Before Heath could raise his hand to speak, all Hades broke loose. He wasn’t the slightest bit shocked to learn that Upstead had joined the Inquisitorial Squad; they were way too eager to embrace Rosier’s ruthless ways, even before anyone knew that was Rosier and not Headmaster Trent! Nor did he feel betrayed, In order to be betrayed, he would’ve had to have trusted the person in question at some point. Part of him wanted to laugh at the utter ridiculousness of their statement - in all his time at Hogwarts, the only thing he’d ever seen Upstead maintain was chaos - but he didn’t. Not out of fear but all-consuming hate, hate so strong that even acknowledging their existence was too good for them. As of now, That was dead to him.

That hate was joined with worry… worry for Minjae and that other injured guy (Moose) and worry in general as Rosier appeared. It was too much emotion for Heath to process all at once, so he just sort of shut down. His entire body stiffened, as if frozen in place, and all he could do was watch with blank, unblinking eyes as four of his classmates (Ashley, Minjae, Kale, and Moose) vanished in a cloud of black smoke. Although his body remained motionless, his heart and mind were going a million miles an hour. What just happened? Were they dead? Probably not… if Rosier had killed them, he probably would’ve left the bodies as a reminder. Maybe they were vanished out of existence instead?

Whatever it was, Heath had a feeling they were gone forever. That thought broke his heart, but he was too numb to react. Ashley was his friend, and he liked Minjae well enough. He didn’t know Kale and that other kid (Moose) well, but neither of them deserved that and Varma… It was only hearing how small and quiet the professor’s voice sounded that jerked him out of his near-catatonic state. Every day of his imprisonment, he wished that all of the professors who left him to his fate would know his pain, but now that it happened, he didn’t feel vindicated, just more sad.

Then just like that, they were moving on. Now on top of everything else he felt, Heath was confused. Inhabit their persona? Successful Polyjuice performance? That sounded exactly like acting! So what was the point of Varma’s earlier comments? If acting was such an inferior art form, why was this activity acceptable? Whatever, he didn’t care anymore. He supposed he didn’t have to make sense of it, just go with it.

He got up from his seat, grabbing a quill and parchment. “Does anyone need a partner?” he asked, his dark eyes scanning the room in search of a person not already paired up. So far, it looked like everyone was already taken, and panic set in. He didn’t want to get into trouble for not completing the activity! While he waited for someone to take him up on his offer, he quietly observed all of his classmates’ mannerisms, just in case he could find a partner in time.