As soon as he heard Professor Schmoe’s bat message, Devin had hurried to get ready to go. This time he took care to be properly dressed in uniform robes and real shoes and everything because he had learned his lesson last time at the courtyard and he did NOT want a repeat incident of being in his underwear in front of the whole school. Devin holstered his wand and slung his emergency go-bag over his shoulder on his way out of the dorm. He had packed the bag with all the things he might need for a couple of nights away from his dorm after the dragon reserve field trip in case the opportunity for a potential escape from the Neo-Alliance arose again.

Upon arrival at the rendezvous point outside the common room and noticing the hugging professors, Devin immediately threw himself in with the adults for a GROUP HUG because this was scary and he needed comfort, okay? ”Thank you very much for not forgetting about us because we lack a head of house who will properly take care of us.” Yeah, he didn’t trust Mr. Scary Headmaster to get the Gryffindors out of this situation safely for obvious reasons. It was a good thing Schmoe and Flamsteed were here because Devin really didn’t want all of Gryffindor house to be left for dead while the rest of the school got to be evacuated to safety. He had every intention of making it home safely to mum, dad, and his sisters.

When Alexandre heard the announcement from the bat in the common room he had been frightened. Of course he had. He was still frightened, but he was trying not to show it. He didn't know what was happening, except that the message had mentioned they weren't safe there. And that help was coming. Which he had gathered to mean that there was going to be a fight.

Alexandre was trying not to appear frightened. He was a seventh year, and there were lots of younger kids (including his sister... especially his sister) who he knew would also be scared. And if he appeared scared it wouldn't help them at all. So he gripped his wand tightly in his hand as he made his way into the seventh floor corridor. And there was Schmoe, coming to rescue them. Alexandre went to stand near the professor. Not too close, because he was currently being hugged. But he was ready for whatever came next.

Actually no, he wasn't really ready at all but he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

Even sad, noodle men needed hugs sometimes. Even if they looked uncomfortable with it. Even if their bones were so weak that they almost gave up entirely with but a simple squeeze. Even then, did Finneas Schmoe need a hug.

But he hadn’t realized how much he needed it until June’s embrace, and for a moment he wanted to—never mind. Moment over.

For first he heard Whitney. Then he heard Atlas ask THAT. And before Schmoe could even pull himself away to explain in his mortified sort of way, someone else had joined the hug and now he was being sandwiched into a cozy embrace whilst simultaneously being judged by an entire gaggle of students who thought he and June were going to - er - .........

”Errrrrrrrr………..”

Yes. Well. This was. This was quite uh.

This was.

__Er.

Very. Awkward.

"Mr. Horton, er - if you - would - er." There, there? Pat, pat? Finneas was just going to...................... sidestep out of this situation now. And just to be clear, his face was red because he had just run up the entire length of the castle and NOT because.......... he was blushing.

There wasn't a need to address Mr. Flamsteed's question, was there? Because, er, Finneas was not capable of doing that. So. Er. This was all June. Finneas was still recovering from ................ his sprint.

After being free and passing the spare office, she continued up to the Seventh Floor. She needed to check on her cousins and her fellow house mates.

Once that was taken care of... she wasn't sure what exactly came next. Well, she knew sort of. She was just trying not to psych herself out.

She spotted some students gathered, including Alexandre and couldn't help but give her friend a hug. Why? Because she was aware that hugs might not happen again.

Yikes.

But at least she wasn't the only one that thought hugs were appropriate in the moment.

Still stepping on the back of his sneakers, Apollo had made his way out into the corridor in time to hear Devin Horton's comment about a proper head of house caring them and Apollo just wanted to hug allllllll of them. Except his gaze also was on the awkward embrace that Flamsteed and Schmoe were currently pulling away from ??? Uh... what had he missed?

He gazed around from his dormmate, to Devin to the professors.... to the Ravenclaws. "What's ... going on?" He asked, perhaps dumbly.

THEY WERE GOING HOME, THEY WERE GOING HOME.

or... THEY WERE ABOUT TO DIE, THEY WERE ABOUT TO DIE.

