James was beyond relieved when Luna appeared, a bleary-eyed Hillevi in tow, almost an hour later.
He was hardly surprised that the rest of her group felt the same, swamping the poor girl with apologies and assurances and hugs, or when the Gauntlet Team joined in.
What did, however, was how the House of the Brave closed ranks like a steel trap.
From the lowliest First Year to the fiercest Seventh Year, Gryffindor froze out Professor Snape, giving the man little more than burning glares and silence even in class, and purposely went about earning extra points with every other professor to counteract his attempts at punishment.
Professor McGonagall pointedly said nothing about the whole affair, even when Fred and George openly schemed, though no one missed how there were always extra cookies and ice cream in Gryffindor Tower during the same time.
James stood solidly in their camp, of course, though his attention was focused on making sure Hillevi recovered from such a long bout of insomnia.
Hufflepuff joined in the effort, commiserating on House loyalty, and even some Ravenclaws, though Slytherin made a point to stay neutral in the whole affair.
Professor Snape held out for a long, stubborn week before caving.
Hillevi was aware-now more than ever-that she had a horrible habit of avoiding issues that bothered her.
First her childhood, then the loss of her foot, then what happened with the Master Ball…
There was a very good reason nightmares were such a frequent occurrence.
Still, Hillevi found herself avoiding the Head of Slytherin House, unable to show up in his class longer than necessary to hand in an assignment before bolting.
Sharpshot's near-constant snarl in said class probably helped; Charmeleon were not exactly known for being forgiving, and she had heard one too many people say those words-"All of…this."-to her girl.
Cloudjumper giggled as she twirled up between the branches, barely letting Stormfly and Drumfire brush her tailfeathers before dancing away, skimming just over Meatlug's spikes.
The Lairon slit one eye open, Brightclaw swaying on her back, and Hillevi settled back against sun-warm metal armor, unable to keep from smiling.
Tail twitching lazily, Toothless let out a low purr that made the very trees shiver, utterly content and happy to be out of his Poke Ball.
Grumbling under her breath, Sharpshot lectured Blackstar and Gemtrail on the mock-battle Skullcrusher and Lockjaw were engaged in, Dexter taking pictures from every angle as the young Pokemon tossed rocks and mud at each.
Hillevi blinked sleepily, sensing that something had changed, and realized Toothless was no longer purring.
The shiny Legendary lifted his head, looking back towards Hogwarts, and Cloudjumper stopped midair, Stormfly and Drumfire landing on her wings.
Sharpshot turned her head, tail-flame flaring, as the rowdy quartet huddled around the Fire-type, and Brightclaw slithered to the base of Meatlug's foremost back-spike, wary.
"Levi…?" Dexter wondered, floating over to land on her shoulder as Hillevi stood.
Mean man.
The thought spread like ripples in still water, and Sharpshot bared sharp fangs and Meatlug rumbled in upset.
"Stand down." The Valhallan ordered, watching Professor Snape approach through the trees.
Cloudjumper whined, but floated down to herd the young Dragons into Toothless' protective coils as Sharpshot fell back to flank her with Meatlug, chuffing sparks.
Taking in a deep breath, Hillevi forced herself to look up at the Potions Professor as he stopped just outside the clearing in deference to Toothless' presence.
"Hello, professor." She greeted levelly. "I wasn't expecting to see you out here."
"Since you have made it a point to avoid my class, I had little choice." Professor Snape replied, gaze darting up for a moment as Toothless shifted, one clawed paw settling next to her. "I wanted to apologize for my…insensitive remark. It was not my intention to make you cry."
"Probably not the first time you've made a student cry." The reddish-brunette noted, an uncertain smile forming. "But I went in knowing I was…compromised, and I should have known better. I'm sorry."
"Even compromised, you are still leagues more competent than your classmates." He drawled, and she bit back a giggle. "Just call off your Growlithes, and I'll consider us even. Their barking is giving me a headache."
Sharpshot shook embers from her tail-flame as Hillevi smiled at the thought, shoulders rolling back.
"Of course, professor."
