a winter storm

until the lion learns how to write, the stories will always glorify the hunter. eira. slytherin alumnus. healer. she/her.

[mxcdougall]

benjyfvnwick‌:

“Oh you’re very pleasant to be around. Really uplifting, I always leave our meetings feeling terribly optimistic,” Benjy teased with a grin, nudging at Eira’s shoulder with his own. Finishing off his cider, Benjy took a leaf out of Eira’s book and ordered a few shots, two for himself and another for Eira. “Bottoms up,” he chuckled as he threw them back, relishing in the way it burned his throat. There wasn’t a feeling like it.

“I feel like that at least is worth querying though. I understand everyone’s pretty busy these days with the pissing contest, but….you shouldn’t be working hours like that. What is it? Too many patients or just not enough healers?”  Benjy queried, raising an eyebrow a little. He leaned against the bar, a small shrug of his shoulders. “Everything that man does is rather suspicious. And he says it’s all down to his work but….I think the last thing I want is a cheery Lestrange. I think I’d drop dead out of pure shock.”

Eira shook her head at his remark, grinning slightly. “I am truly God’s gift to humanity.” She said, slightly dramatic and flipping her hair. She wasn’t usually so... flamboyant? Especially not after a day of work, but she’d already had a few shots, and Benjy just brought out the part of her that liked showing emotions and acting like an actual human being. He was her only normal friend, the only friend who had normal issues; her only friend, if we’re being honest. 

“Too many patients and not enough competent healers,” Eira said with mild bitterness. “Turns out that basic healing magic? Not that basic for some of the lads and lasses I’ve got to train.” She rolled her eyes before taking the shot that Benjy had so kindly ordered, throwing it back quickly. If she hadn’t swallowed the drink so quickly, she would’ve probably choked on it at the mention of the name Lestrange. Sure, she listened when Benjy talked about work, but that didn’t mean she remembered everything he said. She was not sober most of the time. “Yer fuckin’ kidding me.” She muttered under her breath, letting her head fall onto the counter again, this time the counter being much cleaner thanks to Benjy. “I’ve had enough of those bloody Lestranges.” She said loudly, earning a few strange looks from those sitting nearby.

[mxcdougall]

redandgoldenboy‌:

Shifting himself back on his pillows, James moves the thin hospital sheets out of the way, knowing that Eira was most likely going to have to investigate the wound eventually, no matter how much James didn’t want people poking at it. His leg was still tightly wrapped in bandages, having stayed closed for a few hours, but he could see the beginning stains of blood had seeped through, dotted across the white cotton.

Huffing a long sigh, James knows he’s made another stupid error in repeating his equally as stupid excuse for why he was near the Lestranges, and that he was going to have to give Eira some semblance of truth, lest she become even more suspicious of his actions.

“Okay, that was a bullshit excuse,” he says finally, meeting her eyes. He’d had enough lectures from McGonagall to know that avoiding eye-contact was the most suspicious of actions. “I can’t go into full details, but I really have been sworn to secrecy. But I swear on the life of my elderly beloved mother I wasn’t there for any dodgy purpose…I was there because Dumbledore asked me to be.” He knows dropping Dumbledore’s name was as close as he could get to hinting at the Order without overtly giving the whole secret away.

Something just wasn’t adding up in Eira’s head. First, Lily mentions Bellatrix while having a mental breakdown, now James Potter, Lily’s boyfriend, had been stabbed by Bellatrix, and apparently was doing something on Dumbledore’s orders. Eira had never liked Dumbledore; he chose favorites and blatantly favored any other house over Slytherins. It was obvious that they weren’t meant to be good pals. She’d barely thought of the man since leaving Hogwarts, but now she was once again, and the answers coming up were plausible but not believable, at least not to Eira.

“Listen, Potter,” she put down the clipboard, looking back up at James with slight confusion in her eyes. “I’m a Healer. I’m supposed to report suspicious activity to the Ministry, no matter who it is. And you’re acting extremely suspicious.” The newest policy that had been brought to the hospital announced that patient-Healer confidentiality didn’t mean anything if a Healer suspected the patient was working for the wrong side; another reason Eira despised the Ministry. She hated the policy, but she could lose her job if she didn’t report a patient she had suspicions about, and the next week they blew up some muggles.

