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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Apr 26, 2017 12:30:20 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2017 12:30:20 GMT -7
Cecelia had thought that she was done with her nightmares once and for all; she had gone an entire three days without being plagued by one of the frightening dreams, which was longer than she had gone since before Braelynn had died - but not died. Cecelia still had to remind herself occasionally that her sister wasn't, in fact, dead. It didn't really matter what the reality was, at least not in her sleep. Her subconscious had absorbed Braelynn's death and was unwilling to let go of it, especially since it made for such interesting nightmares. It was for that reason that Cecelia was glad that she was on patrol that night - when she was tired there was less of a chance that she would be disturbed from her sleep, and the quiet of the halls gave her the time that she needed to think. Cecelia normally didn't patrol with her wand in her hand, but since she had been interrogated by Harry Potter, she had been afraid that Elaine was going to discover that conversation and do her harm for being a traitor (which probably ought to have been higher up on Cece's list of worries than it actually was). Thus, when she thought she heard another set of footsteps in the hallway, Cecelia raised her wand slightly. "Lumos." She mumbled, her voice not betraying her nerves.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Apr 26, 2017 20:15:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2017 20:15:11 GMT -7
The nightly patrols were a tradition that even in her old age Minerva could not skip. Her body had gotten so used to the act due to spending the majority of her life that even after eight years it'd felt like second nature to continue upon her return to Hogwarts. These night patrols were far less peaceful as former year though, due to the heightened security and auror presence. She shooed off her third Auror, who like his predecessors was determined to have her go to bed to 'leave the menial work to the young', as one put it. She'd given him quite the scolding and earful for that. But now it was thankfully quiet once more. Except... Yes.... those barely noticeable echoes from several floors below could only be the handywork of the polergeist. She wouldn't bother with him tonight.
After a few moments though of mostly silence another sound reached her. Footsteps. A light soon appeared from the tip of a wand and the face of one of the Gryffindor Prefects was revealed. She'd yet to have a chance to meet them all, but she knew all the students in leadership positions by name and face at the very least, so as to recognize them when she did meet them. With a wave of her hand a nearby torch lit and cast the hallway in a warm cozy glow. "If I recall correctly the patrols are meant to catch those not welcome in the halls at night. Announcing your location so quickly defeats the purpose, does it not?" She spoke in a calm fashion, not chastising exactly but also making a point.
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Apr 29, 2017 18:54:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2017 18:54:10 GMT -7
Cecelia recognized the woman who was the source of the footsteps, which wasn’t saying much, considering she recognized many people on both sides of the ideological spectrum (that was, if Elaine Dupree were to walk into the school, Cecelia would recognize her, too). When the woman – the headmistress – spoke, asking Cecelia if revealing her location defeated the purpose, the Gryffindor blinked, unsure whether or not the question was meant to be rhetorical or not. Assuming the latter, Cecelia responded. “It doesn’t do me much good to guess whether or not someone is unwelcome, and without seeing them, how am I to know that they are?” It wasn’t like people who were bad walked differently or talked differently from the rest of the world. An assassin sent by Elaine could have the exact same footfalls as another prefect, if they so chose. Now that the torch one the wall was ignited, though, Cecelia felt comfortable putting out her wand, incanting Nox wordlessly and trying not to stare at the headmistress. She already had enough people on her bad side without adding the school’s leader to that list.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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May 12, 2017 19:30:33 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2017 19:30:33 GMT -7
With the torches now lit Minerva could get a good look at the prefect. And realized that she actually recognized the girl. Rousseau. Her sister had died last year, or rather her twin. And the other sister last November. Such a tragic story, losing all of ones siblings in such a short span of time. None the less, here she was, keeping up with her duties. A weaker person wouldn't have been able to handle such deep trials in such a short span of time. "Enchanted glasses, that permits you to see in the dark. Personally I find it much easier to simply transform into a cat, then I don't need to worry about the hassle of the glasses." Of course she had an answer to the dilemma. "Our charms Professor is quite competent, and could provide the material necessary to perform such an enchantment." Said charms Professor had, in fact, been a student when Minerva had been Headmistress the first time. It was always good to see her students grow up and achieve great things. Clasping her hands together and in front of her, Minerva surveyed the young Prefect once more. "Anything to report yet?"
