What is normal to the spider,
is chaos to the fly
or
In which Antares Kelly knew he would get tangled in the web of the Order of the Phoenix.
----------------
[THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX]
[BOOK ONE]
[MALE OC x UNDECIDED]
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The Turris Medius was nothing more than an abandoned relic. A forgotten, almost decrepit tower in the castle that no one bothered to visit. It had no classrooms, no serpentine corridors or secret passageways. What it did have, however, was a dusty parlour at the very top of the winding staircase.
Antique furniture graced the space, draped in moth-eaten velvet and brocade. A faded, threadbare rug covered the expanse of the floor. The stone walls had been adorned with tapestries depicting long-forgotten scenes of witches and wizards Antares couldn't name.
It reminded Antares much of his first visit to Grimmauld Place. While not particularly refined, it was perfect for meetings such as these. As he entered the parlour, the creak of the door echoed in the stillness. Inside, two figures waited.
"It's good to see you," Cassius Warrington's voice rumbled, his bulky figure casting a shadow against the tapestry walls.
"It hasn't been that long, Cass," Antares replied, wiping his shoulder of the dust that fell on him. "You couldn't have picked a nicer room?"
He had gone looking for Cassius, hoping to catch him in the dungeons. The students were dismissed from the feast before the professors, leaving Antares to play catch up. After his confrontation with Umbridge, the gap seemed to grow wider. He thought he had missed his opportunity. That was, until a little Slytherin, presumably a first-year, stopped him and pointed him to the disused tower.
A softer voice rang out from his left. In an old, dark chair in the corner of the room, Terrance Higgs sat idly, fiddling with his wand. "It was the first thing that came to mind."
"Terrance," the older boy nodded.
Higgs gave Antares a lop-sided smile, trying to seem happy about the situation. He wasn't a fool. He knew something was off the very second he saw his friend sitting at the high table.
"I feel like I should say congratulations," Higgs remarked, "but you didn't look thrilled up there."
Thinking back to Umbridge's crude introduction, he grimaced. "I'll admit, the feast could have gone better," admitted Antares. "That's why I'm here. What did you make of it?"
The sandy-haired boy bit his lip. "You'd have to be deaf to miss the warning the Sorting Hat gave. I mean, 'for our Hogwarts is in danger from external, deadly foes.' The Hat's never said anything like that before."
Antares blew out a sigh, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. He couldn't confirm anything, considering he had missed the Sorting Hat's song. Usually, the old cap offered quirky limericks about each house's values, and that was it. It was a cause for concern.
"I know," he replied, "but the Hat wouldn't exaggerate about the school being in danger."
Cassius, ever the straightforward one, voiced his own observations. "If it meant Umbridge, it wasn't entirely subtle," he stated. "She had the whole Great Hall on edge."
