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[Professor Penvellyn]

Another morning dawned somewhat dreary but early as ever, few habitants of the castle were accustomed to rising with the sun, but one who had practiced the act for many a year was one Professor Penvellyn, who had been up for two hours already and was making her way down to breakfast. Though most were hungry when they first awoke, Eleanor had trained herself to put off calling for food so that she could eat with the rest of the staff and all of the students. At present, she was sitting at the high table, sipping a hot cup of breakfast tea with a fresh pastry resting on her plate.

The older woman’s hand automatically moved to a shielding position over her meal as the familiar flutter of wings announced the incoming owl post. It was rare that a staff member received post, however it was much better to be safe than sorry. Besides, daily two or three owls brought The Daily Prophet - it was unnecessary for each of the adults to order one as they all chose to read it. One owl landed before Eleanor and she reached forward, unlatched the paper from the owl’s leg, and placed the payment in the leather pouch tied to the other leg.

Eleanor wasn’t usually one to read the paper first, preferring to allow the others read the columns before they ran off to their lessons, however the title across the front page was too eye catching to let her pass it on before skimming the words.



At the very least no one Eleanor knew was likely to be affected – most of them were sitting here in this very hall or were residing in foreign countries. She placed the paper down on her right for the next reader. She took up her tea and observed the students. Certainly many of them would be worried, she chose to look composed in response to the event.

[Professor Denman]

Mornings has improved tenfold since the forever plagued by pain professor had charmed an old rug into flying. Some would call it overkill to bewitch a throne so it would be feather weight, and carried by the small flying rug as well but Harvey looked eagerly at the high backed chair where Rhodri usually sat as he zoomed into the great hall. One day....

Certainly not today, the old man realized as he picked up on the somewhat subdued atmosphere in the usually rowdy Great Hall. Zooming behind his own chair, the stepped off his vehicle with a grace that had certainly not manifested his first dismounting and took the seat next to Eleanor.

"Something going..." his eye fell on the Daily Prophet, lying invitingly next to her. "Yes, I guess that would explain," he mumbled as the word smallpox registered in his brain. A pained expression fluttered over the old face. Smallpox was deadly, and it wasn't the first time an epidemic had hit the country and its wizarding inhabitants hard. He remembered vividly how one of his first classes when he was still a young lad and had just ventured into teaching muggle children, had decimated after a similar outbreak.

The old man didn't pick up the Daily Prophet to read more, it wasn't needed. After filling his cup, he promptly planted the tea pot right  on top of it to hide the offending header from view. The disaster could wait until he had eased his rumbling stomach.




((ooc: students don't hesitate to post, this is not a prof-only thread! Please just don't assume anything that's not written by professors though.))

[James Mallory]

Sitting at the Slytherin table Orion glanced idly at the Prophet. He liked to keep up with the news, it was yet another habit his father had installed into him. Orion's father was a firm believer that he who was up with the news was ahead of the game. Since starting at Hogwarts Orion had realised that it was also necessary if one wished to seperate the facts from the sea of rumours that pervaded the castle.

The young Slytherin was not unduly perturbed by the news. Most of these epidemics killed poor muggles and not many other people and poor muggles were of little value. Although of course if things got really bad the ports would close which would be bad for business. And if many poor muggles died the cost of labour would rise. On the other hand there was sure to be high demand for medical care and that was definitely good for people who supplied apothecaries.

Shrugging unconcernedly Orion turned to the next story, aware of a housemate reading over his shoulder

[Adrian MacDermott]

Having woken surprisingly early that morning Adrian felt a deep rumble in his stomach. After getting up and dressing as quietly as possible (as to not wake his fellow Slytherins)he made his way down the stairs to the Common room where the only real light was coming from the fire in the grate. Shivering slightly he pulled his robes tighter around him and made hnis way up to the great hall.

Once in the normally cheerful hall he realized that things were far to quiet for everything to be normal. Glancing up at the staff table he saw Professors Penvellyn and Denman sitting and looking at something laying on the table before them. The Slytherin made his way over to his house table where he picked out one student who seemed to be reading the Daily Prophet with rapt attention. Standing behind the first year he knew was called Orion though they hadn't actually been introduced, he was reading the paper over the boys shoulder and he could feel the worry build up inside him. Upon finishing up reading Adrian sat down next to the boy. "So what do you make of it? Think we will get hit here at Hogwarts?" He had tried to keep the worry out of his voice but something told him he had failed.

