Locking The Doors Main Story Closed

Opeila leaves the thread.

'Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
’Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door—
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.'

Mentions: @Jack Burnett

Stats & Abilities:

Reducio

____ ____ ____

/40

Stamina: 5
Evasion: 10
Strength: 5
Wisdom: 7
ArcPower: 3
Accuracy: 10

____ ____ ____

Interacting with @Amadea Campbell @Serena Towers

Willow's head perked up when another Hufflepuff seemed to speak up at the current situation at school in a response to her question. It was the seeker for her Quidditch team, Serena. She wasn't exactly close to her, but knew her a decent amount to feel comfortable talking to her. Her concern turned back to Amadea when she said the rules worry her. If an older year was worried shouldn't Willow be worried more than she was? A creeping bubble of anxiety started to grow within the pit of her belly.

The girl tried to stay optimistic but Willow wasn't really buying it. Just then Ami ended up standing up and having an emotional outburst and walking out of the Great Hall. Her eyes scanned the Great Hall as various other people started to have worry grow on their faces. If the professors were trying to calm them down, make them feel safer, it seemed to do the opposite. Although, she knew they were trying to do the best they could with the situation given.

Her appetite was suddenly gone as she gently pushed her plate away from her. "I'm suddenly starting to miss muggle school." She was trying to find her Hufflepuff best friend, Mildred and she seemed to not be anywhere near. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go find someone. Um, thank you I think?" What was there to thank? Telling her exactly what she didn't want to hear? She didn't stick around to hear a response and confusedly walked out of the Great Hall.

Willow has left the thread.
Closed to further interactions.

Ileen thoughtfully glanced at Percival. Yeah. True he had jumped in. The motivation was probably the right one, but the outcome… hm. Maybe it wasn’t his fault but the bunch of other idiots who had been involved in all their encounters. “Well, I guess you are right. I’d rather stay out of it, though. Didn’t turn out so well the last time.” A dry smile curled her lips and with a slight shake of her head she returned to eat her potatoes.

When he agreed with her, she looked back up, taken by surprise. That was the first time a Slytherin had ever agreed with her. Even if it was just a trivial topic like school rules, somebody's scoring big here. Ileen gifted him with a rare smile and shrugged. But the happy expression vanished soon, and she joined the dark silence again.

When he stood up and left the table, Ileen gave him a nod and a short smile. Since her mouth was stuffed with potatoes she couldn’t speak, but she was confident that he could take this as a polite goodbye. She chewed slowly and thoughtfully while her eyes remained fixed on him. Interesting. Maybe she should keep an eye on this one. He could turn out as one of the more decent people in her House. Maybe. At least, he had said something nice.

After finishing her own meal, Ileen would stand up and also leave the Great Hall. She probably would search for Dee to talk about the new rules, but right now, he thoughts were fixed on the canceled summer boarding. What should she do? Well – she would figure something out.

Interacting with | @Percival Rainwood

Ileen leaves the thread

── ❋ ──

Interacting: @Serena Towers | @Reid Kovacs | @Willow Anderson
Mentioning: @Ami Procoppio

𝓐madea quickly shoveled the last of her dinner into her mouth; even though she wasn't feeling very hungry after the news that had just been delivered to the students, she knew that she would regret not eating later that night if she didn't. Lying in bed on an empty stomach and a full mind was not enjoyable, Amadea had learned. So, she forced herself to eat as she listened to the people around her talk.

At this point, another fellow fourth year, Reid Kovacs had joined the girls at the table. Amadea silently nodded along as her peers answered Willow's question. As she listened, Amadea noticed her best friend sitting not too far away from them. Amadea was about to motion Ami to come join the four of them, but before Amadea could open her mouth to say anything, Ami had let out a scream and raced out of the Great Hall. As she brushed by Amadea, she noticed the tears in her friend's eyes. Amadea wanted to get up and go after her, but she knew that Ami probably wanted to be alone right now and it would be rude of her to just leave the conversation she was in the middle of.

