𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐈𝐀 | Remus Lupin (2)

(𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝟐𝟑) basilisk

Everyone nodded, casting glances of worry and hope. Athena couldn't help but feel that knowing what the monster was wouldn't help them very much. She knew that for now she'd have to think of more ways to prevent these attacks however with Dumbledore gone, she was running thin on options.

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The rules weren't taken well by all the students. Hogwarts often gave people a sense of freedom and now the constant regulations felt as though they were in prison rather than in school.

Of course it was for their own safety and many students understood this. They weren't constantly being watched over. The common rooms had been considered safe spaces where guidance wasn't needed however everywhere else, they had to be watched constantly.

Athena had to walk students between lessons which she'd been doing with most of the younger students anyway. Her midnight lessons had been moved to during the day for the time being, it just made more sense.

Students walking the school in the middle of the night felt foreboding and McGonagall didn't want to take any unnecessary chances.

From walking students around so much, Athena's legs were beginning to ache from going up and down the astronomy staircase.

She had even less free time now that her lessons had all been forced into one day. This meant that she had to cram in her research over Basilisks. Often, Athena found herself reading books by the moonlight, finally thinking that her insomnia came in handy.

Athena also didn't have any time to see Harry, Ron or Neville. In lessons they preferred not to talk to her so casually when everyone was around. However they couldn't come to her office without being escorted and even if Athena went to fetch them, they had limited time.

From what Athena had seen of them, they looked scared. Harry and Ron especially were shaken over what had happened to Hermione.

Every time that Athena did see them, she noticed that Harry and Ron would be whispering among themselves as though planning something. She knew what they were like, she'd seen it first hand last year.

Whenever there was a mystery, Harry wanted to solve it. The same case had been through the philosopher's stone. As much as Athena had tried to deter them from this, they'd been determined to figure out what was going on.

Athena had been worried by this last year however now it was even worse. The idea that they could end up walking into the Basilisk scared her more than she could put into words.

So far, all of the victims of the attacks had been lucky enough to not look the creature in the eyes. Athena wasn't sure that they could always be so fortunate.

They decided against telling the students about the monster being a Basilisk. Athena had suggested that they should, that way the children would know what to expect however McGonagall hadn't wanted to create unnecessary fear.

Teachers followed them everywhere and there were certain precautions put into place to ensure that they wouldn't be attacked when all together. Teachers would perform detecting charms whenever possible, always ready to cast a charm of darkness whenever necessary.

For now, the students safety was their priority but also their mental well-being. Athena personally wasn't sure whether keeping this information was a good idea however she trusted McGonagall and therefore stuck to her rules.

The mandrakes were yet to be ready to be fed to those who were petrified. Athena just hoped that no more stone cold students would be added to the hospital beds.

Athena couldn't help but glance into the wing whenever she walked past. The screens placed around the beds lit that unsettling feeling inside her.

As she lay awake, the memories of the occurrences in Hagrid's hut continuously came back to her.

She wondered whether Hagrid had been right about Malfoy blackmailing the governors, she didn't see any other reasonable explanation towards why Dumbledore being removed from the school seemed like a good idea.

Athena also wondered why everyone had been talking as though someone else was in the room. The idea had crossed her mind of course. She knew that Harry had an invisibility cloak yet she wondered what he was up to at all.

She worried about him in most of her spare time. Trying to figure out why Hagrid had said to follow the spiders. It seemed like very threatening information.

Athena knew that she didn't want to go anywhere near spiders if she could help it and she hoped that Harry would share this opinion too.

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A/n
Words - 1740
Published - 7th May 2021