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| Virtual Hogwarts .net > The Shrieking Shack > A Visit To The Shrieking Shack |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 14 2003, 09:55 PM |
| Sariss walked towards the Shrieking Shack, the most severely haunted house in all of Britain, or so she'd heard. There were a lot of stories and rumours that revolved around this abandoned building. Mer had always come here to transform into a werewolf during full-moon nights. The house looked really old and deserted. The windows were partly nailed shut. One of the door hinges seemed to have broken, the iron having rusted away. "I wonder if any ghosts are in there," Sariss said to Seb. "I mean, maybe there was more to create this rumour than the howls of Lupin, the werewolf." |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 14 2003, 10:05 PM |
| "I have no idea," Seb whispered to Sariss, as the came to the front of the house. "I don't believe everything I hear, so that might just be a rumor. Or both could be true." He took a look up at the partly boarded up windows. Some were smashed, the dirty brown/black net curtains blowing out fluttering in the wind. Above that, some guttering from the top of the house was hanging off the front of the house a bit, banging onto the wall each gust of light wind. The place positively screamed HAUNTED! "Uh," He said, licking his lips, "Is it me, or has it suddenly got... darker and colder?" He asked Sariss as he strained his neck to look into a broken window, the right side of the door. |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 14 2003, 10:16 PM |
| "I'm not sure..." Sariss whispered back. "Might just be the atmosphere here. And the sun is setting too... It certainly looks quite haunted... Do you see anything in there?" She went and looked through another window, but it was very dusty and dirty. Even though a few of the windowpanes were broken, the torn and tattered blackened curtains prevented her from peeking in. She tried to clean a bit of the glass with her sleeve, but there wouldn't even come enough dirt off to stain her robe. "Can you see anything in there?" she asked in a loud whisper. How strange it was that people always started to whisper automatically when the sun had disappeared and the wind made the leaves of the nearby trees rustle and blew through the half-smashed windows of the Shrieking Shack with a howling noise. Sariss shivered. This was somewhat scary, but also exciting. After all, how bad could a ghost get? There were dozens of ghosts at Hogwarts, even though you usually only met a handful. |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 14 2003, 10:29 PM |
| "Can you see anything in there?" Sariss asked him in a loud whisper. He looked over to Sariss who was stood next to another window. A few trees rustled from the garden in the wind and the lose guttering gave another bang against the wall, making Seb jump ever so slightly. Completely and utterly not Gryffindor material. Taking a deep breath in he answered her. "I see.. dust covered furnature. I think it's a chair or something near a little table in the landing. It's a tad dark," He went for another look. "There are a few doors too. One is slightly open." Seb once more went to look at Sariss but almost died in shock when he saw she was standing right next to him. "Good lord!" He exclaimed, putting one hand over his heart. "I didn't even hear you walk near me! This is rediculous! I can't believe I'm scared over an old abandoned house!" |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 14 2003, 10:52 PM |
| Sariss was startled when Seb jumped a mile high. She blushed furiously and bit her lip for a moment, then said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." She grinned somewhat sheepishly up at Seb before she turned to the window and stood on tiptoes. Really, Seb had grown quite a bit over the last two or three months. Contrary to her, he didn't have to stand on tiptoes to see through that window. Sariss took a peek inside. A lot of dust, broken furniture and shadows that seemed to be moving. Why of course they'd be moving. The tattered remains of what had once been the curtains were fluttering in the draught in there. If one was a paranoid person, one could almost mistake the howling of the wind for the cries of a baby or the spooky noises of ghosts. Well, it was hard not to get paranoid. No matter if this place was haunted or not, the setup and layout of this place alone would make the most sceptic person consider the presence of ghost. The most sceptic Muggle even might change their mind if they stood there at dusk. "Looks creepy in there. That house doesn't need actual ghosts to seem spooky," she said with a nervous giggle. It was strange. Even though she saw ghosts day in and day out at Hogwarts, she was a little bit scared. Not all ghosts might be as friendly as Nearly Headless Nick or even the Bloody Baron. |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 14 2003, 11:14 PM |
