Fantasy +lumos; becoming the light+ (Closed)

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson

Very few things made Delaney angry, this would fall under that umbrella. Injustice was so incredibly aggrivating, hatred, biogrtry... all of it! What the Dark Lord wanted, what these Death Eaters stood for, it was all so disgusting! She could remember the first time she ever learned about the war, about everything that occured and why. Delaney had cried for days after being told by her professors. Being one of the first generations to go through schooling after all that, especially coming from a muggle household, meant that Delaney had been completely ignorant to it all up until she was at Hogwarts. There was so much that she loved about magic, but she supposed everything had a dark side somewhere right?

"You're okay love, just keep moving okay? Have one of the older kids look at your knee once you're somewhere safe." Delaney smiled at the young girl who had fallen, picking her up and helping her dust off her bloodied knee before ushering her off with the others. Thankfully then Seb showed up and helped, yelling for people to leave and lighting a pathway for them as he made his own way. Delaney waited a moment to make sure most people noticed and were moving before following herself, constantly looking behind them and watching for any danger but it seemed by know that other aurors had arrived to help with the fight.

"Wo-woah!" Delaney was caught off guard as Seb rushed up to her, quickly giving her a long list of questions that made her brain spin for a moment. "Seb I'm fine, really. Singed my sweater a bit and I'm sure I'll smell of smoke for the rest of the year but I'm okay. I'm just happy nothing worse happened, I think everyone in that area made it out without too much to worry about." Besides the obvious trauma that they would have after this. Delaney included. "How about you? Did you get hurt at all?" As she asked she glanced over him quickly, he appeared to be okay. Then her attention turned to all the people around her, some had taken it upon themselves to help with first aid, others were helping people find their loved ones, others simply apparating the hell out of here without another thought. Though honestly Delaney couldn't blame them. "Do you see any of the others? I- I don't see anyone. Wait where did Sapphira go when I ran off? Did her and Dru go to the tent?"

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus O'Connor

Right family, wrong group. While Cyrus was thrilled to see that the twins and Ginny were safe, it didn't help him right now. "Ginny where's your brother and Harry?" It was no secret who of those three particular Weasley siblings was the most reliable. According to her they all got separated the minute they left the tent, the mob of people pulling them one way and the other three in the opposite direction. "Shit." He moved slightly higher in the air, looking everywhere he could see a person and trying to determine if it was possibly Harry but nothing looked right. Below him he heard Hunter show up and then after a moment came Dru. Wait... Dru? Didn't Larkyn tell her and Loire to go to the damn port key? If Dru didn't listen, that definetly meant that Loire didn't either. Great. Now Cyrus had two people to look for frantically.

However, he didn't have to look for Loire for long, one quick pass of the ground below him and he found a familiar looking feline hiding in the shadows of a nearby tent. Then the burst came, the force of which sent Cyrus pitching forward on his broom and nearly falling. After a quick adjustment so he regained his balance, Cyrus shot forward and dipped low to the ground, reaching out as he passed Loire in her hiding spot and scooped her up before pulling up on his broom to soar higher in the sky. "I know you hate when people hold you as a cat but what else did you expect me to do there. This isn't the GREATEST time to be in a tiny frail little body. I don't know if you noticed Loire but there are fires? Oh not to mention the bloody death eaters!" He was angry because he was worried, that blast could have thrown her if it wasn't for the few tents between her and where the others had all been standing. Oh shit. The others. Cyrus turned back to look for them but everyone was gone from the spot they had just been, he had to trust that they were okay though. He didn't have time to look for them when he still hadn't found Harry. God Sirius was going to KILL him if Harry got hurt on his first real time watching over the boy.

"Just hold on yeah?" Cyrus gently moved Loire around his shoulder and began flying again, weaving around the fights between aurors and death eater. Things were growing more and more empty and Cyrus was getting more and more hopeless. "Maybe he already got to the trees." He said it out loud in an attempt to reassure himself but it wasn't really working. For the remainder of the fight, Cyrus and Loire patrolled the sky. It wasn't until there was nearly no one that Cyrus finally caught sight of a red sweater and a messy head of black hair. "Harry!" Quickly he landed, gently taking Loire from his shoulders and setting her down before kneeling next to the boy and lifting him up slightly. He was breathing, just seemed to be knocked out. "Fuck. Poor kid."

As the three of them stood there, everything became eerily quiet for a moment. Then in the distance someone shouted something that Cyrus couldn't make out. Then the sky lit up green with the symbol of the Dark lord.

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn Gaunt

The entire thing probably only lasted about a half an hour, it felt like an eternity but in all reality it was only 30 minutes. In 30 minutes the world managed to be turned to shit. Larkyn had helped some people get out of their burning tents, helped others know which way to run, blocked some curses from death eaters and chased off a few. At one point he had taken a shot to the shoulder, he was just lucky it wasn't the killing curse. Other aurors had arrived and most were gone now, having chased off whatever death eater they had been fighting in hoped that they could catch them and lock them up. Larkyn stayed back however, it wasn't his job to chase right now. Right now his assignment was this Hogwarts thing and that meant getting back to the others and making sure they were all safe.

At some point during all the mess he had seen Seb leading a group of people to the woods with lumos. That seemed like a good place to start looking for everyone.

Larkyn made his way through the disaster zone of a campsite, taking the time to put out fires as he slowly walked. After a little while he found himself stumbling upon Cyrus holding a limp young man, a man he quickly recognized as Harry Potter. "Is he dead?" It sounded so crass but he couldn't help himself from asking. The boy was a symbol of hope, if an attack like this took his life... it would crush the whole wizarding worlds spirt. Larkyn held his breath waiting for Cyrus to respond but as he did he watched the boy move slightly and his eyes flutter open. A sigh of relief left his lips and Larkyn ran a hand through his hair. "Good, that's good." Then his eyes fell upon the other being present... Loire. "Weren't you supposed to go to the tent with Dru? Find the port key? Bloody hell Loire-"

Just as Larkyn was ready to scold her suddenly the sky lit up green and not a moment later he heard shouting and feet running toward them. Larkyn turned to see a very frantic looking Mr. Crouch, in any other circumstances it would likely make Larkyn chuckle. "Which one of you did it!?" What? What in the hell was the old bat talking about? He looked beyond the dark haired man to the sky, finding himself staring at a greenish cloud of a skull and slithering snake. "Oh Barty you can't be serious. You know me and the boy was passed out on the ground until ten seconds ago. And Cyrus here is a friend, he was helping Harry." The man looked at Larkyn with a squint before he and his crew went off running in another direction. "This is all getting too grim, let's get out of here and find the others. Find his friends. I think Seb and Delaney led everyone towards the woods over there, I'm sure we will find someone."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire.

