The silence will set her free

Charlotte walks down to the lake shore, taking her sweet time. The grass was making satisfying crunches under her feet with every step she took. She reached the shore, and found a large rock to sit on that she could dangle her feet over.

The sun felt nice on her face, and even though it was a little chilly, Charlotte slid her Slytherin robe off, placing it beside her. She watched an owl fly above her, carrying a letter, but she knew it was wasn't for her.

Charlotte had written her mother a letter the day she arrived and there had been no reply. Her mother never replied to her letters of course, though.

Charlotte pulled her thick hair back into a ponytail and leaned back on her elbows.

As the sky grew steadily darker, Charlotte took her discarded robes and placed them behind her head as a pillow. She closed her eyes, only meaning to rest for a moment, but accidentally drifted off into a deep sleep.

She dreamt she was on a broomstick, high in the air. Even in the dream she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, as she tried to coax the broom back down to the ground. The broom started to zoom forward, nearing the grass, and Charlotte was sure she was going to crash.

With a jolt, she awoke and sat up quickly, and realized it was pitch black outside, not a light in sight. She instantly froze. She couldn't reach for her wand, she couldn't turn her head, nothing. She silently cursed herself for letting herself get stuck out here this late, and for being so deathly afraid of the dark. She quietly whimpered, and told herself to not panic, but she felt as if her lungs were being crushed, the familiar feeling of a panic attack starting to take over.

Alexander walks up slowly thinking his words in his head. 'if itll make casey jealous...' he sighs "good afternoon charlott. how are you" he fakes a convincing smile and its actually cute.

Charlotte glances up at him, but is still completely frozen. She mutters a quiet, "hello."
She takes deep breaths, and clamps her eyes shut, trying to force herself to reach for her wand, but her hands don't seem to be working.

He pulls out an umbrella and hands it to her. "looks stormy... i was wondering if i could ask you something, lady charlotte?"

She ignores his offer and slowly creeps her hand towards her wand, her eyes still shut.
"If you could just.... give me a minute..." She says quickly, her breathing still irregular, her heart pounding so loud she's sure Alex can hear it. She opens her eyes for a second, and the darkness once again makes her feel as if she's being crushed.
Charlotte squeals and shuts her eyes again, her wand almost in reach.

The slight breeze felt nice as Chance walked down towards the lake. His arms swung freely by his sides, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He saw 2 people down by the water, and decided to go engage in conversation. He really loved making new friends!

He walked towards the two figures, tossing his wand up in the air a few times and catching it, never letting it out of his sight.

Chance quickly realized it was two Slytherins he was about to talk to, but this didn't discourage him. He wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing!

"Hello there!" He said, a grin on his face. He noticed the young girl had her eyes clamped shut and was stiff as a board. Her hand was slowly creeping towards her wand, like a spider. Chance tilted his head and picked up her wand, which was still a good foot away from her hand. He handed it to her and smiled.

"Are you alright?"

Charlotte was still in a panic. She couldn't breathe. This ignorant boy behind her wouldn't leave her alone. And she couldn't even open her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard a new voice say hello. She didn't pay him much attention. Out of no where, however, her wand appeared in her hand, placed there by a pair of rough, callused hands. Quidditch hands, she thought to herself in annoyance.

But her wand! She had her wand back! She was safe!

"Lumos!" She managed to spit out. The moment her wand lit up, Charlotte relaxed. She could see again. She looked over to her "savior" and raised an eyebrow. A Gryffindor, typical.

"Uh, thanks, I guess..." she said awkwardly, shuffling her feet.

Chance watched her in her panic, confused. She seemed stiff and scared, until she lit her wand up. Her body relaxed as though she some unseen force had let her go from a chokehold.

A thought hit him, and he almost laughed at the idea, but didn't want to seem rude.

This girl is afraid of the dark...

"You're welcome," he said, smiling. He held out his hand for her to shake.

"My name's Chance, by the way."

As an amused look crossed the boy's face, Charlotte blushed, and stiffened slightly. No one could know she was afraid of the dark, it was private!

She tilted her head slightly when he introduced himself, and hesitated. He did help her, after all, but Charlotte wasn't one to ask for help. She was slightly embarrassed. Slowly, she held her hand out to shake his.

