Roaming the Grounds

Midday found Indiana leaning on the balcony of the Covered Bridge, humming the tune of an old country song that he heard once at the Silverstone Cafe. So far, he had been occupied by the NEWT-level classes and was somewhat burdened by them despite taking a lighter load. He reminded himself to take a shot at the NEWTs after his sixth year ends. After all, he did do a bit of research and found out that there wasn't any rule against students wanting to sit the examinations early. Nonetheless, Indiana vowed that he would turn to the International Confederation of Wizards and take their NEWTs should he run into a dead-end at the British Ministry.

As he looked around from the balcony of the bridge, Indiana caught sight of the Whomping Willow waving its large limbs. Not seeing anything visible that was disturbing it, Indiana decided to check it out and see what was occurring. Making his way from the Covered Bridge, Indiana emerged onto the grounds before making a beeline towards the flailing Whomping Willow, stopping a good distance away. He noticed a small tunnel of sorts concealing a stairway beneath the tree and decided to check it out later. The only thing that had his interest was what was causing the tree to wave its large limbs. Indiana knew that the Whomping Willow would only tend to move in response to something that came in its range but he couldn't see what was causing it to flail about wildly.

Trista wasn't sure how she felt coming back to school. It wasn't like she minded the work and she did enjoy most of the people she'd met there, it was just hard to get used to with her older brother being gone. She hadn't been able to see him a lot as of late, but she tried not to let it effect her as much as she wanted to. He was going to have a baby and she knew she should be excited about being an aunt, and in actuality she was. She just wasn't used to having to share her best friend with someone else. Her expression shifted around a bit as she frowned, shaking her head a couple of times. She understood she needed to stop being so ridiculous, and in order to chase her thoughts away she ended up leaving the castle, no particular destination in mind.

After a while of walking she noticed something particularly interesting in the distance - the Whomping Willow. She slowed her steps a bit as her slight knowledge of the tree took over. If she were remembering correctly from what Ryan had told her, the large tree had some sort of secret tunnel that lead somewhere. Only a few were able to actually distract the tree long enough to escape it's dangerous limbs. She considered it from afar for a few more seconds, and then suddenly her legs were carrying her forward without another moment's thought. She wasn't really thinking her actions completely through today.

She wasn't sure where to look for the hidden tunnel, exactly. Really, she wasn't even sure why she was approaching the tree at all. She was well aware that it could injure her and possibly kill her if she did anything in the wrong way, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to care. She stopped a good distance away but close enough where she could see anything, and after glancing around she withdrew her wand from her pocket. A few seconds later and she summoned an object close to the tree, watching it closely for a reaction. She thought she saw it stirring.. another few steps closer, another object. This was dumb, she knew it.

A couple of tries later and suddenly the tree revolted, it's large limbs thrashing. She blinked in surprise and stumbled back a few steps, watching the situation in awe. Well.. now she understood what Ryan meant at least.

Taking a deep breath, Indiana kept an eye on the huge tree, trying to figure out as to what had set it off. Perhaps some bugs or perhaps some sort of fungal growth that his old Herbology teacher once talked about? Even though he wasn't taking the subject anymore, that didn't mean that such information that he learned wasn't useless. Since he was standing on one side and out of range, Indiana moved to the side to see on before seeing a familiar person just next to the tree. It was Trista.

'I am such an idiot!' Indiana thought to himself. Of course, the colossal tree was so big that it had obstructed his view of the other side that he didn't take into account on the possibility of other factors. He should have walked around the perimeter instead of making assumptions. Well, next time, Indiana vowed not to jump to conclusions so hastily without proper self-notification and thoroughly analysis.

Still, Indiana was happy to see Trista again and wondered on what she was thinking in regards to the Whomping Willow.

"Hi Trista!" Indiana greeted cheerfully while circling around the tree to avoid being within the striking range of the Whomping Willow's trunk-like limbs. "Enjoying the spectacle that is the vicious Whomping Willow?"

Trista frowned a bit in concentration, twirling her wand around between her middle and index fingers. There had to be some sort of way that she just didn't know about in order to achieve what she wanted.. without being severely injured in the process. She knew now that she should have pestered Ryan with more questions on the subject, although she hadn't thought then that she'd even need such information. Boredom and lack of other things to do in order to cure that emotion had driven her to do the unexpected. Now she knew that next time such a thing was brought up, she'd investigate for further information whether it be from word of mouth or a trip to the library. She just wished she knew where to start.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice anyone else anywhere near the tree, not until she heard her name. She blinked a couple of times as she was brought back to reality, her gaze swinging around distractedly. The moment Indi came into view though her face lit up happily. "Hi Indi!" She replied with a grin, lifting her spare hand in a small wave. It was nice to see him again, and now that she thought about it.. with his brilliance, maybe he would have an idea of how to get where she wanted.

She took another couple of steps back to avoid the flailing limbs, her attention back on Indi as she considered his question. "I am, actually. And you're just the person I wanted to see.." She began, her brows pulling together as she took another glance toward the tree curiously.