She didn’t want to report James. He seemed genuine, and though Eira hated to admit it, if he was working with Dumbledore, he obviously wasn’t on the bad side, though that didn’t make matters any more legal. The supposed ‘Order of The Phoenix’ was not exactly legal according to the twats at the Ministry, even though they were both fighting on the same side. 

Eira sighed. “Just, please, tell me if you’re working for the right side, and I won’t have anything to report.” She said, glancing over her shoulder to make sure there were no other Healers in the vicinity. Eira always followed the rules, and technically, loopholes were still considered following the rules.

[mxcdougall]

gryffinborn‌:

The whole time she’d been here, Lily had tried to keep in the back of her mind everything she knew about Dementors. They fed on positive emotions, leaving their victims with only depression and despair.  They could steal human souls forever. They were dark creatures. Dumbledore mistrusted them and thought they should be wary of them joining the other side, attracted to the promises of greater misery. It was all enough to make her feel afraid, but she had been doing a good job of ignoring it to focus on the task ahead. Until now. 

The closer it came to her, the more she panicked. She couldn’t say why it wanted her, only, perhaps, that it had been unable to resist the feeling of hope she’d been giving off, so unlike any other prisoner held there. Made bolder by the increasing darkness of the magical world, affecting even Azkaban. None of that could help Lily escape, her Patronus weak at the best of times. With the chill in her mind and heart now, she couldn’t even think past the memories she was reliving.  

Bellatrix Lestrange, hostile, furious, demanding. Lily could hear Bellatrix’s voice screaming at her. But then, help me. That vulnerable plea was almost worse. She could remember using her wand to draw her own blood and give it to the other witch. Her own voice, take the suffering of your enemy. A blood sacrifice, the feeling of power and wrongness all at once. 

She had slid to the floor before she knew herself again. Lily opened her eyes again, in shock more than anything, catching the glimpse of a Patronus as it chased the Dementor away. For a moment, she was deeply confused, looking at the chocolate bar in her hands without understanding why it was there. There were tears streaming down her cheeks, Lily couldn’t remember starting to cry either. It must have been while reliving the memory, she realised. Someone had asked her a question, she should have answered by now. “I … Bellatrix … I shouldn’t have … I need to heal my arm.” But there was nothing wrong with her arm when Lily looked. Raising her eyes once more, she recognised the person with her. Healer MacDougall. “That was your Patronus?” A unicorn, Lily realised belatedly. “It was beautiful.“ The purest of magical creatures. Unlike her. Not her blood status, she would never, ever believe that, but what she’d done. The kind of magic she’d used. It made her tears start streaming again, the Dementor having left her devoid of hope. 

Eira was never one that was good with emotions. She tended to avoid them at all costs, and never talked about them if she could help it. So as she watched Lily sitting on the floor, crying her eyes out and looking around with confusion, Eira couldn’t help but freeze up. She wasn’t the friend you came to cry about things, she was the friend you went to when you need advice from an unbiased source, or maybe to drink away your feelings. What were you supposed to do when someone suffers from a traumatic event cries their eyes out on the floor.

She didn’t know Lily well; they’d only spoken a few times before this day, and it had been Eira asking for coffee or something, or Lily asking a question. Eira couldn’t just hug the girl or hold her, she barely did that with her actual friends. Instead, she placed a hand on the redhead’s shoulder, showing that she was there. “Eat the chocolate, Evans, it’ll help.” She insisted, picking up the chocolate bar she’d basically thrown at the girl and placing it in one of her hands.

Eira paused forcing the chocolate into her hands when she heard a familiar name. Bellatrix. Why was Lily talking about her? Eira looked at Lily’s arm and saw no injury or anything, but her mind was beginning to process what might have happened, maybe. Maybe she’d gotten stabbed by Bellatrix and it had traumatized her, as it would anybody else. “Bellatrix isn’t here, Lily, what are you talking about?” She asked gently. At the mention of her Patronus, Eira shrugged her shoulders. The unicorn was Scotland’s national animal, and Eira was about as Scottish as it got; drinking, barely understandable at times, and a part of some sort of clan. 

[mxcdougall]

redandgoldenboy‌:

His eyes roaming the Healer’s face, James watches as the colour drains from her cheeks, her whole body stiffening, almost as if someone had cast a Full-Body Bind Curse from the doorway. He can almost understand the feeling, Merlin knows even a small mention of Lestrange was enough to chill him to the core, and send him spiralling down a path of dark thoughts. And it seemed that Eira was no exception to the torment Bellatrix seemed to spread at the mention of her name. 

