let it burn (ranger and anna)

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-MID MAY 2023-

Abby was ready to pass on the torch. She wanted to keep Phoenix Rising up and running as a force for good at the school. A force for protection, kindness and bravery. She knew that many other members would still want it too, even though the murders were all solved. There was no way to know whether or not Elaine still had followers at the school among the younger students, so Abby wanted to be prepared.

She had a few short discussions with some sixth years, trying to determine who she felt would be best to watch over PR after she graduated. She and James would still be the 'Heads', technically, but they couldn't be there for everything. She couldn't see everything. After all, she wouldn't be at Hogwarts any more.

Today, she had invited @annelise and @ranger to meet her in the Room of Requirement to meet with her. She had decided they're strengths and weaknesses combined would make for a great team.

She waited there, having asked the room for a small card table and a few chairs to sit in while they talked.

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Anna wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but she knew something important was happening. Why else would Abby want to talk to her? I mean, she was a member of Phoenix Rising, but not an important member. She was just trying to do what was right. When she'd received Abby's invitation to meet with her in the Room of Requirement, she didn't know what to think. Of course, she was going. What else could she do.

As she walked to the Room of Requirement, Anna started thinking more and more about what it could be. Nothing. Oh well. Nothing to do but go and get there as quickly as she could. She'd know what it was soon enough. As she finally reached the Room of Requirement, it was to see the door there. She knocked and then walked in. Abby was already there. No surprise. "So," Anna looked around the room, walking to a small chair and sitting down. "Are we waiting for someone else?" 

@abigail, @ranger

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@abigail && @annelise

moving into the room of requirment he saw that abby had beaten him and annalise weasley already in the room. he was late? he thought he had been on time. walking into the room further he grinned a little as he folded his hands across his chest casually and he looked between the girls. "morning" he said as he glanced to the chairs and assumed abby wanted to talk about something that would take more than a few moments. "something the matter abby?" he said as he moved to sit down in the chair next to anna.

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Anna arrived first and Abby nodded at her, "yeah, Ranger's coming," she said right before he walked in the door. She smiled, standing to greet them. "No, nothings wrong, Range. I just wanted to talk to you guys about something," she gestured to the two seats across from hers, sitting down again as she spoke.

"We may as well get right to the point. As you guys know, I'm graduating this year. Now, I know that Phoenix Rising was originally invented to try and solve the murders, but it's more than that now. It's a force of protection. It's eyes inside. It's a force for good," she leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. "I'd like you two to be in charge here at Hogwarts when James and I leave. You'd still be talking directly to me, with Ranger as the head contact," she pointed at him, "and you, Anna, as his second." She paused, giving them a chance to react to that much.

@annelise
@ranger

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Anna smiled and nodded at Ranger as he joined them in the Room of Requirement. Now she was really curious. Why would Abby want to talk to both her and Ranger. She quickly turned her attention to Abby once she started talking.

It was a good thing Anna was sitting down because if she hadn't been she might have fallen over. Out of all the reasons she'd tried to come up with to explain why Abby wanted to talk to her, this was not one of them. Her mouth fell open for a minute and he eyes widened as she stared at Abby. After a few seconds she got control of herself, closing her gaping mouth and trying to contain her shock. 

Well, the idea did make sense. She'd just never thought about it before. And if she had thought about it, she never would have imagined being chosen, even as a second. She felt ... honored and anxious. What exactly was she supposed to do? She was relieved that she was the 'second', which meant she wasn't completely in charge. Good.

She nodded as her brain slowly began to accept the proposition. "Alright, so what does that mean? What do you want us to do? Just keep things going and keep you updated or ..."  she trailed off, not sure what else Abby might expect. She turned to look at Ranger, curious about how he was reacting to this. Probably better than she was.

@abigail
@ranger

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@abigail && @annelise

"we may as well get right to the point. as you guys know, i'm graduating this year. now, I know that phoenix rising was originally invented to try and solve the murders, but it's more than that now. it's a force of protection. it's eyes inside. it's a force for good," "i'd like you two to be in charge here at hogwarts when james and i leave. You'd still be talking directly to me, with Ranger as the head contact," "and you, Anna, as his second." ranger's eyes widened just a little when abby told them why she had called them here. she wanted him to be the head contact that her and james had in hogwarts? that was big news. exciting news too but a huge responsibility on him and anna. but as he glanced across to her he knew they could do the job well enough. not as good as james and abby had done but he thought they could do them justice. "wow .. thanks abby." he said as a smile crept onto his face. he knew the importance of the job they had been given. they could help keep the students of hogwarts safe, take information that abby and james from the outside and hand it back to her from the inside. now they knew the person that had hurt ethan the first time was a student .. there was bound to be more of them inside the halls of the school. evil grew and gained support quicker than most people thought. "Alright, so what does that mean? What do you want us to do? Just keep things going and keep you updated or ..." he leaned his arms down on the table and folded them as he listened to anna. "regular meetings .. we'll send you copies of any idea's people have .. or just get a quotes quill to writ down important things so you and james can see everything"

