Always Ernest

Ernie MacMillan || Seventh Year || Let not the rays of justice blind, e'er trust in grace and she shall guide ||

[lavender--brown]

Pretty Fly (for a Pureblood): Ernie | Lavender

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

lavender--brown:

Whatever appetite Lavender had was always fleeting. Her stomach growled a little too loudly once and she could point at which scar she received from Alecto digging into her arm trying to get her to shut up. She had been shutting up though, but that didn’t exactly made the start of her last term any easier. Besides, that scar was still fresh anyway and the skin was discolored – though nothing concealer could fix.

Her usual routine into the Great Hall for lunch included finding a spot where she would be least likely spotted. Lavender dropped her bag onto the bench and pulled a plate in front of her, sighing; the potatoes didn’t look so good anymore. She moved it aside; maybe she’d eat it later if she wasn’t so restless.

She shuffled the tarot deck onto the table, but she felt her eyes losing focus – even though she should be the most focused at that moment, especially with the energy she had to bring to the cards. Lavender could probably blame that on the figure nearby though, their silhouette contrasting against the grey sky of the enchanted ceiling.  

Lavender didn’t try to sound too annoyed with him, but it felt like everyone was constantly demanding her attention recently. At least he wasn’t a Carrow, nor was he one that would rat on her for having her cards out – or so she hoped. “… did you want something?”

@mosternestmacmillan

Ernie had been having something of a good day--at least as much of a good day as one could have in this place as of late. He had gotten a good mark on his charms assignment, and hadn’t had any confrontations with the Carrows or any of the other pureblood supremacists this afternoon. Ernie knew he had a slightly easier time at the school compared to some of the others, and that was because the Macmillan name still carried at least a little weight.

He came into the Great Hall, feeling relatively happy--which was odd considering that most of his days, especially lately, had been miserable. He looked around, trying to find someone to sit with. He didn’t see Hannah, which was a bummer, but he did see Lavender Brown, who, even though they had a lot of differences, Ernie found her to at least be interesting.

She seemed to be doing her tarot readings, which Ernie didn’t really believe in, but at least it was entertaining. “Hey Lavender,” He said down next to her, looking over the cards “Just wanted to have my lunch here, that alright with you?” He poked at one of the cards, wanting to read what it was “Hey, can you tell me my future with these? I um, have some questions,” He admitted.

[padmaunshadowed]

Greenhouse Whispers || Padma and Ernie

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

padmaunshadowed:

Padma was surprised but grateful when the ordinarily-stubborn boy subsided without any more of a fight. She had been dreading trying to argue with him; she would have hated to leave him primed to go blustering off to berate Harry Potter for being stupid in front of half of the D.A. because of something she had failed to explain properly. Padma was self-conscious of her blood-status these days and what that meant for her position in the D.A. (that she was somehow risking less than everyone whose blood was less “pure” than hers) and the fact that Ernie was not just a pure-blood but a relative meant that it would probably be assumed that she was in agreement with any such rant – wouldn’t it?

Shaking her head and trying to shake-off the sick feeling that the thought left behind in the same motion, Padma sighed. She knew she of all people didn’t have much room to talk, but sometimes Ernie could be so sensitive! “I wasn’t trying to ‘bite your head off,’” she replied indignantly. “I was just telling you what I know, and what I don’t know. Preferably before you launched into any sort of elaborate hypothesis that I would have had to reply to with nothing more than ‘I don’t know.’ Sometimes people just tell you things so you’ll know them, Ernie,” she added exasperatedly, “not because they’re trying to hurt you. And not because they’re been bit by some vile plant.”

Padma rolled her eyes again. Hufflepuffs.

She was still blushing but it was fading, thankfully. Padma was annoyed with herself for getting so flustered; she knew Ernie hadn’t been flirting with her, but the wink and the chuckle and the question about patrol tonight had hit so many of the hallmarks for flirtation that she tried to keep her eyes open for that – especially given how tense their conversation had made her already – logic had had very little to do with her reaction. Even now that her brain had reasserted itself over her stupid, stupid instincts, she still felt slightly rattled.

“Anyway, if you want to risk spreading rumors, be my guest,” she told him, speaking rapidly in an attempt to cover her discomfort. “If I were in your shoes I might run it by Ginny or Neville first just to make sure there isn’t already a plan in the works, but that’s your call.” She glanced over her shoulder anxiously, not sure if she was hoping that Professor Sprout was still distant or wishing that the Herbology teacher would come their way and put an end to this uncomfortable conversation. “Do you remember how many of these Professor Sprout said we had to prune to get full marks?” she asked.

Ernie had lost a bit of his touch when it came to arguing--it was probably because he had been so tired lately, and took comfort in the sweet moments when the world around him was silent. It was becoming increasingly taxing for Ernie to be around anyone (except for Hannah), and all the high tensions around the DA and Hogwarts, just made Ernie want to hole up and seclude himself.

“Forgive me for misinterpreting your intentions,” Ernie replied monotonously, the automatic response came after years of etiquette training had been drilled into his head. At the moment, Ernie wanted to apparate away into his dormitory, and silently cursed the Hogwarts grounds for not allowing any apparation. He had no idea what her intentions were, as she seemed to be flustered, but also annoyed by him; and Ernie didn’t have the emotional energy to try and decode what was going on and attributed her strange behaviour to a the tentacula.

“They’ve probably got their own thing going on,” He again replied with the same monotonous plan “If they ask me for some kind of idea, I’ll tell them the rumour one, although I doubt they’d ask me,” Ernie began to clean up his station “Just the one, but you’ve got to get most of the leaves,” It was a relatively easy task for Ernie, but could understand why it’d be difficult for some others to do “Just try not to get bitten straight on by them, it can be fatal,” He cautioned, happy to be talking about plants and not anything else.

