The New Marauders and the Password Panic

Meet Up

"So let me get this straight..." Brian said.
The air was still in Hufflepuff common room as Edith's two friends sat across from her on a separate couch.
"On our first day of school..." he continued. "you got into a fist fight with a third year Gryffindor..."
Edith gave a single nod in confirmation.
"... Without ME!?" Brain cried in betrayal.
"Fucking rude." Alice signed while innocently sipping on her hot chocolate.
Edith was just about to burst into laughter when something even more hilarious occurred. At nearly the exact same time, Brian said:
"That's RUDE, man..." and slumped in his seat.
Alice and Edith made eye contact for a moment... and then laughed. Edith was quietly snickering while Alice straight up HONKED and WEEZED. Brain looked between the two girls in confusion.
"What'd I say?" He asked.
He was no stranger to laughter. In fact he'd been TRYING to get them to laugh. But he could tell that there was another reason they were laughing and he HATED being left out on jokes.
"Jinx!" Alice signed, happily, at Brian's confused face.
This caused Edith to laugh even harder.
"Come on, guys! Give me a hint, at least!" Brian whined before leaning on Alice. "Reveal your secrets to meeeeeee..."
"How far are you willing to go on that secret hunt, bud?" Alice asked, waggling her show white eyebrows at him.
Edith fell off the couch, clutching her belly with laughter. Brain sighed.
"I gotta up my sign language game and FAST."
The girls immediately stopped laughing and looked at him in awe. It was Brian's turn to raise his eyebrows.
"Well of course I'm gonna learn it." He told them before they even had the chance to raise their hands.
One thing that worked in Brain's favor when befriending two individuals that couldn't speak was his uncanny accuracy when it came to guessing what people were thinking.
"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" He continued. "I gotta be able to gossip with my gal pals SOME WAY don't I?"
Alice let out a smaller, more giggle-like, snort while Edith just stared at him with wide, tearful eyes. At her old school, whenever she asked her friends to start learning sign language so they could talk easier, she'd always just get:
"Nah, that's too much work."
"Do I HAVE to?"
"You can talk can't you? Why should I learn a whole new language?"
It happened so often that it became normal to her. And now that she had several friends that were all learning just for the sake of her comfort...
She leaped off the couch and pounced into Brian's awaiting arms.
"Daw, you big softie..." he cooed, petting her raven black hair that peeked out of her yellow beanie gentilly.
Edith looked up at him unsurely. Brian understood.
"Don't worry. You can stay here as long as you want... well... for the next few minutes at least. I'm not missing dinner for cuddles I'm afraid."
Edith smiled before her thin eyes went wide again. She shot up off the couch and signed frantically.
"I forgot! I have to be somewhere in five minutes!"
Alice was about to sign back when Brian beat her to the punch.
"Got somewhere to be?" He asked.
She nodded vigorously.
"That's cool. Me and Alice will just stay here and TALK." He said, wrapping an arm around her cheekily. "We got LOADS to TALK about. Right, Al?"
He waggled his thick eyebrows at her. In retaliation, she dipped her finger in her hot chocolate and smeared it on his nose, grinning the entire time.
"Oh sweet! Chocolate nose!" Brain cheered.
He then made a very big show out of attempting to lick the chocolate off the tip of his nose with his tongue. The girls laughed again. Edith exited the room, shaking her head, fondly.
...
Ceril grumbled bitterly to himself as he tried to read with his head under a pillow and failed. Olivia Stanfield had been particularly irritable for the past few weeks. So when she saw Jamal peacefully drawing in the corner, she OF COURSE had to comment on how it was "WRONG" and how "CARTOONS AREN'T REAL ART". Nana Yamati, another girl in their year, had immediately jumped up and yelled: "BULL SHIT!" And thus began a loud debate with the girl.
"ART IS SUBJECTIVE, THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO DO IT!"
"UHM, ACTUALLY-"
And that was how it had been going on for the past hour. Ceril looked over at Jamal who was still happily drawing. It seemed he was better at tuning things out than Ceril was.
"... You know... they're both kinda wrong." The boy told him.
Ceril perked up in surprise. Who was he talking about?
