|
Post by Tamis Raynor on Sept 13, 2007 14:11:53 GMT -5
Distress. Angst. Rage. The three emotions flooded around the room as the conversation traveled among the students. It was impossible to block the building tension and for a moment Raynor thought she might drown in it. She refused to turn around, refused to meet whatever accusation might be in their eyes. She refused to give into the buckle in her knees. The school would not understand and she did not expect them to. That did not aid in making this task any easier. It took everything she had left, every ounce of training she possessed, every trick she still remembered to remain outwardly nonchalant and indifferent.
Ignoring the quip for fear of revealing her true intentions, she allowed herself to reveal in the brief sliver of relief it gave her. Robert at least wanted to keep her in a salvageable condition. She was not signing herself over to her own death; yet.
“Five and no more. Oh and Tamis, do choose them aloud.”
For the first time, her expression betrayed her; pain contorted the planes of her face before she could strengthen her resolve and smooth it over again. Tamis Raynor, despite the reputation that had consumed the name, was still just one person. She was a witch of no particularly fantastic magical abilities whom had built up a wealth of knowledge as a substitution. One person could not save Hogwarts, and neither could five, but they had a better chance. But Merlin’s Pants, how did a person chose who stayed behind and who did not? How did one chose and give hope to those students that they were going home, when in reality, they were not?
Time, she was wasting precious time and – a speck was moving out of the corner of her eye toward the shattered doorway. Allowing her enough of a reprieve to see the figure clearer, Raynor titled her head to the left. It was Lianna Maylorn, a Hufflepuff… third year? Second Year? … She did not know the girl well enough. But she looked stricken and about ready to get herself recklessly into trouble.
“Lianna Maylorn,” she blurted out. That was one. She closed her eyes, mind scrambling across the list of names she already had chosen. Shaw was not an idiot. She had to pick competent minds without her intentions looking obvious. The names came slowly, each one drawn out painfully, knowing full well that she might be irredeemably creating a void between the students not chosen – and perhaps those that were – and herself:
“ Keagan Gerislynn… Hannah Astley… Charlie Jones… Abigail Lawrence,” five names. And then, after a pause of what could be taken for hesitation, another name was added, “Andrew Thornton.” Her gaze locked back onto Shaw’s, “I am at least worth six.”
One student each from each Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin and three from Ravenclaw, one of which was Andrew Thornton; four upper year students, and two lower. Raynor had played into her own biased in hopes of hiding her true purpose. It was just a matter of if Shaw had caught on or not.
Dear Merlin, let her not have just condemned herself.
(( So officially, the folks chosen: Lianna Maylorn, Keagan Gerislynn, Hannah Astley, Charlie Jones, Gail Lawrence, Drew Thornton. All were decided on by activity level in the plot; four were previously selected off of who Tamis would realistically pick and two were selected from interaction in the thread. ))
|
|
Robert Shaw
Wizard
Criminal
I was a child once, the fear of the world in my eye
Posts: 1,033
|
Post by Robert Shaw on Sept 13, 2007 15:03:00 GMT -5
"Maylorn!" One, rushed and unthoughtful. "Gerislynn." Two, much calmer but still irrational. "Astley … Jones … Lawrence." Three, four and five, methodically picked and carefully. And there was the prearranged deal quite simple and without a hitch? Impossible. All names but a meager one stood out in some vague reason or another but nothing could truly link tie them together as being a right important bunch. To Robert's strained and throbbing but equally capable mind the only visible commonality among them was gender and that -- well, that truthfully said absolutely nothing except the plainly obvious. Just what in the name of Albus Dumbledore was the ruddy woman up to?!
"Andrew Thornton." A clearly defiant pause. "I am at least worth six.”
Ah, there was the ringer, a completely predictable ringer, after all the boy was Raynor's pride and joy. In her naming Andrew Thornton he could at least see reason -- many of them in fact, most of them involving conflict motivation and prevention of stupidity. His name was a, if not the highest logically picked but he was indeed a sixth soul and now came yet another test of his humility. Allowing Thornton to leave could have repercussions, or it could be completely harmless, Merlin knew the boy hated him with a passion but...
The man contemplated and deliberated but his mind was excruciatingly torn. Just what did he do with this dilemma? "Saving the best for last Tamis? " He paused. " Or are you just trying to piss me off?" He was growing weary of the wit battle and the easiest way out of it would be to concede, but if he denied? The consequences of that were still shrouded intimately by the fog of war and that was a door he did not wish to have to guess at what lay behind.