Instead, Amadea shifted awkwardly in her seat, the sense of dread growing inside of her. She regretted forcing herself to eat; now she felt as though she could vomit up the entirety of her meal. It seemed like Amadea wasn't the only one who was feeling off tonight though. The first year had now pushed back from the table and was leaving. Amadea felt for the poor Hufflepuff; even though her own first year had been quite eventful, Amadea couldn't imagine having all of these new rules shoved on her as a first year with hardly any explanations. As much as she had her own share of crazy experiences since attending Hogwarts, Reid had made a good point that it hadn't been addressed in this way by the professors before. There must be something really wrong.

"I hate to be rude," Amadea said to the two fourth years left with her, "But I should probably head out too..." she stood, awkwardly smoothing down her robes. "Uh, I've got a lot of schoolwork..." While it was true, Amadea was feeling quite overwhelmed at the moment and really needed a space for herself. Hopefully a quick walk around before the new curfew arrived would help to clear her mind. Then maybe she could go find Ami and figure out what was wrong.

Exeunt Amadea.

── ❋ ──

Interacting with: @Willow Anderson, @Reid Kovacs and @Amadea Campbell

The badger had taken a small amount of food as she listened to the people around her, slowly the worries sinking in. Amadea made a positive statement about how the new rules might help and the professors were smart. Serena nodded, it was the first time that there were changes to the system. This was likely better, it would keep people safer, surely. Reid pretty much the said the same thing, pointing out that that because this was the first time it was addressed, it might be odd.

She poked her food a bit more, slowly consuming some as the thoughts wondered over her mind. She had no idea what to think anymore. Hags. That was... far worse than a fire right? A fire started by accident, it was unintentional. Hags were... dangerous. Admittedly, Serena knew very little about hags but based on the speech that the Heads of Houses had given, it was likely far worse than that creepy shadow monster thing she kept seeing around the school. Well, that she had seen in the camp out. She had seen something similar in the dungeons after the common room fire but it was a lot of smaller shadows, rather than one giant one. In the end, it was less harmful.

Or at least... she had beaten it for once. Serena was unsure if the shadows had grown weaker or if she had grown stronger. Either way, the outcome was far better - for her, at the very least. The same could not be said for everyone, sadly. But no one had nearly died this time. That was better.

The soon to be fourth years seemed to be handling the news better. Perhaps it was their age, perhaps it was their experience, who knew. At least... most of them did. Her eyes moved to the door. Howard White had already left but the way that he left made her heart hurt a little. She felt bad for him. "Willow -" She started to try and stop her but the first year had already left. Serena wanted to tell her that she was sorry but... in reality, it would not have helped.

Silently, the former Head Girl ate her food. It was in this moment that she was very glad that she had stepped down from that role. She honestly could not imagine it being something she wanted to do in such trying times. What a terrifying responsibility to have. She was silently grateful she had none of that anymore. Serena nodded as Amadea made her exit too. Silently, she finished up eating before looking over at Reid, "I'm suddenly very grateful for camp being so close..." She acknowledged. They had less than 2 weeks before they could leave the grounds and head back to camp. The vacations, as he said, were the safest bets.

"At least, the tournament hasn't been cancelled?" She offered as a sign of hope. It was pretty much the only silver lining to hold onto at this moment. But at the very least, the professors knew of the dangers this time and could protect them. Right? Maybe. Only time would tell. Was it too late to transfer to Durmstrang? Her brother got to go there... maybe she could too?

Finishing her dinner - which admittedly was not a lot of food - she grabbed a few things for later and then stood up, "I'm going to head back to the common room. It's probably the safest place, ironically. I'll see you soon," She announced to Reid, who was the only one left in the group. Despite the fire and attack in the common room, it still felt a lot safer there than anywhere else with this news. At the very least, it was full of light. With that, she turned and headed down the room towards the exit - a neutral expression on her usual happy face, which was evidence of the grimness and worry that she felt for anyone who actually knew her.

[THREAD LEFT]