Morning After: Emerindyl

[Godric Emerindyl]

Godric was sitting in the golden hall with many of his fellow housemates sitting around him. He had all but forgotten his loss at the duelling match and was still struck cold by the sight that had befallen him when he returned to the castle in the early hours of the morning following the after party for the duelling competition. He had arrived with Elouise attached on his arm and a large group whom were the first to return.

He would never forget the face on the boy as his body lay limp and unmoving on the cold stones surround the Ameraid fountain. It seemed strange that no one else had noticed him, though when Godric had inspected the body while telling others to stay back, the coldness of his skin meant clearly the body had been deceased for a long time. From there Godric had only but to wait a moment until his mother had arrived with the second group. From there the rest was history.

Since then he had been prodded and questioned several times by several different ministry officials and auror’s who had been assigned to the school. They had mentioned the boy had quite obviously been killed by the killing curse, as there was no physical harm to his body, he simply looked as if he had ceased to live. Godric had never seen such a thing, and was sickened by the thought of it being something he could find curiosity in.

He sat with the group and stared at the bare wood of the dining tables. It appeared that the house elves understood no one was hungry, as there was no hint of food or drink in the golden hall at all; only people sitting and wondering what had gone wrong in their world. Who would have done such a thing? Who could have done such a thing? Godric had not been there when the dead boy’s brother was informed, but even from the Golden Hall he could hear his howl of grief.

Godric would never be able to understand what it would be like to suffer such grief.

He turned his pocket watch over in his hands as he looked at the second hand ticking around. Time was such a curious thing. And it continued for everyone and everything else; all the while ceasing to be of any moment to Finnias Mark. Godric didn’t know what to say to his friends around him. He didn’t think there was anything he could say; he could only sit and wait for an opportunity to do something; anything. Until said opportunity arose however he remained silent.

[Rea Fines]

Rea had missed out on the duelling club experience. She was not pure-blooded enough to get into the club and was a little hurt at the amount of Emerindyl’s that actually went. She had actively paraded against the existence of a club that was so openly prejudice against people whom were not what was referred to as ‘pure-blood’ Rea felt that her blood was in no way dirty or substandard to anyone else’s and was fully intent on boycotting anyone who wanted to discuss the duel as she made her own way to the golden hall.

When she walked into the Golden Hall, she knew something was wrong immediately. Something had happened. Surely the duels weren’t that terrible? Or perhaps everyone was just too tired to be interested in anything else? One thing was sure though, whatever their problem, Rea didn’t know what it was, and felt the immediate sense to want to find out.

“Hi,” she greeted Godric tentatively as she came to sit near him. She looked around at the rest of her fellow Emerindyl’s and wondered what could have happened for them to be so subdued. It wasn’t until she looked around and noticed some people were actually crying that she realised something else was severely wrong.

[Elouise Sullivan]

Elouise was in shock. That would have to be the best description for it. She just sat there staring into space while nothing happened around her. Occasionally she looked up when she heard someone gasp with tears. She was surprised to find that there were people from every house that were caught up in the tragedy that had occurred the night before. The sight of seeing the body laying in the middle of the courtyard limp and dead would haunt her for the rest of her life.

She had never seen anything like it. Godric actually touched it, and though her curiosity might have suggested she check the pulse too, the announcement of Finnias Mark being dead turned her thoughts cold and trembling. She sat in her seat leaning against Godric. The warmth of his body helped though she was not surprised when she heard someone in the distance cast a spell on the fireplace on the other side of the hall. She thought this was a good idea but found that she was also unable to move.

She stayed immobile and listened to the nothing around her. There were a few quiet conversations that she was able to pick up on. Though many of them were enquiries of how their friends were, and some were even mutters of how they could not believe it had happened.

Elouise didn’t think that anyone could have ever expected what had happened that night. She was fresh from defeat, though it just didn’t seem that interesting anymore. The duelling night seemed so far away, and the happiness and excitement she awoke with yesterday morning was completely depleted. She looked up when Rea greeted them. Her lips trembled and she burst into tears, falling into Rea’s arms.

Friends were what everyone needed at this time. Good friends.

