Locking The Doors Main Story Closed

[font=times new roman]

The days seemed to be getting longer and longer now that it was coming into the last few weeks of the school year at Hogwarts. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with himself over the summer. The thought of somehow staying with the magical world seemed to lift his spirits just a little bit when it tugged upon the future strings, but, it would be a good social respite to be able to go hang with his old mates back on the block for a few months to reset his social life once more. It was what he thought of at the time, despite his face being shoved within a book on wand lore that he had borrowed from the library.

Now it seemed that all of the students were mandated to attend dinner in the Great Hall this evening, Zyk really didn't understand why, but to say that he cared to think about such things would be an easy overstatement. There was much on the 11-year old boys' mind to worry about the situations and going-on in the castle as of recently, there were whispers that lingered within his ear from time to time of the odd nature of events that the castle produced, but, alas, he cared not too much to let the thoughts resonate within that mind of his.

Slowly he walked through the entrance of the great hall, trying to keep a casual flicking of the eyes up and back down to his book so that he could at least try not and run into a wall as he walked along with his peers. Automatic corrections were made to his steps as he adjusted his path to head towards the Gryffindors table. It seemed quite packed at the moment, but, he paid no attention to those sitting at the table and just walked along the long stretch before finding himself needing to take a seat. It seemed that all the heads of houses were present at the dinner that evening, which was rare, and the number of adults at the professors' table seemed to draw his eyes for a moment.

Turning himself, he settled himself down next to a few students upon the benches that aligned to the table where the food would soon be magically settled there. Still, he let his eyes linger upon the words of the book that his attention cast towards. A soft sigh escaped from him when he realized that he would need to put the book away before the food was served, unfortunately, his housemates were quite messy when they ate and he didn't really wish to have to explain to the house-elves that ran the library why there was food upon the book he was loaned. Stowing it carefully within his bag that he had with him that evening, he'd settle things carefully at his feet beneath the table and look back up just as the heads of houses started to talk.

Sitting there now, he noticed that he sat next to a girl that was looking towards the heads of houses and listening to them intently, they hadn't noticed who each other and it took a moment for Zykeal to realize why there was slight anxiety building up within him as he looked over the girl's shoulder towards the professors as they talked. At first, he was paying attention to the professors, but the details of the girl he once adored kept standing out in her profile. There was the thought of trying to get up and move down the table, but, with a quick glance and realization that the professors would not tolerate his moving during such an announcement, he'd resign himself to just trying to focus on the announcements at hand.

When the talking was over, he turned himself before the girl next to him could notice him at first and let himself look to his opposite side. As they all turned together though, he did note that the girl on the opposite side of Ivy was her doppelganger and a slight annoyance played through his thoughts at the site of that one. Although they seemed to look very similar, he thought Ivy to be completely different and extremely more beautiful. Regardless, he knew that one of them would notice him soon, so he just adjusted himself to look straight for the moment until he heard the voice of Ivy, one he hadn't heard since their time at the lakeside.

Habitually, Zyk would fetch the ivory-colored aspen wood wand from his waist side to set between his fingertips, slowly spinning it throughout his fingers as he nervously waited to be spotted by one of the two that were on his side. It was a little distressing towards him and he called for a cup of iced water as he waited for the situation that he had randomly happened upon to become more uncomfortable than it was already. It took a moment of his twirl of the wand like a drumstick for him to finally justify at least making his presence known to his tablemates at the time. Letting the wand settle within his palm, he'd rest it within his lap and look over to his side and at Ivy as she sat there, "Um, hey.."

@Ivy Bellamy

Open to Slytherin Interaction

Santario would shuffle into the great hall for supper like everyone else and take her seat closest to the door. She was no longer one to dwell in the dining hall anymore, merely eating and leaving. Chit chat had been kept to a minimum unless others approached her though she would always note the people she knew, where they sat, and whom they sat with, giving them a nod if there was an acknowledgment. Today, however, there was no food on the tables, and the Heads of Houses were standing up in front of the professors' table. “What a time not to have my camera. This would be perfect.” San lamented to herself as she waited for the rest of the students to sit down.