[sacrificeborn]

Not Your Savior | Ernie&Harry

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

carriesdeath:

Harry narrowed his eyes at Ernie. Obviously, the other boy hadn’t been paying attention. Since the beginning, Harry hadn’t claimed he was back for anything but his own job that he had to do. He’d even told people the very same. It was the pressure of the Wizarding World, really. They all wanted him to save them. An expectation that, now he was back, he had a plan. But Harry hadn’t had a plan since Dumbledore fell from that tower and left him with a million unanswered questions.

“I didn’t ask for your advice, thanks.” It was sarcastic, bitter. “That’s all I’ve been telling people. It’s not my fault they haven’t been listening.” Get into Hogwarts, get the wand, find the Horcrux, get out. Harry had to finish out this war, in the end.

Now Ernie was apologizing. It aggravated Harry slightly. People who couldn’t make up their mind, who backed down too easily. Even the Dursley’s had been consistent in hating him. “You don’t have to apologize when you’ve done nothing wrong.” Almost a lecture. “I’m just saying – the D.A. wants me to start a revolt against the Carrows, but that’s not going to take down Volde – you-know-who. This place, it’s only a small part in the war. A battle. And I can’t be a part of it yet. Even though I want to help. What I’m doing – it’ll end the whole thing.”

Ernie felt awkward, and the other boy’s attitude was wearing on him. Potter didn’t know what it was like living under the Carrows, and Ernie didn’t really understand why he was so against helping them. Ernie rolled his eyes at Harry’s sarcastic tone, and didn’t respond to the comment about people not listening. In Ernie’s mind, he shouldn’t have started the DA, and led it, if he only really wanted to abandon it later.

Ernie slightly doubted the veracity of him wanting to help, as he seemed to be disinterested in even seeing anyone else; but whatever. Ernie had bigger concerns, like keeping the Hufflepuff students as protected as he could. He also was a bit miffed by the way Potter was talking to him. “Alright then,” Ernie said flatly, not really knowing what else to say to him--it clearly seemed like he didn’t want to talk to Ernie in the first place, and the conversation seemed to be going nowhere “You don’t have to worry about me getting in your way, and I doubt the other Hufflepuffs will either. I’ll brief those in the DA from my House to keep out of your way,” He said simply and went to sit on a chair, pulled his Transfiguration textbook from his bag “Well, I’ve got to do some studying to do, if you don’t mind?” He said tersely before beginning to read.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

velleity + harry

Setting: Shortly after Cedric Diggory’s Death

Ernie took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It was only days after Cedric had been murdered, and Ernie was feeling a flood of emotions. He couldn’t recall ever being so sad and so angry at the same time. Ernie didn’t know the details, but rumours were swirling around. What he did know, was that he was hurting something fierce.

Watching Cedric compete had been incredibly uplifting for Ernie. For once, Hufflepuff wasn’t the butt of the joke between the houses. For once, he felt that his house was getting the recognition it so rightly deserved. As soon as the candle of pride had been lit, it was snuffed out. Those golden days of fun were gone. Cedric was gone. And there was nothing Ernie could do.

Ernie wanted to march right up to the Gryffindor Tower and beg Harry to tell him everything that happened. Ernie was a Hufflepuff, and he deserved to know the truth, damn it! Ernie was rarely one to not act on such intense feelings, but he found himself rooted to the bed in his dormitory. He was willing his muscles to move, but they remained as still as stone. His body hadn’t felt this stiff in a long time. It was almost as if the muscles in his body were paralyzed with grief.

Ernie was alone in his dormitory, which was why he was allowing himself to cry. He didn’t like to show such emotions of weakness and grief, but he figured that if he was alone, it was less not okay. Ernie was going to miss Cedric dearly, and could not believe that a Hogwarts student would actually be killed. Sure, there had been some close calls–it was a magic school after alll, but no one had ever died.

After a half an hour of sitting still like a statue, Ernie’s muscles finally allowed him to get up from the bed. He made up his mind. He was going to find Harry and demand to know what exactly had happened. Hufflepuff was still in the dark, and that was absolutely not acceptable! No! He was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it made Harry Potter hate him.

Moving into the Common Room with leaden limbs, Ernie didn’t exactly know how he was going to do this. It had to be done! Had to be done for Cedric. He owed that to him! Sure, they weren’t close friends or anything (minus a schoolboy crush harboured by Ernie), but loyalty was the most important thing in the world…right? That transcended everything, right? Then why was Ernie’s body seeming to rebel against him? He trudged to the exit of the Common Room and placed his hand on the door. He took a shaky breath and pulled on the handle, opening the door just a bit.

Would confronting Harry even do anything? Ernie thought to himself Not like he can do anything…Not like he was even important enough for Harry to talk to anyway. What good would talking to him do? Probably wanted to be alone. With a loud sigh, he shut the door, and collapsed onto one of the chairs in the Common Room. Even if sharing the grief would probably make Ernie feel better, he didn’t have the strength to go up and make some kind of scene with Harry Potter.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

wordstuck.co.vu Prompts

Send one (+ a character if you'd like) and I'll write a drabble based on the word, or add 'starter' in and I'll do a starter for our characters based on the word(s).

la douleur exquise: The exquisite pain of wanting the affection of someone you know you can never have.

wanderlust: A strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.

dēsīderium: An ardent desire of longing, particularly for something once had; grief for the absence of loss of something or someone.

pikit mata: 'with eyes closed'; how you accepted the fact of something against your desires must be done.

sigurista: Someone who makes sure that everything goes as planned; the kind of person who will not act unless he totally feels sure that the desired result would be obtained.

