, it would be difficult anyways, she hadn’t been able to do it. But the thought and the feeling were good enough.

Opening her eyes to gaze at the stones beneath her feet she nodded her head. Charlotte’s hands were relaxing slightly against his back, their grip not as deathly tight. ”They’re obsessive with blood… it’s disgusting.” She murmured, forcing her voice not to break as she spoke. The more she thought about getting this worked up over a memory the stupider she felt. Except that if the girl and the vampire were to reappear she probably would have buried herself against her boyfriend’s chest again and broken into sobs. Despite all her acting, she wasn’t over it, not even close.

Letting out a breath, she felt his head gently lower on hers and Charlotte shut her eyes again. Her hands unclenched and instead of grabbing at him she just hugged him tight. Pausing she listened and shook her head before pulling away slightly. Looking up at him she frowned and shook her head quickly. ”What…? No, Julian..” Frowning she kept her arms around him. Her face was much better colour wise, she didn’t look as deathly frightened at least. ”I… I’m happy you weren’t here. Honestly… I was.” She gazed at him. ”I would have been so scared… it wasn’t just if you bumped into a shadow walker or a vampire or something. Anyone who was above you in blood class could have ordered you to do anything… they could have hurt you without consequences, I mean… some of us were tortured in the halls literally just for a laugh.” She bit her lip keeping her eyes watching his. ”They could have hurt you… or killed you… I was lucky… I had Louis with me most of the time and he’s a pureblood so…” She sighed and looked down then. ”Julian it would have been so much worse if you’d gotten hurt here… I felt so much better when Penn told me you were alright.”
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

Julian still didn't understand what the big deal was about a person's blood. It wasn't like they could control it at all. Julian couldn't change his parents so what was the point in people freaking out about the fact that he was a muggleborn or that Lottie was a halfblood. He had never realized that things were so bad until last year. Sure there had always been a few who seemed to think that they were better because they were pureblood, but until the Shadow Walkers, Julian hadn't realized just how many people felt that way. "I know, at least most of them are locked up in Azkaban now." Not the ones that really mattered to Julian, but at least not all of them had gotten away.

For the first time since he had pulled her into a hug, Charlotte pulled away from him to look him in the eye. The color was coming back to her face after it had drained completely as the memory played. She did look as though she had been fighting tears but she did seem better now. "I know," he murmured, his eyes not quite meeting hers. "I know, I'm muggleborn and I've never really been good at not trying to be the hero. Plus according to Penn, Reid wanted to kill me anyway. I know all that." He sighed as he brushed some of her hair back from her face, "I just wish it didn't have to be you that went through that. I wish I could have gotten here sooner or gotten you out with me. Something... anything so that hadn't happened."

He paused and finally looked Lottie in the eye, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "Penn told you I was okay?" he asked slowly. "What else did Penn tell you?" Unwillingly, the memories of the night that Penn had escaped the castle came to Julian's mind. Surely Penn hadn't told Charlotte that. He doubted that Charlotte would still be talking with him if she knew, but who knew what Penn could have told her. He had threatened to destroy their relationship, after all.
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Charlotte Paige Rockwell
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7th Year, Quidditch Captain, Chaser, Prefect

Pulling back enough to look up into his face, Charlotte fought to keep her expression as normal as possible. Julian had helped a lot in calming her down but she couldn’t say she wasn’t still upset. When she got out of here she was planning on curling up in bed… probably not sleeping. Maybe Penn would drop in if she did fall asleep..? That would make her feel so much safer. But it wasn’t an every night thing… He’d said himself, he couldn’t do that forever. She was still grateful for what he had done.

Julian’s eyes didn’t quite seem to want to touch hers… frowning softly she watched him close and sighed, leaning her cheek into his hand gently as he brushed her hair back. ”…Julian you helped a rebellion rescue Hogwarts… I’m pretty sure you’re a hero.” She mustered up a weak smile. ”I definitely count you as one… you were in the best place you could have been to do something… anything. We were all hiding the muggleborns and the halfbloods in here..” She peered around before looking back to him, trying to make eye contact. ”No one was really playing hero… you can see what happened when any of us got found out.” She sighed, her hand having made it’s way to the back of his neck and her thumb was gently moving over the base of it trying to sooth that look off his face.
”I think you were brilliant.” She smiled, leaning up and kissing him gently. By the time she pulled away she’d recovered his eye contact and nodded. ”Mhm… Penn was coming to me in my dreams… and he wouldn’t tell me much but he told me you, Ryder and Trent were all alive and alright…” She frowned and tilted her head curiously and shrugged. ”They could have grabbed and tortured or given me truth serum at any second… he couldn’t tell me much at all… just that there was a rebellion, and to hang in there.”
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Julian Spencer
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8th yr Uni Ravenclaw / Uni Head Boy / Quidditch Captain / Seeker

He nodded as he listened to her talk, everything she was saying made sense but after seeing what happened to her while he was out of the castle was making it hard for him to feel like he had really done any good at all. At least he had been able to come back and help her though, or else Reid might have actually killed her. The bruises around her neck certainly made it look like he had been getting close to doing that. He just had to keep reminding himself that he had done everything that he could. Even if Caines had tried to make him feel like a coward for fleeing the castle that night. He felt her hand at the back of his neck and was thankful that she didn't seem to blame him, at least not that she said. He tried to reason with himself that if she did think he had been a coward that she wouldn't be dating him right now.

Tilting his head down, he pressed his lips back against hers. "Thanks," he murmured as she pulled away before smiling softly. "Don't we make quite a couple, me helping a rebellion outside and you organizing everyone on the inside. I don't think most people could have done that. Or would have tried even." He nodded slowly when Lottie told him what Penn had been up to during that time. "Well, thats nice of him." It actually seemed a little weird considering how much Penn had seemed to hate Charlotte.

He glanced around the stone room, his gaze landing on the chalice lying forgotten on the floor. They should probably get that out of here and get themselves out before they got caught. Caines didn't seem the type to get them out of detention. "What do you say we get out of here? Are you gonna be okay tonight?" Technically they should go back to their respective rooms, but Julian wasn't going to leave Charlotte alone after what just happened and seeing how it affected her.
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