"Roses have Thorns"
Beauty has it's spikes and, for Red, this is a perfect match to her own personality, she isn't all smiles and grins and her thorns can be rather painful...



*You can only post her under my supervision.*

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The sun was barely rising, as Red was peacefully asleep in her bed room, at her mother’s place. She had told all of her friends that her mother needed her for some replanting and taking care of the plants. There was nothing better than the silence of the trees, and good fresh air once in awhile. As she slept her mind didn’t wonder to dangerous thoughts, nor think her friends to be In danger… This is why, that particular morning, as Snitch zoomed in with the mail and the daily prophet she had a rather nasty shock.

She grumbled as Snitch was zooming over her head, obviously not in the mood to chase him so early in the morning. Roselyn opened her sleepy eyes, squinting above watching her pigeon owl going mad, she sighed and took out an owl treat that was on her bedside table, prepared for his hyper ways. Snitch dropped all the things on the bed with a –thud- and nibbled on the owl treat happily, its beak making crunching noises.
Aleksanteri Talonen Dead ! Page 4

« Quoi ?! » exclaimed her rather early morning voice and her eyes widened as she read the article further on. And as she read “[…] near the center of the catastrophic accident—which consisted mostly of troubled young students from Hogwarts.
Consequently, Saint Mungos Hospital was overflowing and nearly overwhelmed with patients, many of whom were in critical states. A large number of the injured were Hogwarts students,[…] » the first thing she did was throw the paper across the room on her desk and take out her wand, all her things suddenly zooming in her bag, she didn’t care about organization now.
Talonen, dead? Why? A lot of questions started to pop in her mind, her worst fears growing more and more. She was hoping her friends were not there. –Of course they were. She thought quickly, of course some where there. …What if Samantha, or Audra got hurt? ... what if Tom got hurt?
At this thought her things would only zoom quicker and she fell over to the floor grabbing some cloths and getting dressed as quickly as possible. From all the racket upstairs, her mother climbed the wooden stairs wondering what was wrong… She knocked on the door before entering, she was in a robe and had the same sleepy look Red had before reading the article. “Tout va bien Rose?” She asked.
“Non Maman! I have to go back to the school! Now!” Roselyn answered hopping around putting on her boots and not trying to fall was great effort. Her curls would bounce and she nearly tripped on her cloak.
“Calme toi!” Said her mother holding her still so she wouldn’t fall, her firm hands around her daughter she looked into the same green eyes and raised a brow. “What has happened Rose?”
Now, Red, knew that if her mother knew about bad things happening at school she would keep her home safely. But, worried as she was, she blurted out “Something bad has happened I really need to get back! Now!!” She said quickly in her own tongue. And she grabbed her bag, and stuffed Snitch in his cage who hooted excitedly! And Red ran for the door…
“Mais Roselyn enfin!!” Her mother said loudly, Red turned to face her, she knew too well her mother was worried. “…Be careful.” Rose raised her eye brows surprised by her answer. “I cannot stop you anymore, you can just apparate from home now… and go off to save your friends. I have never seen you like this… Just tell me what is wrong.”
Rose sighed and walked towards her mother who accio’ed the two chairs so her daughter would have a seat. And that is when, Rose told her everything she knew, and, the death of one of her teachers. As Red would tale all she knew, her mother was rubbing her eyes with her fingers, and responded nothing.
“Maman, I cannot stay here… when I know something really, really bad is going to happen!”
Her mother sighed once more and grabbed her only child’s hand. “I will inform your father about this-“ Rose grumbled to this. “You are not going back there Rose! You cannot do this.” And Rose pushed her hand! Getting up quickly to grab the daily prophet “Non Maman, that is where you are wrong, I will go back there!”, a loud crack was heard and she was no more.

It was the end of the day, class was over and most of the others were talking about the ball, some girls in the commun room where getting over hyper about it… Squeeling and being completly crazy about wearing dresses and doing their hair, some annoying girls would giggle each time a boy would pass by. This is why, the french Redhead wasn’t in the commun room, way too much noise.

Upstairs… in the bedroom, was Red. Unlike the others, she wasn’t doing her hair, or getting totally hyper about her dress… No. Rose was in the leather chair in their bedroom, her eyes looking about the window as the fire died slowly away… She was stroking her cat slowly, her forest green eyes staring out to the grey sky. Garion was purring softly, and would claw her lap caringly. As she got up from her leather chair, the cat climbed to the chair’s arm, she grabed a blanket and wrapped herself around it, rubbing her arms to shake the cold off. Garion, with his green and intelligent eyes looked to his mistress, his tail swiching from right to left. He rubed his head against her ankle feeling her worried thoughts, she smiles weakly and looks down at him sighing alittle.

Near the desk, there was her cauldron and alot of potion bottles lined up, the corks next to them ready to be bottled and put away. The cauldron was bubbling calmly, the smell wasn’t superbe, and that is why the window was open, letting autums cold and chilly wind in. She approched the window and looked to the school grounds…


Some students where outside playing, chatting, or just hanging out… Roselyn bite her underlip softly, alot of worried thoughts on her mind, since she had read the Prophet… no, reading that just made her fears worse. Maybe she was alittle paranoide, yes, perhaps, but again, rather be safe then sorry.

One of the boys on the grounds shouted and she jumped a little surprised, this took her away from her thoughts and made her move on to something else. She looked at her pocket watch… « I’d better get ready I guess… » She said, closing it and throwing the blanket aside. The Dress was on the bed, the shoes and jewelry next to it, ready to wear.

She looked to the other side of the bed, she had got Tom’s things ready so he wouldn't run around looking for his things… she knew he’d come at the last second to get dressed, at least, it sounded like something he would do.

Before even touching the dress or starting the epic battle against the corset… She stirred the potion clockwise before putting out the fire. She bottled it up in the phials and put them in her hand bag… If one where to watch her, they wouldn't have figured out how so many things could fit in that tiny hand bag. Red would be amused and say something about not revealing a lady’s secrets with a wink, but in truth it was just a charm that came rather handy.

After fighting to get the corset on, and get heels on, she finally put on the dress… Annoyed alittle with the bow, she pointed her wand to her back, looking to a mirror, and the bow magiculy tied itself. It was a sliky dress with what seemed to look like real fall leaves on the dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction. As she prepared herself, her thoughts now dwelled on the ball, how the decorations would look… What would happen if she had to dance… Dance ?! She felt her heart skip a beat, she had forgotten the dancing… « …Oh dear… »



She put on the sleeves, the necklace and earrings and then put on just alittle gold eyeliner. She fiddled with her hair for a long moment before getting just the perfect curls. She used her wand and took some orange and yellow ivy vines and made them wrap in her hair, just to give it the natural touch. Most of her long red flamming hair was on the left side, some nice curls near her right ear.

She walked towards the window again and looked up at the sky with a sigh… « Maybe I should take a draught of peace and relax… what do you think ? » she asks and then turns to the cat, who winked at her as she did. She smiled and felt alittle silly, but then again, being paranoid was her nature. She started to hear the boys entering their commons and talking loudly, oviously getting ready… Well, if the boys where getting ready, that meant the time was near…

She put her wand up her sleeve and looked at herself one last time in the mirror, before putting on some perfum and grabbing her matching handbag, she carressed Garion on his head before walking to the door, unlocking it. As she walked down the stairs carfully, she felt her heart beating quickly… She was wondering what he would think about the dress, after all, this was their very first Ball... and she thought with a confident smile:
« It is going to be unforgettable… »

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

…And unforgettable it was.

Helpless… angry? That was the feeling inside of Roselyn as she walked up the stairs to the bedroom, her heels hitting the wood, each stair step would creek and crack. Some passing boys looked to her with concern, some asked if she was feeling better and she simply replied with a nod and an insincere smile. When she finally arrived to the door, she paused for a moment, the key in hand, and turned to look to the staircase, and rolling her eyes. ‘Unforgettable’, she thought, ‘pffft.’ The key lock clicked as she opened the door, first thing she did was drop her handbag on the nearest desk and cast off those high heels in the corner of the room.

The fire was dead, she added some dry logs in the chimney, and got back up. She started undressing, taking off the necklace and the earrings, putting them in her jewelry box. As she took off her sleeves her wand fell to the floor… “…” She picked it up, looking at it for a moment and felt the same frustration bubbling back and she pointed her wand to the fireplace quickly and muttered harshly; “Incendio!” The flames appeared and started to lick the wood, eating it away slowly.



