Oh. Well, there was relief in that no one had died yet and that dementors (probably) were not involved in anything either. But that older girl's mention of "yet" was a bit too morbid for Atlas' liking and he nearly asked her if she was expecting someone to die or perhaps even planning on something herself...but he never got the chance to ask his misinformed question.

Also none the wiser to the fact that the topic had been about someone's dad and that someone(s) was right here at the table. Or, at least he was none the wiser until everything started imploding at once.

The BANG of the doors swinging open had Atlas jumping with frightful surprise practically INto Aries' lap with his arms around his brother's neck. Atlas was NOT a scardy cat...but some bets were off when he was utterly taken by surprise. There was some relief when he saw that it was just the headmaster entering, but the relief soon turned to confusion which then gave was to horror as the man's face seemed like it was melting off like wax next to a hot flame. Screaming, gasping, unknown creeperdoodles suddenly pouring into the Great Hall and flanking all the tables like parasites...Atlas didn't know where to look first. And then he heard one of the older students ask what had happened to his dad...and something gruesome clicked inside Atlas stomach and shut down all other emotions.

What have you done with him?

How many times had he and Aries stayed up late in their bunk beds wondering just what had been eating at dad recently to have him acting strangely. Thoughts were triggered and he felt as though his entire being all the way down to his soul were experiencing spaghettification. Numbness took over and for a brief moment he felt nothing, which was a whole lot nicer than what he had been feeling.

But then one of these strangers was in his line of sight and Atlas gasped a lot louder than he intended to (read: he had not intended on making any sound and was honestly surprised that he could at all). "Those...those..." Lifts a finger and points at one of the strangers. "...those tattoos....those are...those Azkaban tattoos!"

And then one of his housemates had THROWN something at one of them. Sure it was just a wadded up piece of paper...but STILL! Natural selection.

...but could he throw something at one of them too?

Camryn was busy feeling invisible and not enjoying the feast so far when someone (Charlie) actually sent a general greeting to the table. “Hi”, she replied to the girl with a hopeful smile. Then a fellow first year sat down near her. “Hi Delilah. I’m Camryn.” This girl seemed nice. Maybe Cam wasn’t destined to to spend seven years in friendless solitude. Maybe. Cam Noticed Delilah looking down at the plates, “I’m starving. I hope we get to eat soon.”

She was just about to offer her new housemate a Chocolate Frog when the doors to the Great Hall opened with a bang. Camryn almost jumped out of her seat, she was so startled. She watched the man who entered the room heading up to the staff table. And then...........the man’s face started to melt before her eyes. Cam was horrified. Was this some kind of magical joke? Given the fact that everyone else seemed shocked, she guessed not. This was not helping her anxiety one bit. Camryn put her head down on the table, eyes shut tight. ”This is not happening”, she said to herself, as she tried not have a full blown panic attack.

Phoebe was going to tell Charlie that if she couldn't figure out how to look cute while wearing her uniform, she wasn't trying hard enough. It took a roll or two of the skirt waistband, interesting tights, appropriately splashy accessories, hair styling was key, and a signature scent. It wasn't hurting anyone to help the girl out... but then the Headmaster appeared.

Only he wasn't the Headmaster, and he brought friends, and even while Phoebe wanted to throw herself at the nearest hulking brute AND try to hug Kale's tears away AND calm the littles down (where the heck were the PREFECTS, ANYWAY?), she had much bigger bats ringing this particular belfry.

Kizzy. And Emm. "Kale. Where's Mavis?" She hoped that might center him just a little, enough that he didn't do something crazy. Like she wanted to do something crazy. Like the table was full of tiny bottles full of crazy in human forms. She had already pushed off of Cece to put an arm around Kizzy (and Emm in her lap). Her body was between them and the Hulks. "Don't make me send you home strapped to an owl."

Gabrielle was pulled from her day dreaming as gasps and shouts went up around the hall. She was slightly annoyed and a little intrigued as her eyes searched out the source of the uproar, but her own gasp was strangled as the horror of what was happening dawned on her.

If that wasn't the headmaster, then where was he?, She glanced quickly around, noticing Kale's tears and feeling the pangs of sadness for the younger boy wash over her. But that didn't last for long - the sadness was soon replaced by worry, urgency and adrenaline, fueling her as the seventh year saw what Adam had done.

