InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "m shadows is a beast"

erniemacattack (erniemacattack) wrote in attheclose,
@ 2011-04-12 22:40:00

Entry tags:

character: ernie macmillan

Who: Ernie Macmillan & Neville Longbottom
What: Ernie's ready to kick some ass and take some names. DA style.
When: Tuesday, 12 April, mid-morning
Where: The grounds
Rating: I'm guessing low

Ernie hadn’t truly realized how burnt out, stressed, worried, anxious, broken, and completely close to a nervous breakdown he had been until he went home for the holidays. But his unavoidable decision (if he could even say it was a decision, he hadn’t really felt like he’d had much of a choice) to do nothing but sleep for days had ended up being exactly what he had needed to recharge and refocus.

And that refocusing had helped him in a lot of ways. It helped him realize that he couldn’t do what he had been doing anymore. He couldn’t sit back and just hope that he could protect people, because he couldn’t. He’d been straddling that fine line between being Head Boy and following the rules, and being an active member of the DA and he’d decided, once and for all, that being Head Boy didn’t matter anymore.

The DA did.

And now Ernie just wanted to do something. But he wasn’t sure what to do, or what was best. Or what might even be helpful at all. So he thought, really, that the best plan was to talk to Neville.

He’d slipped him a note at breakfast that morning, charmed to look like Muggle Studies notes if anyone looked at it but him. He hoped, very much, that he’d gotten that charm right, but it was too late to worry about it now.

It wasn’t important, and he’d said so in the note, but he’d asked Neville to come and talk to him, if he could.

So mid-morning, Ernie sat outside, under the guise of doing homework and hoping that Neville would come.

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greenlion
2011-04-14 02:19 am UTC (link)

Given how low flying Neville, too, had been the last few months, it was ironic that he should seek out Ernie now, when he was quickly developing a reputation for trouble with the Carrows. Still, he had always liked Ernie, though he was more often than not like to be found in Hannah's company, if he was going to be seen around Hufflepuff.

The note he'd burned in the Gryffindor common room fireplace, just in case, though he didn't think to bring something along as an alibi. If someone asked, he was on his way to the greenhouses and had stopped to talk with the Head Boy. That wasn't breaking any rules. Yet.

"Hullo, Ernie," he said casually when he'd reached the courtyard. He sat down quickly, hoping to draw less attention.

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erniemacattack
2011-04-15 02:02 am UTC (link)

"Hullo, Neville. It's a nice morning, isn't it?" Ernie remarked, looking over at him, watching him sit down. Now that he was here, Ernie suddenly felt a little self-conscious, feeling a bit like an idiot for asking for the meeting.

But it was a little late for that now, so he looked down at his books for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to say what he wanted to say, without actually saying anything incriminating at all. Though he felt better about saying things when he was outside, at any rate. There was at least the illusion that you might not be overheard.

"Did you have a nice holiday?" he asked, after a moment.

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greenlion
2011-04-15 03:58 pm UTC (link)

"I sure did," Neville replied, grinning. He was sure Hannah would have told her cousin all about their plants, and even if one wasn't excited about Herbology, they could certainly see the merit in having healing plants secreted away.

Casting a look about where they were seated, Neville said quietly, without changing his posture, "But I didn't think you wanted to talk about the holiday."

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erniemacattack
2011-04-16 03:43 am UTC (link)

Well, they were going to get straight to the point then, Ernie supposed. Which was undoubtedly for the best. Lingering outside the common rooms, even if it seemed to be perfectly legal, was still something to be careful of.

"I didn't," he replied, his voice equally quiet as he turned the page in his Herbology text slowly, having been picked specifically as a logical alibi. He wasn't bad in Herbology by any means, but there was no doubting that Neville was better. In retrospect, he probably should have charmed that note to look like Herbology notes, rather than Muggle Studies, to make the whole thing a touch more flawless.

Really, he should learn to think things through sometime.