It was all Aries could think about as he made his way out of the common room while making sure Atlas remained by his side. If they were going to die, they could die together - just as they were born. Maybe also die a minute apart, but yes.

Clearly his brother wasn't thinking such important things though as he bluntly asked Auntie June about kissing the noodle professor. Elbowing him hard, Aries gave him a look, "you are not suppose to ask such things, they are just suppose to happen!"

It was JUST a hug. Children, please.

Very well aware of Schmoe's awkwardness, she had anticipated him to either make a weird noise or to just pat her back - she had not at all assumed he would hug back. And she had certainly not anticipated being hugged by a THIRD party. Though the kind of relief she felt at the moment, it made her laugh lightly. A sound which felt extremely foreign to her own ears because she did not remember when had she last laughed.

Letting go of Schmoe, June gave Mr Horton a hug too, "we would never forget you all" she assured him before rolling her eyes hard at Atlas' comment and stepping away from the two and facing the other children arriving at the scene.

"Alright, everybody, listen up. Help has arrived. And at the moment, they are doing as best as they can to get to us, so we have to do our part. You all will follow Professor Schmoe and I as we lead you to a safe room. Other professors and students are already making their way over there too" It was a plan the entire staff had agreed upon for exactly a situation like this.

"Now, I request you all to be extra vigilant. Older students, I know you might want to fight and we can't stop you - at this stage, we can use all the help we can get, but be sensible. I would urge you to make it a priority to look after the younger lot first, then think of anything else"

"Whoever can manage a shield charm, please cast it as we move through the castle and head there. Wands at the ready, everyone, lets go"

OOC: hello hello hellooo. For the sake of saving time, we will assume, the professors waited until allll the students had left the common rooms before moving. You can join us midway or directly at the spare room as well. Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh years have been given the option to fight, so please know that if you choose to throw your older student into battle, that's completely up to you. For those playing younger students, we can't stop you from having your child slip away from the group going to the safe room, but please be realistic about them facing off against the neo-alliance and what dangers that would pose to them!

Exciting times are upon us guys, lets have some fun <3

If Catherine were more verbal, she'd have told them that this was no time for such displays of affection, especially as they obviously didn't have much time, as professor Schmoe himself had said in his message.

The Ravenclaw lost count of the amount of times she rolled her eyes as she stood there, arms crossed, waiting to be told what to do next by the people who were being too warm and fuzzy for her liking.

They were done now? Good. Catherine stood up straighter again and got her wand out to cast the Shield Charm as instructed. As they walked, she couldn't help but wonder to what category of students she belonged. 4th year was right in the middle of the age range. Three years above, three years below. So, what did that mean in regards to her next set of actions? Was she going to be expected to stay and fight? Because, honestly, she did not want to. At all.

Something told her that her brother might, though, which instantly got her looking around for him, lips pursed together and free hand ready to grab and drag him along until they were safe. If they were deemed too young to fight, Catherine would make sure he would not stay behind. If they were in the group that was expected to fight... then he wasn't going to be her responsibility as she wanted out of there now.

Well, that was an unexpected moment of much-needed levity. Thank you, professors and Atlas Flamsteed.

So she hadn't heard wrong back there in the dorms. The calvary was finally coming for them. But heading to a safe room wasn't exactly evacuating, Schmoe. It was better than waiting around the common room to be chosen as some sort of sick, sacrificial lambs to whatever cause the Alliance was pushing upon everyone. So, casting a shield and following the professors it was.

No way was she fighting in the mess. Leave that to the Gryffindors.

Alexandre had been focused on Professor Schmoe, and his sister, and the rest of the younger Ravenclaws. Not very vigilant of him, maybe he should work on that. But it meant he had not seen Valencia approach. So when he was suddenly being hugged he immediately tensed. But then he realized who was hugging him and he hugged back tightly.

"Valencia!" His voice was excited, but still fairly quiet. He squeezed his friend. "Are you alright? How have you been?" Yes, he had seen her in lessons and such, but ever since she had been taken away to that room he hadn't gotten to really see his friend like he wanted to. And he knew it couldn't have been pleasant. So he was so very glad to see her and be able to hug her. Speaking of which, he did eventually let her go. He loved huge, but there was a bit of urgency here.