Gabrielle didn't think about warning looks, she dealt in actions - and had she been Adam's age, she might well have done the same. But being older and wiser (or something), she knew what a mistake like that could cost him. These strange people didn't look like hurting a kid would phase them. Slipping out of her seat, she discreetly made her way to where Adam was sitting and took the seat next to him, elbows unapologetically hitting whoever was there. With a look toward the Ravenclaw table, desperately seeking out Leighton, she put a hand on her boyfriend's brothers arm, hoping that he wouldn't throw anything else.

"Adam, don't," her voice was practically pleading, even though she kept it low. Was it even her place to get involved? Gabrielle wasn't sure, but she'd never forgive herself if she didn't and something happened to the kid. And she wasn't sure Leighton would forgive her, either.

They took up position along the Gryffindor table, occupying only one side to allow their comrades space on the other. Here, they would wait for the "speech" of sorts and any further directives.

One turned at the crumpled napkin thrown by the tiny (relative to this massing hulk's size) boy (Adam). It was true, hurting children did not faze them and in reply, the man sent a searing amount of paint through the boy's body without ever having raised his wand. The warning came as nothing more than a nasty look but the boy would soon find himself writhing in agony.

The one who shot up asking for his father (Kale) was firmly gripped by both shoulders and shoved downward in an attempt to make him sit. "Quiet, boy!" The follower barked. There would be nothing more about that man they had plucked from the castle a year ago and more to come if he continued resisting.

"I'll break your finger the next time you point it at me." He warned the Flamsteed boy. "And you," The man turned to the girl holding the pair of cowering girls (Phoebe). "Don't do anything stupid. Wouldn't want those girls of your hurt, would you? That goes for the whole lot of you. Nothing else that's stupid."

A hard task for the Gryffindor kind but they would have to manage if they did not want to meet the same fate as the first boy and his associate over there.

”Don’t touch me!” Kale Trent roared back. The adrenaline that was flooding his bloodstream was certainly of the dumb, lion variety, but he didn’t care. They had done something to his father. His Dad was gone and these people had done it.

Who cared if the grip of the man on his shoulders was low-key tight and threatening?? And who cared if his friends, all in their way, were trying to refocus his attention to something more productive?? He didn’t want to be productive. He wanted his Dad.

He lurched to his feet again, brushing off those hard and demanding hands, and pushed one of the followers square in the chest. “What have you done with him?”

What even WAS calm right now?

Cecelia was straight up panicking, particularly when fake!Trent’s friends turned up, swarming the hall like angry bees. She was scared. She was scared and she was too far from her little brother to protect him like Phoebe was doing for Kiz and Emm. She stifled the urge to go to him, especially when the strangers were threatening them now. Threatening her people. Her friends. What did she DO?! She wasn’t mature enough for this, but she had to help somehow because Kale was fighting back and he wasn’t thinking and she didn’t want him hurt. And these people would hurt them, she could see that. Their eyes. The way they looked at them. You could just TELL. Kale needed to stop. He wasn’t allowed to get hurt, so she did the only thing she could and pointed her wand at her friend, trying for maybe the first time in EVER to be discreet. ”Stupefy.” She whispered the spell and then hurriedly put her wand away, so guilty about what she’d just done but also praying it worked.

She just hoped he wouldn’t hate her forever for it...

At the end of Headmaster Rosier's speech, a large pile of parchment appears. Take one and get it filled out with any of the many quills made available. No need to hand it in, just get it done and it will do the rest.

OOC: Please make a post here with this form filled out.

Emmerson was about ready to entirely lose her MIND. Adam and Kale were trying to fight the obvious villains in this narrative. Bernie was waving her wand in a way that made it seem like they were ALL ready to fight (spoiler alert: she was not). Fifi was not holding her and Kizzy nearly tightly enough. This was a mess. Her head was spinning and the moment those massive beasts took charge of the mini revolt, Emmerson knew she would not be trying to make tremendous waves.

Rather, the little girl continued clinging to her bestfriend, snuggling into Fifi was much as she could.

This new Headmaster...Rosier...she just....

WHEN COULD THEY GO HOME AND WHY WASN'T SCHOOL OFFICIALLY CANCELLED????? How was this not grounds to send them all home??? Why were they being forced to go through the school year???

The food arriving was nothing more than salt in deep wounds. Who could think to eat at a time like this????

The form though, she could do that. If it meant making sure her mama knew she was DEFINITELY here, then she could fill it out and hope she came to get her by the weekend.