‘Helpless…’ She pointed her wand to her hair and the ivy unwrapped itself and fell to the floor… She looked at her wand again, and thought about the night that had just came to pass. She put her wand on the bedside table, looking to a picture of her and her mother when she was child… What would she think of this? Maybe, in a way, her mother was right to try and keep her away. Maybe, Rose wasn’t strong enough as she would like to believe herself to be.

She looked to the photo, sitting on her side of the bed, she rubbed her eyes sighing, thinking of her mother. The gold makeup now on her fingers and smeared a little on her face. She looked at her fingers and didn’t really seem to care about what she looked like… She was worried, uneasy, and feeling insecure. She took the picture frame in her hands and watched her mother carrying her, and spinning her around… Those kind of days were now far behind her…

After changing in her night gown, her dress on the chair and her corset on the floor, she let herself fall on the bed. She brought her hands to her face and grumbled seeming annoyed and tired. Roselyn couldn’t believe how easily she was jinxed, how simple it was to do what they wanted with her. This made the redhead rather angry, and she grabbed Tom’s pillow holding it against her chest and face, smelling it for a moment. It seemed to comfort her, but it wasn’t enough to calm the disappointment she was now carrying of herself.

Rose fell asleep with difficulty, and as she fell into the arms of Morpheus, nightmares crawled roguishly in her mind. She was alone, emptiness a faint dim lighting was the only source, not a sound could be heard, and she was underwater… Not a person was visible but she felt, that she was held underneath, as if being magically pulled down. Rose could feel her heart beating slowing down, she was dying, and she was helpless. Helpless, like a newborn, nothing she could do from this point could help, nothing and no one was there to help her. Rose started to search desperately for the surface, but, the underwater seemed to have no surface nor bottom to it… The redhead fought against the water, shaking her arms trying to find an escape, but there was none. She was dying. The last bubbles of air were escaping her mouth; her eye sight was getting darker and blurry.



Roselyn awoke roughly, gasping for air! She was breathing rapidly and put a hand over her heart before opening her eyes; she was shaking, sweating and breathing hard. She brought her knees to her chest, sitting against the bed post, her eyes looking to the ceiling… Garion was near her, and seemed to have been observing her in her sleep, protectively watching over her. Red brought her fingers to her lips touching them lightly, in thought, her look now towards the window and the blue sky…

She knew what she had to do, and she knew that she could no longer afford to be helpless.

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Something was needed, it was hanging there for awhile and she knew she needed to do to finally stop thinking of it. Was it recent events that had pushed her to do this now, perhaps, that and a pure curiosity, a question in mind. Was he really gone? Or, was this his cowardice running away pretending to be dead. Only one thing could confirm this to her… Rose needed to go back to the apartment.

Red grabbed her cloak and bag, Garion watching her, as if knowing she was going far… Petting his head and scratching behind his ears, caused him to purr deeply, the cat curled into a little ball, as the redhead locked the door behind her. The stairs creaking and cracking under her feet, once in the common room she said hello to those in the room, before grabbing a handful of floo powder. She needed to get out to apparate, anywhere would be good… She stepped into the fireplace and threw the powder, green flames licking her feet and legs; “Diagon Ally!”

Once in the bookshop, some witches shopping looked to her curiously in her direction as she brushed off the ashes and soot from her long white dress. Thinking how silly she was to floo with a white dress, she rolled her eyes, thinking to herself ‘Smart…’ There was a 50% discount on a pile of book, oviously old and needed to be sold. She looked at the pile for a moment, just in case, there was something worth value. “Cleaning Charms made easy…” “Potions for dummies”… “Love? Who needs love we’ve got love potions!” Rose sighed, seeing two witches fighting over a “Magicul Cuisine, to enchant your guests!” A loud pop was heard in the bookshop…

Roselyn coughed for a moment, her apparition had caused a lot of dust to cloud up in the air. She took off her cloak and set in on the very dusty couch… The floor was covered with dust and some debris; she looked around for clues of his existence. Memories where swimming in her mind from every step she took, the dinner they would eat together… The stories they would tell eachother near the fire... She felt, cold, but her eyes scavenged the floors for a trace of foot prints, anything to prove that he was alive…



She approached the window and looked outside for a second, it was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, but it’s light didn’t seem to make the apartment as bright as it once had been. Paris was as busy as it always was, cars were stuck in traffic while some French muggles returned from the bakery with their bread and croissants for breakfast, and some were running to catch a bus… Red furrowed her eyebrows, and turned her head towards the staircase. It seemed dark up there, and the door seemed to be unwelcoming, she hesitated for a long moment, before pulling out her wand, walking up the stairs carefully. Rose pushed open the door slowly with a foot, what she saw, was what she had left.

The bed wasn’t made, there were dead and dried roses in a vase on the desk, the windows shutters were still closed. There was not a single trace of him, not one. “Lumos!” she whispered, pointing her wand to the floor to see properly. She walked slowly towards the roses; she touched one and looked at it in the palm of her hand for a brief moment. And it was like reliving some feelings, remembering the betrayal, and his coldness… She crunched the dead rose in her fist casting it to the floor.

“Tu n’est qu’un couard Léon, un traître qui a fuit ses actes ! Oui, tu est un des leurs, tu leur fait honneur a ceux de ta maison, à ces reptiles a sang froid… Aucun courage, juste se nourrir et fuir. » Rose was angry, she was feeling what she should have felt months ago, but she had been keeping those feelings locked away. “Coucher avec cette idiote, à quoi pensai tu, Léon? A toi et a ton propre ton plaisir, sale égoïste! »

Rose casted away the vase angrily on the floor, the sound of glass breaking echoed in the apartment. She felt like burning the place, but she knew better than that, it was a useless thing to do. She then thought of the words Zane had told her, they seemed to justified, for, deep inside she was angry. She calmed down after the glass broke, the pieces glittering on the floor from the light of her wand. She breathed in deeply for a moment, putting a hand over her face before taking one last glimpse. “Oui… il doit être mort. En tout cas… Il l’est pour moi.” The French young woman walked down the stairs her wand still at hand, she grabbed her cloak from the couch before looking at the room, for the last time.

She thought that it was a good idea to get back soon, before someone in particular thought she had backed out of their little meeting…

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Homework, yes, the thing that bothers a lot of students. Homework, what was the point of it, why must they work even after class? Such a boring way to use up free time! Unlike a lot of students, Roselyn did not share the same views about after class work; on the contrary, she loved doing them. Well, depending the subject, Arithmancy was never a piece of cake, when she was working on Arithmancy, she would often get annoyed and her fellow Gryffindor's could hear her grumbling or ripping up paper, crumbling it and ending up in a pile.



That Monday late afternoon, Red was doing a history of magic essay; most people would find this boring and just stop at a first page. But, Red loved to write and explore the wizard history always going deeper… Some girls near the fire where gossiping about Rowan and Lance, Red caught herself glaring at them shaking her head thinking how stupid they were. It was rather comical, how Red couldn’t put up with other girls; those whom she did were quite rare indeed.
She sucked on the tip of her green feather quill pausing for a moment, re reading her essay, scanning for any spelling errors; she looked away from her paper watching two boys playing wizards chess. Remembering the time when Tom tried to teach her, oh what a headache it seemed to be, it still seemed to be enjoyable.

The redhead put her things away, her books papers and quill. As she screwed the inkwell cap back on, she turned a light head towards a window… If there was a moment to go for a walk, it was a perfect time. The sky was glowing; it looked like a painted watercolor canvas with shades of orange, violet, pink and red. She grabbed her Gryffindor scarf and wrapped herself in her coat, wondering how people could not cold be in their short skirts and sleeveless t-shirts now. ‘They are the ones who are going to be sick’ she thought with a grin and silent laugh.

Instead of taking the short way down, by using floo, she took the staircase, she went passed many students, some going to their dorms, others on their way to late classes. Rose had a smile on her face, being kidnapped by Summers had put her in a very good mood and nothing could interrupt it. As Red reached the Entrance hall she waved to those who where there, she then thought about those who were not there…

As she passed the great doors the cold wind brushing on her skin, she came to wonder where exactly Samantha had run off too now. Her pink rebel hadn’t been around much, maybe she was studying, or working or… something? She kicked some dead leaves into the air, her hands in her pockets and some hair against her face due to the wind. A wild idea came to her mind, what if Samantha was running after Smith? …Could be a possibility. She shook her head, still walking, rolling her eyes at her own silly idea.

