En Memoriam

Steph frowned again, a hundred things going through her mind, when it dawned on her, it was all a prank. The prefects were playing a sick prank, on the pranksters.
Steph suddenly felt anger pulsing through her, 'No.' She said a little too loudly, 'This wasnt fair,' She turned to Hollie, smiled through her angry tears, stood up, and left..
 
Rhyspa kept a gentle grip on Kailey's hand throughout the ceremony and listened as other students gave speeches. She watched as Bruin and Estrella walked up the aisle and near the podium to give their speeches. She listened to what they said and she really hoped the pranksters had learned their lessons. Rhyspa expected the pranks would stop immediately, but what she didn't expect was to hear an all too familiar voice at the back of the Great Hall. Automatically every bone in Rhyspa's body stiffened. She could feel Kailey's body stiffen too as they both recognized the voice.

Rhyspa's head and torso turned around in the pew to look at the back. Her blue eyes fell on Njord. The boy who supposedly died at the Play. The boy who her best friend had mourned the death over. The boy who was the cause of all this mourning. Rhyspa was furious but she was ecstatic. She didn't think she could feel the same two emotions at once. Rhyspa was elated that Njord wasn't dead but she was furious that she and her fellow students had been lied to.

Although Rhyspa knew it was for a good cause, she didn't think she could let this go. Not for a while at least. Rhyspa sat in the audience next to her friends and watched as a Hufflepuff first year shouted out in anguish. 'Serves her right,' Rhyspa thought. 'Shouldn't have been pulling pranks and maybe you wouldn't have felt so much guilt.'
 
Arisa hissed at the girl who she had once looked up to at the fashion club meetings. She really was stupid, "and did you think that hair cut made you look good?" she said giving her and her hidious hair one last glare that said 'this isn't over' before she stormed out of the great hall with Viv.
 
Cecily was a dusty, filthy mess by the time she'd returned by portkey from her grandfather's house. She'd told no one the reason she hadn't been able to attend the beginning of the mock memorial service. Bane had sworn her to secrecy and it was something he would not want anyone to know. Quickly she performed as many cleansing spells as she could but her hair was still a windblown mess, her green eyes slightly wild, giving her a feral appearance. Dark robes were thrown on over her customary jeans and tee shirt. Thumbing her nose at convention she wore no shoes, needing to feel grounded to something real, something hard and immovable that would never change.

Stealthily she slipped into the Great Hall through the staff entrance and quickly ascertained any ninja effort on her part was unnecessary. It wasn't hard to make out the proud, defiant stance of the muscular wizard Bruin or the quiet strength of her love Nicolas. She heard many outcries and clanking around the large room as her eyes came to rest on Njord. Her lips quirked in a sad smile for an instant before she slid unobtrusively onto the empty seat beside Nicolas and touched his hand.

Her thoughts whirled to her grandfather's land and for a split second her slender body gave a hard shudder before her eyes narrowed. She felt off, confrontational and knew that the future was an unsteady one for all around, herself included as they adjusted to the best 'prank' that ever graced Hogwarts halls.
 
Professor King watched the commotion of the crowd as Njord revealed himself. He knew that their reaction would not be positive for the most part and he continued to observe for several minutes as some students stormed out of the hall and others yelled profanities at the top of their lungs. In the midst of this Cecily had slipped into the hall and took the seat beside him that hadn't been occupied. He payed her no notice, too entranced by the scene before him.
Standing quite abruptly Professor King whistled and bellowed for silence, tired of the scene already. When the hall fell quiet he muttered 'Thank you' under his breath and walked around the staff table and back to the podium. "I can understand why you're upset." Nicolas began, glancing across the hall and momentarily looking directly at a specific person, making eye contact with them before turning his gaze again. "I would be equally as upset if I had been in your situation, and convinced that one of my peers had been killed - by a prankster no less." Nicolas continued on, hoping that the mass of students would stay calm long enough to hear him out. "However you should all be more than glad that this was simply a lesson. I assure you that nobody involved found humour in the scenario - things were getting out of hand and nobody seemed to get the message. Pranking has had a history at Hogwarts in Scotland and will here too, but all things must be done in moderation and nothing goes unnoticed or unpunished. This year both the Prefects and Professors recognized a need for a lesson to be learned and learned well: this was the only way to truly get that across. If you still don't care that's fine, but what's done is done.
"Your being upset, however, does not excuse you to do as you please. Hogwarts has rules which will be upheld and expectations of all its students. Screaming profanities out of anger has not and will not be tolerated. Leaving this hall before dismissed is another thing that won't be tolerated. As much as you weren't all guilty of the prankings that caused this event to occur this was the only plausible method to stop those who were. To those of you who were to blame for Njord's supposed death: you should be eternally gratefully that it was all planned and that you're not at fault, but you should also realize how predictable it had been that you would try to prank the Prefect's play.
"Now you are all dismissed -- though don't consider yourselves off the hook. Anybody who deserves punishment will be contacted by their Head of House."
With that Nicolas took a step away from the podium and watched as the students began to file out, making a mental note of which Gryffindors he would soon be sending owls to.
 