This wasn't the smartest decision she could have made, Loire was well aware of that. Truth be told it was a stupid decision but, what was she supposed to do? The last year and a half without Cyrus was a punch to the gut, it broke her heart. Obviously she was angry at him, beyond angry in fact, but she worried about him constantly. She was lonely, he may have started out as her brothers friend but he had become someone important to her over the years. Loire was determined to find out what was up with Cyrus or die trying, death eaters be damned. She didn’t actually expect to actually fear for her life. The sudden blast rattled the tent she was perched on and nearly knocked her off of it, her small body barely managing to jump to the ground safely. The next thing she felt was a warm hand scoop her up paired with a familiar, angry voice.

The man hadn't spoke more than two words to her since he had been back and now he was scolding her? “Hmph.” Just hearing him talk to her again though put her at ease. At least this meant he didn't hate her? The small fluff ball found herself nestling into the crook of his neck with a small purr. For safety, of course. Thankfully Cyrus was on a mission and was speeding off, obviously searching hard for someone. Harry Potter was the last one she expected him to be looking for. Of course she knew of the boy who lived, who didn't? But why was Cyrus so concerned about him? He had frequented the library often and was a good kid, always well behaved and polite. He was probably one of her favorite students.

Once her paws met the ground she had every intentions on shifting back to see if she could help Harry at all, however the arrival of Larkyn causing her to flick her tail and glare at him. Why did he always expect her to just do as she was told? The sky lit up green with the symbol and it shifted her focus, it caused her heart to drop. This... was unsettling. Soon Mr. Crouch was arriving, Harry, Hermoine, Arthur. This wasn't their place, Arthur was saying that he'd take Harry with them and Loire knew they needed to figure out where their group was. "Mer." Quickly she headbutted Cyrus's leg in a ‘let’s get out of here’ Loire fashion before running straight past her twin to go find everyone else.

As soon as she was far enough away from the others Loire shifted back into her human form, her hand running through her hair with a small huff. What the fuck was going on? This was not a good way to start off the school year. "Dru do you know-- Ginny?" The first person Loire was able to find was Dru who just happened to be on the ground with the youngest Weasley. At least they were both safe? Discussing the symbol in the sky right now was probably not the best idea, not in front of the girl. "I think we just need to find everyone and get to Hogsmeade for the night."

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

The day had started out so nice. They had a nice breakfast, they all got ready together and the game was amazing. Why did it have to turn out like this? Never before had Sapph witnessed something like this. The field that was once filled with tents was completely consumed by the flames until there was nothing but ash and lingering smoke in its wake. The screaming and crying had disappeared as everyone was evacuated, and all Sapph could do was look around feeling absolutely heartbroken. She didn't know much about death eaters other than they were supposedly something of the past, but it was clear that was a lie. There were several of them, and they appeared to be alive and well. One had even fired a shot off at her, but someone (who she assumed was an auror) rushed in and told her to get away.

After wandering for a while looking for any stragglers she happened upon the tent that they all had been staying in, of which all that remained was a pile of ash. It was disheartening. What did all of this mean? Was she even cut out for this? Sapphira wasn't anything spectacular in the magical community. She attended MIT after hogwarts, graduated at the top of her class, and all she ended up doing with her life was being her father's overly paid secretary. If this was the prelude of the rest of the year would she be of any use to the others? Would she be able to actually help the students?

The strawberry blonde woman looked around and spotted the lumos light from the tree line and gave a small sigh of relief. All she could do was hope that the others were safe. Her ash and soot covered sneakers carried her quickly through the field as if her life depended on it, her big brown eyes keeping her eyes on the light. Her heart beat anxiously once she got close enough to see Seb and Delaney. "You're okay!" Without a warning Saphs arms wrapped around her best friend and pulled her in for a tight hug.

"I was so worried! And I-" Everything went quiet as the sky lit up green, the olive skin toned woman's skin going pale. She didn't need to know what it meant, she knew that it was nothing good. "Have you guys seen the others? I'm getting really worried." While she knew the others could handle themselves Saph was a worried wart, she wouldn't feel the slightest better until she had eyes on everyone.

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

What a complete shit show. The twins were already giving them a earful about his long absence (hey, at least he sent everyone letters!) and Hunter was having a hard time shutting them up. They needed to go! Cyrus was quick to ask Ginny about Harry and there was too much going on for him to even worry about Harry as bad as that sounded. He just wanted his siblings to get to safety, far, far away from these death eaters. "Can we just get out of here?!" Then there was a voice that he REALLY didn't want to hear right now. With a small groan he spun on his feet to give Dru an earful. "Don't you see me trying to do just---" Hunter couldn't even finish his sentence. The blast hit the ground and it caused Hunter to be knocked back, his head slamming into a pole and his body dropping to the ground limply.

Luckily enough the twins were quick to shake him awake. The tall red headed male jumped to his feet with a loud groan, a piercing headache instantly hitting him. This wasn't his first head injury, he knew what this was. Curiously enough he touched the back of his head only to feel the blood already pouring out and he couldn't help but swear under his breath. "Is anyone else hurt? Fred, George? Dru, Ginny?" At the mention of Dru and Ginny the boys grew quiet and he felt his heart sink. "They're not here, I think they went off the other way after the blast." Shit. Fuck. Be cool Weasley, play it cool.

"Right, we need to find them. Be quick, let's go." Just as they turned around to run they were face to face with a death eater. Hunter's heart sank, he was not going to let the boys get hurt. Just as the robed, masked man lifted his wand Hunter moved for his, and despite the head injury he moved faster. "Expelliarmus!" The force of the spell was enough to knock the wand out of the mans hand and send him flying several feet away into the ground. "Move, move!" With a push the twins were off and Hunter was on their heels. "Ginny! Dru!?" The woman was a brat but he didn't want her to get hurt, though he was sure with her family connections she'd be fine. His sister wouldn't be though.

"Ginny!" Through the thickness of the smoke he could see the lumos light off in the distance and he knew that was where he had to get the boys. If the girls weren't there he'd go back to find them himself. "That way boys!" Thankfully in times of crisis they seemed to be able to listen and soon enough they happened upon Seb, Sapph and Delaney. "I-Is Ginny or Dru here?" Hunter gave a pitifully hopeful smile to the three.

Everything shifted as soon as the sky lit up green. Hunter didn't even need to turn around, he felt a searing burning on his arm and he audibly winced. Quickly he clutched his arm, held it to his chest, and didn't even bother to pull up the sleeve. This was his worst nightmare come true.

 

[Colt Voltage]

S. Longbottom

When Delaney said that she was okay Sebastian was finally able to take a breath. On some level he knew that he overreacted a lot of the times, but he couldn't help but worrying about people he cared for. Especially around fucking death eaters! His family pretty much had a mark on them after Frank and Alice refused to give up information on Voldemort's location, he knew that anyone associated with them could be at risk of harm. Delaney was an important to Seb, Gran, Neville. She was also a muggle, and that put even more of a target on her. While he'd like to be confident to say that she was safe, he couldn't. "Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Good lookin' as always, right?" Seb gave a weak chuckle at his lame attempt to lighten the mood. What else was he supposed to do?

