#all threads

( ᵖᵒˢᵗ⁻ʰᵒᵍʷᵃʳᵗˢ / ᵛᵉʳˢᵉ )

       SCARLET BROKE HER VOW. she broke it, because she couldn’t stop the tears that slowly glistened down her cheeks. perhaps she was just deliriously exhausted, or maybe she couldn’t do this  ───────  couldn’t soothe him, couldn’t help him. thomas’ little torso lay bare, his feverish skin clinging to hers as he wailed and wailed, an endless torment that had been going on for hours. her mother had checked him an hour earlier, for the millionth time that day. she would be back again after her shift, but even though he likely had a bug of sorts, he didn’t need further medical attention.

       IT SOUNDED LIKE A LIE TO HER, as she rocked him incessantly. ‘ tommy, please. . . ’ she begged him, trying and failing to control her emotions. she was making it worse. turning him around in her arms, resting him on her less tired arm, she tried whispering sweetly- ‘ what do you need? ’  she rocked more, but wails only momentarily soften before turning into full-blown sobs. that made her cry more, too. scarlet had heard explosions, bones cracking; she had heard dragons the size of houses roaring with deadly anger  ───────  she’d heard screams of fear and terror. BUT THIS?

       IT WAS INHUMANE TO HAVE TO LISTEN TO IT. ‘ what do you need? please tell me. ’ a plea he could not answer, yet she needed to ask. cold lips pressed a kiss to his head, warmed and comforted by it if only for a moment. ‘ shh, shh, shh- ’ she patted his bottom in rhythm with the rocking, but it felt useless. the tiny wisps of AUBURN hair he had grown in the short three months since his birth were humid as she combed them back, desperation urging her to claw her own heart out to make the crying cease. ‘ mama’s here. . . i’m here. ’ . . .did that make it better?

       SHE WAS LOSING THE FUCKING PLOT. her crying turned into silent sobs as she got her phone. the screen was hard to see; vision blurred as her own disarrayed hair covered her eyes. words were hard to comprehend too, thoughts refusing to form as she remained attuned to the sound of his crying. she felt fucking overwhelmed. CHARLIE’S NAME showed up first, followed by ERIN’S, then JAMIE’S  ───────  it would be easier if she called them. but they had their own problems. . . and this wasn’t about HER. not right now. not when he was crying like this. 

       BUT THAT JUST MADE HER CRY MORE. lips trembled as she typed whatever came to mind,  emotions tethered to the edge of hysteria as she pressed send to multiple messages. she probably sounded absolutely insane and desperate. it felt like utter DEFEAT having to contact HIM, but that didn’t matter when she stared at tommy’s tormented little face. nothing else really did. ‘ daddy will be here soon, okay? ’ that had to help. she needed it to. sniffing and biting her lip to control the crying, even if just for a moment longer, she sang a song nonsensically─────── 

                  . . .TILL THERE WAS A KNOCK. scarlet rushed to open the door,                        sobbing at the sight of him. ‘ i’m sorry. i- i didn’t know what else to do- ’

⇨ @claritxs​

SUNSHINE  had slithered in through the cracks high in the walls and in the ceiling,   alerting her that morning had arrived.   birds didn’t chirp here,   but at least the squeaking of mice as they roamed the cracks of the cement walls were familiar,   unlike the gentle cries and occasional SCREAMS.   the squeaking was preferable to focus on  ────────  she could pretend she was back in her room,   hiding rodents and pests from her family.   her wrists ached,   arms heavy as she lifted them onto her knees and sorely crawled into a tiny ball.   cowardly, she fought sleep away.

she had not slept at all since she’d arrived.   not the right kind of sleep, anyway.   unconsciousness had claimed her a few times after cass visited,  DEMANDING potions nina knew she’d eventually get.   nina had succumbed and given her the correct constituents this time.   lying that first time had proved to be a dangerous mistake.  her cowardice did not allow for a second attempt at it.   nina would have to make the potions.   the cold trepidation that ran down her spine no longer shocked her   ────────   a constant COMPANION in this forsaken cell.

whatever idea or plan she managed to conjure,    FEAR was faster and quicker at dispelling it.   the chains around her wrists, for example. . .   nina was almost certain she could remove them.   but for what?   ANGERING cass didn’t seem like the right move.   yet somehow she felt more of a prisoner to her own mind than an actual prisoner at the realization.   FEAR peeked in again when a loud squeaking and rattling sound came near   ────────   as something HUGE and GREY crawled from under a crack near the door.   nina knew it would be a RAT before it managed to get its body through the tiny slither.  she let out a breath.   maybe it had come to save her?

the rat did not come closer to her.   maybe she should have been grateful for it.   . . . she wasn’t.   they were carriers of disease,  volatile,   but so were some humans.   besides, she’d befriended far worse creatures.   ‘ don’t tell me they got you too? ’   she found herself joking,   feeling insane.   she wanted to go to it,   but nina had been imprisoned to a bed for so long,  frozen with fear,  she didn’t know if she could do it.   after a long few breaths,   nina ignored the panic.   the hard cement floor was cold under her feet and under her injured knees as she kneeled next to him.