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Abby smiled back at Ranger as he thanked her, but only briefly before her businesslike nature returned. It was a rare place for her to be in, but when she was there she was focused in on it. "That's the right idea guys, but there is something more important than meeting and brainstorming- though that is good," she started, "what I really need is for there to be people I can trust protecting the other students. I need you and the rest of Phoenix Rising to be active in making sure that nothing bad happens next year. Not like this year," she shook her head and looked down for a moment. Then she lifted her head once more. "No one should go anywhere alone, especially not at night. It's up to you to enforce that, to encourage that. Not too mention Elaine probably left others behind," she held back a gag at that name, "and you guys will need to help us figure out who those people are. James and I will be in contact, but we can't always be there. It's up to you to tell us what you see from the inside."

@ranger
@annelise

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Anna smiled at Ranger's response to her questions. She could sense the excitement in him, the enthusiasm about what they were being asked to do. She felt her own excitement rise as she realized what an honor this was. She could hardly believe that Abby chose her to help Ranger. Of course, he would be a good leader. She just never expected anything like this. Still, she trusted Abby and if this is what she wanted, Anna would do it. 

Then Abby started explaining the job she wanted them to do and Anna grew more serious. Protecting the entire school? Granted, it was something that needed to be done, but at the same time it was not going to be easy. Sure, there were some that would follow the rules, especially after all that happened this year, but she was nervous about the rebels. What about the people that made it difficult to protect them?

She nodded her head, "Of course. I'll do anything I can to help," she promised, wanting Abby to know that she accepted her offer. She paused. Now what? Was there anything else that she would need to do? Not that the job wasn't going to be difficult enough, but Anna was naturally curious and she couldn't help it right now.

@ranger
@abigail  

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@abigail && @annelise

"That's the right idea guys, but there is something more important than meeting and brainstorming- though that is good," "what I really need is for there to be people I can trust protecting the other students. I need you and the rest of Phoenix Rising to be active in making sure that nothing bad happens next year. Not like this year," ranger nodded at that. that wasn't something that was going to happen again. not if most of the student body or himself had anything to do with it. "it won't." he said as he thought back to how awful it had been. not knowing whether zander was okay, seeing people grieve for ethan and try and come to terms with what had happened. "No one should go anywhere alone, especially not at night. It's up to you to enforce that, to encourage that. Not too mention Elaine probably left others behind," "and you guys will need to help us figure out who those people are. James and I will be in contact, but we can't always be there. It's up to you to tell us what you see from the inside." he nodded a little, making a mental note of what he had to remember. "maybe we should task specific people in each house to keep an eye out for suspicious? albus and scorpius could keep an eye on the slytherins .. rubeus and sophia can watch their house .. anna and i can keep an eye on our guys and dominique and river can keep an eye on the ravenclaws?" he suggested, then if they saw anything they might need to worry about they could report it back to anna and ranger who could tell james and abby.

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Abby knew she could count on these two. She had trusted her gut and her gut was rarely wrong. They both showed incredible stalwartness in doing what needed to be done and taking care of the school. She knew she was right in asking Ranger to be the head of this 'student division' or whatever she was calling this. He was already making good suggestions and showing leadership, as was Anna by saying she was willing to help in any way she could. Abby nodded at Rangers idea, "that's perfect. You'll have everyone in the group keeping an eye out, of course, but it'll be easier if you only have specific people reporting back to you guys," she smiled, trying to ignore how grown up and responsible she sounded. She knew she had change this year thanks to Phoenix Rising, but she didn't want to hear herself talking like that too much!

"I trust your judgment, guys. I trust that you'll know what's important. Talk to those guys," she nodded to Ranger in reference to the names he had listed, "but don't share everything you know with everyone. Trust your instincts, but really only trust just each other with 100% of information. And me and James, of course."

@ranger
@annelise

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Anna nodded thoughtfully. She liked what both of them had brought up and was sure that she and Ranger could do what Abby was asking for. Granted, it wasn't going to be easy, but hey- nothing in life was easy and at least this would be good experience.

"Is there a specific way you want us to contact you about what we learn, someway that would be harder to intercept? And how often do you want us to report to you, or should it be whenever we find something out?" She asked curiously. Anna wanted to make sure she knew exactly what she was supposed to do. That way, she wouldn't do it wrong.

@ranger
@abigail