[Ellenore Clark]

Ellen slid next to a few other Slytherins. When she caught sight of the Daily Prophet, she read it immediatly. Smallpox! Amazing, new ailments that aren't magical.
"Ooh. Smallpox. I wonder if it shrinks you small? If it does, better do what it says and hide!" She joked, but deep inside, she was worried and rethought her plans this Christmas.

[Cecile Bloch]

Unlike her sister who couldn't care less if savages from the South Pacific invaded England with talking pigs, Cecile cared about what was going on and actually read the newspaper. Or most of it. Sometimes she got horribly bored and just browsed it, but her father was more than happy that one of them was interested and had the Daily Prophet sent to her.

Waiting for her owl, Cecile was busy gobbling down eggs and sausage, with little regard to rules of polite society that would say how much she ought to eat. She was using utensils and had a napkin in her lap which seemed more than good enough to her. As she finished off her first plate the owl with her paper arrived and after giving it its money she looked down and gaped at the headline.

She couldn't remember a small pox outbreak, but she had seen people with pox scars. She looked up and down the table as her housemates started reading the news themselves. What about her family? They were stuck in London and people always got sick in cities. She clutched the paper tightly in her right hand and shoved her plate away feeling sick.

[Cerridwyn Glynn]

Cerri had made it to breakfast.  Her light brown hair was shining in the morning hallway light, although most of it would be gone by noon in this gloomy winter.  She had best enjoy the white light as long as she could.  She had stopped briefly to stare out one of the windows before making it into the Great Hall and taking a seat.  That's when she noticed the number of owls carrying post.  It was odd that so many letters were arriving this early.  A confused stare glazed over her face to see if she recognized any of the owls as hers or maybe a piece of mail would be for her.  Things have been silent lately.  It would be nice if her Da sent a letter now and then.  She knew she was in her second year and things were well, but why would her parents forget about her now that Maddock was here and being a bully.  Would this be what the rest of her years would be like when her other sisters came to school?  Would Da forget about her completely in the coming years?  

These were not pleasant thoughts to be concerned with.  It would be best to go sit down at her table, eat breakfast and enjoy in everyone else's letters.  As she sat, the morning food arrived with it's normal magical House Elf sprinkle of glitter.  Owls were beginning to fly in through the windows and drop off letters to others.  Just as she was taking the first bit of cheesed eggs from her plate, a package arrived for her.  The brown box slammed to the table with a loud thud and her plate bounced once before landed back to the solid wood, the box had landed so close.  The label had her name on it and as she read it she grinned with delight.  Maybe it was a care package from home?  Her eyes twinkled.

Opening it quickly, she saw a replacement set of shoes.  She was so excited by this that she took them out immediately to get a closer look.  They were black leather with buttons along the side.  Digging back through the box, she didn't find anything else.  Slowly her grin slipped away as she realized there wasn't a letter or message...not even a note.  It was just the shoes.  As soon as the excitement arrived it fleeted away.  Apparently she wasn't worth a message from home, just the supplies she had asked for several weeks ago.

Others at her table were getting letters and News from home.  She tried to join in in the laughs and smiles, but hers didn't last very long.  Someone else nearby was reading a Daily Profit and the headlines said something bold and large about a pox around the land.  It didn't take long before news was traveling to the far end of the table.
"What's smallpox?"  She asked trying to understand how bad this pox was.  Was it just a small pox as the name suggessted or was it a plague?  In all honesty, it wasn't that long ago that the Black Plague swept through, it could be coming back.

[James Mallory]

Orion looked thoughtfully at the boy who he thought was a second year. "Probably won't come to much" he said cheerfully. "Not to bother us anyway, it'll kill a few poor muggles in the big cities and that'll be it I reckon". Orion poured himself another cup of tea and stirred in milk and sugar. He just didn't see this as something worth getting worked up about, although apparently other people did.

Some people however apparently either knew less than nothing or thought it was funny. Generally Orion would have ignored such idiots but that was hard to do when they were in your year, your house and practically sitting next to you. He shoved the newspaper at Ellenore. "Actually it kills people. So hiding might be a good plan".


