Shadows of Darkness

Old Friends

The Great Hall hummed with the usual din of clinking cutlery, boisterous laughter, and the occasional crash from the Gryffindor table where Dorcas now resided. Oakley's emerald eyes narrowed; she had always felt a kind of possessiveness over her friends—her inner circle—and Dorcas's departure stung, particularly because she had been so influential in the group's dynamics.

"What's with her?" Alecto sneered, picking a piece of meat off her plate and grimacing at the sight of Dorcas laughing too hard with the Gryffindors. "She thinks she can just leave us behind, like that? Who does she think she is?"

"Someone who's tired of our nonsense, apparently," Evan chimed in drily, biting into an apple. His gaze lingered with fleeting interest on Dorcas but snapped back to Oakley with a hint of warning in his eyes. "But really, Oakley, do you care? She was just a pawn in your little game anyway."

If Oakley had been in a different mood, she might have found the moment amusing.

The clamor from the Slytherin table carried over like a low rumble, and Dorcas caught the fleeting glances from Oakley and her old friend group. She dismissed it with a wave and a laugh, but an unsettling shiver trickled down her spine.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Slytherin's little traitor mingling with the Gryffindors," Oakley sneered, voice dripping with disdain. The surrounding Slytherins snickered at his words, their laughter ringing like a taunt. "Did you trade in your humility for a seat at the popular table, Dorcas? Or was it a desperate bid for friendship?"

James stood up abruptly, towering over the table, his protective instincts flaring to life. "Back off, Oakley. Dorcas can sit with whoever she pleases."
"Or maybe she can finally admit she's just one of you pathetic Gryffindors now," Oakley retorted, disdain dripping from her voice. "How unfortunate, really. All that ambition wasted on a bunch of mudbloods and misfits."
"That's enough," Lily growled, her eyes flashing with anger. The word 'mudblood' hung in the air, heavy and potent. "You don't get to talk about Dorcas like that."

At that moment, Alecto, her red hair framing her scowling face, leaned across the table, her disdainful expression aimed directly at Lily Evans.  "Shut up, Evans! No one wants to hear your pathetic little voice" Lily stiffened, her smile fading slightly.
Regulus, seated next to Oakley, rolled his eyes. "What does it matter? You're all just a lot of mudbloods and blood traitors anyway." His voice dripped with contempt, and the crowd around him cawed with laughter at his audacity.

"That's enough!" Sirius, who had been quiet until now, stood up, his expression serious. "This is far even for you Reg, cmon Oaks stop, isn't this taking it too far."
Regulus and Oakley froze at the use of old nicknames but Sirius continued. "B we used to be brothers can we not stop all this petty fighting"

"What's wrong, Black? Miss your old friends?" Barty taunted before the group walked out of the great hall.