Though it wasn't his home, Florent felt the need to tidy up for the meeting that was about to take place. He had been given a room to stay at this quaint rowhouse in Kennington, London by his friend Andrej Vitcav. Their brief, but exciting friendship had led to the forming of an unofficial group. Today Florent would be introducing some people to his Ravenclaw friend. A select few he had bumped into. Andrej had found some students he had trusted but did not want to sneak them off of Hogwarts grounds. Unknown to Florent he has yet to tell anybody about this. Which what was originally planned.

The clock showed it was dinner time at Hogwarts. Florent knew it was a matter of moments before his friend would arrive. He had nicked a few items from the market at was making a soup. He knew it wasn't much food, but better than nothing.

Florent heard a faint pop in the other room. He rushed to see his friend. "Hello," he said with a hug. Both glad to see each other alive once again.

For the past weeks AJ had been taking the chance to form a habit so he wouldn't be missed at dinner. He grabbed a handful of food and smuggled it to different places where he would be easily found. When students had asked him where he was he said he liked the peace and quiet. His plan had been working. He used certain nights to sneak to the owlery, transform into his Eagle form and fly off as far as possible, then apparate to his home in Kennington, London.

Tonight was one of those rule breaking nights. He had planned to meet Florent and some people Florent had met in recent weeks to discuss a list of items.

He was excited, it was like a secret organization, but not. He knew that they had to be as discreet as possible.

The walk to the Owlery needed to be done carefully. Nobody could see him. He waited for everyone to be indulging themselves in food before he left. Making the climb in the dark wasn't an easy task either. The weather had been getting worse.

The sight of birds made him feel at home. In a second he was transofrmed and flying south, as far as he could. Usually taking ten or fifteen minutes to get far enough out of Hogwarts protection. He landed in an open field. Landing and transforming back at the same time he was ready to apparate. With a twist he was gone.

Upon landing he was glad to see his familiar home and smelled something cooking in the kicthen. Out ran Florent who gave him a hug and said hello.

"Hello," he said as the hug broke. "Still alive I see?" he smiled at his older friend. "When will the others be here?"

Florent laughed at his friends humour. He was glad to see that life and death was easily to joke about. "Oui, still alive." The two of them preceded into the kitchen where Florent was trying to cook. He didn't know how well it would turn out.

"The others will be arriving sooner rather than later. I said dinner time. I try not to send specifics with owls."

Florent was adding spices and herbs to his pot.

"I hope I read the directions right. I had to substitute some spices because I nicked the wrong ones."

AJ seemed worried that Florent would blow up the house. "Here, try it." He said waving his wand. A spoon dipped in the pot and went towards AJ's mouth.

A spoon was flying towards AJ's mouth. He caught it with his right hand to slow it down. He eased it into his mouth. It didn't taste as bad as Florent made it out to be. It was quite delicious. But would it fill any of their guests? No.

"We'll need more food." he said, taking his rucksack off his back. "Luckily you can transfigure food you have to make more of it." Out poured a lot of food. Well a lot of a little. With some swish and flicks of the wand. Food was growing in quantity.

"Can you do that one spell. Where it keeps food warm?" sadly AJ had neglected to learn that spell. Florent obliged and the food was ready to eat, whenever their guests decided to arrive.

AJ went into the living room to sit down, Florent followed suit. "There has been a lot of suspicious activitied at Hogwarts. Loads of professors seem to be NDE, or at least support them." AJ was concerned about the safety of his friends.

"Any suggestions?" he pushed his grungy hair away from his forehead. It was starting to annoy him.

Torree had just gotten off of work and was ready to go to AJ's home for a small meeting. She hasn't seen Florent since their run-in at Hogsmeade. After receiving his letter telling her about the meeting, she learned that he lied about his name. She wasn't sure what to think of that. She hoped that was just for trust reasons. If she was doing the same thing as he was, she would probably lie about her name too.

Torree apparated to the house, but made sure she didn't end up inside. She'd feel a bit rude doing that. Instead, she ended up outside his door. She hoped this went well. She straightened out her clothes quickly then knocked on the door. She put a smile on, hoping to make a good first impression.

