Catch The Snitch

Anwen needed to get away from Hogwarts for a while. She needed to escape her studies and the stresses waiting for her back at the school. She wanted to get some sweets and maybe a new book to get her mind right. Normally she would ask Kyle to go with her, but she knew he needed some time to heal. So instead, she asked Laguna to accompany her to Hogsmeade. She grabbed her bag and a dark blue cloak and headed out of the school to wait for her friend.

Since the potion making was going much better following the initial session with Anwen, Laguna was looking more like his usual self, the bags under his eyes considerably less noticeable than they had been. Around school, he'd been managing things much better and keeping busy with quidditch and homework. When Anwen asked him to accompany her to Hogsmeade, he was actually excited to get out and enjoy something away from school. He jogged down the stairs in some of his casual clothes, deciding to mix things up from his usual Hogwarts uniform. Once he'd arrived at the main floor, he slowed his jog to a walk and strode out onto the grounds, spotting her almost immediately. "Anwen!" He called out, making his way toward her. A confident smile spread across his face as he approached.

She turned when she heard her name and saw Laguna. Now that he was sleeping better, it was easier to see his handsome features that lay within his boyish features. She smiled and waved at him slightly. "Ready?" She took note of his attire and couldn't help but feel a little overdressed for the occasion, but it was what she felt comfortable in. "Thanks for agreeing to come with me. Also, you look wonderful today. The potions are working I assume?"

"Always ready," he answered, his smile only growing at her compliment. The day they'd met in the classroom hadn't been a proper reflection of his typical personality...some might say it was nice his ego had taken a little break, but the break was over now. "How could I resist the invitation?" He asked, his eyes meeting hers as he spoke. "Thank you. That's in large part thanks to you. You look wonderful too," he added. Was it weird to add that? Oh well. He had and he was going to own it. "The potions have been incredible. In fact, I haven't felt this good in a long time." He glanced toward the path toward Hogsmeade and then nodded toward it. "Shall we?"

She grinned at him. Yes, his personality was much more meager when they had first encountered each other. She was well aware that he was a very confident guy in most things that he did was part of the reason that Anwen knew he needed help when he was in the potion’s classroom that day. Her cheeks turned a bright shade of red at his compliment and she tried to hide the fact that she actually liked the compliment. "Erm....thanks." She smiled and she took a step towards Hogsmeade. "I'm glad you're doing better. I see you're back to your old self." She looked at him to make sure he was following.

"You're welcome," he said with a shrug as if it were something typical that she'd hear from others. She was a pretty girl, after all. He walked alongside her, his eyes scanning the area surrounding them as they walked. As good as he was feeling, he knew it would also be careless to let his guard down completely. "You could say that," his gaze shifted back toward Anwen. "Nothing can keep me down for too long." A little hint of a grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. "So, what about you? Any exciting news since we last met? New potions buddies?" He paused then perked an eyebrow as he joked, "None as cool as me though, obviously."

Anwen never viewed herself as pretty. She was as flat as a board and was never really given compliments. As a matter of fact, the only real comments on her looks came from her brother who told that she would always appear as a twelve-year-old boy to those around her and who would want that? Even her 'friend' Lorin had told her the same. She felt the heat in her cheeks, but she brushed it off. "Oh right of course. None of them as cool as you." She giggled and rolled her eyes. "But no, no one new." She looked over at him quickly before looking back to the path. "But then again.... I don't usually walk in on such sad attempts at potion making either." She grinned at him to show she was only kidding.

He noted the hint of color in her cheeks. It was the same as it had been when he'd complimented her in the potion’s classroom. Any reasonable person probably would have let this slide. He, however, was not always reasonable. His curiosity could sometimes get the better of him and he'd ask what was on his mind about saving someone else the embarrassment of his words. He'd at least go easier on her than some others, "Is that...are you blushing?" He couldn't hide the amusement on his face as they followed the winding path and started to turn a corner. "I'll have you know--” He started, giving her his best serious face, "That I'm quite decent at potions any other day. I'll prove it to you too. We'll..." He thought on it, "Have a potion competition." Always a competition.

She looked at him as he laughed, and she perked a brow. "Oh, yes please...Do keep the compliments flowing. It only proves my point." She grinned. She raised her fingers in the air and started to point at them one by one as she spoke. "Arrogant, Full of himself, handsome yes, but also flaunts it, smart yet...tries to downplay it." She laughed and shrugged her own shoulders. "I have never done something like this before, but...I can assure you...I will give it my all..." She pushed him back from the edge of the path as the noise got louder. "Something's coming, Laguna..."

There was a smug look on his face as she started to counter the compliments, he'd given himself. She honestly had some really good comebacks from what he was trying to sell himself as. "Handsome, smart...I'll take it." He had a way of taking the positives from what she said and using them to his own advantage. Her willingness to enter the competition was actually exciting. And it was his chance to prove to her that he could manage a brew on his own. His thoughts, however, were cut short as she pushed him back from the edge of the path. His eyes darted around as he attempted to identify the source. "What is it?" he asked, following her lead as they moved to the side.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's what you got out of all of that." Of course, it's what he got from it. He was full of himself after all. She just smiled and shook her head at him. There was no denying he was handsome. He also was the type of boy that she tried to stay away from, not because of where he came from or who he was but because he never felt good enough for anyone. She was also excited to take part in the competition, she hadn't done anything like it before. She also was curious just how well he could brew. Then, the sound came from the trees nearby again. "A voice.... And not a friendly sounding one at that..." She could hear it; she wondered if he could as well. Was she going mad?

Laguna tilted his head at her as if he was wondering what else he would take away from that. "Of course, it is." He shrugged. He knew what he had going for him. Even if he was just doing it to get a reaction out of her, his parents always valued having pride in who he was and encouraged him to own it no matter what. And so, he did. His head snapped in the direction of the noise. This time he had heard something. "Over here," he lowered his voice suddenly to ensure that the two of them weren't ousted right away. Once they were ducked behind a large boulder, he focused on what they were listening for and sure enough, he could hear the voice. "Someone's having a shit day," he stated, peeking around the boulder as a rather large outline of someone began to round the corner. The voice grew louder, but oddly enough he didn't notice anyone else around the voice. Perhaps just someone having a bad day? Or was there more to this? Invisibility potion? That was an awful lot of trouble to go through though, so what or WHO would be hiding? He suddenly realized he was getting way ahead of himself. "Er...sorry..." He apologized, knowing that his mind had gotten him distracted. "Can you hear what they're saying?"

