New Leadership

Whilst it was all too apparent to Sam that he had not been "elected" or "chosen" to become the leader of Potter's Army, he knew, deep in his heart, that something needed to be done with the faction in order to keep it from dropping off the map entirely.

And so, it was with that thought in mind that he found himself walking around the school for a few hours, seeking out each individual member of PA that he knew to meet him that evening inside the Room of Requirement in order to discuss what exactly was going on.

He did feel a little bad, it wasn't his place to go about doing that sort of thing, however he'd not heard of a meeting in weeks, and in that time the rate of punishments and attacks had increased tenfold, the new head of punishment had ensured that things had changed for that aspect of school life.

So there he was, pacing from one end of the room to the other with a feeling of nervous apprehension resting in his gut as he thought about the meeting ahead of him, trying to avoid the thought that there was a chance that no one would come at all.

Alice had heard about this new Potter's Army meeting and she was sure tocommit the time and place to memory, so as to not have a repeat of last time, when Roxi Weasley had tracked her down and dragged her along with her. That was not only embarrassing but thoroughly unnecessary in Alice's opinion. She wanted to make sure that did not happen.

She made her way up to the Room of Requirement, an oversized pumpkin muffin in one hand. She had been messing with engorgement charms on her food lately- mostly on desserts and pastry types. At first, they just exploded, and then they were unedible. When she finally got it, the foods were too big. But now she had hit the sweet spot. Oversized and filling, but not so much that she was throwing out food or only eating a muffin a day.

She entered the room, looking about and noticing that she was the first to arrive besides Samuel. Alice looked around, feeling a different air in the room. "Oh, changes," was all she said, in a vague tone. She spotted a comfy chair and collapsed onto it, crossing her legs and saying, "Good seeing you Samuel." And with that, she focused her attention back onto her muffin.

Andrew made his way through the large staircase, his purpose to get to the seventh floor and get to the Room of Requirement. He had felt his PA coin hum with a slight warmth, which signified that there was a meeting happening. Being as how it was the first one in a long time, he had no time to waste. He kept his hands in his pockets as he hurried his way throughout the hallway, feeling uneasy about being inside. It seemed like less and less people were appearing in the halls everyday, and it worried him greatly. He knew it was the holidays, but it hadn't been vacation yet, so where was everyone? He didn't want to find out.

He stepped in front of the large door and proceeded inside. He looked around, remembering the familiar sight of the room. "Good times," he said to himself, remembering when he still had the Siren. He stood next to a girl who had apparently recently showed up and noticed the leader in front of him. It was a...fourth year? It seemed like it as least. "May I ask who is leading us?" he questioned kindly. He remembered him from the common room a couple of weeks ago.

Sam's wand flew to his hand as his eyes shot up and focused on the first person entering the room, the noise of their entrance drawing his attention. "Hello?" he called, peering at them before realising who he was facing and lowing his wand quickly. "Alice!" He exclaimed, "Sorry. This place is a bit daunting when you're here on your own," he explained, grinning lightly as he spoke. "Never really noticed it before... anyway, welcome... take a seat," he said as she did exactly that.

When the next person entered the room his reaction wasn't nearly as extreme, Alice's entrance seemed to have defused the tension he had been feeling as he waited for others to arrive. "Andrew?" He asked. "Good evening," he said after a pause in which he recognised the newcomer. "Well, I figured I would, if no one has any objections," he said quietly, trying to sound a lot more firm about his decision than he actually was.

"I was going to explain it when everyone got here, but this'll do. I kinda figured that no one else seemed to be doing anything formal in the group, and that with recent events, it was foolish to waste the opportunity that we all have at our fingertips as members of a group such as our own," he explained, knowing that it was an explanation he was going to need to give many times that evening.

Byron was actually glad that Sam had taken the initiative to round up PA, or what seemed to be left of it. Admittedly, Byron had been immensely distracted. He had seen very little of the others in PA, except the ones from Gryffindor. Days had been spent lazily with the usual bunch, while he had actually took to studying with one strangely giggly Ravenclaw girl that he had met on one random and rare visit to the library. For someone who had been struggling and barely making the passes for school-work, the new situation suited him fine.

Generally, though, Byron was distracted by laziness itself. At first, he was bored. There didn't seem to be too many things to interest him in the current school term. And then, he had accepted it and gradually assumed a static comfort in the only routine that was made available to him. Sam's sudden proposition, albeit without an intriguing agenda, snapped Byron out of the stasis he had become extremely acquainted with. Given the lack of action or even attendance from the few previous meetings, Byron was pleased to observe a sizeable group when he entered the RoR; even if three was seriously minute on the number scale, he was sufficiently desperate to be content with that.

