okk
the only things coming to mind are
a. silly small things like lupin making cups of tea
b. house cleaning?
c. darker stuff like a Serious Conversation (sirius conversation.)

or... evil people outside
i dunno
deathmeaters
probably not, its too early

WHOOPS *death eater

(you can pick one of those

or another idea is that mary decides to go and strike up conversations with everyone in the house)

yeashh
i could do that, just so she can get to know people

(yeah do that

orshecouldstalkmoody)

maybe :^)

-
"I'm gonna go... talk to some other people," Mary told the three, mainly Hermione. "See you later."
She left the room with Ron and Harry resuming their game of wizard's chess.

Most of the Order members were out, either at Hogwarts preparing for the school year or carrying out secret tasks elsewhere. Lupin, Tonks, Arthur and Bill were in the main room having a discussion about how they could convince the public that Voldemort had returned. Molly and Ginny was in the kitchen making dinner. Moody was patrolling the entrance hall, waiting for the other Order members to come back for the meeting that evening.

*Molly and Ginny were

mary: ho ho! decisions, decisions! get some Voldemort Chat or stalk Moody?

(maybe she can pass everyone in a big circle

I POSTED THAT AT ELEVEN ELEVEN OH BOI

Mary headed of in the direction of the kitchen, because it smelled nice. Like food. But that was understandable, as it was a kitchen.

(posted what at eleven eleven?)

Molly Weasley looked up in surprise as Mary approached. 'Oh, hello, dear - you're the new one, aren't you? It's lovely to see someone else joining the Order, it's been a while since we had any new faces around here.'

(the thing about going in a circle)

"Mm, I'm very happy to be here," Mary said, giving Molly a friendly smile. "I'm just going around and... getting to know some people better."

(that was posted at 12:09)

'Well, it's always a good idea to get to know the people you're going to be working with,' said Molly, putting some sausages into the oven, which already contained a whole roasting chicken. 'So, what are your first impressions of the people you've met already?'

(not according to my ds)

"Well... Remus is nice and polite, Tonks seems fun, Alastor is maybe a bit... harsh, sorta. I met Harry, Ron and Hermione, they're all fine, and then there's you. I think you're very nice," Mary listed off everyone she'd got to talk to, while eyeing the sausages.

(then you never fixed the time on your DS when the clocks changed like 3 months ago)

Molly hummed in acknowledgement. 'They're all very nice really, when you get to know them better. Even Alastor's not as bad as he seems.'

(I gotta gooooo byeee)

"I suppose I'd be skeptical if I found a stranger lurking outside my house making rather hopeless-sounding excuses." chuckled Mary. "Well - I'll be off now, I've got to look around the house a bit more... Dinner smells lovely, by the way."

'Of course, dear, just be careful where you go, won't you?' Molly went back to fussing over the dinner. While her back was turned for a second, Ginny made a 'shush' gesture at Mary and quickly slipped out of the kitchen to go talk to Harry instead.

In the entrance hall, Tonks came back and knocked over the umbrella stand again.

Mary watched Ginny leave with a small smirk, then she heard the crash of something falling over near the entrance.
//That sounded like someone knocking over the umbrella stand,// she thought. //Tonks, perhaps - she did mention that she walked into it on a regular basis.//
She went to investigate.

There was a small commotion going on in the entrance hall.

'Tonks, how can you not know that thing is there by now--' Moody was saying irritably.

'Sorry! I'm just really clumsy today--' Tonks apologised as she replaced the umbrella stand - talking very loudly, because the portrait of Sirius' mother was screaming abuse in the background.

Somewhere upstairs, Sirius facepalmed and went to shut the portrait up.

Mary peered into the entrance hall. "Who's screaming?" She asked, looking a little offput. "And Tonks, was that you knocking the umbrella stand over?"

'Yep, sorry Mary,' replied Tonks. 'Come to think of it, why haven't we just gotten rid of this thing yet?' She successfully put the umbrella stand back where it was supposed to be, and stood there glaring at it.

The portrait continued screeching over the top of her.

'Sirius, get a move on and shut the portrait up, will you?' Moody growled, throwing a look towards the picture similar to the look Tonks was giving the umbrella stand.

A couple of seconds later Sirius had covered his mother's portrait with the curtains and the screaming stopped.
"Well, um..." Mary raised an eyebrow. "Does that happen often?"

'Yes,' said Tonks. 'Sirius' mum put a charm on her portrait so it can't ever be unstuck from the wall. We've tried everything.'

At the end of the corridor, Lupin stuck his head through the door to see what all the noise had been. 'Is everyone alright? That was just the portrait again, wasn't it?'

"Yes, it was the painting," Mary replied. "...Have you tried taking off the bit of wall it's on? It'd be easy to repair, I think..."

Tonks looked thoughtful for a moment. 'I guess we could always try that, but this whole house is falling apart already. Knowing what it's like around here, the portrait is probably the only thing holding the wall up.'

'Are you done talking yet?' said Moody irritably. 'In case you hadn't noticed, we're still missing some members. They could be dead for all we know.'

"Yeah, the wall-" Mary broke off. "Sorry, I mean... that's not good. Should we look for them or... something?"

(mary please fix your social skills
dont just discuss walls when the person next to you is worried about death

(maryXwall for ever)

'Wait, you can't just go and--' Tonks exclaimed.

'Actually, yes we can,' interrupted Moody, drawing his wand and pulling the front door open. 'Tonks, you're coming with me. We'll have a look around. Maybe they're just late, but they could also be in trouble - can't take any chances these days.'

Tonks glanced back at Mary as she followed. 'Hey, you should come too! It'll be a great way to prove you care about helping the Order.'

"Oh - really?" Mary gasped, before forcing herself to calm down. //Honestly. You're going to be doing this stuff all the time; get used to it.//
"Well, yes, I'd like to tag along," she smiled, and followed Tonks and Moody out the door.

'Great! Just be careful,' replied Tonks, letting Mary outside and then closing the door behind her. There was a loud grinding sound of multiple locks sliding back into place as she stepped away. 'We're probably just gonna walk up and down this street and wait for them to Apparate back, nothing dangerous.'

(top survival tip: don't look at the oldest pictures on this account. your eyes will b u r n)

"Alright then," said Mary, stepping over a pillbug that was walking on the ground. "What'll we do if they don't come back?"

(i looked
it was not ok)

'Then we send out messages to anyone who knows them, and find out when and where they were last seen,' growled Moody in response. 'Worst case scenario, we contact Dumbledore.'

''Contact Dumbledore' is the answer to everything,' added Tonks, but quietly enough that only Mary could hear.

"Dumbledore always seems to know what he's doing, though; it'd be good to contact him in an emergency," Mary said quietly back, shrugging.

'Hm, you're right... Sometimes I wonder why he doesn't just go out and destroy You-Know-Who all by himself,' said Tonks thoughtfully. She then walked into a streetlamp because she hadn't been looking ahead. 'Ow. Who builds these things?'

A bit further ahead, Moody stopped walking and scanned the surrounding area with his wand, using a spell that would detect if a member of the Order was nearby.

Mary rolled her eyes. "What are you going to walk into next, I wonder? But yeah, Dumbledore is very powerful... he must have a good reason for not fighting."

Before Tonks could answer, a deafening crack shattered the quiet evening air. She automatically drew her wand and spun around to look, expecting to see Death Eaters or something else horrible. 'Who was that?' she shouted.

'Someone Apparated near here! Keep your guard up!' Moody responded.

im gonna gooo, its lateee
maryxwall <3

byesss
we do some cool stuff tomorow

byee

Mary hastily drew her wand and gripped it tightly while looking around the street for any sign of a person.
//I could meet another member of the Order. Or, I could fight Death Eaters and prove I'm worthy of being here or... something along those lines.//
Then she saw something distinctly robe-like disappearing behind one of the houses.
"I think I just saw someone over there... behind that." she said with a hint of nervousness in her voice, pointing in the direction of the small house with a tree in front of it.

Tonks and Moody immediately set off towards the area she'd indicated. The whole street was silent. 'Did you see what they looked like?' the old Auror growled. 'Dark robes? Mask? Look a bit like a Dementor?'

"Uhm, they definitely had dark robes... I didn't see the face." Mary said uncertainly. //Imagine if it was just an empty bin liner or something. That would be funny... well, I'd probably look like an idiot. So maybe not.//

Tonks cautiously walked ahead a few steps, pointing her wand in the direction of the building. Moody's magical eye was scanning their surroundings for any hint of movement, while his other eye was staring the same way Tonks was looking, unable to see any more than she could.

'It's really quiet,' the young witch whispered after a long pause. 'Are you sure it was a person?'

(you can decide what the thing/person/bin liner is)

"Well..." Mary flushed a light red. "It may have just been a bin liner."
Then seemingly out of nowhere there was a loud crackle and and a flash of red light. Mary yelped and ducked, and the spell missed her by a few centimeters. "NEVERMIND - nevermind, it's not a bin liner-" she picked up her wand, which she'd dropped in shock at the sudden attack.

(i nearly wrote 'ofbred light'
IT'S THE PASTRY SPELL, MAKING FLASHES OF BREAD LIGHT)

'Don't let go of your wand when someone's firing spells at you!' Moody barked, sending a Stupefy past the side of the building towards the unseen figure.

'I still haven't seen anyone!' shouted Tonks, casting Lumos in an effort to make the figure visible. 'They must be hiding behind the house or something.'

(LOAVES OF LUMINOUS BREAD, LIGHTING UP THE WORLD AND KNOCKING OUT YOUR ENEMIES)

"Okay, it's not like I meant to drop it!" Mary retorted in a flustered manner.
She looked to see what Tonks was doing. //Oh, should I light my wand too? No, she can manage by herself - I'll just... actually, what CAN I do? I don't know where this person is... oh, deary me...//

(it's fun to make mary have small panic moments :))

Moody and Tonks began to edge towards the building, wands out and held at the ready. Tonks glanced momentarily back at Mary. 'If you see any movement, just throw the first spell that comes to mind,' she suggested.

(Mary has no chill)

Mary nodded. "Er. Okay. ...Do you think there's more of them? Of course," she added quickly, "I don't why there would just be ONE Death Eater or... whatever it is wandering around."

Right on cue, another ray of crimson light came shooting towards them - from the opposite direction. Tonks, who was unfortunate enough to be in the beam's path, was caught unawares and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
'Look out!' Moody growled, turning quickly and firing a vicious-looking purple ray at their second unseen attacker. But by then, hostile spells were flying at them from all sides - they were surrounded.

(I am too evil to Tonks)

Heart pounding, Mary took Tonks' advice and fired off the first spell she thought of.
"Incendio!" She shouted, and two of the hooded figures who had been standing side-by-side burst into flames and, while they were distracted trying to put themselves out she cast a Stupefy at them.
She glanced at Moody, then at the unconcious form of Tonks. //I hope nobody steps on her... Or worse.//

Moody was duelling two of the hooded figures at once while standing protectively in front of Tonks' motionless form to keep any stray curses from hitting her. While he fought them, one of the figures behind him shot at him with a well-timed Expelliarmus spell. His wand spun away into the night sky, leaving him weaponless.

(I just had to make a special tag for this chatroom and put it in my description because it was being buried by my gallery)

"Oh, Hippogriff turds..." Mary hissed to herself. She sent a stunning spell at the attacker who had disarmed Moody, then looked around frantically for his wand. "Where did you see it go?!" She called, nearly tripping over her own robes avoiding a odd blue curse.