She smiled, at least he had pride in who he was. Anwen wasn't even sure who she was yet and her was having all the confidence in the world. And why wouldn't he? He had skill, looks and most of the girls in their school took notice of him. They then hid behind a rather large boulder, and she shuddered as the voice seemed to talk to her. But there was no visible person connected to the body. It seemed to get closer and she panicked. Her breathing increased as she heard the words. Failure! You'll be the ruin of your family! She frowned before focusing on Laguna. "I uh.... n-n...it sounds like my mum."

Laguna glanced over at her as he anticipated her response, but he noticed that she seemed a little different than normal. There were little hints that something was wrong, but he couldn't really understand what was happening to her until he noticed that her breathing had changed. It was something he was familiar with, at least inwardly. "Your mum?" That threw him off. "But why would your mum...?" His mind was trying to piece it all together. He stood and scanned toward the figure...was there even any connection to the traveler and this voice? Or was this something else? He moved to set his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, everything is going to be okay," his voice was calm despite the fact that he was concerned for her. "Take a deep breath," he encouraged, which he knew was much easier said than done. And honestly...probably didn't even offer any real help here.

She nodded quickly, her hair flailing about her head. The voice came closer, and she could feel a pull from it, in her chest. "Yes, my mum...She never...She doesn't...understand me. She thinks I'm weak." What was going on, where was this voice coming from. She then felt a rather sharp pain in her stomach, and she doubled over letting out a small whimper trying to keep quiet so as to not give away their position. But it seemed to know right where they were. Then the voice changed. To male voice...one that was calling to Laguna....

With sympathetic eyes, Laguna focused on Anwen, beginning to understand the way she was feeling a little more. In fact, it hit pretty close to home. "She's wrong." he said firmly, his voice unwavering. At least in that moment, his composure was solid, and he was sure of what he was saying. Though his face was beginning to show more concern as she doubled over, her whimpers only added to her worry. He didn't quite understand what this was. Perhaps it was linked to that mirror? No. This wasn't so much like the mirror. That was when the voice changed and with it, the calm and composed version of him changed as well. "Laguna...you've disappointed your family since you went to that bloody school. You aren't worthy of the name Lestrange." His jaw hung open and he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "You're a disgrace. A waste..." It continued on, and he knew at once who it belonged to. "S-sorry, father..." He mumbled under his breath, the sick feeling surging.

Anwen felt the pain in her stomach but knew that they had to get out of there. There was no way they could fight or take care of whatever this was. When it turned to Laguna, she turned to him. His composure gone and now he was the one under attack. She grabbed his hand and tugged. "Laguna, come on, it's not really him.... It’s not your father! We have to go we have to get out of here!!" She pulled harder trying to get him to his feet.

Whatever was happening was beyond anything he understood. The only reason his attention was even jolted away from the thing was because she grabbed his hand and tugged at him to get him to move. "H-huh?" He was still gaping at the sound of the voice. It took another pull before he was able to snap back enough to recognize that Anwen was right, and it was time to go. He hopped up to his feet and looked toward her before finally giving into her pulls to get away from whatever this thing was. "What the hell is that?" he asked as they fled.

Anwen didn't know what was going on either, but it was a lot to handle. She wanted to get away from the stress not have it added too. Finally, she got his attention enough to pull him away from whatever that thing was. She ran until she was sure it wasn't following them, and she couldn't hear the voices anymore. "I don't know what that was, but it seemed to know some of our.... fears." She frowned and looked over at him. "Are you okay, Laguna?"

Once they'd stopped, his breathing was heavier than usual. He peeked over his shoulder. What the bloody hell had he done? Did he make an enemy that was actively trying to take him out? Between the damn mirror in the forest and this he was beginning to think that was exactly what he'd done. "I... I’m okay." His chest rose and fell deeply until he was able to catch his breath and then he looked toward her. "It did. And oddly enough this is the second encounter I've had similar to this." Suddenly he was feeling the need to explain exactly why she'd had to help him with the potions in the first place. "I think when we get to Hogsmeade I need to tell you about something. I don't know if it's related to this or not, but I'm not ruling it out."

Fear had a grip on her but her breathing was regulating itself and her instinct to protect her friend had kicked in. She wanted to protect Laguna and make sure he was okay. When he said he was okay she nodded, but a smile wouldn't come. This was strange and it wasn't the first time she had dealt with something like this either. "Yes, Okay. Let's get to Hogsmeade and we can talk this over. I'd feel safer there and not here on the path anyhow." She was still holding his hand and when she realized it, she blushed and gently let it go. "I have somethings to tell you as well."

Laguna nodded, not noticing she still had his hand until she let it go. Weird, haunted spots would do that to you, he guessed. "Y-yeah," he said, clearly still a bit shaken from the process. With one more quick glance around, he suddenly pulled the hood up on his jacket as if that was going to assist with whatever they'd encountered. The rest of the walk to Hogsmeade was silent compared to how the outing first began, but he was on alert and by the sound of it, she was too. When they finally made it to the outskirts of the village, he lowered his hood and let out a sigh of relief. Whatever it was wouldn't ...or shouldn't have the boldness to enter a fully equipped wizarding village to prey on two students.
"At least the rest of the walk was okay," he finally said, looking around the bustling village. "Suppose the best spot to have a talk would be The Three Broomsticks? Unless you're looking for somewhere with less students." He didn't mind either way, but if they dropped into the Three Broomsticks, he knew exactly what he was getting.

She kept her eyes and ears open after the rest of the to Hogsmeade. The fun and outgoing personalities tucked away for now. Replaced by fear and hyper awareness. She had her arms across her chest the rest of the way there. Once they arrived, she looked around and shrugged her shoulders. "Three Broomsticks should be fine." She took a deep breath once they walked into the village. It was a weight lifted off her chest that they were safe. They were safe right?