"Hey!" Byron greeted everyone loudly, waving his hands in a bit of an odd frenzy, in a manner that indicated his total lack of self-consciousness at the moment. The few crazy Gryffindors from PA had yet to turn up, but his mind was less on that than expected. Instead, Byron planted a goofy grin on his face and walked right to where the other three present in the room were already gathered at. Byron was just in time to witness Sam's answer to Andrew, which made him turn his attention to Sam, with a look of amusement on his face. With a light pat on Sam's back, since Byron was evidently rather perked up in his mood, the latter nodded in eager agreement.

"It is good to be back. We've got to have more of this! Nothing's happened so far. I can't decide if it's a good sign, or a bad one. But whatever it is ..." Byron let his voice trail off, not really having gathered in his thoughts what he actually wanted to say. He was merely trying to fill the silence he thought he could feel everywhere in the room. Rambling was usually one's best bet.

"I hope everyone's doing well anyway! I mean, I see you, you, and you pretty much around but it's been awhile we've met like this. So ..." Byron widened his grin, then, without the words to complete the ramble. His eyes were pretty much darting excitedly from person to person, as if he was slightly deranged. It was odd, surely, but nothing that cannot be explained by his pleasure from being taken out of routine.

A new meeting was finally going on for Potter's Army. But for once since Hitame had joined, she didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave her sister alone, she was scared that while she was gone something bad would happen to Naomi. But she had an obligation to Potter's Army, and she knew at some point, even if she was late, she would have to sneak away from Naomi, and risk leaving her little sister unprotected. She had to leave now...

Without making an excuses, Hitame had gotten up and told Naomi that she would be back later. Naomi simply nodded and continued drawing in her little sketch pad, one of the only things Hitame was able to keep safe when all muggle things were taken away. She gave Naomi a quick hug and left her sister's side. She was a simple third year, no one would care if she was late, or even if she goes to the meeting at all. Or she at least hoped no one cared, she couldn't do much yet anyways.

She made her way to the RoR quickly and quietly, and once she stood in front of the door she looked at it, but didn't move for a few minutes. Maybe she should just turn back and go to Naomi, no one needed her there. But she remembered the main reasons she joined Potter's Army. To fight against the Death Eater's to get revenge for what they did to her parents, and to protect Naomi. She took a deep breath and opened the door, entered the room and closed the door behind her quickly. "Sorry I'm late." she muttered in almost a whisper, and she doubted anyone heard her, but she didn't repeat anything any louder.

Sam smiled as Byron entered in his usual... well, the best word was probably flamboyant, manner. "I'd say it's a bad sign, personally, but thank you, I'm pleased to have started something too, we've been dormant too long... but more about that later," he said, waving Byron off as he took in the arrival of a few new people.

His first reaction to Terran's words was to frown, only for a second, before he cracked a small grin. "Whatever for?" He asked, "we've not yet begun, if that was the issue," he added. "But I'm good thanks, a little nervous I must admit," he replied, his last point being spoken in a quiet undertone before he chuckled and waved Hitame in, deciding to himself that it was time for the meeting to start.

"Hey everyone," he said quietly, pausing for a minute as he inwardly cursed himself before trying once more. "Hello, and welcome," he said, this time a little more firmly.

"As you can see, I am not Louis Weasley," he began, "however I figured that we needed action, we need to take matters into our own hands, and seize opportunities to improve upon the status quo whenever they present themselves, for is that not what this group is all about?" He asked them before moving on, no time for a reply being left for them.

"So here we are, I'm here prattling on, and whilst I may not have the same experience some of you may hold, I feel... I hope that I'll lead us at least for a little while longer than the next few minutes," he said, his calm expression managing to hide his nervous demeanor.

"I also have some plans, if you'll allow them," he added, pausing for a second to check for any interruptions before continuing. "I believe that we need to focus on aiding the Order of the Phoenix, as well as working to undermine the leadership of Miss Forbes and Mr. D'Eath at this school," he suggested. "Of course we can't do it ourselves, so that's why I think we'd need to work with the Order, so as to allow us an opportunity to allow our plans to come to fruition," he explained.

