magic in our bones

Elise sat at the Gryffindor table with Michael as they were getting ready for the meal to begin, but she wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on. Her brother, Fred, had died the year before during the war, and everything was still painful. She poked at her food idly, trying not to think about how quiet the Great Hall was without her siblings' laughter - the only sibling still in school with her was Ginny, the pair in the same grade, though Elise was younger. Blinking out of her thoughts, she sat up straight, looking to Michael. "Ready for classes to start tomorrow?" she asked after a moment, trying not to look towards the Slytherin table, because she was certain her attention would get drawn to the asshole, Luke Hemmings, and that was the last thing she wanted right now.

Michael didn't bother Elise, aware that things were probably still hard for her, even with a whole year having passed since everything. While his friend was occupied, he let his eyes wander the Great Hall, though it didn't take long for his gaze to gravitate, as it always did, to Nerissa Roe, a Slytherin beauty that he absolutely adored, in every sense of the word, despite how different they were. She was gorgeous, but she was also incredibly bright, always making him all the more curious about her over the years, and all he wanted was a chance to make her his, but he was certain that time would never come. He took Nerissa in for a few moments before looking towards Elise when his friend spoke, and be offered a smile. "As ready as I'll ever be," he decided eventually, lifting his shoulders in a slight shrug.

Honoria still had nightmares about the war - she'd had to fight alongside her parents, especially her father, who were fiercely loyal to Lord Voldemort. Her father was back in Azkaban now, her mother now having her own cell in the prison as well, and all Honoria ever knew was gone, besides her friends. Despite her involvement in the war, she hadn't killed anybody, she hadn't wanted to, and she and her friends had tried to stay out of the big fight, having mostly hidden away - not because they were afraid of dying, but because they were afraid of killing. Shoving past a few people - including a very specific Ashton Irwin, - she took her seat at the Slytherin table with a frown.

Calum sank into his seat across from Honoria, facing the other tables, but he didn't speak much. A lot had changed over the years; at one point, he and his friends had basically ruled the school. At this point, they were lucky to even be allowed within the castle walls. But, nobody but their fellow Slytherins would ever understand the turmoil they felt, how afraid they'd been of their own parents, and his jaw clenched because they'd always be judged for their decisions despite that nobody ever asked them why they had been on the Dark Lord's side - because nobody cared. Everybody wanted to paint them as villains and that was what they became. With the thought, his gaze wandered the Great Hall, landing on a Ravenclaw by the name of Isadora Burns, and he watched her for a moment, wishing she could understand him, that she didn't think he was evil, but he knew that wasn't likely. "Coming back here was a mistake," he muttered to his friends.

Rosabel hated this school, more than anything. She could still feel an anger within her that grew each day because, unlike most of her friends, she'd been locked in the dungeon with many Slytherins, while the war raged outside. Nobody had cared that they hadn't wanted to fight, nobody had thought for even a moment about what would have happened if they'd chosen to fight - they would have been fighting their loved ones, and for what? For people who had never given a damn about them. Screw that. "Out of my way, Styles," she scoffed, grabbing the back of Harry Styles' shirt to pull him back and to the side so that she could pass him to join her friend. "Bloody bores, all of them." Before what had happened during the war, she'd never been rude or cruel, even with who she hung out with, but the war had made her unforgiving, relentless.

Louis sat with his friends, peering around at the lot of them. The war had affected them all in different ways - they'd all lost family, lost everything that had ever mattered to them, and yet nobody outside of Slytherins ever even acknowledged that loss. It left a bitter taste on his tongue, a sinking feeling in his heart, and he could understand the distraught, the pain, the anger, that each of his friends were dealing with. "Yeah, maybe it was," he agreed with Calum after a moment, though the moment the words left his lips, he spotted the Hufflepuff beauty that was Orla Davis and he decided immediately that maybe it wasn't. So many people thought they were all evil, but he hoped that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't. Maybe she'd see the truth. Chewing on his lip with the thought, he forced a smirk to his friends, trying to be cheerful, upbeat, playful. "But we can make this year worth it, I think. We can't give up just yet."