[Lara Watt]

For once Lara wasn’t strutting through the hallways on Koalingo with her natural confidence on show, the corridors that seemed to be oddly empty except for groups of two or three students, seemingly pressing themselves together, although she knew the reason she thought it more stupid than to be doing any good. It seemed like everyone was afraid of being stuck alone, out in the open. Safety in numbers and whatnot. But if start with your back up against the wall, that leaves you with even less escape options and not room for moving if you found yourself under sudden attack. Seems that with panic comes stupidity in her opinion anyway.

Now was a time to be smart not stupid.

Having been late to the duelling contest the previous night, Lara had stayed late and well, partied into the wee hours of the morning, returning to Koalingo at around five am with the rest night owls, all their laughing, joking and good spirits had been evaporated when they immediately found several professors, the house founders and some robed Aurors. They immediately knew something wasn’t right at the sight of a black ministry body bag. A currently in use body bag. There were very few students almost as if a representative for each house except Ameraid. After muttered questions and goodbye’s everyone seemed to separate to their common rooms, Lara had stumbled across Jay Rastan telling some younger students around fourth year to return to their common rooms and they would be told later all that they needed to know.

Lara was lucky enough to be given full disclosure on all the Saphricorn seventh year whom she had somewhat grown up with, he told her of how Godric and Elouise had been the first to discover the body, how he and Lady Saphricorn had soon followed. He also gave her a brief overview of who was there as he had been asked to answer a few questions on the situation. Lara had given him a hug as a few tears escaped at the though of such a horrible thing happening to one of their own fellow students, she had offered to stay and keep him company only to be told she should go have a shower and get some sleep. She didn’t like leaving him but she followed his orders knowing she would check up on him soon.

Now as she walked into the Golden Hall, her blonde hair tied up with a black ribbon and her usual house robes left in lieu of a simple black jeans and t-shirt, as she look around she discovered that she seemed to be in better shape than a lot of the other students, little first years looking around as if some mad wizard was going to jump out of the corner and hex them, or worse, second, third and fourth years were only with their emotions, girls crying and guys looking down trodden and awkward with the crying girls, while the senior students seemed to struggle with how they thought they should behave and how they were. Lara felt helpless to them, to help anybody. She didn’t know anything about losing someone; she never had except her grandparents who had lived a full and happy life, not died at the young age of sixteen.

Looking at the Emerindyl table and its occupants, looking for some her own age when she her gaze fell across Godric, Elouise (who appeared to be in a bad way) and Rea. Making her way to where they sat, to which she sat across the able from them and looked at them all. It was like watching the three monkeys, hear, speak and see no evil, but this time it was brooding, crying and supporting, that pretty much summed up the Koalingo experience at the moment, if you weren’t doing one or two of the three… Looking across the hall, everyone was doing at least one of them.

“Everyone seems too scared to walk by themselves.”

Well it wasn’t exactly earth shattering sympathy, nor was it totally inappropriate, it was a simple statement, Lara’s salutation to the three in front of her, not meant to insult or offend anyone. Lara had cried her few tears over it when it first happened, she wasn’t the brooding type and she had her own style of sympathy that was no appreciated by most, especially after such a incident as the one that had befallen. But there was no point in avoiding the truth, which was something horrible happened at Koalingo last night while almost everyone was absent from the castle, and result in the loss of a life.

[Holly MacFarlane]

Holly walked into the Golden Hall, her face pale, her short white hair ruffled. She was wearing jeans and a jacket and she pulled it close to her as she looked around the room. It was unusually cold in here, and quiet. The quietest table was the Ameraid one, but that was no surprise to her. She stopped and looked towards it, her eyes scanning for one person in particular. She saw someone with their head on the table and guessed this was probably him.

It was not proper to sit at other tables and it was better if she was with those in her house. She had been there the night before, with Lachlan, when they saw Godric standing over the dead body of Finnias Mark. It was an awful thing to have happened, and the circumstances.. Well, it was a murder, of course.

A shiver went up her spine and she turned away from the Ameraid table and towards her own. She walked slowly towards it and sat in the empty seat next to Elouise. She seemed to be taking it particularly hard, though Holly imagined that was because she had been with Godric when he discovered the body.

Holly put a hand on Elouises' back and patted her gently. The two were good friends, and she hated to see the other girl so upset. It was very different from the usual sunny disposition Elouise had.