‘ where did you come from? ’  rats usually came in packs.   this one was huge so they likely had plenty of food to go around.   DEAD BODIES sprang to mind.   she shoved that thought down along with the nausea that it brought along with it.   she reached out a hand.   ‘ you probably think i’m crazy. ’   . . .he would be right.   nina sat there a while,   watching him rattle around the room and collect crumbs and dirt from the ground.   eventually,  he rested by her knee,  staring at her with eyes that were pure black.   she petted him a few times,  comforted.  when he moved to disappear back through a slightly bigger crack,  she followed him. 

NINA’S HEART skipped a beat at the sight of feet,  when she stared through.  someone else was laid on the ground.  their feet were as dirty as hers  ;  they wore rags for clothes.   nina only dared to look for a single second,   before she rushed to sit against the wall.   who was that? who else was here? . . . nina clasped her chained wrists to her chest,  then bent down to look again.   did she recognize the girl?   the features she bore were familiar yet hollow.  she seemed knocked out cold,  a layer of soot covering her golden hair. 

‘ NATALIE? ’   she found herself breathing aloud,  unsure of her own sight.  her mind was aflutter with thoughts.   is she dead?  i should stay away. . .   maybe i can save her. . .  oh, but i can’t even save myself.   thought after thought,  her desperation grew.  nina knew she would do the right thing as always.   this may be her last chance to be KIND.  nina tried to raise her voice,   but the sounds of plumbing were too loud.  then suddenly,  like a true knight in shining armor,  the RAT was back.  she had an idea   ────────   nina’s magic was weak,  BUT SHE STILL HAD THE OLD INGREDIENTS-

unable to hesitate,  she sprang from the ground and went towards the small desk.  white dittany,  rusted metal powder,  azelias,  shredded norwegian mushroom,  vegetable oil,      ────────   but no wand.  WANDLESS ENCHANTMENTS. . .   she wasn’t the worst,  but she was better with a wand.  still,  she could wake natalie at least.   it didn’t take her long.  five minutes,  and a small contained fire later,  she’d made. . .  SOMETHING.  after enchanting it to mistify through its glass beaker after two minutes,  she knew she had to act quick.  using her hairband,  she tied it to the rat she now named  HERO,  lightly shoving him through the crack.    

   she coaxed him into going near natalie,  hoping the TIMING worked.            ‘ C’MON HERO────────   ’ and with that,  brown powder exploded. 

⚓     @intxlligence​​ ​    ⚓

    NOAH AWOKE TO CHAOS ──────── found himself oddly startled only by the fact he wasn’t nervous or afraid to be in it. when had he stopped being afraid of the unknown? sirens seemed to go off in the distance, and some gurneys were being brought in. he had never seen gurneys before. he thought they were a very MUGGLE thing, but clearly the distinction was a little less important in times of war. he had only just began to move his arm, to test it for pain, when he heard teddy lupin utter his name. ‘ YAXLEY, glad you’re awake. now move, we need the room. ’ noah had only blinked up at him a few times, at which point an elderly lady began swatting at him, reaching for the sheets he was laying on. ‘ -alright, alright. ’ he huffed to her, standing up and ignoring the gentle throbbing of his shoulder. noah had a feeling he was forgetting something important as he stood up and got out of the way. 

    HE REMEMBERED, BUT HE WAS DISTRACTED, TOO. laying in one of the gurneys was someone noah knew well. someone wearing a silver embroidered robe, who fought in the rebellion armies. someone who was clutching a bloody chest wound ──────── someone from the other side. COBALT stared with befuddlement before he took further steps back, but it slowly made sense. of course healers didn’t see it that way; GOOD or EVIL didn’t dictate whether you got to live or die here. ‘ do you need any help? ’ he asked teddy, whose lips thinned as he shook his head. ‘ no, mate. this one is over. this one, we won. ’ as noah’s eyes went to the half-conscious man whose chest was now being healed by three people, he decided it wasn’t a story he wanted to hear. NOT YET. as reality dawned on him, he turned to stare backwards at where he thought someone was staring in that direction, too. someone with bleak, STEEL EYES. 