Lily had been sitting still through all the speeches, not really sure if she would get up and speak or not. She held a box of tissues on her lap, not just for herself, but for a few others as well. Just as she was going to get up and actually speak, she noted that Estrella was making her way to the podium. Ok, good. Now I don't have to go up and be a blathering idiot with tears running down my face in front of the whole school, she thought with sigh of relief.

Shortly after Estrella, Bruin took the stage. Then her heart just about stopped. A very familiar voice was sounding from the back of the room. One she had heard numerous times at work and in the common room. Njord. "What? Are you serious?" she muttered in disbelief, her head whipping around to see her 'dead' friend walking into the hall. Lily sat there confused, not really sure what to think about all of this.

She listened to the reactions around her. As she sat utterly stunned, she thought about the reason for the play and the lesson that they were trying to teach. The happiness that she was feeling about the fact that Njord was really, truely alive was finally surfacing and she began to smile. Tears of joy came down her cheeks and she brushed them away with the back of her hand despite the box of tissues that she had with her.

Suddenly, a girl that she recognized as a Hufflepuff screamed out something about being a murderer. Lily's jaw dropped as she realized that this was the girl that had lit the fireworks off. She did not know her name, but glared at her from her seat. "SHE is mad?" she muttered, "She must be joking. If she thinks that this is all not her fault anyways, she is delusional. Completely and utterly delusional. Njord would never have been injured or killed if it wasn't for her." As the girl left, she made a note of her so she would be sure to keep a 'special' eye out for whatever the silly first year would pull next -- or a way to drive the play's point home.
 
The room felt as if it were flooded in a respective hush, all in reverence to the boy who had been killed. There were so many in tears, so many in shock still. Isabella could only look on in sympathy. There were a few of her own housemates, her room mate Andromeda being one who had known the boy and after Professor Kings moving contribution to the memorial service, she got up and made her own speech. Others followed that Isabella did not know or merely recognised from around the school but one thing was clear, they were all deeply anguished and genuinely upset by the whole thing. From the prank that had been played that led to the boys death and to the the boys death itself. Many she feared would seek retribution and as Bruin and Estrella got up to speak she hoped they would mention that this was not the best action to take.

Instead a further prank was revealed, Isabella shook her head in bewilderment. The boy Njord that everyone was grieving for walked up from the back of the hall, touched a Ravenclaw girl before heading up to the podium to join the others. Isabella listened to what was being said but at the same time looked about the room at the shocked faces, the appalled faces. They had been trifled with abysmally, it was not a nice thing to have your feelings gutted like that and her heart went out to the young Gryffindor who had cried on the podium moments before and who now stormed out of the hall. Isabella thought at first to go after her but what really was the point, she was angry and nothing Isabella could say or do would change that.

It had obviously been considered a necessary course of action to take. She didn't think for a second that the prefects or professors would have thought this idea worth doing unless they had also considered its implications, its consequences on the populace as a whole. The pranksters had needed to be taught a lesson and it was no harm that the rest of the school be reminded just what could happen should a prank backfire or get out of control. Professor King stood up again and made a far different speech this time. She groaned for Andromeda, knowing she would be punished for walking out of the hall. Isabella stayed sitting a while longer, even after they were finally dismissed. There were too many angry students squabbling as they left the hall, she would remain until the end before going back to the common room. The repercussions of this event she was dreading, for surely there would be repercussions?
 
Freya stood and wiped the mock tears from her face. She walked over to Njord who looked rather freightened by the mean and horrible looks he was getting. This 'prank' was not his fault, she knew but it seamed that everyone was looking at him like it was. Njord had just been a small player in this grandios scheme. His only role was to lie low while everyone was meant to believe that a prank had fatally harmed him. The scheme was not his idea but she feared everyone would think it was.

She gathered her son in her arms and gave him a strong hug. Proud of him for the message that was sent and his small role in the bigger picture. She released her grip and with her arm around his shoulder she led him out of the great hall. Protective so no one would accost him or try to berate him in any way.

With her head held high and her son's head resting on her shoulder, she led the way through the crowd, neither of them answering questions.
 
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