| "Why, I bet in the day time it's nowhere near spooky to look at!" He said, as Sariss stood on her tiptoes to get a look in. He smiled to himself as he realised Sariss had blushed once more. Seb usually thought nothing of Sariss blushing. To him it was a normal thing to see Sariss blush, like breathing and blinking. But he had never noticed her bite her lower lip. Cute. Sariss was looking in the window once more, she had stopped muttering about ghosts and the wind had dropped to an odd breeze every now and then, making the place almost deadly silent. Seb grinned. The opportunity was stood there, almost coaxing him on. Then poked Sariss in the back. "BOOBLAAAWOOO!!!" He almost shouted, now laughing. "I.. I had to! Perfect moment! Sorry.." He continued to laugh as he shuck his head. "No, really. Ahm. Sorry. Anyway." Seb said as he straightened himself up. He looked slowly from left to right, pushing his hair out of his face. "Shall we go in?" He pointed to the rust and dirt covered door which was almost hanging off the hinge completely. |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 14 2003, 11:29 PM |
| Sariss jumped and then squealed. "Seb!" she laughed. "You're such a nutter! You almost gave me a heartattack!" She took deep breaths, giggling softly. "Phew..." Seb pushed his hair out of his face. "Shall we go in?" Seb asked, looking around as if they were conspirators and indicating the door that seemed as though a strong blow would make it fall off. Sariss nodded and grinned with excitement. "Let's go in. There's probably not a single spooky thing in there. The spookiest ghost is most likely a vivid imagination... Heh. Oh yes... And the crawly things..." She shuddered involuntarily when she approached the door. "There must be a zillion and one spiders in there to make up for the absence of a ghost," she joked. |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 14 2003, 11:46 PM |
| "Fun fun fun!" Seb said quietly, as they slowly walked towards the door. He reached forward for the handle, hoping that when he tried to open it, it wouldn't fall off. That was all he needed. He pressed the handle down and gave a few sharp pulls until the door creaked open slightly, the top of the door where the hinge was eroded falling forward slightly. A spider fell down but scuttled off before, Seb hoped, Sari had seen it. "I would say ladies first, but..." He tried off, looking into the darkened coridoor. ".. I have a feeling you would kindly decline." He walked forward into the coridoor slowly, the floorboards creaking underneath his feet. Seb hoped the presence he felt behind him was Sariss, and that she hadn't suddenly changed her mind and ran away back to the rusty gate. Brushing a cobweb out of his way he peeked around the door he saw which was open slightly, but it was too dark. "D..D'you see that?" Seb whispered, pointing to the floor. There was footprints and marks which looked like someone(thing) had dragged something(one) with them in the dust. "It must be recent," He told her, bending down a little to get a closer look, "Only a little dust has fell over it. Probably another student with his cloak draped over his arms, yes." Seb nodded, standing up quickly. Reaching back for Sariss, he pushed open the door and carefully walked in with her. So far, so good. |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 15 2003, 12:10 AM |
| Reaching back for Sariss, he pushed open the door and carefully walked in with her. So far, so good. Seb reached for Sariss's hand, and she let herself be led inside the old dusty house. His hand was fairly warm in comparison to hers. The door fell shut behind her with a creaking sound and a thud. While it had taken Seb quite a bit of effort to get the door to open, it fell shut rather easily. A gust of wind seemed to have sufficed. It was cold and draughty inside. And fairly dark. With her free hand she reached into her pocket and drew her trusty holly wand. She exchanged a look with Seb and then muttered, "Lumos," hoping that the spell would work as she only knew it from a chapter of her Charms book. Her wand spluttered a few sparks, like a match that didn't quite manage to ignite at the first try. She coughed. "Lumos," she repeated and the tip of her wand spluttered again, and this time the sparks became a steady glow. Sariss could see a few crawly things hide from the bright light of her wand. They were apparently more comfortable in the darkness of their lairs... somewhere in the foundations of the house probably. "Much better," she said. "That way we won't trip over something at least." |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 15 2003, 12:22 AM |