She sighed and led the way to the Three Broomsticks and opened the door to the pub before walking inside and taking a seat at a table in the corner. They had much to discuss and even though she was scared she had to know what was going on. Perhaps there was another reason Laguna was so tired before?

He nodded, part of him happy with the choice. At least he could get a butterbeer now. "Right, sounds good." He said, following behind her quietly until they made it to the staple pub. Right away the atmosphere was one to put him at ease. There were way too many people in here for anything to go wrong and he was going to get one of his favorite drinks. Things had to turn around. Then he thought of the trip back and shuddered. No. That was a problem for later.

As he sat down at the table with her, he glanced around. He didn't really recognize too many people right now. Maybe a couple of locals that were always there, but other than that, no face really called for extra attention. "So..." He started, then he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Does that...happen often?"

She looked up at him and frowned. Thinking back to home and the ghosts she lives all the time. Family members mostly, but there are some that are a bit more than that. "Often? No, I wouldn't say it happens often. But it has happened once before. When I was seven." Did she really divulge herself into everything she had been through?

Anwen leaned forward and took a breath. "I live in a house...manor, with ghosts. Most of them are family members, well pretty much all of them are family members. But there is one that takes a different form. Well, or no form at all I suppose. It spoke to me when I was seven. Telling me I would ne-never be good enough. Well, you heard what, whatever the hell that thing was back there." She took a breath. "Your turn...."

Ghosts? Why hadn't he even considered that? Was he so swept up in his own supernatural horrors that he'd lost all sensible thoughts. Whether the culprit was something he felt he could have sorted out or not, the truth of the matter was that even ghosts were not beings you wanted to mess around with. He once heard horror stories of a poltergeist that took people hostage in Hogsmeade. It was likely just an old story passed along to frighten people and poltergeists weren't exactly the same as any ghost, but overall, the premise was the same. Ghosts were not harmless, and Anwen had best be careful if that's what she thought this was.

"Did you ever tell anyone about it?" He asked, genuinely curious, if she'd shared this or if she simply shouldered the burden on her own for all these years.

His turn. Laguna sighed. It was his own stubbornness that was making his situation so difficult. Before he started the waitress came over and took their orders, "I'll have a butterbeer please." Once she was out of earshot, his thoughts circled back to Nautica. He wondered how she was doing and decided he would be checking in soon whether she liked it or not. "So," he started, "Sometimes I like to go on adventures." That wasn't what happened. "And on this evening in particular, I was with a friend when we spotted lights out in the forest, so we went to investigate." It still wasn't exactly how that happened but in general this would lead to the same outcome. "What we found was some old mirror. Only our reflections weren't really us...they were different." He shuddered, recalling Nautica's reflection as it broke through. "It was like a darker version of who we are. Representing everything we don't want to become, but..." In his mind he realized that maybe the reflections weren't all too different, but maybe they just embraced the parts that Nautica and Laguna actively fought with. "Anyway, they broke out of the mirror, and they've been wandering around the school ever since."

He'd only left out the awful attacks, the threats, and the particles of his reflections cutting through him like a million tiny knives. "And I haven't told anyone or figured out how to fix it yet."

Had she told anyone yet? No, she hadn't wanted to worry anyone with her own burdens. "Now, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't think it was important at the time, and to be honest it thought it was something I was making up. I was told I have an overactive imagination." She shrugged and looked up at the waitress. "Butterbeer as well please." She returned her attention back to Laguna and listened to his story.

"That' is terrible, Laguna. I didn't know that was even possible." She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. "It sounds like a cursed object...Something that we could...I don't know maybe be able to figure out how to take control over it?" She looked worried and a bit scared at what they were facing.

"That sort of stuff is more common than you think, so if they thought you were making it up, they're very misinformed. Most ghost sightings are real." He'd heard the countless tales in Knockturn Alley quite often while he waited for his father's business meetings to wrap up. "So, you're creative. There's nothing wrong with that. And just to confirm you may have a very active imagination, but that was very real."

He shrugged, "At first I thought it was a cursed object as well. Now I'm not sure what it is at all. I've been spending a lot of extra time in the library to try and find some leads but no luck so far." Her suggestion was one he hadn't considered. "Actually, I wonder if that's possible." After looking over her face he attempted his best try at a smile to reassure her. It probably wasn't great, "I'm sure it'll all get sorted out. Actually ...you may want to meet my friend as well. Three brains are better than one." Between all three maybe they could sort something out. The waitress served the butterbeers to the two students before hurrying off.

She shrugged and looked down at her hands that were still visibly shaking. After clasping them together she held tightly to keep the fact that they were shaking a secret, or at least attempting to. "I suppose so. But my family...well they don't really think high of me at all. My little sister thinks that I am this horrid and dreadful person out to make a mockery of her life. And my brother, well he makes it his life mission to torment me." She looked up when the waitress brought their drinks. She quickly took it up and took a sip. The warmth warmed her belly, and she felt a tad bit better. "Creative, that's one way to put it. Thanks for the positive spin." He was good at that though.

"Right, I mean, maybe we could put a positive light on things. Try to figure out what it's powered by or how it's powered and see if we can take it under our own control." She shrugged again and looked up at him. She was trying to find something, anything to distract herself from what was going on, and her eyes fell on his. They were really quite breath taking. She stared for too long and blinked away. "Your friend, right the other one involved...we could ask her for sure. I'm sure we can come up with something."

They had more in common than he'd imagined. Somehow when he thought back on his assumptions about Anwen, they were more along the lines of coming from a happy family where everyone loved and supported one another. He could picture her in a cozy, inviting house filled with brothers and sisters who looked up to her. His assumptions came from the way she seemed to put off so much positive and supportive energy. How else did someone become so caring and nice? The fact that he'd been so off about that made him curious about what else he'd come to learn about Anwen. While she spoke, he took a sip of his own butterbeer and instantly felt better than when they'd first entered. "Yeah, anytime," he replied. Somehow, he'd managed to continuous spin things today. Maybe that was a good thing.

