#but regardless I highly doubt it would be Sera’s doing

[zootopiathingz]

Genuinely kinda upset that people keeping saying that Emily is going to fall and that Sera is going to be the one to cast her out. Like NOOO?!?! Sera loves Emily to bits and she makes it very clear that she is terrified of the thought of anything bad happening to her. She literally says herself “I couldn’t bare to see you suffer that fate”

If anything, Sera would defend the shit out of her if there were to be a situation where the angelic council considered casting Emily out—which, why would they? Sinners can be redeemed, this has been proven now! So why would they cast her out for defending them when they now have living(?) evidence that damned souls can be redeemed into heaven?

[heartslogos]

newfragile yellows [165]

“It’s bad,“ Maxwell says as soon as he’s inside the Room of Requirement.

“How bad is bad?” Ellana asks, staring at the enchanted map Sera had let her borrow to make sure no one else is coming towards them.

The Room of Requirement should keep them safe, and she’s never been more grateful for its existence and for the fact that she and her brother accidentally found it two years ago.

“My parents sent me a howler,” Kaaras says, lying face down on an incredibly outdated sofa covered in truly horrendous paisley. It might have once belonged in a Ravenclaw common room based on the abundance of blue.

“Head Mistress Vivienne gave me a very stern talking to,” Maxwell says, throwing himself down onto the fainting couch next to Kaaras. He’s thrown an arm over his face, “She thinks I’ll throw the games for you. How did we not catch someone spying on us?”

“Someone must have planted something prior,” Ellana says. Mahanon had also sent her a howler, but he wasn’t really scolding her so much as he was going through the motions of pretending to care. Most of the howler was basically him telling her that he’s expecting at least Exceeds Expectations on all of her end of term exams, regardless of whether she’s participating in the child-killing games and involved with two boys at once. “Or maybe it was someone playing foul and using magic that wasn’t supposed to be used.”

Maxwell and Kaaras both groan like little babies.

“Headmistress Wynne also gave me a talking to, you know,” Ellana says, drawing their attention. “But mostly she was concerned that maybe I was in over my head with two boyfriends at once when I’ve never even had one before. She gave me some very good advice. I told her, of course, that it isn’t like that and she believes me but I think the advice is very valuable regardless. She’s a very nice woman, you know. She’s like - absolutely terrifying if you’re on the other end of one of her wand, but a very nice woman. She’s a former Hufflepuff, you know. She likes to set badgers loose on people who annoy her. She’s got two in the headmasters office. Taxidermied ones that’ve been enchanted to move at her command. One is named Sprinkles and the other is named Toffee.”

“And you know this because?”

“Because we have tea,” Ellana says, “Usually once a month. When I get caught. Or someone thinks that they’ve caught me. Or when someone tries to frame me for something. Lately we’ve been talking about what I should do after I graduate. My brother went into creature rescue and conservation but I’m not sure if I’m up to it, honestly. I think I want to be a curse breaker.”

“You’d make a very good one,” Kaaras offers, lifting his head a little to look at her, “My sister is a curse breaker, do you want me to get you an apprenticeship?”

Maxwell pulls a shrunken newspaper out of the pocket of his robes, tapping his wand against it to return it to its normal size.

“Can we focus to the matter at hand of how someone managed to get a picture of us drunk on the Saturnalia ball and kissing each other like sleepy kittens?” Maxwell says, waving the paper about.

“That should resolve itself, right?” Kaaras asks the room in general, rolling over onto his back so they can hear him clearly. “I mean. We were drunk. We shouldn’t have been, but we were. Who doesn’t sneak alcohol in? And drunk people sometimes get handsy. And also we’re teenagers. This shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Intraschool fraternization between the school champions is probably prohibited somewhere,” Maxwell says, glumly tossing the newspaper onto the floor between the three of them. “My cousin was giving me the most disappointed look.”

“That’s unfair of her, we got her a date with Rutherford,” Ellana says.

“Oh, no, it’s not that. She was disappointed I didn’t tell her that I was in a three way,” Maxwell replies. “Also she’s very concerned for our emotional stability and if this is a good thing for us. I think she thinks that we’re together because we’re terrified of dying in these games and it’s forced us to bond in an unusual manner. I mean, she isn’t wrong, but we veered a touch more towards if we don’t die and also don’t find people to spend the rest of our lives with we’ll all share a house equidistant from all of our origin points and get twenty cats.”

