in the eye of a hurricane there is quiet

Julian Wood. 23 on July 10th. Transfiguration Professor, Hogwarts. He/his/him. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts." - Minerva McGonagall Office hours are on Tuesdays, or by appointment.

[wondiirection]

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[julian--wood]

Julian Wood’s posts with Biting Down are now archived below.

[julian--wood]

For The First Time In Forever: [ Ethan | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

ethanwoodx‌:

“You actually kept that thing. Thought you would have burned it or pitched it off the astronomy tower or somethin’.” Ethan teased, half in genuine jest and half in utter disbelief. After all these years, the middle Wood would have bet any amount of galleons on his brother ridding himself of all things Quidditch, especially his Firebolt. Then again, Ethan saw a glimmer of something that day in the underground league. It seemed he may have had Jules wrong this whole time. 

Ethan stepped forward to take a closer look at the broomstick Julian now possessed. There was no mistaking it was a Wood family original—practically a precious heirloom that Ethan would have had promptly displayed in the Quidditch Hall of Fame if it was his, and well— he planned to. He sported the same model at one time, straight down the golden lettering. It was a tradition Ethan continued to keep up no matter the make or model Firebolt he endorsed. His initials were always delicately craved into broomstick’s wooden handle, even on the Firebolt Ethan current held onto now. 

A boyish grin spread across his lips as Ethan nodded towards the pitch, eyes brimmed with nostalgia. Merlin, the hours they used to spend chasing one another through the air on those damn things. “Let’s see if this bad boy’s still got it then, yeah?”

Julian scoffed half-heartedly, feeling a little embarrassed as he mounted the broom. He brushed some of the dust off, though “What? I’m not gonna be able to afford a new broom on my own…”

He didn’t want to admit that he actually cared a lot about the broom, not just because of how nice it was—or had been when it was first gifted to him specifically to lead his Quidditch team. Julian just couldn’t let go. His hands gripped the handle as he floated lazily above the ground, but Ethan’s taunt—

It wasn’t a taunt; as Julian adjusted his grip and his position over the broom, he had to remember that Ethan wasn’t here to make fun of him for giving up what could have been the lap of luxury, had Julian not caved to the pressure—and as much as he didn’t want to, it never failed to occasionally creep in the back of his mind.

It were as if the broom responded to his thoughts, perhaps more eager to prove something after months—or years—in the shed; Julian’s hands tightened around the handle and he leaned in, speeding off towards the pitch.

[julian--wood]

A, L, Z

A   :   AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

Julian’s slow and steady when it comes to romance--so he shows affection by doing anything disgustingly cute, like holding hands and brushing her hair back behind her ear. He also likes sitting in comfortable silence.

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

He loves both Aloma and Roxanne, although the main difference is that Roxanne just pisses him off. Julian has no idea how that makes sense.

Z   :   ZZZ.   how many people has your muse slept with?

Two.

From this ask meme!

[historindies]

Send me a ◈ and I will respond with 3-5 scenarios I’ve thought about or could see our characters in.

[julian--wood]

@julian--wood @marius--lestrange @daniel--molina

[jamsmemes]

(     *     VALENTINE’S DAY ALPHABET   !    

send some letters to find out more about my muse   !

A   :   AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

B   :   BOUQUET.   does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite?

C   :   CHOCOLATE.   does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite?

D   :   DATE.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

E   :   EMBRACE.   does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

F   :   FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

G   :   GIFT.   is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

H   :   HEART.   is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away?

I    :   I LOVE YOU.   does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

K   :   KISS.   is your muse a good kisser? why / why not? 

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

M   :   MOONLIGHT.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

N   :   NAUGHTY.   what is your muse like in bed?

O   :   ODE.   does your muse have a way with words?

P   :   PARTNER.   what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality?

Q   :   QUESTION.   would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to?

R   :   ROMANCE.   is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

S   :   SWEETHEART.   did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

T   :   TRUE LOVE.   does your muse believe in true love?

U   :   UNREQUITED.   has your muse had their heart broken?

V   :   VALENTINE.   how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

W  :   WEDDING.   would your muse get married? why / why not?