"I think that's a great idea," he said, nodding. As he considered her suggestion, he hadn't noticed her staring into his eyes at first. After a few moments, he did start to catch on to the fact that she was staring and went to wipe his face. "Do I have butterbeer on my face?" He was notorious for getting sweet foam on his nose. Couldn't help himself, because typically he'd be gulping down the last few drops by now. He cleared his throat, "So I should warn you...when I say 'friend' I suppose that is also putting a positive spin on things." He grinned and couldn't help but give a nervous laugh, "Er...surely you're familiar with the dynamic between myself and Nautica Anderson?" Yes, they'd been rivals since first year. To Laguna, Nautica was a snotty, stuck-up brat. To Nautica...well he didn't know her deal except that she seemed to loath him since before they entered Hogwarts. "So that will be a fun outing."

"And contrary to how...difficult she may seem," which mostly she was just like that toward Laguna, "She's at least smart." It was as close to a compliment as he was going to get.

Anwen wasn't normally one to open up about her life back home. In fact, she hadn’t really told anyone. The idea that people got in their heads about her was exactly what she wanted them to think- that she came from a happy loving home. She, in fact, only her dead grandmother really cared what happened to her. She wasn't sure why she was sharing this information with Laguna, but he was easy to talk to and was willing to talk to her which made it easier to talk about herself.

"Yeah. If she was involved, I think it would work in our favor to have all of us working on a solution to this...issue." Even if it didn't affect her directly, she wanted to help Laguna because, well, he was her friend.

When he asked about having butterbeer on his face, her cheeks turned bright red, and she looked away. "Oh no. I mean...your face is great...I mean...." She tripped over her words and instead of trying to fix it she just took a drink of her own butterbeer.

"So not really a friend then...well all we can do is try to talk to her...hopefully she will want to solve this as well."

Laguna took another gulp of his drink and sighed with relief as the warmth of the drink spread through him. “I’m sorry…” he said suddenly, “That your family doesn’t appreciate you.” Maybe it was just a common theme among people their age. Then he shook his head at that thought. He was quite sure his relationship with his father was far from what would be typical.

“Don’t worry. I can be very convincing.” That was true, he knew exactly how to say what needed to be said in most cases. “I once convinced the—Never mind.” Some secrets were meant to be kept. “The point is, I’ll get her to come around.”

Laguna couldn’t help but chuckle at her reaction, the blushing was a common theme for her on this outing. “My face is great?” He couldn’t wipe the smirk from his face if he wanted to. “Didn’t know you were such a charmer, Anwen.” As she fumbled over her words it only encouraged his chuckles.

The last bit took him a moment to think about it. “She’s not a friend and not not a friend.” That clarified things surely. “And believe me, she’ll want to solve the bit just to be rid of me.”

"Hmmm, how cute," a voice Laguna might recognize almost seemed to purr from behind him, "On a date, Lestrange?" she placed a hand on his shoulder, but it would be... cold to the touch as she moved around to stand beside the table, "Is that what people come here for?" Rhysln mused, looking between them, "To talk about others and pretend there's a simple solution to all their worries?" there was something wrong with her... her usually immaculate appearance was disheveled, her hair looking.... wet, possibly bloody, her clothes a bit tattered. Her skin was sallow and there were bags under her eyes, "Surely though....at your age... you know better," she finished in a whisper as she leaned onto the table, looking between them.

"Now.... you were just mentioning.... my lovely little sister," a cruel smile spread on her face, "You wouldn't happen to know where she is, do you?" she asked in a sweet voice, "You're not friends, after all, so you shouldn't have to worry about what happens when I find her," she reached over, straightening his shirt, "Then I'll leave you to your date," she looked over at Anwen. She gave a scoff, "As riveting as it is, I'm sure."

She shook her head and waved off the apology. "It's alright. It's nothing I'm not used to. I have come to terms with how my family views me. It's why I help people. So, they never have to feel the burden of being underappreciated."

She perked a brow and leaned forward. "Oh no... you brought it up you have to tell me now." She grinned and took another drink of her butterbeer. "I'm sure she will want to help...."

His chuckle rang through her and she felt the heat in her cheeks. "Oh, hush you. I just meant that there was no butterbeer on it...you already know how outstandingly gorgeous you are anyway." She said it before she could stop herself. It wasn't something she normally said, and her hand clapped over her mouth after she said it.

But when someone appeared behind him her face went white. She knew there was something off about her the moment she saw her. A date...yeah like a boy of Lagunas class would date someone like her. She scoffed but quickly shut her mouth again. Offensive and rude...this woman had to be one of the reflections Laguna spoke of earlier. "We aren't telling you anything about anyone..."

“Yeah, she will. Besides…she’s been wanting an adventure so how much more adventurous could it get?” With her interest in his story, he finished off his butterbeer and then figured why not share. “This one time one of the Slytherin players was giving one of our girls a hard time. I convinced one of his own teammates to slip some dungbombs into his locker.” The clear pride he had in that feat was down in the huge smile on his face now.

“Wait—did you just call me gorgeous—?” His smile faded as he heard a new voice. Laguna furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he tried to identify the source of the new voice. It was familiar in some way but definitely not in a way that was easily identifiable. He got a chill as her hand touched his shoulder, noting how icy her hand seemed. “Rhysln? Are you…okay?” He already knew the answer to that, but he was processing her appearance. Typically, she was perfect. She took pride in her appearance and how others perceived her, but this? As she leaned in, he processed the details in her new look—the tatters in the clothes, the hair that very well could be soaked with blood—wait.

Suddenly his mind thought back to what happened with his own reflection and how it left him after a rough interaction. What if Rhysln was out there somewhere hurt? It would be his fault as Nautica asked over and over to notify a staff member or at least tell Rhysln. His face was a little pale as his eyes stared at Rhysln while she spoke.

“I wasn’t talking about Nautica anyway. I was just meaning we’re…complicated.” He nervously tapped a finger on his butterbeer mug. Come on. Get it together. His eyes never left Rhysln in the time she was speaking. Until she straightened his shirt and referred to Anwen and this ‘date’ again. Part of him thought he should clarify, because who knew if Anwen was actually seeing someone else or something, but then he thought it would be pretty useless considering there was no way this was the real Rhysln. More pressing, he needed to find a way to get this thing off Nautica’s trail and find Rhysln.