The man turned his back on his unarmed, yet fully armored opponent and took a few steps away in further deliberation before nodding his head and turning back around. "You would be the one to make a simple trade predictably complicated. Very well." He paused to raise his voice another few decibels to be fully heard. "If the boy is really that important to your conscience he may leave as well."
Crucified and now dead.
|
|
|
Post by Felicity Hjort on Sept 13, 2007 17:50:57 GMT -5
Sitting, trying to finish the meal, it was hard not to listen in on what could be heard. Not all of what was said actually traveled to her ears, in fact, hardly anything was. The part about a duel had reached her, her eyes widened with fright at the thought and quickly surfed over the Gryffindor table looking for any first years. If there was going to be magic flying loose, she wasn't keen on them being so out in the open, even if the terms had been called on stunners and nothing more. However, if her light brown eyes had been wide before, it was nothing compared to how they appeared when Brady was, in a way, put out of his own misery for the time being, but at least that meant no one was going to be possibly caught up in the cross fire of the two men.
As much as she tried, sitting where she was, not all words reached her ears, not until it seemed to go unnervingly quiet when a small negotiation began. It was like a wave of silence. Forcing herself to keep her eyes trained on the plate in front of her, she listened intently, wondering what was going to happen, be done, whether Raynor really had any pull on the situation as it almost seemed she did when she walked through the busted down door.
Terms were made, in a way agreed to, names were called. Every name spoken was a name she was familiar with, in fact, she knew every single person except the Slytherin personally. It was understandable for Raynor to choose those she had, but for what reasons had she? Three were older students, two younger. There were many thoughts flying through the Gryffindor's mind about the five, and she almost missed the addition of a sixth name.
Unfortunately, the name was not missed, it had very easily made it's way to her ears, causing her to drop the fork in her hand down on her still full plate.
Felicity was torn at thoughts. A part of her wanted the man to refuse, to not allow a sixth person to be added, and another part of her didn't disagree with the addition, but the former part was more than willing to take over any other thoughts that dared to erupt in her mind. Raynor wanted Drew out of there, and Felicity wasn't too keen on that idea.
Both hands were clenched, eyes had already caught sight of the Ravenclaw, eyes were already filling with the tears that threatened to escape. Raynor wanted to take Drew away from her.
|
|
Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
|
Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 13, 2007 18:34:06 GMT -5
As the deal was discussed, Drew started predicting who would be sent: obviously the younger students... but only six? five? The sickly Huffle boy would surely be the first called, and then possibly the younger Muggle borns who were in the most danger.
Lianna's name called out first was a surprise, but as Drew looked over at the Huffle's direction it seemed logical. The girl was not doing well. Keagan... Hannah... Charlie... Abigail... Of the others called the only one that made even a bit of sense to him was Hannah. The other girls were older and as far as he remembered, full-blooded witches. And while Hannah was younger and a halfer, she was a tough birdie. Why her and not... well, someone like Jeremy who was still spending most of his time hiding under the table?
And then a sixth name was called and before Shaw had a chance to deny her request, Drew was already protesting. "What?" Was she sending him out because she thought he couldn't handle it, being there with Shaw? With the exception of one minor breakdown and a significant lack of sleep, he had been handling it for days. Drew looked at the Deputy incredulously and only saw determination on her face.
And Shaw agreed to it, an act that was unexpected but not as surprising as Drew had thought it would be. The only reasons that Drew figured the man would agree were to humiliate the Ravenclaw or to get rid of a threat. Drew hoped it was the later, but feared it was only the former.
|
|
Celina Jedynak
Ravenclaw
Seventh year
Because it just took time, before a bird's wings could heal again.
Posts: 6
|
Post by Celina Jedynak on Sept 13, 2007 19:59:27 GMT -5
Classmates to leave. Celina shut her eyes tightly, hoping that even in her own condition, she wouldn't be picked. Being pureblood, and protected by Emerald and Alfonz, she knew that her name being called, even if Raynor knew not about either of her protectors, she would be safe. But she still held a fear, that her name would be called....and she would have to leave.
Lianna Maylorn......Keagan Gerislynn… Hannah Astley… Charlie Jones… Abigail Lawrence...
As all girls were called, Celina held her breath until the very last name was said. She exhaled and opened her eyes just as Raynor asked for a sixth to also leave.
