Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2021 22:39:36 GMT -7
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Two years. In four days it would be two years since the Beauxbatons carriage blew up at the end of the Triwizard Tournament and Émile died. It hadn't gotten easier, obviously, and she hadn't gotten any of the answers she had hoped to find by coming to Hogwarts. She doubted it ever would be easy. To be snuffed out of existence in the way her brother had been left her with so many questions that she assumed would never be truly answered. There were meetings with members of the government explaining the attack and what that meant, but it never really made sense to her. Why Beauxbatons and Durmstrang? These people seemed to have a problem with Hogwarts and the Ministry. Foreign students leaving posed no threat. But it had happened and here she was, almost two years later still wondering why Émile had to die for some selfish purpose by an English terrorist.
Like the previous year, which had been spent basically in recovery from her own accident with the dragons at Hogsmeade, Maddie found herself picking at her food all week. Hogwarts, surprisingly, had decent food compared to Beauxbatons, though wasn't close to what the chef her family used to employee. The mere thought of what once was made her groan at the Hufflepuff table during dinner, her fork picking apart some sort of pasta dish that had found it's way onto her plate. Eventually she would eat a little bit. Mashing it into a pile of mush would probably happen first though. The din of the Great Hall was unusually quiet tonight despite the table being crowded. Apparently everyone really like the lasagna or something. That was a sign she should shovel a bite into her mouth at the very least.
Before she could, someone roughly sat down next to her and slightly bumped her elbow. Charlie Weekly. Her lizard obsessed roommate. Maddie had not been impressed during the fall term when the girl came back into their dorm with a lizard trapped inside a cage. The creature had since been released back outside, but the way Charlie fawned over the thing was sort of gross. The lizard belonged outside, not in a box underneath her bed.
As she watched her roommate start plopping food happily onto her plate, probably without a care in the world, her gaze drifted across the table. What a strange sight it was too. One boy had his fork up to his mouth but wasn't moving. The girl next to him was also blankly staring forward, as if paused midway through eating. Maddie looked around at the rest of the table and noticed that even the girl on the other side of her was perfectly stopped, fork in her mouth. It seemed like it was just her and Charlie Weekly that were moving for some reason. Charlie Weekly, who was in the process of putting food in her mouth as well. Maddie instinctively slapped the fork out of the other girl's hand, completely ignoring the complaints from her. She was too busy pointing at the frozen people, and Charlie seemed to understand immediately as well.
Everything happened in a flurry, as the noise of those still moving started to pick up around them. A shout about fire, and a large, translucent lion bounding into the Great Hall and warning the Head Table of fire in the floors above. Maddie didn't even have to hear the word a third time. Her fight or flight kicked in immediately, and she bolted out of the Great Hall and towards the entrance to the basement. The dragon fire from the previous year had driven out any semblance of wanting to stick around where others were. The Hufflepuff Common Room was the only safe place in her mind. Except for the fact that a few steps down into the basement level was met with the smell of smoke. Hadn't the lion said the fire was upstairs? Once again, Maddie didn't wait and sprinted back upstairs and into the Entrance Hall, where other students had started to filter out into. She went past them and immediately out into the courtyard, only stopping when she was on the other side of it and far away from everyone else.
Like the previous year, which had been spent basically in recovery from her own accident with the dragons at Hogsmeade, Maddie found herself picking at her food all week. Hogwarts, surprisingly, had decent food compared to Beauxbatons, though wasn't close to what the chef her family used to employee. The mere thought of what once was made her groan at the Hufflepuff table during dinner, her fork picking apart some sort of pasta dish that had found it's way onto her plate. Eventually she would eat a little bit. Mashing it into a pile of mush would probably happen first though. The din of the Great Hall was unusually quiet tonight despite the table being crowded. Apparently everyone really like the lasagna or something. That was a sign she should shovel a bite into her mouth at the very least.
Before she could, someone roughly sat down next to her and slightly bumped her elbow. Charlie Weekly. Her lizard obsessed roommate. Maddie had not been impressed during the fall term when the girl came back into their dorm with a lizard trapped inside a cage. The creature had since been released back outside, but the way Charlie fawned over the thing was sort of gross. The lizard belonged outside, not in a box underneath her bed.
As she watched her roommate start plopping food happily onto her plate, probably without a care in the world, her gaze drifted across the table. What a strange sight it was too. One boy had his fork up to his mouth but wasn't moving. The girl next to him was also blankly staring forward, as if paused midway through eating. Maddie looked around at the rest of the table and noticed that even the girl on the other side of her was perfectly stopped, fork in her mouth. It seemed like it was just her and Charlie Weekly that were moving for some reason. Charlie Weekly, who was in the process of putting food in her mouth as well. Maddie instinctively slapped the fork out of the other girl's hand, completely ignoring the complaints from her. She was too busy pointing at the frozen people, and Charlie seemed to understand immediately as well.
Everything happened in a flurry, as the noise of those still moving started to pick up around them. A shout about fire, and a large, translucent lion bounding into the Great Hall and warning the Head Table of fire in the floors above. Maddie didn't even have to hear the word a third time. Her fight or flight kicked in immediately, and she bolted out of the Great Hall and towards the entrance to the basement. The dragon fire from the previous year had driven out any semblance of wanting to stick around where others were. The Hufflepuff Common Room was the only safe place in her mind. Except for the fact that a few steps down into the basement level was met with the smell of smoke. Hadn't the lion said the fire was upstairs? Once again, Maddie didn't wait and sprinted back upstairs and into the Entrance Hall, where other students had started to filter out into. She went past them and immediately out into the courtyard, only stopping when she was on the other side of it and far away from everyone else.
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