Sunday, late afternoon.


Fauna spread out the fresh chocolate chip cookies on a platter and set it down on Tulo's kitchen table. The table looked empty without any SAWS pins, fliers, or other paraphernalia, but she hoped that if nothing else, the promise of free food would entice some students to come out to the Hospital Hut and try another SAWS meeting.

They didn't have pins or fliers this time because Fauna had been extremely careful spreading the word about this gathering, and she didn't want anyone showing off evidence when they left. If the Headmistress found out that SAWS was reuniting, the group she believed had been responsible for the disasters and fires at school, than she might do something drastic. Like sentence them to a whole year of detentions. Or suspend them like she had Maddie and Sasha. Or even, Fauna thought with a grimace, try to have them expelled.

Discretion was important. After everything that had happened this fall, they couldn't afford to suffer another blow so soon. They hadn't had an official meeting since the werewolf attack on October 14th, which was partially her fault, she knew. Astrid had handed over SAWS to Fauna while she'd dealt with her seer visions, and Fauna hadn't been able to fulfill those promises and ideas they'd come up with during the meetings in September. She felt guilty about that. Watching Greyfriar get bitten had taken a toll on her, made her question their plans and the whole purpose of the group. The transformations at the dance and the questioning from the Aurors had also been hard to handle. It wasn't just her, either - many of the students felt scared, knowing that their former Headmaster was now a werewolf. It sent the message home that it could happen to any one of them. And with the rash of werewolf attacks lately, it would have been easy to let Snark win and let SAWS fade out.

It would have been easy, which was why they had to keep fighting.

Fauna was ready to pick herself up again and make this work. She'd heard Astrid might show today and be willing to take the lead for a second time, which lifted her spirits. Even if only a few students showed, at least they were trying again, and at least there was hope.

She leaned against the table and watched the door nervously, perking up at every sound.

Josh had managed to get to the Hospital Hut for the SAWS meeting, thankfully without anyone seeing. He was taking a huge risk taking part in SAWS, since he could easily lose his badge. Ultimately, he only cared since it could affect his chances of becoming an Auror in future.

Entering the Hut, he saw Fauna. "Hi Fauna" he said, quietly enough that while Fauna should be able to hear, anyone listening in for Snark could not.

"Hi Josh. You're the first one here," Fauna replied, smiling nervously at him. Everyone who came today would be taking a risk, a bigger risk than before, but she felt glad Josh had come, especially since he had his prefect badge to think about.

"Cookie?" She offered, gesturing at the platter. Fauna moved towards the window and peeked out, willing more students to show. Josh was very helpful, but she didn't think SAWS would work with just the two of them.

"Do you know if anyone else is coming?" She asked him hopefully, bringing her hand up to her mouth to nibble on a fingernail.

Josh took a cookie, and bit into it. Once he had swallowed the bite, he said “I don't know, but we should see a few more people turning up. Then again, it's not easy for people to sneak out. Then there's Snark handing out suspensions like candy." Josh said, sitting down in a chair and rubbing his eyes. "Then there's Snark's portray of us as a group trying to create trouble. I already had an owl form dad asking if the rumours about SAWS were true, and I expect some people's parents will have outright forbidden them from helping us.

The spiky haired youth was clearing his head on a little walkabout.  As much of a people person as Chance Ryker could be at times, he was also quite a loner.  He greatly valued the tranquility that solitude offered.  There were ways that time slowed or sped, depending on one's activities and Chance preferred to savor his time instead of rushing about and making it fly by.  This occasion had brought him to seek out nature itself.  The day was waxing heavy and beautiful streaks of color had begun to twist the sky's multitude of colors.  Chance paused to allow a slow breath, but he inhaled more than a thick, woodsy smell...

"Since when're there ruddy cookies out in th' woods?"

Chance was just as often to ignore this type of phenomenon as investigate, but something spurred him on this time.  Typically danger wasn't associated with cookies.  Especially not chocolate chip.  The young Irishman followed the rich, inviting scent toward a little hut nestled in the Forbidden Forest.  Chance's stomach grumbled in a rather demanding fashion.  This led him to drum a few knuckles across the door to the hut.

"My kingdom for a chocolate chip cookie?"

Adrienna walked down the path to the Hospital Hut with determination.  She had a feeling that this meeting, although perhaps not as crowded as the last, was going to be filled with the people who truly wanted to there.  The ones that were sitting on the fence were weeded out along with the secret of SAWS, and Adrienna didn’t expect they would be returning for fear of the punishment subsequent to the discovery of their attendance.  It was better that way anyway.  The last thing any of the members wanted was a little snitch amidst them running around and announcing all of their plans.