    A MYRIAD OF EMOTIONS HIT HIM AT ONCE. he did not move for a while. instead, he sought the truth in the BLUE EYES ──────── knew then NOTHING had changed, except more hopelessness; more injury and death. ‘ have they been able to find any clue at all? ’ his voice carried a reckless dash of HOPE, as he finally moved to sit beside her. the bed was empty. she looked tired. ‘ is max okay? ’ he needed to catch up with the REVOLUTION, and he needed to catch up on the CHESSBOARD. but, selfishly, he also wanted to just sit there and inhale the calming scent of jasmine, even tainted by the smell of chemicals and potions. he wanted to run his hands over curls that looked beyond tangled, and he wanted to COMFORT HER. yet, he was afraid that if he did, he might crack. that maybe he needed the ICE that being the pawn of the rebellion had made him be. THEN AGAIN? . . .he needed HER more. he lifted a palm to her.

              ‘ you need FOOD ─────── AND SLEEP. ’ cobalt challenged,                      desperate to see LIFE back in steel. ‘ let’s get out of here for a bit? ’

️ ️

      THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD. erin had counted the heartbeats, had watched the thin vein along scarlet’s neck throb with every gentle thud of her heart; and none of what had happened earlier, embraced in hers and jamie’s arms, had ignited the flame of HUNGER. instead, a thick layer of DISGUST had coated along her tongue at the thought of tasting the blood that ran beneath their skin                 and that.  .  . left her consumed with a feeling she hadn’t felt in a LONG time: relief. and perhaps erin would have let the feeling linger for longer, would have allowed herself to step over that line into HAPPINESS, if something else hadn’t happened today; if the corridors she walked past now weren’t the same ones HE’D bled on hours ago. everything in her body BEGGED her to wander down those stairs, the blood in her veins FREEZING as if in reminiscence of him. did she not deserve him now?

    NO, SHE DIDN’T. NOT ENOUGH. so instead of abiding by what everything in her craved, erin followed the path down to the GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOMS. not directly; she’d slip in through the WALLS, through the paths she’d mastered when she was younger                 they breathed, as if recognising her and shifting to let her pass. with a palm pressed to the bricks as she fit through the passageway and into the common room, erin tried not to let her mind wander. she might have FAILED, if cinnamon hadn’t befallen on james potter the moment she’d slipped out from behind the tapestry. ‘ -hey. ’ the BITTER scent of the blood that had dried along his lip teased her, or it WOULD have if she hadn’t been so thrown by the slight bruise that pinkened beneath his eye, or the torn skin that decorated each knuckle. lips part to speak, as if they’d utter any words that might soothe the TURMOIL in her stomach.

    NOTHING MADE IT OUT. no words, no sound. all erin did was inch closer towards him, thankful for the flames cackling in the fireplace, and the heat that radiated along her spine; if anything, the red and orange hues of the room helped disguise the bruising from his SCUFFLE with cameron yaxley. ‘ i’m sorry. ’ finally, words made it past her lips, as she reached her fingertips to his cheek, brushing them lightly under the purple skin there. ‘ it feels like the more i try to keep away from everyone, the more they seem to get hurt. ’ including HERSELF. ‘ -i heard what happened, and i’m sorry, james. ’ she dropped her hands, sighing as she buried them in the pockets of her robe and lifted her gaze up to meet his. ‘ .  .  .and i may have told scarlet and jamie, everything. or well, they PRIED it out of me. ’ she let the faint smile lift the corners of her lips, then. ‘ and i wanted to TELL you because you were the reason i did. ’ or PART of it.

                                                  a BIG part. ‘ -and cam, he’s.  .  . going through something. ’                                                             words didn’t seem ENOUGH. ‘ can you FORGIVE him? ’

◆   ◆   ◆

    JACK AVOIDED HER THE FIRST DAY BACK. not properly, but he also hadn’t gone down to his workshop as normal. he couldn’t make himself face it                  not even after jamie’s words and josh’s advice. his chest had felt uncomfortably tight that night, as he wondered if she was there whilst he sulked in his room. that feeling hadn’t gone away, and now he couldn’t stop himself from going to see if she was there, even if he wasn’t sure what to hope for. was he hoping she was? was he hoping he’d fall down the staircase and not have to deal with this at all? . . .hard to tell. it was also hard to figure out why he couldn’t stop thinking about her, even during LESSONS. she played on his mind, worse than any machine he couldn’t fix. 

