A Day in the Life--Dylan Mazani

[LANDON DUPREE]

Silence. That is something that Landon craved sometimes. With all the chaos going on at Hogwarts with the Carrows leading. And the silence was well provided at the library. Even with all the Death Eaters and Dark Wizards controlling Hogwarts, there was still one decent place left where Landon could read and be to himself, most times.

Sitting at a table by himself, he had a book about past great wizards and witches open, reading it. There had been nothing else to do, as his last class ended about an hour ago. Although he had appeared to be really into the book, he actually had a lot going through his mind, as he usually did. Like, what he would do if the chance to bring peace would come up. Or what would happen had he decided to rebel against the Death Eaters. Nothing serious came to mind.

Looking up, he heard a student start crying. The kid was a day late turning in a book and was being sentenced to high punishment. Landon sighed. It was too often he saw this and it just angered him. A Death Eater showed up to carry the kid off, casting a floating spell and dragging the kid upside down in mid-air. Shaking his head, he leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. Made him think of his little brother, and how he has been being treated. Landon crossed his arms, going back to his book after a heavy sigh.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

It had been a little while since she had set foot inside a library. Usually she spent her time holed up in her dorm with her thoughts and letters from her mother kept her at bay. Other times she could be seen wandering the grounds, avoiding any sort of life and simply sitting out by the lake. But today she had decided that the library would be the best place to hide. No one ever came to the library it seemed. The dorms had proven to be the safest place. The common rooms as well. But something inside Dylan told her she needed to get away from her mother and the remains that her mother had on her. So she took a moment to change from her lounging clothes to her robes, attempting to avoid being caught by a teacher. The few that were nice were so concerned with the younger children that the older children often went unnoticed. She was on the brink of finally being cast out of the shadows. With a silent glance around her, she ducked out of the Gryffindor common room, curls bouncing as she practically raced down the hall.

She passed Professor Flitwick, who warned her to slow her steps, which she followed obediently. But as soon as he rounded the corner she had just came through, she hurried again toward the library. Once she drew near, the sound of footsteps coming down the hall caused her to slide to a halt. The man that came around the corner held a child upside-down by his ankle and was muttering about something. He cast her aside with a rough shove, casting snide remarks about how she should watch where she was going and then he turned for a moment, taking in the girl's appearance before adding in a chilling voice. "You wouldn't want mommy to hear about this." And the words shook her too the core. Dylan pressed her body up against the wall as he continued down the corridor laughing. Tears stung at her eyes as she wished she could have slunk into the bricks.

Her footsteps slowed to a lazy drawl and she walked through the library door. Yet again the Death Eater who was now running the library muttered something about her mother as she walked by, and her footing seemed to work against her, as she stumbled for a moment before shaking her head. This death eater laughed as well. Inside, she felt like she was dying. Cringing away from the man as he laughed more, she dodged her way past the study section, keeping her eyes cast downward, before walking toward the shelves of books. By this time tears had brimmed and fallen down her face and she had to stop for a moment, wiping the streaks away as best as she could. She let out a heavy sigh and then looked up at the books. Dylan was tired of this. She wanted to be done with school. She wanted to join the order. She wanted anything but this.

[LANDON DUPREE]

Landon was able to get one more chapter in before he heard the head of the library Death Eater start laughing. Looking up, he had saw someone had walked in, looking rather upset. Something obviously had been bothering her before she came in. Or something really bad had just happened that he had missed. Landon watched the girl walk steadily away from the study section where he was sitting. The Death Eater behind the counter merely grunted and laughed again.

Slamming his book shirt, he stood up, glaring at the librarian. "That is real mature of you." Landon boldly commented towards the Death Eater, picking his book up and turning heel to walk off. He started toward where the girl had headed. Landon walked by each aisle of books until he found the girl, who was noticeably crying. He waited for a moment, letting her wipe away her tears.

