Scaring the birds [@Ana]

Vanessa did not often visit the owlery. Whenever she did she usually wound up sneaking up on them and scaring them. And sometimes, they would try to retaliate, by swooping down on her, but they'd simply pass through her and she'd float there cackling at them as they hooted shrilly in indignation. Which was what she was doing currently.

It was cold, being late October, but being a ghost Vanessa could hardly feel the cool breeze. It would be Halloween soon. Halloween was usually fun, for a dead person, it was the time of the year where 'her kind' was celebrated. They were often treated a lot better around Halloween. A feast and ball were planned this year. She only really intended to attend the feast - the ghosts always attended the feasts. She considered visiting the ball but she didn't really have any desire to stay. Balls were boring when you couldn't dance. In life, she'd attended many balls with her family, and had known how to do many ballroom dances, but the balls held by the school did not possess the same grandeur and elegance that she expected. They were usually quite frivolous and boring, with silly girls and boys trying too hard. She had no interest in being a part of it. She was dead, anyway, there wasn't much for a dead person to do there. She had absolutely no reason to be interested in the dance.

Merit, Isis, and Ana had decided to split up and gather as much information on the Undesireable's father as they could. Ana's point of exploration had been the towers, so she had headed to the Owlery. Perhaps there may be letters or sources of information available that could help her and her sisters pinpoint the Professor's location.

To her dismay, the Owlery wasn't particularly structured or ordered like a Post Office, and was instead filled with screeching owls. Glancing around in attempt to discover the source of the disruption, she pulled out her wand in case. In the flurry of wings, she wasn't entirely sure how she planned to aim, she was simply hoping luck was on her side should anything sinister reveal itself.

"S-show yourself!" Ana called nervously through the feathers. She was on edge and her hand shaking a little from the pressure, she just knew she was going to mess up her first mission at some point. Slowly, Ana had been edging backwards towards the door and she only noticed her bodies movements when her elbow slammed into the stone wall. She made a small noise of sharp pain before rubbing it gently with her free hand. She really did need to get a handle on her nerves, she wasn't usually this clumsy... well, not always.

When the owls began to settle, Ana was finally free to notice a ghost cackling to her right. Well, a lot of use spells would do against a ghost, she sighed and packed her wand away. It was only after closer inspection, she recognised the dark hair and round face as that of...

"Ness!" Ana exhaled in delight as she flung a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Well, I didn't expect to see you here, and as a ghost too." Her eyes widened as she realised what she had done, she had just disregarded one of the first rules of time travel, and Merit's reminder it must be meddled with gently. The worst part was, Ness was quick and Ana knew she wouldn't be able to weasel her way out of the situation.

Well, it seemed Ana had screwed up again. She really should've stuck to flying.

Vanessa turned, as someone called out. The girl she saw was not one she recognised - she wasn't ever sure she'd ever seen the girl passing through the corridors. She was not wearing a uniform, and she looked to be of Arabic descent, but neither of those really explained why Vanessa did not recognise the girl, and out of hundreds of students, Vanessa supposed it was only natural to not know, or even recognise every single one. She silently watched the girl, with a mildly curious expression on her face, as she backed into the furthest stone wall, and gasped as she hit her elbow against it. Vanessa snorted. The girl put away her wand, with a sigh, before a look of shock appeared on her face.

She raised an eyebrow at the girls exclamation of 'Ness!' before slapping a hand to her mouth. Vanessa's eyes narrowed in suspicion. She supposed it was not so strange for someone to know her name, being a Hogwarts ghost. She wasn't so surprised that the girl knew her, but she was surprised by her using a shortened version of her name. Nobody called her 'Ness', and the only people who gave her pet names knew her personally. She did not know this girl at all, so why was she addressing the ghost with a pet name?

"Why did you call me 'Ness'?" She snapped, simply. She wasn't in the mood for doing anything other than getting straight to the point and getting this conversation over with. She didn't like not knowing things, there was something quite frustrating about it. "How do you know me?" She quickly moved, closer to the girl, with a hard look on her face.