Most of them continued to chit chat until the Gryffindor Head of House spoke up, asking for quiet. Professor Pendrast was a woman she had not seen often, and she always seemed to be shrouded in mystery and darkness. She was intriguing and intimidating all at the same time, and Santario admired that. Professor Equinox presented an answer for the dhampirs. “About time…” She muttered to herself as she continued to listen to what they had to say. Professor Browne was a man who seemed like he certainly had, had enough. Enough, to have an interesting choice of words. Not that Damn was particularly a swear word, but it certainly felt that way in this context.

Her own Head of House Professor Jensen brought up the blossom ball something Santario would not forget anytime soon. Though knowing that she would still have one month before she had to return to the clutches of her Grandmother de Clairmont in France was a relief. Certainly, she could easily sway them into understanding that taking this opportunity with the school to continue to grow her network of contacts would be far more useful than attending whatever parties they had planned for the month.

Don’t break the rules, blah blah blah. New curfews blah blah blah. Report the big bads. San understood why they were doing this, it was logical to control what you could when the other things around you were out of control. It was often why girls changed their hairstyles when they were broken up with. Food appeared and thank whatever gods were there for that. Her stomach was rumbling with the need for food. She glanced around at her peers at the Slytherin table, some seemed to downtrodden to eat. Not San. She selected the food items that she felt like having that evening and started to eat. If there is no farther interaction she will eat her meal in peace and leave.

| Open to Gryffindors Table and close-by Students |

~Calming Presence

The third year had sighted his friend @Scott Alexander quite close at their table so he made a beeline towards him and sat down across from where his dorm mate would have sat down. He intended to catch up with him since they usually only saw each other in passing or chatted in the evening while they were in their dorm, but aside from that both of them were too busy to actually spend time with something fun. He would have greeted him instantly if it was not for the head of houses asking for their attention, all of them, which if he remembered had not happened before so it must be a important matter of concern.

First of all, of course he had noticed Lear missing and had even heard some few rumors and details here and there but he was at this point not all too sure in what to believe anymore. At first when he had not seen the old man around anymore he had assumed him to have taken a vacation since none of the professors seemed it worthy to address the matter. Later on he would hear from others that the headmaster might not have disappeared willingly but Alan had never expected such a thing to happen without drama breaking loose. But for it to be addressed openly, after such a long time made it seem all the more apparent even though perhaps it was a little late now as it should have happened earlier.

The next message would not address him directly and would rather be directed towards the dhampirs of the school, like his friend Neculai and funny enough the head of house himself as he had recently discovered by a curious question. It had been obvious but Alan was not one to pay much attention to the previous Astronomy teacher's class. They went on with a message that would make him pale slightly as his hands clenched into fists within the safety of his uniforms long sleeves that hid the uncontrolled emotion well. Hags? He had never seen one and he was quite happy about that as well as he would rather never in his life encounter one if he could avoid it. However to hear that they were here, at the school, meant danger as he knew that they had no ounce of propriety and were evil in a way. Even he would be a fool to trust them like he had been a fool to think he could talk an angered mosp out of attacking anyone. A student had gotten hurt because he had failed to take the right actions when actions had to be made and Alan still failed to get a clear conscience about the matter.

The next topic made him flinch as slight guilt shone in his eyes. He had been one of the students to attend the secret disaster ball and had wished to rather not be there because it ended in, well, a disaster. He had pictured it to be a nice evening but of course it would not have happened. He realized that this, especially with the knowledge of hags being around, was too risky for now and he would have to be more careful from now one if he could help it. He would make a face at the new rules and limitations since even though they made sense they sounded awful and lame. They were no kids so to make the bedtime so early was going to be stressful. He also loved to spend the late evening and early night in the common room which would be impossible from now on. Not to talk about his runs in the morning which usually took place shortly after six am which was now included in the curfew time. Alan did not like these new adjustments and would furrow his brows in distaste.

