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Regret, Regret, a voice whispered in his head. It laughed at him, taunted him. But no one was there but himself, a simple figment of his imagination, his fear personified by dark magic. Now you're alone, it cackled. "Who's there?!" Regret yelled into the quiet depths of the night, searching for that nonexistent intruder.

His eyes, wide in fear and insanity, glanced around the garden. A magical creature? With one glimpse, he caught something off in the garden. he saw movement, he felt a breath, he heard a heartbeat. "Come out!" he yelled at the direction of the stranger, his wand at the ready, alert, shaking.

Cause she's just like the weather, can't hold her together


Marina knew she never should have gone into the gardens. If only she'd been less stupid, if only she'd been too much of a wimp to sneak out, if only her cat hadn't run away..... But it was too late now. She'd discovered Jet was gone after taking a shower and coming back to the Dorms. Marina instantly knew he had to be in the Gardens. The grey kitten tended to wander off, and when he did, he headed to the Gardens where he could play all he wanted. But he'd never wandered off at night. He was always curled up on her bed, purring, ready to sleep on her stomach when she lay down. So she'd reluctantly sneaked out to go find him. By sheer luck she avoided getting caught. She'd made her way to the Gardens, shivering from the night chill, goosebumps on her pale freckled arms. Her pajamas were worn and thin. She had padded softly along in her slippers, calling out Jet's name softly. Then she heard a cat yowl and a curse being uttered. Then there was silence for a minute or two. She stood there, petrified, not moving. She heard someone call out, a man. And then there was a boy's voice pleading. Marina Aldred was not a idiot. She knew that a very bad situation was unfolding. No one else was around. That might not have been Jet. This wasn't any of her business. But she did something very idiotic. Also very brave. She took off running towards the sounds she'd heard, hair flying out behind her, eyes wide and wand at the ready.

Cause she's just like the weather, can't hold her together


Marina hadn't know what she'd find, but she certainly hadn't expected a dead cat lying in a puddle of blood, the Divinations professor, and Damien Edgeworth without a smug smirk on his face. She skidded to a halt, staring at the bizarre and grotesque scene. She felt her supper rise up in her stomach as she saw the cat. She suppressed a gag and averted her eyes. At least the cat wasn't Jet. What in the name of Merlin was going on, though? She heard a man cursing the cat and a boy pleading. That meant the boy had to be Damien, despite that she couldn't picture him begging for his life, and the man had to be the professor..... Why would he kill a cat? She stood there, framed in the moonlight surveying them. "What's going on, Damien?" she asked in a very calm tone, though inside she was screaming. She wasn't going to address that murderer, professor or not. Her wand trembled ever so slightly in her hand, but she did not lower, her whole body tense.

"Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical"

"I don't appreciate being lied to, boy," Regret said, his voice dark, shadows swimming in his eyes. A warning, an ominous presence in himself. Two students out of their dorms after curfew. Both from Slytherin too. How disappointing.

His focus shifted between the two students as a dark wish burned inside him. The air around him filled with the acrid sense of the blood, the tangy liquid's scent making him sick. His smile, crazed, like he would let people witness actions that could incriminate him. But then again, he could just let them be; Hogwarts was of no more use to him. However... It would dirty his family's reputation.

He neared the two students, keeping a constant stride as he heard his steps echo in the night. His facial expression, growing more and more dangerous. "I insist on escorting you back to your dorms," he simply said. Like Regret would let them go that easily.

Don't let them escape, a woman's voice whispered to him. Odd familiarity sounded from the voice, a coincidence, Regret assumed. He smirked, his wand hand tingling with a spell. He waved, gracefully, and a dark shadow appeared behind him almost instantaneously, growing taller and wilder as it flew towards the two students.

But at a closer look, the "shadow" was actually fire, the heat suffocating, burning. It was a simple firestorm spell, but something was peculiar about the flames; They were black and sometimes glowed blue, an ominous presence. A firestorm spell infused with dark magic, its aim to capture its master's prey.

Such a simple spell, made tenfold times more powerful with dark magic. Regret simply smiled.

