Devils Snare (Natalie)

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Her attention was caught for a second by the balls of light. She pulled her eyes back down to him. Natalie had done all she could do for him. The adrenalin in her system started to slow down, making her more and more aware of the pain screaming from her ankle. She doubled over and held it to her body for some kind of comfort. A few curse words slipped out of her lips. She was perfectly aware of the teacher but when she was in pain. Natalie just let words fly. She didn't care. She just didn't care.

Her body tensed as three young spiders charged the two but bounced off the shield. Natalie shifted her dark eyes to him. Gotti was trying to bandage himself up. She had to do some, she didn't want to be a lump on a log doing nothing. After a couple deep breaths, Natalie pulled herself up from the grass and hobbled over to the edge again. She raised her wand in the air and sent out a couple more balls of light. She then pointed straight in front of her, sending more Bombarda Maxima spells out. It wasn't in her nature to plead for help but she was pleading someone was watching.

(( Want me to bring someone in to help them?))

[Lucas Gotti]

Lucas knew that she fought bravely. He knew that her ankle was hurting. It was so swollen that there was no way that it could not hurt. Lucas watched her stand once more and he looked up from what he was doing. When the three spiders charged the shield, Lucas flinched slightly but now scrambled to his feet wincing. The shields were strong but there were dozens upon dozens of spiders. Both he and Natalie were injured and tired. He could see the dark shadows moving towards them from between the trees. This was going to end badly.

It was only a matter of time. After three more charges, the shield gave way. Lucas grabbed Natalie to try a push her out of the way, having seen what was about to happen. However, it was too late, the wave of spiders hit and Lucas was yanked forward a pincer sunk into his arm. Another took hold of the student around the already swollen ankle and then before either could really try to fight back, the other spiders had surrounded the humans and dragged them off.

Luca fought as best as he could but before long, they were in a cave. Through the dim light, Lucas could just make out gigantic spider webs. "Ah," Said a dark voice. "A fresh meal." Having been left on his back on the rocky ground, Lucas sat up slowly. He was disoriented. He shook his head to clear it and then looked around for Natalie.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Natalie crashed to the ground when the spider sank its pincher's into her swollen ankles. A cry of pain escaped her mouth. It wasn't her voice but it had come from her mouth. Tears of pain rolled down her cheek. Damn it, she wasn't going to start crying here. It dawned on her that this wasn't the time to keep her pride in check. Then the animals started dragging her away. Natalie grabbed for whatever she could find but it didn't any good. Tree trunks, roots, fallen logs and boulders whizzed past Natalie's grip.

They were dragged across a rocky path.The pebbles dug into her back, some lounging themselves in the smooth lily white flesh. She was on her back when the voice spoke to them. It chilled her form, having shivers run up and down her body. She slowly lifted herself up from the ground.
" P-P-Professor? " She asked. Her voice was trembling. Natalie's hand had fallen over his. She didn't move it. Her brown eyes fell into his. Got any plans? They were asking. She didn't want to die and all her ideas were shot.

[Lucas Gotti]

" P-P-Professor? " Lucas heard in the dimness. His head jerked at the voice and he force and then with a low moan, he forced himself to his feet. He had felt her hand over his and now Lucas reached for her hand again. He did not know if she was injured or not but he pulled her to her feet and against him. Lucas was in pain and a bit unsteady on his feet. He did not know how much he would be able to protect her but he was not about to stand her and let the teenager die. Deatheater or not he was a man and a gentleman. He glanced down at her now.

"Try to relax." He whispered. He knew how stupid this sounded. However he did not need her loosing control. She had done amazingly well so far. Lucas tried to keep himself calm as well as he glanced around. He could not see for any real distance. The cavern they were in was so dim. But he knew...he could sense that they were surrounded. And then there was that voice. It was deep and heavy. It had come from something large.

"We mean you no harm." Lucas told the unseen creature. "We just want to go back to the castle." Lucas began backing them up and he hoped that they were going in the right direction. He did not even remember which way they had been brought in. He was limping but trying to keep his legs steady under him. His skin was covered in sweat and his hair hung in his eyes. His clothes were muddy and in some places, torn away. "It is not often that we have fresh meals." The voice replied and there was a shuffling in the darkness. "I can not allow you to leave. I can not deny my children food." Lucas licked his lips slowly.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Her told her to relax. Natalie took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She wrapped her arms around her waist. Chills ran up and down Natalie's back as the voice continued speaking to them. The back of her shirt was ripped open and the edges of her skirt were starting to fray. Blood dripped from the cuts on her back and rolled down the girls ivory skin, mixing with the loose dirt and the salty sweat running away. Her hair was tangled from being drug and carried and running. She shifted her brown eyes over to Professor Gotti. Every muscle in her body was crying in pain. He looked worse then she did. She kept her movements slow and steady as they backed up slowly. She was trying not to apply pressure to her ankle.

" What he said. Please, just let us leave. " She said. Natalie had never felt so weak but a head on action would cause them both their lives.