"But I found my holiday to be helpful, which I suppose ties in." Ernie didn't really want to say what he'd done, as sleeping for days to avoid nervous breakdown frankly sounded pathetic. But he was silent for another moment, trying to find non-incriminating words to say incriminating things.

Finally, he gave up. "I want to do something. I need to do something helpful." Well, it wasn't perhaps the most subtle of things to say, but at least he tried to compensate by keeping his volume very low.

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greenlion
2011-04-18 02:51 pm UTC (link)

Nodding slowly, Neville smiled reassuringly. He knew exactly how Ernie was feeling.

"The Head Boy has a lot of liberty," he inferred, though he wasn't sure just how much. He considered the issue that had been worrying he and Parvati the most: the fact that Ginny hadn't returned to school. Would the Carrows know what had happened to her? "Maybe you could... maybe you could try and get some information for us."

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erniemacattack
2011-04-19 03:25 am UTC (link)

Ernie raised an eyebrow, not having quite expected that answer. Not that he was really sure what sort of answer he was expecting, but nonetheless. "I think you might be giving the position a bit more credit than it's worth these days, but I can try. What is it that you want me to find out?"

And more importantly, who was he going to have to talk to to find out said information. He had the sinking feeling the answer to that question would be, perhaps, less than pleasant.

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greenlion
2011-04-19 04:05 pm UTC (link)

"What they're planning, maybe. Ginny isn't the only one who hasn't returned to school," he said quietly. It hadn't been safe to use the Room of Requirement too much, or he would've said they ought to talk there. "Could you... could you go to one of the Carrow's offices, maybe, pretend like someone is in trouble? See if there's anything there. Anything at all."

He knew he was asking a lot of Ernie, but Neville felt a little like he did in his summers at home, standing in the fruit tree grove with the smell of a big summer storm filling his nose. Something was coming, and they wouldn't have much time to take shelter.

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erniemacattack
2011-04-20 12:46 am UTC (link)

Ernie stared down at his Herbology book, not actually reading anything, his eyes not really focusing as he let out a slow breath of air. The idea, going to the office of one of the Carrows to attempt to suss out information sounded, frankly, suicidal.

But he had, after all, been the one that wanted to do something. Whatever that something was.

Slowly, Ernie nodded. "I can try. Do you suppose one Carrow might be better than the other?"

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	greenlion 2011-04-20 01:40 am UTC (link)
	Neville grimaced. "The only thing they've good about either one of them is that they're at least not as bad when they're alone as they are when they're together," he admitted. "Though I guess if I had to pick one, I'd choose Alecto. She's smaller." Barely, Neville thought. The woman was more barrel-chested than Neville would ever be. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

erniemacattack
2011-04-20 02:02 am UTC (link)

Ernie glanced at Neville, shooting him an incredulous look. "Right. Smaller. I'm sure that'll help when it resorts to a fist fight."

Ugh. Merlin, this was a tremendously bad idea. But he did agree that Alecto was probably the lesser of the two evils. She seemed exceptionally stupid, rather than merely stupid, which he supposed might help.

And perhaps he'd be able to charm her.

The thought made him nauseous, and he doubted that it'd help. Alecto didn't strike him as one who might like men anyway.

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	greenlion 2011-04-20 02:08 am UTC (link)
	Neville could understand Ernie's hesitation, and for a moment he felt his own familiar doubts, as well. "I'm glad you want to help, Ernie," he said honestly. "I really am." His expression said everything his words hadn't. I know it's crazy, but it's a crazy world, right? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

erniemacattack
2011-04-20 02:49 am UTC (link)

Ernie smiled, nodding. He felt sick and nervous and completely and utterly scared, but if he could manage to do something helpful, it would be worthwhile.

He hoped, anyway. "...I'll see what I can do."

He really hoped he'd be able to find something out that would make it all worth it.

Ernie felt his determination and resolve falter, just a touch. Everything was just...

Crazy.

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