You run in the dark through a firefight |Tommy|

[jasmine]

Jasmine Greene

The forest’s trees were thinning. But there was still many of them. Their trunks were tall and wide. Jasmine flitted through them with ease. What was she doing here anyway? She should be in class. But hey, there was that atrocious Scorpius Malfoy attending. That as always a reason. She giggled quietly to herself.

Scorpius was cute. Too full of himself for her taste though. And he had too many adoring girls that followed him around like puppies. Axel Thomas and Nick Zabini were his wingmen. Same qualities. Jazz’s smile turned to a frown. But she dealt with Scorpius everyday. Why was it now that she dreaded going anywhere near him? Life is strange, she decided. You don’t care about something one day and the next it pisses you off. “What a great philosophy,” She muttered to herself.

There was a quiet rustling behind her. Jasmine whirled to glare at whoever was following her. She saw nothing. Her mouth twisted into a frown and she turned, walking a tiny bit faster. The rustling sound continued. Jasmine was getting annoyed. “Whoever you are, stop it now!” She yelled. She was answered with a low growl. Jasmine turned quickly. This time she saw a pair of yellow eyes behind her. Jasmine scowled. How rude.

She flipped out her wand. Another pair of eyes appeared. And another. They kept appearing until half a dozen of them had positioned themselves in a ragged half circle around her. She muttered a spell and a bright light flashed out of the wood. The wolves whimpered, turned tail, and ran away. Jasmine smirked and announced. “Wolves are so stupid.” Then she turned and walked a bit deeper into the forest.

By now Jazz was jogging. She had wandered deep into the forest. And now she couldn’t get back out. Soon, her jog became a full-fledged sprint. She wove between the trees, being very careful to not hit anything. She wasn’t paying attention to the ground and tripped on an upraised root.

She landed facedown on a pile of leaves. A leaf was caught in her mouth and she spit it out in disgust. Slowly, she twisted over so that she was lying on her back. Then she sat up carefully. Her ankle was throbbing. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue at the offending root.

Cautiously, she felt around her ankle. From experiences in Brazil, she knew how to feel if it was broken. After only a few minutes it was swelling. Warmth washed through her calf and foot. This was a bad sign. It meant the blood was flowing around the breakage.

“Aww crap,” She groaned. After another three minutes assessment she had determined it was broken. She didn’t know any spells to heal. During that class she had been working on getting mud from the quiditch field off her shoes. Too bad she wasn’t paying attention.

She struggled to pull herself up. Finally, after a few minutes of cussing, she stood, her ankle off the ground, using a tree for support. “Help!” She called. After a few minutes she gave up and sat down at the base of the tree she had been using as an oversized crutch.

[Tommy Sanchez]

Class? Who the fuck went to class anymore? To hell with that idea, it sounded way too annoying. Plus, he was a damn Seventh year, why should he have to go learn things he already knew? It wasn't like he ever planned on working for the Ministry, hell he didn't even plan on staying in England after graduation. However, just because he didn't plan on going to class meant he should stay in bed all day. Groaning, he cast his exhausted eyes over to the clock that sat close to his bed, and he yawned quite loudly as he stood. What the hell was this places obsession with getting up so damn early? Shaking his head in annoyance he ran a hand through his buzzed hair, liking the way it felt. It was the hottest part of the year, and he hadn't seen the point in having a headfu of hot hair. It was just a turn off to the guy.

Staggering from the confines of his bedroom, he looked around the Slytherin Commonroom and found the place abandoned. Awesome! He loved being the only one around. Wandering over to the music system the Slytherins had brought to the Commonroom he brought it to life, the music blaring. Anyone that had been unfortunate enough to stick around and sleep in sure wouldn't be doing much more sleeping after this! The man was clad only in a pair of flannel pajama pants bottom, his torso exposed to the warm air of the room. Spinning around he wasn't afraid to bust a dance move or two, hell he never was! He was a weirdo and did as he pleased, if it sounded fun he didn't hold back, and dancing halfway clothed sounded fun as hell. As he went he made his way over to where he knew he could snag a drink, and guzzled a bottle of water before making his way back up to his Dormitory, the blaring music following him as he went.

Emerging from his dormitory for a second time that day he was this time clad in a pair of loose fitting jeans, kept in place by a simple leather belt, and a snug fitting t-shirt that advertised a bar he had been to once. Around his neck, however, hung a simple necklace that had a snake pendant at the end. The pendant was sterling silver and slowly fading from the fact that Tommy never took the damned thing off; Maria had given it to him. Grabbing a jacket off a chair, not really being sure if it was his or not, he pulled it on over the t-shirt and walked out of the Commonroom and out into the corridor, looking down both ends to make sure no Proffesors or worse yet, Prefects had spotted him. The coast was clear, thank god, and on that note he took off at a gradual pace. Then he heard it, a sound worse than nails on a chalboard. " Tommy Sanchez! Were are you suppose to be!?" Turning around he made eye contact with a Gryffindor Seventh Year, and snorted. "Hell, ya slag! What about you?" With that he spun around and continued his walk. But fate had more for him.

