Flame hadn't been around for a while. She had left without explanation, without a word- she just left. It probably went unnoticed, afterall she was not the most popular student around- her dark past ensured that. Flame was cruel, vindictive but also a flirt and, before Sentinus, a bit of a sl*t.

The only reason that changed was her only problem. Pregnancy. Flame, with her hunger for power, had done everything Sentinus had asked of her, and by everything I mean anything, she had acted as his walking talking artbard, a slave to his will. But that ended up badly- she turned away from him, he fell and she was left pregnant with a child that refused to be killed. Being pregnant meant that she couldn't be herself. For now.

The pregnancy was nearing it's end, and when you looked at her it was hardly noticeable that she was pregant, her stomach was only slightlyrounded. Still- Flame dressed differently right now- instead of the clingy clothes that were more bits of material she wore cloaks most of the time, hiding her figure and instead of flaunting herself she remained quiet, in the backdrop.

That was why she'd come down here- to get away from it all, to remain in the shadows, untouched, unseen, where she could relax. Of course most said she could relax anyway but, even with her vindictive father in jail, she was not willing to relax. You never knew who was watching, who was reporting to him. Ogjh, and another thing- she hadn't told him she was pregnant.

((Ick. shorter than normal- lack of muse))

April had been heading back towards the common room... but he mind brought her elsewhere. She decided instead to haunt the dungeons. she had never done this... never wandered around the unfamiliar castle by herself. It wasn't dangerous- she could hold her own... but still. It was a bit eerie.

April had been walking at a leisurely pace, as always, with her strut and all. But she quickened eventually, when she heard footsteps. She walked faster, not sure where they were coming from, and turned the corner, almost smacking straight into another girl.

"s**t!" Her heart was pounding, and her hand gripped so tightly around her wand she thought she was going to snap the wood. "Sorry. You scared me."

She looked up to notice a girl, older than her most likely, in a long dark cloak. April eyed her curiously. She looked troubled, and odd.

"What are you doing down here?" she demanded, although it was none her business.

Flame had been thinking, deep troubled thoughts, about her father, about her mother, about what would come to her if her father found out, about why she'd een bothered coming back. She was having images of torture, room 101 and other such places and shivered, when a girl walked straight into her.

Reacting automatically, Flame grabbed her wand, pointing itstraight at the girl to recognise a Slytherin. She relaxed a little, pushing starnds of silky black hair from her pale face, grey eyes glowing coldy yet with an inexplicable kindness at the same time.

"Relaxing. Thinking. What's it got to do with youanyway?" she replie, snappy. Ok- this pregnancy thing was bugging her, it caused her t be so moody!

OOC- more time, sweet!

IC-

April thought the girl was a bit snappish, but then again, if anyone had questioned her in that tone, she would have been sure to flip.

"My apologies." She loosened her vice grip on her wand, and extended her hand to the girl, ever the polite one.

"I'm April. Sorry for frightening you, if I did. You're in Slytherin too, then, I suppose?"

She took in the appearance of the girl. She didn't seem too shaken from her thoughts at all, but rather that they were more important than April actually was. That was okay by April; she was often in such a mood where she got to be that way also. She didn't want to stare at the girl either, but she was always so curious of her new surroundings.

Flame smiled and shook the girl's hand and then nodded. "Aye, I'm Slytherin, and don't apologise, I'm guessing you haven't been down here before. It can be quite freaky the first time. Anyway, I haven't seen you around before- I'm Flame, Flame Harshing. Can I ask who you are?" It was strange for herto be polite- semthing she'd learnt in her months away.

"And you didn't frighten me as much as startle me. It takes a s#lot to scare me. Like my father- healways scared me. Then again, I think he scared anyone with half a brain cell."

There was a fine line between cruelty and teasing that was forever being tested. Ariel should know, for she was most often the teaser... the one taunting those with imperfections, flaws, and weaknesses. Ariel knew that she was in no way perfect, but for appearances sake she made sure there was never a doubt in anyone's mind that the confident, pretty girl before them was without flaw. Ariel was perfectly capable of judging others in a way that she would never look at herself. It was because of this teasing and hard judgement of others that people were surprised at the soft spot Ariel harbored for her cat. Kat was her pet’s name and Ariel had discovered her on a curbside in Muggle London and brought her to school. Because Kat was only an ordinary black cat, and a small one at that, a lot of the wizarding cats picked on her.