AJ had heard the knock at the door. He half expected Florent to answer the door, but he knew it was his house. He would be the one to answer the door. He stood and walked towards the front door. When he was close enough he used his wand to open the door. Standing there was a girl he thought he had once known. He knew Florent had found some old Ravenclaws but back when he was younger he tried not to notice other people.

"Hi, I'm Andrej," he said using his full name. "Please, come in." he smiled. When she walked into the room he closed the door, keeping look out for other, nonwanted people.

She sat on the sofa next to Florent. AJ took his normal chair, closest to the study. He looked at Florent to introduce the two.

He watched the two interact. When Torree sat next to himi he gave a warm smile. Noticing AJ wanted an introduction he spoke up. "Andrej, this is Torree Kendrick. A Hogwarts Healer hopeful." he said, not knowing she had secured the job since their last talk.

"She was in Ravenclaw just like you." Except AJ was still attending Hogwarts.

Florent sat back. Not knowing if he should ramble on or let them speak. Or maybe they would choose to sit in silence until more joined. He had only expected one more to come.

"How was your travels here Torree? Any muggles see you?" Florent knew this was part of the Muggleworld. And since it had been here for generations putting an enchantment around it to dissapear would raise questions. Luckily the NDE and Dark Wizards didnt think wizards would dare to live near muggles so they wouldnt think to look here for them.

When the door opened, she was expecting to see Florent. Instead, it was a young boy who looked a bit familiar. She knew there were going to be other people there as well, but she guessed this was AJ. She smiled and nodded her head when he introduced himself. He didn't say AJ, but she knew that was him now.

She walked in and took a seat next to Florent. She hadn't said anyting yet, which was strange. She normally talked people's heads off. She was nervous, but wasn't sure why. She just smiled when Florent began to speak. "Actually, i got the job." She corrected him, quite excitedly.

She nodded. "Yes, and i think i've seen you before. You do look quite familiar." She smiled softly at him. She then turned her attention back to Florent.

She shook her head. "No, i don't think so." She looked around and took in her surroundings. This was certainly nicer than her place. She looked back at AJ. "You've got quite a nice place here." She smiled.

She had complimented his home. "Thank you." he said smiling that she liked it. "It was my grandparents during the muggle wars. When they died they gave it to my parents who rented it out. When I turned 17 they gave it to me as a wizarding coming of age gift. it was rather nice.:

He thought back to his home in Bristol. His parents have since moved back to Poland. "I think it will come rather helpful if this meeting of three ever becomes a secret organization."

AJ had big ideas for this. He and Florent both wanted the same thing. He always had thought both would be the leaders, but Florent would be acting leader since he was older. AJ stood up and walked nearer to the fireplace. He flicked his wand which lit the fire. For a seventh year his magic was rather advanced. But by no means was he the greatest wizard of his age. In Transfiguration, yes. But over all...no.

"Would you both like a glass of butterbeer? It's all we have at the moment."

Florent had pictured this turning into a gathering of many more when AJ mentioned it. When AJ stood to get drinks Florent said, "Yes, bring in the pitcher of it and four cups. One more should be joining us shortly."

He didn't mean for it to come out as a command. AJ was not his slave, or his apprentice. He was his equal.

"You got the job? Congradulations." He said smiling at her. "So you will be able to keep an eye out on AJ. Make sure he doesn't get in any trouble? And the professors of course."

He had yet to tell her about their suspicions against a few of the professors. "I'm sure you two will get along. Only a few years apart."

Torree smiled as AJ talked about his place. He was very lucky to have a place like this. She wished her parents would've given her a nice place to live in. She guessed that's what she got for not writing them as much as she should've. She let those thoughts slip from her mind and turned her attention back to the two of them. Florent congradulated her.

She smiled brightly. "Thank you, i'm really happy about it." When he mentioned the next thing, her mind wandered to the man she met in the staffroom yesterday. She nodded. "Don't worry, i'll keep him out of trouble. And i've already met a Professor who's a Death Eater."