Andrew Thornton
Celina looked down to where Drew was sitting and her feelings were mixed. It didn't surprise her, but at the same time she didn't understand why all the Prefects and older students were being taken rather than the younger ones. She swore that Oliver had told her he was a muggle born....out of anyone, shouldn't he be able to leave too? Why had Raynor picked the leaders and the people who.....did they all have some sort of magical blood? Celina tried to rack her brain about the ones who were leaving, unknowing for sure if they in fact were or were not. She knew though that Drew, of all people, was a pureblood.
Her brain hurt and as she watched Drew protest, she thought of something else. Wasn't the last lock down because Drew was taken by these same people? That made sense then. Drew was probably buckling under the pressure and Raynor could see it...but how could she even know that with just getting to Hogwarts? Was she presuming this from past events? Celina didn't know, but looking over in Felicity's direction she passed her a worried glance, one in which the girl might have missed, but Celina couldn't help but think that she probably was freaking out. It was now, Celina wished she was nearer to her two friends....
.....at least she wished she could apologize or something to them for the way she had acted towards them before Drew left......
Looking back around the room, Celina couldn't see Alfonz anywhere. Where had he gone? It was probably good though, because she knew that Alfonz wasn't too fond of the boy. Celina looked back down, Emerald now curled up against her feet. As long as she didn't go, she didn't care. It wasn't as if she needed Drew to survive this, or anyone else. She had Emerald and Alfonz. Did she really need anyone else? She hadn't before.
|
|
Hiro McVeil
Wizard
Recent Graduate
They can smash your cookie but you'll always have your fortune[on:Sweet!][of:off working]
Posts: 1,201
|
Post by Hiro McVeil on Sept 13, 2007 21:56:18 GMT -5
Although those selected were most likely to be able to keep their heads about them on the outside Hiro thought there should have been more younger students called. Although five older students had more of a fighting chance it wasn't enough to turn the tide even if they would return to fight. Hiro trusted professor Raynor's plan but he couldn't figure it out no matter how long he took. The problem was with his name not called Hiro had to keep the mask going, there were still only two Raven leaders. The mask he had been wearing since the first night was crumbling but he had to keep it on for a while longer.
"Hey Hannah you get to leave!" He said encouragingly to the first year. His smile was real; she was the closest first year he had gotten to know this whole year, possibly since he became a prefect. It was great that she could get out of there.
Hiro then turned his attention to two other names called. Those two had been in most of his plans for escaping, more importantly it would be hard without them. Hiro's mask was just going to be harder to uphold.
"Drew." Hiro replied to his rebellion. Did he not trust professor Raynor anymore? "There's a reason you're leaving." There was envy in his voice which was just enhanced as he turned his head to the slytherin table and showed off a fake smile for her.
|
|
|
Post by hannah on Sept 14, 2007 21:23:03 GMT -5
Hannah had been listening, trying to stay nonchalant, hearing that voice she was sure was the voice of Robert Shaw and peeking out now and again from underneath the table had confirmed that it was Shaw's voice, it was the last time she would peek out from underneath the table... watching the body drop to the floor was too much for this first year. Shaw was scary and while he was there, Hannah had decided not to go out from underneath the table and stay by Jeremy's side.
Hannah was tough, yes. But she was also still young and impressionable. Robert Shaw wasn't to be messed with and Hannah had seen that first hand. Robert Shaw was someone to be feared and fearful of him she was.
Then she heard Professor Raynor's voice and Hannah smiled, glad to hear her Professor back, then she heard Raynor's voice and Hiro's and the smile turned into a frown. Leave Hogwarts? To where? To her knowledge, both sets of parents were back to work: Dad at the school in Australia and Mum at the shop in Diagon, same went with Dragon Lady and Aspen, who while he worked from home, Hannah didn't really want to stay with him and listen to his predictions and so on.
While she could leave Hogwarts no trouble after seeing Shaw use his wand, she couldn't leave Jeremy. Couldn't leave the one and only person she considered a friend behind.
Fearful brown eyes turned to Jeremy. Fearful because of the unknown and the fact she might never see him again. Sure, Jeremy could be a pain and told her to stop doing things, but he was her friend. Hannah just couldn't leave her friend behind and go with... well, with Drew. The only person out the list of the names she knew and deep inside, she trusted, despite the fact that she thought he was a big meanie.
