〖 Awakenings and Army Matters 〗

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〖 By your's truly & IronWolfie123 〗

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It felt like being watched under a microscope, what had started with Trelawney's class has now spread to Mcgonagall's and Flitwick's in the span of a day. It's like an illness she thought to herself as she listened to the maddening scritch scratch of Umbridge's quill against the paper as she watched the teachers like a cat who had just found a particularly juicy canary to gobble up.

She could feel Umbridge watching her when she thought Sera wouldn't notice. It was almost unbearable to be in the same room with her, and if this was an illness Sera was sure it needed to be cured.

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The weekends were her only respite from the constant watchfulness of Umbridge. She looked forward to the meager days she had to herself to spend in her own world and recover for the weeks ahead. The promise of Christmas break loomed in the distance hanging like a tantalizing fruit on a vine as Hogwarts started to prepare for the celebratory part of the season.

She had noticed an unspoken tension amongst the golden trio which like a cloud, had seemed to have floated over their heads one day and never left. She had assumed they'd had a row but it was none of her business. The day of confiding to them in the bathroom was long gone, they had their own things to worry about, she glanced over at Eldrian during breakfast blushing slightly. And I have mine. She looked down awkwardly and poked at her porridge. Why had that thought crossed her mind? She had met Eldrian once in detention and maybe looked at her longer than normal in the halls or in classes. Up until now, they had been practically strangers to each other why was it now she was just starting to notice the alluring sparkle in Eldrian's golden eyes?

I'm hopeless, she thought to herself rubbing her eyes tiredly as she poured over her herbology textbook in the library trying to figure out the difference between the Chinese Chomping Cabbage and the Latvian Lacerating Lettuce. I can't even figure out the difference between a stupid cabbage and a head of lettuce. She closed her textbook with a quick snap and pulled her journal towards her meaning to retreat into her own world but opening and passing to the next blank page made her wince as she caught a glimpse of the sketch of the skeletal woman peeking out from the passing page. She hadn't seen her since the time in the hall, she wasn't standing in shadowed corners walking past her crowing about Christmas gifts it was like she had just vanished altogether. And that's a good thing. Sera reminded herself as she set her quill to the paper. This dark angel was leaving her alone but somehow Sera doubted it would be for long.

She didn't know for how long she had been sitting alone in the library scribbling in her journal but the next time she looked up the sky outside had already begun to darken. She cursed under her breath knowing she had probably missed dinner and that curfew would kick in, in a matter of minutes. She shoved everything in her bag and quickly stood up but as soon as she did there was a prickling on the back of her neck and she had the sinking feeling that she was being watched. 

She froze and turned slowly towards the bookshelves next to the table where she had been sitting, there hidden in one of the rows was a boy. He was an inch or so taller than Sera with curly brown hair and a pair of thick glasses that made his eyes seem bigger than they probably were. He had a pristine uniform with a shiny prefects badge pinned on his robes in the Ravenclaw colors. She relaxed, seeing as this was just a boy and not who she had come to expect, "Can I help you?" 

She asked, folding her arms and staring him down. He opened his mouth and closed it again looking like a deer in the headlights "I was just-" He fumbled with a book on the shelf "Looking for um- reading material!" He pulled it out looking completely unconvincing. "Well, you found it..." She said dryly adjusting her bag with an unamused look on her face. He smiled and nodded nervously as he held the book and slid past her awkwardly. "S-See you around!" He said nervously before scampering out of the library as fast as he could. "Yeah..." She muttered as she watched him go "See you..."

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It had been a few days since she had run into the strange boy in the library she had made a mental note to ask Hermione who he was. Being a prefect and all she was sure she would know but, with the work the teachers were piling on and the ever-looming threat of Umbridge it had sort of slipped her mind. Until the day before the Hogsmeade visit Sera had been disjointed from everything having to do with school. Daydreaming? Yes. About Eldrian? Infuriatingly that was also a yes. Every thought of Eldrian made her blush for whatever reason and she was still holding onto that memory of her hair in the sunlight like she could frame it in her mind and keep it forever.