He could hear the clicking of her shoes as she took off down the corridor after him. He could hear her getting closer, then suddenly he felt the iron grip of her hand close around his arm. Pulling his around, she starred up at him, eyes burning with anger and hatred. "Listen here, Slytherin! Either you tell me where you are suppose to be, or we are going to the Headmaster. Understand?" Looking down at her, a single eyebrow raising in question, he couldn't help but smile. "Well damn babe, I love a women willing to take charge, you know what I mean? A girl like you knows exactly what she wants and exactly how to get it. You probably aren't afraid to tell a guy just what you want him to do are you? Gotta love this fiery chicks!" The Gryffindor girl starred at him then couldn't help as she blushed lightly under his accusations, and Tommy simply tilted her head up and snagged a quick kiss. "Like I said love, gotta want a hot-headed one. Come and find me sometime when you are feeling lonely, babe." With that he spun around, smile plastered to his face as he exited the corridor, the Gryffindor standing their in shock, trying to figure out what just happened!

Descending the stairs at a break neck pace, he heard something behind him that let him knew it was time to get the hell outta there! "Tommy Sanchez you get your ass back here!. Uh oh, it sounded like his little charming spell had worn off, and somebody was pissed. Jumping the stairs four at a time, he was nearly out the door the second the fiery little Gryffindor emerged a few flights up, her eyes blazing moreso then before. Swinging around he looked up at her and gave her a wink before shouting, "Come on, Babe, can't we just work this out! We don't gotta fight, come give me a kiss!" She answered by producing her wand and the wall above Tommy breaking into pieces. "Shit! I guess that's a rain check then, huh?" Grinning he spun back around and made his way outside, quickly disappearing into the crowds of students making their way out of class. Not to sound cliche, but that lucky bastard had just been saved by the bell.

Following the crowd just long enough to avoid capture and surely torture from the fuming woman, he made his way with the Care of Magical Creatures class towards the Forbidden Forest. Looking around, he realized he was with the second years class, and most of the kids starred up at him as they stood nearly a foot shorter, and the Slytherin just gave them a wave and smile. Easiest way to stay out of trouble. Snagging a book from a nearby Gryffindor, the young kid starred up at him about to shout and Tommy just told him to shut up before he could talk. Walking with them, he found a group of three Slytherins he recognized from Commonroom and he went to walk with them, listening as they pointed out people in their year. Most seemed pretty boring, some being the younger siblings of people from his year, and others being kids he had never even heard of. Then the shack of Hagrid came into view, that mountain of a man still taught classes? Damn, now that was impressive.

As the group of second years and Tommy came to a halt before the large man, the Slytherin attempted to blend in somehow, which was pretty hard considering he was about a foot taller then everyone else and about eighty pounds heavier. Fuck it. As Hagrid continued talking, Tommy couldn't help but grin as he realized the oaf hadn't looked at his class yet, thank whatever God their was for that! However, a second later he glanced at the children and saw the seventh year. The Gods did hate Tommy so. "Mr.Sanchez, what is it you are doing out here?" Grinning lightly he took a step forward and waved lightly at the Professor. "Erm, if I told you taking a class what are the chances you would buy that?" " Not very high, Mr.Sanchez." Cursing under his breath, he adapted a broad grin to his face and took a step forward. "Well, it just so happens I am your new T.A., Hagrid! You know, teachers assistant! Anything you need done I am here for!" Hagrid looked at Tommy for a moment then shrugging, he went back to teaching. Then some pipsqueek had to speak up and try to blow his cover!

" Professor Hagrid, he is lying! He stole my book o..-" The kid was cut off mid sentence as his Care of Magical Creatures text book suddenly hit him in the head, shutting him up. As the half-giant continued with his lecture, Tommy stood their boredly. He always hated this class. I mean, sure on paper it sounded fun, right? You get to learn about dragons, griffins and all kinds of mythical creatures. Who wouldn't wanna be in a class where you can see them alive and up close? Well it turns out you spend a hell of a lot more time studying a bunch of bull shit animals you have never even heard of and forcing fake interest because no one wants to hurt the feelings of Hagrid. That big dumb ox. As the Professor got more and more into his own lecture, the Slytherin began to melt away into the back of the class, and then quickly making his way over to the his fellow House mates he had seen earlier, the older knelt before the younger. "I gotta get outta here, this is boring as hell. If he asks where I went tell him I had to go do something important then just lie. He is dumb, should be easy for you boys." The younger Slytherins smiled at Tommy, and the older snuck away into the forest, into his own thoughts.