X   :   XOXO.   does your muse use / like pet names?

Y   :   YOURS.   does your muse get protective easily?

Z   :   ZZZ.   how many people has your muse slept with?

[julian--wood]

@julian--wood @marius--lestrange @daniel--molina

[julian--wood]

Julian + Roxanne [Mermaids Tarot]

Left: JULIAN – King of Shells, Reversed

From the Mermaids Tarot: Control over emotions and feelings, kindness, artistic or spiritual excellence

From Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: A Fair and Amiable Professional. When reversed, the King of Cups has difficulty maintaining his emotional equilibrium. He can be prone to daydreaming, escapism, or abuse of drugs or alcohol. His personal relationships are characterized by manipulation, dishonesty, exploitation, and lack of genuine commitment. His advice cannot be trusted.

Key words: manipulative, untrustworthy, cold, antisocial, moodiness 

Pat’s Summary: YIKES JULIAN WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? No really—this isn’t the only reading where Julian is the reversed King. He really doesn’t have his shit together in any of his romantic pursuits and in both cases, he’s trying to gain control. I like to think of any reversed Cup card as spilling of emotions. While he has unreasonable expectations with Aloma (where he got the King of Pentacles, Reversed), he’s willing to get what he wants out of Roxanne using means that aren’t particularly well-thought out because of the lack of emotional stability—and he may suffer because of it.

Right: ROXANNE – The Hermit

From the Mermaids Tarot: doctor, healer, adviser, solitude, spirituality, ability to mediate, self-control, silence, discretion, celibacy as well as chastity, drop in desire

From Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: The Search for Meaning. When upright, the Hermit indicates a need to spend time far from the madding crowd. Now is a time to collect your thoughts and regroup your forces. A period of solitude and contemplation is in order. You have been through a lot, and the time has come to wait and watch. An attitude of patient circumspection will allow you to put matters in perspective and learn from your experience.

Key words: wisdom, solitude, guidance, reflection, soul searching, contemplation

Pat’s Summary: Same as with the Marius/Avery reading, the Major Arcana card is the most important one in the reading. Or at least the one with the most to say. Roxanne really needs to take the time to figure out what she wants, and that answer isn’t going to come from anyone or anything else but her. The Hermit is not a card of shakers and movers; ever heard of Wait For It from Hamilton?

Top: PAST – Five of Tridents

From the Mermaids Tarot: winners and losers, result, exile, application of law, duty fulfilled unwillingly

From Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: Mourning a Loss. When upright, the Five of Swords indicates that you are dealing with some type of loss, defeat, or abandonment. There is an important spiritual lesson to be learned from this mournful experience. Sometimes this card indicates that youa re the victor who is gloating over this triumph without regard for the feelings of those you have humiliated. Alternatively, you may be the loser who is feeling affronted, rejected, abandoned, or treated unfairly.

Key words: defeat, loss, battle, conflict, unbridled ambition, sneakiness

Pat’s Summary: The suit of Swords has a lot to do with thoughts and beliefs; Julian and Roxanne have generally always been in this battle of wits—which, unfortunately, will probably never have a winner. Alternatively, Julian and Roxanne had abandoned each other at some point in the past, leading to some unspoken unwinnable war between them. There’s definitely some resentment here, and this conflict is keeping them from being helpful to each other.

Center: PRESENT + DYNAMIC – Two of Pearls, Reversed

From the Mermaids Tarot: hassle, levelheadedness, balancing of opposites, insight into infinity

From Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: Despite the Snags, Keep On Dancing. When reversed, the Two of Pentacles implies that you are being pulled in many directions by various commitments and having a hard time adapting and establishing balance in your life. You may feel as if you will either sink or swim. Perhaps you have taken on more than you can handle or others are placing an overwhelming number of demands on your time and energy. Unexpected obstacles and erratic conditions are creating a sense of turbulence. To decrease your anxiety and sense of agitation, you need to focus and bring more balance in your life, even if it means getting outside help or removing some irons from the fire.