(aaa now its easier to get to
well it was in my tag anyway butyeah)

'Summon it,' Moody replied, scanning the area with both eyes, and just barely ducking to avoid a curse that flew over his head. 'And watch out for the ones behind you!'

(he should probably be able to do wandless magic but nooou)

"Oh, yeah! Accio wand!" Mary said, and Moody's wand leapt into her hand.
Sne held onto it as she turned around and, with her own wand, set someone on fire. She ran over to Moody and threw the wand to him just as one of the dark figures hit her with a spell from behind that sliced into the back of her shoulder. "Ergh," she muttered, wincing.

(I said 'wand' a FEW too many times in that)

'Cheers,' Moody said, catching his wand by the handle and quickly throwing a stunning spell at the wizard who'd managed to get a hit in on Mary. 'You all right?' he added as the man collapsed with barely a sound in the middle of the road.

"Yep... all fine..." Mary replied with a grim smile.
Quite a few of the hooded figures had been defeated, and a couple had fled. There were about six left, one of which lost his wand an Expelliarmus that Mary fired left-handed, because she didn't want to move her damaged shoulder too much.

"im fine but were trapped in a crowd of deathmeater things, our friend is out cold in the corner, and I am blooding."

Moody noticed the gash in her shoulder, but at that moment, defending themselves against their attackers was more important than paying attention to injuries. He flung a curse at the nearest hooded figure, which caused them to fly backwards violently into a streetlamp, then ducked as a red stunning ray shot inches past his face. Another figure tried to leap at Mary from behind and Moody swiftly knocked him unconscious with a well-aimed Stupefy.

('YES EVEYTHING IS FINE WELRE NOT ABOYT TO DIE OK')

Mary hit one of them with an explosion that sent them skidding across the road and sent a stunning spell at another.
There was one left.
"You can finish that one," she offered. "Do something like... uh... fling him into the air really high."

Before she'd quite finished speaking, there was a loud CRACK and the figure vanished into thin air. Moody looked around to check there was nobody else hiding in the shadows, then slowly lowered his wand, though didn't put it away.

'Disapparated,' he grunted. 'Whoever they were, they weren't regular Death Eaters - most likely they were some other followers of the Dark Lord, outside his inner circle, so to speak.'

"Hm... curious people. I hope they don't return too soon. ...The rest of the Order still isn't back yet, right?" Mary asked with concern. "Where do you think they are?"
She put her wand away in her front pocket.

'I don't know. And this is when we take action,' said Moody. 'First things first, we go back to Headquarters and tell everyone else what happened here. Then we send a message to Dumbledore, see if he knows anything.' He used a spell to levitate the unconscious Tonks so she floated along behind him. Before he started walking, he turned to Mary and added, 'How's the injury? And don't lie - if it's serious, it'll need healing.'

(sorry if i am slow, i am in my email writing zachXjerald shipping)

(i'll probably have to go now)

(are you ded)

Mary eyed the floating Tonks, then answered, "Well... it does hurt, I guess... and I don't want to ruin my robes too much."
She wiped off some of the blood from the wound with her hand.

nooh
NOOH
nooh im not

(i gotta go, byyyyyez

i'll reply tomorrow)

byeeeee

'C'mere a second.' Still floating the unconscious Tonks, he walked behind her and briefly tapped his wand against her shoulder. Almost immediately the bleeding stopped and the gash partially healed over, now looking like it was a day old rather than a fresh cut. 'That'll take care of it until you can get it fixed properly, if you want to.'

He flicked his wand at Tonks and set off back towards Grimmauld Place.

"Thank you very much," Mary smiled in appreciation. //Molly's right - he's certainly not as bad as he first seems...//

She had to speedwalk to keep up with Moody, her legs being shorter than his.

(mary: MIDGET PRIIIIDE)

(mary is a Very tall midget.)

They walked up to the door of Grimmauld Place, which slammed open just before they could reach it, revealing a worried-looking Lupin and Molly standing in the threshold.

'We were just about to come out and look for you both!' Molly cried. 'What in the world--'
Lupin's eyes went to the shape floating behind Moody. 'Tonks?!' he exclaimed, quickly taking over the levitation spell and leading the unconscious witch into the building. 'What happened out there?'

At that point Molly noticed the fresh blood on Mary's robes and immediately ushered her inside as well.

(whoops there should be a paragraph break in the middle of that)

(also there are too many people with similar names
mary moody molly)

(the Three M's)
(Also, this part is a test to show you the different ways I misstype 'death eater'. You're welcome)

"There were Death Easters. Well, not quite Deather Eaters, but... followers of You-Know-Who." Mary quickly explained. "And... we still haven't seen the rest of the Order."

(how can you even misstype it as 'deather eater')

'I'll contact Dumbledore,' growled Moody, stomping off after Lupin and Tonks.

'Real followers of You-Know-Who?' repeated Molly. 'Goodness me... well, at least you three are alive and I'm sure we'll find the others in one piece.' Partly to hide how worried she looked, she went to stand behind Mary and cast a charm that finished healing her injury.

"Yeah! At least, I hope so," said Mary.
"Who ARE the other members, by the way? Just so I know who I'm meant to looking out for..."

(whhop whoop! Slighty Odd Shipping RP!)

'Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall, and my eldest sons Bill and Charlie. Oh, and Severus Snape, but he's stationed at Hogwarts at the moment, we don't expect him back in time for tonight's meeting.' Molly hurried off up the corridor after the others. 'Come on, we shouldn't talk here in case it wakes her up again.'

Mary followed Molly at a quick pace, going over the names in her head. //Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall - already met her, of course - Bill and Charlie Weasley. Wonder where they've disappeared to... perhaps Dumbledore will know.//

In the main room, they found Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Arthur and a newly-revived Tonks sitting around the dining table, all wearing similar expressions of concern. 'Hello, Mary,' said Lupin calmly as he saw her enter the room. 'Are you sure you're all right? Alastor told us it was quite a serious fight you two got into out there.'

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!" Mary assured him. "It WAS serious, but... managed to get out in one piece."
She looked at the available chairs, and after some deep thoughts and intense decision-making she took the one next to Moody.

(intense dEciSiON-maKinG)

'So, Remus, what's going on?' Tonks asked just as Mary sat down. 'Sorry if I missed anything, I was out cold for like thirty minutes.'

Lupin cleared his throat. 'Well, we've sent a Patronus message to Albus to say what happened... all we can do now is wait for a response. We're hoping he at least knows where Minerva is, given that she works at Hogwarts most of the time.'

Moody made a noise of acknowledgement. His normal eye was watching Lupin as he spoke, while his magical eye was looking in Mary's general direction.

"What'll we do if he /doesn't/ know where they are?" Sirius questioned.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were with Fred and George trying to listen in with their Extendable Ears.

Mary gave Moody a quick glance. She had the strange feeling she was being looked at.

Lupin glanced at Sirius and replied, 'Then we take immediate action to search for them... but we can't afford to risk our own lives, or the secrecy of the Order.' He looked for a moment like he was going to say more, but instead he fell silent and waited for someone else to speak.

'Is there a problem?' said Moody quietly when he noticed Mary glancing towards him.

"No, nothing," Mary said quickly, looking away.
Noticing the silence, she thought about saying something, but nothing very helpful was coming to mind.

(i just noticed that during the fight Mary cast Incendio on an evil guy and then Stupefy'd him before he could extinguish himself

so he BURNS TO DEATH WHILE UNCONSCIOUS

harsh, mary)

OH NO
he never wakes up because he burnt to death :)
mary knows the best way to kill people

Lupin got to his feet. 'I'm going out to search again. Mary - and everyone - you may do whatever you like, but I want at least one person here at all times in case a Patronus arrives from Albus.'

Moody also stood up. 'I'm going to make a quick visit to Hogwarts - see if anything unusual's going on over there that Dumbledore hasn't noticed.'

"I'll stay here, since I've got to anyway," Sirius said and stood up from the table. "I'm sure Harry and the others need entertaining."
Mary, again not knowing what to say or do, gave a small pathetic "um."

(want to know an even harsher way to kill them?
Incendio > Petrificus Totalus)

(YES
SO THEY HAVE TO LIE THERE, UNABLE TO MOVE, WHILE SLOWLY BURNING AWAY

Lupin looked over at Mary with a small, amused smile. 'Sorry about all of this happening right when you joined us... everyday life in Grimmauld Place isn't usually this eventful.' He left the room, drawing his wand as he went.

Moody also started towards the door, then paused, looked at Mary and said gruffly, 'Coming with me for some more work experience? Unless you want to stay here and feed Sirius dog biscuits.'

"Oh - right!" Mary said, standing. "Of course I'll come."
She hurried to Moody's side, throwing Sirius an apologetic look. //I'm sure this'll be more entertaining, though.//

(what b the time, since my clock is wrong)

Both Serious and Tonks looked slightly put-out. 'Hey, I thought you were supposed to be MY mentor, not hers,' complained Tonks, though she didn't sound like she was being sirius.

(it's about 20 past midnight and i'm gonna go now so I can do other stuff)

(okkk imma go to sleep

siriusly, nobody wants to give dog biscuits to serious anyway

also theres some tonks jealousy right here
but shes not sirius
neither is serious

(and here is an extremely overused joke:

*harry sees the ghosts of his parents and sirius at the end of the last book*
sirius: look! i'm alive!
harry: omg! are you... SIRIUS?
sirius: ._.
harry: :)
sirius: ...i'm DEAD SIRIUS.

(oook, byyyeeee)

that joke is siriusly overused

byeeeeeeee

"Erm. Sorry, Tonks." Mary apologized, shuffling her feet on the floor. "After this, I'm... just gonna do my own thing and - and stay out the way." she gave a small awkward laugh.

(shh mary its ok shes not sirius)

Tonks laughed. 'Don't worry about it. Have fun out there.' She leaned back in her chair and started chatting with the others.

'Contact us straight away if Dumbledore's message gets here before we come back,' growled Moody, leaving the room.

"I'm sure it will be fun... well, see you later," Mary waved at Tonks - and the room in general - before turning to trundle after Moody.

Just after she left, there was a /tap tap/ on the window. It was a snowy owl. It looked like Hedwig, but a little smaller.

Molly was the first one to notice the owl and hurriedly went over to open the window. 'Never seen this one before, must be Mary's owl,' she said, letting the bird inside and checking to see if there were any messages tied to its leg.

Outside, Moody continued walking along the dark street until he was at least a hundred feet away from Grimmauld Place. He then looked back and waited for Mary to catch up, scanning his surroundings to ensure nobody was watching them.

The owl didn't have any mail, but it looked hopefully at Molly. It seemed to be saying, "You know where Mary is?"

Mary had been walking about three feet away from Moody when he stopped. "Are we going to Apparate as close to Hogwarts as we can?" She asked. "It's just, I can't keep up with you very well..."

i just noticed
hpgwarts is miles away
DONT ASK STUPID QUESTIONS MARY

yOU TJOUGHt THEY WRRE GOING TO WALK TO HOGWARTS
IT TAKES lIKE 6 HOURS TO GET THERE BY TRIN

#STUPIDQUESTIONSRUS

i kinda put sometging privately on thus account

its fluff <3

I sAW
it's FLUFFY
-RR

Molly carried the tiny owl on her arm into the kitchen, and set it down on a perch meant for Hedwig, who was currently out hunting. 'Mary will be back in a few days,' she said softly, stroking the owl. It really was quite adorable.