Quote:

Name: Emmerson Nicole Justine Cambridge
Age: 12
Year: 2
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: June 2, 2091
Blood Heritage: Pureblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Alexa Cambridge, Sayid Pappadeaux, Fox Janvier
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Head Auror, Radio Personality, Photographer
Do your parents work at the ministry: Mama does
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: Mama doesn't care. I don't think Fox or Daddy do either.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment?
I don't really care either.

She was only mildly surprised to see the parchment disappear after she scribbled the last word. Just. Could they leave now? Please?

Kale Trent was a silly sort of boy. He did silly things and lived his silly life and had managed to do so quite frivolously for fifteen silly years. He was the kind of boy that was so silly that he really thought he could take on one of the obviously murderous looking men that had done something not-so-silly to his father. In fact, whatever had happened to his father wasn’t silly at all.

So it was probably very wise indeed, and not silly at all, that his friend took it upon herself to stupefy him. And with a thunk, his silly body collapsed unconscious like a silly doll, as if all of the strings that helped keep him up were suddenly cut.

"Do I look like I'm likely to do something stupid? Your mother might have been a cave troll but mine was a Ravenclaw," Phoebe snapped at the man who was standing TOO close. She could tell he was too close because Emmerson... EMMERSON CAMBRIDGE was trembling. No one scared her littles.

She sniffed as she pulled over the form, considering if there was any way to possibly avoid filling it out. Like, couldn't they all just go to bed (and maybe owl their parents somehow, right?)?? But as Phoebe glanced around, noting Cece drawing her wand on Kale and that poor ickle (Flamsteed?) getting berated by troll-man and so on, it became pretty clear they weren't going to get out of there without filling out the form. Fine.

Quote:

Name: Phoebe Skylar James
Age: 15
Year: 5th
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: 31 October 2087
Blood Heritage: Pureblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Maximus and Genevieve James
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Educator and Auror
Do your parents work at the ministry: Yes
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: We don't believe in plastic surgery. Even half troll men are beautiful.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? I'm naturally symmetrical

....so no one was going to join her, wands out, and GO AFTER THESE WEIRDOS TAKING OVER THEIR SCHOOL?!?

In fact, only Cece (of all people!!!!) was drawing her wand; a fact that should have scared Bernie into sitting back down. She hadn't seen her roommate be this take-charge since they'd been fighting a fire caused by a dragon at Beauxbatons! It shocked her! That, and, uh, the fact that other kids were getting shoved and yelled at and and and.... someone who was most definitely NOT Kale's dad was threatening them and calling it a speech and now they were forms and food...



It was all so overwhelming, honestly. She found her legs quaking as she sank back to the bench, a stupid form suddenly in front of her. "I don't know how to do this," the lionness muttered LOUDLY. "What does Muggle upliftment mean?"

Should she lie? Tell the truth? She elbowed the person nearest her. "HELP, I CAN'T READ."

This was one of those times when she wished Nem or Eiji or any other Slytherin were sitting next to her, so she could copy their answers.

In the meanwhile? Bernie picked up a roll and slathered it in butter, deciding she could eat and think and pretend to be unable to read.

Somewhere in the chaos of the Great Hall, Delilah had heard Camryn say something to her, but whatever conversation they were about to have was now lost. Truth be told, since Delilah was so new to this magical world and still didn't know what to expect, not too much had surprised her. Well, except for the whole face melting. That had pretty much been a nightmare.

She jumped when one of the kids about her age (Adam) got hit with some kind of...spell? Or whatever that had been. "Are you OKAY?!" she instinctively asked. I mean, obviously NOT, but she didn't know what else to do when somebody got cast on. Then there was another kid (who had a father working here she gathered) (Kale) who was literally freaking out (and within really good reason). Delilah felt tears trickling down her cheeks. They came slowly at first, but now they were coming so quickly that she saw little drip-drops of them on her skirt.

The Headmaster's speech didn't help matters either. Delilah was somewhat new to the magical world, she was new to Hogwarts, and she came here not knowing what to expect at all. All she wanted to do right now, though, was return to the orphanage. She didn't even know who these people were, and now they were talking about the kids possibly joining them? It was true that Delilah wished for a family of her own someday, but this was definitely not what she had in mind.

Regardless, she looked down at the form that she'd suddenly realized was in front of her and began to fill it out.

Name: Delilah Grace Ellerby
Age: 11
Year: First
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: March 5, 2092
Blood Heritage: Unknown (mother was magical; blood status of father is unknown)

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): The Late George and Imogen Ellerby; currently a ward of the state
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Parents are deceased
Do your parents work at the ministry: Parents are deceased
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: Unknown

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? I don't know what this is.