At the girls comment on her surprise at seeing Vanessa as a ghost, Vanessa's eyes widened for a second before narrowing once more as a glare appeared on her face. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She growled, furiously, wondering how hard she could squeeze the girls throat if she was quick enough to get her hands around her throat. What kind of sick freak would joke about that? "What are you playing at?"

Ana fumbled with her robes, as her hand remained steady on the wand in her pocket. Well, it wasn't really all that steady, she was shaking quite obviously. She wasn't entirely sure how to broach the current situation she had found herself in, her words had stumbled out and now she had placed herself in a time trap. Whatever she said next, could change the course of Ness' and her own future. Damn it. Why was she so clumsy? With words, and in general.

Ana stood there, looking rather dazed and gormless for a moment or so until she noticed the frustration building in Vanessa's voice, one which usually followed with her throwing something at someone. Deciding she'd rather not have another Egyptian urn smashed over her head, she tried to turn the situation around by giving her what she was asking for.

"I'm not from this time," Ana sighed, instantly breaking one of Merit's most coveted rules. Well, what else was she supposed to do? A fight with Ness was surely something that would draw much attention, they weren't usually quiet affairs. The memory of the urn still clung to her and she scratched the side of her head in reminiscence.

"I know you from the future," Ana continued to explain, maintaining what she assumed to be a safe distance from the ghost, though, you never knew with Ness. "Just, don't start throwing things, okay?" Ana held out one of her hands in preparation nonetheless, she was aware she probably looked rather idiotic, but it was that or risking brain damage. She already seemed perfectly prone to clumsiness and social awkwardness, she didn't need anything else to add to that.

"In the future, you are, you--" Ana paused, her eyebrows furrowed. She knew this would be a touchy subject. Slowly, she edged herself around a podium, on which a proud looking owl was perched. Perfect, now if anything was thrown at her, she could duck quite quickly.

"You are, sort of, human."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Vanessa snapped, noticing the girl trembling. She watched the other with cold eyes, disliking the way the girl fumbled around in her pocket (for her wand, no doubt). What was the girl up to? Her face appeared dazed. Vanessa found the girl's presence incredibly frustrating.

"'Not from this time?'" The ghost quoted, dryly. "Hilarious." She said bluntly, her facial expression bored, if not slightly frustrated. "What kind of stupid game are you playing at?" She yelled, suddenly. "How the hell do you know me? Nobody calls me 'Ness' - nobody. So who the hell are you? Stop wasting my time with such stupid answers and tell me the truth before I hurl you out of the nearest window." She spat, furiously. The girl was trying to meddle with her and that was one thing she really couldn't stand.

"Stop with the future nonsense." Vanessa was floating ever nearer the girl, slowly but certainly. "If you continue then believe me, I will throw something. Tell me the truth, you stupid little brat."

Vanessa's eyes widened. She was human in the future? The girl was insane, saying such things with such ease to a dead person. Had they been anywhere but here, she would have thrown something at the girl. "How dare you." She hissed, shrilly, looming closer to the girl, towering over her. "What kind of sick, infantile, cruel joke is that?" She snapped, raising her hand furiously. She seized the girls jaw in her hand, holding Ana's face close to her own. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you off the tower." She snapped, eyes bright with malice.

"You have no idea," Ana nodded sagely when Vanessa stated how she found her current situation rather amusing. It couldn't be further from hilarity, the entire future could be resting in her palms right now and she was juggling the possible outcomes. No-one should have that much power. Merit warned her of this. She moaned inwardly as she considered what to do. Knowing Ness, she wouldn't give her much time to think.

The threats didn't surprise her, but she did take her very much seriously. Never under-estimate a ghost.

"It is the truth," Ana let out an exhasperated sigh. "We are close friends in the --" Her words were cut off as Ness took Ana's jaw into her hands and gripped, hard. Shrugging herself away, she managed to stumble backwards and regain control, pointing her wand in the ghost's direction. She would never use it to harm her future friend, but it may buy her some time.