It was on this particular day though during charms class that Hermione slipped her a note. Ever the perfect student this was unlike her and therefore Sera reasoned it must be important so when Flitwick was occupied she opened the note under the desk and began to read.

10 am. The Hog's Head. Saturday. Don't be late.

Cryptic. She thought to herself as the text faded from the page and she folded the note and slipped it in her pocket as the bell rang "guess we'll see what this is about on Saturday." She smiled slightly bemused as she made her way down the hall to her next class, her interest in academics more or less piqued.

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Eldrian felt like she wanted to die. Every moment in class was a drag and she could almost never focus on anything, she always felt like she was missing out on something exciting happening somewhere else. Elise always tried to keep her engaged, mostly by jabbing her with her elbow if she fell asleep but other than that most of her efforts were futile. She had found herself focusing on things that she considered more important, Like Sera, she thought as she remembered the brief look of shock on her face as she left detention. It was subtle but there and Eldrian knew she was hiding something. She just couldn't figure out what.

She found herself drifting off again in Herbology but a girl with striking blue eyes and dark hair staring at her intensely snapped her out of her thoughts. "What?" She asked gruffly and the girl just turned back to her note-taking as if she hadn't done anything remotely odd. She narrowed her eyes at the girl and then just stared at her right back until Elise nudged her as a sign to stop. So she reluctantly looked away from her and went back to daydreaming but she could feel the girl glancing at her.

It was like this for the entire class until they were dismissed, Eldrian hung back for a few moments to see if she could catch the girl in the crowd of Ravenclaws but she had seemingly vanished. Yet another mysterious girl, Eldrian thought sarcastically as she and Elise slipped away from Herbology. She didn't like this girl as much as Sera though, Sera seemed warm and curious but there was something cold and calculating about the way the blue-eyed girl had stared at her.

The next class seemed to go over her head entirely and Elise had tried several times to get her to pay attention but eventually gave up. As the two of them headed out to get lunch she actually felt a spark of excitement inside her, not only because there was food but also because maybe she could observe the blue-eyed girl. Figure out why she was practically glaring at her throughout their class. She and Elise settled down at their usual spots at the Slytherin table and her heart gave a little leap as she spotted Sera walk into the mess hall.

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There she was, she saw her with Elise the minute she walked into the great hall. She was sitting in her usual spot next to Elise and away from everyone else, and along with her heart the candles gave a little jump turning a fiery orange that almost seemed magenta. She hoped nobody had noticed as she turned and headed to her seat, thinking about talking to Eldrian now just made her nervous although it really shouldn't; she was just someone she met in detention there was nothing more to it than that. Unless there was and Sera was just kidding herself, puzzling away at a knot of feelings when her time was probably better spent trying to figure out what Hermione's cryptic message was all about.

She shot her a questioning look across the table and mimed writing a note, Hermione looked at her strangely for a moment before the realization seemed to hit her but something else, rather someone else had caught Sera's attention. It was the boy again. This time he was sitting next to another girl, she had long dark hair and striking blue eyes and was watching the boy with this vague look of amusement as he prattled on about something while eating lunch. "Hey," She said out loud startling Ron a little, "who're those two?" She nodded towards the boy and girl and Hermione followed her gaze before nodding.

"Finnigan Abernathy. He's a Ravenclaw prefect." She squinted a little, "but I'm not sure who his friend is." Ron and Harry also turned to look and shook their heads "Don't know them." Ron said, shaking his head. Harry just grunted and went back to poking at his food which nowadays was about the only response he gave to Sera. She smiled at Hermione, "thanks. Just curious." She said airily as her gaze drifted back to Eldrian but was interrupted by the toll of the bell.

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Saturday rolled around and came as a blustery sort of day as the gates were opened and the students were set free to spend the day idly biding their time in all the joys Hogsmeade had to offer. It wasn't so much the day off that energized Sera as much as the prospect of this mystery meeting did and deeper down, hopefully seeing Eldrian off of the castle grounds. So she kept an eye out for her as she traveled the winding path down into the village following behind the other rowdy students as they broke off and headed towards the various shops that struck their fancy.

