[OPEN/GROUP] End of Year Party, Anyone?

Jenna looked at the professor over across her folded arms.  Really?

"Yes, sir," she agreed, swivelling on her toes to return to Ducky's side.

She leant down to pull one of his arms over her shoulder.

"Come on," she said.  "You have a date with the Hospital Wing."

[Quick reminder: Word count minimum is 100. If you guys want, we can just parallel the RoR and the Hospital Wing in this thread. Then we don't have to make another one.]

Katherine wasn't sure, because it had never happened before, but she felt like she was having a panic attack. Did that count as something she had to tell Victoire about? Probably not, she decided, considering she wasn't really freaking out too badly. It was the worry, mostly. Still, as Declan asked Jenna to take Ducky to the hospital wing, Kit wanted to try and be of some help. So she made her way over to Fiona's side, offering a a shy smile and gestured towards the door. It seemed unlikely that the Hufflepuff wouldn't go with Ducky, so perhaps a bit of company might help. Besides, Kit was expected back soon anyway.

Not a moment later, Christian darted past the group headed to the hospital wing, on his way to pick up the dittany they needed for his brother. Declan watched him go, unsure what to do with himself for a minute. One look at Dom, though, and he turned back towards Apollo so that there wouldn't be any awkward pauses. He knew he couldn't accomplish much, but it wouldn't do any good to waste time, anyway.

Declan knelt down next to the Slytherin lad and started trying to clean away the blood that was staining Apollo's shirt. The elder Zabini was shaking and gasping, and Declan hated it. He wished he had learn to heal instead of to just cook or run his business. He was a shoddy professor at best. Declan could admit that. But he put all of his energy into it when it was asked of him. This would be no different. Not hardly.

"Dom," he spoke suddenly, saying her name for the first time in months. His next words were almost hard to get out, but he didn't have the time to feel strange about it. "I need your help.

"Hold him still. When Christian gets back... It won't be fun for him."

Finn stumbled after Kit, finding that her knees felt incredibly weak. Still, she followed because perhaps she could be of help to them.

That left Casey and Apollo as the only students left in the Room of Requirement. Casey was still bracing the door with her back, eyes closing every time she felt the collision of paws or nails on the wood behind her. The door was holding up, surprisingly, against the weight of the werewolf - as if the Room or Requirement had predicted their needs. Which she wouldn't put passed the door.

It seemed neither of the professors, however, had really processed her proximity to the danger in the room. She was watching these strange, meaningful glances while a werewolf knocked on her back. She rolled her eyes.

Dom nodded, biting her bottom lip as she approached Declan, terrified for the hurt boy. She smiled kindly at him, saying, "It'll be okay. We're getting you help."

Casey held her breath. If Apollo was confined to the Room of Requirement, she was going to be sleeping outside of it. And no one would move her.

It felt like Christian would never return, and Declan could practically feel the anxiety rolling off of Dom as the knelt there and watched him. When he glanced up, though, he finally registered that Casey was still there. He cleared his throat and waited until Dom looked at him before gesturing with his chin towards the younger student. Really, it was probably a good idea for one of them to check on her. He assumed it made more sense for Dom to see if she was alright, but he didn't want to look as though he wouldn't be willing.

Suddenly, though, the door burst open and Christian stumbled in, practically tripping over his own feet. "Here!" he blurted, holding the dittany out to the older man.

"Good," Declan returned, nodding. "Can you help Casey? I promise we'll get him sorted," he added upon seeing Christian's confused expression. "Please, mate. Casey and Lily could use a hand."

After a moment, he conceded and moved over to ask Casey if she was okay. Declan, on the other hand, handed the bottle to Dom. "Unstopper this," he requested as he reached down and tore Apollo's shirt to expose the wound. The Slytherin groaned, but it sounded like he was more unconscious than he was aware. The professor pressed his hands against Apollo's shoulders to keep him still, then looked at Dom again.

"You got this?" he asked carefully, wanting to be sure that she felt comfortable pouring the dittany. It wouldn't be pleasant for Apollo, and causing that additional pain definitely wouldn't feel good, either.