He thought about it and then decided he’d try to throw her off. “Er... I’m not sure. I thought she was meeting with you?” Vague. Wouldn’t really do much if Nautica actually planned to meet with her but then maybe the reflection would think that it needed to go back to the spot where it had clearly gotten into a scuffle with the real Rhysln, and they could trail this…thing…

Rhysln seemed more than pleased with Anwen's response before looking over at Laguna as he tried to lie. She tutted her tongue, "Naughty Lestrange. You're not very good at lying under pressure are you?" she laughed a little as her hands slowly moved towards the edge of the table, "The me you know would probably humor it just because of family ties and being polite," she said, whispering the last word, "But I'm not her," she smiled a Cheshire smile before gripping the edge of the table and flipping it, sending it flying away from them, "And I'm only going to ask nicely so many times," she said, looking between them, not seeming to care about the ruckus she was causing, drawing a wand from her sleeve, "Where is she? I'll take her copy too, that should save you some effort, shouldn't it?" she crooned, "I owe her some punishment. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, who gets in my way.... Weeeeell.... Collateral damage and all that," she smirked wickedly.

Anwen shook her head and uncovered her mouth to look at him. "Hmmm...maybe?" She groaned, was mentally beating herself up for letting something like that slip out of her mouth. When Laguna's smile faded, she looked over at the girl and shuddered. There was something off about her. Evil....it was radiating off her. There was nothing kind about her. She was out for...what? Blood, pain, revenge? All of it?

She watched helplessly as the girl talked to Laguna. However, when she flipped the table, Anwen stood up and drew her wand quickly pointing it at the, whatever this was. "You don't belong here. Why don't you go back to whatever hell you came from and leave us alone?" She wasn't sure why she was being so brave at this point. Normally she would be cowering in a corner.

It wasn't that she wasn't afraid, but she wasn't going to let this thing hurt anyone. At least not willingly. "We don't know where they are, and even if we did, we wouldn't tell you!" So much for being safe in Hogsmeade.

In all fairness, he thought he'd been really smooth with the lies. That would need to be worked on. But before he could get much further with anything, the situation had escalated beyond anything that he expected. This reflection was bold. Not like the other reflections. They are least choosing quiet times to show up and cause mayhem. She was out to get whatever she wanted and just like she said, it was clear she didn't care what happened in the process.

Before he had any time to react, Anwen sprang into action. Not bad for a Hufflepuff. He'd have to compliment her later. Following her lead, he was up on his feet and had his wand drawn as well. "You aren't going to touch Nautica!" In the back of his mind, he wondered what she wanted with the 'reflection'. That was somehow something he wasn't expecting.

The scene had caught more than just the attention of the nearby tables though. In fact, the staff had rounded on them. "OUT! The lot of ya!" Eyes turned on Laguna and Rhysln. Between a Lestrange and a bloody Anderson, it seemed that they were living up to expectations about certain wizarding families. "Tired of the likes of ya in here causin' problems, now out!" There was a flash of purple and before he knew what was happening, he was floating by the collar of his shirt and being carried off toward the door. "And don't ya come back here until ya learn how to behave."

He was too busy fighting off the invisible carrier to know if the other two were also being booted out. Wham! He landed outside on the ground loudly, wand still in hand. Behind him he could hear mumbles about the likes of him and belonging in Azkaban. This simply made him grumble as he stood up and brushed himself off.

Rhysln had managed to evade anyone trying to levitate her out by sending a fireball around the establishment to keep them distracted and then she just.... apparated herself outside, getting up in Laguna's face, "You just said she's not even a friend, why are you protecting her? Is this your idea of nobility?" she crooned, patting his cheek, "Desperate not to live up to expectations? You'll have to accept the truth at some point," she poked the end of his nose before suddenly being back several feet and laughing manically, twirling around, "Don't you know how amazing it is to just let loose!?" she cried out, throwing her hands up in the air, letting out an explosion of light and fire, letting it go everywhere. She let out another laugh, seeing people scrambling, "I can't wait to see how they handle this!" she grinned over at him, her eyes wild, pointing her wand towards him.

"Now come, be sensible! Where is she?!"

Anwen narrowed her eyes at this figure. Obviously being completely ignored by it. Perhaps it was because she didn't have anything to do with how it was found? Either way she wasn't going to let anyone get hurt, if she could help it. But, before she could do or say anything else, she was being forced out of the establishment and into the street. Her body hit the cobblestone hard and she let out a groan before pushing herself back to her feet. The figure was out there already as well.
It was threatening Laguna and Anwen could feel the rage building within her.

What was going on? What in the Merlin did this thing want? Just to wreak havoc on everything she touched? She pointed her wand back at it. She let out a growl before stepping in front of Laguna. "Didn't you hear him? He's not giving you anything. We aren't going to allow you to hurt anyone." She narrowed her eyes once more, trying to look intimidating. Her eyes scanned the area quickly, she was crazy. Hogsmeade was going to burst into flame if they weren't careful. But that is probably what this thing wanted.

"No!" She raised her wand let out a cry as she pointed her wand at it. "Stupefy!"

“Oh my god…we lit the Three Broomsticks on fire…” or so he assumed. Part of him was scared to look. He was already visualizing himself on the wanted posters. But then Rhysln had already followed him out so maybe the fireballs were not as bad as they seemed. He simply stared at Rhysln as she spoke and blinked when she poked his nose. “No! Just because we aren’t friends doesn’t mean I don’t care about her.” The display before him grew even more out of character for Rhysln as the reflection danced in the street. Lucky for him, Anwen was being much more practical concerning the approach to dealing with this psychotic version of the older Anderson sister.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Anwen had her wand out and just as she cried out the spell, he sprung toward the reflection. Between the two of them, one was bound to catch her off guard. They had to get her out of the village before anything worse happened.

Rhysln threw up a wordless protego to fend off the stupefy before sending a blast of light at Laguna and Anwen, "Aww is the pretty little thing upset I'm not paying her attention? Trying to be noble yourself? How pathetic!" She grinned before suddenly throwing up another protego, but too late as a expelliarmus hit her from the side sending the wand and her flying off to the side. The real Rhysln swooped down from above on her broom, jumping down. She'd clearly gotten into a tussle with herself, but still was much more put together than this reflection.

