The New Marauders and the Password Panic

The Eagle and the Badger

"RAVENCLAW!"
Ceril nodded in satisfaction and stepped off to join his housemates. Honestly he didn't care too much about the houses. Wherever you end up holds very little bearing on where you go in life. That wasn't to say that he wasn't curious though. He had thought about it on the train. Ravenclaw was the obvious choice, with his exemplary grades and appreciation for poetry and literature. Though the Minister of Magic herself, Hermione Granger, had also thought herself a worthy Ravenclaw and ended up in Gryffindor instead. For all he knew, he could end up in Slytherin. After all, caring for three younger siblings and your elderly grandmother was bound to get you some decent leadership skills. Not only that but he would gladly brave any challenge necessary to keep them safe. Would that make him a Hufflepuff? The hat itself had praised him for practically doing its job for it and immediately placed him in Ravenclaw. He supposed that was fair.
Ceril sat down with his housemates next to a girl with short blond hair and a pair of square shaped glasses perched on her pointy nose. He had attempted to speak to her only once. When she grunted and turned away from him, face still buried in a large book. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned away as well. He had no time for rude people.
...
Logan, on the other hand, had not been rude in the slightest. He had taken a liking to her right away when she asked that question:
"Where do the words for spells come from?"
Very few people asked that. Ceril found this absurd. He had been surprised by her yet again when he heard her trying to choke out the disenchantment spell. And again when she started practicing the color change charm. She was incredibly knowledgeable for a muggleborn. At least he assumed she was a muggleborn due to the skateboard at her feet. She had piqued his interest ENTIRELY when she muttered a small word and sent the quill flying. It was too short to be a mistake in the floating spell. Levi corpus was too long as well and only worked on people. He had asked her and she told him that she DIDN'T KNOW EITHER.
It was there that he decided that this girl, whoever she may be, would not survive the year without him. Gryffindor muggleborn that just invented a new spell? He was not leaving that alone to fester. It was a bonus that she was just as politically attuned as he was, at least in the sense of muggle-wizard relations.
Ceril had walked away from their conversation very satisfied.
"Ceril! Wait!" He heard a weak voice from behind him.
He stopped and turned to see a short, slim, boy stunning after him. The dark skinned Ravenclaw had almost tripped over his shoelaces a total of three times in his pursuit of the taller boy and looked more frazzled than his head of bushy hair.
"Honestly, Jamal, stop it with the hat, you'll get in trouble." Ceril told him, snatching the blue cap off his head and pressing it to his chest instead.
"Sorry..." Jamal squeaked, tucking it into his bag.
"And tie your shoes, you'll trip."
"Sorry!"
Ceril sighed and kept walking. Jamal was his roommate. They shared a dorm and Ceril had helped him with a panic attack last night. The boy was incredibly anxious and apparently had never been away from home for this long. Ceril had immediately taken him in as his first friend and Jamal seemed to be doing much better since he had. The two of them glided down the halls to their next class. Potions.
The class was taught by a very old man by the name of Hailworth. He stood at the head of the class as he explained the course. All the while, Ceril listened intently. Until a hand shot up. The lecture stopped abruptly and Ceril held back a groan.
"Yes, Ms. Tanaka?" Hailworth called.
The girl was pale with long black hair. Her eyes were naturally narrow but as of now they were wide as can be. Her hands shot around her frantically. She occasionally pointed to her ears and, though Ceril could not speak the language, he had a fairly good idea of what was happening here.
"You're going to have to use your words, Ms Tanaka." Hailworth told her.
The girl's hands shook as they lowered and her brown eyes welled up with tears.
"She can't." Ceril spoke up.
The class turned to him.
"Can't you see her hearing aids?" He asked, gesturing to the white devices curled around her ears.
The girl's eyes widened and she pushed her hair back to make them more visible. Hailworth still looked confused so he continued.
"She's hard of hearing." He explained. "Those devices help her hear better but they aren't very strong. I believe she's trying to tell you that you're too far away and too quiet for her to hear?"
He looked to the girl for confirmation. She vigorously nodded her head. Hailworth's eyes widened.
"Oh my, my apologies dear!" He said, raising his voice a little bit. "My voice isn't what it used to be. Why don't you come sit up at the front with me?"
The Hufflepuff stood up with all her things and jumped down the aisle to set up next to Professor Hailworth. Once her arms were no longer full, she turned to Ceril and signed something to him while mouthing the words: "Thank you".
Ceril mimicked the signs and committed them to memory before bringing up his own hands and signing back:
"U R W E L C O M E"
Also while mouthing it. The girl's eyes brightened even further.
That was not the end of his story with that girl though. Class ended and she was happily signing with a round faced girl with a long white braid. Ceril watched as the two Hufflepuffs signed away with glee... until a certain someone had to interject.
The girl with square shaped glasses practically bulldozed through the two of them before turning back with a glare.
"Thanks for holding up class." She spat. "So lovely that I have to share a class with you and your "special needs"."
The raven haired girl shrank but the braided girl whipped around and began furiously signing at her.
"Oh, so you heard THAT?" The blond girl sneered. "And put those away. No one can understand you."
The white haired girl slowly lowered her hands... and then gave her the finger. Jamal snorted and covered his mouth. The blond bespeckled girl turned bright red and whirled around with a "HUMPH". She walked away quickly while the white haired hufflepuff dawned an innocent expression and continued to sign after her. Ceril smiled at the display before turning back to the raven haired girl. She continued to look dejectedly down at the floor. Ceril walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Her brown eyes shot up.
"U O K?" He signed.
She nodded, her eyes sparkling at the familiar movements.
"Yes. U K N O W S I G N?"
"J U S T T H E A B C S"
"T H A N K Y O U"
Ceril signed back "Thank you" The proper way which made her beam.
"N A M E?"
"E I D E T H. Y O U R S?"
"C-E-R-I-L"
"U C A N T A L K. I C A N H E A R U"
"I K N O W"
They continued this way as they made their way down the halls.
"W A N T E A T L U N C H W I T H M E?"
"C A N T E A T I N G W I T H M Y S I S T E R"
Ceril nodded.
"W A L K W I T H M E?"
Edith nodded too.