velleity: A wish or desire to see something done, but nit enough will to make it happen or actions meant to pursue it.

sehnsucht: 'the inconsolable longing in the human heart for we know not what'; a high degree of intense, recurring, and often painful desire for something, particularly if there's no hope to attain the desired or when its attainment is uncertain, still far away.

koi no yokan: 'premonition of love'; the sense one can get upon first meeting another person that the two of them are going to falling love. This differs from the idea 'love at first sight' in that it does not imply that the feeling of love exists, rather refers to the knowledge that a future love is possible.

meraki: to do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself into your work.

mamihlapinatapei: the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.

forelsket: the euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love.

geborgenheit: to feel completely safe, like nothing could ever harm you; security, comfort, trust, satisfaction, acceptance and love from others.

ya’aburnee: 'you bury me'; a declaration of one's hope that they'll die before another person because of how difficult it would be to live without them.

augenblick: 'in the blink of an eye'; a 'decisive moment' in time that is fleeting, yet momentously eventful and incredibly significant.

herzschmerz: heartache; an emotional pain in the heart.

retrouvailles: the happiness of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation.

einfühlungsvermögen: a deep understanding of someone's feelings, thoughts and motives that are easily comprehended by yourself.

serendipity: the luck that takes the form of discovering valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for or while looking for something else.

ichigo ichie: 'one time, one meeting'; and encounter that only happens once in a lifetime, reminding to treasure every moment, for it will never recur.

saudade: a deep, nostalgic, and melancholic longing for something or someone, often accompanied with denied fact that what one longs for will never come back.

cwtch: a warm, affectionate hug, cuddle or snuggle that gives a feeling of a safe place or home.

kilig: the delightful feeling that sends shivers of pleasure down the spine as one encounters something romantic.

liefdesverdriet: the sadness, depression or pain one feels about a love unanswered or love that is gone.

elmosolyodni: to slowly break out into a genuine smile when being overcome with emotions, like love or utter happiness.

pluviphile: a lover of rain; someone who finds joy and peace of mind during rainy days.

kalverliefde: the temporary affection and infatuation usually experienced by two people in love.

torpe: the-quality of, usually a young male, being to shy to pursue amorous desires to someone adored.

mélomanie: an excessive and abnormal love and deep attraction to music and melody.

nyctophilia: love of darkness or night; finding relaxation or comfort in the darkness.

yuánfèn: a relationship brought by fate or destiny; the binding force which eventually links two people together in love.

lǎotóng: 'old same'; a form of eternal friendship between "heart sisters" – two women who are closer than husband and wife.

b'shert: 'destiny'; the seeking if a person who will complement you, and whom you will complement perfectly.

oodal: the sulking or fake anger occurring between couple after a lovers tiff, usually over something inconsequential – a feeling recognized to be a facet of love or affection.

vuslat: a union or reunion after being apart for a long time with one's beloved.

pacalai: 'lovesick pallor'; the pale complexion of a women suffering the loss of or separation from her husband or lover.

redamancy: a love returned in full; the act of loving the one who loves you.

thuong: to love tenderly – a deep and sincere notion of fondness and care between family members, friends, or lovers.

amor vincit omnia: 'love conquers all'

kaiho: a hopeless longing – an involuntary solitude in which one feels incompleteness and yearns for something unattainable or extremely difficult and tedious to attain.

euneirophrenia: a peace of mind that comes from having pleasant dreams.

boketto: to gaze vacantly into the distance without thinking or doing anything.

luchtkasteel: 'air castle'; a wish or dream one hopes to fulfill in the future, yet will never be achieved, as it is so vast, immense and unlikely.

gumusservi: the light of the moon as it shines upon the water.

aamukaste: morning dew.

murr-ma: to walk along in the water searching for something with your feet.

tükörsima: 'as smooth as the-surface of the mirror'; describes a still water which has unbroken surface, neither by wind nor by some object or animal.

aranyhíd: 'golden bridge'; the reflection of the sun as it shines upon the water.

walwalün: the sound that a flowing water makes.

ruska: the phenomenon of leaves turning various shades of red, yellow, purple and brown during the autumn season.

psithurism: the sound of the leaves rustling as the wind blows through the trees.

şafak: the first skylight seen during dawn or just before the sun rise.

yeoubi: 'fox rain'; a sun shower – the event of having a light rain while the sun is still shinning.

madrugada: the moment at dawn when the night greets the day.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5cPykaebJc sad song

After quite a long spell of arguing with his parents, the Macmillans finally relented, and allowed Ernie to visit Justin over the summer between Ernie’s third and fourth year. Ernie had never really been to the muggle “world” before, and was overwhelmed by how different it was compared to the wizarding one. His parents weren’t keen to let him go off to visit a muggleborn, but were finally swayed by (or sick of) Ernie’s constant begging. That was one thing about Ernie Macmillan: Once he wanted something, there was no limit on how annoying he could be.

The change was so overwhelming, that at first, Ernie was a bit frightened and wanted to return home, though he would have never admitted this to Justin. His best mate, ever the perceptive one, could sense his discomfort, and arranged for them to attend a concert, hoping that it would somehow soothe Ernie’s nerves. Ernie played the piano, and was eager to see how concerts worked in the muggle world.

He was surprised to learn that it wasn’t all that different form his own, but he didn’t not recognize any of the music or composuers (having learnt to play from wizard compositions.) Ernie was completely enthralled by the music, as it made him feel so deeply. Each song seemed to eke out a different emotion--and perhaps it was because he was there with Justin, whom he adored, that all these emotions seemed to be amplified by about a thousand.