Hannah crawled as close to Jeremy as she dared, taking his hand and squeezing it. Yes, she could leave Hogwarts, but no, she couldn't leave her friend behind. Maybe if Hannah stayed quiet, no one would find her here underneath the table.
|
|
Gail Lawrence
Witch
Leaky Cauldron Waitress
Just looking for something new.
Posts: 274
|
Post by Gail Lawrence on Sept 15, 2007 5:58:36 GMT -5
It was a moment before Raynor said anything, and Gail thought she may be stalling. She wouldn’t wish this choice on anyone. A Hufflepuff farther back stood up and began to flee the hall. She looked familiar…
“Lianna Maylorn.”
Well, that solved the question of who that was. Probably a smart move on Raynor’s part, but now only four spots left for strategic choices. There was a decent length pause, and Gail turned and reached out to a nearby goblet of pumpkin juice. Her throat was dry from nerves and sympathy, such as she could muster at this point. Surprisingly, it was quite a bit.
“Keagan Gerislynn.” That made sense. A sip of juice. “Hannah Astley.” Cute girl. Ravenclaw. She swallowed. Unexpected, but a good choice. “Charlie Jones.” Smartest girl in Slytherin. Had to pick her. Another sip to wait for the last. Had to be Drew. He was Raynor's favorite.
“Abigail Lawrence.”
She very suddenly spit out her juice all over the corner of the Hufflepuff table and proceeded to cough. Then she stared at Raynor, as if she had heard the lady wrong. The former Deputy was unaware of her student’s reaction and gave another name. Six. There’s Drew, she thought absently. Shaw and Raynor went into some type of short negotiation, but Gail’s mind was still back a name.
She turned to the nearest person for confirmation. Devin Baines was sitting two seats away. She leaned over and asked in a strained voice, “Did she really just call my name?”
The girl looked up with something close to envy. “Yes.” She gave a little sniffle.
Gail slid down and held the second year close. The past two days had tested her sorely. She was tired from lack of sleep and weary from being so wary all the time. Although she did not view herself as a leader, she realized, with her departure looming, that the siege had made her take up the role. She felt responsible for those in the Hall, especially the younger students, who were so frightened. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see little Hannah still taking refuge under the Ravenclaw table, Scorpius was frozen in place, and of course, Devin was pressed to her side. Just a few moments ago, she had been eager to leave and help on a larger scale. Now, she simply wanted to stay and protect those she could.
It would be less effective in the “big picture,” but Gail discovered that, with the moment of decision at hand, she would rather stay and make the smaller differences on a personal level.
She pulled Devin closer and looked toward the High Table, trying to see how hard Raynor and Shaw would press the issue.
|
|
|
Post by Jeremy Taylor on Sept 15, 2007 11:47:00 GMT -5
Jeremy had only barely peeked out from his hiding place, scurrying back quickly when the talk of the duel started. He hadn't seen the teacher get cursed, but he saw the man's feet swaying limply as another carried him out.
Professor Raynor started calling names and he hoped he would be one (though seriously doubting it with only a handful of students being named) but at the same time, didn't want to leave Hannah. And then her name was called, but his not. And as Drew's name was called last, his heart sank. With Arianna gone, the only two other people he fully trusted were leaving. Oh, Allegra was still there, but she was mostly stuck at the Head Table. And Hiro seemed nice enough, but Jeremy really didn't know him very well.
Hannah crawled over to him and squeezed his hand and he had a crazy urge to hug her tight and never let her go. Instead, he shoved her. "Go! They called your name!" he urged, slinking closer to Hiro's feet. He didn't know what else to do.
|
|
Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
|
Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 15, 2007 12:15:56 GMT -5
Well of course there was a reason, Drew thought, and the reason was obviously clear. Charlie, Gail, and he had all had a rather rough time over the summer and Raynor wanted them out. The only person on the list that didn't seem to make any sense was Keagan. Perhaps she was to be the babysitter. Great.
But he wasn't going to give Shaw the satisfaction of fighting Raynor on it. As mad as he was with the Deputy for calling him out, he wouldn't show dissention in the ranks (more than that first surprised outburst, of course) as Shaw's people had done. He got to his feet and put a hand out to Hannah who was still under the table. "Come on, Astley. I guess we're going," he told her, attempting a small smile through his grim expression.