"Others? No I didn't see anyone. Sapphira took off after you before I even did and I thought she'd catch up to you. Loire ran off after Cyrus, Larkyn ran off, and I told Dru to go to the tent but I'm sure that never happened. I'm sure they're all fine." While he wasn't exactly sure that they'd all be fine he didn't want Delaney to rush in to find everyone. At this point, with everything going on, there was safety in numbers. It was almost like Sapphira heard them talking about her because the next thing he knew the girl was running up to them throwing her arms around Delaney. That was a breath of fresh air. The girl looked a hot mess but he could tell she must have been helping everyone that she could, and yet again he was reminded how alike the girls were.

As if the tension in the air wasn't bad enough the air seemed to shift, the hair on the back of his neck standing up as he sensed danger. Dark steel colored eyes stared up at the sky and he felt his jaw clench tightly. Fuck. His heart sank into his stomach and he shook out his hair. "Let's walk the tree line, they'll bound to see the lumos and come find us. Then we need to get far away from here. Just stay close guys." With a warm smile he looked at the girls before he took off walking down the tree line to help find their group.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Druella Malfoy

The two girls laid there for a long moment, Dru could hear her heartbeat in her ears and as the adrenaline calmed she began to actually process the situation she was in. Part of her wanted to pretend it was all just another one of her many death eater nightmares but no… this was real. Besides her she could hear Ginny asking if she was okay, Dru could only nod a bit. She didn’t want to talk, that was too much. Now that they had stopped she could tell she had been hurt in the first blast that threw her to the ground, not badly but enough to know that she would need someone to look at her wrist once they were back to civilization and off of this god forsaken camp ground.

A few moments later Dru finally willed herself to stand, helping Ginny up with her good arm and then beginning to walk around looking for others. The light of Sebs wand was what she saw first, then she heard Hunter yelling. “Is he always this loud?” Dru groaned, before gently pushing Ginny’s shoulder. “Off you go, go rejoin your herd Weasley.” Hunter and the others came into eyesight and Dru let out a sigh of relief that she didn’t know she had been holding in. Everyone was accounted for, that was good. For the most part everyone looked okay, Sapphira was covered in soot more than others and Hunter was clutching his arm but if they were all up and alert that meant they would all be okay in the long run.

After fully regrouping and sending off Harry and the Weasleys to their home, their crew apparated to Hogsmeade, they could have walked the short distance back to the castle but it was the middle of the night and they were all dead tired and just plain over it. So instead they found themselves in the Three Broomsticks. For a moment Dru had considered staying up at this point and just drinking the pain away at a corner table but instead they rented a few rooms and caught a couple hours of sleep. The next morning they all silently made their way back to the castle.

Upon arrival they were met with a very worried Minerva who demanded to know if they were all okay and then once that was clear, she wanted them to tell her everything. They sat together in the lounge of the staff wing and got some food in their bodies while explaining the night of the attack. Apparently the Daily Prophet was already spinning it as a random attack of a few stragglers from the Dark Lords forced but Dru knew it wasn’t true. Her father wouldn’t involve himself again if serious things weren’t on the horizons. He wouldn’t risk everything again for a fun little attack on some sports fans.

It had been a week since that day, school was set to start the next day and the Hogwarts express along with all of their students should be arriving in just an hour or two. At first Dru wasn’t too excited about this job but honestly she was a bit excited now that she was back at Hogwarts and feeling the thrill of it all again. It was surreal to be living in the staff wing, before it had seemed so off limits. Loire and Delaney had their suites magically moved by Dumbledore to now be on the second floor with the rest of them. They had a large circular lobby of sorts and around it laid out eight ornate doors for each of them. Honestly the magic of that man would never cease to amaze her, she couldn’t understand how her family thought he was insane. He was brilliant.

“I just don’t fully understand what we’re suppose to do with our days, just walk around? At least Loire and Delaney have clear cut jobs. Larkyn you have some direction. I just- I don’t do so well without having clear cut tasks, so I made some of my own! But that won’t work the entire year!.” Dru complained for probably the thousandth time this morning as she sat on the stone wall of the courtyard. The woman was very type a. Dumbledore had given those in charge of the houses a very vague overview of what to do, handed them a two way mirror and said have fun. So Dru took it upon herself to task herself and the other three with helping welcome students in as they entered the great hall for the first time this year.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson

“Of course Seb.” Delaney simply smiled and shook her head at the man, clearly he was fine if he would make such comments. His next statement however made her smile fall, she should have stayed back and made a real plan with everyone before running off but she just bolted. Delaney wasn’t quite used to this group thing, not that she didn’t like people it was just often that they didn’t really like her. Delaney had always been an odd ball and a bit of a loner despite her bubbly personality, it was going to take some learning to work in a team setting. Not a moment too soon did Sapphira arrive and pull Delaney into a tight hug that Delaney returned with just as much love. “Yes yes, I’m okay.”

As they sky turned green everyone turned to look, a collective chill moving across the crowd and causing Delaney to pull Sapphira tighter if that was even an option. Hunter has joined them now, asking about Dru and his sister, a question that made Delaney raise a brow but shrug. “No, but everyone’s been gathering here so I’m sure we will find them soon enough okay?” And right she was, soon enough the two girls had joined as well as Cyrus and the twins. That meant everyone was accounted for and safe. Good. It seemed like everything was taken care of by the proper authorities now, which thankfully meant they could get far far away from here.

They had all spent the night in Hogsmeade due to pure exhaustion but in the morning took the short trek to Hogwarts. Minerva took the time to debrief with them about what happened, apologizing profusely for forcing them to go. It’s not ad if she could have known what would happen but Delaney was sure the woman felt awful about the situation entirely.

After that they spent the week settling in as normal. Delaneys small apartment like room had been moved from near the top floor of the staff tower to the second to join with the others. It felt strange to see the ornate ivy carved door down this far but she was thankful for less stairs. Between getting her first lessons ready and helping the new folks get prepared the week moved quickly and before she knew it they were on the day of arrival.

“Dru I get it but the man truly does mean it, this is new for everyone. Sounds like you four are simply here to help the students feel safe, like they have someone they can go to if they need help. Of course each house has their professor who is head of them but it’s intimidating sometimes to talk to a teacher about things. Plus we can’t have an eye on every student. The help will be nice”. Delaney tried to reassure the woman, since Pamona retired Delaney was head of Hufflepuff house and it was hard. Teaching, clubs, events, house points, exams. Any extra help was amazing!

It was starting to get dark now, which meant that at any moment the train would be arriving. The established students would be arriving via carriages first then once settled the first years would take the boat trip across the black lake to enter the school for the first time. It made Delaney so emotional! “Can you guys remember that first trip to the school? I can remember it so vividly. The little dinghy taking us all across the lake? Some girl in my boat told us all about the giant squid and some story about how it would eat non slytherin students if they swam in the lake.” Now it made Delaney laugh but back then she was so new to everything in this world she had been so scared to ever go near the lake again. That is until the kind older Hufflepuff students let her and the other first years know it was a blatant lie.

