Foxtail's Tale | Remus Lupin [1]

19|Autumn Dance

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7th Year of Hogwarts
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DORCAS SPRINTED through the corridors of Hogwarts castle, a few teachers shouted after her to stop running, but Dorcas did not listen. The girl glided past her fellow students with the ease of a falling autumn leaf. Eventually, she reached the inner courtyard where she skidded to a stop on her black leather Mary Jane shoes.

Spread out over the courtyard she found most of her friends. Lily and James were dancing by the fountain, leaves falling down around them as though staged. Meanwhile, Alice was taking a picture of the dancing couple, Frank and Remus were playing wizarding chess whilst Marlene, Eloise and Sirius were flicking through a magazine with muggle celebrities.

James grinned at Lily and she smiled at him from underneath her freckles. The hair that stuck out from underneath her hat matched the leaves perfectly and her laugh made his knees buckle. James turned to Alice and whooped as he spun Lily, his red and orange. scarf trailing slightly behind him.

None of the teens appeared to notice Dorcas' arrival, that or they did not care enough to address it. "I have news," Dorcas breathed out, she flicked a dark curl out of her face. When no one but Alice looked at her, Dorcas sighed and clapped loudly. "Thank you," She sighed before presenting the pamphlet she had been clutching. "Here."

Alice dropped her camera and allowed it to dangle from her neck. The girl grasped the pamphlet and read the visible text. "Siren breading rituals?" She quirked a brow and looked at Dorcas in a questioning manner.

During the conversation, James and Lily halted their dancing in order to approach their two friends. Absently Lily picked a shrivelled-up leaf from James' hair and blew it away with a low whisper wishing for happiness. Noticing the action, James tugged Lily closer so he could whisper in her ear. "Why did you wish upon a leaf?"

"My Mum always told me and my sister that autumn leaves can grant wishes with their last energy." Lily smiled and recalled how she and Petunia would spend hours upon hours collecting leaves only to wish upon them. Despite Euphima Potter always muttering about the bad luck that wishing upon dead things would bring, James grinned and kissed Lily's forehead. The boy blew a leaf from Lily's hat and asked for safety.

"See," Dorcas showcased the true message that had been hidden behind a charm. "It's about a meeting," The girl's dark gaze flitted over the courtyard that was presently only occupied by her friends. "A secret one about... you know."

Interest was sparked even in Eloise, Marlene and Sirius and all the friends crowded around Alice in hopes of reading the pamphlet. Dorcas took a seat on a stone bench next to the chess board where the white king appeared to be cornered. The girl studied the board for a moment before moving the white queen down the board and checking the black king. "I think we should attend the meeting," She said, eyes still trained on the chess board.