"I think you're a bit of a poor judge on who's pathetic," the real Rhysln said, moving towards the other two, to get between them and her reflection.

The reflection laughed as it rolled back onto its feet, the wand seemingly sucking right back into its hand, a wordless accio, "Oooh how convenient, wait till you see what they think you've done," it grinned and then... was gone.

Rhysln growled a bit, "Coward," she muttered angrily, before turning and quickly putting out and fixing the mess that her reflection had caused, even within the pub, "Apologies," she said, "A bit of a skit gone wrong," she said smiling, "Shan't happen again," she bowed her head and stepped back out towards Anwen and Laguna, "Are you two alright?" she asked

Anwen face turned angry when it started to mock her. But it easily defended against her attack, and she was thrown backwards by some sort of white light. Her wand flew from her hand, and she hit the ground hard hearing a snap in her arm as it hit the pavement.

She looked up quickly knowing this thing would need to be stopped but when the real Rhysln came, and thing fled she let her body relax against the pavement again. She groaned a bit but was trying to be okay. She didn't want them to think she was weak.

She tried to push herself to her feet, but tears filled her eyes as her arm sent shooting pains through her body. "I think..." She held back a sob. "I think it's broken." She glanced down at her arm.

She quickly looked around for Laguna. "Laguna?! Are you okay???"

Laguna let out a loud OOF as he was hit with the spell from Evil Rhysln. It wasn't dead on, so he was at least okay afterwards if nothing but a bit sore from the hit. "Don't call her pathetic!" He shouted. He had half a mind to follow through with the spell he'd almost used during the first interaction with the reflection, and he was in the process when Rhysln suddenly darted out of nowhere. "Clutch." he said, smiling and shaking his head. "You really are perfect, aren't you?" How Rhysln always managed to be in the right spot at the right time doing exactly the right thing was something he'd never be able to comprehend. "I'm alright," he nodded.

With a turn, he looked to Anwen and rushed toward her, setting his hand on her good shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "It's alright ...we can get you back to the school and get you healed up in no time." He was useless right now and felt terrible about it. "You were really brave," he assured her, looking her in the eyes as he said it. In this moment he felt it was important she understand how courageous she'd been, plus it may take her mind off some of the pain.

Rhysln walked over towards them and looked at Anwen's arm, "This might sting a bit and I'd still suggest going to the medical wing after," she said, holding her wand out towards Anwen's arm, "Episkey," she said with a flick of the wand, mending the broken bones, "Ask for a splint, it will still be tender to use for a little while and will likely bruise fairly bad."

She looked around, taking in the surroundings, "We should probably not linger after that, unless questions are to be asked. Though I have a few myself," she muttered, not knowing where that version of her hand come from, "First I was dealing with Nautica not being herself and then there's a version of me just as mad running around. When I'd thought I'd seen it all," she shook her head, "I'll escort you two back to the campus," she said as she looked back to them.

Anwen looked up at Laguna and smiled at him when he said she was brave. She had tried so hard to be brave at first but when it came to threatening her friends and those she cared about it just came out of her. "Thank you, Laguna. So were you." She offered him a smile before looking at the other girl.

When she said a spell and her bones mended, she winced as the pain shook her body for a brief moment as the bones righted themselves. "Thanks....that feels loads better." She nodded at her as well. Time to leave, she didn't want to longer any longer either. She had come for a peaceful escape and ended up with this. It was horrible and she just wanted to be back in Hogwarts hopefully where it was safer, but they had thought about Hogsmeade as well.

Laguna smiled at Anwen once he was sure she was alright and let his hand drop from her shoulder as he stood and turned to look at Rhysln. "About that..." There was no more running from the truth at this point or hiding anything. Rhysln was too far in now. She needed to know. Part of him was still set on keeping it all from anyone--especially staff due to his fears of the consequences. But this was well beyond him. It was either let Rhysln know or.... send an owl home. "I think I can answer a lot of your questions."

Rhysln quirked a brow and crossed her arms, "Is this what you two were being so cagey about?" she sighed, then shook her head, "Tell me on the way back, Lestrange," she said, rubbing her forehead with one hand and pointing to the path forward with the other, "Where did those... things come from?" she asked, following behind them, keeping an eye out for either of the things she'd seen that night to come back. As she walked, she took her hair down from the ponytail she'd put it up in to try and clean herself up a little. It wasn't vanity, it was just a matter of having a second to do it.

Anwen kept quiet, keeping her arm close to her body as they walked back. She had no real idea what was going on, but she was willing to try and help figure out how to make it all go away. Especially now that she knew what these reflections were capable of. It was scary and downright dangerous. She looked to the two of them and waited for a response from Laguna.

With a big inhale, Laguna ran his hands through his hair, he was anxious for many reasons, but once he brushed his hair back out of his face, he seemed to mask the nervousness fairly well. "Okay, yeah." One hand was in his pocket, fidgeting while the other swung freely as he began walking back toward school. "Nautica wanted to tell you." He started with that because he felt it was important for her to know that before he got any further into things. From what he'd observed their relationship was lacking and the last thing he wanted was to make it even worse.
"I was the one who suggested that we couldn't tell you...or anyone on staff. Anyway, there was this strange light out in the forest and so we investigated it. When we got out there it was just an old mirror, so we didn't think much of it." He paused, a heavy sigh as he didn't look toward either of them, so he kept his eyes on the pathway ahead. "Until Nautica looked in the mirror and saw something odd with her reflection. She thought she was seeing things and asked me what I saw. And I saw me...but a much worse version."

Laguna debated whether they needed the details, but he was already spilling most of them, so he pressed on. "The thing is my reflection mirrored some of my deepest fears. I was...in Azkaban." He glanced over his shoulder. They probably thought he was insane. "We were just going to leave the mirror, but then the damn things busted through. Which is why we were both beat up and why you saw the shards in my pocket. I didn't want to leave the mirror pieces out in the forest."