...and before she could think to whisper to a classmate and ask what muggle upliftment meant, her parchment was gone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo-Alliance Followers

They took up position along the Gryffindor table, occupying only one side to allow their comrades space on the other. Here, they would wait for the "speech" of sorts and any further directives.

One turned at the crumpled napkin thrown by the tiny (relative to this massing hulk's size) boy (Adam). It was true, hurting children did not faze them and in reply, the man sent a searing amount of paint through the boy's body without ever having raised his wand. The warning came as nothing more than a nasty look but the boy would soon find himself writhing in agony.

The one who shot up asking for his father (Kale) was firmly gripped by both shoulders and shoved downward in an attempt to make him sit. "Quiet, boy!" The follower barked. There would be nothing more about that man they had plucked from the castle a year ago and more to come if he continued resisting.

"I'll break your finger the next time you point it at me." He warned the Flamsteed boy. "And you," The man turned to the girl holding the pair of cowering girls (Phoebe). "Don't do anything stupid. Wouldn't want those girls of your hurt, would you? That goes for the whole lot of you. Nothing else that's stupid."

A hard task for the Gryffindor kind but they would have to manage if they did not want to meet the same fate as the first boy and his associate over there.

Because there was no wand, no incantation, no indication that Adam had even registered on the man's radar - when the pain came, he wasn't prepared in the slightest. All of a sudden, it felt like every one of his nerves were on fire. He let out a high pitched YELP and probably would have screamed if the breath hadn't been completely knocked out of him. He crumbled to the floor and out of his chair, twitching as it felt like every atom in his body was exploding. He couldn't breathe, the pressure on his lungs and his stomach and his head was too much...

The initial burst of searing pain finally started to subside after what felt like an eternity, and Adam just...laid there, like a slug. It was his only defense. Silently, tears had started to leak out of his blue eyes, and even though he felt like he had just been dropped from the air, and every bone in his body had been broken...he slowly began to climb back in to his seat after a few minutes. Maybe it was two, maybe it was ten. What was time anymore. He didn't say anything to anyone, avoiding their gaze, his cheeks turning beet red in embarrassment, and just stared at his plate. He didn't feel like eating - and even if he did, he wasn't sure he could stomach anything at the moment without it all coming right back up. He just wanted to be done with the feast so he could go back to his bed, curl up into a ball and sob freely away from prying eyes. He HURT. REALLY bad. He looked at his arms, expecting to see some sort of marks or bruises, but nothing. Just a lingering pain that made him feel like he might need help walking back to his dorm.

Why had he done that?? That had been such an overreaction for a simple napkin throw! Who would want to hurt innocent little kids???

He was focused on anyone BUT these Azkaban jerks, not wanting to even look at them the wrong way out of fear that they might do...THAT again. His pulse started to race as he started to wonder for a second if he had just been Crucio-ed but no, no, that couldn't be right. He hadn't even said an incantation! He hated this. He wanted to go home. He didn't care about anything else right now.

He barely registered that the fake!Trent was speaking, or anything else he said. Next thing he knew, he was being presented with a piece of parchment - seriously? A pop quiz the first night back?! This day could LITERALLY not get any worse. He scanned the form through blurry eyes, pausing at the end. What was muggle upliftment? What did that even mean?

He filled out the form robotically, just wanting to do what they told him so he didn't get hurt again. His hands were sore, and it hurt to hold his quill, so his handwriting was barely legible, but he finished it quickly, pushed it aside, and then placed his head on the table, hiding his face so no one could see him crying.

Quote:

Name: Adam Luck
Age: 12
Year: Second Year
House: Ravenclaw
Date of Birth: 30th November 2090
Blood Heritage: Half-Blood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): George Luck
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Shop owner
Do your parents work at the ministry: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: IDK.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? IDK what that means

Her cheeks were wet. It took her a moment to realize why, too distracted by the collapsed form of her friend and the words coming out of man who was most definitely not Headmaster Trent. This wasn’t happening. This was some sort of dream. They were going to be fine.

...She pinched her arm hard and winced, her heart sinking into her stomach as their new reality sunk in.

This was happening. This wasn’t a dream. Nothing was fine.

She wiped at her eyes stubbornly, trying to see through the tears so that she could fill out the form. ”Uplift is like...cheering someone up or on, isn’t it?” She was talking softly, her eyes on her own paper as she answered Bernie. ”Maybe that. I don’t know.” She didn’t much care.

