Janna Black and The Cite of the Dead

Down the tunnel we go

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   "James told me that there is a passage to the Whomping Willow, we should check to see if there is really a ghost" Juno proclaimed making Janna go white in the face.

   "Hey Janna, you've gone pale again" Orion noted poking Janna's arm as she stared at a list of places to find Snuffles they had made. She took in a breath and pushed her hair back away from her eyes, making a thrashing noise.

    "No, I'm fine..." Janna shook her head "I was thinking we could find the Astronomy tower, it's the highest point of the castle, as far as I know" Juno nodded with the other boys and wrote the name of the tower down. "And," Janna added "the dog that helped me on Saturday, Hagrid, the gatekeeper, said that I could find his portrait somewhere in the castle, I think it's somewhere near Gryffindor tower or the dungeons."

   "Maybe we can go to the docks if we go looking for this dog's portrait, see if we can find the giant squid" Jake brought everyone's attention with his idea, because they all wanted to know where this dog was so they could find more shortcuts through the castle.

    "Yeah, we should try find the black dog... Maybe he can tell us where to go next" Orion offered, twirling a quill between his fingers.

   "Are we all in agreement?" Jake asked, Janna nodded like everyone else. "Then let's go" the four of them then leapt off the bed, rushing out the door. As Janna got to the steps it turned into a ramp, she shrugged before sitting down and sliding down it. Sadly the boys had to walk down the steps to follow Janna down.

    "How are we not going to get caught, though?" Juno asked, this made the group stop.

   "We have Janna, she'll surely find us a way that doesn't lead us to Filch and his ruddy cat" Jake reassured Juno, the group then moved to the portrait hole and climbed out, with Orion helping Janna down by gently taking her hand.

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The group scoured the walls, looking for the black dog, Janna wondered where Snuffles was, she wanted to find out if he really was Sirius... Maybe she could ask him questions, maybe he would have answers, maybe he wouldn't. Each Portrait had no clue to what Janna had explained to them, she became more determined to find this dog, but as they got to the dungeons Janna became desperate.

   "Janna, he might not be here. We can come back tomorrow" Juno explained as Janna searched the walls, looking for the shaggy black dog.

   "I'll find him Juno" Janna then felt an idea rise and lift her spirits "Jake said there are corridors all over the place, just pull any lever,..." Janna then pulled a torch "we can find a hidden corridor like last time" Janna added as she continued her mission. Orion came walking to Janna, as she pulled at a torch a sudden click erupted from under and the cobbled floor lowered into a slid which engulfed Janna as she slipped down.

    "Now she's gotten herself into another predicament" Juno sighed in response Orion shrugged at his comment, he sat in the slide and slipped down as well, his robes fanning out behind his and then he was take by the darkness.

    "Bloody hell" Jake muttered before following Orion, the gears of the trapdoor began to click "Come on mate" Juno then jumped into the slid after Jake, regretting the decision when he was nearly caught in the closing door, thankfully he had grabbed his robes, but now he had to worry about where the slide would lead.

Janna slid in different directions, she could hear Jake yelling behind her, wind blew her curls out if her face, she could hear cogs and tickers running past her in the dark, she could hear a waterfall at her shoulder, moments later she felt water droplets on her cheeks. Janna hoped this tunnel would lead somewhere she could, at least, see. The slide under her was cold and metal, maybe copper since she could smell it, a blood-like smell.

A sudden throw of Janna's body signified the end of the shoot, Janna felt her body sink into a more humid air before slamming into a bed of soft sand... The silt muted her sound but also landed in her hair and burying her body slightly. Above her Janna could hear the boys rumbling down the copper slide. She moved to the side dragging the sand with her and in her pockets, weighing her down. Near her there was a loud pat in the silt, some of the sand landed on Janna's hands as she stood up, only hearing the creaking of old wood that was maybe aged from use...  Two most thumps landed in the silt, a bit further from another and the one nearer to her.

    "Janna?" Asked Orion's voice, he stared around the darkness holding sand in his fingers, then he saw two glowing eyes that blinked and disappeared. Suddenly there was a hand on his sleeve.

   "I'm right here" Janna said calmly "Juno? Jake? Where are you two?"

   "I'm in a pile of sand, and you, Juno?" Asked Jake's voice, there was a thrashing and Jake's hand wrapped around Janna's arm.

   "I'm just peachy" Juno muttered as Orion's robes were tugged at a little "now where are we?"

   "By a harbour of some sort, there's some old creaking wood around us" Jake supposed, Janna smelt the air "what are you doing, whoever did that"

    "I'm smelling for balsam or water" Janna said, breathing in the humid air.

   "The air's warm, we might be near a spring" Jake said, trying to stand up with three people latching onto him "I just can't see". Next to him as a sawing sound, then another which was joined by a spark, a third and there was a small flame dancing before Orion's face. Suddenly the whole area lit up, Janna could see fog above them, there was a stream which had hidden pebbles beneath the silt... Ferns lined the tall rocky outcrops which looked over the four students.

    "We're by a stream," Janna said, the three boys then shuffled closer to her "what, are you scared of water?"

    "No, t-there's something coming out of the water" Juno stuttered, she could smell their fear, she looked over their heads and saw a slimy creature staring up at the boys with a humanoid face, when the creature saw Janna it screeched violently, like a fork going across a plate. Janna fell to the silt and dropped to her neck trying to block the sound.