While they were at it, he decided to stop and turn, lifting a bit of his shirt to reveal his side, which was looking really bad despite the treatments he'd been doing. "And we both had our own reflections using their own methods. Mine passed straight through me. Felt like a million tiny pieces of glass. Not sure what impact it's had on me or if it's.... inside still." The thought made him a little nauseated.

Rhysln listened and then looked at Laguna's injury as he showed her. Her face was blank for a moment but the anger in her eyes was clear. She looked up at Laguna to his face, "Of all the things you could have been hiding," she shook her head, "Lestrange, do you understand how reckless and idiotic that was not telling anyone?" she rubbed her forehead again, "And the fact she let you and then still hasn't said anything to this point, of course she hasn't," she scoffed, "Have you let anyone look at that?" she looked at his side again, "To make sure there isn't some kind of internal ramifications? Merlin's Beard, I didn't think you were this reckless," she sighed harshly, pressing her fingers to her temples as she tried to think of what to do with this information.

She began to pace a bit, "We have to track them down, either destroy them or put them back through the mirror. And I need those shards yesterday, Lestrange," she looked over at him, her gears clearly turning on how to get this under control fast, "Preferably before someone else's reflection come out that we're unaware of."

Anwen didn't want her own reflection wandering around that would be terrifying for not only her but the whole school. She had to agree with Rhysln, it was foolish not to tell anyone. It wasn't like they planned to find a mirror or did something terrible. But when Laguna lifted his shirt, her eyes widened in horror. "Oh, my goodness!!" He needed to get checked out for sure.

"Laguna...is this why you needed the sleep potion? Is this what was keeping you from sleeping?" She didn't regret helping him, but she wished she had known sooner she could have helped him before it had gotten this far.

“Sorry?” He gave an apologetic smile, shrugging his shoulders up. “All of this is completely my fault.” A heavy sigh escaped as it dawned on him how foolish he’d been. Now that they’d both seen the injury, he pulled his shirt back down over it. “No, I’ve been looking up treatments.” Sort of. He’d been in the library and testing things out, but it didn’t seem to be healing properly with what he’d tried so far.

“The shards are up in my dorm,” he explained. “So far, I’ve only seen three reflections. Yours included. But this is the first time I’ve seen her.” And part of him thought that her reflection was the scariest so far. It was powerful and unpredictable. “I’ll just run up to get them once we’re back at the school.”

He looked away from Rhysln and toward Anwen now. “Yeah,” he admitted. “It’s been a rough couple of weeks. Besides that, I never know when mine is lurking around. But don’t worry it’s been much easier to manage with those potions.” That was entirely true. For the past few nights, he was able to get a full night of rest without interruption.
“So yeah…that’s where we are…”

"Did your reflection say what it wanted?" Rhysln asked as she looked back at him, no longer pacing. She seemed to have some sort of a plan brewing in her head. It was going to take some work and some Polyjuice but perhaps she could orchestrate something to put an end to this. She seemed to remember they were in the middle of the road still, "Walk and talk," she said again, turning the two and lightly pushing them in the direction of the school, "If there's three out there and they're as unpredictable as that, I'd hate to see what they could do if the three decided to work together," she sighed, realizing she'd breathed that idea into existence and now was a possibility she hadn't just previously prepared for, "If we're lucky, I can get this nonsense under control before any of the actual Aurors have to find out about it," she said, giving them a look, "Once I have the shards, I need you two to leave this to me. You will have to tell me if you ever see any of them."

As much as she and Nautica didn't always get along, the two would protect each other relentlessly, and Rhysln was not about to let these reflections hurt anyone much less her sister. It was her duty after all.

Anwen frowned and took a sharp breath as her arm throbbed. She felt awful for Laguna and what he was going through. She just wished she could help more. The fact that he was sleeping now was a good thing, but he needed a healer and probably a hug.

She looked at the other girl and nodded in agreement. "But would it be such a bad thing for the Aurors to find out? It's not like Laguna did something horrible. He found a mirror that shouldn't have been on the school grounds. And shouldn't they know...? It could be related to the boggart attacks."

"Not really. Just that I couldn't avoid who I was meant to be forever." He was walking again, the winding path back to Hogwarts pretty much empty compared to the few walking along it earlier. "I'd hate to see what three of them could do together. We barely just got away from the one."

Laguna was actually quite pleased to learn that Rhysln was willing to take this on without getting any outsiders involved. "Yes, the less aurors, the better." Part of that was his family upbringing coming into account. Typically, aurors around the Lestranges were not a pleasant mix. Had it been anyone other than Nautica involved though, Laguna had a pressing feeling that she was much more likely to want to turn this in right away.

He glanced over at Anwen as they continued toward school. She had a point. What else were they stationed there for if not to protect the students from harm? However, this harm seemed like it was going to get him into trouble, so part of him was still on the fence. "Maybe it's not related to that at all." That was wishful thinking, but why would the mirror be tied to the boggart attacks? Was there someone on campus out to get them?

"What he did is not necessarily horrible, but the fact they chose not to tell anyone and now there's these monsters walking around is certainly a problem," Rhysln said, shaking her head, "That being said, you need to see a proper healer about your injury. There might be more to that than what you can handle," she looked at Laguna, "As I'm sure you'll be a proper gentleman and escort this young lady to the medical wing anyways, hang out awhile," she said shaking her head before looking at Anwen, "I apologize, I just realize I never did give a proper introduction. I'm Rhysln Anderson. Might I know your name?" she asked, though she turned and looked over her shoulder thinking she heard something.

"I suppose that is true enough. Might get into a bit of trouble for not reporting it right away." She was glad this girl could perhaps take care of it on her own without involving them. She looked over at Laguna and perked a brow. "The chances of it being connected are higher than not..."

"Oh yes, I'll make sure he stays and gets checked out. You can't care for that on yourself, Laguna. It needs to be tended to." She smiled at the girl. "Pleasure to meet you, Rhysln, I am Anwen Sawyer." She turned as well and then looked back at Rhysln. "Did you hear something?"