She felt the man look to her, so she closed her eyes. She didn't mind eye contact or confrontation, but she also did not want to deal with the man trying to tear her away from the door. It seemed to work, because before Dom could respond to Declan's prompt, the other Zabini came tearing into the room, saving her. Because, no matter what her cousin or the professor said, she would not move. She didn't care if the Minister of Magic himself ordered her to leave Lily's side, she would have resisted, would have found a way to stay. She would not abandon Lily now.

It was stupid, because she wasn't doing anything for Lily. But guarding that door was the closest she had been to her cousin in a year. Since graduation the year prior, it was the one solid thing she had done to really protect the Potter girl. She couldn't change what had happened, as much as she wished she could have. But she could make sure no one got to Lily, and that Lily got to no one. Lily did not need the shame nor the guilt, respectively. She just needed to go through the transformation and be better already.

She looked up as Christian approached. She wanted to send him away, but she knew she was currently acting as Lily's ambassador. Her face wavered between fierce refusal and confusing compassion. Finally, she muttered, in a low voice, "I'm sorry... about-about your brother, right? I am. But I can't leave her, yeah?"

Dom glanced over at Casey and Christian, nervous because of what was to come. If Lily was really a werewolf... she didn't know what would come of the Potter. She turned back to Declan who handed her the bottle of dittany. She nodded, glad to be busy with something. She pinched the stopper and pulled it off, tossing it aside. Declan braced Apollo and she looked up at him. Right. It made sense for him to brace and her to pour. She gnawed on her lip and nodded, looking at the wound. It looked nasty, but that was probably the blood...

Lovely.

She smiled at Apollo. "Brave now." She reached down and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze. Then she poured.

Christian made his way over to Casey, shaking his head when she spoke. "I wouldn't expect you to leave. I couldn't do that, either. But I'll just sit with you, if that's alright?" He asked, even as he slid down the wall and attempted to make himself comfortable. How could he, though, when his brother was having such a time of it?

Declan found himself watching Dom as she tried to comfort Apollo, though they all knew he was about to go through hell all over again. Still, there was something endearing about it, and Declan couldn't deny that. The instant the dittany met Apollo's skin - or, more specifically, his wound - a garbled, strangled sounding complaint lifted from the boy's throat.

The skin did begin to close itself off, but Declan fully believed that it was nothing less than terrible. The last thing the older man wanted was to deal with something like this after seeing someone go through it. Even Declan cringed at the pained noises escaping his student, and it wasn't until the dittany seemed to do its work that Apollo relaxed, almost immediately falling unconscious.

Christian stood again, meeting Declan's gaze. The professor didn't need to be asked to move. Instead, he reached out and gently lifted Dom's hand to lead her away. He wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to Casey, but he did want to let the Hufflepuff check on his brother.

"C'mon, love," he murmured, nudging her towards the wall near Casey and to the right of Lily's closet. "I don't think any of us are really planning on leaving tonight."

Casey looked up at Christian, surprised to find such a response, and in such a calm, kind tone. And what was more, he joined her. Casey had felt like the grown up ever since she had arrived. She was the one on the most dangerous position (if Lily broke out, Casey was first in her path). And the fact that she seemed to know about Lily’s condition had gone completely unnoticed. People had barely spoke to her, and almost no one had responded to her.
 
Casey was already feeling alone. But when Christian spoke her, she realized exactly the sad plight she was in. Casey felt scared and lonely and sad. And for the first time in a long time, she felt only thirteen.
 
She nodded at Christian, flinching as the werewolf rammed into the door once more. The chances of her getting out were incredibly slim, but it still felt right to brace the door. Just in case.
 
The noise that came out of Apollo was horrific but Dom continued on with her task, squeezing his hand, whispering, “Almost done. Almost done. So close,” and then she was done. She put down the vile vial (ha) and turned back to the Slytherin boy, who was knocked out, breathing easily now.
A hand entered her vision. She looked up at Declan and then glanced back at the remaining two students, who looked intent on staying. She gave her cousin a sympathetic look and the glanced back at Declan, grimacing at the situation they had just gone through. She took his hand and accepted his help getting up.
 
She approached the wall and said to Casey, “Move from the door. You won’t be able to rest with all of that happening behind you.” Casey opened her mouth to argue, but suddenly clamped it shut and nodded. She slid over as Dom took a seat against the wall.
 