((Nothing personal, Orion thinks a lot of people are idiots))

[Veris Roseblood]

"Hogwarts may have boundaries against muggles, but I doubt it has them against diseases." said a female voice behind a newspaper. Veris folded up the article, and placed it on the table. She rested her elbows on the paper, her head in her hands. 

"Anything can happen. Don't doubt the possibility of it's arrival."

Veris wasn't really sure of what to make of the disease. She and her father had battled trough harsh winers with no fire, and scorching summers with no water. They had fought off fever and other sicknesses. But Veris was sure that she had never seen or dealt with a disease such as smallpox.

The only thing she could really make out of it, was with a disease, you needed medicine. With medicine, you needed an apothecary. Maybe, just maybe, this whole epidemic would improve her father's business. Veris' cold, olive eyes flickered back down to the article. Or maybe it would kill him, and she'd be sent away to live with her mother. She grimaced, and shoved the paper aside. That was the last thing Veris needed. A trip to her mother's. To a mother, who never wanted her.

Veris blinked, and looked around the table. Ellenore was laughing about the disease. Orion he's reprimanding her. Others at the table looked dead serious and worried. A few had the expression that claimed they didn't care what happened. That they assumed they were safe at Hogwarts. Veris shook her head, and took a swig from her glass. It was better to be safe than sorry. Veris didn't know what to do. Hopefully, the disease would destroy the muggle part of London, and leave the wizarding world alone. What was so bad with one less muggle family? 

Better them than us... Veris mused. Immeadiatly she regretted it, but it was the truth after all.

[Maddock Glynn]

Maddock walked into the Great hall and found an empty seat at the Slytherin Table.  Breakfast was always the most important meal of the day and this guy wasn't about to miss it.  Taking his place at the Firstyears end of the table, the boy sat down readily for his food to arrive.
"Hello everyone.  How's your morning this far?"  He asked to everyone in earshot.  As he looked around he realized everyone was all in a tizzy over the Morning Profit.  Something about a sickness breaking out in the great kingdom he lived.  Some were laughing about it and others were defensive.  He wasn't sure how he needed to react.  To be honest in Maddy's little world all his own, it made no difference to him.  People were always getting sick with disease or plagued by rats or something.  It was always something.  It didn't seem like that big a deal for him, but sickness was always an issue so he thought he shouldn't make light of it, in case someone else nearby was affected by it.  You never knew here.

So as he waited for breakfast to arrive, and owl dropped him two letters.  One looked normal, a piece of light brown parchment folded over.  But the second one looked omnious and menacing like it had a life of its own and quite unhappy it had spent the morning in an owl's beak.  Once released, it fell to the table's top wriggiling like it was trying to free itself.  Maddock picked it up and its dark red color reflected the Hall's ceiling brightness back onto his own hand.  Instantly his face changed from excited and ready for the day to bothered.  The letter's folds were in just the right place to form a little mouth.  That's when Maddy realized what he had in his hand.

"Maddock Meritas Glynn.  I am quite disappointed with you."  The letter began to howl, bouncing back and forth like his mother would have if she was present.  The boy's mind raced.  Instantly he tried to hide the letter under a plate to try and quiet it down.   He didn't need everyone knowing his business with his mother.  
"Maddock, don't you dare put me under tha-jkdlf ASKJLH kjshldf  lkserb,m  ,bculc sjdhf..."  The voice in the letter was unmistakably his mothers and although muffled and quieter it was still audible as the plate bounced up and down with the magic parchment's will.  Finally it freed itself from the makeshift prison.
"We received a letter from your school.  How could you possibly think that casting a stun spell at a teacher was not going to get noticed by everyone.  You are very lucky you have your father on your defense.  Would it not be for him, you would have been removed from Hogwart's and placed in a Royal Academy."  Maddock was frozen, shocked that his mother ould think it entirely appropriate to chastize him in such a public way.
"We have enough to deal with right now, with your sister being sick and you want to go being....other......to.....why?"  Maddock rather lost focus and stopped listening to the letter.  His sister was sick?  That few set of words that he was certain his mother didn't really want to say in such a public fashion, as now heard by everyone around him.  Sick?  Maybe she just had a cold.  Yes, or the measles.  He really had no idea what the sickness was but he didn't want to really find out either with the Profit going around.  

