if i die young (rory + open and all that)

[Deleted]

Andy was walking down the hall with her book clasped against her chest. The same book she had been reading, in fact, when she stumbled on Phil stuck in a towel without any clothes. She was walking beside her sister, Aurora. She turned to look at Aurora, opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She had been meaning to talk to her sister about something, something that was a rather awkward topic of conversation.

Finally she bit her lip, trying to give herself a little courage before breathing deeply to turn on her heel, and stopping in front of her sister. "Ror, I'm dating Albus. James's brother. We haven't really gone public, or anything, but I wanted to -erh- tell you before anyone else found out. I realize that's pretty awkward but-" she stopped at a sound. A loud thump, almost like a drum. It was silent for another moment... then again. "Did you... did you hear that?"

@aurora

[Deleted]

Andy seemed to have something on her mind this evening. As she and the lonely brunette walked in relative silence, keeping to the general rule of traveling in pairs as often as possible, Aurora just quietly waited for her sister to speak. When she finally did, Aurora was actually surprised. She was dating Albus? Two Lestranges dating two Potters? Oh what their father would do to them... It scared her. With a violent shudder, Aurora stopped and took a long, shaky breath at the thought. She had already lived through it and couldn't bear to think of her sister going through the same treatment, much less going through it all again if he ever found them.

"I-you-he-" she started and failed to say. She heard the same loud thump that her sister had and quickly responded to Andy's question, begrudgingly changing the subject. Aurora drew her wand slowly and regained her composure. A second loud thump sounded, followed by a loud crash of shattering glass and another loud thump. "What was that? A-Another attack?" she asked while looking all around her and her sister for clues or signs.

Then a thought occurred to her. 'Another attack? ... James...'

"James!" she exclaimed aloud, before grabbing at her sister's sleeve and tugging her into a run down the hall. "C'mon, Andy!  Drama later! We need to find our Potters now!"

@james
@lestrange

[Deleted]

Our Potters. Even in a serious moment Andy couldn't help but smile slightly at the words. She let her sister drag her, whipping her wand out in order to be prepared for anything. "Gryffindor tower, come on!" that was Andys best guess as to where James would be. Albus would be heading there too, most likely, considering both of his siblings would be found there. It seemed like a decent enough rendezvous point.

She and Rory steered that direction, running quickly as the sounds got louder and stranger. Explosions, shouting, laughing-- it seemed they were running toward the sound instead of away from them. It was possible that the tower was one of the first places hit after all... "Ror-Ror," she tried to speak, but the sound was getting caught in her throat.

Phil was in that tower.

She ran faster.

@al
@james
@aurora

[Deleted]

James was walking leisurely through a corridor, one book from his previous class in his left hand and an unlit cigarette in the other. He debated lighting it as he walked along, as the corridors were deserted. He was heading back up to Gryffindor tower after class as his mind wandered to Aurora... his eyes on the cigarette, he wondered what she would think of his occasional smoking habit. He didn't smoke them as nearly as often as he used to before he began dating Aurora, but every now and then his potions class required he do so with its workload and the professor in general. But with Rory by his side, James's life had been far less stressful and he hardly ever felt the urge to smoke as much as he used to.

James put the cigarette into his mouth and took out his wand and was just about to light it with his wand when he heard an explosion ahead of him. His head immediately shot up and the cigarette dangled out of his mouth. Another sound like an explosion and without a second guess James took off in the direction of the explosion, his wand still in hand as he dropped both the book and the cigarette. His ears took him in the direction of Gryffindor tower and his heart began to sink. So many people were in that tower. That was his home within the school. Panic turned into adrenaline as James Potter ran through the corridors. Was Aurora okay? What was going on?

In a hurry, James turned the corner and found himself colliding into a body and a half. He regained composure in a second and looked down at the two girls in front of him and felt an immediate sigh of relief. Aurora and her sister. They were safe. "Aurora!" He exclaimed, putting two hands on either of her shoulders as he looked at her and then pulled her into a hug. "Tell me you two heard that sound," he said looking at Andromeda when he pulled away from Aurora. He could not have been imagining that.