The door to the hut was open and Adrienna welcomed herself inside, shutting out the bitter
breeze behind her.  Inside it was warm and smelled strongly of chocolate chip cookies, and Adrienna smiled as she spotted a platter of them on a table. 

“Hello Fauna, Josh…” she said with a smile at each of them as she made her way to the cookie table.  Snatching up a cookie to nibble on she looked up to find another member in the room, someone who she hadn’t noticed at the previous meeting.  But anyone here was a friend of hers so she smiled at him behind her chocolate chip cookie, too bashful to do anything else. 

"You're probably right," she told Josh, glancing at him from her spot by the window. It hadn't occurred to her that some parents might forbid their children to participate in a group like this. Fauna's mum knew a bit about what she was doing and the group detention she'd received, but she only knew what Fauna told her. It was easier to downplay the seriousness of the situation to a muggle family, she supposed.

"Even if we only get two or three people, it'll help," she murmured, trying to remain positive.

A few moments later, she spotted a young man with a shock of dark hair approaching the hut. Fauna recognized him as a Gryffindor in her year, Chance, and looked over at Josh, curious if he'd encouraged him to come. Chance hadn't been at the last meeting, and Fauna was frankly surprised they were getting a new member at a time like this. Surprised, but grateful.

She opened the door when he knocked, smiling at the comment and handing him a cookie. "You can have more than one, even," she joked, trying to keep Lou's encouragement in mind and push back the shyness she normally felt around boys her age.

When Adrienna walked in, Fauna returned her greeting and watched with amusement as everyone seemed to be enjoying the cookies.

"Uh, so..." she started, then paused when they looked at her. "We'll probably start when a couple more show up." Fauna nodded, as if trying to convince herself. When, not if.

For the first time ever, or so Astrid would believe, she was nervous. Astrid had never been nervous about standing in front of a crowd spouting out words of encouragement, persuasion, and idealism. She had never been nervous to be who she was, but today she was nervous. Why? Astrid had asked herself that very question many times in front of the mirror that morning. Fauna had mentioned a SAWS meeting, Astrid was pretty sure it was the first one since she handed over the group to Fauna. All at once Astrid’s life had overwhelmed her; she couldn’t focus on gathering her strength with her seer ability and run a group that so many people seemed to support. Astrid felt she couldn’t have all those people depending on her. Now a few months later she felt it was time to return, especially considering recent events. Astrid was the founder of the group, the idea, and the cause; she wasn’t going to let others take the blame.

Her hair haphazardly tossed back into a ponytail, and clad in a simple pair of jeans and plaid flannel shirt she headed down to their meeting spot. Hair started to slip from the grasp of the ponytail as she curled the wavy locks behind her ear. Everything about her was so plain now; she once stood out in a crowd with her outrageous style and appearance, now she faded back into the crowd with her natural relaxed look. Everyone would notice the difference, it would be the first time she would make herself the center of attention since the change. When you want to be ignored and looked over, being forgettable and plain was the way to do it.

Walking in, the crowd was small, but she didn’t expect much attendance after all that had happened. Sure werewolf attacks were peaking, but with the proper controls and government assistance there could be help for these people. Astrid truly believed that werewolves were misunderstood, and some, like Ollie were very conscious and careful. Astrid wanted the people that led decent lives to be treated the same as anyone else.

“Fauna,” she said quietly as she walked towards her. “I can do the talking today if you like.” Her only wish was that people didn’t ask where she went, and why she wasn’t brought in for questioning. She only hoped people would sit down and listen, that they could actually do something. She felt it was time to take back the spot as leader, even if the lime light was not where she really wanted to be a the moment. Not many people knew about her being a seer, and she sort of wished to keep it that way.

She turned to look at the few members that had already arrived, she cast them all a smile. “Hello,” she said simply, “Glad you came.” After the stigma that the group had been pegged with, she doubted many would arrive.

As Chance entered the tiny hut, he was greeted with a warm if quiet reception.  There was an eerie feeling lingering in the oddly welcoming hut.  It was as if there was some specter hanging over the room that everyone was aware of, but no one wanted to speak of.  Good sense would have told Chance to turn around, leave, and never return to the little hut...but Chance was no coward.  If these people needed help and he could help them, he'd try.  And there was certainly a sense of urgency growing by the second...Chance recognized a couple of the small group members, but he was rarely seen as introverted.  Chance wore a pair of dark gray dress slacks that flared out and frayed along the edges, a pair of black, leather shoes, a white, button up shirt which was left unbuttoned over a lighter gray, ribbed undershirt which had a stain-like design of cobwebs smeared across it.  His red and gold tie was loosened considerably and barely hung around his neck at all.  Chance was carrying his long, black robe over a shoulder, which allowed his thick, black, leather bracelet with chains leading down to his attached wand to be seen.  Chance's other wrist had various shades of brown cords wound around them.  Even with a dress code, Chance had a way of standing out.  He snatched up a cookie, lifting it up and smiling his appreciation as he took a bite.  After a quick chew, he swallowed a piece.

