Elspeth laced her fingers behind her back as she walked, casting a glance toward Savtaj. "I scare very easily," she admitted, the memory of nearly having a heart attack in the corn maze earlier that night still fresh in her mind. But, he would be there, and he had saved her from those girls, how could she say no to joining him? "I’ll make an exception for you though," she added with a playful smile, "but if anything jumps out at me and I scream…" She wagged a teasing finger at him, "you’re not allowed to laugh."

Her smile lingered as her eyes shifted ahead, catching sight of the haunted house looming in the distance. It almost sent a shiver down her spine but there were more pressing questions to ask. She hesitated for a moment before inquiring, "So... how’ve you been? How’s Quidditch going?" There was genuine curiosity in her voice, though she was mostly fishing to see if Ethan or Kai had been giving him trouble during matches, or just in general.

Albus’ words weren’t doing much to settle Elspeth’s nerves. “I’m trying to stay calm,” she squeaked, her voice betraying her panic. His raised arm, creating a barrier between her and the snake, helped only a little as she kept backing away, her eyes growing wide when he started speaking to the creature. The sight of the snake swaying in response made her breath catch, terror etched across her face.

That terror turned into a full-blown scream when someone darted out in front of her, startling her so badly she nearly jumped out of her skin. It took a moment for her to realize it was Gawain, but even his familiar voice didn’t stop her heart from racing. Past the two boys, she watched in horror as the snake continued to slither through the air—until, in an abrupt and almost funny twist, it flopped over on its side.

Her head whipped around, eyes wide as saucers, and she stared at Albus in disbelief. “Oh, Merlin—you’ve killed it! Albus, you killed it!” She hopped anxiously from foot to foot, her hands fluttering uselessly. “What are we going to do? I—I don’t know how to do CPR on a snake!”