She would write an owl tonight, just to be sure she was fine, and Red wouldn’t send Snitch, thinking it wise to send a normal school owl.
Rose sighed, and leaned against a tree, looking at the landscape, breathing in the cool pure and fresh air. So many colors, it was overwhelming… She could only smile to this, thinking, how brilliant the view really was, and she sighed happily letting out:
“J’ai tout de même de la chance…”

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Candy. Yes, the sweet and sometimes sticky little thing of sugar. Junk food, cavity creator, energy maker? ‘Candy is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added.’

Rose skipped down the stairs, her curls bouncing as she did so, as she reached the Entrance Hall, she stopped in her steps and backed up. Rowan was against her pillar as usual… but… Something was different and it had caught her eye, Rowan was in shinny armor and was holding a large halberd. Red blinked and questionably said “Hey…?”
“…Happy Halloween?” Rowan responded to her, the Ravenclaw Prefect's armor would make noises as she moved her hand to give a small wave.

Red face palmed and sighed, she had completely forgotten about Halloween! She ran up to the Gryffindor tower to quickly get a costume on, she had already bought her own, but had lost track of time… Sweets where everywhere in the common room, and Honeydukes had put up a special discount for the Halloween weekend. Rose, smiled to those who were getting wild on candy and thought that it was a good idea to buy some herself.

She quickly ran into the girls bathroom, passing by some girls who were applying makeup, there were some zombies, cats, dementors… Red had gone for a Harley Quinn costume, but, when she overheard that Liss had done the same, she decided that it wouldn’t do, to have two Quinn’s. So, she put on a vampire costume, less original, sure, but still sexy all the same… She opened the door and some girls turned to her saying how unoriginal it was. Roselyn rolled her eyes, taking her wand out, getting near a mirror, sharing with another girl.

She opened her mouth and pointed it at her upper right canine, she winced a little as it grew little longer, it took her awhile to get it to look sharp. She applied the same to her other canine, the girls looked to her as if she was crazy. The redhead smiled to them and they laughed, saying she looked like a real vampire, she pretended that she was going to bite them, squeals and laughter could be heard from the girls bathroom.



Rose walked down the stairs, with cape and high steel heeled boots, a long staff in her hand. She knew exactly what she was going to do, she neared the fireplace, a handful of floo powder in her pale hand, she floo’ed down to the great hall and from there walked to the outdoors to get to the carriages. She sat back, accompanied by a group of Slytherin’s who spoke of the Salem tour that had came to pass the other night. Autumn was fully present now, the biting cold had made itself at home, the leaves where all different shades of orange, yellow and red. She sat back comfortably, a very large bag tied around her dragon claw staff.


Rose smiled politely to her fellow comrades when spoken to and answered when one was required. She listened to a couple of gossip and rumors, her green eyes looking out to the cold grey sky. As they passed the Hogsmeade gates Rose looked at the students already present all of them wearing different sorts of costumes, the tailor was full of costumers. The redhead jumped off the carriage stairs and guided her steps to the crowed tiny shop of Honeydukes. It had never seemed so crowed, sure, every year it was the same thing, but, it seemed to her that every year there were more people…



It was crowed and way to hot in there, students where shuffling around the shop, pushing and shouting. It felt like it did every holiday, but, Christmas was the worst, Red thought as she reached to grab some chocolate skeletons and sugared butterfly wings. She saw some familiar faces, and waved when she could, many times some would step on her cape and she would almost choke each time. For a moment Red looked desperately out the window, “This better be worth it” she thought in a deadpan manner.

The young lady must have waited in line for at least fifteen minutes before finally reaching the counter! She spoke with Mrs. Flume, the shop keeper’s wife; as she counted all of the articles Red was willing to buy. Madame Flume seemed rather tired and wishing for this sweet tasty day to end at last. Rose chuckled watching Mr. Flume being almost ran over as he carried a new crate full of Vampire blood flavored lollies. He cursed and said something about some sparkly vampire… She shaked her head still chuckling, handing his wife some sickles and encouragements for the end of the day.



Red squeezed through some groups with her huge bag full of sweets, her hair got stuck once or twice in some of the students Halloween accessories. She grumbled and pushed her way out of the shop, she could have sworn that she could have heard a “pop!” as she stumbled out of the shop. Finally, some cool, fresh air, she could have sworn that she had lost a kilo or two in the heat of the shop. Her heel steel boots where guided to the post office, she had many, many packages to send now.



Many owls were perched, waiting so fly away to send mail, some were arriving dropping the mail in the correct mail boxes. The smell wasn’t like roses, but it wasn’t bothering the young French lass as he sat at a table organizing the sweets she had bought. Buying some boxes from the post officer, she started to wrap the candy in separate boxes. She relaxed in her chair, sucking on a wriggling gummy worm; she started to draw some cards for her friends.

She sat back biting hard on that worm so it would stop jiggling, content with her many cards, and parcels full of; Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Blood-flavoured lollipops, Chocolate Cauldrons, Chocolate Skeletons, Pumpkin fizz, Skeletal Sweets, Sugared Butterfly Wings and alot of charmed wriggling gummy worms. (That she had to catch once or twice as they tried to crawl off the table!) She seemed all satisfied with her work and folded her cards, licking all the envelopes, each had a different name on it, in cursive and neat writing.

Tom Summers, Samantha Hathaway, Audra Connolly, Star Light, Tammy Gin, Renée Grant, Mai Roarke, Rowan Theirin, Madeline Rogers, Zane von Mecklenberg… And a lot more would receive their card and parcel in the mail, as a special Halloween treat from Red.

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Sand. Yes, sand, that tiny thing multiplied by infinity, so small yet so annoying. It goes everywhere, in your clothing, in your hair, shoes, socks… It is a nuisance! And when hot, it is murder. ‘Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.’


Charms class was over, and the patter of feet and chairs screeching against the stone floor was heard. Professor Flitwick had barly had the time to shout the homework that was due for Monday before all the students rushed out. Rose gathered her things in what would be a slow matter compared to her fellow comrades, who seemed to just throw their things in their bags and run or it. Red enjoyed being in class, it was one of the only moments when all she had to do was think of the class. Just, listen, write, participate… Simple as that! Rose seemed to be fleeing everything else, as if wanting to avoid contact with others. When with someone else, she wouldn’t speak of her own problems, not like it wasn’t normal, she never did.

If Samantha were around to see her, she would have long figured out that something was really bothering the cheerful Gryffindor. If Audra were around, she would see Red was less goofy then usual. If Tom were around, he’d surely know just by looking at her, that something was wrong. If anyone else would see her, they wouldn’t see a difference. So many “If’s” so many possibilities, but in the end, did it matter? In the end, the redhead was confronted with herself and her present demons. There was something wrong, and she didn’t know how to fix it. So, she does what every other teen her age would do, and that is changing their ideas.



Red finished putting her things away in her bag and thanked professor Flitwick for the lesson and wished him a good end of the day. It was nearly a quarter after three when she finally left the charms classroom, her book of spells in hand. The halls where deserted, just the way she liked them to be, no echos, no rushing, just silence. She skipped down the stairs all the way to the entrance hall, she saw Star reading a rather large book, she approached her and asked her;

“Waiting for Cookie?”

They spoke for awhile, until Red saw that she might want to be alone with her book, something the French young lass could understand. She backed away and gave Star a few more words of encouragement before finally taking the stairs down to the donjons. She took many turns before finally reaching the secret place, where the secret passage way was, she spoke the password loud and clear and pushed through the secret passage. She tiptoed her way discretly, just in case Mrs Norris was around, she didn’t want to get caught by Flitch, the caretaker. Red didn’t know if what she was doing was allowed or not, so, she preferred to remain on guard.

Passed a few more doors and suddenly, a very hot, breath taking weather came upon her. Red quickly took off her scarf and sweater. Roselyn apparated, she needed to chill and she knew where… A loud pop could have been heard, if there was anyone to hear it, she stood there, in the middle of the Theban desert, near the oasis. At that point she stripped all her clothing, casting them near a palm tree, along with her boots and bag. Having sensitive skin, being a redhead, Red took the umbrella in her bag and entered the warm water, the umbrella protecting her pale white skin. Her wand in the other hand, she leaned against a large rock and twirled it in the air.



