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healerrosier:
Miraculously, Evan refrained from rolling his eyes at James’ antics. There was a brief moment where he shared a similar look of disbelief to Severus’ before clearing his throat. “I’ve done what I can do for the time being,” He admitted. “And as much as I would like to properly revive her, I’ll be sparing her and Theodosia from the childish antics.”
He could have said more. Maybe he should have, come to think of it, but Severus had managed to say everything that was running through his mind without being the one to say anything.
Rather than say anything, Evan pressed his tongue against his cheek and shifted his attention to Theodosia and the list the diagnostic spell created. It didn’t matter how many times he ran his gaze over it — the answer was still the same. Not that he expected anything to change, but the information truly couldn’t have come at a worse time.
@perniciouspotter
Evan answered his question - he’d stabilized Lily, he was doing what he could. Now they had to wait and it wasn’t a good idea to bring her back just to see James doing what he was doing right now anyway. But it wasn’t good enough. James couldn’t stop that racing if his heart - couldn’t help the way his eyes kept going back to her. She looked nearly dead, that gentle rise and fall the only indication that she wasn’t. Was this how she felt, all those months he was gone? Only she couldn’t see him. Didn’t know where he was or if he was alive.
The thought made him worse. Made him angry. Made him mean. He rounded on Severus and the retort from his old enemy came back with such an ease that James knew Snape had been thinking this for ages. He hated how the other wix could peg him so easily. How Severus could read into his mind, his thoughts, his feelings. It wasn’t just magic - it was just the ability of two people who had disliked one another for so many years. They understood each other too well - and that was the problem.
That was how well it could hurt. James didn’t have a retort. There was nothing he could say back to erase what Snape had put out into the world. They said he was nothing but a liability. That he’d done nothing but get in the way, make things harder for people. And all James heard was that he was nothing. Nothing. Nothing to Lily or to his friend or to the Order. And there wasn’t a thing in the world that terrified James Potter more than being nothing.
But instead of stalking away - instead of saying this or talking to someone about it or even just giving up in the face of someone who has suddenly become a better person than him - James threw a fist towards Severus to connect with their jaw.
@wrongdeor
Severus stumbled back as Potter punched him in the face.
He wasn’t shocked, per se — he lit a match into gasoline, he wanted an explosion, to plunge a knife where it hurt the most. And he knew Potter’s weaknesses better than anyone. But this sort of a scuffle hasn’t been common between them in years, even when they argued and butted heads in the meeting room. Not since Potter’s first month back from the grave.
He laughed. ‘ Nothing to say, Potter? Back to the basics with you I see! ’ Severus flicked his wrist and shot a Knock-Back hex at him. It was a schoolyard hex at best, but it seemed appropriate considering who it was.
@healerrosier
theoselwyn:
Theo had known that they’d be getting some death eaters. That was a given really. She hadn’t quite been expecting to see the sheer amount that were marching towards them. She had to admit it was strange to think about firing spells at her colleagues. Technically they were, since they were all working for the Dark Lord. But, she was here with the Order and she had to at least fight the Death Eaters. And, to be honest, Theo kind of liked the idea of getting some hits in against Bellatrix.
The moment they’d seen the orders they’d sprung into action. They had too. It was needed. Everything was chaotic, and muggles were running every where. They needed to contain the death eaters as soon as possible. She had no idea where Gideon had gone, but she saw Severus, and she decided to stick close to him. Surely two of them would manage better than just the one.
“We need to take them out.” Because that was what the death eaters would do to them. She fired some spells in the direction of the death eaters, trying to take some of them out. “I know we’re supposed to protect the statue…. but fuck that. We need to save these muggle.” Which was…. an interesting development for Theo.
Selwyn was a bold fighter, they could give her that. They held off the squadron of Death Eaters long enough for back up to arrive, and while Severus kept half an eye on her and half on their enemies, the barrage of curses and attacks became overwhelming. It didn’t take long for them to fight back to back. For the heavy fire to become too much to fight off.
