Marie sat there trying to take in all the information she was hearing. Imperius curses, students out of their beds and leaving the castle at night, and no more Hogsmeade! What did Hogsmeade have to do with what was going on at the school? Unless..... were students getting hurt there too?

What?! Truebridge was back and he could teach extra defense classes. That didnt' sound too safe if they had to have extra defense classes. Then again it wasn't like they were learning much from Duskdork. "Excuse me si....."

She stopped when she heard Carter ask about last year. She remembered hearing about all the student deaths and the previous headmaster disappearing. What if he was lured out of the castle like the students had been only he wasn't so lucky to still be alive. This was definately worth asking about. "Um Headmaster Tate, do you think that whoever is doing this is the reason Professor Bontecou disappeared?" She never did understand why he just so suddenly disappeared but now maybe it was starting to make sense. He didn't just leave, he was kidnapped........

WhaT tHE FLAPPERS!?
Imperius curse...potions and spells that could be activated!? Miranda actually rolled her eyes at all of this, because, really, this was starting to sound a wee bit to unrealistic.....like, REALLY?!

Uh... No more Hogsmeade visits? Miranda swallowed, feeling VERY trapped and... This was bad, oh so very bad. But she tried to look as calm as possible. So the Prefects were going to be patrolling the corridors at night...which meant... no walking around after curfew. Right.

Professor Truebridge was back? Miranda frowned, looking confused. Erm, what would he be teaching? All the positions had been filled, right? Okay, she was going to have to ask him herself. Fine. "Yes, sir." She nodded, pondering whatever would come out of it all.

"You ARE safe now, Miss Belcanto." Yeah... She wont feel safe until the responsible one was caught. But she smiled, albeit strained, at the Headmaster. "Thankyou...sir." She glanced at Masterson, wondering what he thought of all of this. He as a Head of House was going to be greatly needed, she was sure.

Jenny frowned. No Hogsmeade?! She sighed unhappily.

No Hogsmeade?! Sad, but totally understandable. Jack didn't like Hogsmeade too much anyways--that dude at the Hogs Head creeped him out, and he would surely not miss him. Or Honeydukes. All the sugar gave him headaches. "Will do, Headmaster," he said with a head nod.

"And I will definitely come STRAIGHT here if I see anything suspicious in the future. I promise," he added. He would NOT make that mistake again. In fact, he'd owl the prefects as soon as he finished here...he'd head on over to the prefects bathroom and inform them all as to what was going on. That seemed to make the most sense, right? Sure, it was a BATHROOMMMM but at least they'd have privacy!

"It certainly is possible," Tate agreed. "Obviously, we have no indication that the incidents are linked, and the attacks have happened in entirely different ways, but they could be tied together."

Quote:

Originally Posted by mushroomweasley

Headmaster Tate didn't see her? "Hello." She said to a large group. Saying hello is GREAT for making friends fast.

"Yes, child?" Tate raised an eyebrow at the girl. Was she part of this motley crew?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The1HBIC

What?! Truebridge was back and he could teach extra defense classes. That didnt' sound too safe if they had to have extra defense classes. Then again it wasn't like they were learning much from Duskdork. "Excuse me si....."

She stopped when she heard Carter ask about last year. She remembered hearing about all the student deaths and the previous headmaster disappearing. What if he was lured out of the castle like the students had been only he wasn't so lucky to still be alive. This was definately worth asking about. "Um Headmaster Tate, do you think that whoever is doing this is the reason Professor Bontecou disappeared?" She never did understand why he just so suddenly disappeared but now maybe it was starting to make sense. He didn't just leave, he was kidnapped........

"Ah, the old Headmaster. I wish I could say we were further along in that investigation. I personally believe that someone caused his disappearance, rather than agreeing with those who say he ran. Right out from under the Ministry's nose, and in his office, no less. It's disconcerting." And he felt like he should understand by now why Bontecou had left.

Vindictus led the way to Headmaster Tate's office and was slightly surprised at the gathering he encountered. "Pardon me, Headmaster Tate," he began calmly and hoped that the sound of his voice would calm Fia down. "But we have a problem."

He turned and motioned for the Hufflepuff to step forward. "Fia? It's okay. I want you to tell the Headmaster what you found on the grounds during the Flying lesson."