Taking a deep breath, he mustered up enough courage to actually try and say some inspiring words to her. Turning the corner and slowly walking down the aisle of books, Landon stopped a few feet away from her. Not really knowing what to do, he shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly before starting. "Hey, um, are you okay?" Landon could have slapped himself right about now. Of course she isn't okay you idiot, she is crying.

Landon leaned on the books, feeling stupid now after he asked that question. He didn't know what else to say now. Just waited for her answer.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

As the Death Eater behind the table laughed, she felt worse. She knew why he laughed. She herself had been dreading the reason for a long time. Her mother, new to the Death Eater side, was going to be headed to Hogsmeade soon. Taking away what little safe haven she had. Dylan glanced up at the sound of a book slamming and immediately started working her way back through the shelves, farther away from the voices out in the open. She felt safer hidden within the books. It wasn't a comforting safe, it was more of the "no one can see me if I stay here" safe. Attempting to force the tears to stop, she continued to wipe them away before taking a deep breath. Her entire body trembled. You're pathetic. She reminded herself but squared her shoulders against the voice.

Lately she wasn't sure if it was the things that her mother had said that were getting to her so harshly or if it was that her brain was finally starting to accept the words. With a heavy heart, she moved closer to the books, hooking her fingers over the top of a shelf and craning her neck, attempting to see onto the next shelf and trying to fake interest in the books before her. Whatever other option she had wasn't coming to her at the time. Titles flashed through her mind as she read them, but none of them seemed to stick. A voice to her left caused her to jump and she let go of the shelves immediately and backed up before taking several steps in the direction opposite of him. "I'm fine. Dylan lied, looking down at her feet.

Dylan was aware as he leaned against the books and she took a moment to glance up at him. She recognized him as the boy whom she had met earlier in Hogsmeade. But she didn't want to be recognized as that girl he had met as well. The way she shifted made it look like she was attempting to make herself disappear entirely. Completely and entirely.

[LANDON DUPREE]

The girl replied with a simple answer. Landon looked over at the girl, who had turned to try to hide herself, or look more like she was fine. He took another deep breath before letting his thoughts come out. "Well, I know fine when I see it. I don't believe you are fine." Looking at her, Landon tilted his head slightly. She did look a little familiar to him. Probably had seen her around school. Or at Hogsmeade. He was not sure of course, seeing as how he hadn't gotten a good look at her face.

The seventh year Gryffindor crossed his arms before he continued talking. "Don't take anything that Death Eater says to heart. They just like to pick on us because they have You-Know-Who on their side." Landon feared Voldemort. More than anything. And he was a big believer of not mentioning his name. Landon was never good at this kind of stuff. Trying to make people feel better. Especially when it came to girls. But he couldn't just sit by and let the girl cry. He had to try.

The curiosity got the best of him as Landon had to figure out where he knew the girl from. "Say, haven't I seen you around somewhere?" Landon knew he wasn't very good at making conversation with girls, and it was already showing by the way he awkwardly stood. He looked more nervous than anything.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

Dylan rose her face, looking up at him for several seconds before straightening up and squaring her shoulders. Anything she could do to try and make him think she was fine. Anything that would make him even possibly think that would do right now. "Not everyone fits to the standard of fine you've seen. For me, this is fine." Her fingers tugged at the sleeves of her robes as she turned her head, skimming over the book titles. For several long moments she simply stood there with her hand over her arm, rubbing absently over the fabric before pulling it down hard again over her arm completely. She didn't need him to see this. With a sigh she crossed her arms over her chest.

Her lip twitched as she was about to say something to him. She contemplated actually. The corner of her lip twitched again as if she were about to say something but instead she simply shook her head. "I can't just ignore it. Dylan drew in a deep breath. "It's not that easy for me, okay? I can't just ignore it because I don't have some free pass to get out of this hell hole. I don't have some happy little hide away to run to." She was practically yelling. That quiet little Gryffindor was yelling. She let out a sigh before drawing in a breath and holding it there. She didn't want to be here anymore. Hogwarts wouldn't be a safe place anymore. It wasn't all ready, but it was better here than at home. In a month or so everything safe about Hogwarts would be gone and everything she knew that had once been comforting would be gone completely.