Delaney looked over to Sapphira for a moment, then to Seb. “I don’t want to be sappy but I really am glad you both got picked for this. It’s going to be amazing.”

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus O’Connor

“Okay! Okay! I can’t listen to it anymore.” It had been a week of Loire constantly bothering him about what he had been doing in the time he was away. Obviously he couldn’t really tell her, it would open up too much. I mean exactly how would she take it if he were to tell her that for the last year he had been living with members of an old vigilante organization created to take down Voldemort? Oh and two of those members, the ones he actually actively lived with over the summer? One was your old coworker who quit because he’s a bloody werewolf and the other is his buddy, the Azkaban escapee who scared the shit out of everyone at Hogwarts last year. No. That was just NOT going to happen. So instead for a week he tried to avoid her questions, coming up with bullshit answers or finding a reason to leave the conversation whenever he could. But he was over it now. He couldn’t keep this up all year.

The others had gone out to the courtyard to watch for the smoke from the train. Cyrus however yanked Loire away from the group and stormed off towards the viaduct bridge stemming from the courtyard. He needed to be far enough away from others for this lie to work.

“I was worried about Harry because he’s Harry fucking Potter Loire. If Death Eaters are attacking a place he’s at, I can’t imagine he’s not a target. He’s the boy who lived!” Cyrus spoke quickly and quietly. “But the reason I know him or care in general is because I’ve been staying with the Weasleys okay? Bill was a friend and I’ve been having a hard time financially recently. They have an extra room because a Hunter never comes home. But it’s kind of embarrassing to admit okay?” Cyrus hoped she would accept this as truth, when he had the chance he would make sure to send a letter to Molly to inform her of the lie in case anyone came asking.

Cyrus leaned against the concrete wall of the bridge and let out a low sigh. His head hung slightly, his hair falling in his face. The evidence of Voldemort rising again was getting more and more every day and it was so much worse after the attack on the World Cup. Even if he wasn’t back himself, someone was out there getting the death eaters riled up again. Cyrus was part of something that truly mattered and for that he had to forget himself as a person, he had to remember his job and what was at stake. “I just - it’s not cool to be living in an old friends childhood bedroom because you’re broke. And I didn’t want it to hurt Hunters feelings or anything like that… I didn’t know if he would be upset. So just please don’t tell anyone yeah?”

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire.

It was obvious that Loire wasn't the most experienced with friendship. Larkyn was kind, funny, nice. Approachable. Loire was... well, she tried. On top of being a Gaunt, which were arguably as unapproachable as the Malfoys, she didn't smile much and didn't find much in common with anyone. Cyrus was the first person other than her brother that she got along well with. While she knew that friendships were an exploitable weakness she was stupid enough to trust Cyrus, stupid enough to let down her guard.

Today was the day that decision came back and bit her in the ass. When she was yanked away from the group she felt stupidly hopeful that she'd finally get an answer. Wasn't it enough that he went missing for a whole year? Didn't he know how worried she was? How worried Larkyn was? To rub salt to the wound he kept insisting on lying to her. Now she was just down right insulted. "I really, really tried here. I- Larkyn swore you'd have a good reason. Did you even think about how much we worried about you? How much I worried about you? I thought you were off doing something important, that you got too busy for us. I'd be here when you got back, we could talk and..." Go back to normal? "I thought you trusted me more. But, fine. You were in the burrows and you completely ignored our existed. You were always bad at lying." At this point Loire's voice was breaking. Whatever this pain was in her chest made her feel sick, she hated it. Tears stung in her light blue eyes, a lump formed in her throat and all she wanted to do was disappear.

Loire was quick to wipe away the tears before giving a small nod. "You win. I won't say anything. I won't bother you again." At this point Loire couldn't even look at Cyrus. "Come up with a better lie for Larkyn, he might be gullible enough to believe you. We done here?" Not like she was giving him an option, she was already walking off as she asked the question. Did she care about watching the smoke? Not really, but she couldn't listen to another lie or excuse.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

It was hard getting settled after everything that happened. For the first few days Sapphira struggled with the fact that she may have bitten more off than she could chew. Why was she here? Would she really make a difference? Then she remembered all of the bullying Delaney and her went through and that shifted her focus. If during this year she made the difference for just one student and actually helped someone then this whole experience would be worth it. Plus, she got to help out Delaney who she knew was in desperate need in the Hufflepuff house. After that her whole mindset changed. Their rooms were all next to each other and she loved it. It felt like an honor to be able to be the first ones to do this mentor program!

"I'm really excited for this but I'm kind of with Dru, I wish I had a bit more direction. Hufflepuff always felt like home to me so I hope I can make the students feel at home, too." Especially after what happened at the World Cup. She was sure that rumors were already going around on that train, she was sure all the kids were rattled. Her chocolate brown eyes peeled away from the smoke to focus on Delaney as she reminisced about her first trip to the school. "Girl, I believed every rumor they threw at me. I think they were all just getting a laugh at me because I literally knew nothing about the wizarding world at first. My first year they told me that if I left my room after lights out a dementor would get me. I was terrified." The thought made her laugh quietly and give a small shrug.

Once again her arms flew around Delaney to give her a tight hug. Hey, she was a hugger. "I'm so excited to be here with you! I'll help you out with everything this year, don't you worry. I'm insanely good at organization and scheduling, I'll get you a whole routine down before I leave. Promise." Soon Loire joined their group and she could sense that something was wrong. Probably best not to ask her though. Quickly she released Delaney from her tight hug and straightened back up. "Larkyn do you any fun stories back from your school days?" Back in their school days Larkyn always seemed so full of life, he was always smiling. Of course they had all grown and evolved since school but, it just kind of seemed like his fire dimmed? Same with Dru! Maybe she was just reading too much into it though.

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

Six years. It had been six whole years since Hunter was kidnapped, physically tortured, and then later forced to watch his family die one by one, over and over again. He could remember every moment of fear, pain, hopelessness. It was all bottled up so deep inside of him, he had never told a soul and he just tried to bury it all down. The attack brought everything all back, his fear for his family, his fear to see them hurt, his fear of hurting them. The one thing that made this by far worse then that? The fact that his family now knew he was back in town. Ginny said she wouldn't say anything, so did the twins but they never were able to keep a secret. It was only a matter of time before his mom and dad found out he was here.

Hunter didn't say anything to Dru but he was incredibly thankful that she had watched over Ginny. That was an awkward feeling to have towards Dru since, y'know, their families hated each other. Luckily he didn't have to spend much time in their faculty suite as his crew had run into a few trouble with the dragons. More specifically the Hungarian Horntail, he was being more aggressive than normal. That was normally his baby, he normally did find traveling. He could only lump it up to the fact that he was sensing something wrong in the air. He felt awful for the poor soul that had to go against him.