"Very nice, very nice!  So let's see here...we've got good ol' Faunny, The Astr-oid..."

Chance scrutinized the other two, younger students and pointed to each.

"Adrienne?  Annnd...Josh?"

Chance moved about the room to make his greetings official, responding with handshakes as he didn't truly know anyone there too well.  As for the nicknaming...it didn't take Chance too long to settle into his addicting habit.  Adrienne and Josh would probably have a nickname or so by the end of the meeting if they spoke further.

"So what's goin' on?  Cross stitch tournament?"

Hopefully Chance's lighthearted, outgoing demeanor would soften the atmosphere a little bit.

When Astrid arrived and greeted her, offering to take over for today and talk to the group, Fauna felt a strange mixture of emotions. She smiled slightly at the girl, taking in her more subdued experience, and then glanced awkwardly around the room.

"Yeah... that's fine," Fauna said automatically, glancing down for a second.

On the one hand, she was genuinely happy that Astrid was back. Astrid had created SAWS, and her enthusiastic way with words tended to motivate people and make them excited about participating in something bigger than themselves. Fauna respected and admired that about her.

On the other hand, Fauna had been doing the best she could while Astrid had focused on her seer abilities. Up until the fourteenth of October, she and a few students had continued to send in letters to the Daily Prophet and solidify plans. After the werewolf attack, everything had fallen apart, so she was just now putting the group back together again. A part of her felt ready to take control, like she was finally getting a chance to make a difference. Giving up the plans and the group to someone else, even the original founder of it, felt very awkward and uncomfortable for her at the moment.

"Um... there are maybe, a few things I want to announce..." Fauna trailed off, studying her face. "I could pipe up after you're done speaking. If that's alright?"

Astrid might be a seer but she couldn't read minds. Fauna was nervous about Astrid's reaction, but knew it was important to clue her in on what she wanted.

OOC note: Astrid/Dana is sick, so she approved my double posting and godmodding


For a moment Fauna stared at Astrid in surprise. She hadn't expected her to say go ahead, you can start. Perhaps Astrid had recognized her mixed feelings about giving over leadership for the meeting, or perhaps she was just trying to be nice, but whatever the reason, Fauna now had the floor. And that made her stomach twist up in knots.

She took a deep breath and looked at the familiar faces around the room. This was not a large group at all - she could do this.

Clearing her throat, she took one last glance out the window to check for any stragglers, and turned back to the group with a nervous expression on her face. "Ah, alrighty, I guess we can start now," Fauna suggested. "Thanks, um, for coming," she added, managing an uneasy smile.

"Alright, uh, I know that we haven't had a meeting in a long time. And that's kinda, well, I'm at fault for that," she admitted, glancing at Astrid. "A lot has happened since the beginning of October. There have been more werewolf attacks, you know, and um, I think that's made people... scared. More scared than before. And then with the craziness at the dance, and the investigation into SAWS, and all that, it's been hard."

Fauna paused. She hadn't meant to start off on such a negative tone. "But... that's why it's more important than ever to... get things started again and um, try to make a difference. The recent attacks don't change the fact that werewolves still deserve a right to an education. And what happened at the dance, well... I know none of us would have pulled a prank like that. So we have to sorta... stick together and keep trying.

"So..." she continued, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "I have some ideas. I know we've talked about sending in letters to the Prophet before. I think if we all send 'em in all at once, it'll make a bigger impact. Midterms are coming up, but if you have time, we could try to get those out in the next week or so."

She stopped to study their faces and judge how this was going. "We can also maybe write up a few articles for the student newspaper. Maddie's in charge of that, I think. I could ask a few werewolves to write in, as well. So if the Prophet thing doesn't work out, it's not a total loss.

"And well, we missed doing the Hogsmeade field trip. But over the winter break, we'll have a bit more time and freedom. The first-years could join us too, since they'll be allowed to come." First years weren't allowed to go on the weekend Hogsmeade trips. "So, over the winter break, I was thinking we could have a mixer at the Werewolf department in the Ministry. I'd have to write to Miss Gertrudis and see if that would be allowed. But it wouldn't just be SAWS members. We could encourage our friends and other people to come and talk to werewolves and actually get to know them."

Fauna glanced back at Astrid, as if for reassurance, and looked back at the group. "What do you guys think?"