She felt like a terrible person. Yelling at the person who was trying to help. Dylan took another step backward, placing more space between them, and yet another step backward. She didn't want to be here with him. She really had no idea what to do to be able to leave either. But it would be rude to just walk off. She swallowed hard and looked down when he asked where he'd seen her before. "Earlier this week at Hogsmeade." She said with a glance down at the floor again. Whatever was so fascinating about the floor, she didn't know. But it drew her attention when she failed to have anything else to say.

[LANDON DUPREE]

Landon laughed inside after she told him that no means of fine he had seen. If only she knew about his sister being killed right in front of him. He, of all people, knew about someone not being okay. Landon simply replied with "I have to disagree with you." He finally let his hands out of his pockets, relaxing slightly. Not that he felt a little more comfortable around a girl. He was just getting comfortable with said topic. He did, however, notice that she kept tugging at a sleeve on her arm and rubbing it. Made him curious, but he was not going to be too nosy.

Reading her expression, which he was so good at doing with most people, he noticed her lip twitching ever so slightly. He could tell she was going to say something. And when she finally did, it took him by surprise. The girl was obviously seriously troubled by what the Death Eaters had to say. Maybe they knew something about her? Or her family had a past with them? Landon couldn't be sure, but he did know that she wouldn't be yelling if it was not serious. "I see. I can't pretend to know your life. I don't even know your name. But, I do know, that if you continue to give them the attention or show them the emotion they want, then we are in a losing battle."

The boy watched her start backing up even more. Was she uncomfortable around him? Or maybe she was just not used to having people talk to her. Again, more questions that popped up in Landon's head that could possibly go unanswered. When she replied to where he had seen her, he lit up a little, remembering her now. "Right! I remember now! You seemed like you didn't want to be noticed." Landon said that before he could catch himself. He shut up for a moment, going over his next choice of words in his head carefully.

After taking a big breath, he offered a small, comforting smile. "Okay, let's try this again." Landon offered his hand out. "My name is Landon Dupree. Gryffindor." Maybe a softer approach would work with her. He had already tried the medium approach. She seemed like she had a lot of emotion built up, so Landon was trying to choose his words carefully.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

She stared at him for several minutes, as if hoping he would let her be. As if she was praying he would just turn around and walk away. She wanted to be left alone, to just lock herself away again. Where she belonged. For several minutes, Dylan turned her head, looking back toward the Death Eater who ran the library. If only she could just openly explain why things weren't as easy for her. She wanted to. Really, she wanted to. She was walking a narrow, crooked path. She had to walk close on the path where she belonged, where her mother wanted her to be. Hypothetically that was why her mother was so cruel to her. She was trying to make Dylan realize that the dark side was stronger, that Voldemort could make her less weak. Less pathetic. That he could break what she was and change her into something better.

After she had become more than conscious of the fact that she was yelling, she dropped her jaw at the fact that she had just yelled at him. Or been so close. The Death Eater at the desk had risen now and was craning his neck to see them. After several minutes of silence he sat back down again, but held his wand tightly in his hand. She swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes again as she looked straight at him. "Then what do you suppose I do? I can't... I'm not capable of just locking everything away. I've tried. And then I break down. And it gets worse." She was shaking, fear and anger causing her entire body to tense and tremble. One tear rolled down her cheek and then another before she forced herself to look down again, hiding her face in her hands.

It took only a moment for her to gain her composure. Tears remained on her face, but she looked up at him in disbelief. "We? What do you mean we? This is me. No one else. Not my brother, or my sister. Me." She said quickly, looking up at him with bright eyes. Bright, tear filled eyes. As she backed away, it was her own way of pushing away people. Pushing away anyone who dared try to help the freak. The problem child of a family. She curled her fingers around her arm quietly before pulling her arms tighter around herself. When he spoke about their meeting in Hogsmeade, she had to stop herself from glaring. It wasn't his business if she wanted to be seen or not. There was a reason she pushed people away. That was definitely one of them.

