Penny

“That’s right” Bex smiled triumphantly as the woman before her began to come into focus, “Now, who are you?”. While it was entirely possible that she had seen this girl before Bex had no clue if she actually had. She had one of those faces that were of an absolutely indeterminate age so for all she knew she could be face to face with a student or a parent or any number of other things, not that that would really change how she acted - but it definitely didn’t hurt to be at least somewhat informed. 

Penny laughed despite her general feelings that cartwheels in a corridor were a bad idea. Maybe the castle could use some cheer like that - it certainly seemed very subdued, especially compared to her memories. “I’m Penelope Jones,” she said with a polite smile. “I’ve been sent to assist Madame Pomfrey and watch over the healers-in-training as they work. Who are you?”

The mention of her sisters fiance put a bad taste in her mouth. Hestia didn’t try to hide her dislike for him either, as Penny was well aware of how she felt about the man. It wasn’t as if the boy had done anything to warrant the dislike, but he certainly had never done anything to get her to trust him either. She just felt like there was to much she didn’t know about him, and something about him always just rubbed her the wrong way. She didn’t trust easily, it wasn’t a well kept secret or anything so it hadn’t been a surprise when she showed a dislike for him when they first met. Penny had most likely been expecting her to warm up at some point though, but the younger girl didn’t even pretend to try. 

“Of course he did.” She muttered, holding back a comment on him being self-centered. Hestia was sure that him supposedly needing to be the one to tell her sister what had happened was somehow him making it about himself. Either that or it was him trying to be controlling in some way. She just found it hard to believe that it was simply out of the goodness of his heart. “Not particularly. There was an auror, right after it happened, that I sort of snapped on about everything. But no one sense.” There was no point in lying or hiding anything from Penny as she would find out eventually. 

Penny loved Hestia too much to take offense to how little her sister cared for Evander. They would come to know each other and be friends eventually, Penny was confident. Evander loved her and she loved him. And Hestia loved Penny, so she would have to come to terms with Evander’s involvement in their life at some point. Anyway, her concerns were more focused on Hestia’s mental well-being at the moment anyway. It didn’t come as a surprise that Hestia hadn’t talked to anyone, really. Her willingness to talk to Penny wasn’t even guaranteed, but Penny would try. “Well, you know you can talk to me,” she said easily. 

She fell silent for a moment then glanced around the infirmary. “Would you like to go somewhere to catch up? I believe Margo is in the other room and I can have her watch things for me. I’d like a chance to talk to you.”

Rebecca Lynnette Chittock was well aware that she was a whirlwind of a person. Rules were not made for breaking but for finding loopholes to. Cartwheels in hallways were only dangerous under a particular set of circumstances. A) If the hallway was crowded B) If there was something on the floor to make it slick and C) If there was anyone around to witness it. With none of the boxes ticked off she couldn’t help immediately whirling through the hallways only coming to stand upright when she saw what she thought, though it was definitely blurry after all that spinning, was a familiar face. “That’s right” Bex said with a triumphant smile, “I’m back”

Penny had a basket of bandages and ointment to take to the greenhouses, at Professor Sprout’s request so that the next time students were bit or pricked, she had supplies on hand. When she first spotted the cartwheeling figure, she assumed it was a student (probably a Gryffindor, as that seemed something they would do) but the person wasn’t a student, she guess. “Welcome back?”

Seeing her sister and actually talking to her quickly reminded her of how different the two of them were. While her sister had chosen to become a healer, Hestia already knew that whatever she did would not involve being around a lot of other people. It probably wouldn’t involve helping people. Penelope was a much nicer person than she was. It didn’t bother her though, in fact she thought that it was nice how different they were. She was unsure how she would deal with a sister who was just like her, she certainly wouldn’t care about her nearly as much. Even though Hestia was the younger of the two, she couldn’t help but feel over protective. It was a part of her personality though, and usually only Amara had to deal with it. With her sister around now, she might possibly become a bit less overbearing towards her and push it onto Penny instead. 

She couldn’t help but smile a little awkwardly. Happy that her sister was there but worried about it too. “I’ve definitely been better.” She laughed. “Did they uh- tell you that I found two of the people attacked recently?” Hestia asked, hoping that her sister had already heard all about it. It would save her from explaining it all once again. Even though it had been a while since the incident, her nightmares were still just a frequent. She also hoped that she wouldn’t have to explain to her sister as to why exactly such a thing would be particularly rough for her. “I think that’s part of the reason why I’m so happy you’re here.” Being honest about it seemed to be best, hoping that her sister would be alright if she leaned on her a bit now that she was around. 

Penny felt like smacking herself. She should have known better than to ask that question, after everything that had happened. She was informed about her sister finding two of the people who had been attacked, and she nodded quickly, though she let Hestia keep talking before interrupting. “Evander told me,” she said softly, trying not to upset Hestia with the mention of her fiance. “He thought it would be better coming from him. How are you doing?” She’d wanted to come see Hestia then but it hadn’t worked out for her to leave St. Mungo’s, a fact that she had regretted for a long time now. 

“I’m happy to be here for you, Hestia. Whatever you need.” They might not be as close as they could be, or maybe as they should be, but she wanted to change that now. They needed to be a family again, and even if Hestia didn’t like Evander now, that would change when she got to know him. Then they would really be a family. “Have you been able to talk to anyone about what happened?” She reached for Hestia’s hand, taking it gently and looking around for a place that they could sit and talk in peace.

Who: Hestia and Penelope Jones @healerpenelopejones 

When: March 14th

Where: The Hospital Wing

Hestia was surprised when she heard that her sister was now working at Hogwarts. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t be happy to see her, it had simply been a while since she’d even talked to the girl. But she missed her. She missed her sister more than she would care to admit. She found it unfair how big their age gap was, just big enough that the two of them never got to attend school together. It made her jealous of all the sibling she saw in the hallway, wishing she’d had her sister to help her. Especially during her first year, which had been particularly difficult after the death of their mother. 

“Penny!” The girl called out as soon as she caught a glimpse of her sister. She’d quickly just walked right on in and towards the other girl. Quickly she gave Penny a hug, though it ended much quicker that one would have expected considering how much time has past since they last saw each other. “What are you doing here? Why are you here?” Hestia quickly asked the girl before shaking her head. “Sorry, I should be saying that I’m glad you’re here.”

Penny really hadn’t been thrilled to be sent to Hogwarts to assist. She loved living in London, loved her fiance, didn’t think it was necessary to have yet another Healer at school. Surely with Madame Pomfrey, Althea, and Margo, the school was well under control. Although both Althea and Margo were still in training, they were smart and capable and didn’t need a babysitter. But one couldn’t argue with one’s employers, so she had simply nodded with her usual cheerful smile after being told, and let herself cry when she was home with her fiance. And now that she was at school, she did her best to be cheerful with the students and helpful with the other Healers. After all, there was a silver lining.

In hindsight, she knew she could have been more supportive with Hestia after their mother died; Penny had been too wrapped up in her own grief though, and hadn’t been helpful for her younger sister. Since then, they hadn’t been able to get as close as Penny wanted, and she now hoped that this might prove to be a turning point for them. When Hestia’s voice broke into the otherwise quiet infirmary, Penny dropped the  bandages she was folding and turned, embracing Hestia tightly. “No, it’s all right. I’m not totally sure why I’m here myself, honestly. I suppose just to help things run more smoothly, since Althea and Margo are both training still.” She gave Hestia a quick look over, trying to decide if she looked well. “I’m glad to see you though. How are you?”