stagnant wind.

a boy made of sunshine with flowers flourishing in his r i b s. oh, how fragile you can be. oh, how brave you can become.

[scvmnders-blog]

ginny !

Mrs. Potter he had called her. Ginny wasn’t that person, wasn’t ever going to be that person if or when she had chosen that direction. She didn’t comment on how he should have or how she should have, it was done. The boy was already sitting in front of her, they were already having a conversation. And by the looked of it, it was just him apologizing, something that she had been trying to avoid by coming down to the Great Hall this early. She wished she could verbalize her apologies for being so rude, but the words had lodged in her throat when he had called her ‘Mrs. Potter’. That person was older than she was, Mrs. Potter, and this person that she was now was never going to be the woman that he knew in his lifetime. Maybe the same personality, maybe. But they would have different memories, children, friends, etc. Now, they were two completely diverging timelines. “Ginny,” she managed to reply, “Please call me Ginny. Not a Potter.” Not a Potter was spoken as a croaked whisper, barely able to even enunciate the word ‘Potter’. 

“ right. sorry, i didn’t mean to. ” his gaze focused on a muffin that sat alone in front of him. why hadn’t there been a second or a third even ? why was it alone ? he didn’t particularly like that much. and as a desperate attempt to make it disappear, he took a massive bite from it. “ ginny. ” lysander spoke with a mouth filled with the pastry. a long swallow and a quick gulp of water and he was ready to look her in the eyes again. “ if there’s anything i can do for you. you know like care of magical creatures homework or like get more food or grab your broom so you can play qudditch or something. anything, really. i’d love to help in any way. ” he WINCED at how horrible all of his suggestions sounded. 

[scvmnders-blog]

james !

    james’ breathing seemed to pick up now, immediate remorse setting in. it all made sense. the comments being tossed his way, people mistaking him for harry, people questioning him about his son that had apparently defeated the most terrified wizard of all time. that was his son, harry potter was his son and he hadn’t even gotten the chance to meet the man. james wasn’t sure how he would have reacted to being around him, he would have probably been staring at him in awe. “—and grandchildren too??” his jaw opened wide, holding his hand up. “lily luna.. LILY?? who was harry’s mum??” obviously he was hoping it was lily evans, he was 80% sure it was by that name. that was unless harry had a friend called lily too. “i.. i need to sit down. not only did i have a son.. but grandchildren too. i’m going to be sick..”

" i didn’t...  i didn’t mean for you to find out this way. ” a hand raised to scratch the back of his neck. “ uh.. lily potter. evans. lily evans. i guess, technically since you guys aren’t married or anything yet. since, you know        you don’t know harry’s mum. ” this was going worse than he had ever expected it to. “ do you want me to get you a glass of water or... i think i have a half eaten granola bar in my pocket. ” he pulled out a snack, accidentally flinging crumbs all over the floor in the process. “ i didn’t bite into it or anything. i just broke it in half. so you don’t have to worry about germs or anything. ” lysander pursed his lips to one side as he handed the treat over. 

[willow]

[scvmnders-blog]

albus !

at once, arms locked around albus. safe, secure, and comforting, he seemed to melt into the embrace. eyes closed as he buried his head into lys’s chest, arms pulling the other close. “ s’not your fault, lys. i-i’m not even sad, not really, but i just feel so fucked up. “ how could he explain what he didn’t have an explanation for ?? of course it hurt knowing he’d never get to see this version of his father again, but it wasn’t grief for his father that gripped him, but rather a paralyzing fear. fear and grief for what could have been, but would never be. he was acutely aware of what losing the scion of the light would do with the diverse group they had gathered, and he was petrified. petrified of choosing, petrified of loosing, just petrified. 

“ i haven’t cried y’know. everyone’s just lookin’ at me like i should be, but i can’t. “ posture slumped to accommodate the guilt that was weighing on him over it. if strangers could cry over him, certainly he should be able to ??  “-but i can laugh and shake. doesn’t make any fucking sense, does it ?? “ he looked up at lys, begging for some sort of validation that he wasn’t completely atypical.  that this might even have been an anticipated reaction for some. “ lys……m’scared. scared in a way i dunno that i’ve ever been. s’like everything’s real now. i have to worry about jamey and lily and teddy and you. i’ve never been good at looking after things. even fucking plants die around me. “ 

