InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Gettin' jiggy wit it."

Hermione Watson (the_cleverest) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-01-12 12:20:00

Entry tags:

!@event, !closed, hermione watson, john watson

Who: Hermione Granger and John Watson
What: Repressing only works for so long.
When: Backdated to last night
Where: The clinic
Rating: PG-13 for language, most likely
Status: In progress

People could get used to anything. Somehow they'd all adapted to the new normal of vicious metal spheres that giggled like malevolent children killing anything that moved. That was simply how humans worked: they adapted, they modified and they survived. When their defenses failed, when the buildings were no longer safe, the inhabitants of Colligo retreated and holed up in the clinic. It was simply what had to be done to get through another day.

Hermione had spent long enough in battles and in war that she could disengage her mind for times like this evening. She'd ferried people from the buildings to the clinic and gathered what supplies people would need, before joining in with those reinforcing the clinic's protections. It wouldn't hurt to have an additional layer of wards, would it? But finally there came a time when she ran out of things to do and people to help, and while normally this would have been the time when she would have congregated with Harry and Ron to strategize - well. Harry was busy making sure Sirius didn't get himself killed, and she imagined Ron was doing something similar, and frankly Hermione was exhausted and could hardly think straight any longer.

Instead, she stole through the hallways of the clinic till she found the tidy row of doors in the one corridor that seemed to be quiet. It had to be; all of the doctors were busy with patients and people seeking refuge, they didn't have time to sit about and relax. A muttered Alohomora under her breath and she slipped through the door marked "John Watson," then collapsed on the tiny couch and allowed herself a few shaky breaths. She could be strong again for Sirius, for Harry, for all of them. In a while. Not right now.

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hisbestman
2011-01-12 11:00 pm UTC (link)

It was a mess. There was no other word for it. It was worse than the zombies had been, because at least the zombies had never managed to get into the flats. At least there had been a reasonably safe place for people to stay, beyond the clinic. Now most people were here and it was somewhat overwhelming. There was space enough, but it was hard to focus on the things he had to do as a doctor with all the people around. The personality clashes alone were giving him a headache, even without the profound sense of helplessness and uselessness that plagued him.

He was a doctor, yes, but he was also a soldier, and not being able to go out and do something to stop those things was wearing on him. Still, at least he was doing something. If he'd been entirely without work to do, he might have actually gone mental in the face of this chaos. Once he was sure that all his patients were stable, and that nobody was currently trying to murder anyone else, he headed back to his office, needing a moment to just breathe. And maybe have some tea, if he was really lucky. The point was he needed a moment away from the mess this had become to put himself back together. He'd been lucky this time, not to have lost anyone with whom he was especially close. He didn't think he could have handled losing Hermione again, and Sherlock would have been worse. Perhaps that was odd, since Hermione was his girlfriend and he loved her, but he and Sherlock had a bond that was difficult to explain, and losing the man would have destroyed him.

Entering his office, he sighed as he saw Hermione there. He couldn't imagine how hard this was for her, losing so many people in the past weeks. And the weight on her shoulders had to be unbearable. He closed the door and locked it, crossing the room to sit next to her and wrap an arm around her. "Hello, love," he said gently. Beyond that, he was silent, trying his best to just be there for her.

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the_cleverest
2011-01-12 11:24 pm UTC (link)

The sigh caught her off guard. Too much running, too much time spent firing spells at whatever was coming next, but she had her wand halfway out of her pocket before she realised it was only John. Putting on a smile would have been a doomed effort and futile besides - he knew all too well how false it would have been - but the click of the lock reassured her that she could take this chance to relax and seek a little comfort from him. His arm was warm and solid around her and she leaned gratefully against him.

"Oh, John, I don't know how much longer we can all do this." Was this the end? Was their captor going to just let them all be picked off one by one till they'd been wiped out? It was a chillingly possible outcome. "Remus is dead," she added, voice hitching in the middle. She tried to catch her breath but the hiccup turned into a quiet sob, and she turned her face against his shoulder and wept. There hadn't been time before. Sirius had needed her to be strong. Harry had needed her to be calm. Waiting one's turn for a breakdown was an awful state of affairs.

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