As he had stopped listening to the letter it eventually ripped itself up in a ferocious display of his mum's emotions.  Maddock could just imagine who had heard the letter explain everything his mother had to say to him, as the room had quieted immensely to its normal roar.  He left the letter's pieces right where it was.  And since having the last letter read aloud, he opted to place the other inside his book.  Now was not the time to read the other, especially since it had Cerri's name on it aswell.  Funny.  Cerri was the oldest, but he was the boy.  He wasn't sure who the letter should be sent to, but if the owls dropped it with him, then obviously, he had more clout in his parents eyes as the boy than Cerri had as the oldest.  That made him feel a little better.
"Sorry about that.  Cheesy eggs anyone?"  He held his hands out impatiently ready for the food to arrive.  When it did he took the first forkfull of food and ate it with a hearty disposition.

[Ellenore Clark]

Ellen scowled at Orion. "Nuh uh. Didn't know that! Thank you Dr. Whatsyourface. "She said rudely. She peered around the table. When she realized Maddock had gotten a Howler, she immediatly leaped up and walked down the table.
"You stunned a teacher?!? Nice. I wish I could do that." She said, without waiting for a response, she walked down back to her seat. Ellen picked a piece of bacon from a plate and ate it slowly.
Jasper, her large eagle owl swept down and lightly dropped a small box with two pieces of parchment tied to the top. She opened them. The top note had the small hand writing of her mother,
Dear Ellen,
Merry almost Christmas! You are staying there I hope. We will send you something soon for the Holidays!
I do hope you have heard of the smallpox by now. Knowing you, you were laughing about it just a minute ago. Well anyways, I am writing you to tell you that William is sick. I'd rather not tell you with what, for you probably already know. Father and I will try to keep him safe, but he may not come to Hogwarts next year, or be here when you come home.
You know there was nothing William wanted more than to visit Hogwarts, so I do hope you could send him something in the next few days. Don't worry though!
Love,
Mother and Father. Ellen gasped. She already knew what William had. Smallpox. She looked down at her feet sadly.
She almost forgot the other note and box. She opened the next one.
To Ellie:
I really really miss you! Hope to see you soon! Momma told me to write you a letter. I do know why. I knew why before she did. I have smallpox. I don't like it and I can't leave bed. Momma and Daddy say that I'll get better, but I don't believe them. Smallpox isn't nice. It's not like the flu or anything I've had before. I'm afraid Ellie. But don't worry! Momma's a good healer and wil fix me up before you know it! I'll join you at Hogwarts next year for sure! What's it like there? Tell me and send me stuff really soon please!
I love you!
Will
Ellen rested her face in her hands, forgetting about the box. She sighed loudly.
"Why? Why does this have to happen to Will? If anyone, it should happen to me." She said. "It's not like anyone would care." She added.

Edited by Ellenore Clark, 23 March 2011 - 02:02 PM.

[Orion Gray]

Ori came down to breakfast that morning feeling quite cheerful. Christmas was fast approaching, and although he loved school and most of his classes, the prospect of time off made him feel a little giddy. He wasn't one of those students who left his assignments till the last minute, so he was caught up on all his classwork, and he would do whatever break work was assigned as quickly as possible. That meant he would have plenty of time to relax, whether he was at home with his family, or if he possibly stayed here, with his friends. He idly wondered what everyone else was planning, and if he went home, whether his family would celebrate his return. He doubted that would happen; his mother and father did have to work after all. Christmas would be fun either way he felt.

He slid onto the long bench across from Cerri, and gave her a cheerful, "Good morning." He greeted the other housemates he knew were seated nearby, before picking up his plate and taking his usual morning eggs, toast, fruit, and some sausage. The food was always excellent here at Hogwarts, so you couldn't really go wrong even with the most basic of meals. He was halfway through buttering his first toast, and chewing on a mouthful of eggs when he realized that the normal cheerful attitude of the hall seemed oddly subdued. He glanced up, and noticed that the owls were arriving. He shrugged figuring that if there was some news, he would hear about it sooner rather than later.