"I just feel bad for the Gryffindor House. Minerva has to put up with five Weasley's, I'm pretty sure that's enough to drive any sane woman mad." The thought made Hunter give a small chuckle. For the first time all week he got a break, and while he loved his dragons he did appreciate the minute to breath. Watching the hogwarts express? It was reminiscent of the good days, when he didn't have this cursed mark on his arm. Speaking of, it hadn't burned since the night of the World Cup but it was still blatantly visible. He wished he could tell someone, he wished he could be help to someone to stop this, but he knew nothing.

"Any funny stories from the good ol' Slythrin house, Dru?" Hunter had climbed the side of the wall and was perched at the top so he could get a better look. Despite his usual Malfoy distain he was trying to be cordial, even nice, to Dru. Ginny told him to be nice, and truthfully he felt like he owed Dru a big favor.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Druella Malfoy

“I feel bad enough we have to put up with ONE. Poor woman.” Dru’s voice sounded crass but a small smirk was on her face as she made the joke at Weasley’s expense. Fun memories? The thought was almost so foreign to her at this point that it was hard for her to think about it at first. Dru hummed where she sat, thinking for a moment before suddenly letting out a snort. “So I don’t know if anyone but Larkyn and Loire will remember but, I was on the Slytherin Quidditch team as a first year. Normally they don’t let any first years on but after I broke the arm of a third year beater on my second day of school, they asked.” The image made Dru laugh all over again, “So this guy is sitting in the common room just absolutely torturing a bunch of first year girls. Poking fun and being a real jerk in general because he thought he was cool or whatever. Well he started bouncing the bludger off of people trying to knock them down and when it came in my direction I hit it back, just used one of my books and absolutely sent it into his arm. Bloke was in the infirmary for a week.” It wasn’t exactly FUN to most but honestly it was one of Dru’s favorite memories. That was when she started to actually make friends in Slytherin, not just the people who knew her because of her last name.

Dru glanced over at Delaney and Sapphira hugging and gave a slight grimace. Honestly a part of her was slightly jealous of friendships like that but on the other hand it physically made her shiver, the thought of that much contact. Though she did have to admit that just this past week away from Malfoy Manor was already making her thaw out from the normal stoney persona.

They could hear the train now, the whistle indicating that it must have stopped and was offloading patients. Dru had no concerns about doing a good job, it seemed like easy work and she wasn’t one to slack off. What she was worried about was an entire year of being in close contact with Draco and his little lemmings. When they were younger he was a sweet kid, but as the Manor does, he quickly turned cold and snotty. “That’s our cue yeah?” Dru jumped down from the wall and smoothed out her dress. She was wearing a plain dark green dress that reached her knees with a white button up under it, a black ribbon tied around the collar to match the patent leather heels. Very much looking the part of someone who worked within education, though that wasn’t hard considering it wasn’t a far jump from her day job.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson

“Looking back on it, it’s insane to think of all the stuff the older students would get first years to believe. Even now! Last year I heard some sixth years scaring the daylights out of my first years by telling them the mandrakes could scream so loud their eyes would pop. Ridiculous.” Delaney huffed a bit, thought it was quickly replaced with a small laugh when Sapphira hugged her again. It would be amazing if Sapphira would just move here for good, she understood there was a lot going on with her family. But Sapphira seemed so much happier here, she always had. Back during school the holidays when the girl went home, she would come back and spend the whole first day having to get her pep back. Delaney could even feel a difference in her mood through the letters she wrote. Hearing some of the things she put up with, it made Delaney slightly thankful to not have strings attached to any family. Slightly.

Listening to Drus story made Delaney feel conflicted. It was funny, in its own right. But broke the boys arm?! Sure it sounded like he deserved it but… how strong was that thin little woman to be able to do that?! Scary. “It’s funny to hear everyone’s stories, it’s like… back then you think each house is so different and I guess in some ways they are but in reality we all had similar experiences. Even if some more… intense than others.”

The train whistle sounded and caused Delaney to jump, “Shit! I got to go. Good luck guys! Remember that after the older students get settled to come in to the hall, there is a special table up near the front for you guys, since the staff table is only so big. Dumbledore is planning to introduce you all after the new defense against the dark arts teacher for the year.” Delaney turned to head inside, needing to take her place before the hall began to fill. This was the only day of the year that the girl actually tried to look presentable, the rest of the year she would be covered in dirt. For today her hair was pulled into a braid, a dark brown and olive green witches hat on her head that matched the brown of the cloak pulled over her shoulders. Under she was wearing a mustard yellow sweater with olive green trousers and brown flats. “Loire, you coming?”

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus O’Connor

Was he really that transparent? Cyrus should have known that Loire would see right through his bullshit, she had always been able to. He had hoped thought that this would be believable enough, it wasn’t super far from the truth. He had slept at the Burrow and handful of times. It just wasn’t the full story or even close to the full story. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Loire or Larkyn, he knew they weren’t like their family. But the facts were that them knowing anything would put them in a bad position, Loire wouldn’t tell anyone but that didn’t mean it couldn’t get used against her.

What Loire said was breaking Cyrus’ heart. “Loire it’s not about not trusting you. It’s not about us at all okay! You say you and Larkyn thought I was off doing something important and that you guys missed me. You think I didn’t miss you guys too? Sometimes, fuck Loire, sometimes things are just bigger than us.” He knew it was easier to let her be mad at him, to hate him. It didn’t keep the word vomit from coming out and trying to make her see that this wasn’t about not trusting her, it was about it being too big to trust anyone. It wasn’t Cyrus’ story to tell, knowing about the Order affected a lot more than just him and he wasn’t about to be the new member who took liberties with choices like that.

“I-“ Cyrus faltered as she dropped it suddenly, maybe the first smart choice his brain made here. He just needed to let her walk away, maybe they just needed to get through this year being acquaintances and not friends. They just needed to get through this. At least that’s what Cyrus told himself to keep from chasing her and stopping her again. “Right. That’s probably for the best.” He didn’t need to answer, she was already halfway across the bridge heading back to the courtyard. Cyrus took a moment to take and breath and gather his thoughts and then soon followed after her, just in time to hear Sapphira asking Larkyn about their early Hogwarts days.

“Sharing war stories are we?” Cyrus put on a fake smile, leaning against a stone pillar and crossing his arms over his chest. “Larkyn has loads, started off strong though with nearly being a hat stall.” Cyrus hadn’t known the kid back then but could remember being thoroughly annoyed with him, the back and forth of the sorting hat with that one was painfully annoying. “Or the time he proved the hat right when he argued with Flitwick over a test answer for half an hour. Real trouble maker that Larkyn.”