"Really?" He prompted. "Explain?"
Jamal blushed at the offer and smiled.
"W-well, Nana is mostly right. Art IS subjective so there isn't TECHNICALLY a right or wrong way to do it. B-but there are ways to do it better. Olivia's criticism wasn't helpful because cartoons ARE real art. But I could have done something more with a proper criticism."
It was at that point that Ceril realized that he hadn't been tuning them out... he'd been LISTENING to them. Ceril gave an impressed smile that caused Jamal's ears to redden and him to hide behind his sketch pad.
"What are you drawing?" He asked.
"O-oh... it's just a doodle..."
"Of what?" He flinched as another burst of sound came from downstairs. "Dr know-it-all and Ms Scream?"
Jamal's smile pressed into a thin, wiggly, line.
"Maaaaybeeee..."
They giggled.
"May I see?"
He stopped smiling and pulled the pad to his chest.
"U-umm..."
Ceril backed off.
"That's alright. You show me when you're ready." He told him. "Or not at all if you're uncomfortable with me seeing."
"N-no..." Jamal squirmed. "You can see it... just... it's not done."
Ceril nodded with an encouraging smile.
"Well, I must be going." He announced while picking himself up off his bed.
Jamal's face became disappointed.
"Now?" He asked, looking like a kicked puppy.
"Afraid so." He said absentmindedly until he caught sight of his roommate's face. "I'll be back later. And I'm sure Nana will be thrilled to spend time with you while I'm gone."
"SAY THAT AGAIN, STANFIELD! I DARE YOU!"
"If she survives." Jamal muttered with a snicker.
"If either of them survive." Ceril sighed. "One moment."
He marched down the stairs into Ravenclaw common room where everyone was either covering their ears or watching with snacks in their hands. Nana and Olivia were so close their noses were nearly touching as they screamed at each other. Had no one even tried to stop this yet? Ceril rolled his eyes.
"Upperclassmen are useless." He muttered before entering into the very heart of the room.
He pressed his palms together as one would do in prayer and thrust his hands between their faces and pushed them apart.
"Go to your rooms." He told them.
"What?" They said in unison.
"You heard me. Rooms. NOW."
Olivia scoffed loudly as she straightened her glasses.
"You're not the boss of me-" She stopped at the sight of Ceril's face
Ceril was not glaring at her, per say. It wasn't threatening enough to be a glare... at least not outwardly so. What he did instead was STARE at her. Brows furrowed, eyes half lidded, and mouth low and unamused. She sputtered for a moment, as if trying to figure out why this expression had such an effect on her before she groaned loudly and spun away on her heels.
"Fine! But not because you told me to! I'm just tired of this boarish conversation!"
Her dress shoes clacked as she climbed up the stairs. Nana stuck her tongue out, satisfied.
"You too." Ceril ordered, turning to the girl.
Her face dropped.
"What?! But I-"
"No excuses. You made an unnecessary scene."
"I was defending Jamal!"
"For a whole hour. By the time I came down to break you up, your conversation was no longer even about Jamal."
"Yeah, but-!"
"You're not in trouble." Ceril clarified. "I just think you two could both do with some time to cool down. Room, Nana."
Nana sighed and then did what she was told. The common room erupted into applause that Ceril did not even crack a smirk at. He simply turned around and left the room.
...
"Come on, Greta!" Logan called down the stairs. "The staircase isn't gonna change it's mind you know!"
Greta stood at the base of the stairs, staring down at the first step like it would jump up and bite her if she dared to trod upon it. Greta was a tall, lanky, girl with short red hair that curled around her ears and framed her face as well as puffing out at the sides. After having Molli explain to her who the Weasley's actually WERE, it was clear to her that, if anyone looked like a Weasley, it was Greta.
"You don't know that..." Greta squeaked.
"Yes we DO." Lydia said, exasperated. "You're a GIRL, Gret. It's worked for you every single time since you got here two weeks ago!"
"Exactly! That's not gonna change... well... unless it turns out you're genderfluid. But then, hey! At least then you've learned a new thing about yourself!"
Greta looked up and giggled at her before taking a deep breath and beginning to walk up the steps to the girl's dorm rooms.