Noticing Eira avoiding eye-contact, but considering himself too polite to comment, James grimaces wryly, “She’s got a bit of violence to her,” he says, before correcting himself, “Actually scratch that. She’s a psychotic bitch. And proud of it.”

Shaking his head, James looks down at his lap, twisting his fingers slightly in his blanket. One of the things he hates most in the world is feeling useless. And right now, with only a handful of blurred memories to help, he feels completely and utterly stuck. “Not glowing. She was pretty desperate to hang onto it though. Was more focused on summoning it back than attacking me again.” 

Refusing to cower under Eira’s glare, James raises one eyebrow. He knows he has to answer her, but he also knows that he has to answer her in a way that will not give away his role in the Order, nor will it give away exactly what Lily did. “I accidentally tripped the wards on her house,” he says finally, “I was looking at land for a country house.” 

“Psychotic bitch doesn’t even begin to describe that woman.” She muttered under her breath as she wrote down his description of the knife. Silver, desperate to hang onto; it had to be a very heavy curse on the blade, maybe even an ancient one. The Black’s and Lestrange’s both had a very long history of Dark Magic use, and Eia wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest if the knife ad been passed down from generation to generation. 

As talented as Eira was with charms and curses, she wasn’t as good with ancient ones, that was one she usually left to the Curse-Breakers. The side effects could have been Non Curans, the Never-Healing spell, but that was an easy fix, and so far, this wound had not been an easy fix. This curse had a lasting effect that wasn’t reversible, at least not reversible by Eira.

Listening to his explanation, the doubt that Eira had grew even more. The Potters were a good family, supposedly, but every good family had a black sheep, and perhaps James was one. “Country house... Strange. Why would you want a country house near Bellatrix Lestrange’s estate?”

[mxcdougall]

benjyfvnwick‌:

“A funeral can be arranged if that’s what you want,” Benjy joked, a dark twinkle in his eyes. He had to make light of the world they were living in, otherwise he would crumble under the pain. Something he really cherished in this friendship with Eira was similar to the way he loved his friendship with Daisy - they were outside of this war, and therefore when they met it was easy for him to set it out of his mind and to use the time to forget. “Starting early?” He chuckled, ordering himself a shot which he drank before continuing with his cider. “That’s one of the things I like about you - you understand how much alcohol I enjoy.”

As Eira lifted her head, Benjy flicked his wand at the bartop to clean it. “If you want a nap, it’s clean now,” he chuckled. The bar was always much cleaner when Marlene was in. “80 hours? Holy shit, that’s like 3 and a half solid days. I’m sure that’s hardly legal. You definitely could do with a nap, but I appreciate that you’ve chose to spend your time here with me instead,” he took a few big gulps of his cider. “Working hard. The head of our whole department has returned home from a few months away and he’s been barking orders left right and centre so I’ve been pretty busy. He’s a pain in the arse.”

<“And here I was thinking you liked me for my wonderful personality and jovial attitude,” Eira stated dryly, a small grin on her face. She knew that Benjy truly did like her personality- maybe not her attitude- but drinking buddies was their thing. If either of them were down or anything, they knew that the other would be ready with three shots of firewhiskey at any moment. Alcohol was the basis for their entire friendship.

“Legal? Nothing is legal nowadays, dearest Benjy, people just do what they want when they want, because the law is too busy dealing with idiots fighting over who has the biggest wand.” Eira was not a fan of the Ministry, and she wasn’t a fan of how poorly they were dealing with the current political climate. Taking another shot, she placed her head on her hand leaned on the counter, watching Benji as he spoke. “A few months away? Sounds suspicious.” She said with a raised eyebrow. “You should slip a Pepper-Up Potion in his coffee, maybe that’ll cheer him up,” Eira suggested with a shrug; a Pepper-Up Potion didn’t really make you happy, but it certainly made you feel better, and fresh, because of the peppermint. 

[mxcdougall]

♡ ♡ ♡

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship,italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  other .

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

[mxcdougall]

❤

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship,italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance  pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  other .

