Up For An Adventure? ((Jeremiah))

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake quickly started to dress early Saturday morning. It was a Hogsmeade weekend and he wanted to be ready to go. He loved going to Hogsmeade. Some seventh years didn't care about going to Hogsmeade, but Jake had always loved it. It gave him an excuse to run around and be spontaneous. Though in his older age he was quieting down a bit. He loved acting strange and being crazy, but he knew that he was going to have to grow up sooner or later, personally he preferred later, but that really wasn't an option. He knew that his days in Hogwarts were slowly drawing to an end. In just a few more months he would be applying for training as an Auror. Assuming he got into the program. He wasn't so sure at the moment. He was good at DADA and other things, but he wasn't the best at them. He kind of had a problem with paying attention. But according to some muggle psychologist, he heard that you gained a minute of attention every year, so he was now up to 17 minutes of a continuous attention span, the thought made him laugh. He couldn't pay attention for 5 minutes, let alone 17. Jake finished dressing and then bolted out of the dorm room, making sure to not wake any of his friends.

Jake bounded out of the common room and toward the Great Hall, though he wasn't going to eat. Taking a quick look inside he didn't see anything too spectacular going on. He ran into a professor asking if he was going to Hogsmeade he nodded and smiled as he headed out of the front doors. The morning was cool and the beautiful. The snow glittered on the ground and ice crystals could be seen in the air. He pulled his brown coat tighter around him as he ran and then slid down some of the path toward Hogsmeade. Turning one run his feet came out from under him and his bum met the ground. A smile came over him. He was 17 years old and yet he was still playing around on the ice, would that ever change? "Probably not," Jake said out loud to himself. He smiled at the answer as he returned to his run and slide technique.

The ice soon subsided and Jake was left to continue walking down the cobblestone that had emerged in the road. Hogsmeade could be seen and he noticed that there was already a fair share of hustle and bustle. Even though Diagon Alley was now opened, it seemed that most people were still afraid to shop there. They were afraid it would be attacked again. Jake, on the other hand, preferred shopping in Diagon Alley. The security was high right now and what idiot would attack the same place twice, especially so soon after the last attack. Jake hadn't been in the attack when it happened, maybe that's why he didn't feel so threatened by it, but he had known people that were. In fact, Hannah's mother was killed and Susan's aunt was in the attack. It had been hard on both girls. Jake remembered what tragedy it had brought on them. He shook his head, he did not need to be thinking about such horrible and dreadful thoughts. What he needed was to be happy.

As if by a miracle at that moment Jake's eyes glanced over and saw a beautiful site. His path diverged from the cobblestone and soon his feet were walking up a slight hill to a fence that bordered an old shack. The Shrieking Shack lay quietly in the field in the early morning. He remembered his first adventure into the house. It had been in his fifth year. He had decided his life had been quite uneventful, sort of like it was now, and he had decided to take a detour into the shack before leaving Hogsmeade one night. It seemed like a great idea right then. However, he didn't really feel like waiting around all day just to go in at night. Maybe he would just go there now and stay until dark. Jake shrugged to himself as he started toward the path that led to the house. A sound behind him startled him and he turned quickly...

[Jeremiah Baer]

As the sun peeked its warm rays through the window, Jeremiah squinted and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Looking around, he noticed that he was the last to wake up, as all of his roommates were gone for the morning. He glanced at the clock and was surprised that it was still rather early. He then realized that it was a Hogsmeade day, and that most of them were probably already there or at least on their way.

Pulling on his favorite pair of jeans, he rummaged through his wardrobe in search of a shirt. His clothes were strewn all over the place, and there was little to no order to all of his belongings. Organization was a weak point of his. After finding a shirt that wasn't too wrinkled, he pulled it over his head and grabbed his jacket. Running past the mirror, he doubled back and did a five second check to make sure he was at least presentable.