Indiana looked back at the Whomping Willow, which was still swinging its limbs about as though trying to unsuccessfully swat a pesky fly that was bothering it. For all he knew, it would be a long while before the tree ceased its thrashing. Divination was his worst subject so there was no way for him to guess on what was to follow. But then again, possibilities are interesting to divine on.

"Oh? Now, how may I be of assistance?" Indiana asked curiously. He wasn't exactly sure on what Trista's objective was at the moment so Indiana waited for her to respond.

Trista couldn't help but be slightly fascinated by the actions of the tree, all caused because of the things she'd been levitating toward it and now possibly because of how close they were standing to it. Either way, she wondered how the secret passage had even been stumbled upon with how viciously the tree reacted to movement near itself. Just the thought of being whacked with one of the heavy extensions made her inwardly wince. If it hit in just the right place, she didn't even want to begin imagining the list of injuries that could result from it. Still, it wasn't enough to turn her away from her sudden idea and determination.

She wondered just how long it would be before the tree stopped, and absently she considered moving a couple of feet back. Yet she didn't, looking back toward Indi when she heard his voice. A look of mischief had settled across her face and she considered how to voice her thoughts. "Well.. my brother told me about the Whomping Willow being used as a place to disguise the entrance to a secret passage.." She replied, tapping her chin in thought.

"I was wondering if you happened to know anything more about it? Or how we might... enter it, perhaps?" She offered him a small grin, slightly hopeful. She knew her words sounded like she was missing a part of her brain, but she didn't think Indi would mind. At least she hoped he didn't.

Hearing Trista's response, Indiana was not surprised. He should have seen this coming even if he is a terrible disaster at Divination.

"Well, the secret passage leads to what's left of the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade but I think there's more than meets the eye down there." Indiana spoke before looking at the tree and he reached to take his wand out. Oh, there were ways to bypass the Whomping Willow. He could run like a madman at the knot that was at the base of the tree or use the Locomotor Charm to hit it with rocks until the tree stops moving. Or he could the Freezing Charm although there was a problem to that solution.

"It used to be easy to just cast the Freezing Charm in order to stop the Whomping Willow. But in the past decades, the tree has built a resistance to the Freezing Charm such that it won't stay in effect for long." Indiana explained as he aimed his wand at the Whomping Willow. "But still, just because it's a bit resistant doesn't mean that it's completely immune."

Seeing the knot and formulating a simple plan, Indiana chanted. "Immobilus Maxima!"

The blue light from his wand shot forth in a large beam that froze the Whomping Willow completely for several seconds before the limbs began to slowly move as though attempting to resist the effects of the spell. Wasting no time, Indiana dashed over and hit the knot at the base, completely immobilizing the tree.

Turning to Trista, Indiana nodded to her. "But I guess it didn't evolve a way to counter its Achilles' Heel."

The moment Indi began speaking Trista couldn't help but smile in triumph. She could always count on him when it came to situations like this, and that pleased her. She didn't have any problem with admitting the fact that Indi knew tons more then she did, and every time she was around him she learned something new. She wasn't complaining, because she rather liked it. Made being around him interesting, each one of their meetings something different and potentially exciting. Like this one. She was soaking up every single thing he was saying, nodding every so often to let him know that she was in fact listening.

By the time he finished speaking she knew she probably had a dazed expression on her face, but it was only for a matter of a few seconds. She had been storing all the information in a safe place in her mind for further references, although she was a bit surprised when Indi suddenly chanted the spell. She decided that next time she decided to try something like this, she would definitely be researching it all a bit more. She was lucky Indi had been around this time in order to assist her. She watched in glee as the tree became frozen for a couple of seconds, just enough time for Indi to sprint forward and hit a knot in the tree.

The second the timber went completely immobile Trista beamed with happiness, and without thinking she nearly skipped over to Indi. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug, kissing him on the cheek excitedly. "Thanks, savior. Oh, what would I do without you?" She teased as she stepped away from him, just realizing her actions. That was when she blushed as she looked at the ground, but she wasn't distracted for long. "Shall we?" She questioned, a shy smile playing on her lips as she glanced toward the tree.

Now Indiana had been accustomed to verbal praises and comments. Receiving a hug and a kiss from Trista was something he had not expected and the youth blushed almost a cherry red. Oh, he was definitely surprised and speechless yet he certainly without a doubt had enjoyed that moment.

"Well, I suppose blasting the tree limbs off with the Reductor Curse was another option although I doubt anyone wants to endure a verbal lashing from the professors if they caught wind of it." Indiana remarked jokingly yet nervously. He was glad that his old friend and former upperclassman Trent Stukov had stopped him that one time he tried to do that and taught him the Freezing Charm.

Seeing Trista glance at the tree, Indiana nodded. "Well, let's see what awaits!"

With that, he calmly entered the passage underneath the Whomping Willow before chanting. "Lumos!"

A bright light at the tip of his wand erupted, illuminating the way ahead.

Trista glanced sideways toward Indi and bit down on her lower lip as she smiled when she noticed how red he'd become. She was sure her cheeks were still pretty rosy as well. She had a tendency of acting without thinking, but it didn't seem as if Indi minded. Besides, she found it cute how flushed he was. She diverted her attention back toward the ground, still biting down on her lower lip but soon just letting herself smile.