"I'm a girl." She spoke, mostly to herself. "Definitely a girl."
"Sorry, what was that?" Lydia asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I'm a girl." Greta said with a smile and a scrunched nose.
"Damn, maybe I'M the deaf twin." She joked. "One more time?"
Greta broke into a huge smile and ran up the rest of the stairs to crush Lydia in a hug.
"I'M A GIRL!" She announced.
"Hell yeah you are!" Lydia cheered. "Now come on, let's go chill a bit before dinner."
Logan seized up in realization.
"Oh, shhhhh-amalamoomoo!" Logan exclaimed. "I totally forgot!"
"Forgot what?" Greta asked.
"That I gotta thing that I gotta do in a place."
"Have I ever told you how much I admire your mastery of the English language?" Lydia smirked.
"I know right?" Logan said, framing her chin with her index finger and thumb in a gun shape. "Anyways, I'm afraid I must cease to grace you with my presence as I gotta go right freakin' now."
And with that, she raced down the stairs.
"That girl is wackier than you, Lyds."
"I resent that! I am CLEARLY wackier!"
...
Molli, unlike his friends, had NOT forgotten about their get together after dinner. And the reason for this was that it was the only thing giving him the will to continue living as he stumbled through his day. Not only had he had another encounter with the black haired Slytherin from before, but his brother was following him around EVERYWHERE. At least Rigel and Furgus were nowhere to be seen but that just heightened his nerves. The three of them hadn't been seen apart for this long since school started. So he guessed he should have known he'd run into Maverick when he tried to leave that evening.
"Hey!" Maverick greeted with a smile that was just a little too wide. "Where's my little brother headed so late?"
"It's..." He gave the older Vandoroth a confused look. "It's only 4..."
"IS IT? Wow. It's interesting how slow time moves sometimes."
Molli tried not to grimace. He had to agree there. He'd been waiting for this all day long but it felt like it took a month for him to get to this point. And this conversation, though only a few seconds long at the moment, was beginning to feel like an eternity. But instead of telling him this, Molli just laughed.
"Yeah... listen, I gotta go-"
"Where?" Maverick asked.
He said that way too fast. On the inside, Molli was panicking. Why was he being so suspicious? He couldn't know... could he? Thankfully for Molli, he'd always been fairly good at concealing his emotions from his brother.
"The... library..." he lied flawlessly with a raised eyebrow to appear as though it were obvious. "I'm having trouble in Defence Against the Dark Arts so I wanted to look up some more casting theory- are you okay? You seem... tense."
This was a manipulation tactic. It was called gaslighting. Acting like Maverick was the one acting weird, causing him to question his own perception of reality, and backing it up with familial worry to make it seem more convincing. Molli wasn't proud of his knowledge of it, even less of the fact that he was USING it... but he couldn't let Maverick find out about his friends. If he knew, he would tell their mother, their mother would NEVER approve and then he'd never be allowed to see them again.
The tactic worked. Maverick deflated.
"I... I'm fine." He said, glancing away from him. "I'm just... worried about you. I mean... I never see you hanging out with anyone your age. I was hoping you might be going to see some friends?"
That was also a manipulation tactic, Molli realized. He was trying to use the guise of concern to get Molli to tell him who his friends were. He hated that the two of them could never have a sincere conversation. What HAPPENED to them?
"I'll get there!" He said, pretending to be masking sadness with false hope. "... Eventually... but for now I've got you, right?"
Maverick smiled and clapped his shoulder. Molli smiled back before jumping out the portrait hole. Both of their masks melted off their faces as soon as Molli's back was turned. Maverick watched his little brother go looking like his brain was fighting itself.
"... He's lying." A low, smooth, voice stated.
Fergus and Rigel appeared from behind armchairs.
"Of course he's lying." Maverick mumbled. "I of all people should be able to tell. I'm the one who taught him how to lie."
"It's that mudblood, Maverick!" Furgus insisted. "I'm telling you!"
"Look, we don't know that she's muggleborn!" Maverick said. "Just cuz she's in Gryffindor and dyes her hair-"
"And carries around muggle contraptions." Rigel added.