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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May 12, 2017 20:43:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 12, 2017 20:43:01 GMT -7
Cecelia didn’t know why no one had ever suggested enchanted glasses to her before – or, even better, why they weren’t standard use in patrols, for prefects and Aurors alike. She nodded once to show that she had understood, and then paused to listen to the headmistress recommend that she ask the Charms professor about it. “Professor Zhu is the faculty supervisor for the club I’m captain of, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting them from her.” Cecelia offered, still slightly hesitant in her interactions with the new headmistress. She didn’t know how much the woman had been told about Cecelia’s past, and she felt like she was walking on eggshells, waiting for the headmistress to bring up how Cecelia didn’t look like a murderer or something of the sort. Of course, the older woman almost definitely had enough tact not to say it in those words, but they would be hidden in some other question. When asked if there was anything to report yet, Cecelia shook her head. “Most nights there’s not.” She said. The worst Cecelia had ever seen was a few kids breaking curfew in the most innocent ways possible, which was good, because if something worse did come up…Cecelia would be damned no matter what she did.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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May 29, 2017 13:00:09 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on May 29, 2017 13:00:09 GMT -7
Minerva nodded at the mention of Professor Zhou being the supervisor of the club Cecelia captained. Honestly Minerva didn't know what club that might be and she didn't actually care. There were several clubs at Hogwarts and she didn't have time to keep track of them all. "If you do the enchanting yourself she may consider it credit worthy." enchanting items wasn't the easiest act, despite common belief. There was a reason good quality magical items had a hefty price tag.
Hogwarts was, predominately quite quiet at night. Despite all the patrols. "Peeves is down on the third floor causing quite the racket if you're interested." There were few people in existence that could remotely control the poltergeist. The Bloody Baron, of course, could get Peeves to do anything. The Weasley twins had had a disturbing partnership with him. He only listened to Minerva about half the time, the other half she magicked him and his nonsense away. Students and prefects though... they were his favorite victims.
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Jun 3, 2017 19:15:49 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2017 19:15:49 GMT -7
The headmistress commented that if Cecelia enchanted her own glasses, then the professor might consider giving her credit. “I don’t…need credit.” Cecelia said slowly. “I mean, I have an O in the class. And I’m not planning on doing anything with Charms.” Cecelia kicked herself mentally for saying that. She wasn’t the kind of person who gave up on a subject just because it wasn’t something she was going to do for the rest of her life. If that was the case then the only class she would have put any effort into would have been Astronomy. Cecelia’s marks spoke for themselves – she was not slacking off anywhere.
“I find that I have enough trouble in my life without going looking for more.” Cecelia said drily when the professor suggested going looking for Peeves. “Funny what the world will do to you when you put your guard down.” She said with a sigh. The headmistress probably knew more about that than Cecelia did, though. The headmistress had seen so much of the world, and Cece had only seen a small fraction of it. And what Cece had seen of the world – what they had both seen of the world – was not pretty. The headmistress had seen two wars, and Cecelia had seen two sisters die. “How do you keep it from destroying you?” She whispered. Cecelia was so worried that eventually all of the pieces of herself that had been falling apart, and she had been pasting back together, were going to implode, and then she was going to be even worse off than when she had started… evil and bigoted, but whole.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Jul 9, 2017 18:45:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2017 18:45:10 GMT -7
Minerva gave Cecelia a rather stern look when the girl stated she wasn't planning on using charms. Not using charms?! "Charms are one of the most fundamental skills in our society. You use charms every single day, and will continue to use them for the rest of your life." Some of the most basic skills, even 'Lumos' were charms. Transfiguration, and art Minerva was famous for, unfortunately, was a skill most wizards wouldn't use frequently. It was far to specialized. But charms... That was go to for everyday spells. "But-" She continued, before Cecelia could respond. "It is always best to play to your strengths. So if that isn't charms, chase after what is."
That comment about not looking for trouble brought the faintest smile to Minerva's lips. She wasn't one to smile often, so this was a rare feat. "Then you are wiser then many of your peers and their parents." Minerva was quite convinced that many of the Gryffindors over the years had gone out of their way to find trouble.