" If you mean no harm to us then why did the female kill one of our own? " A second voice asked. Natalie's body tensed. She wanted to forget that. Not one of her better ideas. " Leave the child and you can leave our realm, male. " The second voice said. Natalie turned her eyes to Gotti again. He wouldn't leave her, would he? They had stuck in this long enough.

[Lucas Gotti]

" If you mean no harm to us then why did the female kill one of our own? " A voice asked and Lucas thought for a moment before opening his mouth to reply. Before a sound could leave his mouth the disembodied voice continued. " Leave the child and you can leave our realm, male. " Now Lucas paused. He did not have to look at the girl to know that she was starring at him. The Deatheater part of him told him that he should turn tail and run. Get out of here while he was being given the option. The other part, the professor part, told him to stay. To protect this girl for as long as he was able. The second half won over the first. "I can't do that." Lucas finally said out loud.

He instantly cursed himself for being so stupid but really there was not much choice. He stood there now not able to back up any farther due to the wall behind them. He motioned with one hand for Natalie to start moving to the side. The shuffling from the darkness grew louder. "That is your mistake and a fatal one it will be." Came the voice. Lucas shivered now. It was the fear more than the cold. He nudged Natalie to get her moving faster and pulled out his wand. Turning now, Lucas put one arm around the girls waist and they began moving together, helping each other.

It was so dark that he could hardly see anything. He stumbled a few times but was still making fairly good pace. "Hurry." He whispered. "Running is useless." came the voice and Lucas did not doubt it.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

She really wished they would shut up. They were starting to were down her patience. That problem was soon solved. Lucas grabbed her waist and they headed out of there. Natalie went with the man. She really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Her arm snaked around his shoulders for support. It was like a three legged race. His legs were working but only her outside one was. The broken one was just hovering above the ground. They couldn't run but what they were doing was best described as a fast hobble.

"Running is useless." More chills. She nodded when he told her to hurry. Her words weren't working like his were. Nothing was working anymore. She was running off pure adrenaline.

She didn't doubt that running was useless. That didn't stop them from trying. Freedom was their goal. Animals scattered as the pair moved from the lair, scuffling and screeching grew louder. For a brief second, Natalie feared they wouldn't make it out alive. She wouldn't see Neville or her gran again. Then she mentally smacked herself. She was not allowed to think like that anymore. She sent a spell behind the two to create some distance between them and the spiders. " Bomarda Maxima. " She said. The sound of a cannon rang off. She turned her eyes back to see where she was going

[Lucas Gotti]

Her weight was pulling him slightly to the side and his own legs were not exactly in the best condition right now but Lucas knew that he had he could do about it. He could see how she held the one leg above the ground and he knew it was seriously injured. At the same time, he was really impressed with the use of this girls magic. It was more advanced than spells he would expect from a teenager.

The loud reaction to her spell almost deafened him but he would take that to death. It was all darkness around them and then suddenly they were out again in the sunlight. It was a few moments and then Lucas could hear voices. At first he thought it was spiders but then he started to recognize the voices themselves. Help was coming.

Before long Lucas could see the other people. They ran towards the two from between the trees. Lucas sighed with relief. Natalie was taken from him and Lucas was able to stand straight. The wizards, staff from the school, began firing spells behind Lucas and he pulled his wand and turned now. The sight before him chilled the man but he stood strong. Dozens of spiders the size of large dogs raced towards the humans. Lucas did not care what the others thought, he started shooting killing spells.

Lucas was pissed now. He took joy with each spider that fell on its back dead. These creatures had hurt him and a student numerous time and fought them for what seemed like hours. He was done taking their shit and now that he had reinforcements, he was taking no prisoners. This was what he did after all. He was a deatheater...a killer.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

One of the staff members took Natalie from Lucas and carted her off to the castle. She turned her eyes up to the man carrying her. She knew him as the one of the few non-deatheater teachers left around the school. She shook her head several times and tried to push away from him. Her arms were trembling from the strain. She didn't want to leave the scene, she didn't want to leave Lucas behind.

" Put me down! I have to help him! " She called. Natalie pushed against the man. The teacher didn't loosen his grip on her. Her adrenaline rush was wearing off, making her increasingly aware of the injuries on her body. It didn't help she was being jostled around like a rag doll.

The teacher set Natalie down on a hospital ward bed as Madam Pomphery hurried in. She ushered the staff member out so she could work. Natalie propped herself up against the head board as the older woman worked on her leg. The girls mind was still back on the fray in the woods. Was the teacher who saved her okay? Was he still standing? Oh Merlin, the questions raced through her head at a million miles a minute. Questions that wouldn't be answer mostly. She sank her upper teeth into her lip and winced.

[Lucas Gotti]

Lucas could not hear Natalie's argument with all the noise around him. When the spiders had been defeated and the remaining had hurried away, Lucas turned to find the girl gone. He knew that she had not been taken by spiders because none had gotten past the wizards and One of the wizards was gone as well. Lucas took two shaky steps towards the castle and then the world went black.

His body had been through a lot with traces of the venom still in his system and he had lost a lot of blood. It was a wonder he had remained standing as long as he had. The way he had just sort of collapsed onto his face brought a few nervous smiles from two of the others but they rushed to help him.