The whistle blew and Delaney made her announcement before heading inside. Cyrus glanced over at Loire, silently hoping he hadn’t ruined her mood before having to go present herself to all the students. Though he supposed he should be worrying more about his own first impressions

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn Gaunt

“It will all be fine, just let loose a little, not everything has to be so serious, if he says just have a good time and go with the flow he probably means it.” Larkyn had known Dru for a long time and knew that wasn’t really how she functioned but hey, they could try. Larkyn himself wasn’t super sure what his day to day was supposed to look like but he was just going to take each day as it came and do his best. As time went on they would figure it out and learn the best way to do things. Larkyn had spent the week exploring the castle and getting used to everything again, the layout, the entrances. He met with with Dumbledore about the tournament and plans for the year. Overall fairly productive.

The others shared stories and Sapphira questioned him. He had to think for a moment but before he knew it Cyrus was stepping in. “Almost, not actually. There’s only been 3 real hat stalls in the history of Hogwarts. And I wasn’t even that close! Only 3 minutes.” The hat had debated between Ravenclaw and Slytherin for 3 whole minutes. Honestly if it wasn’t for his heritage he doubted it would have been debated for so long, according to the hat he was clear cut as a Ravenclaw. However being a descendant of Salazar himself muddied the waters. “And he deserved it! He was wrong! I should have gotten a full hundred and he marked me down on one thing.”

Larkyn looked over to his sister, prepared to share another story only to see the look on her face and shut is mouth instantly. Something was wrong, he could tell. Based upon her and Cyrus joining the group together he could only assume they had fought. Larkyn was hurt when Cyrus disappeared but not as badly as she had been. Deep down Larkyn knew that whatever Cyrus had been up to must have been worth it, the kid wasn’t the type of guy to just bail for no reason. At least Larkyn was holding onto that belief otherwise it would be too hurtful.

“Right, let’s go meet everyone yeah! Come on folks. Smiles, don’t scare the first years.” Larkyn neatened up the buttons on his white shirt, tucking his hand into the pocket of his plaid charcoal trousers and making sure his auror badge was straight as it hung on his other pocket. He only hoped his presence wouldn’t scare the kids, hopefully it would make them feel safe

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Loire.

On some level Loire knew that she was overreacting. Just because his secret was justifiable didn't mean that Loire had to like it. Cyrus would never just up abandon them like that. That was the thing though, she felt abandoned. Despite her stoic personality she was still unfortunately human and had some feelings. Larkyn and Cyrus were her people, they were her soft spot. What made it all so much was that he was blatantly avoiding them. No I'm missed you, no I'm sorry, no how have you been? The least he could've done was tell them that it was some stupid top secret story, she would of let it go! No. Instead he thought she was stupid enough to believe some ridiculous lie. She hated to admit that she needed someone other than Larkyn to talk to. For crying out loud she was now engaged, and not by her own volition. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed her friend.

It was clear he had no interest in being her friend anymore and the feeling was mutual. Fuck him. "That was the highlight of the whole year in the house, Dru. The bloke deserved it." It was probably good that Loire usually always looked mad because right now she was sure that she wasn't coming off as the most welcoming of staff members. Hey, at least the kids were more afraid of Snape than they were her. She chalked that up to a win. "Yeah. I'm coming." After adjusting her favorite witch hat pulled over her long white curls Loire smoothed out her tailcoat jacket and black pinstriped pants, took a deep breath, and followed after Delaney. This had already been a long and exhausting day.

Once to the hall Loire took her place down at the corner with Snape. Other than being in charge of the library she was still obviously associated with Slytherin, hence her seating. The sorting hat and going down memory lane about Larkyn's argument with the hat was enough to brighten her mood, albeit just a little bit. She was damn proud of her brother that day, but the hat was right. He was a Ravenclaw through and through. Once the sorting was through they moved along to their introductions. Those went well enough until it started to storm and Alastor Moody barged in. He was their new Defense Against Dark Arts Professor but, something seemed off with him.

By the time that they escorted the students to their respective common rooms Loire was ready to tuck metaphoric (and literal) tail and run. When Snape made the triwizard tournament announcement, however, she found herself fumbling. The tournament slipped her mind completely when Cyrus joined their group. The Durmstrang Institute was participating this year. Fuck.

"If I turn in my registration now I could probably leave before the other schools show up." As Dru, Larkyn, and Loire made their way back into their floor Loire was already plotting on how to get out of this. She could call it quits as a human and go live with the Kneazles! Dru and Larkyn were the only ones that knew of her engagement because, well, they were the only ones around to know. Maybe they'd have a good idea on how to get out of this. With her millionth sigh of the night she collapsed on the couch.

 

[Pax Pardus Hale]

Sapphira

Oh, it was so nice to reminisce about the good old days. Being the only witch in a muggle family, at least in her experience, was completely draining. Her parents were very prestigious, strict, stuck in their ways and saw what she did as a stain on their family. It was a family secret no one spoke about. Most of her life was spent trying to make them happy just to apologize for having such an awesome gift! It was positively exhausting. Dru's story was a tad bit dark but it was still funny enough, and Sapphira would literally pay a years worth of her salary to see Larkyn argue with the hat. Now it was clear why he looked so out of place as a Slytherin.

As the rest of them headed to the great hall Sapph straightened her knee length, form fitting Hufflepuff yellow chiffon dress to make sure she looked appropriate. Black heels, her hair fell in perfect waves, she wanted to look perfect and professional. Once inside they were quick to find their table near the main staff, which was totally exciting. This was all so exciting, she wished that everyone else could be having a good time. It didn't take long before the sorting hat began for the first years and Sapph could only remember the butterflies in her stomach during the process. The hat picked fun at her for being far too nice for her own good and immediately placed her in Hufflepuff, there was no arguing required.

Introductions were fine! Up until Moody. Honestly their DADA teacher was weird back in school but, this guy? The thunder he was accompanied with nearly made her jump out of her chair. Something about him didn't entirely sit well with her and all she could do was glance over at Larkyn. If Dumbledore was fine with him then he wasn't a bad man. Right? She was just over thinking it. When it came to Sapphira's introduction as the new mentor to the Hufflepuff house she was quick to wave to everyone. She kept her hello quick and simple but it was clear the girl was radiating positive, excited energy.

This year they were bringing back the triwizard tournament and Sapph was a little worried. Those games were dangerous and got canceled for a reason. So long as Dumbledore was okay with it then it should be fine. Already she loved her house, there were so many friendly faces and smiles, she couldn't wait to see these kids excel. She just didn't want to see anyone get hurt. The kids seemed excited for it though, so she was going to do her best and seem excited for them.

"Are your Slytherin's so excited for the cup too? Already the kids are talking about Cedric putting in his name. How cool would it be for a Hufflepuff to take the trophy?" As Sapph entered their living room with Delaney she couldn't help but notice that Loire looked pissed off... well, more than usual. Hopefully the others were having a good time?