Quote:

Name: Cecelia Summers
Age: 15
Year: Fifth
House: Gryffindor
Date of birth: 7-21-2088
Blood-heritage: Half-blood

Parent/Guardian(s) Name(s): Alec Summers, Ella Summers
Parent/Guardian(s) Occupation(s): Professional Quidditch Player, Dragon Rehabilitation Specialist
Do your parents work at the ministry?: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment?: I don’t know. You’d need to ask them.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment?: I try to make everyone feel good about themselves, so I don’t know? Last time I saw Grandpa?

She had been about to introduce herself to two other first-year girls she had noticed during the sorting ceremony (Camryn and Delilah) when the shouting and screaming and unconscious students and...melting headmaster stuff began.

Beth was shaking as she scooted toward the students next to her. She had no clue what she was supposed to be doing and she looked around frantically in a panic. Was this a normal first day at Hogwarts? Some sort of rite of passage or something? She was terrified out of her mind right now and she hadn't even made any friends yet and did her parents even know abou-

AHHHH

She yelped loudly as two of the boys sitting near her collapsed.

They were hurting students??? Tears gathered in her eyes. What the HECK was going on??

"Is he okay???" She asked aloud, eyes wide and staring at the unconscious boy. She turned to the other boy (Adam) and gasped when she realized he was still conscious. "Are you okay?" she asked.

The headmaster's speech made her even more panicky. What the heck was a...what did he say? Neon-alliance? What did they want? They all looked mean and scary. She hated mean people. She looked over the parchment in front of her and shakily began to fill it out. At least her parents would know she was okay, she brushed the stray tears away.

She furrowed her brows and looked up to see if anyone else was confused. "I don't know what muggle upliftment is?"

Noah needed a moment.... Or several moments to process everything that was happening around him. He kind of sat there with a blank facial expression, watching everything unfold. He didn't even notice that he had started to subconsciously sink further and further towards the bench, hoping that he could disappear or melt into the bench. This year was going to prove dangerous.... Very dangerous. And it didn't have anything to do with NEWTS!!!

He bit his lip, casting a glance over to the Slytherin table, hoping that he could spot his brother or Aboli. Hopefully they were fine. He'd have to find them later.... Then his attention was drawn to the Hufflepuff table. Minjae.... He hoped his fellow dude would be okay.

But he couldn't think more on it because a form appeared in front of him. A form that they had to fill out. He looked to his surroundings. First to his left and then to his right as he tried to figure out who was filling it out. Could they get away without filling it out or could he lie?

He glanced at the form in front of him and began slowly filling it out. He'd be as vague as possible and stretching a few truths... Sure the boy hated liars and lying but life or death or uncomfortable torture? He'd tell a fib. That's probably what Aboli would have advised him to do.



He left the last answer blank. It was best to leave that blank instead of writing something provoking like every time he breathed or at breakfast. He really wanted to write that the last time he supported it was at breakfast.

Biting his lip, he scribbled down a scribble, making it look like that he had awful handwriting before proceeding to scribble really really messily so his handwriting would look like chicken scratch.

Well there wasn't really anyone around to copy but at least Cece (lion of the DAY, in Bernie's opinion) was helping her out. So Bernie did what Cece did, and just.... filled the blasted thing out, setting her roll aside for long enough to write.

Quote:

Name: Bernadette Ophelia Grantham
Age: 15
Year: Fifth
House: Gryffindor
Date of birth: 1 March 2088
Blood-heritage: ???? Muggleborn ?

Parent/Guardian(s) Name(s): Harriet and George Grantham
Parent/Guardian(s) Occupation(s): Nurse, Unemployed
Do your parents work at the ministry?: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment?: Probably? They are not aware that they are Muggles though.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment?: I don't understand the question, and I won't respond to it.

Of course the parchment disappeared the instant she took her quill off it.
How odd. If only the real Headmaster were here, Bernie might have been able to find some amazement in all the new things she was seeing so far this term. Like... didn't one of the ickle firsties say the guys watching them had broken out of Azkaban?!? She needed to find a way to pepper the tattooed dude with questions. Because she had many, many questions for them.

But first, she had to finish eating this roll. And maybe a few green beans. And some roasted chicken, because it would be a shame to let the house elves' hard work just go to waste!

When one grew up with a dad who shouted at you in Klingon and threatened to toss you into a black hole when you were misbehaving beyond their threshold of patience, most threats were kind of like water off a duck's back. This was not one of those and Atlas' face instantly dropped and his finger curled back in to his palm, all fingers forming a tight little fist, as a VERY prevalent phrase in the Flamsteed household echoed in his mind: RED SHIRT.