It was not reassuring that the Headmaster knew absolutely nothing about what was going on. But Carter couldn't blame him. All these strange occurrences must be really frustrating to him.

"Do you need us to be doing anything, sir?" he asked. He wasn't expecting the headmaster to say anything. Afterall, he was just a second year. And so were most of the other people here. But there was no harm in asking. And if the headmaster needed more students to report any strange occurrences, well, he could do that.

Fia positioned her hands behind her back and followed Professor Vindictus into the Headmaster's office. She was nervous beyond words, her hands still shaking but the calmness in the professors voice helped more than she could understand.

"There were...scraps of...of..." She swallowed and took a deep breath to gain her composure. "Scraps of bloody robes in the bushes along the Forbidden Forest."

Vindictus nodded and solmenly pulled the scrap of bloodied robe out of his pocket. He handed it over to Tate. "Other items were found as well," he said in a hushed voice.

Miles seemed to gather his wits about him again as he realized where he was and what was going on. The greater question was...what was going on with him...a question to be asked later. His eyes landing on Fia he walked over toward her side as she explained to Headmaster Tate what had happened and he gripped her hand reassuringly. His eyes however fell on the Headmaster as he watched the man carefully, and careful to avoid looking at the bloody robe Professor V was holding out.

Kazimeriz led the small entourage up to the Headmaster's office, only to find him with Max and several others in the waiting area.

"Headmaster, I have an urgent issue I need to discuss with you. I believe one of our students may be in mortal peril... We may wish to call for the Ministry to enact the Trace." Kazimeriz approached his replacement, Toussaint's wand and badge still in hand.

Marie sat there not knowing what to say anymore. Now Professor Kazimeriz was there with more students and he had a wand and badge of yet another student. She looked over at Carter with a paniced look in her eyes. Things just kept getting worse and worse for the students and she was really scared.

Dungeons to Headmaster's office was what...3 flights of stairs? Sarah had only just got over the running from Hogsmeade bit, but you know, they had to follow Kazi.He had instructed it.

Coming to a halt behind him, she peered around his still broad frame at the gaggle of people there.Strangeness. 1, 2, 3...lots.OH NO.Not more trouble! And the Headmaster was among them! Ohhhh....

Sarah stood ramrod straight, and nodded her agreement with Kazimeriz.Something had to be done, and quickly.Should she say anything, or let the old man handle it? Glancing round she gave a strained smile to Aaron and Barry, wondering what they were thinking.

Jack's eyes widened as professor after professor walked into the area, each with more distressing news than the last. It was getting incredibly crowded in the area as more and more people arrived, and Jack could feel his heart racing even more with each passing moment. This sounded INCREDIBLY dire now--like, we need the Ministry dire. At least, that was Jack's opinion.

"Headmaster, do you think it would be ok for me to leave and gather up the prefects in our bathroom now?" he asked. The ones that aren't missing or half alive in the hospital wing, that is. "It seems the situation is getting worse with each passing minute, and I think it might be best to let them know what's going on now before it gets any worse," he said.

"Unless you want me to stay for further instructions," he added. He wasn't sure if these new developments would prompt a different reaction in the Headmaster than before--for all he knew, Tate could suddenly decide now that they all needed to go on lockdown in their common rooms.

Barry was behind Sarah and ahead of Aaron again. He was amazed that he was still ahead of Aaron he was so tired and slow . But he didn`t stop to gain breath he had to catch up before Kazi and Sarah disappeared.

Barry smilled back at Sarah and Aaron. He realised that he`d spent the whole day with them and they hardly knew anything about each other. He saw headmaster Tate surrounded by students. What had happened?

Lina followed the professor up and listened intently. She assumed it was dealing with the students that were fighting each other. But they were all coming back, weren't they? Perhaps there was one who hadn't yet?

Oh, Head Boy Jack was there as well.So many people about that Sarah hadn't noticed him in there.Until he spoke that is.

Sarah's mouth dropped open as she listened.Getting worse with each passing minute...? Stepping to the side so she could be seen better, Sarah raised her hand in the air. "Umm excuse me for interrupting, Jack...and uhh..sirs.But as I am one of those Prefects, I was wondering....Gather us up for what exactly? Or would you prefer to wait until we're in the bathroom to tell me that?" She glanced over at Jack with a quizzical expression on her face.She could feel the worry building inside.If the prefects had to be gathered....did that mean it was widespread?

