The Chamber of Snogs

Ora listened, her expression somber, as the twins explained--using much nicer words than they could have--the situation between the Order and the Death Eaters. It was difficult these days to even tell what was really happening--what was truth and what was merely rumor. There were those in the school in denial of all that happening around them, taking The Daily Prophet for its word when they downplayed the attacks, disappearances, and the sudden secretive shift the Ministry of Magic had taken in the past few months. Ora, having seen some of what was happening herself, had decided to assume the worst, but it didn't make accepting it any easier.

"So far the really bad news is that Snape has approved the transfer of Dementors into school," said Ora glumly. Lately, more than anything else, worse than both of the Carrows and the patrol squads in the corridors, the thing that had been hindering the students the most were the Dementors. Ora, Alison, and the rest of those who used to be part of Dumbledore's Army (those days suddenly seemed so very long ago and far away) were lucky enough to be able to cast Patronuses to keep the Dementors from getting too close, but most of the younger years were scared witless by them, screaming through the halls and darting to their next classes. "They're really making it hard for us to get around freely, even on weekends," Ora continued. Getting to the Chamber of Snogs was now so much more difficult now that the hooded, shadowed things were lurking around the halls.

"And the Carrows are still looking for every excuse to torture poor Longbottom." Though Ora had to admit it seemed that in the past few weeks the boy had grown quite the spine. He was looking worse than he had ever looked, but somehow, it was also the best that he'd ever appeared. Ora couldn't but help a small smile at that thought, as she recalled his timid, forgetful self from their first year.

[OOC: You know, I'm kind of disappointed that HBP was so disjointed. You would have had NO IDEA what was happening if you hadn't read the book! Also, they totally cut out the huge DA vs. Death Eaters fight. In hindsight, it was probably a good idea because I thought the exit was well-made, but now Bill's not getting all werewolf-y, and I'm sad because one of the first times that Ora really got to use her martial arts training was during the fight at the end! D: GRRRRRR.

Yeah, I think the timing's about right. Also, Ginny's not at school anymore, right? She decided not to return for the year?

Last, Tom Felton never said how many of those nuggets he did make it through. I'm curious. HOW MANY CHICKEN MCNUGGETS CAN YOU FIT INSIDE A DRACO?]

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Alison sighed; honestly, she'd never had too much to do with Neville Longbottom one way or the other, but he seemed all right (if a bit predisposed to personal disaster) and it wasn't fair that the Carrows seemed to like using him as a permanent example. She'd seen the look in his eyes as of late, and that look could be a dangerous thing. He'd grown a spine since their first year, that was quite clear - she just hoped that didn't mean he'd forgotten all of his good sense. Of course, when he and a few other scattered members of the DA had decided to raid Professor Snape's office, she'd feared he had lost his mind. Now she could only hope he'd learned from it. Doing something rash was not a good idea, not now, no matter how much any one person wanted to.

She glanced at Ora before nodding. "I just hope he keeps his head... even if I don't blame him for probably wanting to get them back." Honestly, no one liked the Carrows much (except for most of Alison and Ora's housemates, and she felt like they were growing apart further and further each day). She was worried that the rest of Slytherin house knew it, too, but she and Ora had been doing their best to act aloof and uncaring as the Carrows handed out punishments with nothing short of glee.

"And the Dementors do make it hard to get about," she put in. "We've been having a hard time keeping away from them, but we're managing." She shuddered, growing cold again just at the thought of the ghoulish creatures. God, how she hated them...

"Anyway... don't you two have a delivery for us?" Alison asked; loathe though she was to do anything to shorten their encounter, she and Ora were supposed to be in Hogsmeade only to pick up a few parcels for Professor Slughorn. And while no one would care much that they'd dawdled, Filch had seen them go out and he would surely notice when they came back in. And all that aside, she didn't want the twins to get caught - much though she desperately wanted to spend more than a mere ten or twenty minutes with them (and sitting across from each other at a table in a shabby pub, no less), every minute they were here put them in danger. And she couldn't forget about that.

"Right!" Fred brightened; he reached under his chair, and from the shadows drew out a wooden box about the size of a large shoebox or small hatbox, and deposited it carefully on the table. "This is for you, from Lupin - he says there are detailed instructions inside."