He had just watched an owl deposit a heavy package in front of Cerri and was about to ask what it was, when, unexpectedly, an owl came down in front of him, a letter in its beak. He frowned; this was extremely strange. He usually exchanged letters with his parents on a monthly basis, because his family didn't own an owl, and so had to go out of their way to send letters. So, this news was either incredibly good or terrifying bad for his family to have sent an owl. And if it was good, it surely could have waited until he arrived home. With a sinking heart, Ori reached out and took the letter.

Dear Ori,

We don't know if you've heard yet, since Hogwarts can be so isolated, but there is currently an epidemic of smallpox running through the country. It has already hit London, and there have been several cases in the neighborhood. No one in the family is sick yet, thankfully, but we are concerned for all of our safety. We believe it is best for you to remain at Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays. Although we were looking forward to see one another, your safety is always more important to us, and until this disease has been contained, we wish for you to stay healthy.

We send all of our love and best wishes from home, and we hope that you love school and are making friends. We haven't received anything but good news from you, and we pray that everything continues to be fine on your end. Please write back to us soon.

With all love,
Mother, Father, & Catherine.

With a growing sense of dread, Ori read the letter. He was extremely relieved that no one in his family had taken ill yet, but he knew how fast a disease like smallpox spreads. And his mother had already lost two children in infancy; another death in the family would break everyone's heart. He quickly pulled out his quill, inkpot, and parchment, which he kept handy at all times, and scrawled a quick note. "I am fine and nothing new has come up since my last letter. I am praying that no one becomes sick. Love Ori. He addressed it, and gave it to the owl, knowing it would return to his family. With a flapping of wings, it took off, and flew out a nearby window.

At least now he knew why everyone was so upset; smallpox was a serious matter. He was about to turn to Cerri to see if she knew any news from home, when suddenly a huge booming female voice echoed through the hall. He craned his neck, and saw with some amusement that Maddock Glynn was receiving a tongue-lashing from a Howler that could only be from his mother. He heard with some glee that Professor Penvellyn had sent a letter home to the boy's parents; he deserved it. However his joy quickly turned to dread. Cerri was sick? How could that be. He turned, wide-eyed and said, "Cerri what's wrong? Why didn't you tell anyone?" He felt sick to his stomach-Cerri couldn't be sick, she just couldn't be!

[Daniella Cruz]

Unlike Cecile, Genevieve didn't bother with the paper. She assumed if it was important enough for her to know about it, someone would tell her. Gryffindors were notoriously chatty, they couldn't help but to share rumors and stories so she didn't much worry. Or care. Above all she didn't really care. She did worry about her oldest brother off in the British Navy, but that was rather detached from knowing if their was a war. She was of course twelve with more important thing to think about, like obtaining a pet niffler.

Munching on her toast covered in far too much jelly, it took her a few moments to notice the mood of the crowd quickly shift. What on earth was going on? Mid year exams were coming yes, but they weren't that bad.  She heaved a sigh and debated looking for someone with a paper. That seemed like an awful lot of work for quite a little bit of reward though. She would find out sooner or later. She turned her attention back to more interesting things. Like toast.

[Cerridwyn Glynn]

Cerri had her new shoes.  As close as it was to Holiday break, she seemed convinced this was the only Christmas present she was going to get, unless there were more at home under the tree.  It wasn't a huge ordeal.  It just meant  that she had new shoes that wold fair much better in the snow than her old ones.  But that didn't hold a candle to the present Maddy had gotten from their Mum.  It was normal for Maddy to get a reprimand for something he did.  It had happened for years and mostly because her brother liked to do things he thought was fun but anyone else in the world looked at as just stupid, much like his most recent endeaver.  There was one time that Maddy was caught burning ants and other insects with the fireplace spell that Da had taught for use with the fireplace only.  It was just one more reason for him to acquire attention.  Cerri shook her head as Maddy's yelling letter reiterated the same things mother had been saying for years, although they were only words.  Her mother never once did anything she threatened.  Something told Cerri that this was just another public display to knock her brother's arrogance down a peg or two.  Sometimes Cerri thought that her mother rather enjoyed that idea, she did it so often.

But as the letter reached it's climax, Cerri heard her mother's voice say something about her sister.  She knew the letter wasn't talking about her.  Cerri felt in the prime of her health.  She had two younger sisters.  Were one of them sick?  Now Cerri felt sick to her stomach.  To hear her mother's voice say it in such a foul temper, she knew it was something serious.  Now she was going to feel horrible if the sick sister was Roslyn, the leader of her imaginary villains.  That was about the time Ori seemed curious about what her public brother's letter had said.  