"You'll watch out for them for me, right?" Drew asked Hiro in a low voice, pretty sure his partner would know exactly who he was talking about. He really didn't feel great about leaving Jeremy, Felicity, and Allegra behind.
|
|
Lianna Maylorn
Hufflepuff Prefect
Fifth Year
Sitting on the edge of the World
Posts: 1,122
|
Post by Lianna Maylorn on Sept 15, 2007 21:15:56 GMT -5
No matter how fast her feet traversed the inches of stone floor, or how far it seemed she 'only had to go' the doors seemed to be getting farther and farther away. Her ears had tuned everything out, her eyes as well; all she could see was that doorway and the possibility of even a minute haven beyond its frame. No doubt there were murmurs flying about her as to her clearly exhausted state, and looks of concern to match but none of them got through the wall of determination. Perhaps a better analogy would be to call it a 'will of stupidity', but no matter how one chose to look at it or what they eventually called it, her end goal was quite clear by her actions. Leave because she'd had enough.
“Lianna Maylorn!”
Having been able to ascertain any of the conversation going on between Professor Raynor and Shaw, the sudden echoing of her name across the hall came as quite the startling voice of reason. While she wasn’t truly certain of the reason behind her name being called, it was loud enough, and carried enough of a recognizable authoritative tone (all Raynor’s) to cause her to stop dead in her tracks and nearly lose her balance in the process. The Hufflepuff for four-foot-nine peered over her shoulder to where Professor Raynor’s voice had emanated from only to find the woman’s back to be toward her. Had she imagined it? It had sounded real enough, and that went without question. It also carried enough of a tone but she simply wasn’t sure anymore just what was fact and what was fiction. Sight and sound alike (along with the remaining of the five senses) seemed as though they were nothing more than mere figments of what they had been days ago.
Quite simply; nothing seemed real now and she was more than willing to believe by this present point that this was nothing more than a prolonged nightmare, one that couldn’t hurt her and never would. The third year remained rooted to the aisle spot in which she stood, blinking at the woman’s back in what seemed like a dazed curiosity. Part of her wanted to keep going and ignore the commanding voice, and yet another wished to heed it…
And once again she was left with another puzzling decision to make that got her not a single step closer toward home.
|
|
Hiro McVeil
Wizard
Recent Graduate
They can smash your cookie but you'll always have your fortune[on:Sweet!][of:off working]
Posts: 1,201
|
Post by Hiro McVeil on Sept 17, 2007 22:55:52 GMT -5
Drew needed to ask him the favor just as much as Hiro needed to say 'don't forget about us on the inside'.
"Don't worry Ravenclaw's in good hands." Hiro said assuringly. "Professor Raynor's back and now I need a new batch of students to worry about."
It was hard to hide his envy with this statement. Though deep down he was glad that Drew, Charlie and Hannah were leaving, if something had happened to them Hiro would have acted on impulse and things would have gotten a lot worse. He then gave Hannah another encouraging smile and thumbs up.
"Don't worry Hannah, you're in good hands with Drew." Even though he didn't need to add this he did anyway. "You'll watch over them right?"
|
|
|
Post by hannah on Sept 18, 2007 6:47:31 GMT -5
Hannah saw the hand that belonged to Drew and started to talk to it. "But I don't... I can't... " Hannah stopped, looking back from the hand to Jeremy. Knowing she had to leave because there was probably no choice in the matter, Hannah quickly scooted back over to Jeremy and gave him a quick hug, swallowing the fear she was feeling and putting on a brave face.
Oh, she knew she was in good hands. Drew was Jeremy's cousin after all and Jeremy seemed to like him, it was just difficult territory for her to be around Drew after what she had done to the boy's dorm. Hannah bit her lip and decided to bite the bullet, giving Jeremy one last smile, she grabbed Drew's hand and her dark blond head emerged from underneath the table.
Stepping closer to Drew, she turned her brown eyes to Hiro and gave him a smile that hoped conveyed one of thanks and one that said she'll be all right. Hannah was going away from the mess in Hogwarts and into the outside... it was Hiro and Jeremy that would be staying inside, which was a thought that was hard for the first year to comprehend. The person she looked up to the most and her one and only friend would be left to Robert Shaw and the faceless people. Hannah vowed that once she was on the outside, she would try and find a way to get them out of the mess that was inside Hogwarts.
Hannah maybe young and impressionable, but she also had a determined streak in her as well, which when combined with the stubbornness and independence that was in her, often caused her to forget that she was only twelve and there was only so much a twelve year old girl could do to help out.
|
|