Selwyn took too many hits and crumpled to the ground abruptly. Severus hesitated before picking up their fallen partner and apparating them both back to HQ for her injuries to be seen to. Lupin and the others would’ve had enough time to get the muggle family out — they have to trust they did just that.
End.
Evan nodded when Severus went on about Theo, face paling. He would have been about to start working on the serious injuries if it weren’t for knowing he had said he would give an update. His gaze stuck to Theo until he reached the point of explaining his next steps in regards to treating Lily.
“Parchment of ailments is in the top drawer of the desk — two pages worth,” He murmured then pointed toward the desk. “London got met with an explosion. Evans appears to have gotten the brunt of it. Phoenix tears have been administered and the broken bones have been reset. I was going to take care of the cosmetic part of things once certain the tears were successful. It’s been about ten minutes since using them.” He pressed his teeth together to suppress the worried look that seemed desperate to appear. “Original plan was to keep her under for the evening to give her body a chance to rest. The tears may accelerate things a little. I’ve only ever used them on external injuries but a few drops by mouth seemed like the best call so I am uncertain of what to expect. If you think there’s something I may have missed… I wouldn’t have suggested switching if I didn’t trust you.”
Anyone but Theodosia being brought in, and he would have let Severus work on them. “She’s stable for now and that’s the most I can ask for. I wouldn’t have been able to move her to St. Mungo’s with the condition she was in when Bones and Lovegood brought her in.”
Severus took the parchment from the drawer and listened intently to Rosier’s updates as he read the report. Again the cold and distant panic beat against his ears from far away as if through a body of water.
London got met with an explosion. Evans appears to have gotten the brunt of it.
‘ Phoenix tears, ’ Severus muttered. He looked at Lily, his lips pressed together in a flat line, teeth gritting helplessly. He looked at Rosier as the report wound down and the man said that he trusted Severus. He didn’t miss the hesitance, the unspoken don’t make me regret trusting you that followed the tail end of those words. ‘ Of course, ’ said Severus with a brisk nod. ‘ I’ll keep an eye on her. ’ He moved to her bedside, the parchment crinkling in his hand with how hard he gripped it.
He cast diagnostic spells of his own, read their results, tracked the progress of the Phoenix tears. He stood rigidly by her bedside, fingertips touching her wrist, feeling for a pulse. He watched and waited. It was all he could do.
End.
Severus made his way to the infirmary at a brisk stride, Selwyn’s blood soaking through his robes and arms by the time he stepped into the room. The battle was not what any of them had expected, and the trickle of suspicion he’d felt prior to being dispatched was regrettably well placed.
Severus weaved his way through the chaos of the infirmary after a mission and found the empty cot, where he placed Selwyn carefully and cast a spell to check her vitals.
Rosier cursed. Severus looked up — and his eyes snagged on a flash of bright red hair. His breath hitched like he was punched in the throat. ‘ Yes, ’ he said quickly, and rattled off Selwyn’s vitals and the injuries she’d sustained in the battlefield that he knew of, making his way over to the other cot. ‘ What happened to her?! ’ He barked, standing over Lily’s cot. There was a peculiar clarity amidst the panic. It was him, and Rosier, and Lily, and the cold claw of fear that sunk itself down his spine and spread through him. Everything else dissolved into white noise.
Evan & @wrongdeor (@asphodelroot & @theoselwyn referenced) June 24, 1984 - Infirmary roughly a minute and a half after Theo got brought in
Evan could handle chaos. It was part of his day job so handling injuries after the mission shouldn’t have felt nearly as exhausting as it did. Not even two full teams back and he was already dealing with one person in critical condition and the rest of the team having come back concussed or worst. He would owe a thank you to Emmeline later since she was doing a phenomenal job at going back and forth between people. She had better bedside manner than his own but he had the excuse of worrying about multiple people if it came to someone complaining to Hestia or Alastor. At the end of the day, he cared about no one dying more than being viewed as the friendly healer putting up with being sworn at, screamed at, or both.
