Hogwarts / Wizarding World AU

[flightforfreedom]

Like it says on the tin.

Feel free to use the plotting thread or just dump a top level and go for it.

Comments

PLOTTING

[flightforfreedom]

POE DAMERON

[flightforfreedom]

School Age

7th year, Gryffindor

Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team (position: seeker), was a prefect but got demoted because he causes more trouble than he stops

Parents deceased, sort of adopted (but not officially) by Leia Organa, ex First Minister after it was released that her father was an infamous dark wizard. He does not call her mom, but he loves her fiercely. Her actual son is missing.

Adult

Signed up as an Auror first thing - quidditch career was encouraged in order to provide him a "cover" so that he could work in more clandestine operations. Left the ministry when the First Order started infiltrating it, and joined Leia's group of "shadow aurors" who protect the population from threats the ministry refused to acknowledge.

poe & andy | two years post-graduation; stupid idiot aurors

[killtime]

[ Andy hadn't even given them a chance to cast a quick healing spell or two when she'd arrived back at the Ministry of Magic, making her way up to Level Two with that cut above her eyebrow still sticky and any number of knicks and bruises hiding underneath her dusty robes. All that could wait. Making her report could even wait. The Head of the Auror Office had been waiting months on her mission — a little while longer wouldn't kill anyone.

They'd have to wait. Because the moment she'd heard that Poe was back too, nothing else mattered but to see him. Weeks without contact by necessity — it's the longest they've been apart in what feels like forever, and she's done her duty now, so she damn well gets this. The Dark Lord himself couldn't have stopped her from making it straight upstairs to headquarters. She practically kicks the doors down. ]

Where is he?

[flightforfreedom]

He's right here. [ Poe's wry voice drifted across the office.

He was sitting on a desk, shirt off and - uh - plucking feathers out of his skin. The sleek black feathers covered his shoulders, and he was carefully removing them with a pair of tweezers and sighing. ]

Got hit with a raven jinx that no one's ever heard of before, apparently, so who knows what the counter curse is. [ He dropped a feather into the pile at his feet and looked up to see her. ]

Hey, Andy.

[ Delivered like he'd seen her yesterday. ]

[killtime]

[ It wouldn’t have mattered to her if he was naked and covered in dragon shit. He gets the space of a few seconds to give her that cavalier greeting before she’s there, crushing him in her arms. She’s not usually one for these kinds of public gestures, but fuck it. She’s missed him. It’s been months. She didn’t know if he was alive or dead or missing a limb. He’ll, she’s not exactly fresh as a daisy herself. Hopefully he gives about as much a damn as she does, because there’s the space of a breath before she leans to kiss him - a hard press of her mouth to his. As best friends do. ]

[flightforfreedom]

[ Poe lets out a winded grunt - half honest and half for effect, and is midway through sliding an arm around her back when she kisses him roughly. He can't help it, his lips splitting into a grin half way through the kiss. ]

Yeah, I'm glad to see you too. [ It might sound flippant, but there was an honesty to it, grounding it, and he pressed an extra kiss to her lips just to prove that. ]

You alright?

[killtime]

Why, don’t I look alright? [ She asks back dryly, knowing very well she looks exactly like you might expect a person to look after months scraping by for survival on a dangerous mission. When was the last time she brushed all that wild hair? When was her last change of clothes? Questions better not asked, honestly, because the answers would be depressing as fuck. ] I’m not the one growing feathers.

[ She lingers another moment before pulling back, opening up that space between them again so she can give him a proper once over. ]

Trust you to get fucking jinxed. Can’t I leave you alone for a minute without you catching some dark magic?

[flightforfreedom]

You look like shit. [ Fondly and amiably, still grinning, and it seemed a little less than honest as he wet his lips, looking her over. Yeah, not saying that thought aloud. Even if she had just kissed him on the lips. ]

Yeah, well. Could be worse. When I first got hit with it, I was coughing up feathers for like five days. It's almost worn off, now.

[ He let his hand drop to her hip, thumb pressing into the hollow in a companionable and yet far too intimate way. ]

I'm off to the safe house in like thirty minutes. Supposed to lay low a few days. You?

[ It was framed as if he was questioning what she was going to be getting up to, but it was actually an invitation, the note of hope a little too obvious in his voice. He'd missed her just as badly, even if he had to play it like he didn't, and getting to just relax a few days with her sounded like a vision of heaven, right now. ]

[killtime]

Me too.

[ She responds without missing a beat - casual as shit too, like that was the plan all along. Some paper pusher in the Ministry would probably have a mess on their hands come tomorrow, what with two infamous Aurors somehow ending up in the same safe house after not insignificant missions, but like Andy gives a damn. Like anybody could really stop her anyway - or, at the least, would consider it worth the trouble of trying. They could try to keep Poe’s location a secret from her, but in a few days, she’d likely be climbing in through the window all the same. The two of them have been in the office long enough. People generally know better by now that it’s easier to accept the fact that she’s been attached to Poe’s hip since they were children and probably will be until the day this job finally kills her. ]

Just waiting on you, hotshot. [ She reaches out to pluck a feather off of him, and none too gently either. ] If you keep shedding, you’re sleeping on the couch.

[flightforfreedom]

Hey, I'm always ready to go, you know me. [ Was that a little bit of innuendo? The grin that cracked his lips, lopsided as his eyes twinkled, probably gave that much away. ] I can file my report from there.

[ He feigned a wince that was closer to a wink when she plucked him. ]

And hey, if you help me get all this off, maybe I won't have to shed everywhere.

[ He turned his head to the thin man in the corner who had been busily trying to look like he was doing anything else. ]

Hey. Linus. Got that port key ready, yet?