The moment she said this, her head spun a bit. She wasn't supposed to say that outloud. He wasn't a typical Death Eater. He had a lot of problems, and she promised to keep her mouth shut about him. She sighed, knowing she could do nothing about it now.

He was intrigued. "Which one?" He asked, already knowing who she would say. It seemed the only one who was daft enough to go around parading the fact was Trey Raynes. There was however Daniel Blackstone (or whatever) whom a lot of people seemed to knwo about. There were others of course.

AJ had walked back into the room, wondering what he had heard about NDE.

"Torree seems to have already met an NDE-Professor. They don't seem to be hiding their secrets well do they?" He thought for a second, "Maybe they want people ot know they have already begun to take Hogwarts!"

"It's not Prof. Raynes is it?" he said, hoping it wasn't. He wanted new information. But if a new employee already knew he was an NDE he was more wreckless with his information that AJ had thought.

"There has to be more. I see students basically crying when they come out of other professors offices. No professor is that mean, other than a darkie." AJ and Florent had begun to use the term 'darkie' as a reference to any Dark Wizard, including NDE.

AJ sat back down, putting the pitcher and glasses on the table between the chair and sofa. He began to pour himself a glass.

Torree paused for a few moments before answering. She felt bad about opening her mouth, but when she really thought about it she realized that he's still a NDE, no matter how nice he was. She figured she would just tell them. She had already said something, and if she wanted to be a part of this she was going to have to do things like this. She was gonna have to learn to not be so nice.

She was about to speak when AJ walked back into the room and asked a question. She looked at him confused for a few seconds, then nodded her head. "Yes, how did you know that?" Apparently, he was way too open with this then he should be.

"I've heard stories from students. And I've been watching him in class. He does some things. But having an Auror as his professor," he turned to Florent, "Raynes is an assistant professor." He turned back to Torree, "he has been kept in check."

AJ was glad there were auror professors. but he had hoped there were also more Aurors out in the streets. AJ Quickly changed the subject.

"So Torree, if this group, whatever you want to call it, begins hunting, will you be able to help? I know you have a job. But we need all of the help be can get."

Florent nodded in agreement with AJ.

"Yes...things will get dangerous." Florent added.

He looked at AJ, who knew the gravity of the situation. Florent hadn't really told Torree about it. Cassidy did know about it and wanted to join. He was hoping Torree would be willing to help.

"We wouldnt ask you to leave your job. But we would be asking you to do things you never would have expected."

The light meeting had suddenly turned very serious. Florent looked at his watch. He was wondering where Cassidy was. She should have been here by now.

Torree thought about it for a moment after they both said something about it. She would love to help, but wasn't sure what it would require her to do. And if it would interfere with her job. She actually didn't care that much. She needed something new in her life. She's been looking for a change, and this could be exactly what she wanted.

As she came back from her thoughts, she noticed the tension in the air. It was getting more serious now, and it took her by surprise. She slowly nodded, looking between the two. "You know, you guys have a really good thing going here. I would be honored to be a part of it." She smiled.

She landed her eyes on AJ. She wondered how he could be so young, yet so advanced. He shouldn't be doing something like this at that age, but he knew what he was doing and she could tell he loved it.

Florent hadn't been sure if she would be willing to join. He was glad when she seemed to want to. The living room was now accompanied by a roaring fire, the three of them sipped butterbeer and made small talk. The three of them were beginning to understand each other better. When Florent decided to ask something that had been on his mind:

"What made you want to start hunting?" though he wasn't sure Torree ever had planned on doing it and running into Florent sort of pushed her in this direction he was curious on what she had to say. And AJ never fully explained his reasoning.

Things seemed to be more relaxed now. They were just enjoying each others company and talking a lot. They were definitely getting to know each other much better. She wondered who this fourth person was and when they were going to be there. She didn't want to ask though, so she just let it go.

The next question that Florent asked threw Torree off a bit. She looked at him, then paused for a few moments before answering. She wasn't even sure how to answer.