@aurora
@al
@lestrange

[Deleted]

Phil did not fall asleep while doing his homework. That didn't happen. So he was entirely confused by the sheet of parchment stuck to his cheek and the sleep sand in the corners of his eyes. At first he wasn't sure what had moved him from his deep study trance but he heard a booming noise echo through the castle. A feeling of dread settled over him. This was another attack. He could tell by the next booms that followed at random intervals. 

His resolve settled in the pit of his stomach. He was not going to stand by and watch the people he loved get hurt. He wasn't going to find out later the awful things that someone had done while he had been sleeping. He got off of his bed, leaving his books and parchment scattered over his sheets. He grabbed his wand off of his pillow and pulled on his robe as he ran down the stairs. He had to find... Andy. He shook his head angrily at himself. Why was she still the first person he thought of! He crawled through the portrait hole and scrambled out into the hallway, then promptly froze.

Andy was standing right in front of him. And James and Rory. 

"Uh, do you guys know what is going on?" He asked dumbly. 

@james
@lestrange
@aurora
@al

[Deleted]

Aurora practically fell into James's arms as soon as they were made available to her.  "James." she said quietly, partly into his chest.
The brunette found herself nearly out of breath, even with the sounds of an attack sounding off in the distance.  Even after James pulled away, Aurora found herself sliding an arm around his torso for the extra support.   

"I think-" Aurora exhaled, and took a breath as Phil Longbottom walked practically into their little group. 

She started again, gently pulling her hair back and away from her face. "We've heard the explosions and the screaming of students. This has got to be an attack, but I think it's much bigger this time!"


@lestrange
@james
@al
@philiplongbottom

[Deleted]

@aurora && @philiplongbottom && @lestrange && @james

what the heck was going on. there was yelling and screaming. jay looked around him when he started and ran his hand through his hair. what was happening. he needed to find phil and alice. heck rory and andy too to make sure they were okay. he wondered where they would be, he'd been a little out of touch in the last few weeks since his attack. he'd only really been out of the hospital wing for the last week and both his wrists were still bandaged. he fiddled with the loose end on one as he started to make his way to the gryfindor tower. most of his family were in gryffindor and that's where they'd head. he knew alice was probably with carcer and there was no way the half giant would let anything happen to his sister. he ran as fat as he could, feeling himself getting tired as he made his way up the stairs but he kept pushing forward, needing to find them. he ducked suddenly as a spell flew ahead of him. what the hell! he thought as he lifted his head, glanced around and saw men with masks starting to make their way onto the stair cases. his eyes widened as he scrambled up the rest of the stairs. other students were running past him. he tried to warn them, tried to tell them that they were on the stairs but people didn't want to stay inside the castle and it was hard for jay to throw his voice over theirs when he was out of breath. suddenly he was falling, having been shoved out of the way of some over zealous student who seemed to think pushing past people was going to get himself out of there. a stinging pain laced his cheek as he caught himself on the suit of armour that was standing in the hall. he wiped his hand against his cheek and frowned when it came away red. figuring he'd cut his cheek on the axe that was crossed against the armour's chest he pushed himself away from it, ignoring the blood dripping from his face as he rounded a corner. oh thank merlin. he saw them.he ran over to them, his arms moving to grab andy in a huge hug as he did. "t-thank merlin" he hurried out as he tried to catch his breath now he wasn't running. he let her go as quicky as he had grabbed her and turned to try and hug rory too. "p-people .. in m-masks .. a-atacking t-the castle .." he managed to get out as he let go of rory and bent at the waist for a moment. all those stairs had done a number on his just healed lungs and he needed a minute to catch his breath.