“ might be good, yeah ?? going somewhere. i’d prefer tahiti, but something tells me that’s off the table. “ he laughed half-heartedly at his own joke. “ take me somewhere, lys. away from people. “ a heavy, almost pained sigh seemed to rise from his chest. “ you too, rob ?? thought you hated me ?? right pitiful mess, i must be…… as long as the eyeliner isn’t fucked up, yeah ?? “ terrible jokes weren’t making him feel any better, and he very much doubted that they were doing anything for lys or rob. so why was he continuing to make them ??  “ i know you are, lys. thank you. don’t know what i’d do without you. “ 

that sounded... unusual. had lysander been in his place, he would have been wailing until next week. but they weren’t the same person and he understood that. albus was free to grieve in whatever way he chose. he meant what he said         that he’d be there no matter what. “ you don’t need to cry. you DON’T. tears aren’t the only indication of sorrow. i read something about this lady who kept smiling when someone died. it was just something she did, couldn’t quite explain it. ” he looked into the slytherin’s eyes, meeting his best friend’s desperation with his own. 

a small smile appeared, following a soft chuckle. “ plants aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, you know that. but it’s okay. you don’t need to feel responsible for us. we can take care of ourselves, al. and we’ll all get through this together. we’ll always have each other. ” he meant every word of it. nothing albus could say or do would make lysander turn his back on the individual. he couldn’t even imagine something like that. 

“ maybe next week ? it’s just a little bit far, you know ? ” he nodded his head before getting up to grab a jumper. in a matter of seconds, he had his shoes on and was ready to leave. “ come on, rob. you still need to get some sleep, my pockets aren’t comfortable. ” lysander led the bowtruckle to a small version of it’s home tree by his bed. “ how about hogsmeade ? we could get you a nice butterbeer and a snack ? or muggle london, if you’d like ? ” the hufflepuff’s main and only goal for the night was to do everything in his power to just... be there for his best mate. 

[scvmnders-blog]

ginny !

Like she had expected, no sleep had come last night. Tossing and turning with the images of what had happened the previous morning kept repeating over and over again. Being hit with a Stunning Spell by Draco wasn’t being considered as getting any shut-eye, if she was being honest. She came to as quickly as she went out it seemed so it wasn’t being counted as even a nap. Exhaustion was an understatement, but sleep wasn’t tempting whatsoever. Watching the sun slowly compress the shadows, lighting up the room with every passing minute, she decided to get before anyone did. It’d been a full 24 hours now…. Shaking the thought, she repeated her brother’s words: be strong. Getting dressed, she headed down to the Great Hall. She wasn’t hungry, however she hadn’t eaten in more than 30 hours so she knew her body needed some kind of nourishment. Had to keep up appearances, had to make people believe that she was actually keeping a level head. The thought of her actually being okay was laughable, honestly. Who was okay now anyway? After ten minutes of peace (which was dangerous because it meant no distractions from what was going on in her head) with her bowl of oatmeal that she hadn’t eaten a bite of yet, she heard someone sit down in front her at the Gyrffindor before spotting the figure at the corner of her eye. The whole Great Hall was empty for a change, damn it. Why couldn’t they have given the space she desperately wanted? “Of all the open seats, you chose the one in front of me,” she grumbled, still absentmindedly stirring the oatmeal. “Sorry,” she apologized with her eyebrows scrunching together, “Mornin’.” Not looking up at the person, she continued to be more invested in studying her bowl than seeing who had sat down in front of her.

the past few hours had been difficult. no one could seem to find the right words to express how they felt. someone they all respected, loved, and cherished was gone. and the pain of loss was gut wrenching. an empty great hall didn’t surprise lysander. most people were still grieving and with a cancellation of classes, no one was REQUIRED to be awake at this hour. there was one person he recognized and before he could go through the internal debate about whether to leave space or offer his condolences, he found himself seated at the gryffindor table. “ sorry. no ! that’s on me. i should have... ” he frowned at the table before him. what should he have done ? “ ‘m really sorry, mrs potter. ” he offered a half smile at the redhead in front of him. that’s what he had always called her when he visited the weasley-potter clan and it was something he’d continue to call her. it broke his heart to see her in this state and he wanted nothing more than to HELP.

[scvmnders-blog]

lily !

“ yes, well there was always like a third of us in the past hundred years. even in the triwizard tournament there were less students in the castle. ” she arched her brow in curiosity after a moment of silence. “ is everything alright? ” she said in an amused tone and crossed her arms close to her chest. 