The rest was not all too important anymore but with this damper on his mood, he would huff out a breath of air and shake his head in frustration. 'What a pleasent morning this is...', he would think with sarcasm clear before he would face Scott "Well th-that were some news, no?" he would ask with a sigh, not even expecting a real answer for the question but wanting to start a conversation with his friend anyway since that had been why he had come here in the first place.

[font=book antiqua]

Interacting with @Phaedra Stavrou

The Headmaster's disappearance was startling upon returning to Hogwarts. Dymphna had gotten used to seeing him around the castle in his infamous armor, always ready for a battle that seemed to crop up every now and again. She still wasn’t sure if they could trust Headmaster Lear, and his absence was suspicious. If he turned up injured or worse then she would feel awful for thinking so. He wasn’t the only Headmaster to be wary of however. Her eyes kept shifting to the unwelcome Headmaster Plott, here to stay for eternity it seemed. Didn’t he have his own school to run? Why was he hanging about?

At her cousin's voice, the blonde focused her attention on the Hogwarts staff. They seemed quite serious and the words that followed revealed why. It was simple enough - those that needed something were going to get it before they caused potential harm to others. Don’t go where you aren’t supposed to go. Of course, Dymphna has no plans to throw herself into danger. She wasn’t one for causing trouble in the first place, but had snuck out to stargaze when she was a foolish first year. It was a simpler time then, not knowing what dangers lurked at Hogwarts.

A stricter curfew was to be expected as well. As far as she was concerned, they made the best decisions under the circumstances. She didn’t want to be put in another situation like at the Masquerade Ball. The new rules didn’t feel that restrictive in her opinion, not that they didn’t apply to her but rather they didn’t make a mess of her usual routine these days. She tended to sleep early (when not staying up late to study) so the curfew itself wasn’t that big a deal. The areas that were off limits were usually off limits, but of course, someone had wandered into the Forbidden Forest so they had to reiterate. If anything had happened there, she was blissfully unaware.

Towards the end of the speech, Dymphna turned to Phaedra sitting beside her. “Well, doesn’t sound too bad, does it?” If anything, she welcomed the routine and structure. Something that Hogwarts sorely lacked. Trying to stay optimistic about it all, she piled her plate with a few of her favorite foods, and tried not to listen to the doubts creeping around in her mind.

Howard filed into the Great Hall with the throng of other students. As they did every evening, most would make their way to their House’s designated section. Some would perhaps go to visit with friends, but he would find an empty space near the end of the Hufflepuff table. As was his routine, Howard would keep the hood of his cloak pulled over his head, quietly staring at his plate while he waited for it to fill with food. He was only here to fill his belly and get back to his work.

Tink, tink, tink. The long, discolored nail of his left index finger would rhythmically tap the base of his goblet. What the hell was taking so long? His deep red irises would scan the room from the shadows of his hood. It would be then that he would come to notice that several of the adults were standing up at the staff tables. Oh great! It had all the markings of some long drawn out speech. The ones that usually come around this time of year. Good job you little shits! You went to school! We’re so freakin proud of you!

However, as Professor Pendrast began to talk, her tone suggested that none of the usual fluff was about to come. Howard turned in his seat to listen more carefully. The announcement of Lear’s prolonged absence didn’t mean much to Howard. Hogwarts was dangerous when he was here and had continued to be so without him, but her warning of changes to come would cause the teenage boy to shift uncomfortably. There were things to be done and not much time left in which to complete them.

As Professor Equinox started in, Howard would avert his eyes. He had done everything in his power to avoid contact with this particular educator. Even though they were of the same nature, there was this prickling of fear that crept its way up the boy’s spine when he was near. As if because they were of the same, Equinox might be able to sniff him out. It was an ignorant fear of Howard’s but he was still a bit new to this whole Dhampir thing.