WHAT WAS GOING ON?!

Jack looked over at Sarah. While he didn't want her freaking out over not knowing what was going on, he didn't want to explain everything right there either. He'd rather wait, just so they could all be together and talk about it as a group. Still, he didn't know what was going on completely--not even Tate knew, that much was clear. The poor Head Boy was starting to get a migrane...but he was Head Boy, he NEEDED to at least attempt to stay calm now.

"Just before you got here, the Headmaster just gave me a few things to tell you guys--like what to do if you find someone or something suspicious," he explained. He turned back to Tate. "Of course, if you'd like me to wait in case you choose another, erm...plan of action due to all this," he said, referring to the evidence that Vindictus and Kazimeriz had just brought to him. "I'll stay and wait for more information," he informed the Headmaster. He had no idea what was going through the poor guy's head now. He'd stay here all night if he had to to assist him. Twas his job, after all!

Who cared about NEWTs now? Not him!

Carter looked back at Marie. She looked the same terror that he felt. He felt like he no longer had the power to speak. More and more people were showing up with the same bad news. More injured students. More torn robes. More random fliers. Things at Hogwarts were not good.

Tate glanced up. My, my... his office, or the waiting area outside it, was quite the popular spot today. Here came Professor Vindictus with a parade of students...

And more bad news. He was going to get punched by Truebridge again. Tate nodded at Vindictus and then at the girl he indicated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyNerd

Fia positioned her hands behind her back and followed Professor Vindictus into the Headmaster's office. She was nervous beyond words, her hands still shaking but the calmness in the professors voice helped more than she could understand.

"There were...scraps of...of..." She swallowed and took a deep breath to gain her composure. "Scraps of bloody robes in the bushes along the Forbidden Forest."

Tate's eyes widened slightly at her words. More scraps and things? "Thank you, my dear. Perhaps you'd like to take a seat and rest for the moment?" He gestured at one of the plushy couches and hoped someone would scoot over for her.

"I have to tell you," he said to Fia, but also to Vindictus and the students with him, "that these are not the first items found on the grounds. It seems to be connected to the injured students with no memories of how they got injured."

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

It was not reassuring that the Headmaster knew absolutely nothing about what was going on. But Carter couldn't blame him. All these strange occurrences must be really frustrating to him.

"Do you need us to be doing anything, sir?" he asked. He wasn't expecting the headmaster to say anything. Afterall, he was just a second year. And so were most of the other people here. But there was no harm in asking. And if the headmaster needed more students to report any strange occurrences, well, he could do that.

Hmm... good question. "Stay in the castle, be vigilant, and listen to your prefects. Other than that... adhere to your lessons and practice up on your dueling. I don't want anyone else to get injured if they can help it," Tate mused.

Quote:

Originally Posted by XanaSnape

Kazimeriz led the small entourage up to the Headmaster's office, only to find him with Max and several others in the waiting area.

"Headmaster, I have an urgent issue I need to discuss with you. I believe one of our students may be in mortal peril... We may wish to call for the Ministry to enact the Trace." Kazimeriz approached his replacement, Toussaint's wand and badge still in hand.

"Mortal peril?" Truebridge would do worse than punch him if someone died. Tate rose to his feet, leaning ominously toward the older man. "Who? What? And what leads you to believe this is true?"

He really really didn't want to tell that McArdle woman that he'd managed to kill a student.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miss Lissy Lou

Jack's eyes widened as professor after professor walked into the area, each with more distressing news than the last. It was getting incredibly crowded in the area as more and more people arrived, and Jack could feel his heart racing even more with each passing moment. This sounded INCREDIBLY dire now--like, we need the Ministry dire. At least, that was Jack's opinion.

"Headmaster, do you think it would be ok for me to leave and gather up the prefects in our bathroom now?" he asked. The ones that aren't missing or half alive in the hospital wing, that is. "It seems the situation is getting worse with each passing minute, and I think it might be best to let them know what's going on now before it gets any worse," he said.

"Unless you want me to stay for further instructions," he added. He wasn't sure if these new developments would prompt a different reaction in the Headmaster than before--for all he knew, Tate could suddenly decide now that they all needed to go on lockdown in their common rooms.