"Not that we looked," George put in, in a tone which said they most certainly had.

Fred rolled his eyes. "He said a whole lot of stuff about being careful and discreet and yadda yadda yadda, but we figure you lot know all of that and you don't need to hear it again."

George flashed them a grin. "Unless you'd like to. I'm sure I could make it sound really interesting."

[OOC: XD Yeah, they kind of rushed to the end... only to cut out the BEST PART of it! Maaaan, I would've liked to see a giant battle at the end! It seemed awfully anti-climactic. D: But I did enjoy it overall, at least.

Yeah, Ginny didn't come back for the spring term, so we're the only people the twins know well who are actually at Hogwarts. >>; (And right now Alison is totally going through twin withdrawal and complaining at me a whole lot. XD ::dies:: Though I actually think we were going to get her out of the castle sometime soon-ish? Though that might be another half a year, given how slow we are. XD) Also, I totally don't remember exactly what this thing was going to look like, and I figured a box would be a good idea anyway, so I hope that's okay. :D;

AHAHAHA. I WILL HAVE TO ASK HIM AT DRAGON*CON. XD

Also, sorry about the double... figured I should reply to you, just in case LJ was still being weird, in the hopes it'd be more likely to notify you this way. :D;]

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Ora resisted the urge to take the box and peek inside. But she did nudge it closer to her and Alison's side of the table, as George grinned at them rather flirtatiously. She was quite sure that all of the flirt was actually supposed to be going in Alison's direction; she was just getting caught in the crossfire.

"I have a feeling it would be foolhardy to doubt you," said Ora, pulling her scarf around her and shaking melted snow off her hat. She gave Alison a smile and stood, pulling her coat tight about her. "I'm going to go pick up Professor Slughorn's packages," she said simply. "How about you meet me back on the main road in fifteen minutes?"

OH MY GOD. TOM FELTON IS GOING TO BE AT DRAGON*CON. HOLY SHIT! Okay, now I'm extra sad that I chopped my hair off and won't be able to make it this year because DRACO IS AT D*C and Ora can't go. ;___; Poopy. :( But do ask him how many of those McNuggets he did actually make it through, I'm really curious. Man, the one year that Tom Felton decides to go... ... :( *sad panda*

Yeah, it'll probably be another half a year or so until Alison has to run away from the castle, but hey, in the meantime...you have a lot of chances to write twins flashbacks? :p

I don't really remember what the Legilimency device was supposed to look like either. Did we ever really decide? Did we also ever really decide how it's supposed to work? *can't remember*

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Alison rolled her eyes - whether it was foolhardy or not was somewhat questionable, but the twins really did have the girls' best interests in mind. The device they were delivering had already been described to them by Lupin over correspondence, and while Lysienne had still had doubts, they'd all felt it was a better idea than not to learn at least some rudimentary Occlumency. After all, it wasn't as though the Death Eaters would shy away from using Legilimency to interrogate anyone they found collaborating against them, and with Professor Snape and the Carrows prowling Hogwarts' halls, detection even for a small group of girls trying to aid the Order in their own way was a very real possibility.

She glanced at Ora as the other girl stood, pulling her coat and scarf more securely around herself and brushing snow off her hat. "How about you meet me back on the main road in fifteen minutes?" Ora asked with a smile, and Alison couldn't help but return it with one of her own in thanks. She felt horribly selfish, but Ora seemed to understand.

"I'll watch the package here," she put in - no point in making Ora carry it all over town when it could sit right here on the table.

Ora nodded and slipped out the door, waving a cheerful goodbye to the twins as she did so. Alison turned back to see both of them watching the door warily out of habit, before two pairs of eyes turned back to her, along with two rather wolfish grins.

"So," Fred said cheerily, "are you going to stay on that side of the table forever?"

[OOC: YES! He totally is; I will be sure to tell him he is awesome and inquire as to how many of those chicken nuggets he managed to eat. XD Maybe I could take a picture and we'll photoshop you in! <33

Ahaha, that is true. I started writing this tag and suddenly got sidetracked, but that's a story for another time. XD I figure I'm not going to go into horrid detail here (though really, what can they do at the back of a pub? Ugh, don't answer that, they'll do it then XD), but I'll pick up after your next tag with Alison heading out to meet Ora, since this was supposed to be a short-ish log anyway so we can get to the next one!