What!! Howard’s eyes grew wide with shock. A mandatory feeding! Twice a day! His fingers scratched into the wood of the table as he looked from side to side. As if somehow he could just bolt from the room he would be excused from them. If he just didn’t hear it, it never happened! Shit! This was quickly turning into a disaster. Not only was he having feedings forced upon him, it would come from the one Professor he never wanted to interact with. It made Howard feel like some feral beast that needed to be chained. Not far from the truth, but he saw quickly through the bullshit. This wasn’t to protect them. It was to control them. So what if the others wanted to bate him. They get what they bleeping deserve!

The young Dhampir gritted his teeth together. His heart rate was quickening as his anger started to get the best of him. The small amount of control over his life since coming to Hogwarts was everything to him and here they were! Systematically stripping it all away from him. However, Professor Browne’s words would cut through the air like a hot knife through room temperature butter. Hags! Howard had heard the whispers among the student body, but the Professors officially addressing them was bad news. Howard needed more time! Another chance to find out the path forward held for him. He had to speak with them again! Then his eyes would scrunch in confusion as the forest was mentioned. The forest? No...they aren’t there.

If Howard was worried about what the Professors were saying before, it was nothing compared to what Miss Jensen had to say next. Her words hit him like a dagger to the heart. Summer boarding was cancelled! “No!” The word left his mouth before he could stop it. Howard hadn’t been home since he left three years ago. Going back wasn’t a possibility! His chest began to rise and fall with a quickness. Everything was crashing down around him. Their words slipped away into a hum as the panic set in. Something about more rules and regulations before Professor Browne ended the announcements.

Enjoy your meals. Howard’s head would snap back to the staff table. His eyes burned with rage as he stood swiftly from his seat, the hood of his cloak falling back from the momentum. “Enjoy my bleeping meal!” He spat the words out with venom. “THIS IS bleeping BULLSHIT!” He screamed as he picked up the goblet before him and smashed it on to the table. His plate would shatter as the cup clanked away to the floor. “YOU CAN’T DO THIS! I WON’T GO BACK!” A single, bloody tear would drop down his cheek from the corner of his eye.

With that, Howard would storm away from the table towards the exit. He withdrew a small gray stone that he wore as a necklace from beneath his shirt. “I need you! Now!” He spoke into the stone with a harsh whisper. It was now or never! Back to the dungeons he would go!

Thread left unless someone tries to stop him.

Adonis was expecting the usual to happen for dinner. That being just simple eating, talking to others, maybe eavesdropping on a few conversations. Just overall socialization. The normal. But nope! The four Heads of House had something else in mind as they authoritatively stood there behind the table, watching all the students as they filed into the Great Hall and eventually took their seats at their respective tables. This was different compared to other times. Usually they would just get straight to eating unless it was the start-of-term feast or the end-of-term feast, which in this case it was neither. So, it must've been something important or some sort of announcement, right? Their food wasn't on the table yet either. Weird.

As they began to finally speak, Adonis gave them his full attention and focused on what Professor Pendrast had to say first. Her firm and serious tone as she spoke and Adonis could tell as they informed them. It was obvious Headmaster Lear had not been around, of course. The most he knew about Lear were the letters left in his office that Rafael had mentioned to him, the 'love letters' more specifically from him to Umbridge. Gone due to personal matters though? He didn't know how much he believed that after everything was seemingly going to shambles now ever since his disappearance with the constant attacks. But he just went with it and accepted the fact that he was gone due to personal reasons and would be back next year for now.

Hags? Like literal hags, a coven of them to be exact. Are currently somewhere around their school? That was frightening to think of and sort of made Adonis begin to question things. Had the professors known this whole time? Why were't they on lock-down or evacuating? Adonis caught Opeila's look towards him and took it, "Yeah, they do. Specifically children like a little younger than us, so like my brother for example which I wouldn't mind." He was kidding, of course. "I heard Muggles stereotype you witches to look like Hags in their stories and whatnot." The boy said with a chuckle, pointing a finger at her accusingly before setting his hand back down to rest on his lap. They warned them to stay away forbidden forest as if people were dumb enough to even go in there. Adonis for sure wasn't or at least with no reason to he wasn't dumb enough to go into there. Either way going into the forbidden forest is just a whole other type of thing and big risk to take. Adonis wouldn't do that, not without one hell of a good reason to.