Key words: loss of balance, disorganized, overwhelmed, unable to cope

Pat’s Summary: There’s just too much going on with them, between Julian losing control of his emotions and Roxanne pulling away to contemplate—in addition to whatever other side quests the Ministry’s throwing at them. Is their relationship just too much responsibility? The two of them need to find love and support from somewhere, though whether or not that’s from each other is truly the question here. They may need to seek help from each other or others to bring balance into their relationship—because there hasn’t been a point in time where their relationship hasn’t been tumultuous. Side note, this is the card that I assigned to Julian out of the Animal Totem Tarot; he’s described as pretty resourceful and can manage to juggle his responsibilities, but what about his responsibility to Roxanne?

Bottom: FUTURE – King of Oars

From the Mermaids Tarot: strength, charisma, leadership, moral conscience, fulfilled creativity

From Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Tarot: Virile Master of the Realm. When upright, the King of Wands usually presents a person of authority who is in a leadership role and has excellent managerial skills. He is likely to be a mover and a shaker with entrepreneurial interests and an abundance of enthusiasm. With his thoughtful leadership and fiery personality, he is good at directing other people to get things done.

Key words: leader, motivation, inspiration, courage, adventure, warm, overcoming challenges

Pat’s Summary: While the King of Cups has to do with control over emotion, the King of Wands has to do with direction of passion. In this relationship, there can be neither leader nor follower. What can improve their relationship, or at least address the insecurity from both sides, is enthusiasm and new direction—and seeing each other in a new light.

And another thing 

This reading has a card from all Minor Arcana Suits and the Major Arcana. I usually pay attention if there’s more than three of one suit, but none of my other readings have a card from every suit. This probably reflects on the fact that their relationship is pretty all over the place—and that their relationship has a little of everything (wands for creativity/desire, cups for spirituality/emotion, swords for wit/logic, pentacles for sensuality/wealth, and one Major Arcana card to rule them all).

[julian--wood]

For The First Time In Forever: [ Ethan | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

ethanwoodx‌:

Ethan teased his brother back, a smile etched into the fissures of his jawline as he did so. The students in earshot chuckled at his jest, and Ethan playfully warned them not to mess with Professor Wood too much. Once he finished up a final signature and promised to sign more parchment later, the chaser jogged after his brother. 

The route to the broom shed was familiar. Located on the same pitch that had once been home to a young, up and coming athlete on the edge of quidditch super stardom. Oh how the younger version of himself longed to leave the that very pitch, and move on to bigger and better things. To Fame. To Glory. To the World Cup… Now, it felt damn good to be back on the very pitch that helped raised him.

Firebolt in tow, Ethan stepped beside Julian and scanned the broom shed, grimacing at all the sorry excuses for broomsticks unable to hid his disgust. The selection was pitiful.  

“You know, I could get my team on this, too and we could donate some Firebolts or Nimbuses. The Mapgies go through them like water….” Ethan rambled on completely missing Julian’s point about creating a flying device that wasn’t too scary for students, until a loud crack stopped him and a broom appeared from out of no where. “Shit Jules— what the hell?” 

“Well—can you imagine a first year on a Firebolt?” Julian called to his brother, rummaging the shed for a quaffle that he tossed out the door to Ethan. Thank Merlin that only the Quidditch Captains had access to equipment, otherwise the first years would have probably wrecked the quaffles. He stepped out of the shed, shaking off the dust.

“It’s my broom…” Julian tried to sound proud of his discovery, but it came across as guilt. His family had a bit of brand loyalty to the Firebolt, so Ethan would recognize the shape of it, if not the logo and gold lettering at the handle. “An older model—not anything like the kids bring to school these days for Quidditch—but it’s the one. From fourth year. I never really needed a new one.”

Very rarely did Julian take his broom for a ride, but it certainly happened when he was sure no one was looking. Never on a sunny day during the school year. Julian threw his leg over the broom and quickly kicked off from the ground; the ease with which he could navigate the broom was eons better than the one he had borrowed from Finley, but it certainly didn’t steer like something fresh from Quality Quidditch Supplies.