Moody let out a sudden bark of laughter. 'We're not going to walk to Hogwarts, if that's what you were thinking. I'm assuming you know how to Apparate then?'

The owl hooted softly and relaxed, enjoying the attention.

"O-oh, well, of course we weren't going to walk to Hogwarts... heh." Mary laughed. "...But yes, I can Apparate."

>Drawing more fluff...<
>20 percent complete.<

'Right, so we'll be Apparating just outside the Hog's Head pub. Know where it is?' Moody questioned. 'And when you arrive there, IMMEDIATELY check your surrroundings for danger, and don't even think about putting your wand away until we get inside Hogwarts.'

(yeess make more fluff happen)

(i'm still trying to find pictures of my OCs in real life
currently got Vex, Meryl, Selwyn, Sam, Sandra, Alexis, Astrid, Heath, Colin, Olivia, and Arminus.
got one for Jerald too but trying to get a better one)

"Uh, right!" Mary nodded, taking hold of her wand. "I know where the Hog's Head is. Been there a couple of times..." she hummed. "Always seemed to be shady people in there."

(hm what other people do you have)

(eh what)

'That's why it might not be safe,' said Moody gruffly. 'But it's also the place most people wouldn't expect me to go.' He raised his wand and glanced at her. 'I'll go first. You follow, but don't hang around.'

(i mean like who do yiu not have pi5tures for)

"Alright," Mary said slightly nervously. She stepped backwards a bit.
//OK, you're gonna be fine. You fought a whole hoard of Death Eaters, after all...//

>fluff 30 percent complete.<

(I'm trying to find pictures for human Crowley, Zach, Ethereal, Adder, Lewis, Truman, and any others I forgotted)

Moody stepped forwards, turned quickly and vanished with a piercing crack, leaving Mary alone on the deserted, night-darkened street.

Mary looked behind her, down the street.
//Funny how I started off wandering around looking for a shop that doesn't exist. I suppose my life is going to be a lot more exciting now...//
She took a deep breath and turned on the spot and disappeared, swallowed by the strange suffocating darkness, then reappeared just outside the Hog's Head.
She quickly scanned the area for anything suspicious.

Seconds after she arrived, Moody appeared beside her and briefly clapped a hand over her shoulder as if to say, 'good job'.

'I've checked around, nothing seems to be off,' he informed her. 'But we'll keep an eye out anyway. Can't be too careful.'

"No, we can't," Mary agreed, taking another look at the quiet and gloomy Hog's Head. "I swear I saw someone in there trying to teach kids Unforgivable Curses once," she laughed, not knowing that who everyone /thought/ was Moody had done the same.

'Teaching kids Unforgivables, eh? Sounds familiar,' he growled under his breath. Then, keeping his wand drawn and held ready, he set off up the road that led to the castle at a brisk pace.

Mary followed, holding her wand in a more relaxed way, but not daring to put it away.
She stared at the dark shape of Hogwarts looming above the village. "It looks so impressive at night," she commented, half to herself.

<fluff 40 percent.>

He didn't answer, but he looked up at the castle's silhouette for a moment and found himself thinking the same thing. It WAS impressive - but maybe that was why it had managed to survive for hundreds of years.

'Hope you're up for a long walk,' he said after a while to break the silence. 'There's no quicker way to get there at this time of night.'

(finish the fluuuuf)

Mary tore her eyes away from the castle.
"That's fine," she said. "We can... I don't know, make small talk... if you want to, of course."

(i willlll)

Moody glanced back at her momentarily as they walked. 'Small talk's not really one of my specialities,' he growled. Something made a rustling noise off to their right and he pointed his wand at it, but it was just an owl sitting in a nearby tree.

"Oh... well, I guess the village looks nice, I'm... gonna look at it." Mary mumbled. "I'm hungry. I think Molly made dinner but we never actually ate it."

(mary says weird things to herself when given nothing else to do)

Moody was walking a bit further ahead, and either didn't hear Mary's mumbling or pretended not to. However, as they reached the large gates that led out of Hogsmeade and onto the road to Hogwarts, he slowed down and nodded at something in front of them. 'Can you see them?' he asked.

(he's looking at thestrals, just so yiu know)

(molly's dinner tho
it's probably been forgotten because of all the death eater trauma)

Mary stopped. "Erm... the Thestrals? Yes, I see them." she said, squinting at the winged black horses camoflauged in the darkness. "Been able to since I was a student."

(rip dinner
maybe people are eating it cold)

'Hmph. I'm assuming you've seen someone die, then,' he said bluntly, reaching up to pat the horse's neck with his wand-free hand as he passed.

One of the other Thestrals snorted and tried to nudge at Mary's shoulder with its nose.

(RIGHT i might have found decent 'real life' pictures for crowley and adder
i'm trying to find one for pazzia but im about to give up)

(probly gonna go in minute)

Mary patted the Thestral with a small smile. "Friendly, aren't they? And yes, I have seen someone die. I'd tell the story, but honestly... I'm a little ashamed of it. I did stupid things when I was young."

(i'm gonna goooo
i'll reply in morn)

mary: well like, more stupid than the things i do today

hmm ok, pazziz would be hard
what do you look up? 'scruffy old man in glasses'?

okkk byee
im finishing fluff

(im probably gonna use the guy who currently plays dr who
he looks a bit like pazzia

and byyye)

ooo ok
dr pazz

Moody's magical eye swivelled around to stare intently at her. The Thestral closest to him snorted and backed up a step. 'What level of stupid are we talking about?' he growled. 'You didn't cause someone to die, did you?'

"Well... sort of. Me and someone else," Mary sighed. "So, I... knew these two people when I was at school. In our second year, someone dared us to go into the Forbidden Forest together, and... well, we weren't the greatest students and we were desperate to prove ourselves in some way."
She paused for a moment and just watched the Thestrals.
"...So, of course, we agreed and went in. We were fine for a while, but then... SOMETHING attacked us. I don't really remember what. One of us got badly injured, and... we never got the poor kid back to the castle in time."
She looked down at the ground and one of the Thestrals gently nudged her.

A baby Thestral suddenly appeared from the shadows and trotted over to Mary, thinking she had food. Moody watched it was a while, then said slowly, 'Accidents can happen at any time. And while people might not take me seriously when I say constant vigilance, they don't realise how close death might be lurking around the corner. One little mistake, that's all it takes.'

The Thestral foal trod on Mary's foot and looked up at her hopefully with large dark eyes.

Mary dug around in her pockets for something to give to the baby Thestral.
"...I'll take you seriously." she said quietly, still looking at the foal. "I don't know why anyone wouldn't."
She stopped rummaging in her pockets and patted the Thestral's head apologetically. "Sorry, little one. I've got nothing."
She then looked up at Moody with a small smile. "People think you're just paranoid... but, well... I don't think you're mad, OK?"

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly and both his eyes settled on Mary for a few seconds - just long enough to show the slight gratitude in the normal one. 'Er, thanks.' He delved into his coat pocket, looking for something. 'At least someone's got common sense.'

He withdrew a packet of mints, pulled one out and threw it on the ground near the foal. The tiny horse eagerly snapped it up, then began edging towards the Auror in hopes of finding more.

(i'm trying to find and tag all my old chatrooms
i have 6 so far
also i just randomly got an idea for a new character SAVE ME)

(i will not save you)

"You're welcome, Alastor," Mary said quietly, smiling a little more.
Then went back to watching the Thestrals roaming around. She found herself wondering what it was like to be invisible to so many people.
//Maybe they're lonely... or maybe they like it this way. Less people bothering you, I guess.//

Moody let her observe the Threstrals in silence for a few more minutes, then tapped the end of his staff against the road and said gruffly, 'Come on, we haven't got all night to get there.'

*Thestrals

Mary blinked. "Oh - right, sorry. Got a bit lost in thought there..." She left the Thestrals and started walking towards the castle again, absently examining her fingernails as she went.
Everything was very quiet.

(posted blanket fluf. nnnrgh)

(Peppy from Starfox voice: 'It's quiet. TOO quiet.)

They trudged along for a while without speaking, then eventually Moody asked her, 'Did you ever say what Hogwarts house you were in?'

(i will go look at fluff soon)

(I SAW FLUFF)

(also i'm pretty sure moody's school house is never mentioned
he's slytherin in my head)

"Um. Gryffindor," Mary replied. Then she added, "Probably only because I liked to /think/ I was brave. ...What about you?"

(oooo good fluff
nice lights

hm slytherin works)

'Slytherin,' he grunted. 'Traditionally, that's supposed to make us enemies. But I was never one for Hogwarts' ridiculous house rivalry.' A tawny owl swooped overhead, making him jerk in surprise and point his wand up before he realised what it was.

(i just randomly remembered the scenes from OoTP where Moody walks around in public wearing a bowler hat to hide his magical eye
i am amused)

"No, I don't care what we're /meant/ to think of eachother," Mary agreed, glancing up at the owl. "I always thought Slytherins were cool, honestly."

(OH YES
i remember that
there was a bit near the end where he scares vernon dursley with his eye

He let out a slight chuckle. 'Well, that's probably the first time I've ever heard a Gryffindor say something good about a Slytherin - to their face, no less.' He lowered his wand and continued walking quickly, though his magical eye flickered around suspiciously.

(yes
you could draw that scene but with cats)

"Ooh, maybe I win a prize. First Gryffindor to compliment Slytherin." Mary said an amused smile.
"...Did your parents do anything interesting?"

(yessssss i will
that is a goid idea)

'My parents were Aurors, Miss Lotus,' he said. 'And so were their parents. Not sure how long the tradition's been going on for, but we've become fairly well-known for it.' He kept his gaze ahead this time, talking to her but not getting distracted from the path they were following. They were now about three-quarters of the way to the castle grounds.

"Oh," Mary looked up at Moody in an admiring way. "My father was an Auror, and he wanted to be one as well, but... yeah. I never made it. I've barely talked to him since - he was awfully disappointed."

(sorry if slow
am drawing
not shippy fluff this time but still sorta flufty)

oops
*he wanted ME to be one

'Hmph,' he snorted contemptously. 'He's an idiot - no-one should expect their kids to be like them. Rarely happens, anyway.'
After a few seconds he added in a slightly hesitant tone: 'I don't think this needs saying, but don't repeat anything I've told you tonight to anyone else. Very few have this much information on me and I'd rather keep it that way.'

(ooh
i am reading fanfiction and talking about mad scientists)

"Oh, of course I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to," Mary promised. "To be honest, I've also said a few things I... wouldn't tell many other people."

Moody slowed slightly and shot her a sideways glance, his face oddly expressionless. 'What makes you think you can trust /me?/' he asked. 'You've known me for about a day, and you're absolutely sure I'm not going to hand out your secrets to everyone?'

"..."
Mary avoided looking at him.
"Well, I don't know. I just sorta... let it slip out without really realising what I was saying... you're NOT going to tell anyone my secrets, are you?"

(mary's thing at the top looks like a little face)

'Of course I'm not,' he growled impatiently. 'I'm just saying, you shouldn't tell things like that to people you've just met. I might be trustworthy, but that doesn't mean everyone will keep your secrets. ...Even certain people in the Order wouldn't.'

He added the last part while mostly thinking about Mundungus Fletcher.

