#darkestnightevent001

[justagryffindorgirl]

What kind of world did they live in when running into one of your professors, Professor Slughorn to be exact, was a valid excuse to be late to anything? Only tonight Lily was not hurrying to class or a club or even the library (her second home), she was late for a meeting with a friend. A secret friend she was not supposed to have but what people did not know could not hurt them, right?

“Oh, Merlin...” Lily started as she raced into the room of requirement. Halting suddenly, Lily stopped to stare at her surroundings. Typically, she was always the first one to the meeting spot which meant she got to control what the room essentially was. Only this time James had arrived first which made her curious as to what shape it would take. Would it be something outdoorsy such as the quidditch pitch? Would it resemble their secret meeting spot in Hogsmeade? Would it mirror the starry heavens outside?

“Slughorn wanted to talk about his theories as to why Amorentia smells different to everyone or the best ways of brewing Veritaserum...” Lily started before dissolving into a laugh. It was not like James Potter to care about Potions theories well above their current level.

“I mean hello, James. I brought the chocolate.” Lily told her friend as she pulled out a small collection of chocolate frogs.

@staggeringlyprongs​​

[doexaxdear]

Who: Dorcas & Frank ( @loyallongbottom )  When: October 8th, 1975 Where: Hogwarts Dormitories

For the most part, Dorcas kept her head down and she stayed off the radar as much as possible. While both her siblings were good at drawing attention to themselves, Dorcas always thrived in the shadows. Most of the time, she didn’t mind, especially when it came to keeping other’s opinions of her and her family off her shoulders. Dorcas hated that it was something she had to worry about, and more so that she had to at least try to keep up appearances, or risk facing a fate like her parents had. As a means of saving face, Dorcas had started hanging out with people that she otherwise, likely wouldn’t have. Unfortunately, among that crowd were people that she came to genuinely care for. 

Frank was among those people, and while she wouldn’t ever go as far as to say that she loved him, there was a connection that made her care for him. They teetered on the edge between nothing and something, and Dorcas found that she didn’t mind it. Sure, the lines blurred and some days she didn’t know where exactly they stood with one another, but most of the time, she was content to stay right on that line of not too much but just enough. Dorcas was never all that good with commitment anyways, and this, this was far easier. 

Curled up against him, head resting on his shoulder, Dorcas absentmindedly traced shapes onto his chest. Quietly, she said, “I should start working on that charms essay,” but even as she said it, the thought was far away and she made no moves to actually get up. There was something so serene about the moment that Dorcas loathed to break it.

[staggeringlyprongs]

Who: Sibel & James ( @sibelseer ) When: October 8th, 1975 Where: Hogwarts Library

When it was suggested that James ought to tutor Sibel in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he wanted to scoff. He knows that despite his best efforts, his eyebrow had raised in confusion, and a slight frown had formed. It wasn’t that James wasn’t good at DADA, because really, it was one of the subjects he truly excelled in, he just doubted that Sibel really needed his help. She was among the smartest people in their year, so it baffled him to say the least. James had agreed on the off chance that she actually did need his help. If she did, he was happy to assist, but somehow, he thought the professor was just being a purist. It wouldn’t be the first time James had seen it amongst the faculty, not when it was both normalized and encouraged. 

In case he was right, James grabbed his other homework, figuring he’d at least try to get some work done if he wasn’t actually tutoring anyone. He’d given Sibel the time and place, and went for the table in a quiet area of the library, deep in the archives and close to a window. James pulled out his astronomy homework, scrunching his nose as he did so. Astronomy was not his cup of tea, even if he did enjoy looking at the stars. That was about all he understood of the subject if he was being frank. Still, he figured he’d try to get a crack at it so he at least had something to hand in on Monday. 

When he saw Sibel approaching, he gave her a small smile, “Hey, Sibel, glad you found me.” James had been fairly descriptive about the location. “I don’t want to come off as an arse, but do you actually need tutoring, or is Professor Pierce just being a dick?” he asked, “because I’m happy to help, but if you don’t need it just tell me to shove it.”

[justagryffindorgirl]

The last few hours could only be what Lily could describe as a hazy; a dream (nightmare really) that was horrible but surely you would wake up finding yourself warm and comfortable in your bed. Yet, there she was and no matter how much she pinched herself she was not waking up. There were still people standing all around her, taunting her in a way that made Petunia’s jeers seem almost jovial.

Lily bit her lip as the hands of one of the older students found her and shoved her to the ground, the rough cobblestone floor scraping her knee and tearing at her robes. She couldn’t let them see her cry, she knew this somehow, but it didn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes as jeers of Mudblood rained down.

Once the mob had cleared a bit, gone to pick on some other poor first year, Lily had found herself looking up at the one who had promised her visions of grandeur and magic. “This can’t be Hogwarts,” she muttered as she rubbed at her scraped shins and keeps.

“You said...” She looked up at Severus waiting for him to tell her otherwise. Waiting for him to enchant her with his stories of beautiful, amazing magic that made flowers bloom in her hand and would change the world. Magic that could move mountains and grant her the ability to make the impossible possible and the loss of her family bearable.

