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Alexandria propped herself up onto her butt and stared up at the exit before pushing herself up off the ground. This is it, she realized. I'm under the Whomping Willow. A large grin spread across her face as she continued to gaze up at part of the trunk that she could see. It was weird, really. This hole was deeper than she imagined it would have been, and not only was it hiding something, but it led somewhere. Alexandria turned her head to stare down the long tunnel, and naturally, curiosity wanted to burst from her brain.

About a millisecond after pain had struck against the arm holding her wand, the brunette's free hand cupped over her skin as the girl turned on her heel to stand over the blonde brat. The girls glared at each other as the firstie erupted in anger. A scoff escaped Alexandria's throat as she took in what the younger girl had said. "What was I thinking? What were you thinking?!" As far as Alex knew, there was enough distance between her and the willow for it to miss if it had tried to hit her. "I wasn't the one who pushed-" Her free hand slid off of her bruised arm and shoved Blondie as she continued, "-myself towards the plant of doom out there!"

Turning on her heel, Alexandria strutted towards the lengthening tunnel. Because it was rather dark and hard to see clearly, the brunette drew out her wand and cast, "Lumos." A single ball of light flared up at the end of the Gryffindor's wand, shining brightly. The underground cave lit up all around her to reveal more wooden floorboards leading through the tunnel, which still didn't reveal what lay at the other end.

Upon hearing the younger girl's tense voice, Alexandria stopped dead in her tracks. "I. . . I dunno." Admittedly, this had been her first time down here- - wherever here was. The lion spun back around, her dark eyes locked on the other girl's blue ones. The brunette cocked an eyebrow and said, "Only one way to find out."

Alexandria braced herself for a shove or a punch, for she had expected the blonde girl to retort. However, that would only lead to the girls scrapping it out since the Gryffindor wouldn't let herself lose in a fight, especially not against some younger - - what house was she in?

Before Alexandria could continue walking through the tunnel and risk detention for the rest of the year - - not that she wouldn't get into a ton of trouble if she was caught just being under the willow - - she had to find out who she was doing business with. Ignoring the blonde girl's comment, Alex asked, "What house did you get sorted into?" The next question she would ask was obvious. After all, the brunette referred to her as Blondie.

After the freezing winter months, it was nice that the weather was finally changing for the better. The snow that covered the school grounds melted into the ground which caused the grass to turn muddy and soggy. But hey, they had to get through the storm to find the rainbow, or something like that. No, wait, sun and rain together caused a rainbow… Maybe the saying was to find the sunshine? Either way, this weather was going to get better eventually. The ice which lay overtop any water melted which meant Alexandria and Theo could finally do what they had wanted to do since Autumn: to explore the tunnel under the Whomping Willow without the fear of slipping, and then dying because the crazy tree would be sure to swing its branches towards them.

Mud stained the front and sides of Alexandria’s boots as she trekked over the grassy hills towards the Whomping Willow, where Theo laid, staring at the sky. “It’s not too bright for ya, mate?” she asked, approaching the boy. Dark eyes flicked from Theo up to the top of the tree. It’s a lot bigger than I remember… she thought, replaying the image in her head from when she and Anastasia scrambled their way into the hole. In fact, Alex would have found out where the trail led to if the blonde wasn’t so terrified. Then again, she was only a firstie. Now, how did they manage to get out without a single scratch from the tree’s flailing?

When she approached Theo, Alexandria stopped in her tracks a couple feet away from her friend’s face. She rolled her eyes slightly at the boy’s sarcastic greeting, but she didn’t say anything about it. Instead, Alex placed her pointer finger on Theo’s chest and said, “You missed a spot.” Little did he know, there wasn’t any dirt or mud on the front of his shirt, and as soon as he looked down, the girl would flick her finger up against his nose as a joke. A chuckle escaped the fifteen year olds lips as she stocked off closer towards the Whomping Willow, her laugh quieting down as she stared up at the tree.

After a brief moment of watching the plant sway, Theo’s annoying teasing erupted from the silence. “I am not!” Alexandria defended, looking back at her friend. Honestly, she was. Well, sort of. It didn’t take bravery to not be scared of something that could kill you with one hit – it took an idiot. The students exchanged a glance before facing the willow once again, this time, bracing themselves. This was it. They were going to run in there, jump down the hole, and live to tell the tale; or at least, that was the plan. “Ready,” she answered with a nod. Here we go.

Alex figured her answer was enough of a warning, so she grabbed Theo by the wrist and yanked him towards the Whomping Willow, in the direction of the large gaping hole by its trunk. As soon as the fifth years got close to the tree, it became violent. Due to the swinging of branches in a choreographed motion, the girl let go of Theo’s arm. It would be a lot tougher for the two of them to fire spells and dodge hits if they were linked together. The brunette hurled herself over the roots – which seemed like they were about to pop out from underneath the ground – but she made sure to keep a look out for any oncoming appendages. The adrenaline rushed through Alex's veins as she fired spells off the top of her head in a hurry.

Alexandria gasped as the tree swung a branch powerfully towards her. In the blink of an eye, she could have been knocked out cold – if she hadn’t reacted right away. The brunette lunged backwards and fell onto her butt as she pointed her wand directly in front of her face and yelled, “ih-MOH-byoo-luhs!” She didn’t know why she cast that spell, or that it would have even functioned on such a large target, but the tree did stop moving. Dark eyes blinked in shock and confusion before scanning over to look at Theo, who had been sitting near the base of the willow.

“Did – did I do that?” she asked, staring at her friend in dismay. The tree wasn’t “done”. It was never done. Either it was sleeping, immobilized, or moving and completely aware of its surroundings. As soon as her friend got up, the tree shook back to life for the few seconds where he stood; however, it froze once again when Theo sat down. What the – ? Alexandria slowly brought herself up to her feet, looking up at the frozen branches, feeling skeptical about the whole immobilizing of the tree. Maybe her spell wasn’t as strong as it should be to keep a target this large from moving, but it wasn’t weak enough not to do anything? The fifteen year old walked with heavy breaths, towards the gaping hole. “I know where it is!” she called. “I’m not some stupid tart.”

Alex turned back to look at Theo, who was still sitting on the ground. “Well.. Aren’t you coming?” She didn’t know how much time they’ve got until the tree sprung back to life, so the sooner they got out of the danger zone, the better.