Forlorn Hope s.b.

human-fish hybrid

After dinner that very same night, Elara excused herself from her table and left alone to start step one of the prank planning process. While Zoe gave her a confused look as to why the girl was leaving early from dinner, the other three girls payed her no mind. Elara made sure to not subconsciously glance at the Gryffindor or Slytherin table as she made her way out of the Great Hall and towards the Black Lake. 

Elara stood at the edge of the water, the light from the full moon above reflecting off the soft, glistening waves of the lake. She shrugged off her robe and then her shoes and socks before pulling up her trousers to her knees. The studious first year had done little research with the task at hand, but she was too excited to care as she took a tentative step in the cool water. Goosebumps formed on her skin as her body adjusted to the cold the deeper she got. Her eyes scanned below the surface for the greenery she had in her mind. It wasn't until the water brushed her pulled up trousers did Elara spot the plants flowing with the current of the water. She smiled in satisfaction as she plucked the plants from the sandy bottom and rushed back out of the cold water. 

She pulled on her socks and shoes and robe and hid the plants underneath the fabric before making her way back up the hill and into the warmth of the castle walls. 

***

Elara wanted to be in an excellent mood the following day, considering it was Friday and she only had a few classes to get through until it would be the weekend. The only thing that was dampening her mood was her continuous worry for one Mr. Remus Lupin. She talked nonstop of her worry last night to Zoe after she had finished her....extracurricular activities. It wasn't until Elara realized Zoe's soft snores across the room did she finally cease her fret and fell asleep as well.  The girl ate and her sipped her tea sadly, unknown to her that three boys yelped in fright at the lump of a body in the bed that had been vacant the night before in one of the first-year Gryffindor boys dormroom. 

Peter, Sirius, and James had began to worry for their new friend as well, mostly because of Elara's worrying, but still. They even searched for the boy only to come up with nothing much like their Ravenclaw friend. It was the next morning, a whole twenty-four hours later did the three boys become startled at the sudden reappearance of the fourth dormmate asleep in his bed as if nothing had ever happened. They instantly pestered him with questions, where he had been, why he looked like utter shite, and why the hell he didn't tell anyone where he had gone. When Remus had explained to them that he had gotten suddenly sick and needed to spend the night in the hospital wing waking up every three hours to down another terrible potion Madam Pomfery forced on him, did the three boys back off, seemingly understanding his absence. 

When the four Gryffindor boys entered the Great Hall for breakfast that Friday morning, James whispered 'Prepare yourself' to Remus, though the boy didn't know why. That was until he saw a frantic Elara Dawson quickly making her way towards them. 

The girl had just put a spoonful of yogurt and blueberries in her mouth when she saw the four of them walk in and she stood abruptly in her seat, rushing over to the lanky boy that tried to give her a small smile, but it faltered when he saw the look on her face. 

"Remus Lupin where in Merlin's great name have you been? Do you know how worried sick I have been? What gave you the right to just disappear on me--" she glanced at the other three boys who just stared and listened to her rant, "-on us like that? Who do you think you are? I-we- looked everywhere for you, Mister!" Remus thought she sounded like a mother scolding her child and he wanted to laugh at her words, but refrained. He tried a few times to reply to her, but she kept on going. It wasn't until James spoke up and told her to "shut up and let the poor bloke speak".