"Mm," Mary mumbled. "I'll think before I speak next time..."
She said nothing for a few seconds, then said, "You really know a lot about what people to trust, don't you? Have..." she was about to ask a question, but decided not to.

(fluff done)

(tbh i'm still annoyed with mundungus
if he'd not disappeared like a coward during the seven potters bit then moody may not have died

'Good idea,' he said in a low voice, but then realised she'd broken off in the middle of asking a question. 'What?'

(I have to goooo, will look at fluff in morning)

"Well, I..." Mary paused, then she started mumbling a lot of things just loud enough to be heard.
"I just wondered about, well, your... past experienxes, and stuff... I imagine Death Eaters like to pick on Aurors, since... they're the ones actually trying to hunt down them and the Dark Lord, and... yeah, your eye, I wondered how that happened. Now I think about it, it must be pretty... difficult... doing what you do - exciting, maybe, and rewarding... and it doesn't help that too many people think you're just some overly-paranoid old lunatic..."

(mary shut up hes fINE)

*experinces
aaa

(mary c h i l l)

Moody watched her out of his peripheral vision as they walked. He'd heard most of the things she'd said, but wasn't entirely sure how to respond to any of it. 'Well--' he started, but was cut off by the sound of light footsteps running towards them from the direction of the castle. He reacted instantly by sending a Petrificus Totalus at the shadowed figure, not waiting to see who it was.

"Wait - who is that?" Mary stared at the figure as it went completely still and, as it'd had one leg up at the time, toppled over.

(who da person)

Moody cautiously approached the figure, noticing for the first time how small it was. 'Think it might be a student...' he muttered. Sure enough, the frozen body on the ground was that of Colin Creevey. He had a small Muggle camera strapped around his neck. 'What the heII is he doing running around the school grounds at night? How old is he - twelve?'

"Maybe we should ask," Mary said, looking curiously down at Colin. "There might be something weird going on."

After a moment of hesitation, Moody reversed the spell. Colin immediately leapt to his feet and grinned excitedly at the two of them, not looking any worse for wear considering he'd just been petrified and smashed his face into a road.

'Miss Lotus, Mr Moody,', he said breathlessly, 'Professor Dumbledore found out you were coming and asked me to come and get you.'

(t o o m a n y c o m m a s)

"Really? Very well then - you lead the way," Mary said, smiling at Colin. "You are... Colin Creevey, if I remember correctly?"

'Yes, Miss Lotus!' said Colin, beaming in delight that she remembered his name. 'Or - should I call you Professor? If that's better?'

Moody looked like he was thinking of saying something.

"Call me what you want, I really don't mind," said Mary. "Let's hurry along, though - we can talk another time."
She glanced at Moody. She was sure the Auror wanted to get a move on as well.

Colin hurried on ahead, leaving them several feet behind.

Quickly, Moody raised his wand and cast a spell that would make anything he said audible only to Mary. 'Something funny's going on here. Why would Dumbledore send a kid out - alone - to look for us, especially given what happened to several Order members just hours ago? Besides, we both know how to get to Hogwarts without getting lost and wandering into the Forbidden Forest.' He glared at Colin's back as the boy walked in front of them.

(i need
to stop making everything so long)

"Maybe for some reason Dumbledore wants to be extra sure we get to the castle safely, but one kid isn't going to help." Mary said thoughtfully. "I can't think of a single reason he'd do that... we'll just have to find out when we get there."

(nah i like reading long comments
and uh
ipostdanitherthibg

(It took me a lONG TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT SAID
I thought it started with 'I post Dan')

Moody grunted in understanding and continued to follow Colin, though always kept at least one eye on the boy at all times.

(Internet going off straight away tonight :()

(Also I'm torn between two plot twists:
1. Colin is actually a Death Eater/Voldy supporter in disguise who is probably gonna try and kill them later
2. Dumbledore really did send Colin out to get them and it's just one of those weird unexplainable dumbledory things)

(WHAT THE HECK WHY

hmm
maybe for more drama we do the deathmeater one)

Mary walked alongside him, deep in thought. //Why on /earth/ would Dumbledore send a student out alone - and such a young one! I'm going to need a good explaination for this...//
She bumped into Moody because she wasn't looking where she what going.

(Because moom is Sleepy

we can go on picto and maybe do a drawing playback together?)

whoops *was going

yeahh we do playback/picto

Moody looked down at her. 'Careful,' he growled, though surprisingly, he didn't shout at her or blast her face off with a curse like he would have with most people.

They were now quite close to the castle, with Colin - if it was really him - still leading them onwards.

aaafsddgdscfvnmy ds light justwent red)

"Sorry," said Mary in a small voice, steering away from him. "Was just... thinking. About this situation. Because it's weird."

'I've seen far stranger things,' he responded. 'And it certainly wouldn't be the first time some follower of the Dark Lord has impersonated someone in Hogwarts...' His expression darkened.

"Hm?" Mary looked at him with curiosity. "You-Know-Who's followers have impersonated someone before? Wonder who," she gave a thoughtful hum.

(mary stop)

'How long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?' he said suddenly. His loud voice should have alerted 'Colin', but the enchantment he'd cast earlier seemed to be holding up.

(i'm a bit confused by this timeline
mary must have been teaching the previous year, which was when barty crouch jr was a teacher disguised as moody
but she didn't recognise him when she first met him earlier, so she never saw the fake one?)

uh yeah
that is a problem that i sort of noticed a while ago
i dunno how to fix it
we could pretend... hm...
ok so we can pretend the first few parts of the rp went a bit differently.
mary did recognize moody, but she never actually found out that the barty crouch moody was a fake and she thought he just left for some other reasons of his own. so she was just sorta like 'oh that guy who taught dada last year, ok'
does that work

(ok that works
maybe she saw ''Moody'' teaching and stuff but never really spoke to him, to she didn't get to know him or anything.
and their meeting outside Grimmauld Place WAS their first meeting from his point of view.
and she just recognised him because OOOH LOOK A FELLOW SCHOOLTEACHER
but he'd never met her before
this is confoosing)

(aaaaaa
ok i think all of that works)

"I started last year," Mary replied, not bothering to question the change in subject. "You were there too, weren't you? We never got to talk, though."

(mary stop making this uncomfortable)

'Of course we never got to talk!' he barked. 'That wasn't even me, dammit!'

'Colin' glanced over his shoulder as he walked, maybe sensing that they were talking behind his back, but then he smiled innocently and looked away again.

(i wish i could write 'dam.n it' without it being censored)

"What?!" Mary looked utterly bewildered - even a little scared. "What do you mean, that wasn't you- wait... oh." she said quietly. "Oh, right, okay... I'm assuming there were Death Eaters involved. I'm sorry I had to bring this up..."

'...Well, it's all right,' he said more calmly. 'There's no way you could've known - he had everybody fooled.'

Some way ahead of them, near the castle entrance, 'Colin' stopped running and waited for them to catch up.

"Hehe... bit unlucky really, aren't you?" She said with a small laugh.
She noticed that Colin - or whoever he was - had stopped, and she sped up a little.

aaa that probably should have been 'mary said'
aaaa ive been drawing more
aaaaa day the deathmeater

'Still alive though, aren't I?' he replied. 'Somehow.'

They reached the spot where Colin was waiting for them, the young boy shuffling impatiently from foot to foot.

'Professor Dumbledore needs both of you to come down to the Forbidden Forest entrance first!' he gabbled. 'He wouldn't tell me why, but he looked really serious about it!'

Mary glanced at Moody with a puzzled expression. If this kid was trying not to look suspicious, it wasn't working.
"Are you... quite sure?" She asked, keeping her voice friendly in case this WAS the real Colin and she was just worrying too much.

'Yes, Professor! I know it sounds really weird, but I swear that's what he said.' Colin looked up at her with a hopeful expression. Moody just stood there in silence, glaring at him over Mary's shoulder and tightening his grip on his wand.

Mary hesitated, then said, "Okay then, Colin. Let's go - you take the lead again."
While the boy wasn't looking she quickly drew her wand. //If this IS some trick, then at least I'll be prepared...//

Colin hurried away in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, the rugged path overgrown with grass and weeds. He never stopped or glanced back, and the shimmer of magic in the air showed that Moody's enchantment was still in effect.

'Constant vigilance,' the Auror muttered. His normal eye was on Colin, while the other was rapidly scanning the area around them.

"Of course," Mary said quietly with a quick nod. "Constant vigilance."
She stared into the darkness of the Forbidden Forest as she walked. She'd hated the place ever since the incident all those years ago. It looked especially sinster at night.
She shuddered.

posted a dragon doodle :o

Moody trudged along beside her, wand held at the ready. If he noticed her slight shudder, he didn't react to it. They were quickly drawing closer to the forlorn trees and twisted shadows of the forest mouth...

(Will look in a bit, dont have time to switch accounts)

//Imagine what could be in there - bloodthirsty creatures as big as trucks that tear you up and then eat you, and...//
She took a deep breath, looking away from the Forest and instead watching the stars twinkling in the sky.
//Mary Lotus, you are going to be just fine. You know how to defend yourself... and at least you've got company if you do screw up...//

(oh wow mary do you really think this is a good time to have a small panic)

(i'll reply in a minute but i just need to say

i misread that as 'wow mary do you really think this is a good time to have a small picnic')

They finally reached the edge of the forest, and Colin halted once more.

'Th-this is where Professor Dumbledore wanted to meet you!' he said a bit too quickly. 'Just wait there for a second and I'll get him!' Before either Moody or Mary could cast any spells to stop him, he ran off into the darkness beyond the trees.

Moody raised his wand and slowly turned around, scrutinising their surroundings with fierce intensity. 'This isn't good,' he growled. 'Keep your eyes open...'

"Trust me, I don't intend to close them..." Mary said, looking around anxiously in all directions.
"What if he comes back with more Death Eaters, or... or even some things from the forest? Oh, I don't like Acromantulas... or maybe-"
She stopped, realising she sounded rather stupid.

'Think like an Auror!' Moody shouted. 'Don't panic, don't let your guard down, and don't lose focus. And don't drop your bIoody wand,' he added as an afterthought.

Just then, a blinding ray of pale-blue light streaked out of the trees, and he deflected it with a timely Protego shield.

Mary jumped, but she kept a firm grip on her wand. //Don't panic, don't let your guard down, don't lose focus - I got this...//
She sent an Expelliarmus at the place where the ray had come from.

(here's an oppotunity to make one nearly die
who tho)

(hmm I dunno
i'm thinking more about the outcome of nearly dying
do we want to see Mary panicking and trying to save Moody or the other way around?)

Moody evaded a poorly-aimed stunning spell, retaliating with a magical fireball that shot from the tip of his wand and scorched the tree branches. Moments later, a hooded figure - a Death Eater - emerged from the forest and began firing spell after spell at him, throwing both wizards into a vicious duel.

(hm
maybe mary panicking around because making her panic is fun?
then later on we can do it the other way around)

Mary, wanting to do something useful, shot a basic attack spell at the Death Eater. She nearly fell over her own far-too-long robes, but she quickly steadied herself.

(alrightyyy time to give mary a Reason to Panic)

The spell shot inches past the Death Eater's head, distracting him long enough for Moody to take him down with a lighting-fast stunner.

Another robed figure leapt out of the trees, shooting curses and jinxes at them in such rapid succession that Moody only had time to deflect them before they hit either him or Mary. While they battled, another Death Eater appeared and, taking advantage of Moody being preoccupied, fired a spell that threw him violently back against a tree. He slid down it and crumpled to the ground, out cold.