Letting herself sink even more in the water, only her nose and eyes could be seen, she blew bubbles, boredom, maybe annoyance? Or maybe this was calming her down? Who’d know?
The burning hot Egyptian sun beamed and the crickets and others sounds could be heard. A rather large Uromastyx, crawled near the water, letting itself bath for a few moments. Its brown large scales were dirty from it’s days spent in the dusty sand, it’s reptile eyes stared to nowhere. Red felt uneasy with that thing there, she didn’t move, nor look away, keeping it in eyesight. The thing must have measured at least 30 cm! Maybe more!

It had never occurred to her before, that something alive could be around here. She then thought how foolish of her it was to not think of such a thing! Of course animals would come here, it was a water source. …Red looked around thinking of snakes and that there could be rather venomous types around. Snakes. How she disliked them, not only because they were cold, they were sneaky and stealthy… No, she detested them for their disloyal behavior. One couldn’t receive affection from a snake, it simply didn’t pay attention to you, if you fed it then it remains content. But, when you cry, it will not be there for you. When you need something to hug, it would most likely strangle you. She chuckled silently, in a deadpan tone, she looked at the lizard, it’s eyes seemed empty and cold. This reminded her of him…



Funny, how in the end, she hated snakes, but would try to cope with them. So unpredictable, such cowards… Rose looked at her wand letting some sparks flow from it… She didn’t know for how much longer she could put up with one snake in particular, every time she was around it, she felt like hitting it, casting it away from her sight.
Instead of doing that, the Lioness within her, remained asleep, waiting for the perfect moment to attack or defend herself. A smart and cold Raven had told her that it was a wise thing to do, to keep the prey in sight, in case things got out of hand. A friendly Badger had told the Lioness to eat the snake, eat it and be done with it! Another cold and silent Snake simply laughed about it, and also told her to eat it.

Rose looked up at the bright turquoise sky, looking rather tired and worn out, she sighed for a moment, thinking of her captain. Then her worried thought traveled from friend to friend, were they all alright? Red paused, bringing her wand to her lips… She was thinking too much again, and avoiding her problem… She got up from the oasis, walking to the palm tree where she had left her things… She would head back to the castle now… Not sure of what she would do from there, but, she trusted herself and knew that whatever she decided to do would be best.

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Anger. Yes, anger. The emotion that can eat a person away slowly mentally, painfully. Some know how to deal with it and some bottle it up. “Anger is an emotion related to one's perception of having been offended or wronged and a tendency to undo that wrongdoing by retaliation”

« Destination, Determination and Deliberation. »
Ever since she learned how to Apparate, Roselyn Synders would sometimes, play a game by herself, just to challenge herself, she knew it was dangerous. She knew it was something that shouldn’t be played with, but in the end it was a very good practice. Disappariting from place to place, and thinking as quickly as she could, for example; if she were to think of France, then Bordeaux would come to mind, leading to the old house she lived in and ‘pop!’ She was gone. From there she would go to the first place that came to mind, perhaps London, dark alley and ‘pop’ she was gone again.
Roselyn didn’t speak of these self trainings she would practice, to no one, perhaps because no one would ask, or that she kept them secret. Rose wasn’t too sure herself, but giving the outburst she had provoked during Quidditch training with her boyfriend, and the risk she took, she thought it best not to tell him, unless he asked.

It was Sunday, and Roselyn had been spending her weekends at the castle, ever since that fateful day when she read about Talonen in the prophet… She had disobeyed her mother, and somehow Rose didn’t dare to go back home. Suspecting her mother to set a Anti-Disapparition Jinx around the house once she apparated there. Rose was in the gardens, near the green houses, it was a rather cold grey Sunday, so she wore her long black cloak around her tightly. Indeed, she liked being alone on days such as these, just alone with the silence and thoughts. There wasn’t a soul to disturb her, just her cat by her side… For that was the reason for being outside, she thought of poor Garion who was constantly in the Gryffindor Tower and decided to take him out now and then.



The maine coon’s bushy tail jagged from side to side excitedly, happy to smell fresh air, letting it’s white tipped paws touch the morning dew. Its green eyes were big and seemed to be searching the grass for anything to pounce on. His mistress watched him, but her thoughts were elsewhere. How was her mother? She hadn’t giving a sign, no owls, nothing. They walked on, Red following her pet closely, he lead her down the hills, nearing Hagrid’s hut. The Pumpkin patch was glorious, like each year, the pumpkins were oversized and of many shades of orange. Red enjoyed the pumpkin patch, and each year, it never seemed to bore her.

Near the forests mouth, Garion pounced in the long grass, making Rose smile… Some wind blew softly, shaking the Forbidden forest’s trees; leaves flew in the air before falling back down. Red had her back turned to the forest, her green eyes watching her cat. Garion’s ears suddenly shot back, towards the forest, someone was approaching her… Her green eyes shot to the corner of her eye, reacting to her cat’s hearing, left to right, she heard a branch crackle. Her wand dropped out of her sleeve to her gloved right hand, and she turned rapidly behind the tree. Nothing. Wand out forward, held firmly her left hand stretched out behind her, she remained on guard.



A strong and firm hand grabbed her shoulder and she shouted, spinning on her boot in the mud: “Petrificus Totalus!” to her sneaky follower. The man was so surprised by her reaction, it showed on his face, never would he have imagined her to be so quick. Roselyn gasped taking a few steps back, her left hand over her mouth, her wand still pointed at the tall man who wore a large velvet cloak in a dark shade of green.

It had been years, years since she had last seen the man, so long ago… She had almost forgotten all the scars that dug in his face… His skin was as pale as her own; his flaming red hair tied back into a pony tail, large mustache, beard and thick eye brows that only made him look even more intimidating. He wore worn out dragon hide black boots, thick black stained pants, his cloak covered the rest… Around his index, the hand he had stretched out to touch Red with, had a ring with a dragon crest, it seemed to have an emerald on it. Roselyn had came to forget what he looked like, after all these years, maybe ten years, maybe fifteen, she wasn’t sure it was all so long ago. She remembered that ring oh too well… Before her, stood Donell Synders, her father, the Dragon lover who had abandoned his daughter and his wife long ago.

Garion was at her feet; near his mistress his green eyes fixed upon her father. Roselyn felt herself tremble, out of anger and surprise, her wand still pointed at him; she did not dare remove the curse. His sparkling blue eyes looked at her moving slightly left to right; she swallowed before swishing her wand muttering with a trembling and angry voice: “Finite!” He was released from her body binding curse and he slightly step forward as he took control of all his body members.

“Roselyn!” He exclaimed, she had forgotten how low his voice was. “Whit's this?! Attack people on spot now Lass ? » Roselyn said nothing to the Scotsman, her wand still out. He then tried something she reacted badly to, he stretched out his massive strong arms to embrace her.

“Get. Back!” Rose warned, pointing her wand forward at this. She didn’t want his affection; she didn’t want to hear his excuses, she didn’t even want to hear his voice.

It was as if he had expected as much, she was the feisty type just like her mother and the Scot blood only made her even worse, like a flame. Donell pushed away a strand of hair that was in his face and touched his long moustache. He looked to his grown daughter, how she had changed, she was a young blooming woman, but also there was much anger in her.

“Ye mother is worried Rosie.” He said in a calm voice. “Ye left tha house like a ball of fire! Leaving when ye mother knew it was dangerous!”
“What do you care?” She asked darkly. Her voice had become so icy that Donell said nothing; he knew that his words wouldn’t matter to his daughter. After all, he had left her and could understand her fury. “She sent you?”
“Aye, she sent meh.” He nodded and looked to her feet for a moment, seeing the cat. “And I agree’d to come’an see ye. Ye’ve changed so much Rosie.”
“I wasn’t going to remain the small girl you left behind to go after your stupid dragons!” Rose spat. “What did you expect –Father-?!” Saying this word felt like fire in her mouth. “A welcome party? You thought that I would rush into your arms, forgive and forget?”
“I ain’t say’n tha Rosie!”
“-Stop! Calling me that dammnit!” cried out the teenager, her wand still pointed at him.
“Jus calm down,” He said lowering his hands. “Just put tha down, alright?” Roselyn stared at him darkly and lowered her wand, still holding it like a weapon ready of use.
“Why did you come?” She asked, trying to calm down, knowing that she was better than this, but her hatred for her parent was so strong and buried away for so long, that his return seemed to be an inner explosion. “This oviously just isn’t about Maman’s worries! No, there is something else, you never cared when she would owl you, why do you care now?”
“I have changed Rose.”
“Don’t give me that!”
“I am sorry for what happen’d Rosie! I truly am!”

