The stillness was unnerving. Daniyah wasn’t sure how long she had been stationed in Hogsmeade, but it was enough time to pace the perimeter of the village multiple times, on the look out for anything out of the ordinary. They should be grateful for any information at all they were able to get about the heist that was to happen. Hopefully, it would be enough to stop the Death Eaters from getting their hands on something valuable. But it wasn’t enough to feel like they were one step ahead. And, in Daniyah’s opinion, when they weren’t one step ahead, they were three steps behind.

That feeling was confirmed the moment chaos started pouring out of the least likely of places. She heard it first, a low rumble that was quickly growing as whatever it was grew closer, and she immediately snapped her eyes to Gideon’s like she would find an answer there. When her mission partner had nothing to provide for her though, her head kept moving to find the source. And she found it indeed.

Students were rushing down the road from the castle at a pace that gave away their panic. Daniyah first started trying to count them but soon gave up on that. It would do her no good to figure out just how many students were making their way to the village or what had pushed them in that direction. “It’s a distraction,” she said for Gideon to hear, mind made up on the fact.

At least there was one silver lining in that: they now knew that whatever was going down was going down now. “We have to stay alert. Block out the kids and focus on what they might be sneaking out of here. We can’t let them get out from right under our noses.”

@gideonthesoldier​

There was plenty that terrified Mary about graduating in just a few short months, but if there was one thing she could honestly say she was excited about, it was having access to more bars. The Three Broomsticks was a lovely and cozy place, but it lost some of its charm when it was one of two options offered to her on a regular basis. Of course, she didn’t have as much time to go out any more, what with N.E.W.T.s looming around the corner like they were ready to strike at any moment.

But on this one free night she had, she found herself sitting at a stool enjoying a Butterbeer. It tasted just like every Butterbeer she ever had here, and that was both tiresome and comforting at the same time. What wasn’t comforting was the casual friend she had come with had seemed to disappear. Probably off flirting with some boy or drunkenly decided to Irish Goodbye. Which wouldn’t normally bother her, except for the fact that now it meant she had to walk back up to the castle alone. A reality she was currently avoiding by having just one more drink.

“Hard to leave when it’s so warm in here and so cold out there huh?” she said to the person who had just moved onto the stool next to hers at the bar. He was vaguely familiar, like someone she had known once upon a time but couldn’t remember from where. Or maybe he was just a stranger with One Of Those Faces, which she could figure out soon enough.