I... think it was supposed to be pensieve-like, with something that attached to someone's head and then a projection device? Steph and I were wondering if it wouldn't require two people - one to operate it and one to be the subject, which I thought sounded pretty reasonable. Either way, we should probably decide what this thing looks like for the next log before we start. Can't leave it in the box forever!]

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[OOC: Yup, supposedly like a precursor to the pensieve, so probably some sort of stone bowl, with a means of designating the person to be interrogated. I imagine a circlet of some sort to put on the person's head, possibly with matching stones or rune carvings to the main body of the device.

I'm assuming we'd need to put water in the pensieve part or at least something liquid-ish (possibly a substance which will need to be filched from the potions supplies if we're feeling more grand), since it's not an object that will hold memories so much as extract them and I sort of imagine there needs to be a surface for someone to navigate through the interrogated person's memories. But if it's a device operable by a single person, maybe it doesn't need a reflective-type surface... not really sure how one would control the device as well as fight against it, though?]

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[OOC: Actually, I might as well just all-out describe what I have in my head--is it obvious that I spend too much time thinking about odd devices? I'm coming at this as a device that would have been developed by Death Eaters for interrogation, anyhow, by using a throwback version of the pensieve and perhaps something hearkening to the diadem of Ravenclaw, but with a mind control aspect rather than mind-enhancing.

I'm picturing something more bowl-like than the pensieve, with a series of runes (either on stone reliefs or on gem-like nodes) along the top of the rim which act a bit like controls. The interrogator or interrogators would touch the runes to navigate through memories and also to reference memories (slightly StarGate-ish, so you could dial back to at least close to where you were by inputting the same sequence to get there--I do not imagine the system to be exact since brains change). A representation of the memory appears in the reflective surface of the substance in the bowl; it may or may not be discovered later by the girls that immersing one's face in the bowl (as with the pensieve) transports you to a 3D recollection of the memory, depending on where we want to go with the revealed memories. I anticipate a flashback machine, because I really like character flashbacks, but that's me. Not everyone may want to write flashbacks :/ Then again, maybe those will be the ones that are just better at Occlumency ;)

I imagine the circlet to have matching runes to the ones on the bowl portion, possibly carved into similar stone nodes/gems, and probably of either tarnished silver, like the diadem, or possibly of the same stone as the bowl portion.

That's what I'm imagining anyhow; if you've got something else in mind, feel free to disregard my babble :P]

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[OOC: I actually like your idea a lot - that makes a lot of sense, and I will not overlook awesome Stargate references. XD But really, the idea of being able to "dial" your way, at least a little bit, though the memories is a neat one. I would imagine the whole thing would still be a little... unreliable, maybe, because of its very nature? (i.e., that you are trying to deal with someone's memories and they might be resisting you and no two people are alike in the first place, etc.)

Basically that setup sounds fine to me, though. Maybe the bowl actually projects the memory in reflection on the ceiling? That'd be cool, though not necessary. I do really like the idea that we need to use something other than water, though, and that we have to filch it from the potions supplies (unless Alison and Ora can sweet-talk Slughorn? >>).]

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[OOC: Hopefully I'm not hijacking this thing D:

Anyhow, yeah, the dialing is definitely not particularly reliable because the person whose memories you're trying to navigate is resisting you at the same time--if you can successfully navigate, you've overcome your subject's will. In that respect, I suspect we won't get very far at all with Lysienne, since she's the one that has all the experience, but it doesn't mean we won't try :3

I'm all for the filching or sweet-talking :D Thing is, that means someone's going to have to do the filching and there will need to be some sort of scheduled "lesson" after the filching is accomplished. I'm not sure how that may or may not conflict with the original plans regarding this device ^^;;]

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[OOC: XD No, hijack away~ It's as good a place as any to discuss!

Yeah, Lysienne will probably be the toughest subject, but I suppose we probably won't want to really subject her to it anyway, since she doesn't like the whole Occlumency/Legilimency thing at all anyway? I can see her not wanting to be present during the tests, though that's of course up to Yang.