“I. Don’t. Care!” She screamed the last word harshly, her voice echoing in the trees. Garion lowered his ears to her outburst and her father seemed to just close his eyes. “You cannot fix it now! It’s too late! You fu*ked up! You left us! You LEFT US!!” Rose had her wand in her hand, trembling; her voice was showing anger and emotion… This hatred, his abandon had been bottled up for so long that it had became a wound. It was an insult, it was pure hypocrisy to just come back and say that he regretted it. To her he deserved nothing from her part, not even to see her. “ You left us! You cannot just come back and try to play the role you SHOULD have done! You know –nothing- of me or my life! You never did! You never cared! If you did, you would have been home with US! Instead of ALWAYS being out there with your stupid damned dragons! You didn’t have to always be gone! But you did! For your “passion”! We should have been your passion you cowardly wyrm!”


Roselyn then picked up Garion, who didn’t remove it’s intelligent green eyes from Donell, and backed away into the Forbidden forest. She knew she couldn’t stay around him, it was too much. Red knew that her hatred for her father could let her get carried away, and her good heart told her to flee from it. Flee in order to not be the kind of person she disliked the most, those who had no self control.

“Where ye go’n Roselyn?” Asked her father.
“Get. Away. From. Me!” She said backing up her wand pointed at him, her voice was a warning. But, Donell didn’t listen to the young troubled redhead and tried to walk towards her. She swished her wand, as a warning, and spoke loud and clearly an incantation Tom had taught her. A branch near his left sholder caught fire, it seemed to have came out her wand like a gunshot. Startled by her own strength she jumped alittle backwards, she didn’t expect such a big reaction, and she only imagined sparks…
“Don’t ye dare young lass!” Shouted her father, angry and impatient with his daughters’ rash actions.
“I said get away!” She screamed at him still backing up, Garion hissed and spit in his direction. Rose disillusioned herself with a charm and dashed into the forest. Running, running as fast as she could, far from the voice she had to call father. Holding Garion tightly in her arms, her whole body was trembling from the rage she felt… Her steps echoed in the forest, crashing through branches, crunching leaves…

« Destination!” She leaped over a root in the ground, thinking of a place far from there. “Determination” she needed to get out of there…”Deliberation.” And she carefully thought of each detail rapidly and there was a faint “pop”. Her large steps and breathing were no longer heard in the forest, Roselyn had disapparited.

_________________
*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Howler. Yes you read it, a Howler. It is always bad news for its receiver. Try to flee and the Howler will get worse, the only thing one can do it open it and face its rage. “The purpose of the Howler is to deliver a message expressing anger or great displeasure in a manner which standard writing cannot adequately convey.”

***

Rose was looking out the window, looking down from up high in the Gryffindor Tower, her green eyes explored the school grounds, she liked to stick her little head out and just breath the fresh air, her flaming hair blown with the cool wind felt good… It was late, the sun was setting saying hello to the moon before dying away. She loved the sunsets; it meant the end of the day. She sighed, thinking of the classes her had attended to that day, and how annoying Treavor, the Hufflepuff was to her. How was throwing balls of paper amusing? She never understood it.



“Pssst, Red?” Him and his friends were chuckling uncontrollably, repeating her name over and over, Red had tried to ignore them, but Lockhart’s classes were always so utterly boring. Ignoring them had started to get on her nerves around thirty minutes of class, she turned around and raised a brow. “Why so red?” and they sniggered covering their mouths complimenting Treavor for such a “witty” thing. She rolled her eyes and turned back to the board… the chalk had been bewitched to draw a giant Lockhart portrait winking to them with his winning smile. Red groaned facepalming, it had been too much for her, between the group of banchee’s laughing hysterically and Lockhart and his narcissism just made her annoyed. The professor silenced them, they were interrupting his “breathtaking” story about him and the cursed puff skins!! He separated them, making one sit next to her.
Rose at one point, thought that Professer Snape let Lockheart teach from time to time just to punish them. Was it to punish them? Or make them see what –not- to become? Red even had her jaw drop when she heard that Lockheart had been a Ravenclaw. What do you know? They cannot all be witty.

When one ball of parchment bounced off her head, she had waited for Lockhart to turn his back, and pointed her wand discreetly to the annoying boy and whispered “Silencio.” Grinning at her work, she gave him a wink smirking. It was afterwards, when the class was nearly over, she had opened the little ball of paper, thinking to keep it as a spare, when she saw a note on it. “Wanna go to the Sticks with me for a drink?” Red was unimpressed, but she felt alittle sorry for the boy, not liking to be mean with people. She scribbled a “No.” in her turquoise ink and had handed it to him at the end of class.


Roselyn looked down and saw a group with their broomsticks over their sholder, they were going to play a game of Quidditch together… She smiled seeing an owl with a red envelope in its talons circling in the courtyard, thinking how unlucky its receiver would be. “Poor bloke” she said with a chuckle. Roselyn’s eyes widened, when she saw that the owl was flying towards her window, she shook her head, “…No … no no no no. Non!!!!” She slammed the window and hid behind the wall, it was pointless, and she knew it. Rose barely dared to breathe, as if the owl was finding her this way, what a foolish thing to think, then again, what would anyone else do? She cursed under her breath once the barn owl started to tap the window with its beak.



Wincing and preparing herself for it, she opened the window, the owl hooted as thanks and Red gave him shifty eyes, “Gee thanks” she said with a deadpan tone of voice as she took the thick red envelope in her hands. She sighed and bite her under lip, it was best to not ignore this, maybe… if she put a pillow on it, the Howler would make less noise? … It was silly to think so, but at this point Rose wasn’t really thinking. She jumped on the bed and stuffed it under her feather pillow and opened it.

-ROSELYN SYNDERS!!!!!

It was to think; that an explosion came from the boy prefect bedroom, the whole floor shook, and those underneath would be most likely get worried and look up puzzled. Rose cursed loudly and tried to hold the pillow on it, but it was like some unknown force was pushing against the pillow, putting all her weight on it didn’t work either. Red screamed in frustration and gave up, sitting on the bed, watching the howler screetch all it’s rage, it was her mother’s voice, and her daughter had never heard her so angry.

--- CAST SUCH MAGIC ON YOUR OWN FATHER ROSELYN MARIE SYNDERS?!

Saying her whole name, was never a good sign and Rose went pale by the second watching the Howler, covering her mouth and seemed rather annoyed with it. The windows glass was rattling, the picture frames on the wall dangled dangerously threatening to fall, along with her things and Tom’s closet doors were opening…

- YOU ARE LUCKY THAT YOU ARE UNEFFECTIVE IN USING YOUR WAND YOUNG LADY!

Red glared at the envelope darkly, as if this was the moment to tell her she wasn’t good enough. Garion’s eyes got big and he had his ears back, staring at the Howler a little fearfully, poor animal had never heard such a powerful enchanted voice. The people in the photos were watching as well some, were covering their face(of Red). Others had rather large eyes of surprise (Tom’s…).

- IF YOU EVER, MARK MY WORDS ROSELYN, EVER RAISE YOUR WAND ON YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS AGAIN I WILL SNAP YOUR WAND!! GOT IT?!!!

And the envelope suddenly burst into flames and Red cursed getting her wand using Aquamenti over and over until the fire was dead. 'Great…' Tom’s pillow was half burnt.

***

Lockdown. Yes, a major lockdown. Worse than curfew, because the lockdown is for security manners. “A lockdown is an emergency protocol to prevent people or information escaping, which usually can only be ordered by someone in command.”


Whispers, whispered fears and worries passed from mouth to mouth, the lockdown had been announced. Roselyn knew that it was a manner of hours until such an act would be done, they were now, “officially” target number one. Dumbledore, the Headmaster had returned and with his return it brought hope to many students. But to Rose it had brought a greater fear, once he had entered those doors, and she had said his name, from that moment, she knew that things would quickly happen from there. Fear. Yes, Roselyn Marie Synders, the Gryffindor felt fear, not for herself but towards the one she treasured dearly. Along with her fellow students who, had no idea whom they were up against.