    BUT COULD HE FIX IT? HUMANS WERE NOT METAL. humans were complicated, which he proved by being like this. his feet took the final steps down to the basement, his mind too familiar with the path for him to think about it                  and his eyes searched the place casually. at first, he saw nothing. disappointment coursed through him, and answered his earlier conundrum over what he had been hoping for. but then he saw it. a flash of SUNSHINE HAIR, resting lightly against marble. his heart accelerated like an old engine that he wasn’t entirely sure would make it, but after wiping his hands nervously against his trousers, he walked in. the light was dim, and cast shadows on her face. still, she looked. . . 

    ‘ HEY. ’ WORDS HE SPUTTERED, before he lost his nerve completely. after days and days of guessing at what she might feel or what he might feel, he wasn’t sure what he saw on her face now. EXHAUSTION, definitely                  that constant state of tiredness she was constantly stuck in, even if she wore it so well. it tore at him, and it was the only thing he’d change if he could, even if he was sure she was a MASTERPIECE that he could not touch. ‘ are you doing okay? ’ in hindsight, maybe he should have asked something less direct, or more precise. what if she told him she hated him? she could. he’d get it. he wouldn’t very much like it if his friends went around kissing him just because they FELT LIKE IT. 

    REALLY, HE JUST WISHED HE WAS BETTER AT READING HER. he hadn’t really minded not being able to before. humans were interesting, but not enough. not like her. the other people he cared about were already used to him; not to mention BIOLOGICALLY programmed to LOVE HIM. he felt his pulse rush, as he tried to look away from the soft indigo and the sheer rose tint of her cheeks                  but instead, he only managed to look downwards for a moment, arms crossing as he inhaled the familiar scent she brought to the sawdust covered room. it reminded him of the faint taste of SWEET TEA on her lips. as much as he wanted it again, he felt nothing short of DOUBT as he faced her.

                                ' ARE YOU MAD AT ME? I’M SORRY. ’      WAS SHE?                                           HE DIDN’T WANT TO LOSE HER- ‘ I REALLY AM. ’  

@LIONHEARTCDX

     in theory, charlie’s plan was pretty sound, and there was absolutely NO WAY gryffindor wasn’t going to win this first challenge. he could already picture it: the hogwarts cup for fifth year sitting up on his nightstand, glistening under the orange glow of the morning sun from the window above his bed. he’d put it back on the mantle above the fireplace in the main common room before lessons, obviously. until then, charlie was determined to take this tournament very seriously. or at least as SERIOUSLY as he could, considering he was already doubled over in laughter with crimson stains painted across his face and neck. ‘ trust me, luce. NO ONE is going to be able to get our flag. ’

     charlie had gone to GREAT LENGTHS to ensure it. he twitches his lips up into a grin as he swipes the back of his hand over his cheek, spreading the speck of RED across pale skin. ‘ lets just say they’re going to struggle getting past the acromantulas. ’ charlie didn’t LOVE spiders, but there were worse things than climbing over a nest of them. ' did you know acromantulas don’t like mistletoe berries? ’ which explained why he was more RED than his normal skin colour. charlie didn’t mind. he LIKED the colour red. ‘ i think they’re quite tasty. ’ he pressed a palm to his stomach, trying to conceal the GROANING of hunger. ‘ so, we go after the WEAK LINKS first and try to steal their flag. ’

     he picked up a long stick, drawing odd shapes against the dirt and PRETENDING they meant something as he continued, glancing up at lucy between drawing swirls. ‘ it’s going to have to be hufflepuff. ’ it wasn’t personal. ‘ nina and nico are likely going to see them as the weak team too, and we want to get their flag before anyone else. where do you think ari would have hid it? ’ she was GOOD at climbing trees, as far as he remembered. or rather, she was good at using his HEAD to climb up them. maybe she’d do the same with asa? charlie rubbed his chin in thought, brows furrowing as he considered his options. ‘ i think we should go for hufflepuff, and then go for ravenclaw. ’

                    nina and nico were TERRIFYINGLY smart, though.                          ‘     did you bring FRED’S special powder with you? ’

@divineluxx​

     SHE’D MADE HIM CLIMB THE HIGHEST TREE. now, his legs dangled on both sides of the branch, his arms wrapped around the bark as he held on for dear life. ‘ is this okay? ’ he’d placed the flag amidst the leaves, hoping the yellow would blend with the greens and browns of the tree. when the HORN blared at the commencement of the first challenge, asa was NOT ready. a little scream may have torn form his lungs too, as he koala-hugged the tree from the looming fear of FALLING. ‘ aaron, aaron- ’ his voice wavered in the wind, was SOUNDLESS. ‘ i can’t get down! ’ asa finally cried, unmoving.

                                       AND THUS BEGAN THE FIRST CHALLENGE.