 

[Colt Voltage]

S. Longbottom

There were so many stories from school that Sebastian could reminisce over, but he was just having way too much fun listening to the other houses stories. Ravenclaw's were known not to be that much fun, and hearing the others he realized that his stories weren't exactly as interesting as the others. Larkyn's hat stall definitely had the Ravenclaw table and the Slytherin's in a bit of contention. His sister went right before him and the hat didn't miss a beat with her. It wasn't just because she was a Gaunt, the girl had the same expression and personality as Snape! Larkyn though? He seemed like he would have fit right in to their house! Seb would have welcomed a steal from Slytherin. If only they could have rehoused him after his whole Flitwick debate. "Good luck ladies." Seb couldn't help but send Delaney and Loire off with an encouraging smile. This would be a good year, he could just feel it.

After some time the mentors made their way to the great hall. Like Sapphira, Seb dressed in his house colors to embody the spirit of it. He wore a light blue button down that hugged his toned torso, dark blue slacks and a black button up jacket. Gran would kill him if he didn't put his best foot forward, he had to make sure to do a good by his name. The Longbottoms were a right, proper family. Like Neville's parents, Sebastian's dad was an auror. His mother died when he was young so he was often sent to his Gran's house, hence why he was so close to Delaney.

Speaking of Delaney, he couldn't help but feel so proud of her. She was a smart, bright, he was so glad she had found her place in the world. She just looked right up there at the professor's table. The sorting was fine, it was always his favorite part of the night. Introductions went off well enough after Moody made his grand entrance. The mentors and professors finally were able to leave the hall to escort the students to their respective common area, and that's when Flitwick nudged Sebastian to hand him a flask. The two often found themselves getting drinks together in Hogsmeade so it wasn't totally shocking, but on the first way? The rascal.

Of course he wasn't one to turn down a drink. During the tour the two discreetly passed the flask to one another as they went down memory lane, and just when the tour was about to end Flitwick made the announcement about the triwizard tournament. Sebastian was completely interested in it and excited until he heard that the Beauxbatons Academy would be there. Oh, no. This was only Delaney's second year, she did not near that drama again.

"I think Ravenclaw would take the cup before Hufflepuff." Seb simply gave a small smiel to the room, his eyes glancing at Delaney to see how she was taking the tournament news. "How'd everyone's common room tours go?"

 

[Sir Damien]

Weasley.

Back in the day Hunter had been so lost in his own life to even pay attention. More than often he found himself with his head in the clouds dreaming of exploring the lands. The rest of the time he busied himself with Quidditch and seeing what mischief things he could get into with his friends. From investigating secrets and rumors, to sabotaging potion ingredients and blowing said potion up, he was a busy guy. He wasn't too busy to remember Dru on the Slytherin team her first year. The kid never said much about it but Hunter always assumed she just beat him at practice or something. "Wicked. All with a book? Bloody brilliant Dru." He couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he hopped off the wall so they could take off for the great hall.

The sorting hat went as boring as ever. The only interesting time in his days was Larkyn's, that was three minutes of entertainment. Introductions rolled on through after the sorting was done, and save for Moody's they went over fairly painlessly. Now to rip off the band aid and try to smooth things over with his family. Ginny and Ron were easy enough to deal with, the twins? This would take some skill, but if he was able to smooth things over with them then maybe they'd keep his secret for a bit longer. He still had no clue what to tell his parents.

Hunter was his usual nonchalant self during the tour. McGonnagall was as professional and boring as always and, honestly, the lady put him to sleep back in the day and she did to this day. He found himself looking over and seeing Ron with Harry. Ron had mentioned Harry in a letter once but he supposed that he never connected two and two that it was Potter. Hey, he was just happy that Ron found friends, he was always a bit awkward.

The triwizard tournament was announced after the dreadfully dull tour and immediately the kids started chatting about it. Thankfully none of his siblings were old enough to participate in it, he knew of only one event and he didn't think it was incredibly safe. It was so strange to him why the schools would bring this tournament back but, hey, he just worked here.

"The Gryffindor kids are already all over it. And the last time I checked you can't just be nice and win the tournament, Sapphira. Hufflepuffs never win these sort of things. My money's on a Gryffindor. Or Durmstrang, those guys are animals." He ran his hand hand through his fiery red locks as he walked into their common room. So far it looked like everyone survived the day. "Larkyn, Dru, where are you placing your bets?"

 

[ZombieBaee]

Dru Malfoy

It had been a few weeks of school, the visitors from the other two competing schools had arrived and with it all the excitement of the tournament. The biggest buzz around the school was about who had been putting their name in the goblet. Hell it seemed most days a lot of students found themselves spending time just studying or hanging out in the room they had placed it in, all just to see who offered their name! There had also been non stop complaints about the age limit. Most of the Slytherin students found it stupid to even try and compete in this thing, though the few goons that kept her brother company seemed to have plenty to complain about it. “Did you idiots not see what happened to the Weasley boys when they tried to trick the age line? Just drop it. Go do homework or something and stop bothering me with this nonsense.” Dru groaned and shooed the two boys away from where she sat at the end of the Slytherin table, notebook in front of her as she filled out her to do list and planner for the next week. Tonight was when they would learn the representative from each school, then the first task would take place in three weeks time to allow the kids time to prepare. “I mean honestly what do they think I’m going to do about it? Call the bloody ministry and ask them to reconsider. Thank the lord above that they’re choosing champions this evening because I don’t think I could take another day of the whining.”

Dru closed her notebook and looked up across the table. “Are you two just ever so excited to deal with the other schools?” At this point she just wanted the year to get on with it. The past few weeks had been dragging a bit, a lot of playing getting to know you and ice breaker type conversations. She had learned that she had a bit in common with Sapphira, both girls had similar interests and hobbies and despite coming from vastly different families, they had similar experiences. Sebastian and Cyrus had been around back in school a bit more, she could remember more about Cyrus due to his attachment to the twins but Sebastian was a bit more of a stranger until now. Delaney was a lot to take in but it had gotten better. Then there was Weasley, who while still fairly unbearable, he was a fun unbearable. Dru rarely found people who actually quipped back at her and that was refreshing.

It was nearing time for the goblet to throw out the names of the champions. Very near considering how packed the room was getting. “Have you seen the others? I swear I saw Delaney chasing a group of students earlier but since then it’s like everyone disappeared.” Dru shrugged just as she felt a small nudge in the back of her leg, followed by the familiar sharp little claws making their way up her leg and onto her lap. “Jade!” The woman suddenly exclaimed, her usual cool facade cracking from the surprise. She pulled back a little from the table, looking down and making a disapproving face at the small creature curled in her lap. “I told you to keep low.”

Jade was a niffler. A pet of sorts although the little lady had a mind and life all of her own. Dru had Jade for about four years now, the niffler had found it’s way inside Malfoy Manor and was about to be killed by her father until Dru stepped in and stopped it. She lied and said she would take the creature to Hogsmeade but the two quickly bonded. So since then she kept Jade a secret. At least from her parents and brother. She also wasn’t sure how excited Dumbledore would be about a niffler roaming the castle so… she chose to keep quiet on that front as well.