Cecelia's next words were.... surprising. About what the world would do to your when you let your guard down. About how you kept it from destroying you. Minerva didn't respond immediately. She knew this girl's story. Or at least what had been in the Daily Prophet. Instead, she took her time to come up with a response. And when she finally did respond? Her voice was softer. "Because I knew that doing what is right is bigger then myself. And even if it did destroy me I'd know that I had done everything in my power to do my part."
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Jul 10, 2017 11:29:21 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2017 11:29:21 GMT -7
Cecelia subconsciously straightened her spine when the headmistress leveled a stern gaze. Disapproval prickled at the back of her neck, and it was both a foreign and familiar feeling. She definitely wasn’t used to that sort of thing at school – none of her professors had ever come close to how her parents sometimes looked at her when she was doing something wrong. It seemed the new headmistress was different from them in that perspective. “I meant in my career.” Cecelia corrected. “I want to be an astronomer.” She explained. There was nothing that she would do as an astronomer that no Muggle couldn’t also do, except for when it came to explaining how the stars and the planets influenced magic – and that was straying more into Divination than Astronomy. She doubted the headmistress actually cared about what her plans were after Hogwarts, as long as Cecelia was no longer her problem. “I don’t know if you could call it a strength, or just my strongest weakness.” Astronomy was the only thing that Cece knew of that didn’t turn her stomach in uncomfortable reminders of her sisters, and thus the only thing the Gryffindor could imagine spending the rest of her life with.
Cecelia suppressed a chuckle when McGonagall said that not seeking trouble made her much wiser than most of her peers and their relatives. If only that was the truth. Her mirth quickly died when the conversation returned to the rather serious question she had asked. The headmistress said that she knew that doing right was bigger than her, and Cecelia tried not to frown. She had already failed at the most basic elements of what the headmistress was saying. “What if…you already did something wrong?” Cecelia asked, voice growing even smaller, if that was even possible. “What if you trusted someone you shouldn’t have, or did something because you were scared?” She was supposed to be courageous, but when it had really counted, Cecelia had chosen to possibly put hundreds or thousands of other people in danger so that her own life could be spared. She wanted to know if the headmistress thought there was any redemption for people like Cece.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Jul 31, 2017 21:25:23 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2017 21:25:23 GMT -7
Minerva respected almost every single subject taught at her school. Understood though? Not so much. Astronomy was one of those subjects that she'd only taken as long as she had to. She could respect those that excelled in the subject as well, and had a passion to pursue their strengths. "Strength. Weakness. It's all how you perceive it." In her own opinion each student had at least one strength, one thing that they felt good at. In Cecelia's case; Astronomy. "But I don't think you would be selected as Gryffindor prefect if the only thing you were good at was Astronomy." It took several skills to make a good prefect. While Minerva herself hadn't played any role in the currently called Prefects she trusted her Professors and predecessors judgement.
Already did something wrong? Minerva frowned. Such thoughts and questions were beyond the typical maturity of teenager. But, many of the teenagers at Hogwarts had been forced to grow up much faster then they normally would. A war would do that to anyone. She'd seen enough of them to know just how people changed. Good and bad. "Yes. I have." She answered simply. Mistakes, wrong choices, misplaced trust, fear, rash decisions. It was all apart of life. "And I will again before I die."
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Aug 1, 2017 14:04:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2017 14:04:08 GMT -7
The headmistress said that some things, like strengths and weaknesses, were all a matter of perspective, and Cecelia blinked at her. She wasn’t sure how to feel about that statement. There were some things, that, objectively, made people weak. Not having magic, for example, made it all too easy to harm Muggles without fear of retaliation, which was why Cecelia sometimes wondered why the Statute of Secrecy was still in place. Wizards may not outnumber Muggles, but they certainly outclassed them with magic. Invisibility cloaks and the Killing Curse made the guns and bullets that Muggles had a non-issue, as far as Cecelia was concerned. In any case, the Gryffindor wasn’t sure she was in a position to say that all of the things she thought of as her flaws were actually the things that strengthened her in one way or another. The headmistress said that Cecelia wouldn’t have been selected as the Gryffindor prefect if she hadn’t had other strengths, and Cecelia just smirked. She honestly had no idea why she had been made a prefect in the first place, but somehow she doubted it was because of her shining personality. Some mysteries, though, were better off unsolved, so Cecelia wasn’t sure she wanted to go poking around the reasons to her being promoted.