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

[mxcdougall]

gryffinborn‌:

Lily stilled, Eira’s confession enough to shock even with the numbness surrounding her own heart at the moment. Truthfully, Lily  didn’t know what to say. For a moment she even wished Marlene or Sirius was here - not the people she usually would think of to give emotional comfort, but perhaps they could relate far better than Lily could. Maybe there’d been a time she’d feared her best friend was on the other side, but that didn’t really compare to family, to your mother. And she’d turned out to be wrong about Severus too, thankfully. Hesistantly, she reached out to grasp Eira’s arm from behind, as the other witch had turned away. “I can’t imagine what that’s like.  I’m sorry. But I’m sure your father would be proud of how you’ve kept on. Helping people. Like he tried to do for her,” Lily offered up, feeling indescribably sad at the story, at families being torn apart. It was a nightmare, all around, and whatever Death Eaters (like Bellatrix) might proclaim, there truly seemed to be no winners.   

To be honest, while she hadn’t assumed Eira cared about her blood status, it would be naive of Lily to not even be cautious. But as Eira had never so much as sneered at her (well, at least not more than she seemed to be a little stern in general), Lily had figured she either didn’t care about blood or cared little enough that it didn’t interfere with her ability to interact politely with non-purebloods. That had been good enough for Lily as anything less than active hatred, she mostly considered a win after eight years in the wizarding world. All the same, the sincere statement touched her. “I appreciate that.” It helped her managed a small smile, despite the gloom. “I suppose I was mostly worried protection charms in a Muggle house might attract attention. But of course I’m sure the Ministry takes care of that information so it would be fine,” Lily added hastily, not wanting to let on how little faith she had left in the Ministry of Magic. 

That was why she’d joined the Order. It hadn’t occured to her, not really, that others might doubt the Order in the same way. “I stopped taking Muggle history a long time ago, but you’re right. That did happen. And there were people who did nothing, and people who did something. Maybe they didn’t stop him either, but they saved people. They made a difference, however small.” It was all she wanted to do.  Lily knew that she alone could do nothing to stop this war, not really. It simply wasn’t in her power. Maybe Dumbledore could. He might be their best hope of actually defeating Voldemort. That was why she had to be part of the Order. It was the only thing that made sense to her anymore. Even Eira’s doubt, however truthful it might be, couldn’t touch that. 

Lily was quietly burning with her faith as they moved up a floor, feeling more alive than she had a right to amongst all the despair they saw. The Dementor guarding the level must have sensed it, felt it as an oddity. It glided towards them, its black robes barely visible in the candlelight, looking more like a shroud than ever. Lily tried not to panic, surely it was only curious, checking to see who they were. But none of the others had paid them any attention. She gripped her wand more tightly but it kept coming closer. There was part of her mind telling her now was the time to fight back, but her fingers felt cold. There were voices in her head, harsh and furious even as she tried to ignore them. “Expect … expecto …” She tried to cast but couldn’t muster any strength for a spell as it started to feed on her mind, taking away the hope that had been burning to replace it with dread. Dread taken from her own mind, her own memories.

Before Eira could even reply to any of what Lily said, she froze in her step. The air had cooled down at least ten degrees, though it wasn’t warm to begin with. Lily had continued walking a few steps before coming to a stop and realizing the same thing that Eira had noticed. They were being followed. And not by one of the prisoners, no, by a Dementor. One that seemed to have taken a liking to Lily and was getting closer to her than it should have. Eira felt every inch of her body freeze, and suddenly she was locked inside of her own body, staring at the scene in front of her. 

Though the Dementor was more focused on Lily, Eira still felt the effects of it and could sense her mind slipping into a much darker place. She couldn’t see what was in front of her anymore, she could only hear distant memories, hidden away in her subconscious; yelling and the breaking of glass, a scream coming from a mother who found out her child had passed, her father crying. Eira felt a tear run down her cheek, stuck in the memories that she’d locked away for so long. That tear was the feeling that shocked her out of it, however, and in an instant, she was back to seeing and was able to move. 

Her wand, which she had dropped when she was stuck in her memories, lay a few inches away, and Eira quickly bent over and picked it up, before pointing it at the Dementor. She felt helpless for a moment, searching for the memory, the happiest memory she could find, and focused on the day she’d received her owl with her Hogwarts letter, the only day of her life she could remember her parents getting along completely. She focused on that joy as she shouted, “Expecto Patronum!” A unicorn galloped out of her wand, charging straight for the Dementor and seemingly piercing it with its horn. Eira would’ve been probably the last person you could imagine having such a pure Patronus, but she was also a Scot, through and through, and the Unicorn was Scotland’s national animal.