((Just realized Casey's thingy still says second year. Whoops. Lol))

Declan frowned when she moved away, but he walked over to lean against the wall, sliding down to sit beside her. His gaze fell on the twin boys, one finally able to relax and the other sitting beside him, frowning and wondering how on earth he was supposed to explain this to their father. Daphne would be terrified, but Blaise? Blaise would be furious that this had happened to his eldest son and heir. What if it had been Christian? The boy himself couldn't help but wonder about it. Would Blaise have been angry?

The older man could see the wheels in Christian's head turning, so he just sighed and glanced over at Casey. It seemed unlikely that anyone would be getting any sleep, but the anxiety of the happenings that night made Declan feel exhausted somehow. He tipped his head back against the wall and let it turn towards Dom.

"You should get some rest," he murmured. "We aren't going anywhere any time soon. C'mere," he added gently, lifting his arm over her shoulders and nudging her towards him.

The thumps against the doors were less frequent now, and Casey could hear the wolf breathing heavily now, as though all of the activity had worn it down or exasperated it a bit, and it was settling down now. Casey could hear the snorts and scuffles of the wolf as she sniffed through the closet, knocking the brooms over. Casey shifted carefully, taking in a deep breath, her eyelids fluttering closed.

This was going to be hard to explain to Lily. She was going to be very upset.  

Christian was beginning to relax, it seemed. Dom glanced over at him, worried for the two twins, as this was not a situation that would end tonight. It was going to, potentially, be a life-changing night. She supposed someone should have alerted... someone... but they all seemed too nervous to leave the situation alone.

Declan called to her and she glanced at him, offering a small little grimace. She felt a bit awkward, suddenly getting so buddy-buddy with him after all of the ugliness their relationship had seen, but she also felt exhausted, emotionally and physically from the long day. So she wasn't about to put up much of a fight. She leaned in and sighed. "Thank you."


Casey blinked. She hadn't exactly fallen asleep, but she had not really been conscious either. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when she glanced over at Apollo, he was still out. Dom was all sleeping, her head having rolled onto Declan's shoulder, one of her arms slung over him. Declan looked tired, but his eyes were opening.

If she was awake, she might as well find something fun to do.

Casey stretched out her arm, yawning. "So... You and my cousin are like... doing it now, or something?"

Declan couldn't be sure if he actually fell asleep or not. Christian had long since transfigured one of his shoes into a pillow for Apollo, which amused the professor to an extent, considering he had not thought of it. As he watched, the Hufflepuff turned his other shoe into a pillow for himself and settled in. After that, Declan wasn't fully aware of what happened. Dom had more or less snuggled in for the night, and he decided it couldn't hurt to just rest his eyes for a little while.

When he opened his eyes again, he forced himself to lift his cheek from where it rested on the crown of Dom's head. If this wasn't such a strange situation, perhaps he would have appreciated the fact that she could feel comfortable enough to fall asleep around him. Beyond that, even, he was basically holding her as she slept, and that wasn't at all where he had expected to be when he walked into the Room of Requirement earlier that night. Or was it yesterday by now? He had no idea what the time was.

But a voice reached his ears and he didn't care about that anymore. Casey was quite curious, he noted. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing, though. After all, Dom was part of Casey's family. It made sense that she would be concerned.

Still, his eyes widened slightly at her choice of subject, but it wouldn't do to lie or ignore her. Not when a part of him still held out hope of fixing things. "Um, technically no, we aren't. I mean," he clarified, keeping his voice low and calm in hopes of not disturbing Dom, "it happened once. But..." She thought it was meaningless. "But we had differing opinions about what that meant.

"And," he tacked on, completely unsure why he would tell Dom's own cousin what he was about to, "I kissed her once afterwards, but it was basically a good-bye one. I don't think I'll be coming back next year. It's up in the air right now. After graduation, it's possible that we'll just... pretend it never happened," Declan concluded with a slight shake of his head.

He nearly shrugged, but glanced down and thought better of it. One corner of his mouth lifted in a sort of disappointed grimace, but he looked over at Casey again, half hoping she would tell him not to shove off or let it go without trying harder. Perhaps then he would actually consider that.