He had been about to take a seat and catch his breath for a moment when Severus came in with someone, merely earning an arched brow and a groan before he shifted his attention from Lily to the two.
“Status update?” He asked, expression faltering upon realizing who the person Severus had laid out on the one empty cot was. “Fucking hell, shit-” Evan snapped his mouth shut to avoid saying anything more unintelligible than that, pinching the bridge of his nose before he spoke again. “Theodosia. We- Can I switch with you? I’ve got Lily and will update you once you update me.”
Severus let Potter push his hand off, taking a step back himself and setting his collar back to rights. He glared at Rosier when he mentioned Lily, lips curling in pure disgust at being chastised using her name, before he looked away. He merely scoffed and rolled his eyes when Potter pushed past him, he resolved not to be provoked into another physical altercation, once had already been enough.
Then Potter rounded on him. Looking for someone to blame, to fight, to lash out on. Severus stepped into the role like it was made for him.
He turned to Evan and gave him a commiserating look, as if to say, ‘Can you believe this guy?’ And turned back to Potter like a shark that scented blood. ‘ Ah, that still bothers you, doesn’t it? That I was welcomed into the fold and yet you still struggle to find your place again months after your miraculous return to your people! But you can’t possibly be welcomed when all you’ve done is pick fights and throw temper tantrums like a child, yes?’ Head cocked to the side, Severus approached his opponent in slow and measured steps, the corners of his lips lifted slightly in a sharp smirk. Repressed rage beat against his chest in a steady thrum. ‘ You’ve been nothing but a liability. You’ve done nothing but get in everyone’s way. You’re difficult, and you make things difficult. Everyone here is busy or injured, but we’ve all got to stop whatever we’re doing because James Bloody Potter has to process his feelings first! ’
@healerrosier
healerrosier:
wrongdeor:
Let’s switch, said Rosier, and handed him a diagnostics paper and rattled off a list of instructions. Severus looked at the bed and rocked back on his heels, suddenly, like taking a physical blow. He’d fallen from a tree once, when he was young, twenty feet down and it knocked all the air from his lungs. The memory resurfaced unprompted, an echo of this moment, and he tried to take a deep breath. Then he took one step, two steps, and stood by Lily’s bedside.
His hand reached out carefully to touch her wrist, felt the faint pulse in her veins, and watched the air expand and expel from her lungs. For what felt like eternity, Severus stood like this, still as a statue. Waiting for signs she was getting worse. Bruised lungs. Internal bleeding. Broken collarbone. The list of diagnostics went on an endless loop in his mind —
Potter burst into the infirmary, a whirlwind of self important rage and childish animosity. Severus was yanked away by his bloody collar, and it was a testament to his current state of mind that it took him a moment to return to the present. To feel the anger light a fire in his gut. To think, who the fuck do you think you are?! Before he grabbed the front of Potter’s robes and slammed him against the wall of the infirmary, hard enough to rattle the shelves. ‘ Be quiet, ’ Severus said, a soft, quiet tone that belied the violence simmering underneath. ‘ Or get out. This is an infirmary, you fucking delinquent. Who do you think you are? ’
@healerrosier
____________
Things were going fine with the addition of Theo added into the mix of patients he had to deal with. Evan could manage his emotions well enough in front of Severus and unconscious Lily and Theo. That much was a given even though he was truly ready to find some place to go scream as a way of letting go of some of his pent up anxious energy and make it clear that his trying to think everything was fine was totally ineffective.
He hesitated when it came to casting the diagnostic spell, not used to seeing Theo look so fragile. One deep breath in an attempt at keeping the nervousness pooling in his stomach at bay then he cast it. A rather alarmed “What the fuck? That can’t be right,” escaped from his lips mere seconds before James arrived.