Dad had always told them not to be red shirts, which the man had meant in a deeper meaning but it was one that was lost on the 11-year-old mind. To Atlas, in this moment, it simply meant one thing: DO NOT DIE.

And so the first year was recoiling back, glancing at his brother just when something absolutely horrendous took place.

There, within touching distance of himself, was the boy who had thrown the wadded up piece of paper with a look on his face as though HIS insiders were going through spaghettification...and it didn't take this Gryffindor two long to put two and two together. Unable to look away, despite wanting to do just that, Atlas froze in place seeing the boy's body crumble to the floor...like the wadded piece of paper that had bounced off the man who had performed the Unforgiveable. And then there was another body that fell to the floor around him...and he hadn't seen why. Another Unforgiveable!? Only this time...this time the boy - the older blonde boy with the nice hair who Atlas had come to the conclusion was the headmaster's (the REAL headmaster) - did not get up.

And then Atlas' eyes were not the only thing that leaked. His black trousers stuck to his skin as the urine trickled down his leg, absorbed a bit into his sock and shoes, and a couple of droplets fell on to the floor.

Dead. That boy...he was dead. He hadn't even seen the green light but he was dead. He had tried to attack these people too and instead of administering pain they went for death. Dead and that GIRL had KNOWN it was going to happen. She had SAID that no one had died YET.

SHE KNEW! SHE KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!

Trembling and unable to find his voice, Atlas took one of the pieces of paper - or several, his hands were trembling too much and he just took a stack which also sent some of them fanning out on to the floor - and turned dutifully back around and stared at the form. Trousers and underwear moist and smelling of terror, he took a quill and began to fill it out, his penmanship an absolute mess and almost to the point of being illegible.

Quote:

Name: Atlas Leonel Flamsteed
Age: 11
Year: first
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: 4/20/2092
Blood Heritage: halfblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Airey Flamsteed and Medea Romanos
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Department of Mysteries department head and Russian Ministry Specialized Agent
Do your parents work at the ministry: yes
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: [incoherent scribbling here]

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? [more incoherent scribbling here]

When he got to the last two questions...Atlas didn't want to answer. Dad LOVED muggle things. Dad even worked as the Astronomer Royal. What if...what if in filling out this form he was condemning his parents to death? Dad had been acting a little off for years now...what if...what if...they already had dad? More leaking ensued and the ink on Atlas' form smeared a bit as some tears dropped to the paper.

...what if...their dad...was already dead? Just like the real Headmaster Trent? What if...dad wasn't their dad?

What if in NOT answering that would get his parents killed? Or Aries...or Andromeda...or himself...

The blurry forget-me-not blue eyes looked around again, lingering on the boy who had been killed right here in the Great Hall and NO ONE was doing anything about. He was...the Cedric Diggory of all this, wasn't he? The first to fall.

Turning back to his parchment and scribbling something in the remaining spaces about having attended muggle schooling prior to Hogwarts until dad had pulled him from it last year, Atlas put his quill down and squirmed uncomfortably on the bench.

Could they please...move the body? Please?

Everything was happening. Everything was happening so much. Kinsay was having complete sensory overload. The only thing that kept her grounded in this moment was Emmerson’s hold and her older sister who had come to wrap her arms around them for protection. Kizzy tried to focus on breathing and not looking around at all the stinkfaces.

Until Adam Luck fell to the floor, at which point Kinsay audibly gasped.

”ADAM!” She didn’t even LIKE the kid and yet her entire body stiffened. Was he okay? Was he—KALE!

Not bearing to see anymore, Kizzy stuffed her whole face into her sister’s robes. Everything was terrible. It was awful. They were… filling out forms?

Kizzy turned once again to face the table, her mind was elsewhere, but seeing Emm and Phoebe fill out the forms meant that she would have to do the same. Already the questions gave her a really, really bad feeling in her tummy and her hand trembled as she filled it out.

Not knowing what 'muggle upliftment meant', she peeked over at Phoebe's form to copy.

Quote:

Name: Kinsay Cassandra James
Age: 12.65
Year: 2nd
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: 27 November 2090
Blood Heritage: Halfblood

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Maximus and Genevieve James
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): Educator and Auror
Do your parents work at the ministry: Yes
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: All trolls are beautiful, they are like snowflakes.

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? My right eyebrow is thicker than my left eyebrow.

