Sadie had never seen anything like this in the flesh, but she was struck suddenly by how familiar it looked. It was like one of a dozen scenes she'd seen on the news, despite her parents best efforts to hide it from her. It was yet another vision of panic rolling through a crowd after an act of violence. It was different, in person. She could taste something acrid in the air, a whipcrack whisper of terror and rage. 

Clutching George and Seine's hands, Sadie was struck with the cold realisation that maybe magic was dangerous.

Headmistress McGonagall spoke with a gravity that captured the attention of the Great Hall, gazes turning forwards to lock on her, trapped in her orbit. She spoke of a battle that Sadie only knew two paragraphs about, a footnote in the latest edition of [i]Hogwarts, A History[/i]. He Who Must Not Be Named had launched an assault on the Ministry of Magic, on Hogwarts, and reparations were slowly being made to those impacted. It had all been very rushed, saying barely anything of use. But McGonagall? There was something in her tired eyes that made Sadie realise the Headmistress had lived every moment of those scraps of sentences.

"Years ago, our sorting hat warned us that we must unite within these walls, or we will crumble from within," The wiry woman remarked, and the lines around her eyes seemed to deepen as she gazed upon the sea of students. "Those words remain as relevant as ever."

She looked to the staff table, to the row of professors. She seemed to think on something for a long moment, before turning back to the crowd.

"Classes will proceed as scheduled," She instructed. "That is all."

Sadie boggled. How could they just go to lecture, like everything was fine and normal? There were a few murmurs, but under the Headmistress' gaze, no one spoke up in opposition. She frowned, turning to look at her friends, but finding her brother's gaze along the table. He looked scared.

Sadie hadn't seen Brennan truly scared in five years. They'd been climbing trees, laughing and half-wild, climbing ever higher. She'd lost her footing, reaching for a higher branch, and she remembered the terror of plummeting to the ground. Brennan had screamed; she had bounced harmessly into the grass, but she'd never forget how quickly he clambered down to the ground, panicked.

Sadie gnawed on her lip as his expression steeled. The Great Hall was beginning to rouse, facing rapidly approaching lessons. Brennan rose, strode towards her, and Sadie had barely started to stand before he caught her arm and tugged her along after him.

"C'mon," he muttered, his voice thick. Something about his manner made Sadie stumble and fall into step with him. She looked over her shoulder at George and Seine, confused, before he lengthened his stride and she had to turn away.