Walking the forest pathways, he fondly looked to well hidden areas that had become common knowledge to him and Axel. The best places to see a full moon on those rare nights, the areas that had the best views of the stars, and the perfect place to look out onto the lake in the moonlight. They knew the romantic spots like the back of their hands, and it worked like a charm everytime. Grinning to himself he thought about the new year starting, and just how damn great that sounded. Sure, technically he was single now, but while he had been dating Lizzie for the past couple of years, they both had known they weren't the most faithful. Sure, they stayed together and had shared their feelings and emotions, but they had both also shared their bed with other partners. The whole committed thing just wasn't for Tommy. He followed the belief of why have one girl when you can have five? And why the hell have five when you can have them all?! It just didn't make sense to him to settle down into a boring, predictable relationship, infact it sounded downright foolish. That was for those people who thought they couldn't do better, those people with low self-esteem who needed someone their for them constantly. Hah, like Tommy needed someone to remind him of how great he was. They made mirrors for that.

Then something odd that you just don't see everyday interupted his thought process. He stopped in the middle of the walking trail as six wolves burst from one side of the path and bolted across the other, one stopping to stare at Tommy, the Slytherin only responding with a head nod and saying, "How's it hanging?" The wolf starred for a second or two, then bolted along with the rest of his pack, disappearing into the the foilage on the other side. "Huh, well they didn't look too happy." He said the words to himself, and it wasn't even a whisper, he was openly talking to himself, though it was nothing new. I mean, he did fancy himself as one of the greatest, so who better to have a conversation with then someone as equally great. I guess when he thought about it, Axel was nearly as close to perfection as Tommy had achieved, but he just wasn't their, so sometime he could handle conversation with the man, but at othertimes he just had to get away. He just had to find someone else. Did that make him a bad friend? Well even if it did don't expect him to lose any sleep over it.

Ugh, then he heard something else split the air, and it was annoying instantly. "Help!. What was it with people thinking they had to scream at the top of their lungs just to get some service? It was obnoxious, and to be honest didn't spurn him on in anyway. Infact, Tommy couldn't help but feel the corners of his mouth slowly begin to tug into a cruel smirk that gave way to a full blown look of twisted amusement before he began laughing to himself. Oh, this was just a rare treat, someone horribly in trouble by the sound of their cries, and here they were begging for the help of anyone that was close enough, and from what Tommy could gather he was the man lucky enough to be closest. This was just so delicious he could barely handle it. Beginging his walk once again, going no faster then he had before, he followed the sounds of the shouts and whimperings, his good humor quickly giving way. It was one thing to shout for help when the accident first occurs, but to keep blindly screaming, come on, it was getting annoying at best.

As he walked the forest began to play their cruel jokes upon him, and he felt a sense of protection kicking in within himself. A feeling to protect overwhelming his senses. The voice of the mysterious woman slowly flowed away and instead was replaced by the cries of Maria. He heard her sobs and he screams for anyone to come help her, he heard her screams for someone to make the pain go away. It stabbed Tommy in the heart, it felt as if the sharpest of daggers had ripped apart his soul and slashed his insides apart. Maria was in trouble and here he was walking at the slowly pace he could muster, a smirk plastered to his face! What the hell was wrong with him! His body suddenly took over, his legs lurching forward into a dead sprint as he covered ground quickly, his body running off of adrenaline and the power fear thrust upon the limbs. He felt lost and paniced, what if she was dead by now? What if something horrible had happened and he couldn't save her? What if it was his fault and his fault alone for her death...?

He froze in his tracks at the thought. In his mind he pictured anyone who had ever felt for him. He pictured Axel, the man who was practicly his brother, the man who was always their for him. The arrogant smile came to mind, the arrogant chuckle. Then he pictured Lizzie, the woman he had shared everything with for so long. The way she could calm his darkest rages with the softest of kisses and the simplest of touches. He thought of the memories of all these people, how they had cared for him and what they had done for him, but none of them had come even close to Maria. All of the paled in comparission to her. Her love had been unconditional, everlasting. No matter how had he had fucked up in the past, she was always their, always. He could be a real dick sometimes, and he knew that. He knew on more then one occasion his over-protectiveness had ruined something good she had going, but he couldn't help it! However, Maria was always their smiling, always ready to remind him of how much she loved him. She never let herself feel let down by her brother, feel mistreated. And now what? Now for all he knew she was dead...

