Magic is in the Keys

If only invisibility cloaks were easy to come by. Even then, I bet the aurors would have some way of tracking us down. Our only window of opportunity was last night, but we were trapped inside the Great Hall.

They want to make sure that they keep a close eye on us.

I am sick of this castle.

Unfortunately, I do not. But, I would love to leave the castle, just like you.

Count yourself lucky then. It’s not exactly a useful skill to have. I only need it at the occasional party and most people survive their whole lives without needing to know how to waltz anyways.

It's not a bad skill to have,but it's definitely no where near as useful as most other skills.

I probably won’t correct you, it’s rude.  Also most people haven’t had years of ballroom dancing forced upon them.  If you know the basics that’s all that matters.

I definitely don't have that much experience.

I promise you don’t want to dance with me. There are plenty of other lovely people around who won’t trip over your feet, I suggest asking one of them.

You can't be that bad.

So I guess we're supposed to dance now...

Aww, come on Olivia  Not even one?

So...

I would love to. I consider myself to be fairly decent at dancing as well, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

"I love Paris in the rain, I love Paris in the rain…"

"Nice dance moves."

Nodding slowly to what Lee said, Keller thought that he made sound points of argument, and it was definitely the ideal situation that Lee laid out for them as a plan of attack — but whether it was feasible or not, Keller didn’t know. “I think we’re a little hindered on all fronts, but we can only do our best,” he said, frowning, and watching bits of the paper fizzle away. “Keeping informed is hard since we only have the Prophet, and picking up our defense is harder, since we can’t all train at one time - which raises logistical issues,” Keller frowned deeper, “and as for trust-… I think that’s perhaps the easiest, since I know everyone wants to help, and we are all in the same boat, like you said.” Keller raised a hand and caught a flying bit of ash that then sat smoldering on his palm. “But we can only do what we can, right?” he said, looking to Lee. “I think if we get started on defense, then we can work on the others in the background - trust will come from working together, I think.”

Lee pursed his lips. "Yeah, I know that staying as informed as we'd like isn't exactly possible right now. I just meant that we need to stay as informed as we possibly can."  He looked back at Keller and nodded. "I agree. Tensions have been tense lately, but I think working together will show to everyone that we all have the same goals."

She attempted to smile back but the expression didn’t reach her lips. “Thanks.” She turned the paper over in her hands considering other ways to dispose of it. burning or obligating might be cathartic. She sighed, nothing she did to the paper was going to make the news any better. “I wish there was more we could do. I wish we had more say in matters like these.”

"So do I.  It's quite the conundrum, isn't it? Everyone is trying to sway us over to their side because we're the next generation, and almost old enough to have a say in things, but at the same time, nobody is willing to listen to us, and we're just dismissed as 'silly kids.'"

Keller was surprised to hear that Lee had had a similar reaction to the news about Lowell; it seemed as though he wasn’t alone in the sinking feeling that came from his election as Minister of Magic. “I think even that analogy is putting it politely,” Keller said with a frown, turning back to watch the newspaper disintegrate. “I just-.. before, everything felt tough, you know? But now, it almost feels hopeless, and I don’t know what we can do at all, even just to protect ourselves.” Keller sighed and his eyes followed a piece of ash floating upward. “Any ideas?”

"We definitely need to keep informed of what's going on. So far our biggest downfall has been a lack of knowledge. And then, we also need to keep up with our defense practice. Finally, and I think this is the most important part, we need to trust each other. Not just selectively, but completely. Everyone is in the same boat right now,  and everyone needs to know that they can count on the person beside them."  Lee moved so that he was standing beside Keller, watching the burning paper.

Olivia turned to face Lee, her displeasure still evident on her feature. “I didn’t realize you were here. I still probably shouldn’t be throwing things around.” She looked down at the ball of paper which had bounced back over to her and picked it up again. “It’s frustrating that the only thing I can do about this news is ball it up and accidentally hit my friends in the head with it.”

Lee patted Olivia on the shoulder, a slight smile on his lips. "It's alright. I forgive you."  He pursed his lips and looked at the piece of paper in Olivia's hand. "The whole situation is frustrating. And no one can do anything but destroy the bearer of the news."

"incendio."

Lee just smiled and shrugged his shoulders while he walked further into the room. "Don't worry. I don't blame you. I tore my copy up into tiny pieces when I read the news. I guess the world really is going to hell in a handbasket, huh?"

"I knew it..."

Lee looked up from his own book as a small lump of paper made contact with his head. He was about to admonish whoever threw it, but when he saw Olivia's pursed lips, and the fact that it was the Daily Prophet, his expression softened. "Ah, well, I don't blame you."

It was obviously foolish to believe mass exoduses were a thing in the past, but I never thought that seventh years would be among those  leaving. I’m not sure if I think the decision to go is foolish, selfish, wise, or all of the above.

It could be all or none of the above. What matters is that they chose to leave and we chose to stay, and we have to live with these decisions.

And yet somehow I’ve got a feeling that they won’t be the last ones to leave….

Parents are getting worried. And they have every reason to be. They think their kids will be safer at home with them, but I don't really think anyone's safe anymore.