“Is this really Hogwarts...?”

@potionsprince​​

[justagryffindorgirl]

"Lily Evans,” Lily introduced herself as she reached a hand out to Ted Tonks. He had been a few years ahead of her in school, but they were more alike than different. All the Muggleborns knew who each other were regardless of the year they were in. It was a small bunch and no one really knew the torture of their blood status quite like the ones that had to live the horrors.

Lily drew a deep breath and held it before slowly releasing it. She had not been working at Borgin’s for long but this was her test. She knew her employer may not trust her, but he needed a body to do the jobs that were seemingly below those of the more worthy.  “Right, this is incredibly awkward. I really do not want to be here...” Lily rambled. “My employer...”

Lily fidgeted in the dark dinning room of the Leaky Caldron. “There is a story the Prophet is writing...” She sighed. Ted was a fact checker and tasked with the supposed truth finding mission, however, it was probably highly subjective.

“There is a story getting ready to hit print that could look bad for him and...” The story needed to be buried and Lily did not want to be there asking but she also needed her job. It was nearly guaranteed her employer would not be implicated as a high ranking member of society but he wanted assurance.

“I am sorry,” she said softly frowning because she really did hate what she was there to do. “Please understand my job sucks just as much as yours probably does, you know?”

@tonks-edward​

[justagryffindorgirl]

The air was chilly in only a way Hogwarts could be in the fall. The leaves had burned brightly and were now painting the ground in hues of orange, red, and brown. Autumn had always been Lily’s favorite time of the year. However, she was not pleased to be finding herself outside preparing for another round of Care of Magical Creatures. It was not that Lily thought it useless, it just was not as mentally invigorating as her Arithmancy classes or Ancient Runes.

When the professor brought out the unicorn, Lily had to admit she was intrigued. Unicorns were a creature she was familiar about having read all about them. Everything about a unicorn was magical and there was a clear reason why their hairs were used as wand cores.

“Maybe you should let me handle this,” Lily told her classmate, Sirius Black, who had just happened to be paired with her for these few assignments. “They do prefer a female’s touch after all,” she pointed out. It did not matter how pure someone’s blood was when it came to unicorns. “Blood doesn’t help much here.”

@hierblxck​​

[nrcissamlfoy]

Where: Hogwarts grounds When: October 1976 Who: Narcissa & Sirius @hierblxck

It was a beautiful fall day and Narcissa was planning on spending as much of it outside as she could before the weather got too cold and it started to snow. She was on the lookout for Sirius, had a book that she wanted to return to him before she forgot, but she also wanted to check in with him. It still felt strange that Andromeda and Bellatrix weren’t at school anymore, and she found herself missing them. They wrote to each other constantly but it wasn’t the same as when they had all been at school. But she was grateful that she had Sirius there too, even if they hadn’t always been nearly as close as her and Nellie. She appreciated her cousin all the same, and knew that he would be there for her no matter what.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a familiar shock of dark hair.  "Sirius!” Narcissa called out to her cousin, a smile on her lips as she walked briskly to catch up to her cousin. She was glad that she had found him without too much effort. She had work that she needed to get done later, but she had carved out some alone time for herself. Her friends were back up in the castle, in the dormitories, but truthfully, she was growing tired of their constant gossip about boys and fashion. She really just wanted to curl up under her favorite tree with a book, away from all of the pressures of being Narcissa Black.

At least with Sirius she could just be Cissa. She didn’t have to worry about putting on a show. Finally catching up with him, she leaned up and kissed his cheek and hugged him quickly. “I have that book I borrowed,” she said, digging through her bag. “It really helped for that paper, thank you.” She produced the book and handed it over to him. “Where are you going?”

[nrcissamlfoy]

Where: Potions class When: October, 1976 Who: Narcissa & James @staggeringlyprongs​

“And...Narcissa Black and James Potter,” Slughorn recited, glancing up from his parchment to glance at the two of them. “I think that that’s everyone.”

Narcissa sighed and glanced over towards James Potter. She had been hoping that her partner would be someone that she was friends with, but she supposed that James Potter wasn’t the worst partner. She could do worse. And she was fairly sure that he was decent at potions so it shouldn’t be too bad. Last year she had had to carry her partner and that wasn’t an experience that she was looking to repeat this year. Narcissa searched the room for him, and sat back in her seat, waiting for him to move to her. She certainly wasn’t going to gather her things and walk over to him. 

When he finally got the message and came to move to her table, she sat up a little bit straighter and turned to face him. “You’re good at potions, right?” She asked without giving him a chance to even say anything to her. She toyed with her quill in her hand as she looked at him expectantly. “Last year I had to pull the weight of my partner and I would rather know that up front if that’s going to be the case this year.” She certainly hoped that James wouldn’t be like that, he came from a respectable family. And if it were to be the case, she would go to Slughorn right away and demand a new partner. She just needed to know what her course of action was going to be this year.