[julian--wood]

Julian + Aloma [Kawaii Tarot]

Left: JULIAN – King of Pentacles, Reversed

From the Kawaii Tarot: If you get the King of Pentacles in a reading, it’s an indicator of imbalance. Because of the suit, Pentacles, this imbalance has to do with day-to-day life. If you are feeling stuck in a rut, you can begin by turning off technology and reconnecting with the world around you. A helpful exercise to balance the Reversed King of Pentacles is by reviewing your bank statements.

Key words: irresponsibility, control, rigidity, greed, indulgence, sensuality

Pat’s Summary: Is Julian ever going to get his shit together? His head just isn’t in the game as far as their relationship is concerned. In addition, Julian may want to take control—perhaps even holding some unrealistic standards of the two them.

Right: ALOMA – 4 of Pentacles

From the Kawaii Tarot: In this reading, this card may be showing you’re in a good position. You have status, health, money, and comfort. Life is stable, as the number 4 presents. You’ve worked hard to gain financial prosperity. However, maybe you’ve found your success through struggle, you think all of life has to be a struggle. In the most negative of senses, this card can be one of misers. Enjoy what you have and let it flow, because holding back leads to stagnation.

Key words: miserliness, being closed, stability, conservation, security, frugality

Pat’s Summary: So Aloma might be holding herself back in the relationship; she’s careful, but overly so. She’s in a good position, but she doesn’t think she is. Of the two of them, she’s the one who’s more of the level-head and quite honestly, has more input than Julian does—if she only ever takes the risk and voices her opinion.

Top: PAST – 6 of Wands, Reversed

From the Science Tarot: The 6 of Wands Reversed can also represent a fall from grace that results from too much ego or a loss of confidence. Perhaps you fumbled on a project. The 6 of wands in this case may suggest that you have been struggling to juggle your goals. The case might be that you lost sight of your purpose and have been saying yes to too much, hoping not to miss opportunities. Unfortunately, this tendency can cause you to fail to align yourself and your activities towards your central goal.

Key words: ego, fall from grace, lack of power, self-doubt, lack of recognition, punishment

Pat’s summary: I don’t think either of them were ever really sure what to expect from this relationship; something has inherently failed between the two of them. In the past, Julian has always been hard on himself and Aloma was always the rock he can rely on—but is this version of their relationship sustainable?

Center: PRESENT + DYNAMIC – Queen of Pentacles

From the Kawaii Tarot: The Queen of Pentacles is the image of motherliness: unselfish and kind. She is, however, incredibly practical and has tons of life experience. Whoever this person is, he or she would be glad to give you advice on any earthly subject, such as money, relationships, and health.  

Key words: home life, nature, integrity, practicality, creature comforts, financial security

Pat’s Summary: There are three Pentacles total in this reading—meaning that their relationship is very grounded and down to earth. At the core, they do care about each other, they’re just not good at expressing themselves.

Bottom: FUTURE – Judgment

From the Kawaii Tarot: Almost at the end of his spiritual journey, the Fool meets with Judgement, and though it feels like the end of something, the Fool is calm and at peace.  “Before you move on another step,” Judgment tells the Fool, “forgive yourself. You were doing your best you could at every moment. It’s time to move on.” Before you move forward, it’s important to check in and make sure you are becoming the person you set out to become. This is what is meant by Judgment. It’s a period to take stock, reevaluate desires, and be honest.

Key words: rebirth, self-forgiveness, inner growth, reflection, reckoning, inner voice

Pat’s summary: For them to truly move forward, they’re both going to have to be honest with themselves. There’s a lot of inner contemplation that both of them should do—but in essence, both of them need to figure out how not to lose themselves in this process of trying to care for the other. The opportunity will arise in which they will need to try something new, though we’d have to figure out what that catalyst may be. Update: I just realized that this is also the only card from the Major Arcana I pulled for this reading. Usually, of the cards pulled, this is probably the ‘loudest’ card of the reading--so definitely, the both of them have a lot of reconfiguring to do!