[Deleted]

As they neared the tower Andy was incredibly relieved to find that it had, so far, been untouched. James soon found them and at his question Andy nodded. Something bad was going down and everybody knew it, but she didn't want to say it. However, she didn't have time to answer James before she looked up in the direction of the portrait and saw Philip right in front of them. She couldn't help what she did next.

She threw her arms around him, tightening her grip on him with both arms wrapped around his shoulders and one hand cradling the back of his head as if it was some precious thing she had to take care of. She held him there for a moment, not saying anything and willing herself not to cry. She was just so relieved that he was alive that she didn't care about the things going on between them, about the fighting and the avoiding and the awkwardness. He was alive, and that was all she cared about.

She pulled back as Rory answered his questions, but she kept her eyes on Phil. Silently willing him to understand what she was feeling in that moment. That his being alive was the most important thing to her right now.

She didn't say anything when she suddenly heard someone tearing down the hall and she was suddenly being tackled by Jayden. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, "Jayden, what-" he pulled away to hug Rory and she stepped forward, placing a hand on his chin to turn his face toward hers. The giant big sister monster in her was growling angrily at the sight of the blood on his cheek. "Jayden, what happened?"

@henry
@philiplongbottom
@aurora
@james

[Deleted]

In an instant, the world shrunk and was suddenly enveloped in his arms.

Andy had thrown herself onto him and she was hugging him, cradling his head with her hand. He held her tightly, his eyes closing, breath catching. This was right. Andy in his arms and him in hers. Nothing else even mattered because she was here and safe. Something that had been broken in his heart, as they stood their for what seemed like an eternity, mended itself back together.

Then she pulled away. His eyes searched hers for the warmth he felt, and surprisingly, he found it. She was searching his eyes as well. For a moment, he thought everything would be alright.

Jayden broke the perfect moment, jolting the two back to reality. He rushed up to the group and hugged Andy, pulling her away from him. Phil tried to not be upset about that. then Jayden hugged Rory.

It took a moment, but Phil was solidly back in the moment now. Jayden had a scratch on his cheek and he felt the now familiar anger in his stomach come to a rolling boil. He took the two steps toward Jayden, where Andy was holding his chin.

"Are you alright?" he growled softly.

@lestrange
@james
@aurora
@henry
@al

[Deleted]

"Jaybird!" Aurora called out as soon as she had removed her face from James's chest. She wrapped her arms around the youngest Longbottom, though was quick to let him pull away to catch his breath. She looked him over while her sister observed the bloody scratch on his cheek. The brunette felt as protective of the boy as Andy or Phil, but was notably the first to draw her wand to do anything about the cut.

She gestured it once in a straight line, causing the cut to close. "Tergeo" she followed with, causing the drying blood to clear away. If anything, Aurora still knew her healing spells and practices. She tugged on his arms, turning his hands about to look at the boy's wrists. One bandage was still good, though the other was beginning to come undone. She shot a look at Jayden's eyes and raised an eyebrow as she undid the bandage partway and re-wrapped it again, this time more securely than it had been before.

Thinking quickly, she dug into a pocket and produced a small cluster of leaves. Giving half of the cluster to Jayden, she instructed, "Here. Chew on this a bit, you could use the energy." Merlin knew, she had been using them to get through the days without taking naps. Should she try being an apothecary? The job would accommodate her skills and she knew she could count on Mr. Longbottom for help getting started... eh, now was not the time.

Aurora brought her attention back to the present. "Now. These masked people. Did you say, attacking?" she asked while closing in on James's side and wrapping an arm around it.