"Um, well i've never really took interest in it actually." She shrugged. "I've obviously always been against the NDE and everything they stand for, but hunting Dark Wizards never actually came to my mind." She looked around, then back to Florent. "When i met you and you talked about it a little bit, i got more interested. It's a really good thing that you guys are doing, and i realized that i'd want to be a part of something so great." She smiled. "And i need some excitement in my life."

AJ listened to Torree's reasoning. He was glad she bumped into Florent then. She seemed like a valuable person to have.

"Well I was sick and tired of the NDE terrorizing muggles. Then I found out there were just darkies who supported NDE but werent members. It sickened me. So I went out hunting."

He then added something he had yet to tell Florent. "I tried to start a student resistance, but the Headmaster caught wind of it and made a verbal warning against me. Though he didn't know it was me. I was going to call it the White Rose, named after a muggle student resistance group. Their slogan was "We will not be silent". But if we use that, the headmaster will know a student is involved."

AJ had been thinking of what they could call themselves to recruit members. It was something that was most important to him. A name could go a wrong way. He wanted to put fear into darkies.

Torree nodded. "I know. It's ridiculous how many people out there hate muggleborns and what not. They're not better than us just because their pureblood." She frowned and shook her head. "It's upsetting." She has had a lot of problems in her life with people like that. She was put through a lot of crap, and she was ready to get them back.

That's when it really hit her. That was the real reason she wanted to do this. To get back at everyone who has caused her so much trouble. It was her turn now, and she felt passionate about it. Thinking about this upset her, and it showed in her face. She was zoned out, but her eyes were sad. They suddenly changed to angry. It was as if she was already changing. It usually took a lot for her to get angry.

She then came back from her mind and looked at them, taking a deep breath.

Florent saw she was angry in her eyes. One of his talents was reading people. He learned it from the muggle card game called Poker. He watched peoples eyes to see what they were feeling.

"Darkies are serious wizards. Some are crazy and will kill with out thinking about it. Prison doesn't scare them, not now that dementors aren't used. They think they can break out whenver they want."

Florent's eyes smoldered. He thought he had saw someone in the shadows outside, but wasn't sure. He looked at AJ and nodded towards the door. AJ looked, seemingly knowing what Florent thought.

"Shh..." he said crouching towards the window, AJ followed suit. They saw the shadow right outside.

"On three," he whispered. Counting with his fingers he was ready to open the door, with AJ ready to curse whoever was outside. "Three!" The door opened quickly, AJ was about to strike. Florent stopped him just in time.

"Stop!" he looked at the woman at the door. "Come in quickly."

Cassidy wandered down the street, perhaps a little tentatively you could say. She was nervous, to say the least. She was finally going to be in on some big plan to at least get rid of some 'darkies' as she had heard Florent call them. The thought created a smile on her features. She reached the house, hoping she had the right place. She wasn't sure. Hesistating, she waited momentarily by the door before having the nerve to knock.

Just as Cass raised her hand, ready to knock, the door flung open, catching her by surprise. She uttered a faint "Oh." But resignation slowly sank in, of course it still took her a couple of seconds to register what had happened. She flushed, and bustled inside, hoping she hadn't been too late. But with one swift glance around the room, she figured she would be the last one here. "Hi..." She offered, not quite sure what else to say for once in her life.

AJ had watched the lady enter and give a hello. He was the youngest one here but the two girls looked younger than he. Or perhaps he just looked older than them. She looked amazing.

"Hello, I'm Andrej." he said extending his hand. She used to be in Ravenclaw as well, at least that is what Florent said. The three of them sat down as Florent brought food in.

"Thank you Florent. I was just about to ask anyone." He said. Here they were, four people who barely knew each other. Florent had met the other two, but AJ had not. Torree had been here for quite a while but this new girl, who must be Cassidy just entered and he wanted to know more.

"How are you doing?" he asked the new member of their dinner party.

Cassidy came in and AJ introduced himself. Florent noticed AJ's eyes when he saw Cassidy. They had sat down and joined Torree but Florent went to the kitchen to get food. He flicked his wand and made food float into living room.