She watched as he tried to start over, extending his hand toward her. She gave him a look like he was crazy. Dylan looked at him for a moment, attempting to decide if she could do this or not. If she could even begin to consider letting someone remotely close. She'd been alone the majority of her life in Muggle school, being deemed as a freak. Then when Hogwarts rolled around, the chance to start over never really took to Dylan. She stayed where she was. At the bottom of the social food chain. "Dylan Mazani." She answered, before carefully closing the distance between them with slow strides. She took his hand lightly, as if scared something would happen. "Gryffindor.

[LANDON DUPREE]

Landon knew that with her raised voice, that the Death Eater had been keeping his ears open. Especially when two students were in private. Most feared that students speaking in private could be means of plotting a rebellion. Of course, Landon, had never formally planned a rebellion against them. He had dreams of it however. After the moment of silence between the two, the girl had continued. It seemed like she was in a lost place with no where to go.

Nodding his head understandingly, he knew all about not opening up. Landon found it easier in his younger days to simply keep everything inside. Not talk to anyone or accept help. It was a monster though. "I know how you feel. Not wanting to open up. Not wanting to talk to people. I don't know why you don't want to, nor is it any of my business. But..." Landon paused, thinking of the right words to say. The last thing he wanted to do is make her angry at him. "You can't bottle it up inside. It will destroy you. Drive you crazy." Landon spoke from personal experience, flashbacks of that moment with his sister flashing in the back of his mind. Landon closed his eyes for a moment, regaining his own composure.

Her next words sounded through him. It sounded as if Landon saying the word we had struck a nerve with her. She mentioned members of her family. She felt alone in this. That is what he made of what she had just said. Landon finally opened his eyes, looking at the girl. He stared for a moment, noticing she was upset once more. "I...um." Landon couldn't find the words to say when it came to her family. He didn't know her family. Landon couldn't have a opinion on the situation. Not a fair one at least. "Listen...it may seem like it. Or you may want to be. But you are never alone." Landon turned to face her completely now. A more serious look on his face. "These Death Eaters have taken over our school. They are in control. Harry Potter is gone. The Order is gone. That leaves us." Landon was speaking in a lower tone now, not wanting the Death Eater to hear what he was saying. "Us. The students of Hogwarts who still have hope. Hope of getting rid of the darkness. Hope of peace." Landon let those words hopefully sink in. When it came to bringing peace to Hogwarts, and the wizarding world, he took it serious. Sometimes, more than he wanted. After taking a big breath, he continued. "That is the battle that WE are in." Landon put emphasis on the word we.

As she struggled to take his hand, Landon could definitely tell she didn't want to meet anyone. To his surprise though, she took his hand. Her grip was soft and light. So he did the same, shaking her hand softly. "Well...nice to meet you Dylan." So she was a Gryffindor as well? She must have been younger, seeing as how he knew most of the people his age. Landon let go of her hand, staying silent for the moment. There had been many things Landon could have said, but he had to tread carefully. Dylan seemed like she was on the edge of breaking, and Landon definitely did not want to be the cause of that.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

Dylan was aware of the Death Eater, who was listening a little to closely for her comfort. She trembled at the thought of someone telling her mother about this little break down and she stared down at the ground. "Sure. You understand. You can tell yourself whatever you like, but I don't think you really understand. You don't go through the pain I go through and you don't have to live with the things I do. You can say you understand, but you don't." Dylan was the oldest child of a broken home. The only salvation had been her father, who left the previous year. When he left, he refused to take the children with him. Refused to save them from the fate that had been a Death Eater mother who was disgraced with her halfblood children. And her childhood infatuation with a Muggle.