"Yes, Jack. I think now would be an excellent time to gather the prefects together and work out a patrol schedule and a means to keep the students in the castle. Please dispatch them to their common rooms as soon as possible, and report to me if you see ANYTHING."

He held up his hands to get the attention of the gathered students. "I appreicate you are all concerned, but if we could just settle down and listen to each other, I believe we'll have better communication. If you are not here with the professors, I must ask you to hurry to your common rooms and tell the students there that we are locking down the school."

Locking down the school? Carter's eyes got real wide when he heard this news. He nodded slowly and looked at Marie. And then to Jack. He and Jack were the only two Gryffindors, right? He looked around again. It appeared so. But Jack was Head Boy he probably had many things to do before he returned to the common room. Did that leave Carter to tell everyone.

GULP. He'd do it if he had to. And it looked like there was no other choice. Lock down the school. Practice Dueling. Be vigilant. Listen to Prefects. Adhere to the lessons. He repeated the Headmaster's instructions in his head.

Jack nodded. Right. Time to get the prefects together. It was lucky that Miles and Sarah were already there--two less people he had to memo. That meant he could get to the bathroom faster and they could get this meeting underway ASAP.

"Alright, talk to you later, Headmaster. I hope whoever is doing this is caught real soon," he added with a frown. With that, he turned and looked at Miles and Sarah as he walked out of the area.

"See you two soon," he muttered. He wasn't sure how long they'd take before they got to the bathroom, and he couldn't stick around. He had to gather everyone else!

Aaron had followed the brigade up from the dungeons and simply waited; he had presented his found items and theoretically could have gone back to the common room, but he wanted to be in the KNOW! He was genuinely curious, because it was like one of those things... once you got your feet wet, you had to get the rest of you wet. There was no partial way.

But what surprised the first year most was just HOW MANY other students were outside the Headmaster's office, with the Headmaster himself. Which meant that it was likely there were other problems other than the ones he and Barry and Sarah had discovered. . . at least that's what Aaron suspected.


Then, what Aaron only presumed to be the Head Boy, spoke about gathering the prefects in their bathroom. Instinctively, Aaron moved closer to his Prefect. He was NOT going to leave her side; not after they had found the Ravenclaw Prefect badge... He didn't want it to be his Prefect next.

"Sarah," Aaron said weakly, looking at her pleadingly, protectively. He wanted to wrap his little arms around her and hold her tightly. He didn't want her to leave him, for fear of never seeing her again. Sniff. Sniff.


Would it do any good for a first year to slap a grown man? As tempting as it was, Aaron was sure that it would probably hurt him more than the Headmaster. First, he was asking too many questions. A student was in mortal peril; why would Kazimeriz be requesting the Trace if he knew who?

And second, Prefects were having a meeting. Privately. Meaning, he couldn't go. And he couldn't protect Sarah. What if something happened in the bathroom? Locking down the school sounded sooo bad. And soo... sniffffff... What would Amelia do if she were here? Oh Merlin, Aaron sooo wish he got her good sense. She would know. She dealt with SPLIT GENDER SCHOOLS.

Siiiggghhh. He didn't want to return to his common room though. Not without Sarah! He needed to watch her. To make sure she wasn't harmed.

"Sarahhh," he pleaded again, only this time, he did wrap his tiny arms around her and clung to her robes. "Don't go."

Destiny eyes widened as more and more people came. And now KaziMan was there and so was Professor Vinny. Jeeeez, it was crowded, and if Destiny was claustrophobic, she would surely be having a panic attack about now!

She listened to everything that was being said, looking from person to person as they spoke. Things were amiss at Hogwarts and no one was safe.. She didn't know if she was supposed to stay since she arrived with Masterson, and well, he wasn't really a Professor..and she sorta wanted to stay. She looked over at Marie and Carter and shrugged her shoulders.

If they left, she would leave too.

Marie listened as the headmaster spoke telling everyone who wasn't with a professor to go back to their common room......and tell them the castle was going on lockdown!? Looking around at everyone there with a professor she wondered if Masterson counted as a professor since that was who she came there with.

Then she looked at Carter who seemed to be concentrating really hard on something. Moving over to sit by him she whispered, "do you think we have to stay or should we go?" Noticing that her and Destiny were the only Slytherins there she knew one of them had to go back and tell eveyone.