Dang so no going back to Hogwarts after the International Quidditch Tournament between Wizarding Schools? That was a shame. Nonetheless, Adonis was still excited for everything to come with that and all the activities they had planned for them after seeing the schedule a few days ago. They were having a new curfew too? They had to now be in their common rooms by eight o'clock and be in their dorms by ten pm without being able to make much noise either, meaning no being able to make fun of each other or screw around. Lame. Sheesh expulsion? They really were at it to make sure everyone would explicitly follow the rules from now on. Hopefully it would put fear into some kids and help stop their impulse. As for Adonis? Probably not.

At the mention of their late night shenanigans in their dorms, Adonis suddenly sucked in his teeth as their Head of House gave an example which was the celebration party they had. Yikes. Adonis gave their Head of Slytherin a small wave with an embarrassed smile from his seat whether she saw it or not. "Yup. We all did. Not surprised we were all called out like that anyways if I'm being honest." He said in response to her and began digging into his food once Professor Browne made everything appear on their plates in front of them.

Interacting with @Opeila Seilun
Mentioning: Rafael D'Spacito and Heads of House

── ❋ ──

Interactions: n/a (open to Hufflepuff interactions)
Mentions: Howard White

❋

𝓘f Amadea was being completely honest, she wasn't exactly sure what was going on. When she had stepped into the Great Hall for dinner, she had expected to have a normal meal with some of her friends. She had not been expecting this giant meeting while the professors instituted new rules and talked about the general safety of the school. She had been gone for most of the third year and missed out on whatever was happening. She heard of the infamous BlossomBall of course, full of mosps and other adventures. She had noticed that the Headmaster and former Head of House of Hufflepuff was absent, but she hadn't thought much of it. Clearly something was going on but Amadea had no idea what that was. All she knew was that she was hoping that they wouldn't take too long...she was hungry.

She had never been the one who was right in the middle of all of the drama going on at school; during her first year and the drama with the Masked Figure, Amadea had somehow been roped into some sort of group meeting in which they had tried to figure out who exactly the Masked Figure was, but other than that, she had just watched from the sidelines as the drama unfolded. It seemed like this was what was happening with whatever was going on at Hogwarts now. Amadea was completely fine with this, of course. She figured being on the sidelines was much safer than being involved in whatever was happening. Her heart hurt for everyone who had been involved in the attacks and hoped that all of these safety precautions that were being installed would help to protect all the students.

As she looked around, most of the students around her looked as confused as she was. She tried to focus on what the professors were saying, instituting new rules for many of the different races and a new curfew time. This wasn't a problem for Amadea; she was a full human and she never broke curfew...well, almost never broke curfew. Following the rules was something that was common sense to Amadea; after all, they were there for a reason. Unfortunately, not everyone was satisfied with these new rules. A Hufflepuff student Amadea didn't recognize stood up from his seat, swearing and screaming about the new rules before storming out of the Great Hall. Amadea looked back at the table, unsure of what to say or do. She wondered why the new rules angered him so much; they seemed fairly reasonable to her. it seemed like the Heads of Houses were just doing their best to keep everyone safe.

Amadea focused on her food that had finally appeared in front of her, taking a bite to quench the rumbling in her stomach. Even though students were now talking and conversing in a normal fashion that accompanied dinnertime, Amadea still had a weird feeling. She was perfectly safe within the walls of Hogwarts...right?

── ❋ ──

Interacting with: @Callie Jensen
Open to further interactions

If Thomas had received such news at the start of the year, he may have accepted it meekly. Potentially receiving detentions was a nightmare scenario for the boy, and he wasn't eager to create a reputation of being a troublemaker. Up until fairly recently, Tommy was the calm, overly cautious one of the friend group. It was remarkable how much the boy had changed throughout his time at Hogwarts, not that he particularly noticed the difference.