She was a makeshift mother to her younger brother and sister during the summers and when Justina was in a bad mood, she was the wall between her and the other children. She protected her younger siblings the only way she knew how, putting herself in the way. And her mother seemed happy with this, having someone to constantly beat on and to tear down whenever she needed to build herself up. In the beginning it had been hard. But now she hardly noticed. The pain was numbed and the only time the words ever cut to the core was when she was all ready upset with her. And when she was pushing into the happiest place she had once had. Dylan looked up at him for several minutes before shaking her head.

She didn't get why he cared so much. Why he was trying so hard to push her out of her comfort zone, she didn't know. What she had done to attract his, very much unwanted, attention; well Dylan just didn't know. When he spun off on how Hogwarts students needed to work together, to stay together, she stared at him in disbelief. "As nice as that sounds, it's not that simple. Everyone leaves me, and I'm fine with that. Really I am. I prefer to be left alone. Less people get hurt and I don't have to worry about hurting anyone else." She remembered how when she was younger, her mother had cut her off from every friend she'd ever made. It didn't matter who they were, pureblood or mudblood. The only thing Justina Mazani ever seemed to want was to make her daughter's life hell.

"Nice to meet you." She whispered. Her voice was soft and she seemed happier when she could stare down at her hands and slink away from any chance of being hurt. After he had shaken her hand, she retracted from him again, putting the distance back by taking another few steps back. Whatever progress had been made in her mind shattered. Dylan wanted to be alone. She wanted to protect everyone else. They needed it. She wasn't important in the end.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[LANDON DUPREE]

He didn't know the pain? Perhaps he didn't know specifically what she was going through, but he knew a pain like no other. Staring at the Dylan, he could feel a little anger boiling up, but he held it back, not being one for violence. He would, however, set her straight. Make her realize that it couldn't be that bad. "Three years ago. It was the summer after my third year here at Hogwarts. You-Know-Who took over everything. I was in London. With my sister, who had just completed her first year here. An explosion happened." Landon took a break, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. He took a few breaths. It had been so long since he talked about his sister, but he felt that Dylan needed to hear that life could be worse. Not returning his gaze back to her, he continued. "We were in a muggle cab. It flipped upside down. My sister managed to get out first. I was crawling out when..." Landon stopped, taking a moment to clear his throat, as his voice had started to get shaky towards the end. "When a Death Eater hit my sister with a killing curse." Landon looked finally back to Dylan. "So, I do understand pain. I understand not wanting to talk to people. You just...have to."

Landon didn't know if his story would hit her, or change her mind, but at the moment, it didn't matter. He wanted her to realize that things could be much worse. Maybe, just maybe, his past experience would bring her to realize that she could talk to him. It was a bold attempt at trying to make a friend. An attempt to help someone who felt so alone in life.

Dylan was a difficult person to get through to, Landon started to realize. Which was fine. Most people who were at Hogwarts in this day of age found it difficult to want to be around people. Hope was lost nowadays. It seemed every time Landon would try to convince that hope was never gone, it always back fired and spit in his face. He was used to it. Which is why he never gave that up. "You can't go on alone. No matter how hard you try. So maybe you prefer to be alone. But, a real friend would not leave you to be alone." Landon had crossed his arms now, staring at the younger Gryffindor in front of him. "And I know that we don't know each other...but..." Landon paused once more. When it came to speaking to men and boys, he had no issue finding words to say. Just with girls. Landon found it pathetic. "If you need a friend. Or just someone to cast a hex or two on every now and then, I'm your guy." He tried throwing a very dry joke out, hoping to get a small chuckle, or heck, even a smile.

