Feliks Spectre. Oh! She remembered his name from that Witch Weekly article. Poor kid.

"That's odd," Fauna's brow furrowed. "Who would do that? Send something like that anonymously."

Not Feliks' family, from what she knew of them. She couldn't imagine tolerant Balfour or Johann sending a strange surprise like that to their son. The Bagnolds wouldn't, either. They put their names on their opinions.

She shook her head. It had been addressed to Feliks, not Nicola. The day was catching up to her.

"When was it sent?" She asked curiously, tapping her fingers against her coffee. "Was the book a load of prejudiced shite?"

Probably, considering the silver twine, but she had to ask!

"Just October," Zeta replied. "And I dunno. I didn't look at it, but it was old. So obviously probably more conservative on the topic."

Zeta said this knowingly. Magical kind had come a long way in accepting werewolves. Anything from back in the day was probably riddled with horrible things like how to kill them or why they're degenerate. She tisked, thinking back to how annoyed she'd been that the kids wanted to keep it secret.

"I just feel that no one can just sit by, you know? Maybe I should've done something about it. Dragged them off to a professor or snatched up the package. I mean, Feliks's dads are basically my family and I know they'd've taught him better if they had the time."

They'd only just recently found each other and who knows what life he'd had before.

She abruptly leaned forward as if Fauna herself had a crystal ball in place of a head. "What would you have done, Fauna?"

"I, uh..." Fauna drew back, eyes widening.

She'd been about to say that Zeta had done just fine. It wasn't really Zeta's business to drag a few first-years off or to take the package away from them. But everything at Hogwarts felt like everyone else's business.

She sipped at her coffee, gave a shrug of her shoulders, and answered honestly.

"I'd have agonized over it. I may have checked the library to see if there was a book with the same title there. Or something by the same author. Agonized more. Then I may have asked my friends if they'd received any strange werewolf books in the mail or if they had seen anyone who had. Agonized more. Then maybe asked a professor about it."

She leaned forward, her smile slight but kind.

"Or, Zeta, I would have completely forgotten, and done absolutely nothing, and um, you know, gotten involved in some romance drama like I always do, or failed a test, or gotten into some duel that distracted me? I don't always agonize and do things," she nodded. She didn't! "Sometimes I do other things that has nothing to do with the thing that I should be doing, and I don't know until later - you know?"

Zeta listened intently. She followed Fauna's initial plan with waves of 'why-didn't-i-think-of-that'. She could have checked the library, asked to look at the book a bit more, or mentioned it to literally a single other person. But when Zeta was on the verge of feeling like an utter juvenile in the presence of the older Hufflepuff who knew how do get things done, Fauna gently and kindly blew her mind.

Sixth year Fauna sounded loads like sixth year Zeta. I mean, Zeta had known sixth year Fauna, but back then the age gap had been immense, the sixth years may as well have had long white beards and drank fancy cocktails in the hallways for as old and sophisticated they'd seemed. Zeta was starting to feel that way - the first years were proper infants - but when faced with something important she'd kind of blown off...

"Really?" she asked, "you're not just trying to make me feel better for ... letting Feliks and that other girl get recruited into a secret anti-werewolf gang?"

An anti-werewolf gang! First-years! Fauna tried not to laugh.

"Really, Zeta," she nodded, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. "No one person can do all things," she wrinkled her nose a little.

"If you try to do something with SAWS, if you want to - don't let me pressure you - um, it's just another chance to reach them and other students. Make people stop and think. And if they don't, if they are just completely opposed or they don't listen, or you miss something, well guess what. You're not the only Hufflepuff in the castle," she said, a hint of teasing in her tone.

"Other students are there, looking out. Professors should be looking out. If there's one thing I've learned, it can't be all on you."

Yeah, Fauna still struggled with that. Guilt and responsibility. She sipped at her drink, feeling a little better than she had in a while, though.

Zeta, a girl whose demeanor could change like the north winds, grinned. Her recent feelings of guilt about what she could've/should've done had dissipated like a bad smell in a breeze. A Fauna the Auror Peak Hufflepuff Breeze. Zeta finished her coffee with a little coffee-is-bitter snarl and set the cup down resolutely.

"You're bloody right. What's the harm, right? Why not! I'm going to do it. First week back, posters are going up. I know people would help, like, aggressively. Damn, I'm going to need a logo. Did you have a logo? Can't remember. Oh, and all those names you mentioned - do you have any contacts like that? How'd you get them?"

Zeta dug in her bag for the little sketchbook she carried everywhere. It was bursting with other loose bits of paper and parchment. She found a blank page and started writing notes.

A slow smile spread across Fauna's face at Zeta's enthusiasm. She'd need every bit of it come the new year when she started pasting up fliers around the castle! She wouldn't be alone though, Fauna was sure of it.

"I had an internship with the RCMC one summer," Fauna nodded. Felt like ages and ages ago! "That opened the door. You could always volunteer to do some filing this holiday. There's still time before Hogwarts starts again," she managed with a straight face, and then ducked her head and burst out laughing.

She waved her hand in the air, "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. Oh hey, did you hear about the new Head of the Werewolf Wing?"

Fauna realized a moment later that students did not pay as much attention to Ministry politics as all the Ministry employees did.