Evan released an exasperated sigh and raised an eyebrow at the two. Unexpectedly and unsurprisingly, a scuffle — he would label it as such for now — ensued and he was left throwing a look of disappointment at the two. Disappointed yet not bothered enough to reach for his wand and properly threaten to separate them. He wouldn’t admit it but the change of pace and something else to focus on was a welcome distraction. “Be careful of the shelves,” Evan winced. “Severus said it better than I would have, James. My usual reminder that I will not be healing either of you if it comes down to injuring yourselves over…” He trailed off a moment and made a face. “Whatever this is. This is hardly the behavior Theo or Lily would approve of given the circumstances.” @perniciouspotter
As quickly as James had gotten the upperhand, he lost it. Suddenly, Severus was on him, pulling him by the scruff of his shirt to be slammed against the wall. James let out a short, pained breath as the weight of it hit him, his wrist suddenly throbbing even though it hadn’t bothered him all day. He took Snape’s insult as a hypothetical question and shoved at their hand until he was pushing it aside.
“Get the fuck off me,” he said, not quiet as requested and quite hypocritically. James turned his head to look at Evan, narrowing his eyes. Of course they’d bloody well stick together. James almost retorted who gives a fuck about what Theo thinks? back to him, but that was a surefire way to get him kicked out, so he just righted himself and glared at both wix before stepping around Severus, shoving their shoulder on the way despite himself.
Hey, at least he was being quiet now? He stopped short a moment later as his eyes caught with Lily’s body in the infirmary cot. She looked bruised and body and fragile in a way he’d never seen before. His hands started shaking and he could feel that lump in his throat again. He swallowed, pushed it back - he would not fucking cry here, not with Snape standing a foot away - and let that now-familiar rage take over.
He rounded on Evan. “What the fuck are you just standing there for? Aren’t you going to help her?” He looked back at Severus. “And you - if you’re so fucking perfect, so- so capable that you can murder Muggleborns and then be fucking welcomed into the Order after, why don’t you do something!” She was going to die, she was going to die, oh fuck was she going to die?
@wrongdeor
Let’s switch, said Rosier, and handed him a diagnostics paper and rattled off a list of instructions. Severus looked at the bed and rocked back on his heels, suddenly, like taking a physical blow. He’d fallen from a tree once, when he was young, twenty feet down and it knocked all the air from his lungs. The memory resurfaced unprompted, an echo of this moment, and he tried to take a deep breath. Then he took one step, two steps, and stood by Lily’s bedside.
His hand reached out carefully to touch her wrist, felt the faint pulse in her veins, and watched the air expand and expel from her lungs. For what felt like eternity, Severus stood like this, still as a statue. Waiting for signs she was getting worse. Bruised lungs. Internal bleeding. Broken collarbone. The list of diagnostics went on an endless loop in his mind —
Potter burst into the infirmary, a whirlwind of self important rage and childish animosity. Severus was yanked away by his bloody collar, and it was a testament to his current state of mind that it took him a moment to return to the present. To feel the anger light a fire in his gut. To think, who the fuck do you think you are?! Before he grabbed the front of Potter’s robes and slammed him against the wall of the infirmary, hard enough to rattle the shelves. ‘ Be quiet, ’ Severus said, a soft, quiet tone that belied the violence simmering underneath. ‘ Or get out. This is an infirmary, you fucking delinquent. Who do you think you are? ’
@healerrosier
Date: June 24th, 1984, just after leaving the Entry Room Location: The Prewett Estate, infirmary @wrongdeor & @healerrosier
James moved quickly from his argument - possible argument? - with Jones down the corridor to the infirmary. Lily, fuck, Lily. She could be dead. She could be dying. He couldn’t fucking believe that he’d let her end them when he knew it might end up like this between them and they’d be left with nothing but tainted memories. He could’ve had four more months with her. Damn it, Lily.
He was angry and tired and so, so fucking terrified. But he was also keeping his cool, Hestia’s words about how blowing up wouldn’t help him - how Evan wouldn’t let him stay - ringing through his ears. And, by the time he made it to the infirmary, he was almost calm. Almost ready to sit by her bedside and stay out of Rosier’s way.