Well, as long as whatever we steal doesn't go bad, we have a bit of leeway. XD Though yes, I imagine we'd want to get started as soon as possible... I think Ora and Alison should bring the box up to the Chamber straightaway (it's the best place to hide it, after all), and then the girls can figure out what they need and set a meeting time to practice?]

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[OOC: Well, I certainly feel less bad about hijacking since there's been a few days with no change.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest something that perhaps the device calls for a bit of in the fluid portion (I'm assuming we'd have to mix the fluid that goes into it, which either Lysienne or Kahvi could do since they're pretty good potions students).

I suggest lovage (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/magic/potions/potions-l.html#lovage) on the grounds that legilimency is made easier by having a more reckless or confused victim. While the victim is likely not imbibing any of the contents of the bowl, I am assuming that some of the effects are transferred through the circlet portion. But, being a mundane plant, that should be somewhat easy to get ahold of.

Devil's Snare sap or something of that nature from the plant might be something harder to get, and thus filch-able. I would suggest that simply for the similarity of legilimency--something squeezing your memories and thoughts out and you need to know how to resist it to escape. Otherwise, definitely open to suggestions on other possible ingredients :)]

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[OOC: Ooh, Lovage sounds like a good idea, since it is likely you'd want to confuse someone to make it easier to rifle through their memories, etc. XD Maybe we'd have to mix it with Devil's Snare sap? Or... hm. I don't know that I have any better ingredients ideas off the top of my head, but I'll give it some thought. I do really like the idea of having to steal something from the school's potion stores, so maybe that would put Devil's Snare sap as my first choice, I guess.

The other option is to have Lupin/whoever supply us with some of the potion we need (I can't imagine they wouldn't send any with the device), but maybe we run out or it gets damaged somehow? ]

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[OOC: I like the idea that we might have to steal some stuff from the school's potions stores. Especially if it's something that's hard to find, the Order is rather busy, and it's possible that getting the Legilimency device was hard enough--they probably didn't have the time to coddle us and set up everything for us beforehand. :D I like the idea that we may have to distract Slughorn or wait for opportune moments to steal things for ourselves.

Anyways, I like the idea of how the device works, and I'd like to propose that it's possibly even older than Voldemort or Death Eaters themselves. You know, it is probably a throwback to an era when people experimented more with dark magic during wars, and the Death Eaters have only recently been trying to use it. :D]

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[OOC: I agree that the Order probably didn't include everything. I half expect them to have not read the instructions themselves--we're essentially their research team for the item, and we'll be quite pleased that the instructions are still intact and legible, even if it might be in slightly antiquated language.

Definitely seconding the idea of the device being from an older war when Dark Arts study was less restricted. That's more or less what I had been thinking, since it's a precursor to the modern pensieve :) I imagine it came out of the attic/basement of some purebred Wizard whose ancestor had a Dark Arts bent and who was either gotten ahold of by or joined up with Death Eaters, who were subsequently raided by the Order.]

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[OOC: Totally thirded, that the Order probably just threw as much of the information and ingredients into the box, but that they probably didn't really get to everything before they had the twins deliver the box. I'm sure the girls will have to figure quite a bit of it out~

I will try to get a tag out tonight if possible, and hopefully we'll be able to end this log soon and move on to one with all the girls (or at least us three, with Lysienne arriving later, perhaps, since she is so uncomfortable with the use of such a device?). Maybe we open it and realize we need more ingredients, and then skip to a time when we've actually procured them and then move the log on from there? Ah well, we can figure that out via email or something when this log is done, I suppose. :D;]

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Ora stepped outside. The door of the Hog's Head swung quickly shut behind her and instantly she was cold again. She pulled her scarf tighter about her face and trudged down the road, the snow crunching beneath her boots as she made her way to the Hogsmeade Owl Post Office on the other side of town.

Hogsmeade was virtually silent as she walked--a stark contrast to when she had last visited, when Dean Thomas had made a successful getaway. The few villagers were lived here were keeping their heads down and indoors, though it seemed the majority of the cottages were simply empty, their windows dark, snow piled up in drifts in front of the door. Ora wondered where they'd gone--hopefully on extended holiday far away from here--though she admitted that was probably an overly optimistic hope. Even the usually cheerful parts of the village were strangely subdued--The Three Broomsticks looked completely empty inside, and Madam Puddifoot's tea shop was closed.