There was no food or plates on the table, the House Elves were most likely busy and Holly's thoughts wandered to Andreas. The boy was in a few of her classes, and granted that he was a royal pain, she felt for him. She would never know what it was like to lose a sibling, but she had heard the howl of anguish herself and she would never wish that pain upon another person. Holly slouched down, leaning on one hand as she looked up the table. It was an awful awful time and she wondered when they would hear some official news.

[Alex Zander]

“Can you blame them?” Alex said as he walked up behind her, he had been out hanging around the courtyard trying to get the attention of his uncle whom was being briefed by Arutha ConDoin. Unfortunately Alex’s relationship with the Minister of Magic wasn’t to the point where he was willing to share information with him freely on a matter such as this. This realised, Alex had given up on his attempts and had returned to the Golden Hall.

The sight that befell him was pretty dismal. And though Alex completely understood it, it didn’t do much for the morale of anyone whom was coping with it better then others. Alex thought he was coping with it pretty well. He was respectfully quiet, but he was not going to let it call his day to an end before it started. He knew raising morale was the only way to help people cope, but he also knew he had to be careful with it, unless something worse was to come of his actions.

“People are frightened Lara, really frightened, and they have cause to be,” Alex said as he stayed standing looking at his friends, he would comfort Rea later, right now he thought there was more that needed to be said and done, if anything else, he was a little angry, “This shouldn’t have happened,”

[Belle Carter]

Belle had been sitting at the table the whole time when she had heard some raised voices coming from the group where most of the Quidditch team was sitting. She noticed that it was Alex Zander that was shouting and considered for a moment that she should tell him to have some respect. Though then she remembered he was a lot larger then her and if he wished it he could squash her, so she said nothing but watched on from a safe distance.

She agreed with him that it shouldn’t have happened, though she didn’t think it was an appropriate discussion, at least not at this time anyway, who did he think he was starting arguments while people were still grieving.

She looked back to the table and tried to listen to them further while they continued to speak, maybe when she secured enough courage she would say something. Until then, no.

[Lara Watt]

“I didn’t mean it like that, Zander, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t feel scared or worried. Everyone’s troubled by a troubling situation. I’m just stating the obvious. It’s more than likely whoever is responsible for the heinous crime had fled already fearing capture by the Auror’s, or worse the founders.”

Lara now looking back a few moments on her previous comment could see how it could raise the need to defend in anyone. In retrospect it definitely one of those times where she should have not said the first thing. Alex was right though, it was human instinct that when scared and frightened to try to find comfort, reassurance in the arms or company of another or more. What she did find funny enough, well not funny because nothing about what had happened or its fall out but interestingly at a time where people were scared, clinging to friends and lovers they did so out in the open, fearing the unknown fighting the urge to hide and hide the people they cared about.

It certainly spoke of the stature of the Koalingo students; incredible brave or incredible stupid in the dark times as the current.

Watching as Holly tried her hand at offering comfort to a still clearly shaken Elouise, Lara couldn’t help but feel more helpless about the entire situation, while she knew people, was friends with more than a few, good friends with even fewer, but something about all the silence and the depressed people made her want to comfort someone, or perhaps wanted someone to comfort her. Perhaps that’s why she often called people, friends or not, by their last names to keep them at a distance so that when they got to know her they wouldn’t be disappointed and leave her, they didn’t get to know her they wouldn’t leave. Shaking her head minutely, she cleared her thoughts there were more important issues at hand that silly feelings and soul searching question and answer sessions with her inner self.

“You’re right, it shouldn’t have happened. It hits close to home because for some much of the year this place is our home. A giant protective castle that lets us sleep easy at night, and something like this shakes our foundations.” Lara said, and knowing what she was about to say could cause some feelings of, well, disgust and anger in her direction she felt it need to be said. “It did happen; someone or a group of someone’s managed to breach the castle’s grounds, unknown and committed this atrocity. Fact. Now everyone needs to morn what was lost. Also fact. But then we will adjust our lives, not forget Finnias, but its just nature to adapt to such things. Fact once again.”