“ you look loads like someone i know, is all. lily luna potter. ” he frowned slightly as he tried to think. the witch before him was NOT ginny, that much he knew. but who else could it be ? maybe lily potter ? after all, he had ran into james potter. it couldn’t be too much of a stretch. could it ? “ are you lily POTTER ? ”

[scvmnders-blog]

marcus !

   Just who was this boy’s great-grandfather, then? The brightness of the smile directed to where the Bowtruckle (Rob, he reminded himself) was located drew a faint answering curve to Marcus’ lips. “You’ve done very well, if he’s stayed with you and hasn’t gone back to a tree,” he said. And then the name, which suddenly explained everything. Scamander. I really should have guessed. “Ah, then I know who your great-grandfather is. That makes better sense now. Pleased to meet you." 

   His brows furrowed as Lysander said he wasn’t the professor, before clearing a moment later. "In the future, I’m likely not. Odds are that I’ll return to working with dragons full-time, or move into general magizoology permanently after this year.” That was the agreement with Headmistress McGonagall, at least, on the condition that he return occasionally to work with the students if it involved his area of expertise. If the time-shift doesn’t throw everything to hell. "I doubt you’d know me, where you came from. It’s unlikely I taught you.”

“ pleased to meet you as well, sir. ” he frowned a bit. oh right. the future. he had traveled back in time. how confusing it all was to him. lysander had only ever known a SAFE environment. one where blood purity matter as much as how much dirt one held in their pocket        not at all. but now he knew it wasn’t safe, it was the opposite. his best friend’s father had  d i e d  and he had no clue as to how to return to his era. “ dragons ! i think i read about you once. i’m hoping to become a magizoologist myself. it sort of runs in the family, on my dad’s side at least. ”

he shifted in his shoes. time traveled seemed interesting but it was never something he was desperate to attempt. although it did seem exciting when he finally figured out what had happened, things were noticeably DARKER now. “ say, mister flint. you wouldn’t happen to know how we could          i could go back to my year. would you ? ”

[scvmnders-blog]

james !

   no one had properly explained it to james—NO ONE. he was only getting sad looks thrown at him and a few ‘hope you’re alright’, ‘sorry for your loss’ and ‘sorry about harry’ comments. harry potter was gone—-but WHO WAS HARRY POTTER?? james was still beyond confused. raising a brow at the familiar voice, a small but friendly smile crossed over his lips, causing him to nod. “yeah, of course i remember you, mate.” james may have been left completely dumbfounded by their last conversation but he did remember him. “wait.. son??” his eyebrows touched and the first hint of sadness crossed over his face. he knew people had been finding out they had kids, so this was news to him. “harry was my son??”

his brows BUNCHED together. had he not been the only clueless one to what had happened ? surely, someone explained it to him or he discovered something off about the castle and all the sudden inhabitants. “ yes ! harry potter. he was your son. you didn’t know ? ” a sad smile flashed across his features. “ he was a BRAVE man and the reason voldemort was defeated. he saved us all ! it’s a shame we couldn’t do the same. ” his face noticeably fell, thinking about what had happened to someone he looked UP to. “ that’s why i said there are three potters. james sirius, albus severus, and lily luna potter. i suppose it all makes sense now..... you didn’t know. ” he bit his bottom lip, feeling that this was a terrible time and way to break the news to the individual. but was there really a good way to tell someone that their son had died when they didn’t even realize they HAD one ?

[scvmnders-blog]

@jamespvtters

lysander often considered everyone he met to be a friend to some degree. that included james potter. it took him AGES to figure out what was going on and he almost felt like a fool for not realizing it in the first place. he had met his best mate’s grandfather without even realizing. this time he wasn’t going to make the mistake he did earlier. he was going to seek out the lion and make sure he was alright. 

“ james ! it’s me ! do you remember me ? we spoke earlier. you said you were the only potter and i said there are actually three. ” he jogged over to gryffindor lost in time. “ i just wanted to say that i’m really sorry about your son. it’s really not fair. ” his breathing was heavy, having never been the athletic type. “ i just wanted to let you know that if you want to talk or if you need anything. i’ll GLADLY be of service. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

albus !

