Elliot had been a nervous wreck since returning from the holidays and it showed in the sunken hollows beneath his eyes. Even with a week's worth of Quidditch practices and course work and spending time with Aubrey hadn't done much to diminish his irritation and anger. His father, his own father!, was being questioned about ties to the You-Know-Who. It had started just a few days after Boxing Day, and Elliot had been horrified. Just because his cousin had been one of the foul Death Eaters didn't make the whole of his family loyal. The Ministry, he knew, felt different. They had his entire family - not just his immediate family, but all the cousins and aunts and uncles - all of them under surveillance. He was sure it wasn't even legal. Yet, there it was.
At least he wasn't under their watchful eye while at Hogwarts, or at least, he was surely hopeful that they weren't. He was sure that Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't allow it. Having Aurors and Hit Wizards swarming about the place during the war had been one thing, but allowing the Ministry to have eyes and ears within the castle now seemed impossible. With that knowledge, Elliot felt confident that he could proceed with his own plans without worry.
Of course, the question was, what were those plans? It was clear that there were any number of students at the school who had the same problem as him: a Death Eater in the family. What wasn't quite as clear was just who supported that position and who didn't. What he needed was someone to talk with. Someone to bounce ideas off and what not. To that end, he'd passed around some quiet suggestions for those who were disgusted with the news coming out daily about Death Eaters to join him in the corner nearest the fireplace after dinner.
He was glad to see a few faces gathering as he walked in.