@goldentaube​

[julian--wood]

For The First Time In Forever: [ Ethan | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

ethanwoodx‌:

Whether Ethan tried to or not, the professional chaser always seemed to make an entrance where ever he went. Matches. Clubs. Bars. Charity events. Even today, on this clear spring afternoon, as his alma mater came into view. Naturally, Ethan soaked it all, waving down at his adoring fans and seizing the opportunity to show off.  The days of strutting proudly through the Hogwarts corridors sporting his infamous scarlet and gold robes may have far behind Ethan, but as he looped through the cool English air the chaser couldn’t help but bask in the glory of how far he’d come. This was more like it.

Once Ethan touched down on the familiar grounds, he made his way over to his brother, scribbling his signature against a few pieces of parchment as he waded through the small crowd of students. The cheers and the swoons never seemed to get old, and after anything the chaser had been through he had almost forgotten just how damn good it felt to be adored by the public.  

“You know, I can’t help it.” Ethan teased finishing up one last signature. He  winked at the small crowd of students, mouthing that it was time to go before slinging an arm around his brother’s shoulders as he followed him towards the pitch. It also felt damn good to have Julian in his corner instead of on the other side of the ring. 

“Yeah, of course. Lead the way, Jules—” Ethan smirked, a familiar cheekiness to this demeanor. “Or should I say Professor Wood.”

“Please, you didn’t even call me that when you were in school!” Julian laughed, watching him scribble onto pieces of parchment. Clearly his brother was in his element as the students rallied around him, but Julian wasn’t as great with an audience. At least not the kind where they expected everything of him and gave little back. He did feel a little like a bodyguard, at least trying to organize the students to fall in a haphazard line and to stop them from tugging at his robes.

He finally shooed the last of the students away—or tried to—but all he really did was wait for Ethan to follow him as he fast-walked to the broom shed near the pitch. Julian unlocked the door with a flick of his wand, then lit the lamps with quick tap. Most of the brooms there were covered in fingerprints, the tail twigs out of place and falling apart.

“The kids have these to work with—and I guess that’s why I’m trying to figure something out with Finley. Something that’ll stay nicer for longer, but not quite as terrifying a Firebolt or a Nimbus—hell, maybe those older Cleensweep models would work, but they’re not good for beginners…”

But Julian brushed past those and tapped his wand against one of the boards holding up the shed. A loud crack came as a response and from the roof dropped a broom—not a new one, by any means. Julian caught it with his free hand, his touch undusting the handle.

[julian--wood]

Rolling In The Deep

Seven of Swords, Reversed: guilt, jealousy, lack of trust

“If there’s a problem you’re dealing with, it might be better to work through it using open communication and honesty rather than plotting behind the scenes. Carry yourself above board and you’ll earn the respect of others; double dealing can harm your reputation irrevocably.”  - Mickie and Daniel Mueller, The Magical Dogs Tarot

“I know you told me to get some rest,” Julian started. “And maybe this is rest—it’s not like I’m in the classroom trying to make sure someone turn their arm into spoon or something. I’ve kind of enjoyed the training.”

Percy’s victory had been a surprise to Julian. Percy’s victory was a relief to Julian—though the feeling seemed to mingle with the fact that it was Percy’s people who had found Charlotte. It was maybe then that Julian realized that he was probably putting Charlotte in danger; it wasn’t as if either of them were getting any better at Legilimency, and Julian’s notes just seemed to ramble in circles—about defense mechanisms, about interrogation methods, about accessing memories.

Not long after the election, the Ministry had contacted Julian for training. Julian wouldn’t be able to tell you why he was being trained, but most of it just talked about paperwork; he was going to stay in touch with the Ministry. Finally, Julian felt as if his voice was being heard. And he didn’t need Finley to do that.

Minerva wasn’t happy about Julian working more than he should; she never really approved of the Ministry being involved in Hogwarts business, but Julian thought this was just an inevitability with the new administration. And despite the Ministry’s offer, Julian would have kept himself busy regardless. Hell, he still had so much going on: magic lockets, broomstick research, curriculum design.

There was a lot of quiet after that last batch of victims had been found. Not all of them were alive, of those who had been back. But it was quiet enough that Julian could properly recover and return to something close to what he was doing before. Julian wasn’t going to be convinced that it was going to be over; he was merely waiting for the next incident. The security charms on the school were recast and fortified. At least he could hide here and he was almost comforted by the fact that Hogwarts had already been hit. It just meant that it won’t be hit again for the same reason again.