Luke was tired. He was fucking exhausted, having been dealing with the after affects of the war for the past twelve months, having gone through countless therapy sessions, countless funerals and countless nightmares. Luke had lost his parents in the war, Luke had lost some friends in the war, and Luke had lost himself among the cruelty, and he knew that he had to find himself this year, and maybe revise where his loyalty lie, throw out his outdated prejudices and accept the wizarding world for what it was - accepting and beautiful. Taking a sip of juice with the thought, Luke's eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table, settling upon Elise Weasley, who had suffered the most in his eyes. She had suffered a massive loss with the death of Fred Weasley, and Luke wished, more than anything, that he could mourn with her. He had gone to the funeral, hidden out of sight and out of mind to pay his last respects to a name that was legendary within the castle. "This year is going to be absolute shit," Luke confirmed, looking away from Elise and settling his goblet down. "But we have to do this. We have each other, that's something, isn't it?"

Nerissa wasn't evil - no, she wasn't evil, she was a Slytherin, and everyone sorted into Slytherin was considered evil. Coming back to Hogwarts was just a way for Nerissa to prove to everyone that she wasn't bloody evil, she didn't kill anyone, she didn't use any unforgivable curses - which was more that could be said for some Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Scoffing with the thought, Nerissa neatened out her silver and green tie, listening to her friends with a sympathetic look towards the group. "We can't carry a negative mindset into this term, boys." Nerissa warned. "We've proved ourselves worthy, let them think what they want to." Nerissa took a sip of her pumpkin juice, and she wondered if Michael Clifford would consider her to be evil - she hoped he didn't, because just the thought hurt her. Michael was someone who was so eccentric, colourful, everything Nerissa wanted but couldn't have. "And besides..." Nerissa murmured. "It's a new beginning. For everyone."

Ashton made a noise of surprise as he felt someone shove past him, and as his gaze fell onto Honoria Quincy, Ashton exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "It's lovely to see you too, Honoria." Ashton murmured miserably, dark circles beneath his eyes prominent against pale skin and sandy curls untamed. The war had taken it's toll on Ashton, more than he cared to admit. He'd killed, he'd tortured, and he'd been tortured in return, but barely managed to avoid each avada kedavra thrown at him. Exhaling heavily, Ashton looked to Honoria once more, knowing he was still hopelessly in love with her, despite knowing that she would never love him in return. Deciding to skip sitting at the Hufflepuff table, Ashton went to where Elise was sat, sitting on the other side of her. "Oi, oi, you two." He greeted Elise and Michael with a weak smile, wrapping an arm around Elise for comfort, knowing that losing Fred had taken a big toll on the Weasley family. This year had to be about healing, rebuilding the greatness that Hogwarts once had. Resting his head on Elise's shoulder, Ashton exhaled, his eyes still finding Honoria.

Isadora tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she looked over her shoulder to the crowd of students, reluctantly returning for a brand new academic year. The evil had been destroyed, but normality was still a long way from reality, and Isadora was almost certain that coming back was a mistake. She'd barely had time to mourn for her brother or father it seemed, but finishing her education was important to her chances of finding a job in the wizarding world. Toying with her lip nervously, Isadora smoothed out her skirt before heading to the Ravenclaw table, and Isadora wondered... glancing over to the Slytherin table, Isadora searched for a familiar face, and she felt her cheeks tint red when she found him - Calum Hood. She had wondered all summer if he would return. Before the war, the pair hadn't seen eye to eye, but something within Isadora had changed over the summer, her opinion of Calum had changed, and she could finally realise the difficult truth: she loved the boy more than anything in the world. Offering Calum a weak smile, Isadora tucked her wand into her sleeve, taking her seat at the Ravenclaw table and waiting patiently for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.

Harry kept his hands stuffed into the pocket of his trousers because Septembers in the Scottish highlands were always so bloody cold. He almost had to beg his Mother to allow him to board the Hogwarts Express this year, and although he understood her reluctance, she slackened her grip when Harry reminded her that he could fend for himself, and that had been proven during the war - after all, his mother was a muggle, and he fought for her safety, for the safety of his friends and for the promise of equality for all witches and wizards, despite their blood status; the scar down his side was the proof he'd fought as hard as he could. Smiling softly with the thought, Harry decided quietly that it was good to be reunited with Hogwarts Castle, and this would be a good year for himself and his friends, he would make sure of it. Being pulled from his thoughts, literally, by Rosabel Eldred, Harry made a noise of surprise. "Bloody hell, Rosabel, you scared me!" Harry called to the beautiful Slytherin, glad to see that she was safe and, well, alive. Harry had always harboured a crush towards her, but he knew that he was fool's gold and she was the purest diamond, way out of his league. Grinning with the thought, Harry watched the girl make her way to the Slytherin table, deciding that maybe, Rosabel would be his next big challenge.