"And keeps talking about "football", whatever that is! You can practically smell it on her!" Furgus sneered. "At the very least, she's a blood traitor! And it looks like Ikkle Molli is on his way to the same shameful fate."
Maverick blanched. Rigel's expression softened as he went over to put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Maverick." He consoled him. "Mollisith is a smart kid. He'll come around eventually.
"OR." Furgus interjected. "We could NOT wait around for the twerp to turn traitor and DO somethin' about it."
"Do what?" Maverick asked. "You saw it, he won't talk to me."
"He won't HAVE to." Furgus smirked.
...
Molli began to feel rather paranoid after that encounter and kept looking behind him to see if he was being followed. This almost caused him to walk STRAIGHT into Edith. And he would have if she hadn't spoken up.
"Hey!" Her voice squeaked.
Molli stopped in his tracks and turned to her, eyes wide.
"Oh!" He breathed, hand on his chest. "Hi, Edith! You startled me."
"Sorry." She signed.
"That's okay." Molli smiled, switching to sign language. "Wasn't your fault."
Edith smiled even wider. The two continued to chat as they walked down the halls.
"Do you know where we're going this time?" Edith asked.
The four of them had been searching for a "headquarters" of sorts. A place to hangout where people wouldn't bother them. A place just for them. They had tried multiple places but they were always too crowded. Not private enough. They didn't want to make a show of themselves. It wasn't really a SECRET that the four of them had become an unlikely group. If anyone were to ask them if they were friends they would not deny it. But they had all mutually agreed that everyone else was a bit too strung up with their houses and they were bound to attract unnecessary questions about why a Ravenclaw, a Griffandor, a Hufflepuff, and a Slytherin would want to spend so much time together.
"Not a clue." Molli said. "Do you?"
"C-E-R-I-L said something about a tree?"
"A tree..." his face contorted with worry. "We're not going into the Forbidden Forest, are we?"
"Nooooo..." Edith said with a disbelieving smile before it also began to melt into worry. "I mean... I hope not."
The two of them looked at eachother, fear stricken across their faces.
"I mean... if we are, at least we'll get to see magical plants and creatures up close?"
"How close?" Molli shivered.
The two of them laughed as they ran down the halls to their meeting spot.
...
"What uuuuuuuuuuuuup!?"
Ceril rolled his eyes fondly as the loud voice got louder the longer it went on. He turned to see Logan rolling down the halls towards him on her skateboard. She skidded to a stop in front of him and kicked the board into her hands.
"Ceril, my man!" She beamed, sticking out her fist.
"Greetings and salutations, Logan." Ceril smiled back.
He bumped his fist against hers and the two of them made the explosion noise in unison.
"Yeeeeaaaah." She cheered.
"Now, shall we?" He said, offering her his arm.
She snorted and wrapped her arms around his extended limb like a lady would do to their escort. They chuckled good naturedly as they sauntered down the hall.
...
They all met up in a corner a few hallways down from the great hall: where they all met for the first time. There they exchanged greetings and fist bumps and laughed at Molli's lack of knowledge about the latter act.
"Why do you make explosion sounds? Why are our fists blowing up?" He asked, a hint of actual concern present in his voice.
They made their way outside and at this point, Edith began to worry again. She tugged on Molli's sleeve and signed to him.
"Oh right! So uh... Ceril?" He called.
"Yes?"
"We aren't... we aren't going into the Forbidden Forest to hang out...are we?"
"What?" Ceril almost tripped when he spun around to look at him. "No, of course not. Why would you ask that?"
Edith and Molli made eye contact for a moment.
"... No reason."
"Man, that sounds sick actually." Logan beamed. "Are you sure we can't do that?"
"No." They all said/signed in unison.
"Come on! It would be great for privacy."
"No."
She slumped. Ceril sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"We are NOT going into the Forbidden Forest. Just... follow me."
He led them away from the castle and across the grass. They rounded a corner or two and came to a tall, thick, tree that had giant club-like branches and thin little pine needles. The wood was twisty and white.
"Woah..." Molli breathed.
"I've never seen a tree like THAT before."
"So pretty." Edith signed.
"It's called a Whomping Willow." Ceril told them.