Krums were known for being fashionably late but it was something that Sevastian went out of his way to try and avoid. He especially hated being late to Potter’s Army meetings, though it wasn’t often that they had one. Much to his delight, he couldn’t say that his tardiness was his fault. He, like the young lady he was accompanying up to the hidden room, had been kept back in his Ancient Runes class in order to discuss some sort of club that the professor was thinking about running. His companion, in the form of Miss Melissa Finnigan, had purposely kept the teacher talking. Sevastian hadn’t quite understood why but as she drew the professor into conversation, he took a few moments to take in the state of the girl he’d been attending Ancient Runes with since third year. She’d definitely changed. There was an air of delicateness about her that wasn’t forced as it was with some of the other girls. She could plaster a smile on her face but she still looked as if one gust of wind could send her over. Her cheeks were peppered with some sort of cream or foundation to rid her of the bruises beneath her eyes and she seemed dependant on a little vial that brought her mood up with every sip of the golden liquid. She didn’t speak much now. Sevastian could remember a time when she’d chat to anyone and everyone, regardless of who they were or what house they were in. She was a shadow of her former self and he couldn’t quite get his head around it. She hid it well, though. By God did she hide it well.

The collective weakness in the pair of them made them targets for the maliciousness of the Slytherins that day. Sevastian had offered to take Millie’s bags, something she’d agreed to wearily, her fatigue showing through as she handed over the weighty satchel for him to place on his shoulder. She seemed to brighten a little bit without the weight, as if it was the weight of her mental turmoil being momentarily lifted off her shoulders. She smiled at him, the brightest he’d seen from her all day, and tugged his hand into hers before allowing him to lead her down the corridor and up countless flights of stairs to the Room of Requirement. Of course the Slytherins were their obstacles and despite her weariness, her tongue was as quick and as sharp as ever, firing back insults as if she weren’t on the edge of exhaustion. She’d smile at him each time she’d finished her exchange with whichever Slytherin she’d encountered. Even they seemed puzzled. She had her bite but the passion wasn’t there. The desire to outdo them wasn’t present. It was a worry that both the Slytherins and Sevastian seemed to share but the latter had no choice but to press on; the former could cast it to the back of their minds.

Sevastian’s mind was geared towards Christmas, to going home. He’d seen the grim look on many of his cousin’s faces, knowing that it was unlikely that what they were going home to was anything positive. For once, however, he was. He had been invited to his brother’s home instead of his father’s this year. Sevastian was sure that his father hadn’t even thought about owling him with Christmas details. Instead, Sevastian would spend the time he had off with his brother and his partner. The boys would no doubt get up to as much mischief as possible and Sevastian had already begun packing up his things, ready for the holidays to begin. He’d been mindlessly tittering about his plans to Millie for most of their lesson together, ignorant to the fact that it was unlikely she was going to be going home this year. She’d been enthusiastic for him though and he’d certainly noticed no different. Onlookers saw what he’d failed to, the sadness in her as he waffled about his family and his brothers and where he’d be going for Christmas. The Howlers Millie got were Gryffindor knowledge. She got Howlers, never letters. However early this week, she’d received a letter for the first time since her first year; and if that wasn’t foreboding then the students of Gryffindor didn’t know what was.

“Alright, Millie!” Sevastian’s voice chimed in the chill of the seventh floor corridor air. “Here we are!” He reached forward, pulling on the golden door handle. He smiled encouragingly at the blonde and gestured for her to go inside which, with some hesitance, she finally did. Sevastian came up behind her, pulling the door closed behind him. It was obvious that they were late but not too late. Thankfully they’d come in just behind Hitame and Sevastian was relieved to find that they weren’t missing anything. Sam definitely wasn’t Louis, though and he certainly wasn’t Miseria. Sevastian’s eyebrows furrowed slightly before he wrapped his arm around Millie’s shoulders and lead her over to where the dark-skinned Gryffindor was stood. Sevastian cringed at the way the boy had to be described but there was really no other way of putting it. By comparison to himself, the Gryffindor had very dark skin indeed. It was refreshing to see. Certainly, Sevastian was sick of his own snowy pallor. Still, it wasn’t his skin that Sevastian was focused on - well, not entirely. Clear and smooth though it looked, Sevastian knew he needed to be more interested in the words coming out of the boy’s mouth...and so he listened.

“If I may,” Sevastian held up his spare hand, the other being used to rub Millie’s arm and instil some warmth in her body, “Mr D’Eath was from Azkaban, wasn’t he? A Death Eater...if accounts are to be believed. Perhaps...perhaps...if he’s been bought by Grindlewald to serve...maybe he can be swayed to help the Order...or..or..or us. Um. Sorry we’re late, by the way. Professor Maddrool kept us back...talking about Runes. Y’know...” Sevastian laughed awkwardly and scuffed his shoe across the ground. He looked down, suddenly finding the dark leather incredibly interesting and a curtain of white-blonde hair spiked with red and green at the tips especially for Christmas created a curtain between him and the other people in the room.