After the concert, Justin bought some sheet music for Ernie  in the form of a song book for Ernie to learn to play. Ernie still considers it to be one of his most precious possestions to this day.  This Étude by Chopin, named Tristesse, quickly became Ernie’s favorite. That summer was filled with piano songs and carefree laughter.

Though some consider it to be sad, this song makes Ernie nostalgic for the days when life was easier. It made him reflect upon and reminisce about the early days of Hogwarts when so much was different. When he plays this song he thinks of the fun-filled days of yore with Hannah and Justin. Everything was so wonderful then, and Ernie had never expected those times to end so abruptly.

Although he doesn’t get to play the piano much anymore (usually due to exhaution, homework, Prefect duties, etc.) this song will always be his favorite and always hold a special place in his heart.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

☆ Ernie’s Wand ★

Ernie Macmillan, like most other wizards his age, received his wand at the age of eleven, before heading off to Hogwarts. Also like most wizards his age, he was incredibly excited to receive his very own wand--and much to the annoyance of his family, would not stop talking about it for the entire summer.

When he visited Ollivander’s Wand Shop, he had acted “unbecoming” as his mother put it. Ernie was incredibly excitable, and nearly shouted at Ollivander to get some wands out to be tested. Ollivander, however, seemed to appreciate the spark in Ernie’s eyes, and brought out two wands that he thought might suit the excitable heir of the Macmillan family.

The first was an English Oak wand, said to be a wand for the loyal and the  strong. It had a dragon heartstring core, fairly flexible, and just short of 10 inches. Full of gusto, Ernie swung the wand, and caused some books and paper to go flying about--and Ernie to yell out in a mixture of excitement and fear. Needless to say, it wasn’t a match.

The second wand was an Apple wand, 9 inches, unicorn tail hair, and was fairly pliant. Apple wood wands were said to be suited for an owner of high ideals and aims, which at that time, Ernie didn’t really have. The moment he held the wand...it felt right. Ernie couldn’t explain it, but he knew that this was the wand for him. Although shorter than a lot of wands, Ernie loved the intricate swirling filigree pattern that was carved throughout the wand and stopped just short of the handle.

Ernie’s wand mostly cooperated with him, allowing him to achieve high marks in his courses. He was a bit fanatic about wand maintenance and once nearly screamed at Justin for dropping his wand on the floor once. He views his wand as an extension of himself, and a proper wizard should always respect their wand. Viewing a wand as merely a tool was problematic, in Ernie’s eyes, and he didn’t really think that great wizards disrespected their wands.

The only times that Ernie has detected any form of hesitation from his wand, was the few times he tried to cast curses or hexes. While the wand dutifully cast the spells, Ernie could sense that there was a flicker of doubt within the wand. Although wands cannot talk, of course, Ernie almost felt like it was saying “Are you sure about this, Ernie?” Ernie assumed that the wand must somehow know that he’s very uncomfortable about casting curses, and that it was out of character for him to do so.

All in all, Ernie trusts his wand completely, and knows that it will never fail him in his hour of need.

[padmaunshadowed]

Greenhouse Whispers || Padma and Ernie

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

padmaunshadowed:

Padma didn’t bother to stop herself from rolling her eyes; while Ernie Macmillan was on her level socially, she had always found him tediously pompous. It wasn’t that she disliked Ernie, per se – she just didn’t think he was worth trying to impress. “I never said it wouldn’t be prudent,” she hissed back, her whisper sharp with exasperation. “Just that it probably wasn’t feasible. People can’t always just do things because they want to, you know!” Padma felt a little silly saying that out loud, given that it had been a rather indignant Lavender Brown who had enlightened the privileged Patil twins to the realities of life for ordinary people, once upon a time – but somebody had to kick Ernie’s head out of the clouds, and Lavender wasn’t here right now so is seemed like that somebody would have to be Padma.

She felt terribly awkward trying, though. While she and Ernie were cousins, it was something like third or fourth or even thirteenth (she could never keep family trees straight) and their paths didn’t cross much more often than any other Hogwarts students who shared a year and several classes. It was more classes now that they were in their N.E.W.T. levels than it had been during their first five years of school, but it still wasn’t every class – although combined with their shared prefect duties and joint membership in the D.A., Padma saw more than enough of Ernie on a regular basis that she should have been able to handle him better. It was a shame her sister wasn’t here; Parvati was the more socially adept of the twins and probably would have known just what to say.

All Padma could do was shrug stiffly and mutter, “Something about a run-in with one of the Carrows that resulted in a broken arm – Seamus’s, I think. Not, er…the other fellow’s.” There was little chance that anyone was listening to them; little chance that anyone could even hear them over the chatter and rustling of people fighting with venomous tentacula growths. Padma still felt anxious about saying Harry’s name aloud, as though it was the one under the Taboo. “I don’t know all the details,” she added quickly, before Ernie could press her for more. “Ask Seamus yourself if you want to know about it – or Ginny, she’s the one who told Parvati who told me.”

Padma ducked her head and fiddled aimlessly with one of the tentacula’s leaves (it coiled a vine around her wrist and she had to work a finger underneath to pry it loose without hurting the pesky plant) as she tried to avoid meeting Ernie’s eyes. “I didn’t say we should trust Malfoy,” she protested softly. “Just that – that I don’t think he’s our biggest problem now, is all.”

Eager to change the subject, Padma latched onto Ernie’s suggestion of spreading confusion through rumor. “Okay,” she said, “yeah, that sounds good. Um – but who would do the spreading? It would have to be someone whom they already suspect, but also someone who doesn’t mind maybe getting caught…” She shuddered. “And if they aren’t careful – maybe even if they are – they could end up being interrogated by the Carrows” –her voice dropped to a hushed whisper– “or worse, Professor Snape – to find out what they know. That’s a lot to risk…” Padma shook her head, feeling cold. She caught sight of her hands and noticed they were trembling slightly. It was much harder to face the idea of deliberately baiting the Carrows than it was getting caught unwillingly; she didn’t know how Seamus did it so regularly.