It was because of Kat that Ariel could be found one day searching the lower dungeons of Hogwarts for her pet. She had been on her way to the common room with her new owl-ordered clothes from Diagon Alley when she noticed Kat being chased down the corridor by two much larger and meaner cats.

Sometime later Ariel sighed as she halted in the corridor, bags in hand, cloak over a shoulder, and her brand new dragon skin boots covered in dust.

“Kat!” Ariel called for hundredth time, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty!”

A small movement down at the end of the corridor gave her hope and she set off anew, bags in tow.

“There you are!” she exclaimed, picking up her small feline friend. “You shouldn’t run off like that. Poor kitty!”

Ariel cooed and talked to her pet as she set off for the common room once more. So concerned for her cat that she didn’t notice there was someone else in the corridor until she ran smack into the back of a figure. Ariel fell backwards in a heap of clothes as her cat took off once more.

“Blast it!” Ariel shouted, dismayed to have lost her cat once more. Not only that, but her new clothes had ripped out of their bags, her rump hurt quite a bit, and her new boots were now officially dusty and scuffed.

Looking up at the two figures before her she scowled. “Well excuse me,” she muttered attempting to get up. “How clumsy of me to run into someone in a normally abandoned hallway. What are you two doing down here, lurking in the dark?” She directed this last comment towards Flame Lestrange, who out of anyone in Slytherin was most likely to get herself into trouble “lurking in the dark”.

April didn't like being bumped into. Especially after having just knocked her entire weight into someone else moments before. She scowled at the girl, now on the ground, and backed away from her.

“Well excuse me. How clumsy of me to run into someone in a normally abandoned hallway. What are you two doing down here, lurking in the dark?” the new girl said. April didn't like the tone of her voice so much.

"We aren't lurking, we're speaking. And I could ask the same of you," April shot back, aware that the girl that had fallen on the floor had directed the comment to Flame, the girl opposite her. She turned away hastily.

"My apologies. I'm April Teagan. Slytherin too," she added. She wasn't sure what to say to Flame about her father, so she kept quiet. It wasn't her place to comment on that. She turned her attention back to the new girl, who was brushing herself off violently.

This girl was in trouble. First she'd gone and walked into her and April, now she was being rude. Eyes narrowed to slits in her pale face, and she looked positively dangeerous. The truth was, she wasn't as dangerous now as she had been last time she was here, or perhaps it was the other way round. Last time she'd had no control over her power, now she owned it and controlled it in every way. Her wand was held firmly in her hand and a wind appeared from nowhere, blowing her hair out behind her (a little peace of non-verbal spellwork from her) and she towered over the girl, a demon.

One thing was for sure, Harshing's blood had definitely affected the girl. She wanted power, she wanted to rule, to rid the worldof disgrace, but she also wanted respect. She would do as she could to make it happen. Teeth bared in a menacing smirk. "What am I doing lurking in the dark?" she snickered. "As April says, what are you? Danger could lurk around every corner. And you just found trouble, stand up."

There is something about the grunginess of the dungeons that tends to rub off onto new clothes and shoes, especially when you are sitting smack dab in the middle of it. Ariel couldn’t help but wince as she brushed herself off… who knew what sort of scum was on her now.

"We aren't lurking, we're speaking. And I could ask the same of you," the girl retorted.

“Well obviously I wasn’t hiding behind corners for innocent bystanders to run into. I actually have a life and I was doing just well with it until I ran into you!” Ariel stated, quite upset as she realized that her dress for the spring formal was one of the victims lying in the dust. She really didn’t have a problem with this girl aside that she was cranky, upset, and had lost her cat again and needed to take it out on someone.

"My apologies. I'm April Teagan. Slytherin too," she said, apparently trying to make amends. Ariel spared her a half smile as she tried to shake out and collect her clothes.

She completely ignored Flame until a large looming figure moved its bulk in front of her until she was forced to look up. The other Slytherin was attempting to be intimidating and only slightly achieving the result as Ariel bit her lip in frustration. "What am I doing lurking in the dark?" she mocked Ariel, "As April says, what are you? Danger could lurk around every corner. And you just found trouble, stand up."

