big breakfasts (open)

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ginny groaned, blindly reaching around her bedside table, face down in her pillow. Why did mornings have to come so bloody quickly? It felt as if she’d just fallen asleep for Merlin's sake! Of course, the fact that she’d been up until two in the morning working on a Transfiguration essay might’ve had something to do with it. Not that it was her fault of course, she hadn’t even planned on doing the stupid thing before McGonagall told them it would be one of the biggest assignments of the year! Ginny had been so stressed and pressed for time that she’d even skipped dinner! She never skipped dinner, not once in her entire life!

She sighed, her hand landing firmly on her alarm clocks snooze button before kicking her covers off and easing her feet onto the ground and into plush slippers. Ginny slowly stood up before making her way over to her trunk and pulling out a slightly wrinkles white blouse, a pair of grey socks, and the rest of her uniform before heading to the bathroom for a shower.

After almost falling asleep under the hot water, she got out and cast a drying charm on her hair before getting dress. Once she’d managed to dress herself properly, (it took her two tries to get her shirt on right), she pulled her unruly waves into something that resembled a ponytail before leaving the bathroom and heading down to the Great Hall for a well-deserved, (and quite large), breakfast.

Once arriving in the Great Hall, she made her way over to the Gryffindor table, swinging first her right leg and then her left over the bench before sitting down. Miraculously enough, most of her favorites were within reaching distance, and she’d soon piled her plate high with buttered toast, bacon, French toast and sausages. The food quickly disappeared, and she finished the meal by downing two glasses of icy orange juice.

Happy with what she’d eaten; Ginny stood up from the table and left the Great Hall. She still had a good thirty minutes before class started, so she decided to mill about the Entrance Hall for a bit. Who knew, maybe she’d see someone she knew!

[CAITRIA O'FARLEY]

Seventh year must be the year from hell. There was simply no way around that fact, Caitria thought as she scrambled out of bed, still way too early for her taste, even though it was in fact far from early. Blessed be Hogwarts for even still allowing variable breakfast times around his halls, even though the regime had become far more strict. Well, you had to be thankful for the little things, a maxime Caitria was more and more learning to live by. The thought of NEWTS had made her queasy before, but with all those Death Eaters lurking around, it made it seem like so much worse. How could she even think of passing them under their watchful eyes? The new school year wasn’t even more than a couple of days old and already she started fretting, turning herself into more of a study freak than she had been in all her years here.

And of course there were other things keeping her awake at night. The thought of her family was an ever-present one, and she must have asked herself for more than two hundred times already, if her decision had been right. If she hadn’t been completely egoistic in her insisting on returning to Hogwarts, even though it had become nothing short of the lion’s den for people like her. People like her… oh how she hated the very sound of these words even in her head. Why should anyone care whether her parents were wizards or not?! If she wasn’t supposed to have magic, she wouldn’t have it! She would have never been chosen by a wand! This, all of this had become her home even though she had not been born to it! How dare they try and take it away from her! One could not undo what had been done! If this continued to be how the magical world worked, she might even turn her back to it herself, go somewhere else, like into the remote parts of the world to find some magical creatures and work with them. But they would NOT keep her from graduating.

Although, who was she kidding? They could and they would stop her, and that would be the best part of her punishment, while she didn’t even want to think about the other consequences. She had been tossing and turning the better part of the night, and now felt like she was still more asleep than awake as she walked down to the Great Hall. Most of all students must have had breakfast by now, so she better hurried, if she wanted to grab her fill of it. As she hurried down the corridor that would lead her to her desired breakfast, she nearly collided with a certain ginger girl as she reached the Entrance Hall. “Woah, priority to the right… or am I wrong?!” she quipped, skidding to a halt. “Morning there, Ginny. Or… am I supposed to act as if I don’t know you? Hm, I can do that too. What was your name again?”

That was always her prime reaction to stress, joking it away, denying it existed and pretending it wouldn’t put her down.

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ginny jumped back slightly, a smirk plastered across her pale, freckled face as one of her friends nearly ran her over. Caitria had been one of the shinning lights in her worlds during what she had come to call, the Umbridge Reign. Ginny sincerely hoped that Caitria's sunny personality and sarcasm would remain, although she wasn't one hundred percent sure if it would. People she thought would never loose their joviality had become sullen and quiet what with the new Headmaster and all the harsh punishments.

Of course Ginny really couldn't blame them. They were only about a week into the first term and she'd already gotten into trouble. When they'd first arrived at the school, all the new "teachers" seemed quite shocked that Harry hadn't arrived at the school with everyone else, and had decided it was his friends faults. Poor Neville and Luna were still nursing the bruises. Not that she wasn't as well, but she liked to think she'd gotten the horrid people back. Yup, you could always count on Fred and George to come through when you needed some sort of pranking object.

She smiled before responding, "Nah, I think they already know who everyone is associated with, or at least the people they've been instructed to follow." Ginny chuckled, quirking her thumb back towards the Great Hall before hugging her friend. "Merlin's pants, I wasn't sure how many people would be back this year."

