make this chaos count

johanna, 19, madam puddifoot's make my messes matter

[lawrences-yuan-deactivated20210]

St. Mungo’s

[johanna-on-fire]

lawrences-yuan:

“W-why wouldn’t I w-w-want you here? I l-l-like brownies. Fuck. I wish mmmm-m-more of you spoke Mandarin, though.” Lawrence reached out and took a brownie before explaining. “I a-apparently st-stutter much l-less in Chinese nnn-n-n-now. Vocab’s a little iffy in b-both, b-but the healers s-s-say most of Me should b-be back s-soon.”

Johanna’s stomach dropped and her expression grew even more nervous. “Nobody, er, told you?” she said quietly, sitting down in the chair near the hospital bed and putting the brownies on a table so that they would be there if Lawrence changed his mind about wanting them there. “I feel like you should know... But I don’t want to freak you out if you’re, like, already in bad shape. Sorry, I’m making this worse, aren’t I?”

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

Sam’s jaw locked. If he heard another single person act as though she’d actually had a choice in leaving. This wasn’t about guilt. A louder crash, followed by a scream broke his tension. He looked down at Johanna, biting his lip. There was no stopping her, he groaned, closing his eyes, but physically relenting as he pulled out his wand. “Yeah that’s what everyone says before they get their bloody arse blown off,” he growled, “Why do I always end up surrounded by bloody heroes?” Rolling his eyes, the scotsman huffed. “No running off. You stay close, and no bleeding heroics, alright? You can’t save anyone if you’re dead.”

“Didn’t I just say it? I’m not going to die tonight,” Johanna assured Sam, and saying it made her believe it, too. Convincing Sam that she could handle this took first convincing herself, and it seemed that convincing herself was not as hard as she had thought it was. “You ready to do this?”

[neither-norah-blog]

Sentinel || The Castle || Open Para

[johanna-on-fire]

neither-norah:

“Hey,” Norah smiled, and stepped towards Johanna, laying a hand gently on her shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with losing your shit. Merlin, even I’m nervous as hell. But I’m nervous because I know what’s at stake. And I’m not going to fail you all.” Stepping back, the witch gave a slightly more impish grin. “Besides. I’m a scrapper. I love a fight.”

Johanna smiled in spite of everything else happening. There was something about the conviction in Norah’s voice that made Johanna feel just a little better; like even if the castle fell tonight it wouldn’t be the kind of victory the attackers were hoping for. And maybe, despite the suspicions about her, Johanna could prove whose side she was on. “You know, I talk a lot of shit on the auror department sometimes,” she said bluntly. “But thank you. I mean that.”

[neither-norah-blog]

Sentinel || The Castle || Open Para

[johanna-on-fire]

neither-norah:

Norah gave a rueful smiled and laid a hand on the wall, before turning her smile on Johanna. The girl was starting to ramble, textbook nerves, Norah assumed. “Not if I have anything to do with it,” she reassured her, squaring her shoulders again. And she wasn’t alone. But if this war had already taken one home from her, she would die before letting anyone do the same to these students.

“I’m not trying to say you can’t, but how can you be so sure?” Norah seemed so calm and she was only a few years older. Jo remembered going to school with her. There must have been some kind of tough-person training. “Like, I’m losing my shit right now.”

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

“Jo!” He hissed, voice raising slightly. “You go out there all guns blazing and you might end up getting killed! Nobody plans on getting hurt but we’re just kids still.” His usual mask of calm was slipping. The noises were only getting louder, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t convinced it was all happening now. He clenched his jaw so tight it ached. “I made her a promise Jo. I swore I would look after you. If we go out there I can’t promise that.” He knew the answer though. He could see it in her eyes. 

“Promised who? Prue?” Johanna’s voice got higher and tighter. She did not want to have this conversation, and she was positive Sam didn’t want to have it either. “Well, if she cared so much about me she should have stayed! She doesn’t get to have no guilt if something happens to me just because she put it all on you. But nothing’s going to happen to me anyway, because I can handle myself and I won’t lose this fight! Now can we please go?”

[just-love12]

She had no underwear.

I swear i can’t stop laughing with these three.

