Emerson Wilmore was an exemplary Ravenclaw student, known for her unwavering dedication to academics and an unyielding moral compass. However, things took a twisted and deviated turn in her life after her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, was murdered by L...
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The snow was still lightly falling as the group trudged up the slope toward the castle, a mismatched army of flushed cheeks, wet socks, tangled scarves, and victorious grins. Their shoes squelched and crunched with each step, trails of damp footprints marking their path.
They were loud, chaotic, ridiculous and completely out of place.
Enzo was walking with Elena and Darcy in front, arguing about who cheated the most during the snowball fight. Elena was still fuming about the decoy snowman being taken out so quickly, Enzo chiming in with sound effects and exaggerated reenactments. Darcy insisted it was "poorly engineered sabotage" on Enzo's part and glowered at him with every word of input.
Olivia had her arm looped through Theo's, her cheeks pink from the cold and from how close he kept her. Theo rolled his eyes every time she tried to tell him that they won because of an extra player, but his smile was too soft to hide.
Behind them, Mattheo, of course, stayed beside Emerson. She was trying to flick melting snow off her gloves, but he kept brushing stray flakes from her hair instead, clearly more interested in her than whatever the group was talking about.
Luna trailed near the back, her scarf hanging unevenly and a pinecone somehow lodged in her coat. Blaise walked beside her, until he finally reached out and silently removed it from her back. She didn't notice, too busy telling him about the different magical properties of snowflakes and how each one could theoretically be used to divine the future if you looked closely enough. Blaise wasn't sure he believed her, but he didn't look annoyed by the conversation, either.
It was a strange-looking crowd. A Gryffindor, four Ravenclaws, and four Slytherins marching through the entrance hall, soggy and half-frozen, still throwing bits of snow at each other and laughing like idiots. They caught the attention of nearly everyone they passed. First years stared. A group of Hufflepuffs exchanged surprised looks. Even Professor McGonagall paused as they passed, her lips drawn into a thin line before she turned and said nothing.
"Don't look now," Emerson muttered to Olivia who turned away from glancing at Theo who was tucking a cigarette behind his ear. "But I think we're a walking scandal."
Olivia snorted. "Good."
"We look like we just walked off the cover of 'The Weirdest Issue of the Daily Prophet Ever Printed,'" Enzo gloated as they finally descended the stairs toward the kitchens, allowing Elena through first. "And, I love it."
Darcy was the first to reach the hidden entrance behind the painting of the fruit bowl. He hesitated and turned towards his sisters, perplexed at how to get any further.
"Err..."
"You don't know how to get into the kitchens?" Elena teased her younger brother, raising her eyebrows.