Ginny wasn't daft, she'd read the papers and had heard about the muggleborn round ups as well as the price that had been put on Harry's head. Most of the muggleborns in her year hadn't come back, Colin Creevey and his brother were still there, one of his other friends was covering for him, telling anyone that would listen that Colin was his half cousin twice removed.

She was still stuck in her musings when a thought struck her, Caitria was a muggleborn, wasn't she? Her eyes widened slightly, "What are you doing here?" She whispered quietly, her eyes darting towards the Great Hall's doors as if to make sure there was no chance they'd be overheard.

[CAITRIA O'FARLEY]

When she bumped into Ginny, Caitria only realized that this must be the first time in the term she really was meeting up with the youngest Weasley. They hadn’t met on the train and also during the last few days there paths simply hadn’t crossed – also because there hadn’t been any reunition of the old DA yet. Would it ever come to that, she wondered? Would they continue doing their training and keep alive as a group even though their big figure Harry Potter was gone? Where was he anyway? Of course it was nothing but right he should not pop up at Hogwarts with pracitcally every Death Eater within a 10 miles radius around the school lusting for his blood, but it would have been interesting to know what he got up to. Somehow Caitria couldn’t think of him as hiding out somewhere, waiting for the storm to pass him by. With that storm mainly being about him anyway, that might have been a moot task, and she guessed even Harry was a smart enough kid to get that. He wasn’t dead though, that much was sure. That would have been announced by Voldemort the instance he was dead, because he just couldn’t pass by this opportunity to gleen, and so Caitria was going by ‘no news is good news’ for the meantime. If only the same rule would apply for her family. If they vanished, no one would make it public. The authorities would try to reach a Caitria at some sports school in Scotland, where she never had been truly inscribed.

But she pushed these thoughts back for now, and worked on the smile on her face as she listened to Ginny’s retort. She might be absolutely right in saying that the new guys around school probably already had the students sorted into priority lists. Ginny Weasley probably would be high on some elitist black list, for being one: a Weasley and two: rumoured to having had a little thing with the very same Harry Potter. Caitria was a bit surprised by the spontaneous hug, since she usually just wasn’t that kind of girl to walk around hugging people, but she still returned the hug warmly after a moment of being startled. Now was not the time to look out for your ‘reputation’ after all. In these times you better kept your friends close. “Neither was I. It’s cool to see a few of the old bunch still here! I’m a seventh now, Merlin’s beard, I feel the back- and joint aches already. Remind me to fetch my rheumatism ointment from the Hospital Wing before class!”

Then, however, Ginny put the finger right on her toughest spot. How many people exactly had she told she was muggleborn? Maybe she should have really kept her mouth a bit tighter shut on that subject in the past – for now she had created a clear mess-up! But then, this was Ginny, and she wasn’t one to rat you out. They were on the same side, right?!
“Was bored in ol’ Ireland”, she said a little off-handedly, grimacing. “Seriously, we might not HAVE anything like a summer, but it surely gets LONG. Besides, I couldn’t wait to ace my N.E.W.T.s.” yeah, as if ever. Taking a closer look around to see if anyone might be eavesdropping, she added. “If they think they can keep me outta here, just because they feel like it, they’re screwed. Cause I’m gonna stay.”

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ginny chuckled, a smile returning to her face. She could always trust Caitria to up her spirits when she was down! Honestly, the girl could make anything into a joke or a sarcastic comment! Not that she was complaining, of course. It was nice to have someone there that one could always rely on to help people forget all the trouble they were in. That was one of the major changes she’d noticed at Hogwarts. Everyone was so quiet. There was hardly any chatter at meal times, and all the faces she saw as she walked to her different classes looked stressed, upset and a bit scared. Hell, even some of the Slytherins were looking worried! However, she couldn’t really blame anyone for the sudden shift in mood. Everyone had plenty to worry about and to fear, what with Voldemorts sudden take over and the new teachers. If anyone so much as muttered Harry’s name or acted as though they knew something, they were hauled off to the Carrows office.

Ginny shuddered slightly, yes, the Carrows were definitely a reason to worry. They were horrid and cruel, not really leaving any sort of torture or method of questioning to the imagination. The stories she’d heard were unpleasant, and the marks even worst. Yes, it was definitely nice to have someone that could make you laugh.

“I have to admit I didn’t think I’d see you here,” she said, smiling slightly. “Oh I’m sure Pomfrey would absolutely love to give you some! Would you like me to come with you to hold your hand?” She joked, patting her friend on the shoulder.