Lucas was brought into the hospital wing by the Headmaster and the Dueling professor. Together they hoisted the heavy man up and onto the free bed next to Natalie. Lucas was pale and the blood caked one leg. "Another one??" Madam Pomphery cried moving to his side. She seemed frantic. "Whats happened?" Severus filled her in on the spiders and then after checking up on the student, he left to write up the incident reports. There was a higher up that would not be happy about this one of the deatheaters would be out of service for a while.

It was well after nightfall when Lucas woke up. He was still in the hospital wing and unknown to him, they would both be there for a while. His leg throbbed and burned and he moaned softly as he shifted in the bed. Madam was in her quarters and the lights were off.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Natalie couldn't sleep. Madam had the privacy curtain up on both sides so she couldn't even talk to the other people in the Hospital wing with her. Her eyes went up to the open window above her. She had her head against the wall, her back pressed against the stone wall. Her fingers spun her wand around like a child's baton.She hadn't moved since Madam treated her and put the cast on her ankle. Her wounds were clean, her veins venom free. Natalie had scrubbed her hair free from the clutter that clung to her long hair. She had been called lucky. She had been told any other person who went through her hell would have been dead with in the first few minutes. Did that mean her teacher was dead? She hadn't seen him since the forest.

A soft moan and the sound of springs squeaking in the bed next to her caught her attention. Natalie poked her wand at the other bed. She pushed aside the curtain. The figure was cloaked in darkness.
" Lumos. " She said. Silver light sprang from the tip of her wand and over to the other person beside her. An older man was laying there in bandages. " Professor? " She whispered as she squinted her eyes. She pulled her wand back so she wouldn't blind herself.

[Lucas Gotti]

The sudden bright light made him wince and Lucas turned his head away from it. " Professor? " He heard now and slowly turned back. The wand had been lowered but Lucas still saw spots. He was medicated and his voice was odd. "What?" He muttered. He did remember what had happened but his mind was blurry. It was the counter spell to the venom that made him sluggish.

Lucas pulled himself up into a sitting position now trying not to make too much noise. He could tell that there were other people in the room by the other few closed curtains. He wondered for a moment why it was that his curtains were open but after a few short seconds, Lucas decided that he just didn't care.

He rested his head back against the wall now behind him and sighed. This was just wonderful. He was sent her to be a spy for the Dark Lord, and informer and here he was having almost gotten himself killed for a student. And Neville Longbottom's sister at that. "Are you alright?" Lucas asked now against his better judgement.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Natalie felt a weight lift off her shoulders. All her questions were put to rest seeing him there. She pulled her wand back to the dip in her waist so it wasn't as blinding as holding it there in their faces. She raised an eyebrow at his " What? " She let it slid off. He looked like hell. She felt bad for waking him up now. Natalie rested back on her hands and nodded. She had managed to get her legs to hang over the bed. The weight of her cast pulled down onher leg. Her coach was not happy about her recklessness. He had already yelled at her for breaking her leg.

" I'm fine. " She said. Aside from her cast, she was okay. The mental scars were still there but she wasn't going to mention those at the moment. She shut those away inside with the rest of her past. She didn't know exactly how to say he was the one he was more worried about. She had never been good with her words. " I can't say thank you enough times for what you did back there. " She told him. " I owe you big time, Professor. " Natalie added. She really did.

[Lucas Gotti]

Lucas watched her and caught the cast as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. He felt bad that he had let this happen to her. Normally he would not have cared in the least but as a Professor, he should have taken better care of the girl. Lucas' eyes lingered on the cast for a moment longer before he turned his head back to look down at his own lap. He shook his head slightly.

" I'm fine. " She told him and Lucas frowned. " I can't say thank you enough times for what you did back there. " She told him " I owe you big time, Professor. " Lucas didn't look at her right away. "You owe me nothing." He told her in a low voice. "I should have done more. I shouldn't have let you get hurt at all." He did stop to think that she had actually hurt her ankle before she had come upon him.

His head turned back to her again now and Lucas looked over the rest of the girl avoiding the cast. His eyes were dark. "I'm sorry you were injured he told her now." He paused for a long moment. "Your grandmother will be welcome to contact me about this when she wishes." He had no doubt the woman would want to confront him about the attack on her grandchild. He would take the blame.

[Natalie Alice Longbottom]

Natalie sighed. She peered down at her cast and laid her head on her knee. She could hear what her grandmother would say to him already. She shook her head a couple times. " You were doing your job. Trying to protect me. " She said.She couldn't hold him accountable. She was the one who tripped over the root. She put the weight on her injury. He didn't do anything. He tried to help her out but, she persisted.

The whole play back made a chill roll down her back. That weakling who caved? Not her. She didn't even recognize herself then. " My dumb ass was hurt long before the spider thing. Natalie said. She wasn't going to let him take the fall for her being hard headed. She pointed out that it was her who woke him up by falling and breaking her ankle. She looked down at her cast again. It wouldn't be long before she was up and dancing again.