"Here you go." he told them. AJ said thanks and asked Cassidy how she was. "Oh and this is Torree," he added pointing Torree.

He sat down looking at the others, grabbing food to put on his plate. He was excited to have another meal. He had been living off of fruit from outdoor markets.

Cass smiled, beginning to feel more at ease. She took the boys hand, realizing, before he introduced himself, that he must be AJ. "I'm Cassidy... Or Cass really. Anything but Cassidy." She grinned her infamous friendly grin, now more excited than ever to be here.

She looked over in Torree's direction, recognition sinking in. It was the girl from Hogsmeade, the one that she'd run into. "Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," She exclaimed, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice. Still, she was glad to see a familiar face.

Turning back to AJ at his question, still smiling that friendly grin, she offered, "Fine thanks. And yourself?"

Torree sat there in silence as the events took place in front of her. She was a bit surprised when she saw Cass walk in. She was glad, though. She had only talked to her once, but she was really nice. She figured out then this is probably the reason she knew her when they bumped into each other. Yes, it all came to her.

They all joined her again and Florent brought out food when AJ and Cass got aquainted. Torree still hadn't said anything until Florent introduced her. She smiled brightly when Cass spoke. "Surprise to me, too." She looked up at Florent. "Don't worry, we've already met." She smiled.

OOC: Sorry, forgot to switch!

AJ was surprised when the ladies knew each other. It was good though, got awkard introductions out of the way. "I'm fine." He said looking at the three of them. Everyone had food, all were making small talk getting to know each other.

"So what do we do now? Arrange another meeting?" he asked breaking up the chit chat. "Or try and recruit more people?" he wasnt sure if that was wise at this point.

AJ, for the first time, didn't know what he was to do. "Any suggestions?" he looked around. He was the youngest, he didnt want to seem like he was making all of the decisions.

Torree thought about AJ's question for a minute. She could tell that he really wasn't sure what to do now. She didn't know any better than him. She thought that she was supposed to be the one learning here. She felt like she was a student and AJ was an adult in this situation. She had so much to learn and was excited to start it. Torree then went back to her question. She may have not known much, but she figured she could make sensible suggestions.

"Well, i think we should have another meeting. Talk things out some more. Then we can recruit people?" She asked more than stated, hoping it was an alright suggestion.

"That sounds like a good idea." Florent said. He wanted to take things slow at the moment. Rushing into finding others to help might be a bad thing.

The four of them sat around, all thinking about different things. The conversation had died down. Perhaps they all had just realized how dangerous this could be. One slip up could lead to death. Florent was ready for it. He had escaped death already many times. He always had known he would die by the hands of a darkie. So far though, he had been lucky.

After talking and having good conversation for a while, it seemed to stop. It was strange actually. Not much had been said to cause this, but it was as if they all had the same exact thoughts. It just seemed like the four of them were meant to be brought together and do something good. This was almost perfect.

Torree couldn't help but feel like she was probably the least experienced here. Not in healing though, of course, and she could be a great asset in many ways. But with other things, she felt almost out of place. She was beginning to worry what she was getting herself into. Well, she basically knew, but also had a feeling that she really had no idea.

She turned to Florent, hoping that he could help her. "Florent, can i talk to you privately?" She figured he'd be the best to turn to, since he introduced this all to her.

Florent was interested when Torree said she wanted to talk privately. "Of course," he said standing up. "We can go into the back room."

He led her to the room which was lined with bookshelves. It was quite a small room, but big enough to hold a couple of chairs and a desk.

"What's going on?" he asked, closing the door. He stole a glance at AJ and Cassidy. He wanted to make sure they werent feeling awkward.

Florent sat down in one of the chairs; gesturing Torree to the other one.

Torree was a bit nervous to talk to him about this. She didn't want him getting the wrong idea, that she didn't want to do it. She really did, but wanted to know some things before she got too into it. She hadn't thought it through as much as she should've and thought i would be smart to. Now was the perfect time.

She walked over and sat in the other chair, glancing around the room. She looked back at Florent, the expression on her face showed her angst but she tried her best to hide it. It wasn't working too well.