| Seb looked at Sari's wand alite. He wasn't even going to try that. Sounded too advanced for his liking. If a Professor hadn't taught him it, he didn't want to know. He would probably turn someones eyebrows purple if he tried. "Where shall we go?" He asked. Suddenly, he didn't quite like the feeling of being in the lead. The light from her wand, and the bits that had manage to filter through the window behind was casting terrible shadows on objects, and the creaking of the old house didn't add to things. "Look's much bigger from the inside." He whispered and sniffled slightly from the disturbed dust. Once more the floorboards creaked under the two, dust whifting upwards. "Let's get this straight," He said, turning around to Sari slightly, "I refuse to go into an attic, or down into a basement. Other rooms, that's ok. Trust me, no Gryffie blood in my family." As he talked, he realised his hand was in Sari's own cooler hand. "So, chose a door." |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 15 2003, 12:36 AM |
| Sariss coughed. It seemed that they were disturbing the dust that had settled in here for years on end by their mere presence. "I wouldn't trust those stairs anyway," she said, pointing to a spiral staircase that looked rotten to the core. "In fact..." She stepped forward a bit, the floorboards protesting against her weight. "I don't even trust those floorboards very much." She looked around at the doors. There were four of them. The Shrieking Shack wasn't a very big house, but it wasn't too small either. "Hmm... That one." Seb's hand still firmly in hers, she walked over, pushed the door handle down and tried to open the door. It didn't give an inch. Maybe it was locked or boarded up from the other side. "Um... maybe not." She tried to open a door on the opposite side of the entrance hall and it gave in after a not-so-gentle pushing and rattling session. As a matter of fact, it gave way so suddenly that Sariss stumbled. |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 15 2003, 12:58 AM |
| Sariss looked at the doors around her, pointing her want to each one. "Hmm... That one." She said, walking towards it. After pushing at the door for a few seconds she changed her mind. "Um... maybe not." It didn't look like it was going to budge anytime soon. Seb shuddered as a small breeze passed him by, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knew if the place was cleaned, aired and refurbished he wouldn't have a thing to be frightened about. Walking to the oposite side of the hall, Sariss tried another door. With her free arm she pushed and rattled the door a few times, even using her shoulder on her free side to push. Before Seb had even blinked, the door had given way and Sariss began to fall with the door. Remembering she still had hold of his hand and he would probably fall with her, he gave a tug on her arm back towards himself, stopping her from falling. To regain his own balance, Seb placed his free arm around waist. "Gotcha!" He said down to her as cold pr ickles ran up and down his spine in the shock of what happened. |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 15 2003, 01:30 AM |
| Sariss had uttered a small gasp when she felt herself fall forwards. It was as though she were falling in slow motion. She knew she wouldn't be able to regain her balance just as easily. Closing her eyes, she all but awaited the impact. It didn't come. Seb's hand grasped hers more tightly and he somehow swung her back into balance, his other arm grabbing her around the waist. Sariss's heartbeat was racing, adrenaline surging through her entire system. "Gotcha!" Seb said. Sariss glanced at the floor where she would have landed if he hadn't caught her. A large bug scuttled of the rotten floorboards. Sariss shuddered. The wood looked very rotten and would surely have given way if she'd impacted there. She could have ended up in the basement. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked up at Seb who still had his arm around her waist and held her firmly. That was good because she was really shaky. "Thank you," she whispered and really meant it as she looked into his eyes, her face only inches away from his. |
| Posted by: Seb_Darwin Sep 15 2003, 01:36 AM |
| "Thank you," Sariss whispered, looking into his eyes. "No... problem," He whispered back, closing the gap between them. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but he couldn't help it. His heart beating fast, surely it would explode soon, in his chest. His eyes closed as he placed a light kiss on Sariss' lips. There. He had done it. Now for the slap, kick and wand shoved up his... nose. Seb opened his eyes slowly, almost waiting for the first hit. "Ahrmm.." He cleared his throat, wondering if he should let go of her. His brain wasn't working. |
| Posted by: Sariss Sep 15 2003, 01:48 AM |
| Sariss thought she'd fallen anyway. Maybe she was lying somewhere in the basement, unconscious, having some sort of weird dream. Seb couldn't have possibly just kissed her. It had all been rather sorted out. They were best friends, not more. Or at least that was what Sariss had thought. What the...? She blinked up at Seb when his lips left hers... and blinked again. "Ahrmm.." he made. Sariss's mouth opened but no sound came out. She tried again. "S-Seb..." she stuttered, slightly confused. "What was that?" This was so weird. Her stomach was making flip-flops. A smile was aching to crawl onto her face. But then a truly unbidden thought struck her. "What about Cien?" |