Ernie’s question about their prefect duties – their actual prefect duties – caught Padma so off-guard that she knocked her shears to the floor and had to duck down under the long table to retrieve them. When she came up again, her face was bright red with embarrassment. “Er – what?” she said. “No, I…I had patrol last night,” she said clumsily. “This is…I’m not on duty tonight. Er…why?”

Ernie noticed the eyeroll that everyone seemed to do when talking to Ernie. He was beginning to wonder if people really hated talking to him, as the look seemed to be something of a commonplace occurrence. It was hurtful to see that most seemed to loathe talking to him, but Ernie figured that there was nothing he could do about that. Her sharp tone surprised Ernie a bit, and he gave a slight nod “Alright. It probably wasn’t feasible. I don’t know the specifics of the situation,” It wasn’t like Ernie to surrender so easily, but he was exhausted, and the topic seemed to make her annoyed with him.

Although distantly related, Ernie never saw much of Padma or Parvati these days outside of school. Ernie was never anyone’s first choice when it came to hanging out (save for Hannah and Justin), and Ernie had learnt long ago to not let it bother him too much. Some people were just not destined to be popular or even well liked, and trying to earn that attention was very tiring. “I was just curious, but I guess I’ll ask Seamus. You needn’t bite my head off,” Ernie mumbled, choosing to ignore her comments about Malfoy, who he actively detested. He didn’t really know why she seemed keen on not despising Draco.

Stuffing some more of the blooms into another vial, he dutifully presented both vials to Professor Sprout, who, despite everything, seemed to look at him with pride. Returning to his spot, as the class had not ended, he gave a tacit nod “Yes, perhaps it is too dangerous, it might not be a very good idea and could end horribly,” Ernie hummed a bit to himself “I mean, if nothing else, I could do it. They may be more hesitant to torture me because I’m a pureblood,” He said more to himself than Padma.

Ernie began to clean off his pruning shears before stowing them “I was just trying to make some kind of conversation--and I think you may have gotten a bit of the venom in your system, because you’re acting very strange.” He was referencing her suddenly red cheeks and strange demeanour “Do you need the antivenom, because we can go to the Infirmary?” Ernie suggested.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

Concern for an Old Friend || Ernie and Daphne

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

sawtruth:

An owl was waiting at the Slytherin table when she got down to breakfast. It was pecking in the oatmeal dishes, seeming impatient, but flew towards the end of Daphne’s table the moment she sat down. She furrowed her brow, confused, when it landed it front of her. She’d never seen the creature before today and, the moment she took the scroll from it’s leg, it took off, wings flapping in the air. Apparently, it had been waiting for her for a long time, which meant someone would’ve had to send it during the night. Slytherin house couldn’t receive owls in the nighttime except during the occasion a house elf might deliver it, as their dormitories and common room was located underneath the lake.

Curiously, she opened the parchment and began to read. With every word, she grew more angry. A curse? She or Astoria affected. And all from Ernie Macmillan, someone she’d spoken to very little since their childhood years. How dare he!

Standing up from her seat, she ignored the questions from her friends, and marched over to the Hufflepuff table. How had she not predicted this? Or was this the rage she’d felt upon looking into the smoke the night before? There had been no image to go along with the feeling, but sometimes the feelings were predictions in themselves. Yes, this must be it!

She stormed through the hall until she reached Ernie’s spot at the table and thrusts the letter at him. She had the urge to crumple it up and throw it at his big head, but resisted the urge. Several people were watching, after all! It wasn’t every day that the houses intermixed like this. Though, admittedly, it had been happening a bit more lately – what with some mysterious people (everyone knew at least a few involved) trying to strike up a fight against the Carrows. “What in Merlin’s name do you think this is?” she said heatedly. “Your family has heard some pretty far-fetched rumors, Ernie. I’d check your facts before you go spouting off the same while acting concerned!” She didn’t buy his worry. Surely, he was trying to have a dig at her.

Ernie had almost forgotten that he had written the letter to his old friend, for in the morning, his mind had been occupied with thoughts about his Arithmancy assignment. He was almost regretting taking the course, but it was necessary for the careers he was considering. Then again, who even knew what the wizarding world was going to be like in the near future, anyway? He was consumed with these thoughts as he made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Ernie had been in a conversation about the Pride of Portree Quidditch team when his friends warned him that a Slytherin was briskly marching toward the table--and that she did not look please. Suddenly, Ernie remembered what he had done the previous night, and the letter, and was mentally kicking himself for doing it. He thought it had been a kind or at least proper gesture, but judging by her facial expression, the letter was not well received.

It had also been a considerably long time since he had been yelled at so crossly. The normally poised boy was trying to form some kind of rebuttal to what she had said “I’m, uh, sorry. I thought I’d offer up any help I could give,” Ernie managed to blurt out while absentmindedly pushing his hashbrowns around with his fork. “I figured since our families are on good terms that it’d be true. How was I supposed to know it was a bunch of codswallop?” Ernie bit his lip, hushing his tone a bit “I did--do care, otherwise, why would I have bothered to send the bloody thing in the first place? Why else would I risk my mother finding out and trying to arrange a marriage?” He was starting to turn heads at the Hufflepuff table, and it was becoming something of a scene “Can we talk about this somewhere private?” He asked through gritted teeth.