They all looked at him in fear.
"A... a WHOMPING willow." Logan echoed. "Whomping as in...?"
She fiddled with her hands a bit before slamming her fist into her palm.
"Yes."
"HOW is this ANY SAFER than the Forbidden Forest then!?" Molli cried, hiding behind Logan.
"Well, first of all, the Forest is riddled with dangerous beasts and the Whomping Willow is only one tree."
"That is not comforting." Edith signed.
"But most importantly, the Whomping Willow has not..." he cleared his throat. "whomped, since the Battle for Hogwarts."
"What's the Battle for Hogwarts?" Logan asked.
"Only the biggest, most influential battle in recent wizarding history!" Molli exclaimed. "It's the very same battle in which Harry Potter vanquished He Who Must Not Be Named!"
"Who's Harry Potter and who is He Who Must Not Be Named?"
Edith, Molli and Ceril all shivered.
"You'll... you'll learn about it in History of Magic." Ceril told her. She slumped again but allowed him to continue. "Anyways, the tree hasn't moved since. No one really knows why but I've checked with Professor Longbottom and he seems to think it's harmless."
"So we can use it as a base AND it's past and name will keep other people away from it!" Logan added up.
"Precisely. Everyone else seems to avoid the poor thing. So it'll be perfect." Ceril concluded.
The group all shared knowing looks and then raced towards the tree. Soon enough, the four kids were settled comfortably at the base of the trunk, Ceril taking out a book, Edith teaching Molli how to weave flower crowns out of dandelions, and Logan trying and failing to climb the tree cuz she was too short.
"One day..." she said, ominously, as she stared up at the lowest branch that was JUST out of her reach (it was way out of her reach). She then flopped down next to Molli and sighed. "So now that we've got a headquarters... what kinda trouble should we get up to now?"
Molli nearly dropped his flowers.
"T-trouble?"
"Yeah! So to speak." She added that last bit at the end. "Like, what are we gonna do next? We could conspire against Hagmen for being a big old bumbling brute, we could do a bunch of stuff that gains or loses house points so that they end up even just to mess with people," That suggestion got a chuckle out of Ceril. "and... I dunno! What do YOU wanna do?"
Avoid my brother and his friends.
But instead of saying that, Molli just shrugged.
"We could start a little garden here at the base of the Whomping Willow." Edith offered.
Molli relayed the message.
"See! There's tons we could do!"
Molli smiled at her enthusiasm before his smile faded a bit.
"I-I'm okay with most of that but..." He gulped. "I-is it okay if we maybe... try to stay OUT of trouble?"
"Sure thing, Molli." Logan said, absentmindedly playing with her wand.
Molli's green eyes widened.
"J...just like that?"
"Yeah, of course." She turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't drag you guys into trouble unless you were all cool with it. Then it wouldn't be fun."
Molli just gaped at her so she explained.
"We're friends, Molli. So we all wanna make eachother comfortable, right? We're learning sign language so Edith can talk more comfortably. We're studying more so Ceril can sleep at night knowing we're not gonna flunk out of school. So we'll stay out of trouble to make you more comfortable too."
Molli's eyes sparkled. It was just that simple... wasn't it?
"Buuuuut... can we still talk about hypotheticals?" Logan asked.
Molli chuckled and nodded.
"Sweet!" She sat up cross legged. "So! Who wants to go first!?"
Ceril raised his hand, still staring down at his book.
"That one's a shock! Lay it on us, Ceril!"
"Destroy Olivia Stanfield." He said in a monotone voice.
The group fell silent.
"... Okay, okay. I'm loving this energy." Logan said. "WHY though?"
"Because she used the term "special needs" as an insult when speaking to Edith and then told her friend to "put those away" when she was speaking sign language."
They fell silent again but instead of the air being filled with uneasiness and a hint of impressedness it was now filled with anger.
"All in favour of destroying Olivia Stanfield?" Logan said, raising her hand.
Everyone raised their hand except for Edith who simply blushed and hid behind her hat.
"Yeah, I'm cool with breaking that "no trouble rule" for this." Molli said.
"Atta boy!" Logan laughed, smacking him on the back.