 

[ZombieBaee]

Delaney Wilson


“At least they like you! They hate me!” Delaney sighed from where she stood at the head of the mentor table, talking to the others before taking her place with the rest of the staff for the ceremony. “I mean seriously, I think I have a total of five Slytherin students who actually like my class. The others all make a joke of it.” And her. Delaney was used to it though, being the wild child herbology professor came with its fair share of taunts and giggles from the students. “I mean honestly I think all the houses are happy with our new additions! I’ve heard nothing but good things about everyone.” That last part was a little bit of a lie but there was no point in making anyone sad! The other houses from Dru… intimidating. They found Saph to be a bit ditsy. Hunter was loud. And Seb, well every single female student thought he was the bees knees for less colorful terminology.

Delaney leaned against the edge of the table, turning slightly to look around the room as it filled more and more with students. Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. It was a wonderful and lively energy! “I’m happy they’re all so excited, they needed something good after everything last year. All the Sirius Black nonsense and whatnot.” That had been Delaneys first year as a full time professor… the night that Black had attacked the castle was her first real run in with trouble at Hogwarts. The year prior she had only been an assistant and had been placed on strict restrictions when the attacks from the basilisk happened in the castle. Hopefully this year they could avoid any further trouble and actually enjoy their whole year.

Behind her she heard Dru talking to something quietly but Delaney didn’t have the time to ask about it. Dumbledore was standing at the podium and calling attention to himself. The room darkened and Delaney swiftly shuffled to her seat and slipped into it before turning her attention to the speech at hand.

The entire ceremony was dark and moody. But in a fun way! The room was lit low with the candles in a way that allowed the glowing blue of the goblet to be the center of attention. Around the whole hall you could see that every single student was absolutely enthralled with what was happening, even the ones who pretended they were too cool to care. The Beauxbaton student was called first, Fleur, a lovely young woman who was clearly a champion amongst her classmates based upon their reaction to her name being announced. Then came Durmstrang, a name everyone in the room knew from a few weeks prior at the Quidditch World Cup, Viktor Krum. Lastly, Cedric Diggory. A student whos announcing made Delaney jump out of her seat and cheer, gaining a look from her fellow staff members but she didn’t care! Everyone kept saying this was a Gryffindors game for sure and they could shove it!

Well that is until the goblet lit up once more and spit out another name. One that caused the room to silence instantly; Harry Potter.

Things moved quickly after that, the TriWizard champions were all quickly ushered away with their headmasters leaving the rest of the staff to calm the confusion in the great hall. Thankfully Minerva stood and asked all students to kindly return to their rooms, being assisted by her fellow professors. However when Delaney stepped in to take her students back to their common room she was met with a raised brow from Minerva, “Miss Wilson, I do believe this is the exact type of situation your little crew has been made for is it not? I should think you may want to wait and assist Mister Diggory and Mister Potter after whatever in the blue blazes is going on down there.”

The woman had a point. Delaney nodded sheepishly before turning and returning to the table with the four house mentors along side the two new additions to the staff for the year. “Well, couldn’t be a year at Hogwarts without that Potter kid getting into some trouble I suppose. Poor thing.”

 

[EclipseRosee]

Larkyn Gaunt

Larkyn’s time was spent literally just walking around and waiting for something to happen. Which was both good and bad, there should never be a reason for an auror at a place of learning but it also meant he was bored out of his ever loving mind. He understood why Dumbledore wanted an auror present for the year, the TriWizard tournament was a big deal, that and then the issues last year with Sirius Black breaking into the castle? Having someone like Larkyn around full time was sure to help. However for now, and hopefully for the whole year, the most trouble Larkyn had to deal with was the Weasley twins.

“They never do stop do they?” Larkyn said with a grin, giving Dru a gentle nudge as she scolded her brothers two lemmings and shooed them away to their table. The two of them were sitting with the others, picking at the last bits of their dinner as they waited for the champions to be chosen. Delaney and Loire had joined them in the few minutes of spare time they had to kill before that happened. “I don’t know if like is the best term? I think they more know that she’s scary and mouthy.” He chuckled in response to Delaneys comment and turned to Dru expecting to get hit, only to find her staring at her lap with wide eyes for a moment before exclaiming a name that made his face turn sour.

Larkyn liked animals. He did. Most beasts were fine. Jade? Jade was an asshole. The niffler did everything in her power to frustrate and make Larkyn look stupid. Steal his watch, take his cufflinks as he’s getting dressed then put them somewhere else, one time she even stole his wand!!

“You brought her?” Larkyn sighed, leaning back to peer under the table and get a better look at the small beast just as the lighting changed. Conversation for later he supposed.

—

“How do you think he did it?” Instantly Larkyns logical thought kicked in and he needed to know how Potter got past the age line! Just simply from a point of knowledge. Nothing that Larkyn could think of would have made any sense. At this point he was now standing with the others at the top of the stairs that Dumbledore and the others had disappeared down, the hall was finally mostly empty and you could almost hear the conversation occurring between the headmasters in the other room. “I mean it’s just bloody impressive, he’s so young.”

Larkyn looked over at Hunter and Cyrus, “Did you two know he put his name in?”

 

[KAYDEN]

Cyrus

Ever since he woke up that morning Cyrus could feel something in the air, something bad. He had attempted to contact Remus but never got anything in return, at least not by the time dinner had come around. The day had gone off without issue, actually it was even kind of a good day. Maybe that feeling was just that, a feeling. At least that’s what he had thought up until he heard Dumbledore read off Harry’s name after the goblet spit out a fourth blue flame. The hall had erupted into gossip and whispers, some students began yelling that he was a cheat and a liar. Cyrus knew this wasn’t Harry, that kid wanted none of the trouble that came to him and this was exactly that, trouble. The boy wasn’t old enough for this! That was the law right, surely they wouldn’t let this stand.

As students were ushered to their common rooms, their small group was moved to wait near the stairwell that led to where the headmasters were meeting along with the chosen students. Cyrus leaned hard against the wall, straining to try and make out the conversation happening below. That is until Larkyn opened his mouth.

“He didn’t. He wouldn’t.” Cyrus said plainly and possibly a bit too quickly. No one else knew the real reason he was chosen, no one else knew that Sirius wasn’t a bad guy, that he wasn’t the one that got James and Lily Potter killed. They didn’t know that Dumbledore knew and that the Order existed. They couldn’t, it was too much danger for everyone involved. “All the weird shit that’s happened to that kid ever since he got to Hogwarts? Delaney is right. Poor sod.”

Cyrus glanced over at Loire for a moment before looking back at the ground and crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s not like this will happen, the ministry put rules in place and he’s too young. It’s just a fluke or something right? I’m sure shit like this has happened before.” Actually Cyrus was positive it hadn’t, but saying it out loud made him feel a little better.