With the Dementor out of the way, Eira quickly ran the few feet to Lily’s side and grabbed some chocolate from her bag. Never in her nearly five years of being a Healer, had she encountered a Dementor who attacked another Healer. It was practically unheard of, though Eira, being the pessimist she was, knew it would happen, and that it would surely happen on the day she would have to go, because of her luck, hence why she always brought chocolate with her, though she wasn’t sure how well it would work; she’d heard it somewhere that chocolate helped, but had never tested that theory. She handed a bar to Lily and watched her worriedly, her cold eyes much softer now. “Are you alright?”

[mxcdougall]

♡ :D (such a good idea)

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship,italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners (in crime) /  other .

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to my muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

[mxcdougall]

redandgoldenboy‌:

James sighs, shrugging one shoulder loosely, “It’s been threatened a few times. This is the first someone acted on it,” he says, trying hard to remain nonchalant, not wanting to give away how much said stabbing had actually impacted him, both physically and emotionally. He supposed, that it helped that Eira seemed very unlikely to be soft and doting with him, something he strangely appreciated.

“Stabbed seems like a more minor description,” he remarks dryly, “Carved up like Christmas Ham could work? It was to incapacitate me, stop me getting away.” Ruin any chances of a Quidditch career after this war. While James knew that wasn’t really Bellatrix’s intention, despite her words, he knew she was the kind of person who liked to play with her food; to discover her enemy’s weak spots and exploit them. It only happened that one of James’ weak spots was also a perfect opportunity for him to stop running.

James knew from the look on Eira’s face that she was beginning to put the pieces together. Most stab wounds were minor enough that they could be healed at home, some that were more serious only took a few days. James, on the other hand, had been in this blasted hospital for far too long. Every time he moved too quickly or tried to stand on his own, his wound would break open and he’d be back to the whole healing process all over again.

He looks at Eira, face solemn, “Bellatrix Lestrange. I don’t really want to get into the stupidity of how it happened, but it was her. Dagger was silver, and it bloody hurt when she did it, obviously, but there was something more to it.” 

Eira felt the blood running through her veins freeze, and her heart stop. Bellatrix Lestrange. Eira wished she could say she hadn’t heard that name in years, but she’d heard everywhere she went in the past few years since leaving Hogwarts. She’d only been to school with the former Black for three years, but Eira had known her longer. Being Pureblood, and her mother being a part of the darker side of the community, there had been many times where she’d met Bella and her sisters, and each time had been unpleasant, to say the least. 

Eira soon realized that she’d been frozen for too long, and quickly composed herself, avoiding eye contact with James. “Bellatrix Lestrange... Well, I can’t say I’m not surprised she stabbed- sorry, carved someone up like a Christmas Ham.” She said to him, summoning a blank piece of paper as she did so. 

As he described the knife and what happened, Eira frowned. “I don’t suppose you have the knife?” She asked without hope in her voice. He most definitely didn’t have it or else she would have been called sooner. A silver knife... That scratched out a few possibilities already, there were many potions that had adverse effects with silver and spells as well. “It wasn’t glowing or anything either?” She asked, writing down a few possibilities quickly. 

A thought crossed her mind, however, and she turned to James suspiciously. “What were you doing with Bellatrix Lestrange?” She asked slowly, her suspicion rising suddenly. Maybe he was a Death Eater who had upset Bellatrix, though that seemed unlikely.

[mxcdougall]

♡ for benjy

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship,italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance / pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners (in crime) /  other .

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

[mxcdougall]

benjyfvnwick‌:

Although Benjy never needed an excuse to go to the pub, he’d been delighted to receive an owl from Eira asking if he wanted to get a drink. His evening had been spent poring over a book about counter-jinxes, and although it was interesting, a pint sounded far more appealing. Eira was a connection that Benjy had never expected to have - on the face of it, going along stereotypical lines, she a pure-blooded Slytherin should’ve hated him, a muggle-born Ravenclaw. And yet after a drunken encounter they’d struck up a friendship that Benjy held ever so dear. It was rare that he had friends outside of the Order, and he cherished those that were. 

Slipping into a slightly nicer jacket than the one with holes in that he was currently wearing, Benjy flung some floo powder into the fireplace and called out ‘the Leaky Cauldron’. Perhaps if Mar was on tonight she could swing them both a free shot. As he stepped out of the fireplace, he immediately spotted his friend and couldn’t help the laughter at her look of disinterest. “Anyone would think you were at a funeral, Eira,” he teased as he headed over to her.