"I don't want you getting in trouble for me!" Edith insisted.
"Edith, she was being an ableist brat and you're worth getting in trouble for!" Molli insisted.
"Damn right you are!" Logan backed up.
She disappeared into her hat again only to feel a hand on her shoulder moments later.
"Okay, you two." Ceril said, setting aside his book. "I think we can all agree that we'd gladly fist fight a manticore to defend Edith's honor..." They both nodded. "but we're making her uncomfortable. So let's change the subject."
Logan and Molli immediately apologized and agreed to do just that.
"Why do you like the idea of getting in trouble, L-O-G-A-N?" Edith asked.
"She's asking why you're so interested in trouble." Molli relayed.
"Well I don't necessarily WANT to get in trouble." Logan clarified. "I just think it'd be funny if we did."
"Why would getting our housemates angry with us be funny?" Molli asked.
"Because that's the thing." Logan smirked. "They WOULDN'T be angry with us. It wouldn't affect them AT ALL."
"Yes it would." Edith cocked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, if we lost house points then..." Molli's eyes widened. "oh..."
"Precisely." Ceril smiled wide from behind his book. "We may gain or lose house points for various acts we participate in together but it would not make a difference."
"Because we're all in different houses so any points we lost or gained as a group would be meaningless cuz all the houses would lose or gain the same number of points!" Molli pieced together.
The group looked around at each other as if they'd just solved a grand mystery together... and then burst into laughter.
"This is why I've always thought house points were silly." Ceril laughed from his place on the ground. "I don't dislike the idea of gaining or losing points from triumphs or misdemeanors but the fact that they divide the student body into four groups to do it is absurd! What if there are students from different houses that are friends?"
"Yeah, like, whose team do we cheer for in quidditch if we all want every house to win?" Edith added.
"And what if your house has a bunch of troublemakers in it?" Molli said. "Is it really fair to punish an entire house for their actions?"
"Yes, I greatly dislike the punishment system in that regard." Ceril agreed.
"All it really does is pit students against each other." Logan agreed. "I'm all for friendly competition but some folks here take it too far."
The kids all collectively smiled at each other. Molli, finally tugging the last flower into place, raised the crooked flower ring in triumph.
"Done! Who wants it?!"
"Oh! Me-me-me-me-me!" Logan bounced on her knees.
Molli giggled and lowered to ring onto her head, much to her utmost joy, and then blushed when Edith slipped her flower crown onto his head. Logan beamed and tugged him to his feet.
"BEHOLD! We are king and queen of the flowers!" She announced. "Bow before us, peasants!"
Edith slapped her hands to her cheeks in an animated gasp before falling into a graceful bow at their feet. Molli's face was bright red as Logan laughed and hugged him. Ceril fondly shook his head at the display.
...
Soon enough, the four of them were walking back from their new headquarters, laughing and smiling... at least until a familiar head of blond hair bobbed into view. Molli and Logan stared at her approaching girl in confusion while Ceril and Edith sighed.
"Greetings, Olivia." Ceril spoke, already sounding tired.
Upon hearing the girl's name, Molli and Logan's faces turned hostile.
"Have you taken time to cool down and reflect?" Ceril asked.
She did not like that. She pointed a long, pale, finger at his face and sneered.
"I'm here to warn you that if you EVER tell me what to do again, I will END you, Williams."
Ceril seemed very bored when faced with this threat.
"I'll take that as a "no"."
"Don't get smart with me!"
"It was never my intention to offend you, Olivia." Ceril stated, calmly as he pushed her finger down. "It was simply to express to you that your behavior towards others is unacceptable and to suggest that you reflect on it."
"Listen, Williams!" She barked. "I came to Hogwarts to be the best! You have done nothing but hinder and humiliate me since I got here and it stops now! Stay. Away. From. Me."
And with that, she spun on her heels and matched away.
"My behavior will reflect your own, Olivia." Ceril called after her. "I suggest being on your best from now on."
Olivia didn't answer. But they could swear they saw smoke rising from her ears. They all watched as she disappeared behind a corner.
"... So about that hypothetical." Logan said.
"We're doing it." The other three, even including Edith, agreed.