As Ori asked her questions about what he had heard Cerri towards him almost horrified and shocked.  
"I......I didn't...know.  I...haven't heard anything about it."  She looked down to her breakfast and suddenly wasn't hungry anymore.  
"Excuse me."  After excusing herself from the table she stood and with purpose walked the distance to the Slytherin table to talk to Maddock.

There was a whispered heated debate between the two that ended with Maddy rolling his eyes and eventually handing Cerri the letter from their parents that even he hadn't read yet.  She opened the letter at the Slytherin table, while she stood there.  Reading it's brief but pointient message, color drained in her face and a grimace fell over her before she dropped the letter back in Maddock's hands.
"We're not going home for Holiday.  Make your proper plans with your Head of House.  Our home is in quarantine."  Bothered significantly, Cerri turned to leave the Great Hall.

[Veris Roseblood]

Veris jumped as a booming voice escaped from Maddock's letter. She dropped her glass, and the tablecloth was stained orange by juice. Biting her lip, Veris quickly tried to mop up the mess with her napkin, while trying hard not to listen to what had to be, Mrs. Glynn's shouting. But despite her efforts to think about something else, it was hard to ignore a howler. Veris had heard of them before.

Veris smirked as Maddock tried and failed to restrain the letter under a plate. It freed itself, and went off about how Maddock had fired a spell at his teacher. Oh. That's what this was about then. That horrid Defensive Class. Thinking back to it, Veris wondered if she had overreacted. Then again, Veris overreacted to everything. Anything could set her off. And spells being aimed toward her by a housemate? That was one of them.

Veris wet her lips. She watched as other student's gasped, jaw dropping as letters from home arrived. Maddock's sister, what was her name? It was far to long for Veris to remember, but she had heard others calling her Cerri. The Ravenclaw opened a letter at the Slytherin table, color draining from her face, a grimace lining her mouth. Veris' turned away, and began mopping up her juice once more.

A scraggly, old barn owl, fluttered it's way to Veris. Her green eyes grew as large as dinner plates. "Henry?" she breathed, and the bird dropped a yellow envelope on her lap. That was her father's owl. Any other day, with the odd terms she and her father were on, Verus would've wondered why in the name of magic, he sent her a letter. But today, she knew every adult would be sending a letter to their child. With shaking fingers, Veris opened the envelope. In her father's small, gentle handwriting, he wrote;

Veritas,
There's no time to write everything I want to, sweetheart. As you well know, my health isn't all what it used to be. Just like I predicted, the pox has reached me, and my darling, it takes a great toll. I spend time writing this, because I want you to know that whatever happens, you'll be safe and well taken care of. I am certain I can get through this. And I must. I must be able to run the store, or many will suffer, not just us. I know I told you to come back over Christmas, and we could discuss our differences and try to mend the open wounds I have brought to our family. But I cannot have you contaminated, my sweet child. Hogwarts is the safest place you could be at. Stay there.
Stay strong, my Slytherin Princess.
-Daniel Roseblood

The letter slipped from her fingertips, and Veris found herself staring at the wooden designs in the table. She remembered her father's cold strong voice as he argued with her. They argued much in the last year. She shouted at him, saying that she was glad to be leaving him alone.

She remembered screaming at him, tears running down her face. She remembered screaming, that she wouldn't have cared if he died.

It had been the last time they had spoken. She had boarded the express after that. She had not sent one letter to her father. He sent a few, but she never responded. And now, his kind words were consoling her, telling her it would be alright.

Veris shook her head slightly, and placed her head in her hands.

[Professor Llwellyn]

As the last of the owls swooped into the great hall the headmaster walked through the doors. In his hand he carried a bundle of papers, including the Daily Prophet. Anyone who looked at him would have seen that he looked tired and distinctly feverish. Professor Llwellyn sat down in his chair rather heavily and dumped the papers around his plate.

He pulled one of them out of the heap and read it through, as though for the tenth time, it was a letter from the school governors. He opened his mouth as if to speak but was suddenly siezed by a ferocious coughing fit. Gasping for breath, the headmaster coughed loudly into his handkerchief.