"I can prove my words," Ana racked her brains for any source of information that may help her do just that. What had Vanessa told her that only those closest to her knew? What information had she given to her? "I know how you died." She spoke quickly and hurriedly, just giving the basic description of Ness' death. She didn't want to be the cause of her reliving the experience.

"And I know you were in love with a man once, a man called John Smith." She stated, hating to bring up the most tragic details of Ness' past, but they were the only ones she trusted the ghost to have kept to herself. "I'm sorry to speak of such sad things, but I needed you to know my words are honest ones: I am from the future and I am your friend, or at least - your ally, if that is all you wish for now."

"We are not 'friends'." Vanessa hissed, venomously.

Vanessa found this girl incredibly infuriating, and would have liked nothing more than to maim her. Her eyes narrowed, as her fingers gripped the others jaw tightly. The girl ripped herself from her grip eventually, and stumbled back clumsily, raising her wand towards Vanessa's chest. Vanessa silently pondered what the girl would do. Spells could effect ghosts, true, but she doubted the girl would do anything. She seemed too jittery to attempt cursing a ghost. But Vanessa was too furious to really care if the girl tried to jinx her or not. She followed the girl, ignoring the stick aimed at her chest. Let her try to curse her.

She halted at the mention of her death, her eyes widening. "Shut up, shut up!" She yelled. She was in disbelief. There were few people she'd willingly talk about her death, and she could not comprehend how this brat could ever possibly become one of them. "I don't know where you heard about that, but you be quiet." She snarled, hands forming tight fists at her sides. "I know how I died. I remember. I don't want to hear of it."

Then the girl mentioned John, and she screamed at her, a sudden, harsh, strange scream that was not anger or shock but something else. Something alien and haunting. "Don't you talk about him- once?" Her eyes narrowed, as a feeling of dread gripped her, making her ribcage feel cold. "What do you mean, 'once'? What happened to him? What have you done?"

"We are in the future," Ana sighed as she tried to explain. Vanessa wasn't listening, which was only making her fumble with her words even more so. She was acting like a bumbling fool, no wonder Ness was questioning her judgment and rationality. Hell! She may even think she was insane. Well, that was in the region of possibility. If she wasn't already, seeing the past ghost of her friend in the future could surely drive her over the edge. She wouldn't remember any of the things that had happened between them in this state, in this time, she just saw her as a stranger, an insane stranger.

"Y-You have to let me explain!" Ana managed to squeak out as she became quite flustered and wasn't really entirely sure how to react to any of the statements and questions Ness threw at her. "Once you calm down, we can talk." She smiled warmly, trying to ease the tension of the situation, she placed the wand back inside her robes cautiously, but still held out her left hand in a stopping signal. "I'm so sorry, that was tactless, but I needed to prove I was who I said." She frowned, and guilt welled in her chest as she saw the frustrated and hurt reaction Ness provided to her words. She hated to see her friend so agitated.

"I shall speak no more of it, I promise." Ana nodded resolutely, before her face filled with shock. "Wait.. John isn't... he's... alive?!"

31st October 2012.
Date of John Smith's Death.

Damn it, it must not have reached Halloween yet. Now she had blown it. Biting her lip, she was unsure what to say. A small niggling sensation edged it's way into her heart... What if... No, Ana, it can't be done. Besides, Merit would eat you alive.

Vanessa's eyes widened, and she did the first thing she could think of, she threw the girl backwards as hard as she could, so she slammed into the stone wall behind her, before seizing a fistful of the girls hair and yanking her head upwards, so she had to look at Vanessa. "What do you mean?" She hissed, her voice shaking, before slamming the girls head back, against the wall, by her hair.

"I'm going to humour you, and pretend that you really are from the future - what happens? You're going to tell me absolutely everything," Vanessa snarled, her eyes wide and malicious, before they glanced to the side. "There's a window over there. No glass. Looks big enough for someone to fit through. Might be a bit of a squeeze, but I'll manage." She twisted her wrist, yanking on the girls hair as she did. "So, you tell me what happens to John, or you'll make a nice, red splat on the grounds below."