Orla was unsure if returning to Hogwarts was a good decision, and she was certain a lot of students felt the same way. Some had lost families, others had lost friends and homes and the idea that Hogwarts was ever safe, and that was a tremendous loss to the wizarding community - still, Orla's grandmother had promised her that she had gotten through the worst of it, and finishing her education was the biggest accomplishment and the best revenge of them all. Neatening out her cardigan and yellow and black tie with the thought, Orla walked into the Great Hall with a small smile, because really, Hogwarts had always felt like home, despite it all; and with that particular thought, Louis Tomlinson crossed Orla's mind. He was a Slytherin, and despite the reputation the house of the serpent held, Orla could never believe it, because there was good inside everyone. Looking to the Slytherin table with hope that Louis had returned too, Orla smiled when she found the blue eyed boy was right there, shining amongst his friends. Coming back was worth it.

Elise looked over when Ashton joined them and she offered a weak smile to him when he wrapped his arm around her. “Hey, Ash,” she greeted quietly, nudging him gently, trying to seem positive for the school year though she was sure it wasn’t very convincing. Still, her eyes wandered over to Luke for a moment and she wondered, idly, whether all of this had affected the Slytherins the same way it had affected everybody else. The Slytherins had lost people, too, and she knew his parents had died in the war and she wondered if he was as broken by that as she was by Fred’s death. Swallowing with the thought, she looked back to Ashton and Michael, focusing on them. “Are you two looking forward to the year?”

Michael watched his friends, concerned. He knew they’d all gone through their fair share of turmoil, and he hated that they’d all experienced pain in ways they shouldn’t have ever had to. It wasn’t fair to any of them; the war took people from them, scarred them for life, and he was sure none of them would be able to forget it. It was sure to leave a permanent scar on all of them, in some way. “We can make it through the year,” he promised, offering a smile to his friends, hopeful that maybe if he tried to be optimistic, the others would follow his lead. At the very least, they weren’t alone. They had each other, and he hoped that meant they could all get through all of this together, no matter what the school year threw at them. “As ready as I can be.” Really, though, he wasn’t ready at all.

Honoria paused only for a moment when she heard Ashton’s words, his miserable tone, and she forced herself not to look at him, did her best to keep her walls up. Straightening, she held her head high in an attempt to remind herself who she was, and she sat down with her friends at the Slytherin table, listening to them quietly, intently. She sighed quietly. “Yeah, we have each other,” she agreed quietly, but she shook her head slightly. “It being a new beginning doesn’t mean it will be a good one.” After all, she knew that there was a chance nobody’s opinion of them would change. Her eyes peered over to Ashton for a moment with the thought, and she wished more than anything that he would see her in a new light, but she was certain it wouldn’t happen.

Calum looked over at his friends, just for a moment, before his attention wandered to Isadora for a few moments, taking her in, admiring her, wishing that he could figure out what was going on inside her mind. He wished, more than anything, that something within her had noticed how much the Slytherins had changed. Or that she had noticed that the Slytherins weren’t what everybody thought they were in the first place. Breaking himself from his thoughts, he turned his attention to his friends, focusing on them, on what they were saying. “Maybe we should just talk about something else,” he suggested after a moment, lifting his shoulders in a shrug, “I don’t think talking about any of this is really going to help any of us. We need something else to focus on, to talk about, to think about.”

Rosabel couldn’t help but glare at Harry when she heard his words, her usual kindness shaken away because of how she and the rest of the Slytherins were treated during the war. “Hardly,” she muttered as she looked around at her friends, annoyed. “What else are we supposed to talk about?” She looked to the others, sighing as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, frowning to herself. Her gaze went towards Harry for a moment but she tried not to think about him much and tried not to get distracted by him, no matter how easy it was. She couldn’t help but admire him for a moment, though, before she tore her gaze away.

Louis watched Orla from where he was, unable to help but admire her, taking her in fully, just wanting to enjoy the sight of her while he could, before the school year started and he didn’t get to watch her as easily. Shaking his head to force the thoughts away, he looked over to his friends, watching them as they listened. “Well, what classes are we all going to be taking?” he asked easily, figuring he might as well try to contribute, try to keep his focus somewhere else besides where he wanted to focus his attention overall, on Orla. “Or we could talk about something different.” He shrugged, unsure, because there weren’t many options for them to talk about without it eventually turning back around to the issues they were trying to avoid.