" The werewolf mixer is a good idea, but I'm not sure it'll help much. Ultimately, it'll be people who already believe werewolves to have rights that'll attend, unless some bastard decides to try and murder a werewolf.  That, and Snark certainly isn't helping. I suspect that she was behind the Halloween Ball mess, but I've no proof.  It's possible we'll need to consider ways of forcing Snark to resign or of getting her removed. Neither of which would be easy. Of course, the Board of Governors is always reluctant to remove a sitting Head. I can't actually recall a sitting Headmaster or Headmistress that's been sacked." Josh said. he was looking grim as he said this. " And forcing Snark out would be almost impossible. Snark could easily give all of us detention, and expelling us would be controversial, but ultimately survivable. " Josh warned.

Sure, the whole SAWS drama had risen to new heights since the attacks...but did that really change what the group was fighting for?  Perhaps now, more than ever...werewolves needed help and understanding.  Chance was indeed a new member that had never before attended a SAWS meeting, but it seemed they needed additional support now more than ever.

He didn't really know the majority of this small crew that well, but they seemed to be good, compassionate people.  Chance moved to pull up a chair and eased back to listen to Fauna and Astrid.  He offered a receptive smile to Fauna's address and nodded reassuringly to her as he kept quiet for a change.  Josh speaking up in such a vocal manner surprised him.  It seemed Chance knew even less about the werewolf situation than he realized.

"Yer gonna write my letter fer me, eh lass?"

He chuckled playfully and waved a dismissive gesture at his previous question.

"I'm up fer that.  As fer th' mixer...if ya think it's fer th' best, ya got m'support Fauna."

Fauna was rather shocked at everything Josh had to say, but she listened quietly, and tried to keep her expression neutral. She wanted everyone to feel like they could speak up, even if it surprised her or made her uncomfortable. Josh had brought up some good points.

Chance piped up in a playful, encouraging tone, the complete opposite from Josh's more serious one. A grateful smile spread across her face when he reassured her that she had his support. She looked at the two Gryffindors and tried to remember all the points Josh had brought up.

"I was thinking a mixer might get some attention from the press too. So even if some werewolves don't come, or a lot of people avoid it because of... whatever, it'll still be a show of support for them. That there are people who, well, want to get to know them and don't think of them as... less than human."

Fauna shrugged. She'd thought it might be a good idea to try, though she certainly didn't want the mixer to become a target for werewolf haters. Perhaps Josh was right. Holding a get-together could be like putting a big bullseye on the RCMC department of the Ministry. It could also do some good... Fauna felt torn about this and decided to comment on the next few things he'd said.

She shot a nervous glance out the window and lowered her voice slightly, "I get what you mean about... sacking Snark," she grimaced. "But I don't think that's something we should be... talking about. No offense," she said quickly. "It's just that... SAWS is already under investigation. I also don't really want her to get fired," Fauna admitted. "It's... I don't like her. I don't get why she suspended Sasha and Maddie. But she hasn't been completely horrible. I think if we put enough pressure on her, the school board can make her change her mind about Ollie, but I never wanted... I didn't want it to be an 'Ollie's back, Snark's gone' kind of deal."

Fauna shrugged again, biting her lower lip. Sometimes she thought that she played it too safe, and that the group needed to make some huge, dramatic statements to get anywhere. It was just that she'd seen the chaos caused at the dance, and how dangerous it was, and she wasn't willing to go that far.

"Why do you think Snark was behind it?" She then asked Josh, looking confused. "I mean, she was right brassed off about the dance going up in flames, screaming and yelling at the students, and then she screamed at us again during detention. It could have been an act, maybe..." Fauna had felt the veins popping in Snark's forehead were genuine, but she could be wrong!

" Yeah, the mixer's a good idea, I am just saying that it won't convince many people on it's own. " Josh said, then answered Fauna's other questions." I agree about not wanting Snark fired, I just think it might be necessary if we are going to get anywhere. As for why I think Snark was behind the Halloween Dance mess, she blamed SAWS very quickly for it. Also, she might have looked angry, but did she look surprised? I don't know, not having been there, but I doubt it. Anger is easy to fake, surprise less so. As for the screaming, it was all SAWS members in detention right? She hates SAWS, so she would have no problem screaming at our members. That was likely genuine, though not necessarily for the reasons you think." Josh said. " That's how i'd go about undermining a group oppose to something i;d done, anyway. Try to portray them as dangerous, then get the Aurors in.That's another thing. why the Aurors, who are supposed to targetdark wizards? a simple student group, even an activist one, is something for the Hitwizards, not the Aurors. " Josh added.