"Wait, huh- Alastor?" Mary looked down at him, turning pale.
One of the Death Eaters fired a bright-green spell at her and she dodged it in a slightly clumsy manner.
//Okay, Mary - just THINK - no, what the heII can you do without him? No, I can do something... I think...//
She flusteredly fired several spells at the Death Eaters, standing over Moody in an attempt to shield him from further harm.

Three Death Eater quickly formed a semicircle around Mary, sneering behind their masks as they fired more spells at her.

Suddenly there was an eruption of noise as a group of people - consisting of Hagrid, Dumbledore, Snape and Madam Pomfrey - burst into the forest and started throwing multiple stunners at the Death Eaters.

(you can take one of the good guys if you want)

*three death eaters

//Thank goodness,// Mary thought in relief, slowing down a little.
One of the three Death Eaters crumpled on the ground as Madam Pomfrey hit them with a well-aimed Stupefy.
Mary set one of the Death Eaters on fire and stunned another, then looked down at Moody again to check he was okay.

'Is everybody all right?' Dumbledore called out, extinguishing the man Mary had set on fire and then casting a spell that put him into a deep sleep. Snape was giving Mary a strange look from over the pile of unconscious Death Eaters, his face unreadable.

Moody showed no signs of waking up. He lay slumped beneath the tree he'd hit, a trickle of blood running from underneath his hair and down the side of his face.

(snape dont be creepy)

"Well, I'm fine, but him..." Mary motioned towards the unconcious Moody. "Not so great."
She was trying to hide her worry, but it wasn't exactly working. She found herself thinking slightly weird things.
//Poor thing - always targeted by the Death Eaters. I knew being an Auror was difficult...//
She stopped and pulled herself together. //He's fine. He's survived much worse, hasn't he?//

(i dont know how to write Snape so i'll just make him give creepy looks)

Dumbledore nodded at Poppy Pomfrey, who hurriedly walked over and knelt down beside Moody to look at his injuries. Meanwhile, Hagrid was staring at the pile of motionless bodies on the ground.

'What're we gonna do with all of these, Headmaster?' he asked, gesturing towards them with a massive hand.

(we can sorta share these guys seeing as probably neither of us can write them perfectly)

im trying to decide what dumbledore would do
he might do a strange unexplainable dumbledore-thing

i dont know what he should do
he's odd
He's Dumbledore(c)

i mean
since theyre death eaters
the logical thing would b to give them to the ministry to take care of

(yeah i think that's what he does after the battle at the end of OoTP)

(okk thatll do then)
(doodling more hot chocolate stuff)

"I believe we should let the Ministry deal with them," Dumbledore decided. (How they move the bodies? I don't know? Dp you just grab one and leave)

Mary watched quietly as Pomfrey checked over Moody.

(HOT CHOCOLAAATE

I'll reply in a bit)

(also im guessing the ministry people come and
uh
levitate the bodies away?)

ok ppl! levitate the bodies!
*gets bodys*
*bodies floataway*

i should go really
its laaaaaate

bye byeedseeeerdddd

'I'll contact them, then,' replied Snape quietly. He shot Mary a suspicious glance before turning and striding away, his black robes swirling around his ankles.

Pomfrey hummed thoughtfully. 'Well, I don't think he's done any serious damage to himself, and he's certainly had worse, but I'd be happiest if I took him to the hospital wing overnight. Just to be sure.'

"Okay," said Mary, deeply relieved. "Um... what should I do? I'd tell the rest of the Order about what happened, but I don't have my owl and I'm not sure how to do the Patronus-message thing..."

'That will all be taken care of, Professor Lotus,' said Dumbledore kindly. 'But if you wish to have something to do, why not go up to the castle? I'm sure you haven't eaten in a while, and if you're quick about it, you might just catch the end of dinner in the Great Hall.'

'Now, if you'll excuse me...' said Madam Pomfrey. Using the same levitation spell Moody had used on Tonks earlier that night, took him off back to Hogwarts.

(i'm making a playback of moodydragon (and some marydragon) doodles and i need ideas for what to draw)

(also there should be a 'she' at the end of that last post)

"Oh yes, I am quite hungry - thank you, Professor Dumbledore." Mary gave the Headmaster a grateful smile, then trotted off to the castle behind Pomfrey.

Now left alone with Hagrid and the unconscious Death Eaters, Dumbledore quickly bound the dark wizards together with a length of enchanted rope and set about calling the Ministry to inform them about the attack.

Madam Pomfrey took Moody up to the hospital wing, muttering something incoherent about Death Eaters and how inconvenient they were.

The castle halls were mostly deserted, everyone either in bed or at dinner by then.

(hm let me think
mhmmmmm
-fightin deathmeats together
-turning malfoy into a ferret (that wasn't the real moody but eh)
-stick something hot chocolate related in there.
-thestrals?

i'll think of more but just have those for now

(oh yeah i'll have to do a hot chocolate one
and ferret malfoy
im not sure dragons and thestrals would work together)

Mary went to the Great Hall and was pleased to find that dinner wasn't over yet.
She sat down in her chair at the staff table and looked around the room. It was as cosy as always.

(yehhh
i might do another playback with fluffy cat doodles
maybe ill do anthro cats
maybe just... tiny fluffu cats)

(OK i just imagined both of them together as kittens)

'Hello, Mary! How was your summer?' came a friendly voice from just beside her. It was Flitwick.

(cant write much else right now cuz moody is ded... we should skip to the next morning soon)

(yES i needto mzke them ikttens)
(yeahh, we should do a skip)

"It was quite nice, thank you," Mary replied. "A few things happened that I didn't really expect to happen, so..."

'Hm, yes, things certainly have happened... things that we can only hope to resolve soon.' Flitwick glanced meaningfully towards Professor McGonagall's empty seat at the staff table. Several of the students seemed to have noticed as well, judging by the whispering and points in that general direction.

(you can skip whenever you want)

"...What's going to happen with Transfiguration classes if Professor Mcgonagall isn't here?" Mary wondered. "Will Dumbledore hire someone else to take her place?"

(yo reply then we'll skip)

'I'm not sure,' said Flitwick anxiously. 'From what I've heard, Transfiguration classes are temporarily cancelled until she returns. The students have been told that she's sick, but it won't be long before someone discovers the truth.'

--TIEMSKEEP--

Mary was awake very early the next morning, reading a book on complex spells. She really needed to practise them.
She'd made herself some coffee, but had completely forgotten about it.

(i will write something later i've gone braindead)

(fix ur brain)

(it's in flames
on the motorway)

w ri t e so m e th i ng

While she was reading, a silvery-white light suddenly erupted in her room, swirling in the air before forming itself into the shape of a magnificent glowing phoenix that spoke with Dumbledore's voice.

'Your friend Alastor Moody is awake and wishes to speak to you in the Great Hall as soon as possible. Also, breakfast is ready.'

The bird then de-materialised, though the room somehow seemed brighter than before.

Mary hastily put the book down - on top of her cold coffee - and left the room not realising she was still wearing her purple dressing gown.

A few minutes later, she arrived in the Great Hall.

She walked inside just as Draco Malfoy was doing the same. He looked at her for a moment, then sneered and headed off to the Slytherin table to tell everyone that the Ancient Runes teacher didn't know how to get dressed.

There was an empty chair on Dumbledore's right side, where McGonagall normally sat. He made eye contact with Mary and, with an almost unnoticeable movement, beckoned her over.

Mary glanced at Draco, having no idea what had amused him, then quickly walked over to the staff table when she noticed Dumbledore beckoning her.

'Good morning, Professor Lotus. I trust you slept well?' the Headmaster greeted her in a cheerful tone. 'Please take that empty chair - I'm sure Minerva wouldn't mind, and having a private conversation from across the breakfast table can be a little problematic.'

Snape looked at Mary, then turned his gaze away.

(snape stop
stop giving mary weird looks)

"Ah, yes, thank you," Mary smiled, sitting down. "So... what's this private thing you want to talk about?"

(honestly though youve mentioned snape giving mary suspicious looks like 3 times
snape has issues

(that's what snep does)

Dumbledore's expression turned a little more serious. 'Well, it's possible that we might have discovered what happened to the missing Order members,' he said, careful to keep his voice low. The teachers sitting around him seemed to suspect nothing. 'I'm sure you recall how a Death Eater attempted to fool you and Alastor by impersonating a young student last night? That student - Colin Creevey - is also missing.'

Mary blinked in surpise. "What? Why would he be missing? And... is he with the other Order members? Where do you think they are?"

(not tOO many questions)

'Ah, well...' Dumbledore paused to eat half a sausage before continuing. 'I believe that Voldemort has chosen to re-enact a strategy that Barty Crouch Jr used once before. Kidnapping recognisable people from our side, and using their hair to make Polyjuice Potion. Therefore, there may well be a fake Professor McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Bill Weasely running around somewhere.'

"Wow..." Mary stabbed a baby carrot with her fork. "How on Earth are we going to find them? They could be anywhere and, if the Death Eaters are good enough actors, horribly similar to the fake ones."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. 'We will find a way. But our biggest problem is accessing the place they are being held prisoner - if Lord Voldemort has any sense at all, he would have hidden them somewhere we have little hope of finding, let alone getting into. But that is where you come into it - you and your new friend.'

('you and your new friend'
why do I find that so cute)

"How would..." Mary stared at Dumbledore, dropping the piece of chicken she'd picked up. "Well, /he/ might be able to do something, but... I'm new to the Order, I'm honestly not the best at magic, and, well... isn't there someone that'd be better for the job?"
//Though honestly, I'd quite like to go on some mission with Alastor... he's surprisingly good company, I suppose...?//

(because it is cute)
(also, mary is eating chicken for breakfast?)

Dumbledore smiled and finished his plate of food before replying, 'Dear me, Professor Lotus, you should have a little confidence in yourself! You single-handedly fought against three Death Eaters last night while Alastor was unconscious.' His smile faded slightly. 'But in all seriousness, he specifically asked me to send you. I can't be sure why, but I believe he considers you marginally less of a potential murderer than everyone else.'

He winked and turned back to his cup of coffee.

(ya she's normal)

"Specifically asked..." Mary looked slightly confused. "...Okay then, if you say so." She finished her own food and pushed the plate away. "Where is he, by the way?"

'Oh, probably waiting in the Entrance Hall,' said Dumbledore vaguely. He conjured a very long straw and starting drinking his coffee through it for no apparent reason. Then he added, 'You might want to think about getting dressed properly before you go off on any adventures, however.'

"What-" Mary looked down and blushed apon realising she was in her dressing gown. "Oh - oh dear... yes, I'll just go sort this out... thank you, Professor Dumbledore." She gave the Headmaster a friendly nod before standing up and sprinting out of the room.

mary eats chicken for breakfast and dumbledore drinks coffee through a straw
faaaair enough...)

(DUBLEDORE CAN GET AWAY EITH ANYTHING)

Dumbledore waved cheerily in farewell. As she left the hall, several laughs and snickers followed her from the Slytherin table, all of whom had been informed by Malfoy that she couldn't dress herself.