Rounding the last bend he finally came upon the injured woman, and in a heartbeat everything changed. He let out a sigh, thank the Gods above for this! The feelings of loss, of weakness, the feeling that he was being fucking crushed from the inside suddenly left him. A sense of panic was quickly replied with a dark malice that he couldn't even begin to explain. Yeah, he knew damn well who this chick was. She was a Gryffindor, that was enough. She had tricked him, she had made him think his precious Mighty Mouse was in trouble, that he had lost her! How dare she do such a thing! Though if Tommy would simply take the time to relax, to calm himself down he would know it had been the Forbidden Forest tricking him, casting a spell upon him to get him to come to this woman. She had been in need and it had known he would never be a hero under his own free well. No, it took something more to attract his help, it had been forced to lie and mislead; it had played Tommy as a fool to get him to the right thing for someone else. How fucked up is that, man?

Looking at her, his eyes took in what he saw. She was leaning heavily on that tree so his eyes naturally followed her body down, though he didn't mind checking her out, as he looked at her ankle. Man, to put it bluntly it looked pretty fucked up. No, not pretty, it was damn well fucked up. Tearing his eyes away from her wound, he looked back up at her, his eyes still burning as the adrenaline slowly began to fade from his limbs, as he slowly began to relax. "Well then, what in the hell happened to you?" Leaning against a tree nearly ten feet away he made no move to rush in and be her Prince Charming, he made no move to show really that he cared at all, it wasn't his job to play superhero or nurse, so he figured it was the perfect chance for a conversation, she wasn't going anywhere.

"You know, you really shouldn't go running out this far in the Forest, I mean aside from Hagrid no one usually comes out this far. Fuck, I know I wouldn't have if you hadn't been bellowing like a stuck hog. So maybe I should just go ahead and leave you out here, you know? Teach you a lesson, if you can stagger back to the castle under your own will and power, then fuck it, you can come running out here whenever. But! Since it looks like you aren't going anywhere, I think you should seriously consider how much of an idiot you are for the situation you put yourself in." Grinning he turned his back to her and walked towards a dead tree, and extending his hand he ripped a tattered old branch from it's dying limb. The old branch was no more then three feet long, light from being rotted out, and extremely brittle. Tossing it to the womans feet, he gave her a grin and stood their," Well there ya go. How's that for a nice walking stick? I think it's rather pretty, that color will really bring out your eyes and make your chest look killed." Giving her a wink he leaned against the tree.

"So Gryffindor, tell me why the fuck I should really help you. And don't waste your breath about how it's the right thing to do, because honestly that will just make me leave your ass faster then your last boyfriend. Got it? Great."

[jasmine]

She first heard the rustling and the thought the wolves were coming back. She pulled out her wand and held it at ready. But as it got louder and closer she realized it was only one set of feet. And there were only two feet. Now, she prayed it wasn’t a Slytherin, hopefully some Hufflepuff. Or a Ravenclaw. They pay attention during class don’t they? But when the frantic, worried face of Tommy Sanchez appeared around a small grove of trees she just about collapsed with disappointment.

Stupid, stupid. It was the first thing that ran through her head as she saw the young man. Jasmine almost pulled out her wand on the Slytherin. Oooh. He was gonna get it. What an arrogant jerk! He asked her what she was doing out here. She glared at him and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by him. Now he was talking about staying in the castle. And now he just called her a hog. Anger flared in the Brazilian girl’s eyes. She was about to speak again. No not speak, to yell at him. But anyway, she as interrupted, again. This time the Slytherin had pulled a branch of a nearby dead tree and tossed it to her feet. She just about screamed in pain when it knocked against her ankle. She just about told him to f off. Anything would be better than getting help from him. So she answered his questions one by one. And commented on some of the stuff he said.

“First of all, I am in this place skipping class and avoiding that idiot Malfoy. Second, never call a girl a hog unless you want to get slapped. And trust me, I would have slapped you. But this stupid ankle is messed up, and you’re standing ten feet away. Third, I’m not going to waste time convincing you. You’ll just find some other way to insult me. I’ll crawl out of here if I have to.” She glowered at him, daring a comment. But then she had an idea. “And by the way, I heard you running through the forest like a freaking ox. So don’t tell me you weren’t curious. I’ll bet you thought I was some Slytherin you could entice to bed.”

She smirked, wondering how he would handle that. But then she grew worried. He could do anything out here to her and she would have no one to scream to. No one would hear and most likely if they did, no one would care. Unless it was a Hufflepuff. They just might. But what would a Hufflepuff be doing out here?