It was too late to stop for breakfast, so he figured he would just pick up lunch once he got to Hogsmeade. Checking to make sure his wand was safe in his pocket, he bolted out the front door of the castle and took off in a half-jog down the path. As he neared Hogsmeade, he noticed a boy around his age whom he thought he recognized as a friend. Deciding it would be fun to sneak up on him, he slowed his pace and strayed off the path, attempting to hide among the trees. Slowly, he crept along, crouched low as he walked toward the boy. Just as he was less than twenty yards away, he was about to jump out. Clumsily, he stepped on a stick which cracked under his weight. The noise alerted the boy of his presence and Jeremiah realized he had blown his cover. "Bloody hell," he said with a smile, as he shook his head. He approached the boy, and as he got closer, realized it wasn't who he had thought it was originally. "Oh, uh... hey, nice to meet you he said as he extended his hand. I didn't mean to scare you there. I thought you were somebody else. I'm Jeremiah," he introduced himself. The other boy looked familiar, but he was unable to place a name or house, but at most, he was able to rule out Gryffindor because the boy wasn't that familiar.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake sighed as he caught a look at the reason behind the sound. He didn't know the kid, but the kid seemed to have made a mistake. Jake smiled as the kid introduced himself and apologized. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure you don't sneak up on anyone else when their out here. The fact that the shack is haunted doesn't really help the fact that you just startled me. Anyway, my name is Jake. I'm in Hufflepuff, 7th year. You don't really look familiar to me, Jeremiah. What house are you in?" Jake asked as he took Jeremiah's hand and shook it as his father had taught him. Not too tight, but tight enough that you're not mistaken for a girl. The weaker the handshake the less respect someone has for you, the words of his father echoed in his head. He forced the words to the back of his mind. He was always remembering little details like that when he was introducing himself to people. The first impression, is the most important. You can come off as being a great guy or a complete idiot. You make the choice son, don't let them make it for you.

Jake forced his attention away from his father. Man, he loved his father, but sometimes he didn't need to think about the things his father told him. Jake turned his attention back to the shack. "Ever been in there before?" Jake asked Jeremiah. It was intended for small talk since it seemed there was still a bit of tension between the two of them. "I've been in there a few times, myself. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a wild kid. I enjoy running off and doing things I'm not supposed to be doing, if that makes sense," Jake said. He was staring at the shack. There was just something about it that always made his attention wane. It seemed there was something so exciting within those walls that Jake would die if he couldn't get within them. Jake smiled to himself. He had been in there before and still hadn't found exactly what he was looking for. He wanted more than anything to find it, but he couldn't. It was probably why he always ended up staring at the shack whenever he came to Hogsmeade. Most of the time he didn't go inside, because he couldn't feel what he was looking for, but sometimes it was there. Today, was one of the better days. He could feel some slight pull toward the shack today, but he knew he would not find what he was looking for, he never did. Jake turned his attention back to Jeremiah at the sound of his voice...

[Jeremiah Baer]

"Yeah, uh, sorry 'bout that," Jeremiah apologized again. "I'm a 6th year Gryffindor," he replied in response to Jake's introduction. He didn't recall ever meeting Jake before, and he couldn't really remember seeing him around the castle either. This was odd as Jeremiah was very sociable and he knew most everyone.

Regardless, he glanced at the decaying building when Jake mentioned the Shrieking Shack. "Nope, I've never been," he admitted. The thought was intriguing, and for a moment Jeremiah wondered why he hadn't ever been adventurous enough to enter the shack. Honestly, the thought never even crossed his mind, but at the same time, he realized there was nobody who he knew who would be willing to go with him. Without much thinking, he spoke again, "Why don't we have a go," he said, nodding toward the ghastly silhouette of the crooked frame which was easily visible against the blue sky. From afar, the building didn't appear to be in that bad of shape, but taking a closer look revealed many signs of its age and deterioration. Wondering if Jake was even going to consider his suggestion, Jeremiah looked at him and awaited a response of some sort.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake listened closely to Jeremiah. He had never entered the Shrieking Shack? It was one of the first adventures Jake had wanted to do. Everyone else was too scared, so he went alone. It had been one fun time. Not nearly as scary as he was hoping it would be, but nothing was like that anymore. He raised his eyebrows at Jeremiah's statement about going inside. "I thought you'd never ask. Let's go," Jake said with a smile on his face. He had been waiting to see if Jeremiah was brave enough. Of course, he should have realized he was. Jeremiah was in Gryffindor after all and weren't they marked for their bravery? Of course they were. Just look at brave Harry Potter. He was always showing that Gryffindor was better than others thought. Jake was brave too. He didn't get sorted into Gryffindor for certain reasons, but he loved being an odd Hufflepuff.