They were being instructed to move to a safe room. Alexandre kept his wand up to perform shield charms as they moved. He stuck close to Valencia too. Not just because she was his friend but because she was one of the smartest people he knew and he felt relatively safe next to her. As for what the professor had said about fighting... Alexandre wasn't sure what to think about that. He didn't really want to fight. He wasn't so sure he'd be very good at that. He nudged Valencia and lowered his voice. "Are you going to fight?"

Valencia once again stood to the side to help escort younger students. She threw up shield charms as they walked.

She nodded firmly at Alexandre's question. "Of course." she said with no hesitation. "Made my decision months ago." She was just biding her time until something like this.

And here it was.

Finneas felt a sense of relief as June took charge of the situation because errrrr... He was ... still recovering from the, er, sprint. Yes, the sprint. And not from the ridiculous questions and .... er. Anyway, AnYwAy, ANYWAY. He stepped aside to regain his composure, absently taking note of who was present. If any of his students were missing, he would know.

After a careful check, he turned to June and nodded. "I'll, er, I'll bring up the rear."

Safety was the priority. It always was, even when everything was dark.

How was Aries so knowledgeable about these things? Was that even knowledge? Atlas wasn't sure but he was jabbing his brother in the side with his elbow just because. Was it uncalled for? Absolutely. Did it feel normal regardless? Also absolutely. And right now feeling a little bit normal was a really really REALLY welcomed.

It weird though, thinking about Auntie June KISSING. Aunties didn't do that. Professor didn't either. Aunties just...aunt-ed and professors just...professed.

More people were flushing out of the common rooms and one other kid was even joining in on the hug. He hoped...at the end of all this...maybe...Aries, Andromeda, Auntie June, and himself could be hugging dad.

Entirely missing Professor Schmoe's awkwardness and really only hearing Auntie June laugh, Atlas stuck close to his brother and even slipped a hand into his. You know...just to make sure to keep track of Aries and for absolutely no other reason at all. "Dad came for us...I'm sure of it," he whispered to his brother as they started scurrying down the corridor.

"Professor?" he half squeaked as they passed by the Muggle Studies professor. "It's okay. If you wanna. It's kind of a Flamsteed thing. Inconvenient timings for revelations." Just so the man knew. "And maybe get her tea roses. Because...tea and flowers."

But that was all Atlas would say to that because there was dashing to be had and and Shield Charms to cast, recast, and fortify along the way. And, thanks to baking adventures with Quinn, a Shield Charm was something that Atlas felt confident with.

Finneas had his wand out, keeping a large shield over the group. He particularly had his eye on the cohort of first and second years. No more of his students were getting hurt. They had already failed them enough times this year.

Now that he had regained some of this clarity, he was quick to react when Atlas squeaked. But errrr.... That clarity? Color it gone. Because young Mr. Flamsteed had quite the imagination and Finneas was once again at a loss for words. "Err... I... Err... Thank you, Mr. Flamsteed." Hopefully this would be the last thing said about the topic? Because Schmoe likely would not survive lingering on it for much longer.

........................ Er.

AnYwAy.

His focus was on safety. And not. Er. The concerns over a HUG.

#SchmoeOut.

"I am too" Aries whispered back before giving Atlas' hand a squeeze. Because yes, that is what he had been thinking too. Their dad would have definitely come. He just knew it. He would not accept anything else either. Their dad was probably fighting them awful folllowers right now and will take them all home.

.....If they didn't die first of course.

Eager to get to the room, Aries moved faster with the group. Before being struck with the thought, and very openly sharing with Atlas - "I think I will hug Kinsay when I see her"

Unaware of any musing between her nephew and her friend, June simply focused on getting the group to safety. Keeping the shield up from front, the brunette led them as quickly as possible through the corridor and down the stairs.

Thankfully they were closer to the room than the ones coming from the ground floor.