[padmaunshadowed]

Greenhouse Whispers || Padma and Ernie

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

padmaunshadowed:

Padma blinked, taken aback slightly by Ernie’s scorn of Harry’s reckless entrance – not that she didn’t agree that it had been reckless, but it was uncommon for anyone, especially a Hufflepuff, to casually reference the events that had led to the Death of Cedric Diggory. “I’m not sure Harry had much of a choice about the manner in which he came back after the tournament,” she said carefully, her hands going tense around her shears in fear that Ernie was going to explode over the fact that she had mentioned the Triwizard Tournament, even though he had brought it up first. “And I don’t think he’s exactly had access to a potions lab, whatever he was doing,” she added, just as tentatively. “I get the impression that he was sort of on the run, you know?”

She twitched her shoulders in an apologetic little shrug, then hurried to add, “Not that Polyjuice is a bad idea, under the circumstances! Just maybe a little, um, a little tricky to get…” Padma bent over her venemous tentacula as if she really, really cared about the creepy twisting plant, concentrating on lining up her shears around a delicate growth in need of pruning; she was less concerned with getting a passing mark from Professor Sprout than she was with looking busy, in case Ernie got cross. She didn’t want to try and have an argument in the middle of Greenhouse Three, with their classmates all around them. There was too much of a chance of one or the other of them – or both – losing their temper and saying something they shouldn’t.

When he started talking about Draco, Padma shrank down in her seat, her stomach sinking. Why had she mentioned Draco? She had just been trying to keep up appearances, to make it clear that she hadn’t been paired with him by choice; she hadn’t thought that Ernie would react so stridently. He was a prefect himself after all, he’d been sent on plenty of patrols with Draco too…

Padma swallowed. “I, uh, I don’t think that there’s anything that’s going to throw Draco off of thinking it’s Harry who was behind things – especially after the whole thing with him and Seamus.” She rolled her eyes, a habitual gesture when discussing Seamus Finnigan, and hurriedly continued, “But I don’t think that’s something we really need to worry about, either. It’s not like Draco’s got some sort of direct like to You-Know-Who; it’s Snape and the Carrows who are the real threat…um, but that’s not a bad idea. Of coming up with other rumors to throw out there, I mean. At the least it might confuse some of the students – you know, the other students.” She fluttered her hand vaguely at the rest of the class, indicating that she wasn’t talking about their fellow D.A. members but rather about the student body of Hogwarts in general. “I don’t know what kind of rumors we could do to cover for something like that, though,” she added thoughtfully. “I’ve never really engaged in deliberately spreading rumors – not false ones, anyway,” Padma corrected herself guiltily. “Have you?”

Ernie was slightly perturbed by Harry’s lack of caution, and had hoped that Cedric’s death would have taught Harry that sometimes it paid to be cautious. He didn’t want to lose anyone again, as the Death of Cedric Diggory had been an earthshattering experience for Ernie, as well as most of the other Hufflepuffs. “I meant when fake Moody was trouncing about. If the polyjuice had fooled an entire staff of brilliant wizards, than using a polyjuice potion to fool the current administration would be prudent, don’t you think?” He whispered, his tone somewhat sullen “Getting the ingredients would be pretty hard, it probably wouldn’t have been the most reliable thing to do,”

Perhaps Ernie was being a bit unfair to Padma. He had recently had a row with Malfoy, and that had made him act in a nasty mood toward any mention of the Malfoy boy. He looked to Padma again, puzzled by how uneasy she seemed to be. Had he said something wrong? “What happened with Seamus?” Ernie tilted his head. He didn’t know much about Seamus Finnigan, but from what he had heard, it seemed like he had some interesting antics. “Malfoy is bad to get involved with, you know? He might not be in constant contact with You-Know-Who, but I’m sure his family is. I just don’t think we should trust him.” Ernie bit his lip “Honestly, I think confusion would be our best tactic right now, and I don’t think the rumour would have to be complex or anything...just make sure certain fools, namely, Crabbe and Goyle or Parkinson, hear someone who’s known to associate with Harry, talk about some false plan about where Harry’s going next or something?” Ernie had no idea if it was a good plan or not, but it seemed interesting “I don’t really spread rumours much anymore...but isn’t it just kind of a matter of letting certain people hear certain information?”

Ernie kept his quiet whisper, hoping that nobody overheard this conversation. Luckily, it seemed like most of the class were distracted by two of the tentacula who had become entangled and were snapping at the two students tending the plants.

“Of course, this is assuming that the others don’t already have some kind of strategy planned out already,” Ernie added with a sardonic chuckle “I’m always the last to know what’s goin’ on,” He winked “So, do you have patrol tonight?”

[sacrificeborn]

Not Your Savior | Ernie&Harry

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

carriesdeath:

Harry regarded Ernie carefully. He never really knew what to think of the boy, if he were being honest. It was one of those wrong side of fame kind of things. Like Hermione had pointed out last year when many girls were eyeing Harry after the summer. When people finally learned the truth about Voldemort and Harry was back on top, so to speak – though he never would’ve considered himself on top. But Ernie, it seemed, had a taste for fame. It was all Harry could really think of, really, when he read another letter from the Hufflepuff (they kept coming that summer after the Triwizard Tournament, even when Harry hadn’t written back). Because if it weren’t for his fame, why else would someone want Harry’s attention so badly?

While Harry had gotten to know Ernie a bit more throughout the years – with a class project and then the D.A., Harry still felt as though he knew very little about him. He couldn’t tell what this was about or be prepared for what to expected. And he’d felt so unprepared for everything this year that he wasn’t looking forward to more.