Jake turned away from Jeremiah at this last thought. He would definitely be the first one in, just so he could prove that he was brave like any Gryffindor was. He placed a hand on the wooden fence that surrounded the shack and jumped over it. He stopped to wait for Jeremiah to cross.

((It's short because I don't want to god-mode you across the fence or anything like that. So for awhile I expect our posts to be rather short.))

[Jeremiah Baer]

Jeremiah was really unsure of what he may encounter in the Shrieking Shack. It could range from total boredom to a mysterious adventure for all he knew. Jake seemed like a fun guy, but that assumption could be wrong. Regardless, he had nothing to lose.

Following Jake over the decaying wooden fence Jeremiah slipped as the piece holding most of his weight snapped under pressure. He managed to catch himself before hitting the ground completely, but at the same time, two protruding nails ripped through his shirt and cut parallel lines that extended about four inches down his lower back. The cuts bled instantly, and he applied pressure with his one hand while finding his wand with the other. "Ferula," he muttered, placing the wand tip against the bleeding wound. A few bandages concealed the cuts and Jeremiah looked up at Jake. "That will leave a scar," he said as he laughed at his own clumsiness. "You will have to excuse my two left feet," he joked. Often, he would get so excited that he became careless. Brushing the dirt from his hands and clothes, Jeremiah, began walking again toward the shack. "So should we just go through the front door?" he asked, not worried about sounding clueless. He really knew nothing about the shack. He had heard stories of people entering it, but most of them were likely rumors made up by those who wanted to sound brave. If Jake wanted to lead the way, Jeremiah had no problem with that. He had already managed to injure himself, and Jake seemed to have a better idea of the shack anyways.

[Jake Rainyar]

Jake looked ahead of him on the path. The shack looked so...what's the word...mysterious. He wanted to find out why. He could never figure out what he was so fascinated with haunted places. It was a passion he and his sister shared. They were both running off to muggle 'haunted' houses. Unfortunately none of them were as scary as they wanted them to be. They were those stupid little houses where people jumped out at you. Jake laughed at the first one he went through with his younger sister. He just wanted to tell them to go to Hogwarts for a few minutes. With all those ghosts floating around the castle those muggles were freak out within a few seconds. None of them would be able to stay for very long.

The sound of splintering wood interrupted Jake's thoughts. He turned quickly at the sound and watched as Jeremiah totally fell from the broken fence. Within seconds Jeremiah had pulled out his wand and bandage the cuts that were on his back. Jake bit back the laugh that was dying to get out. He swallowed it down and looked at Jeremiah with a questioning glance. He was about to ask him if he was all right, but Jeremiah made a comment about his two left feet. "I understand, my cousin is a complete klutz. I don't think I've been around her once when she hasn't broken something. So don't worry about your two left feet. As long as you don't get me hurt we're all cool," Jake grinned. He wondered if Jeremiah was really a klutz or if he just had those few moments when things just seemed to break. Jake hoped it wasn't the first. There were some killer places to fall in the shack. He really didn't want to have to explain to anyone why they were in the shack.

Jake turned back toward the shack and started the walk. Since it was so early he didn't expect any other student to wander up to the shack and see them. He figured they would have a quiet morning in the shack. Jake looked at the two story shack. In the early morning light the place didn't look so bad. It was almost humanized, but as he drew nearer the sun shown the house to be what it was. A run down, paint chipping, worn looking shack. It didn't seem to have any good qualities to it and the inside wasn't much better, but at least it had character. The thought made Jake grin. Character! The shack definitely had character, maybe too much. It had its own life. It was alive. At least it felt that way.

Jake came to a fork and the road. He looked back at Jeremiah and pointed to the obvious choice of path. He laughed at himself. He liked to point out the obvious. It seemed to make people feel a lot better about themselves and that's what Jake liked. He wanted people to have fun around him, even if it was at his expensive. Jake started up the short path to the shack and up the few stairs that made a porch at the back of the shack. It would have been a peaceful spot to sit and watch the sunrise if it hadn't been so cruddy. It was so ugly and old that most of the beauty it once had was drained. He put his hand on the doorknob and looked back at Jeremiah. "Ready for this?"