She peeked over at Phoebe's form one last time before setting the quill down and watching the form disappear.

If it hadn't been Kale's dad, Morgan might have thought the face-melting thing to be a cool trick. Really grossed-out, sure, but a wicked trick all the same. But as it were, his best mate had burst into tears and he was sympathetic, he really was! He could only imagine if that had been his own dad. He definitely wouldn't have thought anything about it was cool.

And then a whole lot of things were happening at once and Morgan didn't know where to focus. On the overgrown minions surrounding their tables? Who were these guys anyway? They did not look like the friendly sort for sure and he had that righteous indignation by proximity thing when Kale shouted at them about his dad. Morgan opened his mouth to add a very unhelpful yeah! at the end, but.... WOAH these guys were mean!

"HEY!" Morgan yelled in protest at the one guy who shoved his friend down. Not that Morgan was likely going to actually do anything, but that was very uncool! And sure, they were bigger and nastier and maybe even murderers (they did look the part), but surely there were more students than bad guys, right? What were they going to do, take on all of them?

He did not get far in that thought process or lack of thought, because next thing he knew, Kale was slumping on the table next to him. What happened?! "KALE!" Did he faint? Was he...??? Morgan hadn't seen the surreptitious spell coming from another friend and immediately thought the worst... but the booming voice of the Not!Headmaster (new?? headmaster?!?) caught his attention. Yikes. He tried to half pay attention and half whisper to Kale, worried about his friend being dead or something.

"Kale! Kale, wake up!" he whispered harshly as he grabbed the front of his robes, shaking gently. This was awful! And in his panic-stricken mind, he tried to think of the right thing to do. He wasn't really dead, was he?? Wait... he knew that one spell that woke people up, but maybe... maybe it wasn't smart to use that right now. For once in his life, Morgan thought beyond the immediate moment and realized that as worked up as Kale had been, he might actually get himself in some real trouble if he was awake to step in it. Sure, he'd have his back if he was willing to put up a fight... but that would likely not end well. So maybe it was good that he'd fainted. Once dinner was over, he'd help him back to the common room, even sneak some leftovers from dinner back with him.

Slowly, he let go of the front of the other boy's robes and turned his attention to the parchment that materialized in front of him. .....these were dumb questions. And what the heck was muggle upliftment? Leaning over to some of his fellow fifth years, he asked them a general question. "Do you guys know what muggle upliftment is?" He thought he heard someone else question that too.

Quote:

Name: Morgan McCarthy
Age: 15
Year: 5th
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: 28 August 2088
Blood Heritage: uh... both my parents are magical, so.. magical?

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Ethan and Minerva McCarthy
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): herbologist and dance instructor
Do your parents work at the ministry: Dad works at the German Ministry
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: I dunno what that is

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? what is muggle upliftment?

For the First time in her life Charlie really wanted to blend it. It may have also been the first time she was thankful her annoying younger siblings were at least a year away from showing up at Hogwarts. This was not what they needed for their first year. Her eyes tracked the disgusting, and she meant disgusting men standing around the tables. Maybe they weren’t totally disgusting but they were lurking and trying to take advantage of kids. Of all the places they had to take over why was it Hogwarts.

Her eyes drew towards Kale as he hit the ground “Oh boy” she mumbled. She absolutely did not want to get up and have one of the goon squad restrain her. No thanks. She hoped that maybe he just passed out from the shock and that he’d be okay in the long run. That wasn’t too hopeful was it? She turned to hear Headmaster Rosier speaking up. It wasn’t going to be rainbows and unicorns? Really if taking the castle wasn’t enough indication he had to reiterate that to them. It took everything in her not to huff and roll her eyes at his obvious statement.

Fill out a form with their info? This didn’t sit well. She’s been in far sketchier situations with her parents. They were usually interrupting some locals life and causing a stir. There’s been a few times they had to be told how to say nothing until their parents arrived. But this felt different all together. Her eyes focused on Morgan because what actually was muggle upliftment?

Quote:

Originally Posted by parchment

Name: Charlie Rivers
Age: 14
Year: 5th
House: Gryffindor
Date of Birth: 31 December 2088
Blood heritage: uh... magical?

Parent/Guardian(s) name(s): Gretchen and Aris Rivers
Parent/Guardian(s) occupation(s): artifact specialists
Do your parents work at the ministry: No
Do your parents support muggle upliftment: ...I don’t know?

When was the last time you supported muggle upliftment? what is muggle upliftment?