How cruel… Expect the students to fight and do their best when they do not know what they were up against. Sure, “bad people” who wanted to “destroy Hogwarts” but, that information wasn’t enough. It was like sending the first lined soldiers to face technology that outdated their own. Rose disagreed deeply with this, most of the students had no idea whatsoever whom they were facing, they did not know why they were fighting. A lot of students could not produce a shield charm to protect themselves, and a lot were underage! How could one ask a first year to fight? …It felt like injustice to the red head, it felt unfair and somehow, wrong. To listen blindly to a leader was not her thing, and she knew this once she had heard the headmaster, and seen her classmates nod, nod without knowing what they were going to face. “Everyone needs their obedient soldiers” someone had told her, but she didn’t agree to that… Red couldn’t believe in such a thing, using her wits is what she was doing now. And even if this angered her hopeful boyfriend, she carried on.

It was done, the lockdown was complete and they were all trapped inside the stone walls. Even if those who remained were those who agreed to stay no matter what, Roselyn started to see the fear spread once the lockdown was complete. It would be ridiculous to say that one was not afraid one bit of the situation, a pure lie, for everyone had much to lose. Up high, in the Gryffindor Tower, it was morning, Tom was downstairs somewhere and she had slept in, not caring for class, if there was one, for she knew the teachers were surly busy protecting the castle with their magic. She got up from the beds warm covers and walked to face the door; she stretched out, and looked at the room for a moment… She looked to the magic photography of her and Tom, and how happy they looked in each other’s arms… So much to lose, so much to lose… To lose him… No, she shouldn’t think of that, not that nightmare. Even if the redhead did not want to think of such things, it haunted her every thought and every nightmare for the past few days that had passed since Dumbledore’s return.



She dreamt about a ruined Hogwarts, fresh from battle, blood, bodies, shattered glass, rumble and spell marks all over the place. She was alone; the only one standing in the castle, her steps would echo in the hall, she saw many familiar faces lifeless, cold dead on the ground. Teachers left for dead while protecting the students behind them, McGonagall… The worst of all from that point, had been her best friend, Samantha, her blond hair on her face Red lifted her from the ground, on her knees screaming, and holding her close. But it was too late, she was dead, and the nightmare continued… There were many corpses at one spot and they were not students, nor teachers. They seemed to be burnt, the smell was terrible, and some were still smoking… From under those black cloaked figures, there was a touch of blond hair… “Non…” Roselyn ran to those bodies and threw them off as best as she could, her heart beating faster, harder it began to be painful.

Once she saw, his angelic sweet face, lifeless and pale something died inside of her. She screamed a high pitched scream, like a lover who had lost her soul mate. She pushed the other bodies aside and held him in her arms, crying, screaming, like she was enduring the Cruciatus Curse. She held his broken body in her arms, she wouldn’t let go, and she couldn’t. Tom was dead, he was dead and there was nothing, nothing in her power that she could do about it… She had failed.
And she had awoken violently, tears on her cheeks her heart beating like she had just ran a mile. The very first thing she had done was check on Tom, to feel his warm skin and even check if he was breathing! …It had been just a nightmare.

Her green eyes looked at her drawing of the Gryffindor Lion, it meant something, that she was sorted in this house, so there had to be a reason to it. Was it her Bravery? Her Loyalty? She didn’t know, at this point, she did not feel brave, she felt afraid and unprepared. She sighed deeply and pressed her back against the door, why had she stayed? To protect those she loved. To defend the place she had come to call home. To save whom she could… They were all noble reasons, the one that seemed to be the most naïve of them all was the thought that she and Tom could be happy together after all this was over. It seemed to be one of the reasons that made her keep going; it was the fire burning inside of her a promise to happiness.

The Head boy might have seen it foolish; to him we are all promised death at some point… And that hope was not what would save them all. Red didn’t care what he would think of it, she would hope for it and achieve that hope by using her mind to plan, to plot and finally to prevail. Maybe it was more of a goal then hope, but she needed something to hold on to, and if it was her fiery tempered boyfriend, then she would stick to that. But Red felt that something had to be done before anything, and that was to train all those who needed it. So the prefects had their own little meetings and trainings, but this was no longer just their problem, this was the whole school, and all its students that had stayed. …She wondered if such a thing would be organized… For now, she had to speak with Tom, and she knew the right place.

Précaution. Yes, precaution, it is what ones does “just in case” to prepare physically, or mentally something for something to come. Precaution was the main word spreading from student to student. “An action taken in advance to protect against possible danger, failure, or injury.”



As the days passed, they seemed longer to the students, who were facing a new day of the Lockdown. There was a feeling in the air that every student was feeding; everyone seemed to be tense. Roselyn would pass by groups of students who seemed to stop talking in her presence; she had blinked to this and wondered what had changed. Was it that class she, Tom and Zane had taught, had it given her something? She wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing yet, but the young French woman walked to the moving staircase that took her to the first floor, and she climbed down the stairs to the Entrance Hall.

It wasn’t as usual, normally, students would be all together in a massive human river… But then, there were just groups of people, whispering and looking a little worried. Red had her hood over her head, she had taken the habit into doing so, it made her feel less “observed.” Rose would bite her under lip softy as she walked to the dueling room, asking loud and clearly if some wanted aid in their spell casting. She spent two hours in the dueling hall, to her every minute was worth it, none could afford to not train now. As she watched them practice the Body Binding charm, her arms crossed, she imagined the dummies to be someone, who would hurt the students. And she would press them on with that thought, saying, that they would not be given a second chance that their only luck was to stun and run. They were mostly first and second years there, she did not want to scare them, but make her point.

She was thankful that Professor Lupin had given them the authorization to teach and help out the others that would be in need. To have professor Lupin back made her feel better about this that she could matter and could help out. Even the Head boy seemed to encourage her in doing this, and had given her books and scrolls to hand out to the students. Roselyn’s best pupil that day had been Theodora of Slytherin house, she saw great potential in her that she would be an excellent witch when it comes to stunning her enemies. She placed faith into her, and knew she would protect her friends and help them escape as her friends would do for her.

When she left the dueling hall, after a discussion with the Head boy, she came with an idea, an idea that just might help. Roselyn quickly ran to the Gryffindor tower, all the way into the bedroom, her shopping bag was near her school trunk. She must have known that a lockdown would happen, because a few days before Dumbledore’s return, she had gone to the store in Diagon ally and bought a whole bag full of ginger roots. She smiled to her own brilliance, actually feeling good that day, shocking, considering the amount of stress that was on everyone.

She knew exactly what to do with them and she was going to put them into excellent use… Rose put the paper brown bag full of ginger roots on the working table, and opened her second trunk, this trunk was full of bottles. Bottles, packages, pouches, rocks of all sorts and shapes and boxes of dried plants. And every object in that box was labeled. This would make her mother most proud, if only she could see this; Roselyn thought of her as she lifted a rather heavy and large bottle of what seemed to look like water. She wondered why she wasn’t using magic to lift that thing up, then again it made her feel even more useful to not do so. She took out her Silver scales and started to count the silver vials she had. She weighed the ginger roots one by one, slicing off the extras… She needed to grab more of them in the potions room, in the cabinets.




Garion, who was on the rug near the fireplace watched the redhead walk back and forth the room; its head was turning following her every move. The maine coon, stretched out lazily in front of the fire his paws curving and he closed his green brilliant eyes and fell asleep. Roselyn started to count the exact amount of ginger roots she had, checking their quality again as she did so… After counting over a hundred, she started to pour the water into vials… She placed them in her backpack, and knew she would need to go down to the potions room to grab a silver cauldron, a large, very large one.

Once in the potion room, she waved her wand at the silver caldron, and it floated behind her, up the stairs and finally to the third floor. She wasn’t going to brew this in the classroom, it still needed preparation and she didn’t want a student to touch it when she was away. Red pushed the door open, and pointed her wand to the keyhole muttering “Colloportus.” The door made a clicking sound and the young woman turned, her eyes laying on the armor room. She didn’t know why, but this room made her feel secure, it was perhaps the patrolling magical armor that clanked around the room. But, it was perfect here, nobody went in this room, they didn’t have a reason to. The armor room was full of glass cases that guarded surly with spells, magical objects, along with school tokens, such as some of Gryffindor’s weapons and armor. Warlock objects, goblin crafts, and many other things. It felt like a treasure room, and the spells that were casted on the room was what really gave her the feeling of safety.