It seemed like ages of cold and trudging through the streets before Ora finally made it to the Post Office. She pushed opened the door and a little bell rang. The clerk on duty poked his head out from the back office, and seemed to brighten as Ora approached.

"Ah, Miss Yang! You must be here for Mister Horace Slughorn's packages."

"Hi Mr. Mitchell," Ora said, dusting the show off her sleeves and digging through her pockets for the notifications of packages that Slughorn had received and handing them over. "Yeah, I'm here for the packages as usual."

"Hm, all right," said Mitchell, flipping through the small pieces of parchment that Ora handed them, and making sure they were all in order. He glanced up, searching behind Ora for something. "Where's Miss Mallory today?"

"Oh, she couldn't make it," Ora said with a smile, wondering how long she should dawdle in the streets on the way back to give Alison and the twins the most time possible. "So it's just me today. I'm sure I'll manage."

"I'm sure you will," Mitchell replied with a smile and ducked away again, leaving Ora to wait and twiddle her thumbs for a bit.

[OOC: Ugh, sorry for the lateness of the reply. Torchwood really fucked my schedule last week and well...this week has been me obsessing over what to do about the boy unit, though thankfully that's now resolved. Back to business as usual! Even went out to watch HBP again last night, so now I'm all excited because eee! Draco! So cute. :D

It's funny, because Tom Felton's in Japan now, and it's just hilarious to watch him tweet about things like toilet technology and vending machine technology. :D D'awww. I am still so jealous that you get to meet him at D*C this year. *sniffles* Draco. *sniffles again* I'll totally have to shop myself into a picture!]

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Only slightly more than fifteen minutes later Alison emerged from the front door of the Hog's Head Tavern alone, the box from the twins clutched in her mittened hands. She winced as the bitter cold hit her full-on in the face, wishing she'd pulled her scarf a bit tighter when her hands hadn't been full. But then, if it was too tight, she wouldn't have been able to kiss Fred and George goodbye as they'd slipped out the back door of the tavern and into the alleyway to make it a safe distance away before Apparating back to wherever it was they called home these days. It seemed to be constantly changing.

Figuring she would meet Ora halfway, provided her friend was finished at the post office, Alison started off down the town's one main street towards the Owl Post Office, which happened to be on the completely other end of the small village. The box in her arms was large but surprisingly light - she wondered what the apparatus within must look like, but now was obviously not the time to stop and look. She had a feeling she'd find out soon enough - she and Ora would bring this to the Chamber of Snogs for safekeeping before they went to deliver Professor Slughorn's packages to him. There was no such thing as being too careful, nowadays.

She saw a figure wrapped in coat and scarf approaching from down the road, arms full of various small packages, and so Alison quickened her steps to meet up with Ora and take a bit of her load before the two girls started the trek back up the hill to Hogwarts Castle.

[OOC: Well, considering how long you had to wait for it, that was an awfully boring tag. ::fail:: Uh, if you don't want that to be Ora at the end just let me know and I'll edit it, but I figure this was supposed to be a pretty short and simple log before we get into the crazy stuff~]

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Seth stepped out of Dervish & Banges and made his way to the Owl Post to send a note back to his latest employer informing him of another completed delivery. Chilly air hastened him, but he was glad for the warm scarf about his neck. The streets were only slightly less empty than they had been, which is to say, there was actually someone in the street.

Two someones, he noted, as he got closer and discerned two shapes very tightly wrapped up in their winter clothes. The scarf on the blonde caught his eye--while he might not have been able to tell from her snow-encrusted outerwear, the striped scarf made it clear she was a Hogwarts student. Well, this was strange... Seth was sure Hogwarts wasn't letting their students out to Hogsmeade much anymore, which had been part of the reason he'd stopped hanging around the fading little town. There was little chance of another encounter with Kahvi. His longer legs overtook the short girl, who seemed preoccupied in thought and unaware of his presence behind her. He caught a brief glimpse of her face as she turned her head slightly, her scarf having not been particularly tightly wrapped about her face. The girl seemed to hold the box she was carrying a little more tightly as she finally heard the crunching of snow beneath his approaching feet--smart girl.