"I'm Charlotte."

Chance raised his eyebrows at her hesitation, but then grinned when she shook his hand and introduced herself. She seemed embarassed, he noticed. Yet, she held her head high and seemed confident at the same time. Chance was impressed at her haughty stature.

"So, Charlotte, if you don't mind my asking... what was that all about?" He snickered slightly and crossed his arms across his chest.

Charlotte looked at him, her eyes narrowed. Who was he to just start asking such personal questions? Ok, so maybe he didn't know it was so personal, but it was still annoying. She took a step backwards, hoping he'll stop talking to her soon so she can go back inside to the warmth of her common room.

"I do mind, actually," she said with a scowl.

With a sigh, Charlotte decided maybe it'd be okay to trust at least one person. She had so much bottled up inside of her, it'd probably be healthy to get some stuff off her chest.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. It's just... I'm kind of embarassed. You see, I'm afraid of the dark. Really afraid of the dark," she mumbled, staring at the ground.

"And I've never told anyone that before, so you had better keep your mouth shut or you'll be sorry!" She added as an afterthought, looking up to stare him straight in the eye.

Alex bows to the girl "lady charlotte i would be happy to ecort you inside. and i have a favor."

Staring at the boy, Charlotte scoffs. Who did this kid think he was? Did she look like a weak little child who needed help wherever she went?

"You were looking pretty weak just a few minutes ago in the dark..." said a nasty voice in the back of her mind.

"I'd rather escort myself, thanks."

When Charlotte took a few steps back, Chance felt slightly guilty. He was pushing into personal matters that she clearly didn't want to talk about. He was just about to apologize for intruding, when she spoke. He looked at her curiously, surprised that such a girl who seemed to radiate confidence could have such a petty fear.

"I won't tell anyone, don't worry," He said with a grin, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Chance had barely realized the other boy was there until he spoke. He stared at him, feeling a twinge of anger. This boy had been standing here this whole time and hadn't thought to help Charlotte when she was clearly in distress? He shook his head and looked to Charlotte to see how she'd respond.

He grinned when she gave the boy a sharp retort. He was right about her. She was haughty and proud, and didn't want the help of others unless absolutely necessary.

"Well Charlotte, it's rather late and I think I'm going to go back inside. Not to mention, it's pretty dark out here," Chance said, winking.

Charlotte could feel Chance's eyes on her as she spoke to the other Slytherin, but didn't expect him to say he was leaving.

"Oh, right, I was just about to do the same... I'm pretty tired, and it is dark..." She looked around her, her eyes not able to penetrate the thick darkness outside of the light from her wand. "Perhaps I'll see you around, Chance."

She turned around and started to walk up towards the castle, not waiting for a response from Chance, and not waiting for him to catch up to her either.

Chance watched her walk away, utterly perplexed. Something about her just fascinated him, and he was determined to find out what it was. Knowing she wouldn't want to walk with him back to the castle quite yet, he trudged along behind her in the snow, watching her back.

He kept his wand lit in front of him and reveled in the idea of climbing into his warm bed upstairs. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Hey, Charlotte, wait up!" He called, picking up his speed.

The snow was making satisfying crunches under Charlotte's feet as she walked, and she could hear Chance behind her. She was feeling nervous in the dark, the light from her wand only giving her a tiny bubble of protection. Suddenly, she heard Chance call out for her.
She turned around slowly, boredom evident on her face.

"What is it?" She said, just wanting more than anything to curl up in her bed.

Oblivious to the look of boredom on Charlotte's face, Chance closes the distance between them in a few strides.

"Look, I know you said you're tired and everything but I really want to show you something. It's cool, I promise!" The grin on his face showed that he was clearly excited, and he hoped she'd be up for it.

"Come on, come with me. It won't take long."

Charlotte stares up at the boy when he's standing so close, and she takes an awkward step back. When he tells her his idea, she tilts her head. She was about to say no when he spoke again.

"Alright.... as long as it won't take long...." She said, turning back around to walk back up towards the castle, expecting him to catch up to her.

(OOC: this goes to the Room of Requirement! Wheee! *flys there*)