Harry narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, furrowing his brow. He’d heard that a lot had changed with the school this past year – to the point where it no longer seemed like Hogwarts – but he was growing extremely tired of people just waltzing up to him, expecting his goal here was to take over whatever rebellion they’d started. “Who said anything about me leading?” he said, his voice hot. “I’m not here to lead anything! I’m not even here for you or anyone else in the D.A. I’ve got a job to do and it has nothing to do with any of you!” He wasn’t shouting by the end of it, but he was gritting his teeth, tone aggravated.

Ernie was surprised at the sudden change of tone, wondering why Harry had seemed to change moods so quickly. “I assumed that’s why you came back. I mean, it was you who started the DA after all, and I was pretty sure that you had come back to see it through,” Ernie kept his careful tone “And you’re in our base of operations, so again, I attempted to draw conclusions from the evidence before me,” He hadn’t meant to say anything that would set the other boy off, but then again, Ernie wasn’t always the best at speaking “But, a word of advice, if I may? I’d probably let everyone else know when you can. Perhaps in a somewhat more relaxed tone.” Ernie suggested.

Perhaps it was somewhat of a one sided friendship, and using the term friendship was something of a misnomer on Ernie’s part, but he thought that Harry would be somewhat interested in talking to him. That was probably just a figment of Ernie’s imagination.

“If you have a job to do, I’m sure no one in the DA would knowingly try and get in your way, including myself; but a lot of us have been worried about you, and probably just want to make sure that you’re okay, and know that we’re here for you if you need us.” Ernie said sincerely. He was pretty sure that Harry didn’t really care for him, but Ernie wasn’t known to lie to anyone, no matter how much he wanted to be liked by them “I hadn’t meant to be rude,”

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

Concern for an Old Friend || Ernie and Daphne

Ernie was never that good about talking about big topics in person. Though he was confident and smart, he had a tendency to blurt out foolish or improper things when he got nervous. Ernie was much better in the realm of writing--it was much easier to send official correspondence, as then he could think and revise everything that he sent. No word vomit in writing. Well...usually.

Pulling his quill from its case, he dipped it in the inkwell and began to craft the letter to his old friend. Although they had grown apart, the fact that she might be suffering from a curse, really worried Ernie. Perhaps his heart was something of a weakness, because if the others found out that he had been writing someone who was known to associating with the other pureblood supremacists, would be something of a scandal. Still, Ernie was concerned, and figured it was his duty to at least check up and offer his condolences, if they were necessary. In Royal Blue Ink, and in fanciful calligraphy, Ernie began to write:

Dear Ms. Daphne Greengrass,

I am writing to you to offer my deepest sympathies. My mother, Margaret Macmillan, spoke to me over the summer and mentioned that someone in your family may be afflicted with a debilitating curse. I’m sure that you or Astoria would easily be able to overcome it, as you both seem to be rather strongwilled--or at least you were when we were children. I seem to recall many games from our youth that involved me being a butler to you and Astoria. That was such a long time ago, wasn’t it?

Forgive me, I digress. I meant to say that my uncle Tiberius Macmillan is a renowned cursebreaker and works for the Ministry. I’m sure that he’d be more than willing to see what he can do, especially since our families seem to be on good terms. I, of course, won’t write to him unless you specify that you’d like me to--I don’t want to overstep my boundaries. Let me know what I should do, or if you need some help. I know that it has been a very long time since we have even spoken, but I figured I’d put it out there, for old time’s sake or something.

Cordially,

Ernest Macmillan

Ernie rolled the parchment and pressed the wax seal bearing his family crest to seal the parchment. Tying it to his owl, Caspar, he offered the bird a treat before sending it off in the night. Ernie hoped the letter didn’t come off as condescending or out of place. Hopefully, it was just a rumour. Ernie was due to go on patrol shortly, and after pinning the Prefect’s badge to his robe and headed out on patrol, hoping for a quiet night.

@sawtruth

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

👫 + daphne

1. Being a member of the respectable Macmillan pureblood family meant that in his early days, most of his playdates as a young child were with other pureblooded families. His mom especially got on with the mother of Daphne and Astoria. Ernie didn’t really like being around their parents, but Daphne and Astoria were nice enough. Ernie also liked showing off his mastery of etiquette and customs to the Greengrass sisters. He especially tried to show off to Daphne, as she was the same age as him.

2. Ernie’s mother has often told him that Daphne was a prime prospect for marriage, and that his father and her were strongly considering arranging the marriage, should the Greengrass family also accept. Ernie, of course, is against the whole arranged marriage thing, especially because she seemed to subscribe to the whole pureblood supremacy thing. He was pretty sure that Daphne doesn’t want to marry him either--as he was a Hufflepuff, and didn’t care all that much about any of that pureblood stuff. He expects that the Greengrass family will reject the possibility of any marriage--at least he hopes so.

3. Ernie is a bit curious about what she’s really like now. He knows that she hangs out with the other purebloods, but she never seemed as mean as the rest of them, at least to Ernie. He wondered if she really believes all the stuff that the pureblooded adults believes. He has thought about sending a letter to her asking her to lunch or something; but also knows that if they were seen together, it would somehow get back to both his friends and his family and that would have a cascade of consequences. Still, a part of him misses the innocent days of youth, as she really was someone Ernie was close to in his pre-Hogwarts life.

4. Ernie has overheard gossip about the Greengrass family from his mother and that the Greengrass family was worried that one of the Greengrass children was suffering from the curse laid upon their family so many decades ago. Ernie didn’t pry, but he’s wondering if it could be Daphne who suffered from the curse, or if the curse even existed at all. Ernie didn’t even know what the curse was or what it did, but his mother seemed pretty concerned about it. Ernie wants to ask--she was his old friend after all.