@henry
@philiplongbottom
@james
@lestrange
@al

[Deleted]

@aurora && @philiplongbottom && @lestrange && @james

"Jayden, what-" "Jayden, what happened?" "Are you alright?" jay had to shake his head as he straightened and he shifted his head from andy's fingers. he could only answer one question at a time and the look on his face told them that. "slow down okay? one question at a time." he said as he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "i got shoved into a suit of armour. it was an accident. it won't kill me" he said, feeling like he had to elaborate on that. they were worried about him and he knew that but there wasn't time for that. he felt the cut on his cheek heal and he touched his fingers to it as he heard rory's voice. "thanks" he said lightly with a smile as he took the leaves and chewed them slowly. he almost pulled a face at the taste of them but he fought through it as he looked at his sister and heard her question. "Now. These masked people. Did you say, attacking?" he nodded his head and he moved to grip his wand in his hand again the leaved working their magic and he felt like he had some more energy already. "yeah. they're looking for something. i saw someone grab a seventh year and drag them away .. there's people everywhere. some followed me up the .." he said as he ran his hand through his hair and realised what he had just said. they were following him and he forgot!? how stupid was that. his eyes widened as he turned around to see the hall he had come down. he couldn't see anything just yet but there was smoke and dust rising from people casting spells. "they weren't far behind me"

[Deleted]

As everyone started fawning Jayden, including herself, Andy soon moved back to stand beside Phil, arms folded, and shoulder slightly pressing into his. She needed the stability. She waited as Jayden explained where the cut came from. and that he saw people being taken away. Her eyes flickered to Rory and James at the term 'seventh year', then back to Jayden.

Andy didn't wait to react as Jayden realized that they weren't far behind. She reached forward and took Phil's hand, then took Jaydens in the other and started to move. "We've got to find somewhere safe and then-" she stopped speaking, turning her eyes to James. "Albus. We've got to get Albus," she said, horror in her voice. He was practically defenseless down there in the Hospital Wing.

She stopped running for a moment, "Rory you should take Phil and Jayden somewhere safe. James, come with me," it was more of a plea than a demand, really, and she knew James wouldn't let her go get his brother alone.

@al
@james
@aurora
@philiplongbottom
@henry
(WE'RE COMING AL!!)

[Deleted]

@lestrange @henry @james @aurora @al

It should have taken more than a simple touch to turn off his senses. Yep, it should have. But it didn't. Andy's shoulder pressing into his was all it took to make him forget about the burning castle around him and focus on that one spot where they touched. An eternity later, or perhaps only a second, Phil was brought back to the moment by Jayden's comment about them not being far behind. And it was that comment that reminded Phil of the intensity of his anger toward the people that had hurt Jayden. And anger that suddenly didn't want to be controlled.

It softened, but only slightly when Andy took his hand in hers. But was suddenly stronger than ever when she suggested he run away from the fight.

"No. I'm not leaving. I can't yet. Jayden, you and Rory should go find dad. He probablly knows what is happening, but you will both be safer with him. We will go get Albus and find you after." He insisted. He wasn't about to leave Andy alone with only James to go get Albus. That would be like putting two bombs in a fire and hoping they won't go off. Rory and Jayden could take care of each other. They really would be safer with Neville anyway.

[Deleted]

Even though James felt a little panic inside of him, feeling her arm around his torso gave him strength. He was so relieved that Aurora was okay. When Phil appeared, James was just happy to see more of his friends okay. But the arrival of Jayden brought unsettling news of men in masks and it brought his mind to another: Alice. "Phil, Jay: Where's your sister?" James asked in an urgent tone as his body suddenly went a little tense. Alice wasn't the only one he had to worry about. He had to find Lily and Albus too.

James watched Aurora tend to Jay's wounds with a hard look on his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, honestly. "I saw someone grab a seventh year and drag them away." James's eyes widened and he could feel a sudden rush of violent anger. "WHAT? Who, Jay?" His voice was pleading and urgent. He prayed it wasn't a Marauder or Alice.

James was brought back to reaching his siblings by Andy. He was about to protest to leaving Aurora behind when Phil spoke up instead. He looked at Aurora with his eyes filled with determination. He really didn't want to leave her but he knew that if there was anyone who could handle their own, it was her. "Okay." He just nodded his head once and pulled out his wand. But he couldn't forget about his sister. "Has anyone seen Lily?" He asked. James was much more calm now than he initially was and it surprised even himself.

@aurora @philiplongbottom @lestrange @henry