And all he had to do was make sure there was no good reason for them to come back to the castle.

Even with whatever he had his head into on the weekends, he kept teaching and tutoring—though less than what he had been doing before, at the Ministry’s request, since Julian was taking the Floo weekly to meet with the newly appointed school board. But it was taking his arm forever to recover.

“It’s given me time to really focus on—you know, becoming an animagus?” The process was easier said than done; the summertime was the only time it could properly be done; Julian had perfectly timed when he was waiting for his dew and immediately kept the leaf in his mouth once the first full moon occurred after the students had gone. “I don’t control the weather—and you even said yourself, this was the hardest part, wasn’t it? I know, but I’m—I’m doing my best when I’m busy!”

[julian--wood]

For The First Time In Forever: [ Ethan | Julian ]

“Oi! Clear the courtyard—or I’m pulling points from all your houses!”

But only a few students really shuffled out of the way. Julian wasn’t allowed to use his wand on the students even if only to move them to the side, so he was wading past Gryffindors craning their necks to watch his brother arrive. Julian hadn’t announced that Ethan was visiting, except to McGonagall herself; no one else needed to know.

And as Ethan approached the castle, word spread quick of a new visitor coming on broomstick. The visibility in the spring time cleared the sky and students and staff alike were eager to enjoy the sunshine. Julian, with his arms outstretched, finally managed to push some of the students back to make room for his brother to land in the courtyard.

“Merlin, could you make an even less subtle entrance?” Julian was the first to greet his brother, throwing an arm around his shoulder and dragging him to the grounds. He tried giving a glare to the small crowd that had gathered, with a few students prepared with parchment and quill. Ethan’s visit was a first; Julian never talked about his more famous siblings and after answering so many times that he doesn’t know anything about how his brothers were doing, a lot of people just put the topic to rest.

“Come on, I gotta go to the broom shed first.”

@ethanwoodx​ 

[julian--wood]

After the Fall: [ Aloma | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

goldentaube‌:

“You start blaming yourself, listening to the little voice in your head that starts to tell you that you aren’t good enough, cutting yourself off…shutting people out. I saw it happen more than once while we were still in school, and I recognize it starting now…”

She gently squeezed his hand, smiling a little sadly at him. “I for one, refuse to sit back and do nothing to stop it. You didn’t and couldn’t have known what was going to happen. The last broom I had used worked amazingly.” Aloma nudged his shoulder a bit with her own, smile brightening slightly as she looked at the books.

“You were coerced into making said promise…I really do appreciate it Julian…”

Merlin, she was so happy. Julian almost didn’t feel guilty. Had she waited for him all this time? She never overstepped her bounds. She never pushed. She never forced her way into his life. Julian never really opened up to anyone; the prospect of revealing your personal suffering to other people was terrifying. Not because he didn’t think Aloma would betray him—after all, he had been betrayed before in ways he had never expected—but because he didn’t want her to have to carry a burden she didn’t deserve.

He was quiet for a long time, trying not to think of how lonely he felt. He was always the kind of person who wanted to deal with sadness and stress by himself, so he was a little bit grateful she started talking about brooms again.

“I don’t think Finley’s that inept.” Julian was trying to convince himself of the fact. Sure his friend wasn’t good at broom design, and the only reason Finley had done a deep dive into this project was because he had come back from the sabbatical of being a chair for a few weeks.

“So—” He let out a breath that sounded like both a laugh and a sigh at the same time. He didn’t expect his visit to be very long, though he would be pretending if he said he had a lot to do. “If I were coerced, does that mean I can leave with the books and you can keep the flowers?”

[julian--wood]

After the Fall: [ Aloma | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

goldentaube‌:

“Yes because I know how you get in these kinds of situations…”

“Thank you for the flowers…and the books as well. You didn’t have to bring me anything Julian…” She smiled softly, watching him set everything down before turning to look at him again. She moved over slightly so he had more of a place to sit, putting a hand on his.

“I was riding whatever broom I pestered and bargained my way into you letting me try. Whether it was one of Finley’s brooms or not I have no idea.”