Ginny giggled, leave it to Caitria to worry about marks when the wizarding world was falling to pieces! Of course she wasn’t not concerned with her marks, because she definitely was, (her mum had made sure of that after Fred and George did so horrendously on their O.W.L’s). But it definitely wasn’t one of the subjects that took up most of her thinking time. No, most of that was spent thinking about Harry and her brother’s safety, not to mention how Neville, Luna and herself were going to keep the DA alive. It hadn’t seemed important to keep it running during her fifth year, but now that they were being forced into submission, it looked as if the DA needed to be reinstated. Not only would it help everyone brush up on their spells, but it would also give them something to look forward to.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that for a minute.” She smirked, if Caitria wanted to stay there, the death eaters would have a hell of a hard time trying to get her to leave. “So what do you think of starting up the D.A. again?” She murmured, casting her gaze back towards the Great Halls doors before continuing to stare at Caitria, waiting for her answer.

[CAITRIA O'FARLEY]

Upon entering Hogwarts on the first evening of the year, Caitria had indeed formulated her mission in her mind: This place had become far too dreary and dull, even the Welcoming Feast was not welcoming at all, and everyone was sitting around with head hunched between their shoulders and tails between their legs, fearing to be picked out by so much as grinning. You could have more fun on a funeral! There and then, Caitria had sworn to herself that she would not let them take her cheek and wit away, at least not when it was meant to cheer up her peers and other fellow students. She might rein herself in with picking fights with her superiors, but other than that she would not become a shadow of herself and succumb to the doom and gloom of this place!

And she wasn’t even so bad at succeeding! Already, she had brought a smile to Ginny’s face, and Ginny had more reasons to worry than anyone else. TWO people she cared for, maybe even three, were on the run from the Death Eaters, and she probably must wake up every day, fearing to hear the dreaded news of their death. Caitria could surely relate to that, but she refused to let it take her down! If the cheer and laughter vanished from Hogwarts, all hope would vanish from it as well, and what was a place without hope? A tomb. No, she was by no means willing to become a necrophiliac just to fit in here! They were still alive and kicking, and it was about time someone showed it!
Acting as if the soft pat on her shoulders would make her knees buckle, she groaned: “Easy, easy there, whippersnapper! Don’t use too much juvenile force on me. I’d indeed appreciate it, if you held my hand. You could also guide me up the stairs… they seem to become steeper and steeper with the years.”

Yeah… said the same who had taken them in twos and threes earlier this morning for a little exercise. She should really stop spilling such unhealthy lies for fun, shouldn’t she? You could always take a joke too far. Then however, Ginny suddenly seemed to be talking business, and the question she asked cautiously caused Caitria’s face to light up with genuine anticipation and surprise. Merlin’s beard, this was music to her ears and grist to her mill!! If the D.A could be reinstalled, meeting in secret and keeping the dream alive… it would be a secret resistance, exactly the moral boost they all needed! Of course she understood Ginny’s caution, so she took a wary glance around herself, but gladly she couldn’t see anyone suspicious around. “Better yesterday than tomorrow, really!” she agreed fervently. “We need to keep the old spirit alive! Even though Dumbledore is… dead, his army still lives on and fights, right?!”

[GINNY WEASLEY]

Ever since the death eaters had taken over the castle, Hogwarts had been a quiet and almost dismal place. There was no more laughing amongst the students as they walked to class, no more hallway duels with the Slytherins, and above all, a constant feeling of being watched. Ginny absolutely hated it. She had always thought of the school as a second home, but what with the new rules and teachers, she was beginning to think of it as a prison. They had no freedom, and their every move was watched and criticized, it was all rather unnerving.

Then there was the whole Harry, Ron and Hermione running off to save the world thing. Ginny understood that it was necessary, but couldn’t help feeling just a bit hurt that they hadn’t brought her along. It would have been much easier to cope with if they had left some sort of note, or trace of where they were planning on going. But that wouldn’t have been possible either. She reluctantly shoved the thoughts back into the recesses of her brain, a bright smile lighting up her face.

Ginny laughed, gently nudging Cait’s foot with her own. ”Oh, of course! Didn’t I mention? I passed Madame Pomfrey in the hall when I was coming down for breakfast, told me your knee calipers are in!” She grinned, shoving her hands in her pockets. Merlin, it was nice to laugh again.

During the summer, she had been kept busy with all the preparations for Bill and Phlegm’s wedding, within which laughter had been a large part. However, as soon as the wedding was crashed by the arrival of quite a few death eaters, the tension in the Burrow had mounted, until one felt as though they needed to walk around on tip toe. Her mum had become tight lipped, especially when she discovered what Dad and Ron had done to the poor ghoul in the attic. Ya… that had been one huge rant, but luckily enough, it had all been directed at Dad after the death eaters had left.

”It’s going to be awesome!” She smiled, nodding. ”Luna and Neville are already in, but we’ll have to find a way to contact all the old members… Harry didn’t get the chance to give me the controlling galleon before he had to, um… go.” She whispered, casting her eyes around the chamber again. It seemed that everyone was still in the Great Hall, finishing what seemed to be large breakfasts. She honestly had no clue how they would manage to contact everyone. The teachers always thought something suspicious was up if students from separate houses so much as looked at each other, let alone had a conversation!

ooc- sorry about the wait! this thread ran under my radar :P