The Lawns

[Willow Knotwood]

"Married her?!" asked Willow incredulously. "Surely not. That must have been a rumour. He's only two years older than me! Why would a woman like her be interested in him? I mean..." she looked around to make sure no one was listening and lowered her voice. "Wasn't she rumoured to have been a lover of...You-Know-Who?" she said almost in a whisper.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"It was rumoured that was true however, who's to know what is really the truth with that? I mean it's all speculation and there's no evidence leading to a conclusion that any of that was true.. that's the problem here now that the rumours are left from the dead and prisoned staff and students and we've got no way of really knowing what is the truth and what is just a rumour." Alex said with a slight shrug, she wasn't going to dismiss something that she had only heard and not been around to witness.

[Willow Knotwood]

"I guess you're right." Willow agreed. "Can't say there's much else to talk about these days, though. It's soooooo dull around here." she groaned tilting her head back and staring at the gathering clouds. "I mean I'm glad there's no danger anymore, but you have to admit Hogwarts has been rather mundane recently. It can't possibly last." she added with a slight smile.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"I wouldn't be surprised if something starts up soon, call me crazy if you will; but I've just got a feeling something bad's coming and I do not want to get involved again especially if I've got a chance of being killed like last year, only since I've met some awesome people that I care about." Alex said with a slight shudder, that feeling only was trouble to her; she suddenly remembered one student who mysteriously disappeared without a trace the term before and was rumoured to be returning. "Do you remember a girl by the name of Natasha Garrison?" she asked curiously, instantly realizing what she added on before and mentally slapped herself for saying it.

[Willow Knotwood]

Willow squinted as she contemplated the name. Finally she shook her head.
"No, don't think so. Who is she?" she asked. She rolled onto her side and fixed Alex with a penetrating look. "Why? You sound...worried." she asked, noticing Alex's change in body language.

[Alexandria Silverton]

Alex bit down slightly on her lip slightly and felt another shudder roll down her spine, all the flashbacks from last term were flooding her mind and it made her feel incredibly bad. "Natasha Garrison is a former 4th year Ravenclaw who seeks nothing but power, she is the literal meaning of the word evil; she's unable to show any emotion and takes out anyone who gets in her way. I had the unfortunate pleasure of running into her and she did this to me." she said then rolled up her sleeve to show Will the scars that were left on her arm from that incident last year.

[Willow Knotwood]

Will's mouth hung open in horror when she saw the scars on Alex's body.
"Oh my god!" she whispered under her breath. She looked at Alex's face, shaking he head, her eyes still wide with shock. "She did this to you? When? Why?" she spluttered. She couldn't believe they were allowing this girl to come back to the school. If an adult had done such a thing they would be in Azkaban. "She sounds like a psychotic sociopath!" she exclaimed loudly, ignoring the laughter from some passing boys.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"It was around the middle of the term, I was talking to Raven and Andrew about something then I went wandering down the corridor, there was Natasha. I hadn't even said one word to her when she decided to make me suffer; almost casting an unforgivable on me, then things kind of go a little fuzzy, I don't exactly remember what happened after that. All I remember later was I woke up in the hospital wing with bandages all up both my arms and a couple on my chest and I was in a lot of pain." Alex said, scowling slightly at the boys who were laughing; she rolled down her sleeve and bit her lip gently, no one had known really what that girl was capable of and it was scary.

"She's a charmer, making the staff believe that she's this innocent little girl who wouldn't hurt anyone but that's incredibly decieving."

[Willow Knotwood]

Willow scowled, her lips pursing up.
"I hate people like that. People think they're little angels, when really they're nasty, backstabbing, hateful..." she stopped, mainly because she couldn't think of an adjective that didn't involve cursing.
"And she just attacked you for no reason? You didn't even say anything to make her angry?" she asked. She already hated this Natasha character and she hadn't even met her. "She sounds psychotic. She better not try that on you again or she'll be sorry." Willow said threateningly. Though what Willow could do about it, she wasn't sure. The fighting words were out of character for her, but she suddenly felt very protective of Alex.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"No, I was just walking and I don't know; she just attacked me and it was quite bad. Funny thing is she just disappeared after that attack; like she had fulfilled her task to send me into a horrible amount of pain so she just left." Alex said with a slight sigh as she rested her arms behind her head so that she wasn't going to put her blonde hair in the dirt, not that she really cared to begin with but it was the principle of the matter.

"You intend to try to defend me from her? I don't advise that Will; I wouldn't want to see you get hurt, in the end I'd probably end up trying to fight her off from you and I'm scared of having to face her again but if I have to.. then I will."

[Willow Knotwood]

Will looked a bit sheepish and grinned.
"Yeah...I was just being all "bravado-girl"." she admitted. I'm not much for duelling anyway. She suddenly grinned. "I'll have to overwhelm her with my outstanding running away skills." she replied honestly. "Or my unmatched "duck and cover" routine." she giggled. "Well we're just going to have to do our best to avoid her." she concluded. "I wonder what Harry Potter did with the Marauder's map...that would be very useful." she mused.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"There's only one thing that could take this girl down; give her a challenge, I'm a brilliant dueller however the question is whether or not I could fend her off long enough so that she wouldn't come after anyone else." Alex suggested with a slight tone of frustration since that was the last thing that she wanted to do although if it came to it, there was no other choice.

"Hmm..it's possible that it's still somewhere around the school, the question is where we would start looking and not make it seem obvious because we don't need other people trying to look for the map while we are." she said in a hushed tone so that no one around her and Will heard that.

[Willow Knotwood]

Willow had been deep in thought as Alex talked about duelling Natasha. Willow was no fighter. But he was a damn good witch. There was no charm that had stumped her and no potion that she hadn't been able to brew. The more she thought about the mysterious Marauder's Map, the harder the cogs in her mind whirred away.
"Hmmm." she murmured, to show Alex she had been listening. But Willow's mind was now plotting away to itself. She was sure it was possible. But how? She needed more information. She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Don't worry. No one will have a clue." she said giving Alex a mischievous wink.

[Alexandria Silverton]

"I think the smart idea here would be to start looking in the library, there's bound to be some clues in a few of the books if you're paying attention. I remember scanning over something last term when I was reading Hogwarts: A History and there was a section on Harry Potter and the Marauder's Map, I can't remember a lot of it but there was something left in the book, like it was a list of places where the map wasn't.." Alex said with a slight frown as she tried to remember how long the list actually was and how many places had been marked off.

"They better not..we may have to come up with something to divert people's attention from what we're actually doing."

[Willow Knotwood]

Willow tried to keep a straight face as Alex began building a plan. She thought about keeping her idea to herself, but she just couldn't. She sat up with a single bounce and grabbed Alex's arm.
"Alex, Alex we don't need the Map. Besides I think Harry Potter still has it. I'm not sure, but my second cousin Luna would know for sure. But that's beside the point. I have a better idea! It's a brilliant idea! Hang the Marauder's Map!" she babbled excitedly her eyes dancing with excitement.