Until -
Fucking Severus Snape. As though he was the dragon he’d conjured earlier that morning, James roared with life, a sudden energy renewed in him. Because Snape was standing over Lily’s bedside. Snape was watching her, making sure she had an even rise and fall of her chest. “You!” James snarled, that simmering rage rearing it’s ugly head as he moved over to Severus and yanked on the collar of his shirt, pulling him back, away from Lily. “Get the fuck away from her!”
@theoselwyn
June 24th, 1984. Liverpool.
The wail of the amulets cut through the quiet afternoon like a sword. There was a split second of silence when the three of them exchanged looks, then — with a pop, Severus was on the other side of the house where Prewett and Selwyn were and where the signal was coming from.
Where’s Prewett, Severus thought, seeing the squadron of Death Eaters plow their way through the street, heedless of the attention they were getting from the gathering crowd. One of the masked figures stepped forward and sent a curse out flying towards a bystander — the muggle dropped on the spot and didn’t move. It didn’t take long for the crowd to descend into chaos, people running in every direction as the Death Eaters continued their march.
There was no time to find Prewett. They jumped into the fray without a second thought.
If Severus had been part of the team and it’s planning from the beginning, they wouldn’t have wasted so much time setting wards the day of the mission itself. It was a two-tier ward with protective and defensive spellwork, as well as an intruder’s alert. Something he had prepared previously just in case of an emergency. It was effective enough but hardly of the same effectiveness as something he could set up if he had three days instead of three hours. Bellatrix Lestrange could barrel through this in three minutes. But that was what the alarm was for.
He flicked his wrist, the last of the spellwork spun like a ribbon into a tight knot of magic. ‘ Not bad, ’ he said. But not ideal. ‘ We’re done here. This should give us a heads up if someone slips past us. ’ He paused, trying to think of a way to explain it in layman’s terms without going into technical details. ‘ It detects intent to harm and redirects it to the source. With vigor. ’ There. No need to delve into the gory details. ‘ We need a good vantage point to stake out now. ’
He turned to Lupin. ‘ What’ve you got? ’
@melancolialunar, @txlkalots
Where: Liverpool
When: June 24th
Who: Remus & Severus & Lucinda
This was the part of battle that Lucinda hated. The non-battle part. The waiting around, standing still while waiting to spring into action. Her entire body was on high-alert, startling at every rustle of a leaf, every coo of a nearby bird. Every second seemed to drag out – especially when there was no sign for how long this state of limbo would last. She hated it. Give her battle and curses, quick attacks and nimble opponents; at least then she could do something. Be useful.
For now she was resigned to stand guard while the ward-experts quietly surrounded the house of Spencer Davies with shields and spells Lucinda probably couldn’t even name. A safety measure, others would see it. A symbolic effort if you asked her. If their enemies got to the wards, it meant that there was nobody left to protect Davies. But it wouldn’t come to that. Not when they were prepared and Lucinda’s hands were itching with spells.
She let her eyes scan their surroundings, before briefly turning to her teammates. “How’s it looking time-wise?”
@wrongdeor , then @melancolialunar
@melancolialunar
June 24th, 1984. Prewett Estate.
Severus stepped away from the meeting room where Prewett introduced the new changes to the rest of the team and went over the plan again, this time with Severus’ addition in mind. Severus had watched their stalwart and fearless leader with a skeptical eye. Doubtful, but not willing to voice his doubts only hours before they were meant to head out into the field.
Gideon Prewett had a good track record as Team Lead, but that was before. And people didn’t always recover enough to retain their sensibilities in battle. But as Jones and Moody insisted, they could only know once he was out on the field. And he did agree to lead them, after all. That was a good sign. Severus would still keep an eye out, ready to pick up the slack as it happens, but he won’t object.
At least there was someone on their team that could carry their own weight. The thought, like a summons, brought Lupin to his line of sight, and Severus approached the werewolf with a nod.
‘ Lupin, ’ he called, gesturing towards the amulet in the other’s hand. ‘ You’ve got something for me? ’