“A few more shots and it’ll be far more interesting. It’s good to see you,” he said as he scanned the bar. Ordering himself a pint of cider to start with, Benjy leaned against the sticky bartop and turned his head to face his friend. “You managed to drag yourself out of work at a human time then today?”

“Nonsense. A funeral would be more interesting.” She drawled out, turning to him with a small and rare smile. Benjy was one of the few people in the world who didn’t act as if the world was going to end at any second, and he also had more than two brain cells, so he was a good person to talk to. Though you’d never catch Eira saying it out loud, he was a good friend, and she cared for him- in the most platonic way possible.  “Good to see you too, lad.” She said as she turned away from him and ordered another few shots; she wasn’t a huge fan of the taste of alcohol, so she preferred quick and easy drinks rather than drinks you had to sip on.

At the mention of work, Eira groaned and lay her head on the counter, then immediately took it off of said countertop when she realized how much filth must be on it. “I couldna get out faster if I tried. I’ve put in 80 hours this week!” She exclaimed, gesturing wildly. “It’s only Friday, I havena even worked my weekend shifts yet!” She sighed and turned back to Benjy, shaking her head. “And you, how’ve you been? Workin’ hard or hardly workin’”

[eviefyres]

PRE - ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP MEME .

send a ♡ and i’ll fill this out for our muses !  i’ll bold what i want for their relationship, italic what i could see and strike out what i don’t .

FRIENDS.   childhood friends  /  work friends  /  family friends  /  recently friends  /  turning antagonistic  /  turning into something romantic  /  stable  /  falling apart  /  friendship of need  /  friendship of circumstance  pen - pals or internet friends  /  coworkers  /  partners  /  other .

ROMANCE.   childhood sweethearts  /  newly entered  /  soulmates  /  skinny love  /  unrequited from my muses side  /  unrequited from your muses side  /  friends with benefits  /  awkward  /  fading  /  turning  toxic  /  toxic  and  destructive  /  other .

FAMILIAL BOND.   sibling bond  /  older sibling figure to your muse  /  younger sibling figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  parental figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal  guardian  /  other .

ENEMIES.   dangerous to themselves  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  passionate  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into a sexual tension  /  developing into a romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based of misunderstandings or lies  /  other .

[mxcdougall]

I'll Drink To That ( Eira & Benjy )

@benjyfvnwick

It had been a long day, but then again, when wasn't it a long day. Eira had been thrown up on twice, bled on three times, and, strangely enough, tickled once. As soon as she'd gotten home, she'd taken an hour-long shower, letting her skin turn red from the heat. By the time she'd finished showering and changing into her pajamas, it was only 9pm. Eira's mind was still going a hundred miles a minute, so sleep wasn't an option, and neither was lazing around and just reading. No, she needed to go out, do regular human being activities for once.

She quickly decided she would go down to the Leaky for a drink, and maybe run into someone mildly entertaining, or one of her friends, though the chances were slim as there was about three of them. Eira thought for a moment again, then smiled and wrote a quick letter to one of the three friends, her former flame and current drinking buddy, Benjy, telling him to meet her at the bar. After sending the note off with her owl, she changed into a more presentable outfit.

As soon as Eira reached the bar, she was mildly put off, though at the same time, mildly relieved. There weren't many people there yet, and there seemed to be no live entertainment tonight. She reached the bar and ordered a few shots of firewhiskey, downing them quickly before looking around with a look of disinterest.

"Well, this is fuckin' borin'." 

[tyrantsuggestion]

[mxcdougall]

redandgoldenboy‌:

Lolling his head back lazily on the pillows, James stares absentmindedly at the ceiling with a barely audible huff. He wasn’t entirely stupid, he knew he needed to remain at St. Mungos until they were satisfied with his leg’s healing, and with the way the wound continued to weep and split, James knew it would be a while yet before they allowed him to leave. 

That didn’t mean, however, that he couldn’t be frustrated with his predicament. His mother always used to say that from the moment James could walk, he had taken off running, and it was only the fact that the family’s house-elf adored James almost as much as Euphemia did, that his poor parents ever managed to keep track of him in the house. And so, being trapped, because that’s what he was, trapped, in a hospital bed was slowly and surely driving him mad.