Actually... now that he thought about it, had this not been one of the blondes he'd seen speaking to Kahvi on the day of their first encounter? She was the same height... or perhaps he was just imagining it, seeing something that reminded him of the girl as he had been so often since he'd run into her in Diagon Alley just after the holidays.

"...good day," he mumbled to the girl when he realized she noticed his passing scrutiny and continued walking towards the Owl Post.

Neither the girl nor her approaching package-laden companion wore the same house colors as Kahvi, leading him to the conclusion that he probably wouldn't find her out in the town at any point. Yet the students were an oddity, and might be worth reporting to his uppers after the completion of his other errands.

[OOC: Not really intended as an interaction or anything, just something for me to do :P And hey, you can't be a Hogswart student in a town without someone noticing, no?]

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As she approached the post office, Alison suddenly registered the crunch of footsteps on snow behind her. Her arms tightened around the box in her grasp just a little - she felt a bit stupid, hoping it wasn't suspicious, but better safe than sorry, after all.

Glancing to the side - after all, someone trying to sneak up on you could be easily dissuaded by the simple fact that you knew they were there - she caught a glimpse of a tall man with dark red hair - not bright, like the twins' - approaching her. As he passed, his bright blue eyes flicked over her face as he muttered something that sounded like, "Good day."

"... Afternoon," she replied as casually as possible, her eyes narrowing

Huh. Well, he didn't seem like he was up to anything - just a bloke on his way to the post office. He hadn't even broken his stride as he'd approached; Alison let out a breath, the warm air clouding before her face as she quickened her steps toward Ora once more.

[OOC: Ooh, you bring up a very good point, really.

Also, as a note, Skuld, Yang, and I came up with a few ideas for events we can do over the next few months; I'm sure there will be an email about them eventually. But of course if you have any plot points you'd like to address that we've missed, you're free to inject those~ :D Especially since you have the whole thing with Seth going.]

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[OOC: Luckily for us, Seth is sharper than his higher-ups, so they'll probably either ignore the report or assume that since you're Slytherins, you're probably helping Draco or something.

Can't wait to hear about the new events :D I pretty much play everything by ear, so I don't know that I have much in the way of plot points relevant to Seth, other than that I realize I need to give Kahvi a reason to think he might be playing for the other side. (And I need to finish up their meeting after the Azkaban Raid so he can get his Christmas present, his new hand-knit scarf you see him wearing here...) I may be interested in giving her a chance to confront him prior to the big battle, but I think that depends on whether I want to kill Seth or not, as if he shows up for the battle on the Death Eater side she will kill him.]

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[OOC: Ahaha, true~ Ah, the joys of being in the Evil House. XD; I suppose it does sometimes have its perks!

Well, if you do think of anything specific you'd like to do, just let us know, because the more craziness the better, seriously! Ahaha, yes, I am really interested to see what will happen and where Seth will land himself in the Big Giant Final Battle...]

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Ora gathered the five packages that Mr. Mitchell had placed onto the counter into her arms. Some were a bit heavy and others were so light that Ora was afraid they might get blown away by the wind if she placed them on the top. She arranged them carefully and stepped out into the cold once more, balancing her load precariously. Peeking around the edge of the boxes, Ora saw the bundle of warm winter clothing that looked like Alison. She couldn't spare an arm to wave, so she hurried instead, hoping that the box Alison was holding was light enough so that she could unload the top couple onto her.

Then Ora noticed that there was a man with red hair--too dark to be one of the twins--striding up behind Alison, too quick to be someone just aimlessly walking around town. Ora had a moment of dread, thinking that he might be one of the Dark Lord's many minions, that he might take Alison in for questioning or simply take her as it seemed they were doing frequently to just about anyone these days, but he passed her and kept walking. Ora tightened her grip on her packages reflexively as he appeared that he was headed towards the Owl Post.

It's okay, she told herself, forcibly brushing off the man as just a Hogsmeade resident walking around. People were allowed to walk about their own towns without suspicion, for Merlin's sake! She was just being paranoid. Ora continued walking and passed the man, sparing him a small curious glance out of the corner of her eye--red hair, blue eyes, nothing particular of note.

She met Alison in the street and nodded towards the school while unloading the top two packages of her stack into Alison's arms. "Come on," she hissed, little clouds of steam forming in front of her mouth as she spoke, "let's get back, I'm freezing out here!"

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