Lestranges, Ariel thought snidely. There was something about Lestranges that brought to mind a feral beast… a starving, mangy, flea-ridden, rabid, feral beast. One that was too beneath other wizards for them to even want to bother with, but one that was dangerous enough that you had to acknowledge them… for all that they were one of disgraces to the wizarding world.

“I’ll stand up whenever the hell I want to, thank you!” Ariel snapped at her, eyes narrowing. “Threaten me all you want Flame, when it comes down to it you’re just as much of a disappointment as the rest of your relatives. Deal with it and quit taking it out on the rest of us!”

Ariel made sure that she had her wand gripped in her hand beneath her pile of clothes just in case the girl really was crazy enough to attack. Wouldn’t it be grand if Ariel could get her shipped off to St. Mungo’s and rid Hogwarts of her… it really was a shame she had returned from wherever she disappeared to. Too bad Ariel hadn’t paid more attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts, who’d have thought she’d need it in the dusty confines of the dungeons to battle with Flame Lestrange?

((Just a note- her name changed to Harshing!))

Teeth gritted against one another. If there was one thing Flame wasn't in the mod for, it was Slytherins who didn't hold traditional Slytherin virtues which, in her mind, this girl did not. Her wand, perfected for the dark arts she had served for her whole life, lay in her hand, willing her to attack, it seemed to jump to it, but Flame's mindset right now was not as it usually was- would she risk the problem of premature labour by duelling? Well, of course she would. She doubted the girl even knew she was a Harshing now, being so unobservant and all.

The powerful witch had a choice to make- to duel, or not to duel. Each choice had it's pros and cons, for if she did not the school would think she had lost her nerve, yet she would walk away with no risk to herself, on the other hand if she did the school would realise she hadn't changed yet she risked her health, and that of the child.

Eyes glinted with thought, then as if she had never even had to think about it her wand flicked, the curse was used non-verbally, her favourite- the cruciatus. So much like her mother, yet more powerful, twisted from a younger age, forced into the dark lord's service, servant of sentinus, and now free to start her own push towards power- with Lycs, the defense professor.

The girl had had no warning of what was coming, was it possible she would manage to dodge?

April was caught in the middle of one very foolish Slytherin, and another very angry one. She didn't want to seem cowardly, but she didn't want to witness a duel either. She had no guesses as to who would win. The answer was clear by looking into Flame's livid eyes.

"Hey, hey, let's put the wand away Flame. We know you want to prove yourself but..." she muttered then trailed off. She was willing to jump between the two, if necessary. Slytherins shouldn't fight Slytherins, it just wasn't right.

"Save the quarelling for the Gryffindors, and let's not fight amongst ourselves. And..." she turned to the other girl, "maybe you should get out of here."

April's hand drew around her wand. She didn't want to take sides, but if she had to, she knew whose she would choose.

"Hey, hey, let's put the wand away Flame. We know you want to prove yourself but...”

“But we wouldn’t want you to get into trouble… would we?” Ariel snapped, goading her on. Ariel felt like she could take one for the team if she could get Flame expelled from Hogwarts. After all, who would miss her anyway?

"Save the quarelling for the Gryffindors, and let's not fight amongst ourselves. And...maybe you should get out of here." April warned her moving to place herself in front of Ariel.

“No problem!” Ariel snapped. At that moment she’d rather be anywhere than near Flame.

Ariel kept a close eye on the other Slytherin in case she tried anything. She didn’t even see the girl move but suddenly there was a horrible lancing bolt of pain that went through her body. It was unlike any other pain Ariel had ever felt. It made her spine arch and her mouth open in a scream she could not utter. It was a living agony that Ariel would rather die than experience again. She was incapable of thought or speech… all that she could feel were the bolts of pain pulsing through her body.

"Hey! Knock it off Flame, c'mon. She's... in pain, I think," April screamed, reflecting the curse with a shield charm. Ariel collapsed onto the floor for a second. She seemed in temporary shock; April realized she probably shouldn't have turned her back. Stupid girl. She rounded on Flame.

"What the bloody hell did you to her?" she asked calmly. She tried not to get angry, because she didn't want to provoke the girl further. She just wanted to know what was wrong with Ariel so they could fix her u pwithout the hospital wing.