[Professor Denman]

As owls swept through the Great Hall, Harvey picked up toast and slathered it with rich creamy butter. With every owl landing, the mood amongst the usually rowdy students seemed to become quieter and quieter. He looked up just as Cerridwyn got up from the Ravenclaw table, no doubt on her way to her younger brother seated with the Slytherins. He had always pitied that he hadn't gotten the set of Glynns, until the stunning incident that was. He could do without a student losing his winning team house points.

Swallowing a bite of toast with a sip of tea, the old mans attention was drawn to the entrance of the Great Hall. Rhodri seemed to stagger in, his eyes displaying the typical unfocused gleam of the fevered. Were that beads of sweat on his head? What on earth is he doing? Harvey thought in dismay, shoving his seat several feet away to be sure he was spared any cough residue. Why, the infectious fool-born pillock, he would infect the entire school! "Honestly Rhodri, did you plan to headmaster a school of ghosts next?" he asked in disgust when the coughing had passed.

[James Mallory]

"Somebody might care" Orion told Ellenore through a mouth of sausage. This nugget of comfort dispensed, Orion returned to his normal habits of covertly watching his housemates to see what was going on. Some of them seemed oblivious to the epidemic, others were in a state of panic. Several had set off across the hall to talk to siblings in other houses. Orion himself was content to see how things developed, the boy could see no good in panicing - there was nothing he could do.

This rather changed when the visibly ill headmaster arrived. Supposing he had it? He looked awful. Orion turned pale and hastily pulled a pen and a piece of parchment out of his bag. "I don't think it's safe to stay here" he announced. "If it takes hold here we'll all get it. I shall go home to the country and stay out of the way til it's over. I'm not going to stay here and wait to die!"

The first year wrote a brief letter to this effect and turned to his owl which was nibbling at a piece of toast. "Straight home to father!" he commanded, slipping the letter onto the bird's leg.

[Cecile Bloch]

Cecile looked up to the owls hopefully. Maybe Thea would bring a letter from home saying everything was fine! She watched til the last owl had flown in and then after. 'Oh right, she's in the Owlery.' First order of business was to send a letter home then. It was plan or go into hysterics and if she was going to be hysterical she'd rather do it in privacy. The last thing she needed was a break down in front of the Slytherins.

She glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Genevieve was oblivious, figured. Still Cecile tried to wave her down. If she was going to be in a state of panic her sister could darn well get up and panic with her! She wrapped her arms around herself and glanced towards the door. There was probably time to run up, write a quick note and get back in time for class. If she was late she'd have to be late, some things were more important than class. Okay a lot of things were more important that class, hence the Hufflepuffyness instead of Ravenclawity.

As she was watching the doors Llwellyn entered, coughing. Cecile's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open before she proclaimed (rather loudly at that). "Oh my God! The headmaster must have smallpox! We're all going to die!"

[Alistair Bauldaugh]

Always up for conversation, it didn’t take Alistair long to overhear and get involved with the discussion headlining The Prophet this morning. Diseases were pretty common among muggles, but a cure was usually found by a practical medi-witch within a few months to a year. This smallpox thing was too new, or so Alistair supposed. That or it was a very vicious disease. Regardless, Alistair didn’t want anything to do with it.

More students than usual seemed to be receiving letters. As Alistair sipped his juice he could only imagine the relief and fear that would be gripping each one depending on what the words said. Strangely, Alistair felt calm. No news was good news, right? If his father had anything to report, he would have sent word. As there was no owl currently trying to steal his breakfast, the Huffle rested easy in his seat. It wasn’t until Cecile Bloch, a rather loud girl despite the influence of her sister who lacked much enthusiasm to say anything, proclaimed that the Headmaster had the disease that Alistair felt a pinch of nervousness.

The boy coughed as some of his toast got stuck in his throat, but he swallowed some juice so it didn’t look like he was suffering from an ailment as well. “That can’t be true, we’ve all been in the castle for months, we couldn’t have it.” The rational made sense, however Alistair was aware that simply because the students couldn’t leave didn’t mean that the adults couldn’t. He wondered what it would mean for them if everyone in this hall was now susceptible to the virus. He tried not to think of it. “It’s just a cold, most likely.” He tried to assure the girl and others sitting around her.