BESTSCENE

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

Sam’s eyes widened at the obvious signs of trouble ahead, but no sooner had he turned back to warn Johanna to stay put than she was already pushing past him. “Jo! No!” He yelped, lurching after her, and catching up with her in a few steps. “What the hell, are you trying to get yourself killed! We should stay here. The library is safest - we can hide here. Fortify it even, if we go out there we’re screwed,” he hissed, feeling a sudden fear in his chest. He had to keep her safe. And… ice gripped him. Matt. Where was his brother? If they were in the school did that mean…

“Screwed? Like all of the kids in this place?!” Johanna stopped when Sam caught up with her but still had every intention of leaving the library. “I came here to defend my school, not to hide while it got destroyed. So let me do it. I’ll be fine. I am not planning on getting myself killed.” There was a thundering noise as another rush of footsteps passed overhead and some screams. Maybe it was just in her mind, but Johanna had a terrible feeling they may not have come from adults. She gripped her wand harder. “Sam,” she pleaded. “I don’t want to leave you here.”

[neither-norah-blog]

Sentinel || The Castle || Open Para

[johanna-on-fire]

neither-norah:

Norah softened for a moment. She didn’t quite meet the younger witch’s gaze as she nodded. “I know. It means a lot to me too,” she answered, gentle for once. “But the people are more important than the bricks, ok? If something happens, you have to be careful… ok?”

“I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Johanna said, looking around at the castle and imagining that there really was a chance this could all be gone by the next day. Norah was right, of course, people were more important than bricks, but Hogwarts had taken on a different kind of quality from any other place. “Isn’t it crazy that this place was in ruins, like, twenty-five years ago? And it could be again tomorrow? Like, I’m kind of glad I wasn’t alive for the first one because I don’t think I could deal with watching that happen twice.”

[lawrences-yuan-deactivated20210]

St. Mungo’s

Where am I? The cliche question barreled into his mind like a freight train, which, coincidentally, was what he felt like he was hit by. Healers have come in periodically, things have been explained to him more than once, but he still…where am I? Why? What happened? Why can’t I remember but some of it?

He groaned as the door creaked open - twice in one hour, huh? they must really be worried about his memory - and he turned his face into the pillow. He tried to snap at the healer, but could barely form a word without stammering or speaking as if he was a recording being played at 85% speed.

“U-unless y-y-y-y-y-you’re hhhere with s-some more p-p-pain potions, g-g-g-go away. I alr-ready know wwwwwwhat’s wrong with m-me. I know what a T-TBI  i-is. My f-father’s a neurosurgeon, h-he can explain…just s-st-stop.”

When the footsteps didn’t retreat, Lawrence looked to the door. “Huh?” He couldn’t see right, sometimes, and now was one of those sometimes. A person. Not in healers’ robes? Thank Merlin.

[johanna-on-fire]

Johanna stood in the doorway, pale and frozen, as though she had walked into a haunted house and met the ghost in charge of the whole operation. It was difficult to stop the flashbacks from beginning another replay. “Hi,” she said nervously, with no idea whether or not Lawrence would recognize her as his attacker. She knew there was a very good chance she would be thrown out, especially if Thea saw her. “It’s me. Er, I understand if you don’t want me to be here, but I heard you were... you were alive, and I came as fast as I could... yeah. Erm,” she held up a plate. “I brought brownies.”

[neither-norah-blog]

Sentinel || The Castle || Open Para

[johanna-on-fire]

neither-norah:

“JESUS Johanna!” Norah cursed, having to take a deep breath and lower her wand as her brain filtered who the sudden apparition had actually been. “All quiet so far. I don’t know if that’s worse or not.” She growled. This waiting was getting to her. Hairs prickling on the back of her neck. “Bu you shouldn’t be out here.”

Norah’s tone made Johanna jump, afraid Norah really thought she was an attacker, but she caught her breath once Norah lowered her voice. “Sorry,” she said, looking around. “I’m just trying to help. This place is like home to me, you know?”

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

“We don’t jump to conclusions.” Sam cautioned her, looking around. How many people were even here? In the library at this hour. It couldn’t be many, right? Where was the safest part of the library. He stood tentatively. “Relax, ok?” Panicking would be no good now. He edged slowly towards the end of the row of shelves, sticking his head around it. All seemed quiet now…

As soon as Sam stood up, Johanna did too and drew her wand, following him. “Something’s not right, Sam, this isn’t me jumping to conclusions. I just know--” An explosion of voices suddenly erupted from the corridor and flashes of light were visible from the small windows in the doors to the library. “It’s happening! Fuck, Sam, we have to do something!” Johanna cried, starting toward the doors with her wand raised in front of her.