Cecelia swallowed hard when the headmistress said that she had already done things wrong, and would do so again before she died. “What do you do to fix it?” She asked quietly. The prefect was hoping that there would be an easy answer, but she knew all too well that things were never easy. The headmistress might tell her that she had to atone for her sins, but how? Cecelia didn’t know how to do anything when she was still under Elaine’s thumb.
@headmistress
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Aug 23, 2017 11:13:10 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2017 11:13:10 GMT -7
Something heavy was weighing on Cecelia's mind. That much was obvious. Minerva wouldn't ask what though. This wasn't the sort of conversation for insensitive curiosity. Whatever it was though, Cecelia obviously wanted to change things. Make them better. "That depends on what you need to do to make it right." it wasn't the answer Cecelia would probably want to hear. But the truth was rarely straightforward. So, she didn't leave it at that. "Life is rarely a single answer. If you want to fix whatever it is you've done you must decide for yourself what you need to do." it still probably wasn't the answer that the student wanted.
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Sept 15, 2017 9:21:47 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2017 9:21:47 GMT -7
What did she have to do to make things right? Cecelia wished that she knew, but she was kind of hoping that was what the professor was going to tell her. Damn all the teachers and wanting to teach them a higher sense of morality instead of just how to obey directions. It made things like this so hard. The headmistress went on to say that there was rarely a single answer in life, which Cecelia had definitely learned the hard way. She had used to think that being a blood purist was the only answer, and the right answer. It was the way wizards were going to survive, untainted. But then so much had happened, and… “I want my sister back.” Cecelia said, more to herself than to McGonagall. Braelynn would know what to do. She would know which choice was the right one to make, because she had already made the right choice. But it wasn’t that easy. Braelynn couldn’t come back, and part of that was her fault. Cecelia hung her head, shoulders slumping for just a moment as she collected herself. After a moment, she straightened, and then looked around. “I should get back to patrolling.” She said, though her voice lacked any sort of conviction.
@headmistress (you can end on your next post or nah, whichever you want~)
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Oct 5, 2017 19:06:29 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2017 19:06:29 GMT -7
The conflict of the soul, between good and evil, was a difficult one. One that Cecelia would be battling her entire life. It was normal though. But the seventh year seemed to be haing a particularly hard time with the challenge. Almost as if she was sure she'd fall and sink into the side of evil, and never find her way out. and her answer... of wanting her sister back. As Minerva recalled Cecelia had two. Keyword being 'had'. Desirae, the oldest, had been killed by Aurors last November, and Cecelia's twin, Braelynn had died a little over one year ago rescuing the kidnapped students. So... which sister did Cecelia mean? The one who had been in line with Elaine, or the one who was killed by Desirae?
The elderly witch merely noded at first, watching the way Cecelia's body moved, her emotions plain as day. "Yes, please do. I won't distract you from your duties any longer. And Miss Cecelia?" She paused momentarily. "The decisions you are facing. They will never be easy, and when one ends a new one will replace it. But my office is always open to you. If you ever need someone to speak to." She slowly offered. She was a stern teacher, but she also loved her students and would do anything for them.
@cecelia
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last online Mar 29, 2024 8:08:22 GMT -7
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Oct 7, 2017 16:56:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2017 16:56:50 GMT -7
Cecelia nodded when the professor said that she should indeed return to her patrolling. It was a bit of a relief to be free of another’s company, especially since talking about difficult subjects didn’t actually seem to lead to many answers. Before she turned, though, Cecelia listened to what the headmistress had to say. The decisions she was facing were never going to be easy – that much she had figured out on her own, after having to weight her sister’s life against the ideology she used to hold dear. Cecelia frowned when the headmistress said that there would be a new dilemma that faced her every time an old one disappeared. She was kind of hoping that that wouldn’t happen… even though she knew it would. “I will keep that in mind, headmistress.” Cecelia said, feeling rather small. She wasn’t sure whether or not she’d actually take advantage of the offer, but it was nice to know that she had someone other than madam Macmillan available to her if she had a problem that she needed help solving. Cecelia nodded one last time to the headmistress, before turning tail so that she could return to her patrol and her muddled thoughts.
@headmistress (le end)
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