@scvmnders

no one stopped him when he burst his way into the hufflepuff boys dorms. whether it was compassion or fear driving them, he didn’t know. he didn’t care. he tried behaving and finally getting some sleep, merlin knew he needed it, but it evaded his grasp. he tried working on homework assignments - he refused to allow himself to neglect what still needed to be done - but his hands shook. they wouldn’t stop shaking. frustrated, he had ended up throwing the inkwell across the room, and watched it shatter. tired, uncoordinated hands unthinkingly went to clean up the mess, and got cut up in the process. it hadn’t hurt. watching blood stain white bandages, there was a detachment that surprised even himself. 

now he was here, standing at the foot of lysander’s bed at some ungodly hour. he really was a terrible friend. “ i don’t know why i’m here. i don’t know what i need. i don’t know what i expect you to do. i just-i can’t sleep and i can’t stop shaking. “ a hand - the one without bandages - reached up to run through his hair, tugging slightly through the unkempt mess he hadn’t bothered brushing. learned habits didn’t seem to have died with him. sitting down on the bed, albus made room for himself, and looked expectantly at lys. he wasn’t sure what he was waiting for or what he wanted the other to do. it was unfair to him, really. 

“ s’funny, innit ?? everyone’s meeting up with long-dead family members, and look at the fucking potters. always gotta defy convention, yeah ?? “ a hollow laugh escaped him, and seemed to continue on for a unsettling amount of time. “ lys……just- please. “

lysander had listened to mcgonagall break the news. he listened to his peers and professors weep. he listened to HIMSELF weep. but the first thought that came to mind was of his best friend         ALBUS. albus severus potter. oh how he couldn’t begin to understand what the slytherin must have felt. 

that had been hours ago but it felt like minutes and not once had he gone to find his best mate. he was torn over it. debating whether or not he should give albus space or seek him out and console. everyone dealt with grief differently and as much as the hufflepuff wanted to be there, he just couldn’t tell if he’d be imposing in any way. and, as if to answer his question, his door flung open. eyes squinted as he sat up. he was met with a face of defeat and sorrow. the bandaged hand soaked in blood had not gone unnoticed, either. it  b r o k e  his heart to see albus in this state and only confirmed his belief that he was HORRIBLE for not finding him earlier. he was at a loss for words, nothing seemed capable of leaving his throat. rushing forward, he enveloped the wizard into a hug. “ ‘m sorry, al. i’m really damn sorry. ” what else could he say ? there was no way for him to bring back the boy who lived. there was nothing he could offer and lysander hated it. he hated how useless he felt, how incapable he felt. 

there they sat, in the near darkness. a wizard had lost his father and all lysander could muster up was an APOLOGY. how pathetic was that ? “ do you want to go somewhere ? anywhere ? ” he would do whatever it took to help the wizard he deemed his best friend. anything, there would be no boundaries. and suddenly his favorite little bowtruckle popped up, placing a branch on the side of albus’ head. “ whatever you need, al. i’m here for you. okay ? ”

[scvmnders-blog]

marcus !

   Either Marcus was getting less observant (not likely in any sense of the words), or people were just being less careful about watching where they were going these days. When a shoulder slammed into his, he had immediate proof that he wasn’t getting less observant, because he spotted a small, green form flee into a pocket. “That’s all right,” he said, distracted, eyes flicking to the face of the person he’d slammed into. “Bowtruckles are difficult to befriend, how exactly did you end up with one that thinks you’re trustworthy enough to hide against? That’s quite rare.” About a second later, he realised he didn’t know the person he’d collided with. “Apologies, I teach Care of Magical Creatures here, so it’s something of a matter of curiosity. I’m Professor Flint.”

" oh, rob here’s great ! my great granddad took care of loads of magical creatures and bowtruckles included. i stumbled upon rob one day when i was with my dad out and about just exploring and guess there was just a mutual affinity. ” he turned towards his shoulder with a clearly BRIGHT smile. there wasn’t a day that went by when lysander didn’t think about how glad he was to have the bowtruckle by his side. “ mcgonagall didn’t mind me having him along in the castle. because i know we’re really only allowed owls and toads and cats. ” he furrowed his brow. professor flint. it didn’t sound very familiar to him. “ lysander scamander. ” flint. flint. his mind was racing. anyone involved with care of magical creatures was on his radar. and he would have remembered a flint, especially if he was taught by one. “ you aren’t the professor, though. i don’t mean to be rude. it’s just that... you’re not. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

james !

   scrunching up his nose at the name he heard, he shook his head, snapping his fingers as if trying to get the other’s attention. “i dunno what a… jamey is.” james mumbled, brows practically touching as he leaned against his broomstick. “third potter?? i’m an only child. only one of me.”

the snapping only made things worse for lysander, believing he was the sole reason for the other’s irritation and oh how he HATED being a burden of any sorts. “ he’s a great guy. you should meet him. ” his head shook before forcing himself to look at the wizard. “ i haven’t heard of another potter family. harry doesn’t have a cousin, well except for the weasleys. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

alice !