[poppy-poppers]

St. Mungo’s  //  Post Attacks

[johanna-on-fire]

poppy-poppers:

Poppy just stared straight at Johanna for a few seconds, not understanding why she was being asked that question when she had no idea what was going on. It took her longer than she wanted to let on to even remember who Johanna’s brother was. “Uh….mental ward?” Poppy offered, unsure of how else to respond at that moment. She hadn’t seen anyone who looked like one of the Corners go by, but then again, everyone seemed to blur together with how fast they were going.

“What? Poppy, this is serious!” Johanna continued hysterically. It didn’t occur to her that Poppy was likely just as confused, if not more confused than Johanna was. “Who’s in charge around here? I need to see who’s in charge around here! Now!”

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

Sam slowly slid a pencil between the page of the book he’d been reading. He strained his ears. There was only silence. “You know that instinct of yours to run straight towards trouble is an evolutionary anomaly,” he sighed, but then there came another crash. This time louder than the first. Was he imagining it, or did it sound like people hurrying in the distance? His jaw twitched. 

Johanna almost started laughing at Sam’s comment, but then she heard the crash and tensed. “Sam,” she said seriously, mind racing as she tried to remember everything they had done in defense club. “Sam, what do we do now?”

[poppy-poppers]

St. Mungo’s  //  Post Attacks

Poppy had been stuck there since mid-afternoon, sprawling herself strategically and with occasional changes in position over the waiting room chairs. She’d had her meeting with a specialist Healer pushed back repeatedly as something more important always came up. All she wanted was an official all-clear to play Quidditch again, but there was nothing she seemed to be able to do that could make the meeting happen sooner rather than later. She was about to tear her hair out when chaos suddenly erupted in the waiting room. Nurses and Healers were shouting and Apparating in, some in plainclothes and not their uniforms but Poppy recognized their faces. There was shouting from all directions, and before Poppy could even manage to ask a nurse or Healer what was going on, the first of the injured were arriving.

[johanna-on-fire]

Johanna had some cuts and bruises herself from the fight at the castle, but nothing serious enough to need a Healer. She was at St. Mungo’s not because she needed medical attention or knew for sure that anyone did, but because she assumed that was where anyone who was seriously injured would be, and her mind had already jumped to the conclusion that Ed was. 

“Where’s my brother?” She ran up to the first person she saw, who wasn’t a Healer, but who Johanna assumed knew what was going on.

[johanna-on-fire]

In the Library

[johanna-on-fire]

the-storm-macleod:

Sam’s head raised at the sound of the crash. He looked up, one hand reaching up and slowly removing his reading glasses. “I’m sure it’s just Peeves, or some other idiotic prank…” He answered slowly, a hint of caution in his voice. There was a prickle at the back of his neck that felt all too familiar, but, he forced himself to remember, not all crashes were the telltale signs of someone stumbling home drunk, fists at the ready. 

Johanna nodded and crossed her arms, looking around. “Yeah, it was probably nothing.” She tried to ignore it and move on, but after a couple of seconds she couldn’t. “Do you think we should go check it out? Like, just in case.”

[neither-norah-blog]

Sentinel || The Castle || Open Para

Norah paced. Exactly as she was supposed to. She had a job to do but if felt like her senses were dialled up to eleven. Every whisper of wind could be a curse hurtling at the castle’s defences, every twig that cracked a swarm of enemies coming to try and get past them. She forced herself to let out a slow breath, trying to steady herself as she relaxed her grip on her wand. This was agony, the waiting, the pretence that this was any ordinary night. It was almost enough to make her wish they hadn’t been tipped off - although of course that was ridiculous. This preparation might be what saved lives, and recaptured those planning such an attack. Norah forced out another breath, counting to three and trying not to let her stress show. Waiting was the worst.

[johanna-on-fire]

Johanna was getting antsy. She knew that the ideal outcome, of course, was that the battle wouldn’t happen at all, but it was agony to sit in the library and just wait. The irrational part of her wanted to go find Micah and ask him where the invaders were. And then the irrational part of her won, and Johanna was out in the hallway without a word, where she immediately ran into Norah. “How’s it looking?” she asked nervously.

[crownvetch-deactivated20181219]

me