Sam looked ghastly pale as he walked blindly up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room, feeling as if he was in auto-pilot.
The sight at the gates to the school had horrified him beyond words, never before had he seen something quite like what was lying there, right at that very moment.
Reaching the Gryffindor Portrait Hole Sam looked up at the Fat Lady, who looked almost as uncertain as he felt. "What happened?" She asked, voice trembling. "I heard that a girl. Oh that poor girl," she said, her voice breaking slightly at the end.
"Likity Split," was all Sam said, not sure quite what he'd say to her, even if he was capable of speaking right now.
With that the portrait swung forward and the silence of the landing was broken as a wall of sound washed through the hole, the hubbub of the students dim - some crying, wailing, some talking, and even one or two who sounded as if they'd gone cataclysmic, was deafening to his ears.
Climbing through the hole he looked around and saw what he'd heard, with the addition of several stony faced people who were just standing around, much like he was, and not making any sound at all, many of the house's members were in here, but many weren't it seemed, maybe some people were up in their beds, or some were around the castle, coming to terms with the night's events in their own way.
It seemed as if someone needed to take charge, this was clearly not something that could be swept under the rug, it was something he, and the rest of the school could not simply mourn and forget. Tonight was going to go down in history, that much was almost certain, and it's implications were going to affect everyone, possibly the students in this room, and three others around the castle, more than any others.
"Attention," he said uncertainly, his voice barely rising above the noises of the grieving, and only one or two heads turning his way as a result. If he wanted to gain any sort of an audience he was going to have to be louder than that, and while several people were likely to accuse him of being rude for not merely observing the atmosphere in here, he knew that something had to be done.
"Attention!" He shouted once more, his voice this time rising above the noise in the room to be heard by everyone, and several heads turned his way. "If I could just have your ears for one moment, I would appreciate it," he told them all, waiting to see if they would do as he asked.
by Samuel Grigori Sat May 21, 2011 5:16 am