Landon watched as the girl backed away once more. He could tell that she was uncomfortable. Maybe he was pushing too much. Or seeming like someone who was trying to convince her too much on something. Maybe she really didn't want friendship. Sighing, rather heavily, he turned to a shelf of books, looking at them all. He had probably read half of them in his years at Hogwarts. "If I am bothering you, I can leave." He started, turning his attention back to her. "I...um, would just like you to think things over, you know? Think of what I said." Landon turned his attention back to the book, running his finger down the spine of one.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

Dylan stared at him in silence as he told his story. While she felt a certain sadness well up inside her, she was certain there was something awful bubbling under the surface. She had trouble holding her tongue when she was angry. Yet she wasn't angry. More scared. More fearing what would happen if she let someone in. She blinked up at him for several minutes, attempting to assess the situation without becoming stressed or upset in any way, shape or form. "My mother..." She swallowed before letting out a deep breath. Dylan was attempting to gather some kind of confidence to tell her story. "My mother is a death eater. She hates my siblings and me." She started. "My father is a muggle, he left her last year." She cleared her throat, looking down at her hands. "Since she has been making my life a living hell. And the only choice I have to let her because otherwise she will hurt my siblings. And Hogwarts was the only place we were safe for awhile."

She was shaking, trembling with fear at the fact that he would turn away. The way she expected him to. After all, most didn't want anything to do with Death Eaters, and a Death Eater's daughter was just as bad. "But she is moving to Hogsmeade. Under orders. From... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." She whispered. He thought he understand, but he didn't. He could say he understood, but he couldn't. "And the only reason they all go after me is because my mother is a Death Eater. She told them to keep an eye on me. Because she's angry that I ended up in Gryffindor." She whispered.

For several minutes she just stared at the ground. What else was there to say? "I'm alone because I don't want to piss anyone off. I'm alone because if I keep everyone else away from me to protect them. Because I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me." Dylan blinked for a moment before looking up at him. His attempt at a joke cracked the smallest of smiles on her face and she tried to hide it by looking down again. "I don't think I'll casting any such spell on you."

At the beginning, Dylan had wanted him to leave. But something about him made her want to let him stay. Simply because he was trying. More than most did. She wrapped her arms around herself before slowly shaking her head. "You don't need to leave." Her voice was no more than a whisper.

[LANDON DUPREE]

There was a moment of silence in the air after his story was done. Landon could tell that she was thinking his story over. It wasn't everyday someone told a story of watching their sister being murdered. The wait was killing him, and right before he was going to speak again, she spoke. Landon listened to her intently, showing her he was interested in what she was saying. After she finished, he blinked a few times. He could see, now, why she wasn't very social. Her home life didn't sound good. "I see." Landon replied, still thinking of the words to say. If one was to study his expression, they would see a sadness in his face. "You are right. I don't understand a hard life at home. "

The boy had not come across anyone with this problem before. Landon saw here trembling. It was obvious. He wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder to try to calm her, but he was positive she would just freak out. So he stayed put, listening to the story. Landon really perked up when he heard her mother was moving to Hogsmeade. That meant, she was going to live in Hogsmeade. "I live in Hogsmeade." Landon said after she was finished with her story. She probably wouldn't find that comforting still, but it was true. Looking behind him, seeing that the Death Eater had been poking his head around again, Landon turned back towards Dylan. "I won't let them hurt you. Not in front of me." Landon was always bold. And he didn't have any problem facing the Death Eaters. "Here. At Hogsmeade, I won't let anything happen. You have a friend in me." Landon tried offering another smile, but he doubted it would go very far.

Dylan really had a lot inside her built up. Stuff that would usually drive one mad by now. Landon wasn't scared of being hurt, however. There was only one pain he had known, and it happened three years ago. Shaking his head, he knew that the younger Gryffindor had no one to talk to. Might have been because people were scared of Death Eaters...but, he was not. "I am not scared of those slime balls. You don't have to walk these hall scared. You don't have to walk these halls feeling like no one wants to help you. Because, there is always at least one." Landon couldn't tell if his joke had brought any expressions out of her, but he could tell by her voice tone that it might have hit some kind of happier expression. Landon let his small smile stay with him.