Sure, his friends visited often enough, and his parents and Lily both poked their heads in to see him daily, but with the full moon looming, the boys were preparing, and Lily had to work, and as much as James hated to admit it, his parents were getting too old to be Apparating and Flooing all over the place after him.

Therefore, it was only apt that James was bored. Capital B, Bored. And sore, and grouchy, and worried, and about a million other emotions that all screamed “get out of this bed” at him.

Perking up at the knock on the door, James sits up a little straighter, unsure of who could be popping in at this time, only to sink back down in the bed at the sight of a Healer’s uniform, knowing it was probably time for him to choke down another 10 potions. 

Raising one eyebrow, James laughs sharply for a moment, “You see, a psychopath had a dagger, stabbed into my leg, and then she just…” he makes a dragging motion in the air, before sighing deeply. “Sorry, that was rude,” he apologises, “It’s been…well…I had a run-in with someone I don’t want to see again.”

Eira gave him an unamused glance before replying. "It's hard to imagine why someone would want to stab you." She said with a sarcastic smile, before turning back to her clipboard. She was used to guys like James, ones who hated being in the hospital, and would do anything to get out; she was in charge of deciding if Quidditch players were allowed to play again, she definitely knew the type.

She couldn't help the chuckle that passed her lips when she saw where the stab wound was on her chart. "You were stabbed in the leg, really?" She was mildly confused. "Either you got stabbed by a numpty with no aim, or someone was trying to... incapacitate you..." She paused for a moment, her mind now pondering over how he got stabbed in the first place, what had actually gone down, but since she hadn't gotten a clear answer the first, she wouldn't ask again.

As she reached the end of the chart, she frowned, confused again. His wound had healed yet, and it had been several days since had been admitted. Usually, with knife wounds, it took a simple spell or a small potion to heal it, and it usually took a day, maybe even two. But the wound kept reopening no matter how many times the other Healers had tried to close it, and now Eira realized why she was there. They were dealing with a cursed object, undoubtedly, and when it came to reversing the effects of spells and curses, Eira was the one to summon.

She looked up at the boy and crossed her arms. "Mr. Potter, who stabbed you?" She asked simply. She needed to know the origin of the owner, if it was a dark wizard or maybe just an idiot who didn't know they had a cursed object.

[mxcdougall]

gryffinborn‌:

Eira’s harsh answer came back quickly, surprisingly Lily in how easily, how clinically, Eira could detach herself from the misery they were seeing in front of them. Misery in human form. The suddenness of the attack, even coming from someone as weak looking at this woman, made Lily freeze. More so the plea. It reminded her, a little, of looking Bellatrix in the eyes and relentlessly questioning her rather than offering help. Before she could move - whether it would be to defend herself or actually offer the help the woman was asking for - Eira had stepped in front of Lily and warded the prisoner off. “Thank you. I don’t quite know how I would have handled that. Any of this, if you weren’t here.” The words were almost automatic. But rang with true relief. Lily didn’t know what she would have done, but she also knew making another mistake - whether it was a mistake of pity or a mistake of hard-heartedness - might have been too much for her. 

Eira’s blank and professional mask was back in place as they moved through the cells, but her immediate defence of Lily meant she was unable to consider her so cold as she might have intially thought. The truth was Lily suspected something worse behind her neutral demeanor, had caught the brief hint of emotion. “Healer MacDougall… Eira … have you lost someone in this war?” Beneath it all, she thought she heard the ring of personal stakes behind Eira’s hard words. Personal stakes Lily was yet to truly achieve herself. She was a target of the war, of course, a fighter in it, but as of yet, it hadn’t truly, truly touched her. Her loved ones and Lily herself had all remained mostly unscathed. 

That didn’t meant her very worst fear wasn’t realised by Eira’s explanation of the crimes of their first patient. Muggles murdered. Her mind and heart immediately went to her parents. Defenceless, innocent. Completely unable to fight back against magic. “I’m Muggleborn, you know,” she said quietly. “My parents, it’s my very worst fear. Losing them. That because of me, because I live in a world they can’t even touch-” she broke off, realising how much the Dementors, not physically present but existing in every corner of this prison regardless, were affecting her. “I’m saying I understand. If you did lose someone. Why the idea of suffering is appealing.” They had reached the last cell on the floor. Lily raised her wand to cast the spell herself this time, having studied Eira carefully despite her distress. 