“I thought we agreed on birds?” Kaaras says.

“I thought we agreed to split the difference with a griffon,” Ellana says and then freezes when she glances down at the map. “Guys.”

“What?”

“Someone is coming to the Room of Requirements,” Ellana says, sitting up and brandishing the map at the other two.

They both scramble to her to read the name.

“Are those the aurors?” Maxwell says, swallowing loudly, “Maker’s ass and tits, they’ve sent the scouts to give us a talking to. This is absolutely bloody ridiculous. It’s as if no one’s ever known teenagers to do a bit of necking about the holidays when alcohol is present.”

Kaaras makes a sound like he’s dying.

Ellana’s skin feels cold and hot at the same time.

“But Pentaghast and the Iron Bull aren’t Hogwarts alumni, they wouldn’t know how to get here,” Kaaras says, voice cracking and sounding incredibly high pitched.

“Yes, but they aren’t the only auror scouts the Ministry sent,” Maxwell says, “Remember? I saw Hawke in the stands for the second trial. And all four of the Hawke siblings graduated from Hogwarts. If there’s anyone who would’ve found the Room of Requirements it would be the Hawke siblings.”

“Right you are, Trevelyan.”

The three of them jump, wands out and ready as Ellana quickly stuffs the map into her pocket.

Garrett Hawke is standing right where the door would be if it hadn’t melted closed already, and behind him stand Cassandra Pentaghast and the Iron Bull.

Hawke looks delighted to have found them. Pentaghast looks incredibly cross. The Iron Bull looks indifferent.

Ellana has never felt more alive in her life.

“Hi,” Ellana says. Garrett and Marian Hawke were both Gryffindors, but two of their best friends were Slytherin so she’s pretty sure Hawke’s delight is not about tormenting an underclassmen from a rival house.

Ellana looks at her boys who look frozen to the spot, and then she looks at the aurors.

And then, because she wasn’t kidding about Slytherins bonding for life, she marches straight up to Hawke, thrusts her hand out and says, “Well. Hello, Hawke. Heard so much about you. You know, if you were watching this entire time you could’ve given me some hints. Those two’ve been getting cheats from everyone and it’s just me all by my lonesome. Also, you should learn to knock first. For all you know we could’ve been - “

Ellana turns and accio’s the newspaper and scans it -

“Engaging in truly immoral debauchery reflecting poorly upon the disciplines of our schools and our own moral character,” Ellana reads outloud.

Hawke’s hand is warm and dry when it takes hers, shaking firmly, “You are entirely right about the first part in that I should have definitely helped you to cheat. Second, I highly doubt I’d have walked in on the second part because anyone with eyes could see that the newspaper totally missed the mark on friendship and school unity which is basically the point of the games.”

Hawke beams, “I like you. Has anyone scouted you yet?”

“Move,” Pentaghast says, stalking past Hawke and straight at Maxwell who looks like either the divine light of transcendence or the rapture is upon him.

Ellana flashes him a thumbs up and he squeaks as Cassandra takes his shoulder and starts moving him away for a word.

The Iron Bull sighs, shrugs, and gestures for Kaaras to follow him to another part of the room.

“That ass, right?” Hawke says once the Iron Bull is safely out of earshot and can’t hear Ellana humming in agreement.

“I was thinking that back, but I guess he’s got a nice butt, too,” Ellana says, “Looks good for sitting down and wearing pants. I don’t know what having a nice butt entails. Who sent you to lecture me?”

“Does it matter as long as I don’t?”

“Of course it matters,” Ellana says, affronted, “I have to make sure it gets back to them that I know.”

Hawke laughs, roughly pulling her in and ruffling her hair, “So Slytherin! I love it! Come on, kid. Let’s talk about how to deal with the press and figure out some strategies for the final trial. If I help you enough will it give me enough points that you’d consider coming onto my team as an apprentice instead of the Iron Bull’s? I don’t have an ass like that, but I am definitely some sort of ass. Failing that, there’s Carver.”