“How I get?” Julian’s voice dropped; he suddenly started sound nervous. He was being seen and not in the way that he wanted to be seen. It terrified him to realize how much she knew. “What do you mean, you know how I get?”

His hand twitched under hers; the action was unexpected but it wasn’t unwelcome. He exhaled, but all it did was remind him of why he was here. While he wasn’t ever going to really know what happened—after all, Finley’s brooms had a knack of not actually working, because Finley just didn’t know the difference between one end of a broom from the other—that didn’t mean he couldn’t deliver in other ways.

He wanted to blame himself. But he glanced at his friend and knew—she wasn’t going to let him take the blame.

“Of course I had to get you books—I made you a promise, you know…”

[julian--wood]

Practice Makes Permanent: [ Ethan | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

ethanwoodx‌:

Ethan whirled around just in time, huffing as he watched the quaffle sail through the middle hoop. It was almost textbook Ethan Wood: flashy and dramatic, and powerful in nature, though this time riddled with all the pent up emotion of his past. Something that resembled a smile crept up his jawline in mild satisfaction and sheer relief. It was about damn time the old him showed up to the pitch today.

As the quaffle continued passed the goalposts, Ethan made a start to go after it, programed to do so ever since he could remember. From the corner of his eye, he spotted his brother dropping to the the ground instead of challenging him for the quaffle. At that, Ethan immediately changed course.

“Aw, c’mon. That’s it?” Ethan tried, calling down to Julian from the skies, his tone childish in nature resembling the old times of backyard quidditch at their family home. One more. One more. Five more minutes mum. Please! Never the less, it seemed that Ethan once again found himself with the wrong words to say and changing course for a second time. 

Ethan slowed then gradually descended beside his brother. This time he extended a hand, offering it to Julian in an attempt to make amends. Sportsmanship wasn’t one of Ethan’s more notable qualities, but perhaps that was the very reason it might count for something. He nodded, unsure if this simple gesture would be enough. 

 “Good game, Julian.” 

Surprise flittered on Julian’s face. The way that Ethan called out to him didn’t sound pissed, he didn’t sound disappointed. Julian was sure that he knew that Julian didn’t just let him win either, so perhaps that was enough satisfaction for Ethan.

And Julian never remembered his brother ever being satisfied.

Ethan dropped to the ground too and Julian balked for a second when he offered his hand. Good game? Was Julian hallucinating? The shock washed over him for a second; Ethan was being relatively… kind, and Julian wasn’t even on his deathbed or anything. It was admittedly rather pleasant, even if Julian was… absolutely resolute on staying bitter for the rest of his life.

There was something so formal about a handshake, so oddly sportsmanlike that Julian had never seen in his family aside from formalities. Kids never told each other good game unless there was an adult around.

So here they were. Adults.

Julian took the handshake.

“We should—” Julian paused at we, because Ethan had better people to actually practice with, but decided to finish his sentence anyway. “—er, practice on a real pitch. Like at the school. And then I dunno, go to the castle for drinks or something.”

[julian--wood]

After the Fall: [ Aloma | Julian ]

[julian--wood]

goldentaube‌:

“Julian!” Aloma couldn’t help but perk up when he came around the corner, smiling happily at him. She spotted the books before he mentioned them, glancing between them and him as her smile softened. “I appreciate them…are you alright?”

She knew that between the two of them he’d probably fuss a little at her worrying about him in the state she was in, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that watching her fall to the ground had understandably shaken him. “Sorry for scaring you…I don’t really know what happened. But all things considered, I’m alright…”

Julian snorted, which was the most of a laugh he could manage. “You’re asking me if I’m okay?”

He finally stepped into the room, having been welcomed—he wasn’t sure why she was so excited to see him, but he hoped that meant she was feeling better. Julian freed one hand of the books he was carrying, placing them onto the bedside table. A flick of his wand summoned a small vase where he had put the flowers in water.

Carefully he took a seat at the edge of the bed. If she couldn’t remember what happened, there was no point in belaboring her for more details. “You weren’t riding one of Finley Shacklebolt’s brooms, right?”