Waving her wand to a glass case near the corner of the room, she set the brown shopping bag on the glass case. Thanks to her mother, Roselyn had taken the hand of the artist at work, she bite her lip, her face following the fluid until the first drops started to drip from it, into the vial. It took her three full hours to extract everything, and she gave a sigh in relieve as she corked the last vial. The liquid was transparently brownish yellow, she smiled satisfied and took a break. She would start brewing the next day, for now she was tired, and her fingers were sore from chopping all those ginger roots. Regretting that she hadn’t asked anyone to help her out with it, Tom wasn’t around, she should have put his free time to the task, or find a useful first year, someone! It had been too late for that, she climbed down the stairs to find her boyfriend. They spoke quietly and she showed him, one of the many vials of ginger root extract, he seemed to be impressed and quite happy that his girlfriend was investing so much of herself the past days.

In truth, Red would have done much more before, given the chance, now that she had such a time she gladly did everything she could. From helping out students, giving them things to do, to read to train, every drop was worth it. Roselyn had never felt so sure of herself, or even proud of herself, but it wasn’t over yet, she knew that the fruits of her efforts would show once the moment had come. She slept well that night, better than the other nights; Tom’s arms around her, his heart beat had been her lullaby that night…

***

Part 2 of the post "Précaution."

Preparation. Yes, Preparation, everyone was preparing in their own way… “The action or process of making something ready for use or service or of getting ready for some occasion, test, or duty”



Roselyn had gotten up late; it was around midday when the redhead finally opened her sleepy eyes. No nightmares that night… She had succeeded in sleeping peacefully, there was a bright light bathing the room, and she groaned a little as the light hurt her eyes. Garion who was sleeping on top of her head started to purr the moment he felt her move and waking up. The cat’s paws were curling, its nails touching her skull softly making her shiver. Red put the covers over her face, the bad weather not making her want to get up, but thankfully for her; Tom had fed the fire before kissing her forehead and leaving the bedroom.

She dressed looking out the window, autumn was getting colder slowly turning into winter, the tree tops were all red… The weather was humid; raining without warning violently, the wind blew against the castle’s walls. Her cloak around her shoulders, she lifted her hood, and pressed a hand against the window. Her forest green eyes explored the grounds as a shiver ran down her spine, “Another day with the lockdown…” she whispered to herself. She looked away from the landscape far away and unlocked the door, letting her cat out to lie around in the common room.

Her heels clickty clacked down the wooden stairs, out the fat lady’s portrait, to the Astronomy Tower, passed the tapestry that lead to the third floor, and down to the entrance hall, she was starving. Roselyn ate silently, some Cornish pasties and sausage rolls, the gloom of the Great Hall was present due to the bad weather. Roselyn took a glimpse at the other tables around; students were whispering and seemed exited or curious about something. She overheard her fellow Gryffindor’s speaking of that prefect meeting that was to be public. Zane had told her to spread the word when she could, but, the redhead hadn’t found the time so far. Before leaving the table, she grabbed many sausage rolls, she knew it would take her forever to make that potion, and she wouldn’t have the time to get something to eat.



Her high heels echoed all the way to the armor room. Green forest eyes looked down the hall, behind her and near the stair case, just to be sure that she wasn’t followed. Last thing she needed was someone to pester her all day. “Alohomora!” She whispered, looking around her before finally stepping in the room, locking the door magically behind her. From that, the long procedure of brewing those potions took her hours, just calculating, checking on the potion, on its color, transparence and content every ten minutes. Due to the quantity of the potion, it took even longer… While stirring the potion counter clock wise a few times, casting “Episkey” on it every thirty minutes, Roselyn was looking at her watch constantly, and she saw the hours slowly pass by. The silver pocket watch showed that it dinner time when she was finally satisfied with the elixir.

Now, the most boring part was to come and that was to put it all in the vials… Red groaned to this, but lined up twenty vials, pouring the transparent liquid into the vials… Corking them, and putting them away in her bag. It was all good and great to help out others, she had thought while filling the vials, but she needed to be prepared as well and she knew Tom, or maybe another prefect could help her out in this. Simple spells were easy, but she felt the need to practice more of the shield charm just to be safe… And it never hurt to practice.

She repeated this process of twenty by twenty, three more times, each was a long process. She smiled satisfied; she had made the exact amount of Curatiocritala Elixir for eighty students. She was proud, tired and hungry once she was finally done. She checked her watch and cursed, she had missed the prefect class in the dueling hall… She wondered if she had missed much, but in the end, knew that it was worth it, that her potions could come in handy. Roselyn watched the patrolling armor walk around the armor room, and a thought came to her and she would speak of it to Professor McGonagall once she found the proper time… For now, she had to sneak to the common room unseen… She opened the door, peaking to the left, and to the right, no sign of anyone. She shut the door and started to put her things away, all the vials already put away safely in a box. Roselyn put her heavy bag over her sholder, and lifted the fragile box. Roselyn walked pretty slowly, afraid to stumble or break the vials, tip toeing near the tapestry that lead to the Astronomy tower. The last thing she needed was Mrs. Norris finding her now, even if, the rebellious curfew breaker had never been caught, she always feared it.
She sneakly stepped down the stairs, nearly there! Nearly to the Fat Lady’s portrait, and then, she saw a bushy tail and stopped dead in her tracks. She was done for! Roselyn had stopped breathing, her wide eyes staring at the tail… “Non… non non non !” The tail disappeared and two glowing eyes were looking at her, she let out a sigh of relieve. “Garion! Tu ma fait peur! Chat de fou!” She chuckled softly coming closer. The cat purred and rubbed himself on her legs, she cursed and told him to move, afraid to stumble, she could have sworn that the cat would laugh at her if he could. The Fat lady was already awake and she raised a brow to the French lass.

“Well, are there any more of you?” She asked looking rather grumpy to be up at this hour.
“Umm, well…” Roselyn blushed a little. “Sorry I didn’t want to wake you…?”
“Oh I am not awake! You whole lot were late for curfew!”
“Oh but my Lady, you know I always sneak out during curfew” Roselyn said teasingly she winked.
“What is it you’ve got there mmm?” The fat lady asked looking curiously to her box.
“Potions.” Roselyn opened the box to show her, and she nodded and seemed rather surprised.
“You’ve been busy Rose.”

“For a good cause.” She said with a smile, she looked to the fat lady, and the idea she had and was going to share with Mc Gonagall had gotten bigger. Roselyn bid her goodnight and spoke the password, walking in the passage. She tiptoed up the stairs, noise came from the boys rooms as she passed next to them, she wondered if she still had to tip toe… The young lady stop the tip toe act and her heels were clearly heard moving up the stairs, as her heels passed near the door, silence fell. “What the …?” She whispered to herself, her cat trailing behind her, she put the box on an armchair and over heard exited laughter… Curious to know what had happened, she knocked on their door. “Shhhh!!! It’s Red!!” she heard.

“Ummm… Can I open the door?” she asked softy. And the door creaked open, the redhead saw the boys all hurdled on one bed, they all looked at her and this made her blush slightly.
“Red!” said Billy’s voice excitedly, his English accent was always hard for her to follow he spoke so quickly! “You missed everything! It was wicked!! Snape and Flitwick they dueled!!” The boys motioned her over, and she took a step in the room, it smelled like… a boys room with a lot of boys in it. She stepped over some dirty socks and leaned against the bed post. Garion was sniffing around the room… “Snape and Flitwick?” she asked raising a brow and they patted an empty part of the bed and invited her to eat some of their candy. Rose nibbled on the the candy and snack stash while all the boys jumped around imitating the duel for her.



“It was brilliant!” cried Billy getting to his feet, taking his black cloak and flapping it in a bat like manner, taking out his wand. “There was this hurricane Snape did and and” He swooshed his wand towards Stan.
“Flitwick was like fly’n ‘n midair!” cried Stan jumping in the air swishing his wand towards the Billy/Snape. “And the fire whip! Around Snape’s ankles!!” And they went on excitedly, Red was smiling, a warm smile, nodding and laughing to their imitations, nibbling away on the candy and joining in laughter. It was a good night, she wasn’t sure when Tom would come and break it up, but she didn’t care, this was one of the rare moments, when the students forgot their fear, forgot the lockdown, and forgot the threat over their heads…

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Fear. Yes, fear. No words, can explain the confusion and complication in a teenagers mind. Though, question yourself reader, how would you feel, if you knew you and your friends might die?As a coup de grâce, imagine your friends left cold and dead and you failed to save them… “Fear; It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger.”