Mary gave a quiet sigh as she walked past the table. //I don't remember Slyerins being like this... though maybe I was a bit less of an idiot back then.//

-after she changes-

Now in her normal robes that were far too long for her, she went to the entrance hall to find Moody.

mary you WERE an idiot
you still ARE an idiot
and forever WILL be an idiot

He was standing by the front doors, leaning on his staff and looking like he was just about to leave, when he noticed her walking in. 'You decided you're coming, then?' he growled without preamble.

"Of course," Mary said with a smile, walking over to him. "And, uh, good morning to you too. Glad to see you're okay."
And suddenly she had a strange urge to do something - something the Auror probably wouldn't appreciate.

(f o l l o w y o u r d r e a m s mary)

'Good as new,' he replied gruffly. 'Or at least as good as I ever was before.' He looked down at her with both eyes for a moment. 'You all right too?'

(she will :>)

"Oh yeah, I'm completely fine," she said, not making eye contact. "And, um..."
She suddenly reached up and hugged him.

(she f o l l o w e d h e r d r e a m s : D)

He drew in a sharp breath of surprise and froze on the spot, staring down at Mary in complete confusion.

'Uhm...'

After a moment or two, he slowly put one arm around her, looking like he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing.

She stayed there in silence for a few moments, then let go of him and stepped back.
"Um... sorry," she said quickly. "I don't imagine you're... used to being hugged?"

'No, but--' he gave a short laugh, 'it's fine.' Then his expression sobered as he stared down at her. 'What made you decide to come? It's probably going to be dangerous, you know. And I can't say you're the most expeienced spellcaster I've ever met...'

"Well, I thought if I did some stuff, I could... train myself to be better at spellcasting," she replied. Then she added so quickly the words were barely distinguishable(spelling?), "AndDumbledoresaidyouwantedmesoI-Ididn'twanttodisappointyou!"

'Really? I don't remember telling him that.' Moody shrugged and drew his wand, turning towards the huge main doors. 'I'm guessing you're all ready to go, then?'

As he spoke, his magical eye stared through the wall and into the Great Hall, meeting the twinkling gaze of Dumbledore sitting at the breakfast table. The old man must have known he'd be looking. As he watched, Dumbledore gave a small wink as if to say 'good luck' before resuming pouring his coffee.

Moody turned his eye away, fighting back the urge to roll the other one.

"All ready," Mary confirmed, not sure whether to feel excited or nervous.
//Wonder how long this mission will take, and where we'll go...//

Moody opened the door, letting in a blast of cool autumn wind, and stepped outside. 'We're going to check out a few places where the missing Order members might be being held prisoner. It shouldn't be too dangerous, and we're not planning on getting seen, but if anything DOES happen then you Apparate out fast.'

(hmm im not sure exactly where they should go first...)

(ok here's a little story
there's a country where you can apparently go to a certain pub and get a drink that has a mummified human toe in it
i saw in the news recently that SOMEONE HAD STOLEN THE TOE)

(NO HOW COULD THEY STEAL THE TOE
WHY DID THEY WANT A TOE
THAT'S CREEPY)
(also, they could go uuuuh
i dunno, no places are coming to mind uh
go on hp wiki)

"Okay..." Mary nodded. "Where first? Or we could just sorta... walk anywhere for a bit."

The autumn wind felt very pleasant.

(i took a quiz for mary's patronus and i got a dog
it didn't say what sort but i'll say uhhhh corgi

'Malfoy Manor,' he said gruffly, stepping outside and beginning to head off in the general direction of Hogsmeade. 'The Death Eaters often congregate there, they use it as a sort of meeting spot. We probably won't be able to get inside - not unless the security is lighter than I anticipated.'

(yeeeah corgis
or you could look up different dog breeds and pick one that looks like her or something)

"Then we just sorta... scout around the outside and look through the windows?" Mary said. "Actually I imagine they'd have cutains to do Death Eater-y stuff..."

(posted something on hereeee)

*curtains

'That's basically what we're going to be doing. And curtains won't be a problem.'

They needed to get outside the Hogwarts grounds before they could Apparate.

"Why not?" Mary looked slightly confused. "Well, I suppose you can see through them, but... what am I going to do?"

(Mary looks slightly confused a lot)

'I have other things you can do,' Moody replied. 'I'll explain it all once we're there.'

(whoops short comments
they are at an Uneventful Part)

"Um, okay," Mary shrugged and kept walking.

( #worldsshortestcomment)
(mary exists to be confused)

Eventually, the reached the edge of the castle grounds and set foot on the road that led to Hogsmeade. Moody halted and looked around. There were quite a few people on the road - not too many, but enough that someone would certainly notice if they Disapparated here. As it was, a few heads were already turning curiously in their direction, probably wondering what the two of them were up to.

'We need to Apparate without anyone seeing,' he said quietly. 'Could be spies here - or even Death Eaters.'

(i think we should have another room where we can do some original RPs on the side
like archipelago/VH/HP AU
so this one doesnt get boring if we're not doing anything else)

(also im watching deathly hallows clips on youtube cause i've never seen it before)

(okk, you could make 'nother room for other rps
not bored yet but we can have some backupppp)
(also oo
have you seen snepmeps death)

Mary looked around, then pointed to a little area behind some tall hedges. "We can go over there, so nobody'll see us," she suggested, tugging on Moody's sleeve.

(i watched snep's death ages ago)

'There's not enough cover,' the Auror growled. 'Any decent spy would still see everything. We need a better way to disguise ourselves...'

After a few seconds of thought, he raised his wand and tapped it sharply on the top of Mary's head without warning.

'Disillusionment Charm,' he explained as her form seemed to disappear into the background, becoming partially invisible.

"Yeep," Mary squeaked. "Oh, this is a better idea - tell me how you're so smart," she said with a grin, examining her hands - which now seemed to be mostly transparent, or the same colour as the road.

(mary: OOMG ITS LIKE MAGIC)

Moody cast the charm on himself. 'It doesn't make you inaudible, so keep your voice down,' he said warningly before walking off towards the row of hedges. 'And as you can see, it doesn't make you completely invisible, but it ought to do the trick well enough.'

Mary followed close behind.
"...How do you cast that charm, by the way?" she asked, keeping her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I might need it at some point."

He looked down at her keenly, obviously surprised that she was interested at all. 'I'll teach it to you once we're back and safe,' he said in a quiet growl. 'It's a difficult charm, though. Don't expect to be able to do it.'

He quickly walked past the tall hedges, into a little enclosed space behind them that contained nothing more suspicious than an overflowing dustbin.

"OK, so..." Mary said once they were completely hidden behind the hedges, "I don't actually know where exactly Malfoy Mannor is. I might have to hold on to you, if... that's OK?"

*Manor
nook

'Go ahead. Not many people DO know where it is - it's quite well-hidden.'

He looked up and down the road beyond the row of hedges and, once he had detected nothing more threatening than some sixth-year kids carrying a huge box of joke shop fireworks (which they likely planned to smuggle into Hogwarts), he held out one arm for her to hold onto.

"Thank you," She took hold of his arm and gripped it tightly.
"OK, I'm ready..." she said, though she briefly wondered if she actually /was/ ready.

next time i'll make mary apparate by herself and then sPLINCH :^)
JUST SO SHE CAN HAVE ANOTHER SMALL PANIC

'Right, hang on then.' Without another word, the Auror Apparated with a crack slightly softer than usual.

They re-materialised at the edge of a muddy swamp. Rain was hammering down in a crescendo and the air was far colder than it had been outside Hogwarts.

'We can't Apparate straight there in case someone's tracking us!' said Moody loudly over the rain. 'Hold on--'

They Apparated again, this time ending up on a deserted, winding pathway. A magnificent manor house stood in the distance, silhouetted powerfully against the morning sun.

(why you torture marryyy)

(i never really understood the :^( or :^) faces
who has triangular tears)

Mary looked up at the huge house and felt a wave of fear. It certainly looked like a place that dark wizards would hang about in. //They could be in there right now - You-Know-Who himself could be in there...//
She then realised she was still holding onto Moody's arm and she quickly let go.

the ^ is a nose, my dude

and being mean to mary is fun

Moody glanced at Mary and then at himself, checking that their Disillusionment Charms were still working properly. Then he beckoned to her and marched off in the direction of the house, not following the path exactly, but taking a more roundabout route across the grass and through a patch of trees.

'We'll approach from the side, should be less heavily guarded there,' he growled quietly. 'Keep your wand ready at all times, and if I'm killed or captured, Apparate back to Hogsmeade immediately. Got it?'

Mary followed, reaching into her pocket for her wand. "So you want me to just... leave you here if something happens?" She said, looking a very anxious. "But..."

(posted doodle)

"a very anxious"? ok

(I'll go looook)

'It shouldn't come to that, but if it does...' His magical eye watched her closely from the side as they walked. 'I only want you to leave if your life is at risk or they're trying to capture us both. You'll need to go back and tell Dumbledore what happened.'

"I... guess that's true," Mary said in a small voice. "But if I'm still able to fight, I'm - I'm staying right here to help you. And would-"
She was about to ask a question after that, but stopped herself.

'Stop doing that,' he growled, as it was at least the second time in two days that she'd stopped in the middle of a sentence. His blue eye wheeled around at lightning speed to stare at her again. 'If you've got something to say...'

(probly no internet tonight, want to picto or do a playback?)

"Sorry," she sighed. "Sometimes I'm just nervous to say things, for various reasons... well, I was going to ask what you would do if I got captured or nearly died or..." she swallowed. "ACTUALLY died."

(playback would b fun)

'What would I do if you were captured by those masked scum?' he said quietly. 'I'd get you out, of course. I'm an Auror - it's my job to protect others from Dark wizards.' He gave a slightly grim smile, and didn't reply to the last part of her question.

(ook)

(also why do people write b instead of be
how much longer does it take to type one extra letter)

"Oh, right, thank you... I'd try to do the same." Mary said appreciatively. She thought it would be better not to ask him again about the 'death' part.

(my b was a typo but i dunno)

As they got closer to the outside of the manor, Moody halted and slid behind a large tree to observe the place without risk of anyone seeing through his partial-invisibility. 'Looks like good old Lucius Malfoy isn't at home...' he growled. 'Or his wife Narcissa. It's not empty, though. There are a couple of house-elves, and a servant - Squib, I'm guessing.'

"Is that it?" Mary whispered. "Not what I was expecting. Maybe there are people in the basement? Assuming there IS a basement - I've never been in there."

squibs are always the servants

'There could be...' Moody's magical eye was staring intently at where the manor's basement would be; the pupil contracted slightly as it focused. 'There's definitely a room down there, but it's pitch-black - can't see much besides some vague shadows. If we can get inside the place, then we can check it out properly...'

"How do we get in though...?" Mary wondered. "They'll have plenty of security if they're talking about bad stuff in there." she gave a thoughful hum.

'I've got a few different plans to get in, depending on how things go,' said Moody. 'We could Transfigure ourselves into animals - something small and less easily noticed - and sneak inside. Of course, we wouldn't be able to carry our wands or any other equipment, making that plan too dangerous. Got any ideas?'

He turned towards her expectantly. Although he didn't say it, he mostly just wanted to test how she'd react to being asked something important.

"Uh, what? Oh. Um. We could..." Mary thought for a long moment, then said very uncertainly, "I-I don't know, go to the front door and blow something up, then run in through the back when they're distracted?"

He nodded slowly, considering. 'A diversion could work... though it would work better if we split up. But there's another reason why my original idea would never work... Malfoy Manor is surrounded by powerful wards and spells designed to keep out anyone who does not live there. Unless you're Dumbledore, breaking past those wards - at least not without making a heII of a lot of noise and alerting everyone within twelve miles - will be nearly impossible.'