"She seems friendly. Iona Bruce. Er, Iona Bruce Ballentyne. Though she prefers to be called Bruce. Um, who else. Johann Storm. Oh, and Miranda Storm, she's a Wizengamot member and the Healer in charge at St. Mungo's."

Fauna dug around in her purse and continued thinking as she searched.

"And I can't believe I forgot. Solomon Carstairs. My boss. Er, my boss's boss. The boss. Level Two."

Success! Fauna pulled out one of her old SAWS pins, a little bent at the corners, but intact. The pin was made of felt, showing a howling wolf with a red button heart. It looked a bit childish to her now, but who cared? She'd been a teenager just a year ago. She slid it over to Zeta.[1]

"Keep that," she smiled. "I have a bunch at home. I do know someone else. Someone who's a werewolf mentor. I'll ask her if she would be, er, interested in getting involved."

She sipped at her coffee, which only had a sip left, and then glanced down into the empty cup and lifted it near her face, hiding her smile as she glanced away. But not her blush! Even in winter, nothing could hide her blush.

1.	Just a few examples from forever ago!

Oh my god. Zeta wrote as quickly as she could in her jotty artistic hand, keeping up with the impressive list of contacts Fauna had among her acquaintances. Johann she hadn't even thought of. He was practically family. She didn't know exactly what help he'd be other than a sweet understated lovely ally, but hey, everyone counted.

"This. Is. Adorable." The pin was heart-meltingly sweet. Someone had made it by hand from felt. It reminded her of Osha Warrington for some reason. They'd have to do more of these. Her logo ideas had all gone straight to moon things, but a heart - a heart was steeped in caring and Zeta was feeling that in the moment. Although a fist, how cool would that be. Very fight the power. A moon and heart and fist. This would take some work.

"Volunteering, that's a great idea. Damn, too bad I didn't think of this a few months ago, could have organized more of us." Zeta had never had a proper job before and only visited the Ministry a few times to see Uncle Francis. She really should visit again now that her sister Theta was working there with him. God, why was everyone doing such interesting things when she was stuck at school?

She snapped her sketchbook shut and leaned back.

"This is brilliant. I'm literally dying," she said shaking her head and gazing around. "This is so good. I honestly have to get started, like, now. Screw Christmas. Actually have a reason to return to school now," she laughed.

A nice, warm, fuzzy feeling grew in her chest at all the positive feedback. She'd been joking about the volunteering, but felt glad that Zeta latched on to the idea. If not this winter, then maybe this summer Fauna might see her around the Ministry halls. She'd put a good word in for her, if Zeta wanted.

"That's ok. You're thinking of it now," she set her empty mug of coffee down. "While most other sixth years are shopping or sleeping or not-studying, or I don't know."

More than think about it, Zeta wanted to get started over break.

"I mean, you could? Just remember. Talk to werewolves."

Find out what was most important to them. Don't make the same mistakes she had.

"You can talk to me anytime, too. Owl me. I'm still at the Radford estate," she raised her eyebrows and smiled sheepishly. No plans to move out. For now, she liked living with her flatmates in one big family.

She wondered why Zeta would need a reason to return to school. She liked her housemates, right? School was going well, right?

As she glanced out the window of the coffee shop, a child leaned against the glass to peer in, fogging the window and making goggles out of tiny mitten hands. Fauna nudged Zeta, and then made goggles out of her own hands and blinked owlishly at the kid. She laughed as the kid drew back. Surprise! It slipped her mind.

It was hard to listen to advice when Zeta was so pumped. She bounced her knee under the table and finished off the bitter black coffee. She just wanted to do something now. She felt unstoppable. There were a thousand things to do and she felt like she could do them all at once. Fauna was so good. So so golden good.

They both laughed at the silly critter in the window. Zeta puffed her cheeks, crossed her eyes, and pulled her ears to the side right along side Fauna's googly owl goggles. The moment passed and Zeta was about to ask about the other Hufflepuff's who'd graduated, all those older kids who'd ruled the cellar. Dax and Dion, and Adelia Delacroix, Marni, Jai ... but she happened to look past Fauna and saw a clock.

A red hand spun around three times before landing on, 'You're Late!'. The other hands told the true time - she was supposed to be meeting her family. She jumped up. It was nearly 4:30.

"Crap! I've got to go. Wow, thank you, Fuana! I mean really, thank you loads." Zeta leaned in for a stand/sit hug and stepped back with a grin.

"Badger badger!" she said, raising a little fist.

Badger badger!

Fauna laughed and raised her fist and very delicately and awkwardly fist-bumped with half a knuckle.

"Mushroom mushroom!"

She offered nonsensically, referring to the silly YouTube video that had made the rounds back in the day when she was about ten years old or so and had thought it was the most hilarious meme ever. Later, she'd suspected a disgruntled Hufflepuff had created it.[1]

"I'm glad we ran into each other. I'm here if you need me."

Not here as in here in the shop, though she would be finishing her tea, and of course Zeta knew that as she bounded away, while Fauna glanced out the window again, thinking back to her meeting with Bruce Ballentyne earlier. Change was in the air, and hope possible in this dreary winter season.

1.	Badger badger song