Hearing the Head of Houses talk about safety, despite the fact that Thomas was very clearly only twelve years of age, he couldn't help but instinctively start to rebel against the assertions that hadn't even been explicitly stated yet. Was this about the Ravenclaws' adventure in the Forbidden Forest? He hoped not; Thomas didn't want to be responsible for whatever new rules would be put into place. At the mention of Solomon Lear, vague recollections of the headmaster at the sorting ceremony filled his head, but he pushed them aside. He'd been far too anxious at the time to take much notice of anyone in the room, so any worries he might have harbored considering Lear's wellbeing weren't coming to fruition.

As his own Head of House spoke he listened with thinly veiled apathy. It wasn't that Thomas was disrespectful, he just didn't care much for the actions of his Dhampir peers. He'd not attended the Masquerade Ball and didn't even really know what race baiting entailed. As Equinox finished his announcement for Dhampir students, he slumped a bit further in his chair. The boy was hungry, and just wanted these announcements to be done so he could start his supper uninterrupted. He cast a glance around the table, looking to meet any sympathetic eyes. Most notably he noticed a certain Ms. Callie Jensen, and made a mental note to talk to her once these announcements reached their conclusion.

As the Hufflepuff Head of House started talking, Thomas' initial reaction was to sink further into his chair to avoid being seen by Caradoc's impressive glare. So this was about the hags that had been encountered in the Forbidden Forest, at least in part. His gaze flitted around the table, looking to see how the other Ravenclaws were reacting, but at the mention of stupidity Thomas abruptly sat back up. He was many things, that young boy, but he didn't accept assertions that claimed his lack of intelligence. Mind recollecting the prefect in the halls when he and Breana had had their spat, Thomas remembered that that boy too was a Hufflepuff. Perhaps that's where the young prefect had gotten his nerve from. Fitting. The Ravenclaw's gaze sharpened as his posture straightened, as if the perceived insult had ignited such a reaction. Protection? Protection?! That was a ridiculous idea! How could the young witches and wizards better fight the danger if they were never allowed to look it in the face?! Thomas had learned a lot during his traipse in the Forbidden Forest; it was knowledge that would not have been privy to the young Ravenclaw otherwise.

Thomas didn't mind the announcements on the Quidditch game over the summer. Thankfully, the boy did have somewhere safe to return, and he hadn't actually been planning to attend the game anyhow. He had no interest in the sport, and since there wouldn't be boarding at Hogwarts specifically, he had no real reason to stay for the time being. His love for the wizarding world wouldn't be sated by living in London, off of campus grounds where he likely couldn't even practice his magic.

However, as his own Head of House resumed speaking again, Thomas' neutral expression once again became a scowl. No, it was a foolish thing, to simply lock kids up at night in an attempt to keep the population secure. That's not what they needed. They needed knowledge. And goodness knew that the Head of Houses were keeping it to themselves. He was convinced by now that there was some sort of conspiracy to keep students in the dark; that's why they wanted students to remain out of the attacks and other occurrences of madness on campus grounds. It couldn't be just about safety, at least not to the young Ravenclaw. If that were the case, then surely there could be more rigorous Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to be taken. Perhaps more defensive spells could be learned in all of their classes. The efforts currently being taken made the boy feel rather stifled, rather than protected. Thomas' expression grew more embittered as time went on, as the new curfew was explained, but the icing on the cake was the threat of expulsion. Over a simple curfew violation?! That was quite frankly absurd, and though he wasn't normally the type to defy such a rule (as his nightly routine followed it with ease anyways), he was half tempted to just to test the waters.

Too busy seeing red to pay too much heed to Jensen's words, Thomas did note the new staff positions with vague annoyance. It didn't concern him much at face value, but with his ever-increasing paranoia of conspiracy, he steeled his resolve to remember those people's names and to avoid them at all costs. He couldn't avoid his professors, of course, but certainly, he could remain away from the scrutiny of the two new members of the staff.