Knowing there would be some reaction to what she had just said in a soft tone so it didn’t carry further than the little group that was clumped together; her voice had no traces of malice but did take on a tone of someone stating facts to make someone think things over. Before anyone could interrupt she ploughed on, but on a slightly different tangent.

“I feel just as bad and torn up over this as everyone else, I just show it differently, I think about it and I think everyone is missing a big piece of the big picture. If someone just walked off the streets into Koalingo, I’m sure one of the Founder’s would have noticed. I only saw Lady Saphricorn and Lady Ameraid at the duelling when I arrived, that leaves the headmaster and Ruberagon here, wouldn’t the wards tell them someone other than a student just waltzed in here?” Lara paused for a moment for it to sink in what she was saying to the group. “This is all assumptions, but what if it wasn’t someone just walking in here? What if the someone was already here? Some things just aren’t adding up”

Saying her part she looked at everyone around before looking out across the other tables and sighed. It sure was taking a toll on everyone, Lara couldn’t help but wonder if the morale of the students had been forever damaged, and if maybe this wasn't the right time to not hold back on her thoughts.

[Jemimah Crenshaw]

“Nobody needs a narrative, Watt” Jemimah shoved the girl in the ribs as she past. She had been listening to her the whole time she was walking into the Golden Hall and suspected that no one else present would want to listen to it. In a way she thought that by elbowing the girl (by accident of course) she was performing a public service. She did this as she walked by, she didn’t need to listen to this rubbish, she knew everything the girl was saying, and no one really wanted to be confronted by that now, a lot of them were still running from the fact.

“You sound so text book and rehearsed,” she muttered shaking her head and scowling at her before continuing a little ways down the table and sitting to put some papers on the table in front of her to help take her mind off things.

[Alex Zander]

Alex snorted when he heard Jemimah talk. He knew it was probably not the nicest thing to do, and it would definately set him back a couple of weeks with Lara, but it was quite funny and he couldnt help but at the very least find some humour in it. He didnt think he needed to add anything though as he looked up at the seventh year girl he had known for quite a while. It was true, she did sound a little text book, but why not. A lot of people turned robotic when faced with something like this.

Still, it was interesting to see how easily someone would lash out against one of their own. Not that Alex had ever seen Jemimah interacting with any of her own, but still it was rather funny and yet somehow a little disturbing. His mind would play on this one for a while as he contemplated the mysteries of the universe and of Emerindyl's who didnt mix with other Emerindyl's but were still bold enough to attack in times when other's were weakened by grief.

[Lara Watt]

Lara didn’t know what to be annoyed about more and which first. Alex Zander and his snort of laughter or Jemimah Crenshaw and her not required, uncalled for remark and the physical vibe that she received from the girl.

Actually Lara was more annoyed with her so called friend and his snort of laughter. So after shooting him a less than friend look before shaking her head as a somewhat hurt expression came across her face before she just looked down at the table. Her mind going over some catty comebacks a mile a minute before a little voice inside reminded her that a student had died hours previous and not the time to get into petty little arguments.

“I think today at least that catty uncalled for remarks should be held back, Crenshaw” Lara said simply not looking at the girl who had barged pass in her seeming hurry to nothing. It was not a secret that girl didn’t really have any friends in the Emerindyl house and very few acquaintances, people of Emerindyl could only take so much undeserved coldness and callous remarks before they just stopped trying. It seemed to Lara everyone gave up trying a long time ago.

Once bitten, twice shy and what not was the general approach the house (and the rest of the student populace) held when dealing with one Jemimah Crenshaw. Deciding to just let it go with the other girl, having far more class and tact than the other girl, she had far more pressing thoughts and better things to spend her energy on than some little anti social bint who seemed to enjoy attacking the undeserving.

“Anyone know what is going to happen with the younger levels, they really don’t know how to react? Some look ready to wet themselves, some have cried themselves to the level of exhaustion they have passed out…” Lara with that comment pointed down to one of their own house’s first year girls and the girl next to her who was teetering back and forwards, Lara withdrew her wand form her sleeve and flicked it, summoning a cushion before the head of the girl met the tabletop. “Professors are doing their best but there’s too many of us. None of us like just sitting here doing nothing do we?”

Lara sure as hell didn’t like sitting around or feeling helpless and more than a little hopeless.