No sooner than she had written the question her paper went flying away like nothing was ever in front of her she made direct eye contact with Morgan and looked up and down the table once more.

"Adam!" Gabrielle couldn't stop the shout from leaving her mouth, turning angrily to the frankly evil people around the Gryffindor table. She hadn't seen who'd cast the spell, didn't even know who Adam had hit with his napkin, but she knew that one of them had caused the yell and the writhing that was coming from the boy. "What have you done to him?!" Her voice was high and incredulous, the question barely asked before she was looking back at Adam, eyes searching for visible injuries. "Are you okay?"

Yes, she was worried, and the fact that Adam was her boyfriends brother definitely played a part in that - would she have reacted the same if it had been some other kid? Honestly, Gabrielle didn't know. But her gasp was strangled when Kale dropped to the floor, eyes searching for whoever had cast the spell (of course, she didn't for a moment think it would be a fellow student, and so she focused on the adults). But she was scared. She'd never admit it, not even to Willa or Leighton, but Gabrielle was royally freaked out.

During the... evil man's speech, the seventh years gaze kept dropping to the boy next to her, worry lines seemingly permanently etched onto her forehead. Was he going to be okay? Was there any permanent damage? And what about the Trent boy?

Casting another look around the table, she focused on Flamsteed - if that was his name. She didn't manage to wonder how the evil guy had known, assuming that they'd just been listening or watching or SOMETHING during the Sorting. Either way, she didn't have the time OR the mental capacity to think about that, not when the kid was crying. "Are you okay?" Gabrielle asked in a loud whisper, eyes full of concern.

When the food and forms arrived, she pushed her plate out of the way - how could ANYONE, really, ANYONE?! eat at a time like this?! Her stomach was knotted, her lip being chewed painfully as she picked up a quill. She could hear the chatters going on around her, and was relieved to know she wasn't the only person who didn't know what Muggle Upliftment meant. Sure, she was older than a lot of these kids, but no one ever said she was smarter.

Forcing a steady hand, she managed to fill out the form, not surprised when it disappeared and her hands were free to start twisting themselves in her lap.

It all happened real fast.

The sorting. Saying hi to her friends and asking them about their summers. The thought of HOGSMEADE WEEKENDS because she was a third year now. Cathal joining her in Hogwarts which is gonna be a blast and no more bag smuggling. The headmaster arriving and apparently melting???

And more sketchy people entering the hall.

First, Cassidy was confused. And then it started to worry her. She didn't know these people. That's not Headmaster Trent either. The lioness quickly looked around the hall for Alex, Benji, and Cathal. She just wanted to make sure they were doing okay. Especially Cathal. This was a DISASTER for a first welcoming feast.

Then one of her housemates was crying because one of those sketchy men sent a spell at him! And another housemate, this time an older one, got Stupefied???? Under normal circumstances, whoever sent that spell at him would have received all the WHOAs from Cassidy. But not tonight.

Especially with those forms? She gave the questions one look over and she sort of froze. Maybe turned a little pale there too. What did they care about blood heritage, or their parents' work? What do they have against the ministry? This didn't look good AT ALL. Cassidy looked around for anyone in her table, looking for someone who wouldn't want to fill in the form because she'd then do the same, but she found no one. It's probably smarter that way, honestly.

Cassie had considered lying, to save her mum. But the little Gryffindor knew what her mum would tell her if she did that. Mum's an adult, also very smart and skilled. She'd know how to take care of herself. Hopefully mum would forgive her for this.

But the moment she filled up the form, it disappeared and she almost felt sick.

What in the Felix felicis was going on?

Everything was going like a normal (though what was normal for Hogwarts?) The sorting, and waiting to eat. Yes even with everything unfolding Christian still had food on his mind. But then the headmaster or at the time he looked like the headmaster comes barreling through the doors not very super hero like to add. He'd been acting... Off yeah? before now. Then the strangers lined up around the table too. The headmaster MELTED right in front them.

From there everything moved fast too fast for the third year to keep up with. People crying and yelling. He was looking around at the same time looking for his friends and family at their tables, just to check in on them. The imposter who was sitting in the headmasters chair was now giving a speech.

None of this sounded good to him. The only ushering he wanted to do was to usher this man and his goonies out of here already. Was there away he could hop back on the train and go home? Nah it was probably too late for that.

Instead he took the parchment and quill and filled this out. Carefully he was completely suspicious of all of this.

He was really REALLY going to hate his year wasn’t he? He watched as the paper disappeared. Great! Now could he eat?