As the announcements concluded, and Thomas now had food before him, he took a few bites as all of the news just sunk in. There was a stricter curfew, summer plans were altered, Dhampir students were instructed to... feed at a certain time, whatever that entailed... and two new members of the staff team were brought on to keep watch. It all smelled fishy to Thomas, and he wasn't pleased with any of the current events thus far. In fact, though his better judgment and rule-following nature kept him away from such behavior, he felt the urge to defy the new rules just out of spite. He looked over to Callie again, noting her seeming lack of appetite. There was even a twinge of concern in his tone as he asked, "Feeling alright?"

Interaction: @Dymphna Teague
Mention: @Phaedra Stavrou

WHAT?

As if things could get worse. She knew that there was a lot happening in Hogwarts throughout the year, but were there really other students breaking rules just to test the limits? Even more, their curfew was already very early and just to make it earlier... She felt as though she was in a prison, not a school. Was it even safe to be at school knowing that there are Hags nearby waiting for anyone to be off their guard?

I guess anything is better than home..., Bloom thought to herself while looking at the other Ravenclaws that were sitting by her. Everyone had some sort of reaction on their face whether it was shock, disappointment or just pure excitement of what is happening. It was a rainbow of emotions filling the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was jam-packed full of every student in Hogwarts packing up their plate with the food in front of them. The food that abruptly appeared with snap of Professor Browne's fingers.

Bloom looked around to see some faces she knew. Most of the faces were in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. She did not spend as much time with her own house as she would have liked. However, there was a friendly face she spent some time with during her first year: Dymphna Teague. Sitting nearby as a third year, Bloom tried to catch her attention. She seemed to be talking to Phaedra Stavrou. Bloom knew who Phaedra was, but never really interacted with her. Maybe today, the end of the school year, would be a good time.

"Hey Dymph! Can you believe it?" she asked, starting up conversation with her fellow third year Ravenclaw. "Just when the rules were already strict," she added offhand.

"Well th- that were some news, no?"

Scott snapped his tired head up from the way it'd been impolitely facing his shiny plate (as he'd been busy heaving food into his mouth with some determination), and finally smiled in agreement at his friend, taking a napkin to his lips. It didn't really matter how strange things got, did it? There was always someone nice to talk to.

Alan had taken to sit across from him earlier, when they'd both entered the Great Hall, but was now hosting quite the dismayed expression instead of his usual carefree one... The boy, Scott figured, probably belonged to those astounded by the new rules and curfews then.

He got that. He didn't feel it himself, but he got it.

"Certainly..." Scott sighed, and shook his head in a mirrored disbelief. "Not quite the end-of-the-year cheer you might've expected from an evening in late June, was it? Christ..."

He wasn't at all trying to convey an annoyance with their professors in his words, since that would've been more than arrogant of him, but rather the slowly fading astonishment he still felt towards the news they'd just provided them all with. He wondered for instance, as he looked to his dormmate, how much Alan had known himself? Had he been to the ball, for example? Had he seen what happened?

It wasn't difficult, Scott realised, to put two and two together and assume that chaos had ensued as always- but the boy was still a bit disappointed by his own lack of curiosity. He'd wanted to know that Anastasia was alright, of course- but other than that he didn't feel the intense urge to shower the students around him with endless questions, the way he usually would...

Perhaps the holidays just really were due.

"But we shouldn't complain, should we? After all, they wouldn't do this if it wasn't absolutely crucial. And it does sound... Well, crucial. Especially without the headmaster.

It's a shame how lethal our education has turned out to be."

Giving in to a dark chuckle, Scott impaled another piece of his meal with his fork, pointing it conversationally at his friend. What better way is there to forget the fact that you're confused, scared and hungry- than to talk, talk and talk?

"But we're soon out of here! Summer's nearing... You'll be at the game, won't you? I will. Hopefully London isn't as riddled with beasts as our grounds apparently are... Would be sorry to give our international friends the wrong impression."

closed to other interactions