Dose of Darkness | Tom Riddle |

Chapter Twenty Four: Call to Action

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"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
--Winston Churchill

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As every morning had gone since the very first day Eleanor Peverell had found this bed in Ravenclaw dormitory, the first ray of sunlight hit her face before cowering away behind the clouds, awakening her early this morning surely hours before anyone else would.

Percy stretched out parallel to her abdomen and she stretched as well, taking the first deep breath of the day and tiredly setting back into a comfortable position besides her cat who she petted gingerly.

It was the last Friday in February and Eleanor laid in bed, dreaming of the brighter and warmer days ahead and before she knew it, graduation would arrive.

After she had her small breakdown two weeks ago, she had been relieved of all that built up in her, leaving her in modestly brighter spirits since then. Her outlook on the future wasn't nearly as grim and there was still an ounce of hope in her.

Today felt different though.

By the time Eleanor decided to move from her bed as the stirs from her roommates began to occur more frequently, she showered and dressed into her freshly cleaned robes for the day.
Throwing on her Ravenclaw scarf with the emblem at the end, she tied her damp hair into a braid, grabbed her books, and went on her way.

She had also been more accustomed to being more comfortable alone. It was more relieving than she expected but having alone time was something she's needed.

The morning was carried out as usual with greetings here and there and then a short breakfast. Being the first one in the Great Hall wasn't really her thing until recently and she sat at the table, waiting for the buffet to be served and the rest of the seats to fill, reading the Daily Prophet that had been left there.

"Is Switzerland's Ministry No Longer Neutral?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes at the heading.

Since she last saw her father, they agreed that there would be no more secrets and she would need to be included too. By this she meant that he needed to write to her or at least pass truthful messages between them through her mother.

Switzerland was still neutral in a way. At least their Wizard community was.

All of the Aurors across Europe were convening in the small country and it was growing popularity as hundreds of Auror began to move in. In the eyes of the rest of the world, they only saw it as them joining this war when really they were just hosting its fighters.

"You're up early this morning." said Marcella as she plopped down across from her.

Eleanor looked up and realized most of the tables were increasing in their number of sitters. Then, she glanced back at her friend as the rest of their group joined.

"Oh, yes. I couldn't fall back asleep anyway." she shrugged.

It was honest.

No nightmares, just a decent night of sleep is what woke her early this morning with the exception of the sun.

"Cormac snores. A lot. So you're lucky." Julius groaned, his head sitting in his arms against the table.

Eleanor grimaced at him. "Go back to sleep you idiot. People eat here."

The others laughed and she smiled as well as the boy huffed at her and turned his head the other way.

Julius had his head down as breakfast continued while Cormac himself continued to pester him despite already doing so the night before.