He ground the end of his staff into the grass, apparently lost in thought.

(he said work too many times in that)

"Oh. That's understandable," Mary said, then spend another moment thinking.
She finally said, "Do you think the protective spells recognise you by /appearance/ or is there some other way they do it?"

(woooork work work weeeerrk)

*spent

'More likely,' the Auror said, 'they recognise you by blood. If someone tries to walk in and they're not a Malfoy, then the wards reject them. I've heard that the other Death Eaters - when they come here for meetings - have to wait outside until Lucius or Narcissa lowers the wards before they can safely walk through the front door.'

"Ah," Mary looked disappointed. "I'm, uh, not sure what we could do then. Sorry," she admitted.
//Oh my gosh, Mary, please be useful at some point.//

Moody was examining the house again, looking through the walls and into each room. 'We know there are people in the basement, at least,' he said. 'And they could be prisoners. We ought to tell the Order about this... With enough people, we could plan a raid on this place, find out what's really in there.'

"Telling them should be easy, right? I don't think you have an owl, but... you could make a messagey-Patronus thing," Mary said. "It'd be cool to see your Patronus anyway..."

'Could work,' he growled. 'But we ought to walk a bit further into the trees first. Don't want anyone looking out the windows to notice a massive flash of silver light...' Still gripping his wand, he stumped off in the direction away from Malfoy Manor, obviously expecting Mary to follow.

Mary did follow, of course.
//Now I think about it... I haven't used my own Patronus in a long time. I don't think it'll be much use, though.//
"...Oh, yeah, that's something else I'd like to know how to do. Message things."

Moody shot her an approving look as they walked. 'If you're capable of producing a full Patronus, then using it for messages is easy,' he said. 'It's actually doing the spell in the first place that's the hard part.' He gave a short bark of laughter.

'I'm assuming you know how to cast a Patronus, then?'

"Yes," she nodded. "Are we far enough away from the house for me to make one?"

'Yeah, this should be far enough.' The Auror stopped walking, though he continued glaring at Malfoy Manor through the back of his head. He pointed his wand in front of him and started to say the incantation for the Patronus Charm, then paused. 'How about together?'

"Together? Oh - okay," Mary smiled. She took out her wand, pointed it in front of her, and said, "OK, on the count of three - one, two, three - Expecto Patronum!"
A little silver corgi dog materialised in front of her and skipped around.

posted a tHING

(i will look)

Moody uttered the incantation a fraction of a second after Mary did. Something with huge wings burst from the the tip of his wand, soaring silently above the trees before gently drifting down and alighting on a nearby tree branch. Its sharp eyes stared intently at the silver corgi as if contemplating its dinner. It was a red-tailed hawk.

"Oooh..." Mary stared wide-eyed at the hawk. "It's... really impressive."
The corgi looked up at the bird, tail wagging. Its short legs nearly disappeared into the untidy grass.

The hawk glared down at the tiny dog and didn't stop glaring until Moody flicked his wand to get its attention.

'Take this message to Albus Dumbledore, but make sure nobody else is listening,' he growled. 'We have suspicions that Malfoy Manor is housing prisoners - possibly our friends who disappeared.' He didn't mention the Order of the Phoenix by name. 'I need a group of Aurors on the scene as quickly as possible.'

He waved his wand and the hawk disappeared in a burst of light.

"So you just... TELL it to take a message? Seems simple enough," Mary shrugged. "I can't think of anyone who needs to know anything, though."

(after all this is over i'm going to try and reference actual OotP events
like u m b r i d g e)

'You'll know what to do next time you need a message sent, though,' said Moody. He leaned against a twisted tree-trunk and gazed back towards the distant manor house. 'Now, we wait for the Aurors to arrive. Hopefully they'll have the sense not to Apparate right outside the Malfoys' place.'

( #LetsKillUmbridge)

The corgi skipped around the tree a few times and then faded away.
Mary found a log and sat on it. She started to hum to herself.

A few seconds later, a bright silver jackrabbit materialised out of the shadows and bounded towards them. 'We're on our way,' it said in Tonks' voice before slowly fading.

The silence stretched on as they waited for some sign that the Aurors were arriving, Moody obviously not intending to start a conversation.

Mary, however, wanted something to talk about.
"So, um... tell me about people you've met before. The interesting ones. I knew someone in school who had a pet tarantula and liked to leave it on people's pillows."

i WROTE sometging
its very stupid and fluffy

'I knew someone in school - back when I was there, of course - who somehow got ahold of a juvenile dragon and set it loose in the Transfiguration classroom because he thought the teacher gave him too much homework,' Moody countered. 'I'd bet my other eye that you don't have any stories nastier than that.'

"That sounds pretty scary. But have you ever seen someone get their hand eaten off when they got it stuck in a jar of maggots?" Mary smirked. "They managed to re-attatch it, but it was horrible to watch."

He wanted to know exactly what kind of maggots those had been to actually chew off someone's hand, but held back the urge to ask. 'I once knew a kid who was always stashing his wand in his back pocket, thought it looked cool. Then one day it unexpectedly ignited and... well, you can probably guess what happened then.'

"Ouch," Mary laughed. "Well, I saw somebody slam into a tree during flying lessons and then fall down straight into a bramble bush. The teacher had to drag him out and he was screaming as if he was being murdered."

(when moody was warning harry not to put his wand in his back pocket)

'Well,' said Moody, leaning back against the tree and folding his arms, 'I'm out of school stories. But when Tonks first started her Auror training with me, she tripped and fell down a thirty-foot staircase while trying to dodge a jinx from somebody.'

(yes
i'd be more worried about sitting down and breaking the wand than it setting on fire)

(also i nearly wrote Noody)

ITS MERD EYY NOODY, THE GR8 AUREER

"I can imagine her doing that," she said with a grin. "...And I can imagine myself doing that, actually. Never take me near a staircase."

(alastor noodle)

(protecting us from the death meaters
with SPAGHETTI MAGIC

'You could always levitate yourself,' he suggested, almost, but not quite, grinning back.
Before he could say any more, there was a series of loud cracks coming from somewhere not too far away. Moody immediately turned towards the sound, pointing his wand through the trees at the indistinct group of figures standing some two hundred feet away. 'Constant vigilance,' he murmured.

(ooh i forgot to post that playback thing)

aaaAAAAAAAAA
HE ALMOST GRINNED AT HER
Y ES
ALMOST
that was adorble i'm sorry

you can ppst it if you want

(ohmygawd how are you going to react if one day he hugs her or something
will you explode

i think i might post the thing)

"Yessss..." Mary whispered, reaching into her pocket. "Constant vigilance."
She took out her wand, her gaze fixed on the group.

(i probably will explode

The group approached them quickly, wands drawn. They included Tonks, Lupin, and several unfamiliar Aurors. A glowing silver jackrabbit was hopping along the ground beside Tonks, proving that it really was her.

'Our apologies for the delay,' said one of the Aurors solemnly. 'I hear there's apparently some prisoners in Malfoy Manor?'

'Hello again, Mary,' said Lupin, giving her a warm though slightly tired smile.

"Hello, Lupin," Mary smiled back and gave him a friendly wave.
"And yes, there's people in the basement. They MAY be prisoners... I mean, I didn't see them for myself. But there's people."

'There's quite a lot of them,' Moody growled. The humour of their previous conversation had disappeared, replaced by a grim seriousness in light of the current situation. 'Worth checking out, even if it's nothing...'

'Right you are, Alastor,' said the solemn Auror, nodding and starting off towards the manor, followed by the other witches and wizards. Tonks winked at both of them as she passed.

Mary followed the group, feeling rather nervous. What if the people in the basement were really dark wizards, having a meeting or even waiting to ambush them?
//No, calm down, nothing's goinng to hurt you... the manor has nobody in it except for your fellow Order members and you can just rescue them and leave. You'll be fiiiine...//

(mary panic again. always panic. sometimes picnic)

Moody did not seem to notice her unease, having marched on ahead to lead the group into the manor itself. Near the doors, he paused and looked around. 'Whoever's not already Disillusioned, do it now!' he barked. 'We want the element of surprise in here, assuming of course we haven't already blown our cover with all the Apparation...'

One by one the other Aurors cast the charm over themselves. While this was going on, Moody shot Mary a slightly wary look, as though he was waiting for her to go into full panic mode and run away, or something of the like.

Mary was certainly panicking, but in a quiet way. And she certainly wasn't thinking of running away.
//It's OKAY, Mary, you're surrounded by professional dark-wizard-catchers! And I'm sure you won't make a fool of yourself, just - don't try to do anything radical!//
She looked down. The Disillusionment Charm was still working.

As they approached the door, Moody shot a non-verbal spell that caused it to vanish completely - and without a sound. The group slowly and cautiously advanced inside, wands at the ready, but nothing greeted them besides darkness. It didn't look like there was anybody living in the house at all.

'Let's investigate this basement, then,' Moody breathed.

"It's so quiet... either the people are asleep or they're doing something weird," Mary whispered uneasily while looking around to check there wasn't an umbrella stand for Tonks to walk into.

'We'd better hope there isn't anyone here except prisoners,' said Tonks, bumping into a wall in the dark. 'Whoops, sorry--'

Moody led them down a set of stone steps into what must have been the basement. If he could see anything distinct behind the door, he didn't say what it was.

Mary looked at the door. //Probably locked... can be unlocked with a spell, hopefully. Or maybe they put some weird charm on it so it can't be unlocked... not with Alohamora, at least...//
She gave the door a little nudge.

Moody tried the Unlocking Charm on the door, then a Vanishing spell. Neither worked; the slab of wood remained as solid and immobile as ever.

Tonks hurried down the steps after them. 'D'you think we could kick it down, like Muggles do in their movies?'

"Um... I guess it's worth a try," Mary responded doubtfully. She kicked the door, and nothing happened.
"Someone else'll have to try," she sighed. "I'm not used to having to kick things."

Lupin gently pushed past her, and gave the door a hefty shove with his foot. It didn't shift at all, even though, as a werewolf, he was a bit stronger than the average wizard.

'There must be a way in,' he said softly, 'or the inhabitants of the house would not be able to access their own basement.'

'Move back - Remus, Alastor, Miss Lotus,' requested one of the Aurors. 'I've got a few spells that might work.'

(i put nachomouths on your account)

Mary backed away to let the Auror through. //This... could take a while. Oh well. I really have nothing better to do, and it'll be worth it, I'm sure.//

Just as the Auror bent down to examine the door, a familiar CRACK sounded just outside the manor. Everyone jumped to attention at once, wands lifting to eye level and identical looks of concern on every face.

'Seems like they've come back early...' said Tonks, gripping her wand as if preparing to rush outside and fight off the oncoming Death Eaters.

"Um - maybe we can stay here and they won't find us?" Mary whispered hopefully. "But I guess they'll want to check down here, if there are actually prisoners..."

'Don't be stupid, they're going to hear or see us - in fact I bet we accidentally set off protection spells when we came in, and that's why they're here!' said Tonks in a hushed voice.

Moody ascended the stone steps as quickly as he were able to, growling quietly, 'Lupin, Dawlish, with me. We need to intercept and stop them before they actually come inside.'