Rhysln squinted, "Maybe," she murmured, drawing her wand, and using "Lumos" to try and see in the darkened space where the sound was coming from, taking a step in that direction. She held a hand up towards Anwen and Laguna as if to silently tell them to stay put, before sighing in annoyance, "Bloody hell," she growled before Nautica's reflection burst out of the bushes, "Both of you nearby, why'm I not surprised?" Rhysln said before looking towards Anwen and Laguna, "Run," she told them before throwing up a protego as Nautica tried to catch her off guard.

Nautica let out a wicked laugh, "Oh you're just as fun as always," she grinned, raising her wand again, "This world's Andersons are dreadfully tame."

"Come another step this way and I'll show you just how tame I am, Shade."

“Of course, I’m always a perfect gentleman.” He smiled at Rhysln then looked to Anwen. “I’ll see to it that she’s all taken care of, don’t worry.” Coming from him considering the last meeting they had he wasn’t sure how solid that sounded. But in the end, he hoped she knew his intentions were not necessarily bad, just a bit skewed. When the other two indicated that they possibly heard something, his eyes began to flick about their surroundings quickly. “Run?”

We’re they really supposed to just leave Rhysln there? Then he looked at Anwen and decided nothing else could happen to her. After all, she’d simply invited a friend out to Hogsmeade and was returning with broken bones. “See you back at the castle.” He said to Rhysln, giving her a nod of appreciation before pulling at Anwen’s wrist that was not broken. “Come on, if that one was lurking there’ll be another nearby.”

Anwen smiled at him. As long as he stayed to get looked after she was happy to have him accompany her to the hospital wing.

When she said run, Anwen looked at her like she was crazy. "Run....? But what about..." But before she could argue, Laguna was pulling on her good arm, and she was being tugged away from the scene. She followed him but stopped when they were out of sight. "Do you think she will be okay? Is it safe to leave her there alone?”

“If there is one thing I know about Rhysln Anderson, it’s that if she says she has something under control, she has it under control,” he assured her. Laguna urged her to continue moving, having a feeling in his gut that things were going to get worse if they stayed out here much longer. “And neither of us are really in the shape to be proper help anyway. Your arm is broken and who knows what the bloody hell this thing is,” he motioned to his side. Behind them, he could hear the struggle going on between the false Nautica and Rhysln. “She’s training to be an auror, she knows what to do if she needs to get out of there.”

Anwen was still worried, but she listened to Laguna and nodded. "Okay, if you're sure..." She looked at his side where the injury was and frowned. "And you need to get that looked at." She looked back one last time before heading towards school again. "Alright, let's get back so we can get to the hospital wing." Her gut had a bad feeling but hopefully it was wrong.

Based on the reactions, he could tell that she wasn't convinced. The truth was that he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do either. But he'd already chosen not to tell anyone in the first place and if he'd just listened to Nautica in the first place Rhysln would have never been put in this position. "Yeah," he said quietly, dismissing the urge to turn back around. Rather, he walked quietly back toward the castle, a million things running through his mind. Sixth year was not proving to be his best performance.

She pursed her lips, keeping her ears open and her eyes alert as they walked back. It was a lot quieter trip than the one there. She was nervous and she knew that he was feeling it too. When they were almost back to Hogwarts to she turned to him. "I know this didn’t turn out how we wanted...but thank you for going with me. I definitely consider you a friend and I don't want you in harm’s way."

There was a short pause and then he looked over toward her and nodded, "Yeah. Of course. Thanks for inviting me. And I'm sorry for..." He didn't really need to say it to know why he was apologizing. "Right," he studied her face trying to figure her out, then finally shook all of his analyzing from his mind. "Guess we should get you to the hospital wing and let you rest up."

She placed her good hand on his arm. "Don't apologize, it's okay Laguna. We all get into situations that we don't mean to happen." She smiled reassuringly. She then nodded and let out a sigh. "Okay....and get you checked out as well." She wasn't going to let him not get that injury looked at.

He glanced to where she touched his arm and then moved his gaze up to look her in the eyes. "Right. Of course." In that moment, he realized that whatever he'd been thinking before was probably a misunderstanding on his own part. Even if it wasn't, he knew that he couldn't put Anwen in a position where her safety was at stake. As he made the realization, he simply gave her his best smile. "Let's go." He opened up the door, looking both ways, then when it was clear he nodded for her to go ahead. "C'mon it's clear."

She hadn't even thought she could bring the interest of boys let alone more than one. She figured it was known they were friends. She hadn't meant to bring forth any other feelings if she had. She smiled and walked inside heading towards a bed of the hospital wing.

Laguna watched quietly as Anwen made her way towards a bed in the hospital wing. With a sigh, he looked around the room. It was just out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a familiar figure, but he decided that he was just tired or seeing things. There was an eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach, and he had the urge to go back toward the Common Room, but he decided against it and instead went to another bed in the back corner of the wing. As he sat down, he felt a sudden heaviness about him.

That sudden weight was overtaking him. As much as he tried to fight it, his body was forcing him to lay down. There was a throb in his side and little beads of sweat on his forehead as he took another short look around the room and then things slowly started to fade away.

Anwen sat down, but she kept an eye on Laguna and frowned as he seemed nervous. "Laguna...are you okay?" She sat up but the nurse tried to get her to lay down again. When he passed out, she panicked and sat up quickly again. Her voice was full of panic. "Laguna!!!!!!" She pushed herself off the bed and headed towards the bed he was laying on.

Lagunas eyes fluttered open at the sound of Anwen’s panic. “It’s okay I was just resting my eyes.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “You’re the one with the broken arm you know. You should rest too. Let that heal up. I’m sure you’re in a lot of pain right now.”

She took a deep breath and smiled at him. "I'm also supposed to make sure you're getting looked after as well." She waved over the nurse before sitting next to him on his bed. "He had some kind of injury on his side. Can you take a look at it?" She patted his hand before being forced back to her own bed to be treated.

“Don’t worry, I’m following orders tonight.” He gave her a little salute to let her know he was going to be on his best behavior. “Don’t need you girls mad at me for skipping over the treatment.” Laguna smiled as she patted his hand and then left for her own bed. This would be over soon and then he could head back to his dorm to get the mirror shards. Or so he thought.

She smiled over at him and laid back as they worked on her arm. The good thing about the hospital wing was they hardly ever asked questions as to how or why they had the ailments they did.