As Landon's fingers went down spines of books, he nodded his head in response to him not having to leave. He was glad he didn't have to. Landon enjoyed helping others, and Dylan seemed like she really needed a friend right now. And that is what he was going to be. "Do you read these books? It takes your mind away from the world, even through all of the darkness." Landon kept his attention to the books for now.

[DYLAN MAZANI]

Dylan stood with her arms crossed over her chest, attempting to find some kind of comfort in herself. Attempting to box out the world was a lot easier than let them in. Letting them in allowed for others to get hurt. Allowing for others to get hurt would mean she had failed in her personal goals. Keeping others safe. That's all she wanted from her life. She wanted to make sure everyone else was happy. If they were happy, then she was doing her job right. Her mother was a pressing matter in her life. So much so that she was beginning to crack from the pressure. She had broken down several times throughout her life. While the majority of them had been in the recesses of her room or while her mother was away, lately things were turning into one giant melt down. One giant piece of hell that locked her inside.

"Most people don't. Or think they do and don't." She said with a shrug. Her eyes flicked up to his face and she shook her head for several moments. It didn't matter if he lived in Hogsmeade. It didn't matter he wouldn't let her get hurt. Dylan wasn't going to back down to her mother just because of some guy that she had met. He wasn't the reason the events in her life were happening. Landon didn't need to worry about her. He had plenty of other things to worry about. He had to have plenty of other things to deal with. Or at least, that was what she would tell herself. Convince herself really. Dylan rubbed her neck and shook her head. "It's not your problem. You don't need to put yourself on the life for me. My mom won't hesitate, and I'll be damned if I let someone get hurt over me."

He didn't understand again. He seemed to feel like he knew the answers to everything, like he felt like he could take away everything happening to her. But he didn't realize that it wasn't that simple. "No. I don't need help. I don't need you to worry about me. You've got plenty of other things to worry about. I'm not one of them." She insisted, shaking her head. The random question gave a her a break in her thoughts and the wind up of thoughts seemed to die almost entirely. "I read very little. I really should read more. But I don't.

[LANDON DUPREE]

Speaking with Dylan had opened up his eyes to everything that was going on around Hogwarts. He knew it was bad, and her story simply confirmed what he already knew. Hogwarts was a place that children still came to for safety, even with it being run by Death Eaters. Well, if one were to ask Landon how he felt about Hogwarts, he would reply that it was a school that needed help. And hope. And Dylan was a prime example of the Hogwarts student body that needed both.

Landon could tell that Dylan didn't want his help before she spoke. Her shaking her head was a key sign of that. Of course, he could have expected this. And now, he could tell why she didn't want his help. There was a long moment of silence after she had stopped speaking. Landon turned his back to her, staring in the direction that the Death Eater was, who happened to be burning a pile of books. "I took a vow three years ago that no matter what, I would bring peace to Hogwarts. To the wizarding world. I didn't know how to. Nor, did I really know where to start." Landon continued to stare at the Death Eater, hate in his eyes towards the dark robed figure. "It is because of those slimy blokes that everyone is scared. Everyone is being punished and going through things they shouldn't have to." Landon turned back to Dylan finally, staring at the girl whom he had just met. "That's just the thing. I am not scared to put my neck out there. And I am not scared to stand up to them. Maybe by helping you is where I am supposed to start."

The seriousness had left his voice however and it was now a calm and collected one that took over. When it came to talking about these books, he could speak forever. Landon had smiled when she said she didn't read. He could have expected that, with all of the worrying she did. "I have read nearly every book in this library, and I still find a new one every time I come here." Landon's eyes scanned, but didn't find the book he was looking for. Landon reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, looking at Dylan as he did. He gave a smile, before waving his wand swiftly saying "Accio Hogwarts: A History." The book came flying from over the shelves and into Landon's free hand. Turning to Dylan, he closed the distance ever so slightly between them. Just enough to where he could hand her the book with ease.

"You should read this. It tells about all of the good times Hogwarts has had. And that bad, of course. But it is a good start."