At Marina's shout, Damien stopped and turned to look over his shoulder, and his eyes somehow managed to grow wider. Tears pooled as he realized that they... they might die. They might actually die. This man was insane, and he was going to kill them. Somehow, briefly, a somewhat lucid thought reached his mind, and he wondered how on earth the headmistress had thought this man was an acceptable candidate for a professor. The thought was driven from his mind as the fire reached them, and he used all of his strength to shove Marina away as it hit him. The shadowed flames consumed him. He barely made note that, upon hitting him, the flame had stopped, that it hadn't continued after the girl. He fell to his knees, and then collapsed, the flames licking across his skin, burning and blackening him. He heard screaming, and realized it was coming from him. His throat felt raw, and yet he couldn't stop screaming. It hurt... it hurt so bad... he couldn't... couldn't even handle it... Damien's screams stopped, his eyes going blank, not passing out, but rather shutting down, closing the reality off. He knew he was in pain, but he couldn't feel it anymore. He wondered if this was what it was like to die...

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Amata had been going for her nightly walk over the grounds when she heard the screams coming from the Gardens. She took off in a run, cursing herself for always wearing heels, even on her walks, as the heel of her boots stuck in the ground with each step. She rounded a corner and found Regret, with a small, sadistic smile on his face. She covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes growing wide as she saw a small form, the young boy on the ground, burning, and the girl, her eyes wide, watching, a terrified, confused expression on her face. Amata took her wand out, and gave it a quick, forceful motion, calling out, "Aduro Occuro," relief washing over her as the flames receded. She ran to the boy's side, falling to her knees. He was burned all over, and seemed to be in a sort of catatonic stasis, his eyes wide open, but unseeing, tears leaking from them and trailing over his blackened skin. Amata could scarcely believe what she'd come across. She gathered the boy in her arms, holding him to her, grimacing when he let out a soft moan, clearly in an unbelievable amount of pain. She looked up at Regret, her eyes angry and depressed. "Regret, what... what have you done?! What in God's name were you thinking?! You... you could have... this boy could die, Regret, what on Earth happened?" Amata fought to keep from saying anything more, to keep from insulting him. He was clearly unstable, though she didn't know why. She'd known that he held a pain inside him, intense from the loss of his family, but she'd never thought he could be capable of this. This... this was an atrocity! She stood, the boy gathered in her arms, and moved to stand between him and the girl, moving the young man over her shoulder so that she could hold out her wand. He looked crazed, and she needed to be able to defend herself... but she couldn't believe this. The kind, soft spoken man, with the old world charm, who she'd befriended, the only member of the staff she'd been able to grow close to, and yet... now she couldn't believe that they had ever been close. How could they have been, if she hadn't known he was capable of this? She wanted there to be some other explanation, wanted someone else to have done this, but she knew it had been him. And it hurt. She wanted to cry. But she had a duty, as a professor, to protect the two students. So she stood there, her wand raised, waiting for him to make a move. Whether he attacked or argued or ran, she would be ready. She needed to get the boy to the hospital wing, but she couldn't turn her back to Regret just yet.

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Regret never knew simple words could be so powerful. The pain it causes, its magnitude sent chills down his spine. He never felt so alive. All his life, he spent looking after others, helping them, the selfless Regret. Not once did he put himself above someone. But now, it was different. Power surged in his veins, his smile growing wider. Who knew, that causing pain was more enjoyable than helping someone?

Kill him, a young girl's voice whispered. The voice was soft, yet firm. Beautiful, yet sinister. "I see," he laughed. "I see!" His family never left him! They were there, watching over him, commanding him even as they twisted and turned in their graves. Was it his imagination? Was it real? Who knew! Regret felt alive.

His wand raised, aimed at the boy. "Av-" he began to cast. Before he could even finish the first word, Amata Harlowe extinguished his flames, and with it, the exhilaration.

For one second, Regret stood there, Kage behind him, the student in front of him. Two sins committed within five minutes. What happened to him? He wanted to go back in time and erase all of this... This monstrosity that was unfolding before his eyes. Amata... He wished that she wasn't the one who found him like this. Regret, his eyes filled with fear, turned around and ran. If he could hurt two defenseless students, then what would he do to an adult witch?

Coward, three voices echoed.

{Exit to Forbidden Forest.}