"Well, you obviously know that i'm really interested in this." She smiled subtly. "But i think i need to know more. I mean, in your opinion..is this honestly something someone like me should be doing?"

She stared at him, waiting for his reply. She hoped it was good.

He listened to her concern. "Someone like you?" he was confused. "In the short time I have known you, I have gathered that you are smart, brave, and willing to do something for a cause." His accent was beginning to thicken again. He needed to control it better so Dark Wizards wouldnt be able pick his accent up.

"Ze plan eesn't to have you fighteeng. But as backup and as a medeec."

He looked at her, knowing how valuable she could be. "Having you heer would be valuable. We cannot be goeeng to Mungo's everytime sometheeng happens."

OOC: I'm trying to have him in a French accent. I dunno if it is working. LOL

OOC: Haha, it think it's fine. I actually like it because i can't really picture it unless you spell it out like that.

IC:

She smiled when he began speaking. She had no idea that he thought this way. She didn't think that she was going to be that important to this whole thing, but she was quickly proven wrong.

She noticed his accent suddently got much heavier. It was random, but she didn't mind it. She could still understand him completely, and that's all that mattered. Even if he began speaking French, she wouldn't mind. She began learning French a few years ago, she loved it.

Torree nodded. "Okay, that also just answered a few of my other questions." She smiled. "Well i can assure you that i will never let you down as a Healer." She wasn't so sure about the fighting part, but she wouldn't mention that. She knew she could hold her own, but this is probably way more than she's ever had to deal with.

She looked at him, smiling softly. She wondered how she ever ran into him. Though she was glad she did.

He smiled at her. "You will be très valable." he had been slipping more often. It was when he was comfortable with a person, he wasn't on gaurd. He was letting out his true self. "Vary valuable that ees. Sorry, I usuallee make sure I don't sleep when I'm around darkies. Eet's nice to be myself now and again."

Florent was happy she understood she was going to be an important person within the group. Going to St. Mungo's would cause suspiscion. Having her around would be loads of help.

Torree smiled. She was happy to know that he could now be himself around her. She was a bit scared that this would be nothing but buniness. She was relieved to know she had a friend in him. "Don't worry about." She laughed a bit at how much different he sounded now.

"And by the way, i know French. So if you ever feel the need to speak it, be my guest." She smiled. She wasn't sure if AJ or Cass knew French, but it would probably be good if they did.

"Je suis excité pour travailler avec vous." She smiled, hoping she got that right. She wasn't an expert or anything, but she knew most.

While Florent and Torree were talking in the other room, AJ was left alone with Cassidy. They sat there eating. She looked tired from a long journey, or perhaps this was her usual expression.

"Florent says you were in Ravenclaw? So was Torree I guess. It seems the smart ones are also the more wreckless ones as well?" he said trying to break the ice. He knew friendship and trust would matter most in this thing they were trying to do.

"What have you been doing since you left Hogwarts then?"

Cass watched as Torree and Florent left the room, leaving her with AJ. She didn't mind that of course, besides it gave her the perfect opportunity to get to know AJ. She figured that forming a bond and creating trust were going to be two of the most important things that would help to keep them alive. She nodded as AJ brought up that she used to be in Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, I was a Ravenclaw. Seems like it, doesn't it? We're practically all Ravenclaws here... I have expected some Gryffindors here or something," She rattled on with a shrug. "I guess you could say I'm wreckless, but I would go for more of independent streak and quite determined to prove that I can do some good.... Perhaps that can be interpreted as wreckless." She sighed, realizing that she was babbling and figured now would be a good time to stop.

"Pretty much I've jumped from job to job. I get bored too easily. I've been waiting for a chance like this to come along for ages."

AJ listened as she mentioned she would expect some Gryffindors. "Yeah, but I suppose Florent just hadn't met any of em." AJ knew he was supposed to be finding seventh years like himself to join the cause, but he didn't know anybody who was skilled enough. But he knew they needed numbers.

"Well nows the chance," he said taking a drink. "We're gonna get those darkies."