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ELEVEN THE SERPENT BENEATH
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A WEEK LATER ON A TUESDAY MORNING, Ina finds herself sat at the Hufflepuff table in the Great hall, downing scones slathered with butter and jam when Poppy slides into the seat next to her, a copy of the Daily Prophet clutched tightly between her fingers.
"Poppy!" Ina greets cheerfully. "How have you been—"
She cuts off.
"—Wait, what's wrong?" Her brow furrows when she takes a look at her friend, who looks unusually pale.
"It's just—" Poppy begins, her hands shaking as she looks down at the paper, spreading it out on the table in front of her.
Ina sets down the knife in her hand immediately, leaning over to get a better view of the headline.
"Muggles attacked in Sheffield," she reads out loud.
A wave of ice cold dread washes over her. Blood rushes through her ears, and the chatter of the Great Hall fades away as she processes what she just read. She slowly looks back up at Poppy.
Poppy's bottom lip trembles. "Will you...?"
She can't finish her sentence, but Ina nods anyways, knowing what she means.
Poppy's parents are muggles, after all, and Sheffield is her hometown.
Ina reads on.
"According to Aurors at the scene, it is unclear whether the act was premeditated or simply an accident. The perpetrator escaped before Ministry personnel arrived, and is currently being tracked down. The muggles, a family of 3 with no connection to the Wizarding world, are now being treated in St. Mungo's and will soon be released with their memories altered."
Poppy sags down in relief.
"Oh, thank Merlin..." She says, the color slowly returning to her face as she fans herself. "It's just—I haven't heard from mum in a while, and I thought it might—"
She shakes her head.
"I thought something might have happened, is all," she finishes. "That You-Know-Who might've gotten to them..."
"Oh, Poppy," Ina sighs, placing a comforting hand over hers.
"It's just scary, isn't it?" Poppy clears her throat. "With all the blood purity nonsense, and how He and his followers are growing more and more bold..."
"I know," Ina says quietly. And she does—that was one thing they had in common as muggleborns.
A few moments of silence pass. Suddenly, the day seems sullen and dreary—her heart is weighed down by the sudden reminder of the war going on outside, and she is suddenly reminded of the awful rumors that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named has been looking to recruit inside Hogwarts, the only safe haven Ina has ever known.