Mary gave the door a longing look. If the missing people WERE in there, they'd have to wait for them to fight off Death Eaters now.
"Maybe they're not even there," she said out loud. "Maybe they're just bin liners, and now there are people here that are going to find us..."

(mary please just panic inside your head
nobody needs to hear it

Tonks gave her a funny look, probably thinking she was a bit obsessed with bin liners, but opted to say nothing. Instead she turned her attention to the wizard working on the basement door. 'C'mon, Bobson - we should try to get in here fast, just in case...'

She trailed off. //Just in case the others lose the fight and the Death Eaters come charging in.//

Mary stood there watching, and happened to be thinking the sane thing. Soon, Death Eaters might come down and find them trying to get to the prisoners - or, perhaps, bin liners.
"Uhm..." she mumbled. "Can I-I do anything to help?"

*same
no she isnt thinking sane things

Right after she spoke, there was a crash from upstairs accompanied by the sound of someone yelling in pain or surprise - it sounded like Lucius Malfoy.

'Weeelll....' said Tonks thoughtfully. 'I know you've fought before, so maybe you can go up and help them, but you have to be careful, OK? Mad-Eye will kill me if I get you killed.'

(mary is far from sane most of the time)

"OK, cool," Mary gave her a little nod. "I'll try not to get killed..."
She walked quietly and cautiously up the staircase, wand drawn.

( #notsane #maryneedshelp)

(i drew something Very smol.)

The front hall of Malfoy Manor was a mess. Three or four hooded and masked figures, undoubtedly Death Eaters, were crowded in the doorway fighting a losing battle against Lupin, Moody, and the Auror called Dawlish. Another Death Eater had collapsed unconscious behind them; his long white-blonde hair revealed him to be Lucius.

Although the group of Order members were still fighting, they weren't entirely unscathed. Dawlish's nose was broken and bleeding everywhere, and Moody had a deep gash on his shoulder where a Sectumsempra curse had rebounded off the wall and hit him.

(i will look)

Still standing at the top of the staircase, Mary took aim and fired an Expelliarmus at the closest death eater.

(I DIDN'T CAPITALISE DEATH EATER WHAYYY)

The wizard she'd aimed at looked around wildly as his wand spun out of his grip, and Lupin quickly Stupefied him. He slumped to the floor next to Lucius Malfoy, leaving only two conscious Death Eaters left standing - although both were putting up a huge fight.

(YOU MONSTER)

"Incendio!" Mary called, pointing her wand at one of the two remaining attackers. She very nearly tripped over her robes again, but managed to stop herself. //Nope - you're not going to mess up at all this time...//

(i think mary's 'signature spell' is incendio
she just loafs to burn thingsP

where did that P come from

The flaming Death Eater hopped away, yelping, before he was extinguished by a hastily-cast Augamenti from his companion. At that point they noticed where the spells were coming from, and without warning they fired off two curses towards Mary at the same time - one a Crucio, the other a Sectumsempra. Dawlish had to throw himself aside as the latter skimmed past the side of his head.

(hm
i'm considering doing something very evil to mary
mayyybe...
maybe later.

aaauuugh help
my ds is flashing red
it was on 3 bars not too long ago

(it's late anyway)

(also is your brightness up too high)

(and yes mzybe yiu should do sonething evul)

(hmm ye

and noo, it's on 1 and i have power saving mode on

(ooh :O

spoilers for evil thing:
for some reason i've decided for a /while/ that mary gets her finger sliced off with a sectumsempra
i d on t kno w w h y

(ooooonooo
it would have to ALMOST miss
and just catch her finger)

yehh
like she ALMOST dodges it
but not quite
SHOULD I MAKE IT HAPPEN NOW

(no your ds will die halfway through)

(but in this battle
yes you could
if you want
or save it for another one)

okkk

tomorrow i will make her finger die
bludd everywhere

(okk
the painting just corrupted)

(wha howw

byeeeeee

byee

(i'm now going to be evil to mary you're welcome)

Seeing the two spells come towards her, Mary hastily deflected the Crucio with a shield spell, but didn't have time to do it again for the Sectumsempra. She clumsily leapt to the side in an attempt to dodge it, and she thought she'd succeeded until there was a /crunch/ and a sudden, sickening pain in her finger.
She cried out in shock as she lifted her left hand a noticed the heavily bleeding stump that was once her middle finger.

*and noticed

(middle one because the others are too close together to just cut one off from that distance)

uded

y e s

dont die

im ded

Mary's cry alerted the Order wizards to her presence. As quickly as possible, they took out the two remaining Death Eaters. Dawlish, his nose still broken, hastily Petrified his opponent. Moody's magical eye rolled back in his head and caught sight of Mary's hand bleeding all over the Malfoys' carpet, and he growled in fury as he knocked the last Death Eater across the room with an unknown curse.

The fight now over, Dawlish and Lupin immediately ran towards Mary, with Moody limping after them as fast as he could.

Mary looked up at them as they approached, unable to say a word.
She just made a quiet, terrified whimpering noise.

'Don't move,' said Lupin, who'd reached her first. He carefully took hold of her wrist and started examining the wound, tapping near it with his wand and muttering a spell that slowed the bleeding.

Moody came stumping quickly towards them. 'Why didn't you dodge?!' he barked angrily, trying to cover up how concerned he was for her. 'You would have done better to be hit by the Cruciatius Curse, at least it doesn't cause permanent damage!'

"I-I d-don't know!" She said shakily, tears starting to run down her face. "I wasn't thinking, I'm - I'm sorry, I just wanted to help b-but I can't..."

'Drop it, Mad-Eye,' said Dawlish thickly as he struggled to fix his nose. 'Bit hypocritical of you to accuse /other/ people of getting injured.' Moody fell silent, but his magical eye remained fixed, unmoving, on Mary's hand.

Lupin said nothing, but continued casting healing charms.

(i'm guessing snape taught sectumsempra to the death eaters, because only he's supposed to know it)

Mary swallowed, trying to calm herself down. But she couldn't. She had chosen to fight when she wasn't told to, she hadn't been careful like Tonks had told her to. //This is your own stupid fault, Mary. You were so desperate to be helpful, but you were the complete opposite of helpful.//

(ye i guess so
i wonder how you actually create a new spell)

Lupin straightened up to inspect his handiwork. The stump was no longer bleeding, and new skin had been grown over the wound, making it look like it was a couple of weeks old. 'That's all I can do, I'm afraid,' he said. 'As it was inflicted by Dark Magic, I can't reattach the finger or grow you a new one. But I think you'll manage fine once you're used to the loss.' He gave a small smile.

'You scared me for a minute,' said Dawlish, who had finally stopped bleeding everywhere. 'But thanks for taking out that guy who was about to finish me off.' He pointed at the Death Eater who had been set on fire, and was now Stunned.

(whoops i wrote a new HP book

and i dont know, maybe there's a spell to create spells)

"Um - n-no problem," Mary gave a weak smile. "And thank you, Remus, I-I'm sure I will get used to it, yes..."
She inspected the little stump. //Yes, surely it won't affect me too much... hopefully...//

Harry Potter and the Pathetic Lady Who Lost Her Finger

#INTENSE

'You'll be fine,' said Lupin kindly. 'Now, I think we ought to go back to the basement, don't you think?'

He nodded to Dawlish and they set off back towards the stone steps. Moody started to follow them, then hesitated and glanced around at Mary. 'You're lucky,' he said after a small pause. 'With a curse like that, you could've lost something a lot more important.'

(i'm guessing mary's finger is still lying on the floor and they're all talking over it)

"Y-yeah..." She looked at his mismatched eyes, then glanced at all the other little scars, and down at his wooden leg. "...Yeah, I know... I'm going to be more careful in future, I promise. N-nobody's going to have to worry about me."

(yep
it's lying there somewhere

He eyed her expressionlessly for a moment, then started to walk towards the basement, expecting her to follow. 'Once we're back at Grimmauld Place, I'm going to give you some lessons in duelling.'

"Really? Th-that would be great," she said, following. Her legs were still a little shaky. "Thank you."

Moody carefully descended the steps that led to the basement door. However, there wasn't a door there any more, just a dark rectangular hole where it should have been.

'You're OK!' cried Tonks darting forwards and hugging Lupin, who looked startled. 'I heard all the noise, I was just about to come and help, but then it all went quiet.' She hugged Moody as well, who unlike Lupin just looked exasperated.

Tonks then turned towards Mary, letting out a small exclamation when she spotted the missing finger.

"I-it's fine," Mary said quickly. "I'll live without it. Sorry, I... wasn't being careful. But," she gave a little chuckle, "I'm not dead, so... at least Alastor's not going to kill you now."

'True, but--' Tonks began, before she was cut off by Moody's impatient voice.

'Can you save the chat for later? We've got a filthy basement to investigate.'

The Auror who'd gotten the door open stood aside to let him pass. Moody muttered a quick 'Lumos' and led the way, slowly and cautiously, into the darkened room.

Mary walked in cautiously behind him, taking a look at her hand now and then as if making sure nothing else had happened to it. She was still holding her wand, and was too nervous to put it away.

'Can't we light up this whole place?' muttered Tonks from behind Mary. She whispered a short incantation, and the basement was suddenly flooded with dim, flame-coloured light.

Enough light for them to distinguish the figures lying slumped against the back wall, all of them unconscious: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall, Bill Weasley and Colin Creevey.

"Ohhh... so they're not just bin liners after all," Mary said in a tone of relief. "How are we going to get them back where they should be? Do we just... levitate them...?"

'We should try waking them first,' said Lupin. He strode across the room to McGonagall and, directing his wand at her, said, 'Renervate.' There was no response.

'I think they've been put into a cursed sleep - we ought to get them back to Hogwarts and see if Severus can't brew something to revive them...'

"Um, we DO levitate them then? To Hogwarts?" Mary scratched the top of her head. "Or, if it works, sorta grab them and then Apparate, I guess..."

'Side-Along Apparation would work,' said Lupin. Looking faintly amused, he added, 'We can't levitate them all the way to Hogwarts.'

Moody, who unusually hadn't spoken up in a while, then said, 'We ought to send a message to Dumbledore, too, so he knows we're on our way back. And that we've got everyone.' His blue eye whirled around and fixed itself on Mary. 'You want to do it?'

(should we start using a different room for this
this one's getting very long)

"Oh, right! Sure," Mary nodded and cast the Patronus Charm. She watched the little silver corgi leap from the end of her wand, then patted it on the head and said, "I need you to take this message to Dumbledore. We've got all the missing people, who can hopefully be revived with a potion or something. And we're on our way back."
The corgi darted away as soon as she'd finished speaking and quickly faded.

(yehh, let's make a new room

(we can use one i've already made
maybe the bumblebee room?
we'll move once we've gotten everyone back to Hogwarts and started a new 'chapter')

Lupin nodded approvingly, and Moody growled, 'Nice work.'

The werewolf returned his attention to the prisoners. 'I'll take Minerva. Mary, if you could take Mr Creevey, I'd appreciate that. Alastor--'

'I'll get Kingsley,' said the Auror, stumping forward. 'I plan on asking him why he let himself get captured so easily.'

Tonks looked around, then smiled brightly and went to grab Bill's arm.

(okkk we can use the bumble room

also
they took kingsley for polyjuice potion
you need hair for polyjuice potion
kingsley is bald

death eaters are idiots

(it doesn't have to be head hair
they could have used his nose hairs or something)

(ew.

*transports to bee room*