Unsure of who to follow she stepped off to the side not wanting to go to the Hog's Head for fear of being too early but also something had been nagging at her. Whatever this meeting was about it seemed important and almost selective and while she didn't want to go against whoever's plan this was, it felt unfair. So when she spotted Eldrian and Elise heading down the road in her direction she did the only thing that seemed right. "Hey!" She called as she ran to meet them, putting on a brave face and willing herself not to blush. "Sera!" Elise smiled at her and so did Eldrian, "We were just about to head to Honeydukes." She looked over at Eldrian "who knew this one had such a sweet tooth."

"Oh, and you don't?" Eldrian replied playfully, at which Elise sighed and smiled a little, "guilty as charged." She replied and adjusted her scarf, "anyways, would you like to join us?" She asked looking up at her expectantly. Sera paused for a moment and considered before shaking her head, "I can't..." She lowered her voice, "There's some sort of meeting or weird get-together in this shady bar." She sighed "Hermione slipped me a note a few days ago but I felt like I needed to tell the two of you. It might be important and neither of you seems like the type to go around running your mouths." She looked up "So, what do you say...?"

Elise looked at her for a long time and then looked at Eldrian searching her face for an unspoken answer. "Sounds right up our alley," Eldrian replied with a smile which made Sera a lot happier than it should've. "Right!" She said suddenly and checked her watch before beckoning to the pair, "we should be able to get there in a few minutes." Elise nodded and she started leading the duo up the sloping hill and passed The Three Broomsticks towards the Hog's Head which was situated on a narrow street in a grimy back alley and was stark in contrast to the bright cleanliness of the rest of the village.

"This is it." Sera said, noticing the look of skepticism on Elise's face, "I know it doesn't look like much but they probably have a plan." She squared her shoulders holding onto her tone of optimism as she pushed open the door and was greeted by several faces most of whom she was familiar with. She nodded curtly to her acquaintances and smiled at the golden trio, "sorry, just had to pick up some friends first." Ron scoffed "friends?" He looked at Eldrian and Elise incredulously "But they're-" "But they're what Ron?" She cut him off "Slytherin? Yeah, I know." She folded her arms, "So what if they are?"

"Well, they. They're." He struggled for the words "They're nothing Ron." She brushed past him and approached the table, "they're just people." She read over the list, "Apparently here to join an army." Hermione nodded and jumped in, "We had the idea." She paused as Harry gave her a withering look, "I had the idea that Harry could teach us defense against the dark arts better than that vile Umbridge woman could." Sera raised a brow, "So that's what this is all about." She looked around at the faces assembled spotting Finnigan and the girl in the crowd.

She considered for a moment before shrugging and smiling "I think I may be able to help with this." She picked up the quill and signed her name on the parchment before moving aside for Eldrian and Elise. "Welcome to Dumbledore's Army." She winked and walked past the pair to a trio of empty seats and waited for the meeting to begin.

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It was drafty and cold in the room where she stood staring at the gnarled branches scraping against the window. The watch hanging from her hand ticked monotonously on its chain as it swung slowly back and forth in its own rhythm, its ticking keeping her centered until the bell tolled.

As it always did. Once, twice, again, and again. The monotony was stifling. But then it stopped. Everything faded away and her face broke into a knowing smile, the countdown had begun. 

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Cast Continued

Louis Hynes as Finnigan "Finn" Abernathy

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Egg and Soldiers| Cosmo Sheldrake

❝ All hail Tom Thumb, What's done is done, you'll never find the answer 'till it's gone.❞

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Selene Nightwalker as herself

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Redecorate| Twenty-one Pilots

❝She's not afraid of her reflection but what she might see behind it.❞

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Dedication

〖Everyone this Pride Month〗

We sincerely hope that you are having a wonderful pride month, if things are hard they will get better, if you're uncertain or unsure I know I've been there before. 

You're not alone! We're cheering you on from somewhere in the world! 

❤︎