She listened to him speaking and chuckled a bit. "No.. that wouldn't have been a very good situation." She said with a smirk, her eyes landing on his again after she recovered from her small span of shyness. She briefly wondered why his tone made him sound like he was nervous, but she brushed it off as nothing. "I learn something new every time I'm with you. I love it." She said happily, grinning again.

Seeing him nod she waited for him to enter the passage first before she followed quickly behind him. She considered using her wand to provide light as well, but it seemed as if Indi's was doing the job just fine for now. If they needed more light later, she would gladly assist. Her eyes trailed along the walls of the tunnel curiously as she took an absent step closer to Indi. She wasn't sure how long the tunnel was until they'd get to the Shrieking Shack. She supposed the only way to find out was to simply walk, and so she did, knowing Indi wouldn't be far behind.

Indiana smiled at Trista's statement and he was certainly amused to see the slight blush on her face. Frankly, though, half of the things that he knew were from trial-and-error while the rest came from learning off those that have gone before him. Perhaps the compulsive habit of explaining things was a directive that was instilled in his mind for a long time but he could hardly be bothered by it. New information replaces the old when time progresses onwards.

"Good to hear. There are still more things to discover and something new for everyone to learn everyday." Indiana remarked as he entered the underground cavern, illuminating the path ahead with the light at the tip of his wand. The stone stairwell gave way to simple ground with rocks and hard earth. He kept his eyes out on the surroundings while maintaining a pace so that he wouldn't move too far ahead of Trista.

Approximately five minutes since entering, Indiana noted the large boulder situated on one side of the underground passage, which was wide. At first, he thought nothing of it until he felt the draft of air that came from behind it and he realized that the boulder was blocking another passageway.

"Hmm... that boulder is blocking a passage and I don't know where that leads to." Indiana spoke as he continued onwards before seeing a long stairwell that led to an opening in the ceiling of the cavern.

"There it is!" Indiana announced, pointing to the stone staircase and the opening in the ceiling that led to the Shrieking Shack. "So there are two spots to explore, the Shrieking Shack and whatever it is that is behind that boulder. Which one do you want to check out first?"

Trista nodded with another small grin when she heard his response. She was the type of person who always enjoyed learning something new, no matter what it was, how big or how small. She liked expanding her knowledge about whatever it was that she could, and she supposed that was why she was always fascinated by the things Indi explained to her.

Her dark eyes cast a glance ahead of her, observing her surroundings with moderate curiosity. She could feel the itching desire to explore even more growing the further they went into the tunnel though, which she had expected to happen. Being in a place she'd only heard about, she felt as if it were only natural to want to know more. Besides, she felt safe being down here with Indi, so why not have a little fun with the unexpected?

She easily kept up with Indi's pace, wandering along side of him as she continued to glance around. Nothing in particular was really capturing her interest until she realized he had slowed down and she did the same, her attention curiously diverting to the boulder he was speaking of. Her hands settled on her hips absently as she studied the boulder, but she ended up trailing after Indi once he walked forward again. For some reason though, she wanted to see what was hiding being that boulder..

Walking just a bit quicker in order to catch up with him, her gaze followed where he was pointing. She began biting on her lower lip, glancing at the staircase before behind her again. After a moment she shrugged, wandering forward toward the staircase. "Might as well check this out first while we're here. I definitely want to see if there's anything behind that boulder on the way back though." She said with a nod.

She stepped up onto the first stair, glancing upward with a new surge of curiosity. "Well here goes nothing.." She mused before beginning to climb the rest of the stairs without hesitation. One thing was for sure, she never let the fear of the unknown stop her. If anything, it only encouraged her more.

"Alright then." Indiana replied in response to Trista's intention regarding what was behind the boulder. He too wanted discover what was behind it yet there was the easiness in taking the least difficult route first that one was familiar with before treading into unknown territory. Logic would dictate that the Shrieking Shack would come first before the other and Indiana decided to follow that mindset.

Watching Trista ascend the stairwell, Indiana took his wand out and pointed it at the wall before chanting in a whisper. "Homenum Revelio."

A large circle appeared and Indiana looked to see only two dots near the center; Trista and himself. It was a good sign since there wasn't any drunk in the vicinity or some strange couple making out in the Shrieking Shack. The latter would certainly give a whole new meaning of infamy to the reputation that the Shrieking Shack possesses still.

Shaking his head of the immature train of thought, Indiana calmly followed Trista up the stairs into the structure above.

"Good thing that it's still daylight at least." the youth remarked as he emerged into the Shrieking Shack. Indiana looked around the ruined and desolate rundown house, seeing broken furniture along with various states of damage.

An idea came to his mind when he noted the vast amount of space in the Shrieking Shack. If he and a few trusted individuals could convert the place into a brewery and perhaps a speakeasy, it could give the taverns such as the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head a good run for their money.

"Welcome to the Shrieking Shack." Indiana announced as though he was speaking on the public announcement system. "Take your time to look around and enjoy the interior ruins."

At the same time, the youth kept a lookout for anything strange that could be hidden in the run-down house.