                “ can’t imagine why you would, i’m practically the size of a goblin. “ the petite gryffindor joked with a scrunch of her nose. “ being sneaky is my forte, not that i was trying to be i mean not like intentionally at least not this time around. “ well that made absolute zero sense ‘ nicely handled alice. ‘ and this was the very reason almost one ever understood her humor, even she was lost sometimes. she had however noticed the creature that had been on his shoulder previously and that sparked her interest immediately. it was hard to miss the bright green being in obvious contrast to their jet black hogwarts robes. “ nothing’s broken and i’m too much of a pratt to have an ego so i say no harm done.  “

“ size of a... a goblin ? ” his eyebrows quirked up, not entirely understanding the joke at hand. though there were times when no one could very well understand the hufflepuff, either. “ i’m glad you’re fine though, well except for that ego. ” his mind had already moved on, trying to match a name tot he face before him but he STRUGGLED. that couldn’t be right, could it ? he liked to think he knew most people. of course she could have been one of the few he failed to interact with before. “ you look a lot like a friend of mine. alice. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

molly !

her eyes narrowed into a playful glare as she looked at him. “ you didn’t see me? wow, lysander, you sure know how to make a lady feel special! ” molly teased, expression softening as she smiled at the male. “ as does your little pet, should i be offended? ”

“ i just wasn’t paying attention. you know i’d always notice you, molls. ” the corners of his lips curved up into a smile. “ he’s not THAT little, but i’m sixty five percent that he’ll pop up to say hi so don’t you fret. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

lily !

lily sighed into her seat at the great hall, eyes bleary and heavy with sleep. she’d only just begun to understand what was going on, and even then her grasp on the gravity of the situation was minimal. “ how in merlin’s name are they going to fit us all in here? ” she mumbled into her breakfast, neither caring nor realising who might overhear.

“ well they’ve managed to do so for the past hundreds of years. i’m quite sure if they stick to what they’ve always done and what works everything will work out. ” he couldn’t help but stare. she looked incredibly FAMILIAR but he had never been absolutely excellent with names. she did remind him a lot of lily luna. 

[scvmnders-blog]

james !

     “can you STOP following me??” james snapped, dragging his broomstick behind him with a grunt. he was just annoyed. every single day he had bumped into someone new, some had claimed to know him, some claimed they were from the future and he wasn’t buying it. “or help me god….” he trailed off, finally turning to the person. he knew he had to relax and had to keep calm, he couldn’t lose his temper over this. flashing a smile on his face, he held out his hand. “i’m james potter, i’m a chaser and a gryffindor. great. good introduction. can i go now?? i kinda want to go practice.”

EVERYONE seemed to be upset with him nowadays but he  c o u l d n ’ t  properly figure out what he had been doing wrong ? it made him nervous and uneasy. “ right. you just look a hell of a lot like... ” lysander paused to swallow a LUMP in his throat. “ jamey. you know ? ” his eyes seemed incapable of moving from the faint crack in the wall. “ i’ve never heard of a third potter child though. ”

[scvmnders-blog]

dominique !

❛ fous-moi la paix ❜ dominique muttered as she buried her head deeper in the book, ( which she obviously wasn’t reading ). no, dominique weasley was not exactly the kind of person who would waste her time with something trivial as books, but she couldn’t think of anything better, when she noticed someone had been following her for already more than ten bloody minutes . at first she thought she was simply being overdramatic. after all,  with everything going on and bumping into several unfamiliar faces, confusion and paranoia dominated her mind. -    ❛ i told you to leave me alone and to stop following me around. ❜ she repeated herself.  ❛ whatever you want, find someone else to bother. ❜ 

“ i didn’t mean for it to be creepy or anything ! ” his hands fiddled with each other as his eyes looked nearly anywhere BUT at hers. “ it’s just... when you walked by i smelled something vaguely like vanilla but also something  a bit - savory ? i wasn’t sure but i just wanted to see - or smell - what it really was. ” lysander physically flinched at his words, finding the jumble to be a complete mess.