Arms folded, looking out in the distance, deep thoughts were flowing in the seventeen year olds head… Deep thoughts that, normal people her age would never experience if life hadn’t brought them to this path. The cold wind was blowing, making the crimson curls float in the air, her cloak whipping the air, she was on the roof of the castle. What had brought her to this path? Each and every one of her choices perhaps, and the events life casted in her way, and she felt completely powerless. She didn’t have to sleep to see the nightmares anymore, no, her every thought lead towards a dramatic ending. Screaming, blood, fire, sorrow, loss and great despair. She felt blind, walking hands out in a dark and dangerous road, a one way road…

Had she done enough? If she died, could she say that she had lived her life to the fullest? Cruel thoughts for someone so young, nevertheless, those were one of the things she thought of. What would happen if she passed away? Would she forgotten and never spoken of again? What would Tom do? Her throat and jaw tightened to this thought… Roselyn only wished his happiness, even if, she would like it to be with her, in the end, if she wasn’t around to live, she would want him to pass on and love another. This thought made her heart beat a little rougher, imagining him with another made her sick, that he could forget her made her feel even worse… And the memory of the other day had came to her mind…

“'N no matter what...” His soft sweet voice played in her head… He had placed his fingers on the sides of her gleaming pretty pale face. “I won't letcha come ta harm. We -will- pull through this....together.” She had shaken her head, her green eyes looking to the ground. “Rose, look at me.” He had said imploringly, his thumbs were moving over her wet cheeks... “...We're gonna make it through this....no buts, no doubts, no maybe's. They'll break themselves upon our walls...'n we'll be here when tha dust settles. Just you wait 'n see.”



Roselyn let out a shaky sigh, rubbing her left arm with a hand, her face pressed on the castle wall, closing her eyes, letting a tear roll down her pale cheek. She greatly hoped he was right, how much would she had given to have powers in the art of divination at that moment, to get a glimpse of what awaited them. Would she have felt better? Would it help her now, if she knew if she were to live or die? More of his words came to sooth her troubled mind."....I'm not gonna die, Rose...I promise. 'N I need you ta believe in us, too. In me, most of all. 'Cause you're my strength, Rose...you're tha number one reason why I fight."

Her green eyes looked up to the blue sky, and she thought of those who could help them now… She wondered if the Daily Prophet spoke of the Hogwarts lockdown, if word had spread all the way to her parent’s ears… Would they help? Out of despair or hope, Red tried to imagine what her parents would do in this situation… It seemed childish to think and hope for mother and father to come and save her now… Then again, who wouldn’t at this point? She then wondered what Tom’s mother was doing… How his father felt… What of all the students’ parents? Would they have the idea to organize with the other parents, to contact and plot? She wished that she knew wished that the adults would come, organized and ready for the fight. Was it too much? Was she thinking too much? No… If she was a parent, and if her child was threatened towards death, she would do everything in her power to gather around parents, and those who disagreed and wouldn’t fight against students. There had to be some, there always are those who have the courage to turn their backs on their leaders and act with their heart. Even if they had much to lose, the brave always, eventually did what was right. It was impossible to contact them, the lockdown was information proof, nothing got in the walls, and nothing left it…



Red’s jaw tightened, her hands curling into fists… Anger was bubbling in her stomach; the clear question was now in her mind: “Why?” Why did the Ministry want them all dead? Why? Why did that Academy want them all dead? What? What would they gain out of it? Why should blood be shed over everything? Why couldn’t Dumbledore have solved this another way? Was there no other way? Why?! Why did they have to fight?! She would have stormed down to his office if she didn’t know better… The teen felt it unfair, this feeling was even worse than before. Dumbledore owed an explanation, a clear explanation to everyone before the events caught up on them… She only knew little, she knew a bit more than some other students, less than the prefects, but still she was lost. She wasn’t going to fight for Dumbledore; she was going to fight for the safety of her friends. Roselyn pushed herself off the wall and climbed down the stairs, looking back at the landscape, for perhaps the last time…

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year

Avoid. Yes, to avoid. It is something some do, when they cannot cope with their own thoughts, they try to avoid them, ignore them, thinking they will go away in time.
“To succeed in keeping away from something undesirable.”


In front of the entrance, sand all over the ground, Tom Summers and Roselyn Synders had been last seen by their classmate, Drado Bolton. Nobody knew where they went, there had only been a loud ‘pop’, and they has apparated to a place far, far from the LAM, from Hogwarts… far from the tears.

Roselyn had opened her eyes, holding her love tightly as they were sucked to the place he had in mind. The sea's waves, water splashing as well like a waterfall… or two… could be heard and salty air blew on their faces, she slowly had let go of him, looking to the place he had brought them.

“This...” His voice had said as he ran a hand through her hair, his sky blue eyes looking to that crimson flaming hair. “...is what I thought of...when I summoned my Patronus.”



And it strong memory it had been indeed… They stood in Pinbora, on the beach near the two falling waterfalls. That night came to her mind, and it replaced her tired and sad heart with warm feelings and good thoughts. That memory had been perhaps three months ago, when they both had expressed their feelings towards one another, making that night, a pearl to her memory, a precious gem that she kept dearly in her heart. Their love had always been pure and true, and her love for him is what kept her alive…

The couple had stayed to that part of the beach for an hour, maybe two, just sitting in the sand; Red curled up against his chest as his strong arms held her close. He would kiss her forehead, and rock her slowly, listening to the waves, looking at the water falls, thankful that they were both alive. She remained silent during that time, listening to his heart beat, that alive and beating heart… She had closed her eyes, feeling finally safe, put to ease her mind thinking of nothing but him.

After a long moment of silence, the lovers decided that it was best to stay away from the castle for the moment. They didn’t have to discuss the manner in detail; they both knew they needed the peace and quiet to come back on their feet. A moment away from everything, to escape the world just for awhile. To be alone with their thoughts, feelings, and to be together without interruptions. They walked to the inn, not wanting to use magic, as if their wands had become weapons, fresh from battle… It might have been, that they didn’t want to use magic, or they were more grateful to be together, and wanted to spend a very long moment in the others presence. Her arms were wrapped around his, her head against it, his look upon her showed clear caring and tenderness…



It was nearly sundown when they reached the old inn, walking up the creaky stairs and opening the wooden door, some looked at them as they walked towards the inn keeper. Roselyn remained silent, her eyes looking around the old inn, the decorations were old fashioned, the white paint was chipping off the walls, but neither the less, it had its charm. Tom took care of the reservation and they both shared the cost of the room, they would spend the weekend there.

She walked up the stairs with Tom behind her, the cold iron key in her hand, a small “3” was engraved in the handle, she had inserted the key and turn it, the door was old and creaked when she opened it. Like everything in the inn, the room was white, there was a large bed near a window that gave view to the sea. There were some vases of fresh flowers, many white candles and a bowl of fruit on a table, with some white arm chairs and couch… There was an old mirror on the back of the door, and a coat hanger in the corner near it.

Roselyn had sighed, looking about the room and entering the bathroom, leaving Tom alone in the bedroom. Everything seemed clean, and was functioning properly… If she hadn’t looked twice in the mirror she wouldn’t have seen her tired face. She approached the mirror setting both hands on the sink, she looked dreadful, deep grey bags showing her fatigue… Her green eyes shifted from right to left, staring at her own gaze, those forest green eyes were staring back at her. She saw, someone who she wouldn’t have imagined seeing in herself, and that was her mother. Had it been the worry, the grief, the fatigue on her face? Or the fact her face was dirty from battle…? But Roselyn had seen her mother in her own eyes and expression, whether she liked it or not…

The redhead looked to the bath tub, and decided to run a hot bath, with bath salts and bubbles of all colors for him and her… The tub was large enough for the two of them, and they both seriously needed one. As the warm water started to fill, she would check on the temperature from time to time. The only thing on her mind then, was caring for him, it seemed to be the right thing to do, they would have plenty of time to think over what had happened later. She washed her hands and face in the sink, drying it with a fluffy white towel, she walked to the door frame to look at Tom… Her soft voice told him she had prepared a bath and he joined her after awhile…

Sleep had not come easy that night, the oceans waves would have made anyone sleep like a baby, but the redhead would toss and turn… Her bare skin touched his, as her hand shook him softly to wake him up, if he had been sleeping at all… Tom didn’t have to think, he turned to his side towards her and opened his arms “C’mere” he whispered his voice and actions showed that love and understanding that could show anyone his true feelings. Rose had put her head against his bare chest her right hand over his heart, she curled into a little ball, and let herself fall asleep in his arms, his heart was her lullaby, his heart was her peace.

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*Roselyn "Red" Synders Gryffindor 7th year
* Tristan Durie Ravenclaw 1st year
*Liline Milne Slytherin 1st year