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

👫 + harry

1. Ernie, at first, didn’t really like Harry Potter. Young Ernest believed that Potter was the heir of Slytherin after it seemed like he set the serpent from the Duelling Club to attack Justin. As Justin was his best friend, and he was fiercely loyal, he wanted to duel Harry Potter right there and then. Until the spring of that year, Ernie wanted to hex and curse him (which was really unlike him), but Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchley himself convinced him not to do anything foolish. Only after the serpent had paralyzed Hermione Granger did Ernie realise the error of his judgment and when the time was appropriate, issued an apology to Harry.

2. Ernie was annoyed that Potter got to be part of the Triwizard Tournament. In his mind, Hufflepuff was finally getting to shine, instead of always being the butt of the joke. Not to mention, Ernie had a massive crush on Cedric, and had a tendency to fawn over him a bit–which his housemates loved to tease him about. He gave Harry a hard time for a bit, but eventually came around. Potter had to be something of a special wizard if the cup chose him as well. When Cedric died, Ernie felt like his heart shattered into a million pieces. He wasn’t angry at Harry, though maybe he should have been. Ernie took up a correspondence with Harry over that summer, often writing long letters to Harry, declaring his support of Harry in all future endeavours, for Cedric’s sake. This is one of the reasons Ernie has been such a staunch supporter of Harry Potter.

3. In their fifth year, Flitwick had assigned Ernie and Harry to be Charms partners for a few weeks. Ernie had really enjoyed this time, and Hannah and Justin had probably grown tired of hearing about it. Ernie liked talking to him and getting to know him more, even if their interactions were mostly school related. Ernie had invited him to study for the OWLs with him a few times, but their schedules never seemed to line up. Ernie wondered if Harry had even noticed him; but when invited to join the DA that same year, Ernie was the first Hufflepuff to sign up. Ernie hoped that this would give him a chance to get closer to Harry, as Ernie was beginning to admire him.

[penguin-memes-blog]

“My Character” is the character of the account that has reblogged “Your Character/Yours” is the person sending the meme to someone. You can also generate a random number (1-42) and send it for a surprise.

Note: please be warned before reblogging: some of these things are things you may not want your character to do!

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[umarthelea]

Send a 👫and I’ll write four headcanons I have about our muse’s relationship

[mosternestmacmillan-blog]

❖✉ A Vexing Letter ✉❖→ Drabble

Ernie never really wrote home anymore. He didn’t need to be constantly criticised by his parents for every little thing. If he had a galleon for every time his mother told him that what he was doing was “unbecoming of a Macmillan.” Sometimes, Ernie wondered if they would have been prouder if Ernie had taken a decidedly pureblood supremacy stance. Never mind the fact that Ernie got extremely high marks, and had gotten almost all Os on his OWLs. Never mind that he was on track to ace his NEWTs. Never mind that he had made Prefect, and had received an invitation to intern at the French Ministry of Magic over the summer. Nothing ever seemed to be good enough for him. He’d likely be forced into some loveless marriage with another pureblood, and live out his days in the Macmillan Mansion. Such a boring life seemed dreadful to the Macmillan heir.

Though with how things were going, such a future seemed to be unlikely. He had his doubts that Potter would actually destroy Voldemort. It seemed like an impossible task, and he felt like they were losing way more than they were winning. Of course, Ernie would see it through until the end, but sometimes it all felt so futile. Ernie looked down at the letter from his mother and gave a heavy sigh. Although it was perfectly polite, it lacked any kind of warmth, and actually came off as condescending.

Dearest Ernest,

Your father and I hope that your studies are going well. We’ve just had lunch with the Fawleys, and they were surprised that you were taking as many NEWT classes as you are. Their son Sullivan only qualified for three NEWT subjects! And one was Divination! Can you believe such a thing? Though your father and I weren’t thrilled that you didn’t achieve an O on every OWL, it would have been a complete embarrassment for a Macmillan to attain only three OWLs. The Fawleys have really gone downhill, and we’d rather you distance yourself from Sullivan. Word has it that they have openly embraced the idea of muggle and wizard miscegenation. It’s just a horrid concept to so openly support. It’ll only bring trouble, and there’s no reason to go about bringing that back to our family. Your monthly allowance of 40 Galleons is included.

Cordially,

Margaret Macmillan

Of course, the Macmillan family crest was stamped on the bottom, which Ernie thought was a little much; but that was his mother’s way. The letter was as terse and cold as he expected, but it still hurt for the Hufflepuff boy who yearned for a moment of tenderness in his increasingly bleak world. Ernie reluctantly tucked the letter back into his cloak pocket and pulled out his wand, the apple wood glimmering slightly off the reflection of the fire. Ernie hated that this was getting to him. He tried to be proud and dignified and optimistic, but that was so hard lately. Seeing all of his friends suffer so immensely, and the younger students being in a state of constant misery, really weighed heavily on Ernie, who was supposed to be a leader. “Scourgify” Ernie mumbled, pointing his wand at the  copper pots and fixtures around the Common Room. It had been much too long since they were last cleaned, and doing chores helped clear Ernie’s mind.

Once he finished cleaning the copper, he plopped down right in front of the fire and reread the letter from his mother, this time with a bit more disgust. Ernie really couldn’t believe that people thought they were so much better just because of a trivial thing like blood. Ernie was never going to subscribe to that, and now he made a mental note to check in with Sullivan Fawley to make sure that everything was alright--plus it would really annoy his parents, which was always somewhat amusing for Ernie. With a smirk, he tossed the letter into the fire and watched it burn. Ernie couldn’t help but wonder if he and his family would be on different sides during this war, and the smirk faded. While he doubted his family would ever choose a definitive side, even the possibility of it made Ernie feel like something of a traitor....but he was doing the right thing....right?