“Right. The rebel force,” she echoed back. Usually the Order was a thought that brought her quiet, steady-burning hope. Lily couldn’t feel it this time, heart too cold. Was that the effects of the Dementor or simply the sorrow she felt at the sight of the prisoners? Which, in the end, was what she and the Order were working to bring about. Analytically she looked at Eira, wondering if the other witch did. Maybe if she could convince her, Lily could convince herself again. “I do believe the rumours. I think … someone must be fighting. Don’t you? There’s always balance, for people who want to hurt … like you said, there’s others who’d give anything to stop them. Isn’t there?” 

Eira barely glanced at Lily when the girl thanked her. In all honesty, she had no clue why she had really done it. Eira had never truly felt compelled to protect anyone before, she'd never had to. But Lily was still young, fresh out of Hogwarts, and Eira could see that there was still a relative amount of innocence left in the redhead, something Eira had lost long ago. That gentleness was what the world needed right now more than anything, and maybe that's why she felt the need to protect her, though she didn't doubt the girl could very much protect herself. Maybe it was because the woman behind bars reminded her of her mother, and Lily of herself, younger version of herself; believing there was good in people. The sick monsters in this prison wouldn't touch a strand red hair on her head as long as Eira was there.

"Have you lost anyone in the war?"

There it was. The question people always asked when she expressed her opinion about the prisoners or dark wizards in general. Had she lost someone? The war was still fresh for the younger ones, they'd been protected from the outside world, mostly. Some of them only had contact with the wizarding world during the school year, because they were muggle-born. They hadn't been a part of the war yet. They hadn't seen the sick and cruel parts of it that the newspapers blurred out. The deaths of muggles and wizards alike, how truly gruesome and personal some of them were. They hadn't had to tell a child their mother wasn't coming back yet, they hadn't seen it all yet. Eira had been in this dark and cruel world for only four years, but four years was plenty of time to see it all.

"I've lost hundreds of someones, Eva- Lily." She stopped walking, staring ahead at nothing. "I've seen patients die from spells I didn't even know existed. I've lost so many patients because I didn't know what was wrong with them. But I don't think that's what you're asking." She turned to the girl, her face still as neutral as she could keep it, but her eyes slightly watery. This place, it messed with her emotions, it made her so vulnerable. "Have I lost anyone close to me? Both my parents. My mother, the bitch-" she spat out those words, anger rising, "she left to join her family, with Him. The dark side. And my father, he lost his mind. Tried to get her back. Save her." She scoffed, turning away from Lily again, trying to regain her composure. "He walked right into a nest of Death Eaters. Never stood a chance." She finished her story and continued walking again, hoping that would be the end of it.

Eira waited until Lily had finished casting the spell before responding to her statement, mildly impressed that she performed so well under what she supposed was quite a bit of emotional pressure, given the dementor that was a little too close for comfort. "I hope you know I don't give a rats arse about your blood purity." It was a common misconception about her, that since her mother was a blood purist, then Eira was one too, especially because she was as Pureblood as they got. "You're a witch all the same, doesn't matter much what you're heritage is." She finished softly, the edge in her voice that was usually there gone. At the mention of Lily's parents not knowing about the wizarding world, Eira frowned slightly. "Have you cast any protection charms on their house?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not much if Death Eaters are directly targeting your parents, but if they're just doing raids, it's enough to deter them and set off alarms in your own home so you can apparate there. Help you sleep at night." She said with a shrug. Eira had done it on her own home, in case someone- anyone tried to break in when she wasn't there. Maybe her mother would come looking for her.

Eira scoffed when Lily said she believed in the Order. "The fact is that, if there is some sort of organization going around, trying to save the world, they're not doing a good job now are they?" She said with a gesture around her. "There are not many people in Azkaban, but there's plenty of them on the streets, hiding in plain sight. But they're only human, of course." Eira shrugged once again. "And that lord guy, whatever his bloody froo-froo name is, he's not human, I don't think. I mean, how could a human being be so sick as to murder people in cold blood, just for blood purity." She remained silent for a moment, pondering over her own words. "I read about a man, in the Muggle world, who killed six million people of a certain ethnicity, and he was in power for many years. In the end, he killed himself, no one else did. The attempts on his life failed. Who's to say that it may be the same for this dark twat?" She asked, turning to Lily. Usually, Eira truly hated politics, but she was so angry and upset right now, with no reason to be. She knew it was the dementors, affecting her, and with that thought, she hurried along to the next floor, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.