[ The man nodded a little hastily stood up, knocking over a few books, before using his wand to make a completely nondescript mug that said '#1 Seeker' on it float over to them, and land next to Poe on the desk. ]

Ride's ready, then. You got anything you need to do here?

poe & andy | the big attack, important words

[killtime]

[ Her ears are still fucking ringing. She can feel a sticky trail of blood running from her nose down over her lip, copper mixing with the taste of dirt and ash in her mouth as she struggles to get her bearings. Merlin, who thought any cell of dark wizards would have balls enough to attack them here, at the Ministry? This was the kind of thing she faced out there — not here. Fuck. It was supposed to be safe here.

She can't even tell which bodies belong to who — auror or otherwise. Friend or foe. A moment ago, she'd been operating on instinct and adrenaline alone, firing off spells with the absolute focus of a witch that had cheated death too many times before — but now there's no more fighting. Just the bodies. Just the wreckage. She... She has to find him. She has to find Poe.

Andy stumbles between the desks, turning over the nearest corpse, her heart pounding her chest as she searches with something bordering on desperation — oh, fuck. Is that...? ]

God. Linus. [ Guilt and relief at once. Because at least it's not Poe. At least it's not Poe. ] Fuck. Linus, I'm so sorry. [ She spares a moment to brush her hand over his unseeing eyes, closing them. Only a moment's mourning before she's moving on. Checking the next body. Pushing over rubble. ] Poe? [ Her voice cracks a little on his name. ] Poe. Fucking answer me —

[flightforfreedom]

[ He's not far. Linus - stupid, brave Linus - had thrown Poe out of the way and slammed him into a wall so that the curse hit him instead. The rubble had come down seconds later, and Poe had blacked out, something striking the back of his head.

When he slowly started to come to, he wondered at first if he was dead. No, that didn't make any sense. He was solid. His body wasn't passing through the rubble around him. He groaned, just as he heard her voice cut through the fog.

It was like being shot with adrenaline, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest as he realised what hearing her voice meant. ]

Andy? [ His voice came out a lot weaker than he expected, and he coughed. ] Andy-- please tell me that's you--

[killtime]

[ She knows that voice. She knows that voice better than her own heartbeat.

Her body aches and hurts all over, but that doesn't matter — nothing matters except pushing the rubble aside, fighting her way to him until she can put her hands on him, feel how solid he is, reassure herself that he's still in one fucking piece — ]

It's me. [ Her voice is ragged with relief as she gathers him to her, pulling him into her lap gracelessly as she tries to see if anything is broken or missing. ] I thought — [ No, she won't say that out loud. ] Fuck. Poe Dameron, I'm never letting you out of my fucking sight again.

[flightforfreedom]

[ He grunts as she drags him, pretty sure that at least one of his legs is broken, but that'd just be a quick spell once he could remember what it was--

And then she's holding him tight and the force of what just happened and what might have happened suddenly hit him, and his hand found her arm and gripped it back tightly. ]

I may not be as... Untouchable as you, but it would take a hell of a lot more to rip me from your side.

I'm just -

Fuck, Andy, I'm glad you made it...

[killtime]

Pretty sure I almost didn't. [ Though she's lucky none of her bones are broken. Not so sure she can say the same for him. At least all the fighting means her wand is already at hand — a low murmur of a spell is all it takes to mend and even splint that broken leg. ] They really meant to kill us all this time.

[ Now that she's found him, her body suddenly feels so exhausted. From the battle, but from the weight of what's happened too. All the death. Even her wand feels heavy in her hand. ]

...I found Linus. [ Quiet, somber. Tired. ] We might be the only ones left.

[flightforfreedom]

We can't stay here.

[ His voice is thick. Poor fucking perfect Linus. He'd never deserved half of what they put him through. Why not just tell her that you love her? He'd asked, like it was the simplest easiest thing in the world.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding when the pain in his leg eased, but he didn't trust himself to move or get up yet. So he gripped her arm tightly. ]

They're going to want to take stock. Others might have got out- but if we stay here we definitely won't live to find out. Can you apparate? I don't- I don't trust myself to not splinch myself, I need you to take me.

My dad's house. You're the only one who knows where it is.

[ Deep in the woods of Scotland, and even Poe almost never went back except to visit his parents' graves.

His grip on her arm tightened. ]

Don't leave me, okay? No matter what happens, just-- just don't leave me.

[killtime]

Never. [ She answers without even thinking about it, low and determined. ] I would never leave you.

[ And it's that reminder — saying those words out loud — that gives her the strength to push back against grief and exhaustion. There will be time for mourning later. And revenge. Right now, what matters is getting them both to safety. He's right, they can't stay.

Andy grips her wand a little tighter. She concentrates on her memory of that house in Scotland, the one with the two graves — she focuses until it's clear in her mind's eye. Then —

The crack is deafening to her own ears. Arriving is a little bumpy — it leaves her half-sprawled on the cold dirt, still hanging onto him, all tangled up. She groans. Pretty sure she landed on a rock. Or three. ]

Hey, still in one piece?

[flightforfreedom]

[ It's not a nice landing, but at least it's a complete one. No pieces of him left somewhere else, or stuck in the ground. He hurts everywhere but he's in one piece. So he coughs and then nods, squeezing her arm before sitting up. ]

... Yeah. I think I'm more bruise than man, but yeah.

[ The house itself looked completely dilapidated and overgrown - a little house in the middle of the woods, vines crawling up the side and into the windows. But he felt around for his wand and then raised it, murmuring something under his breath, and the glamour fell away to reveal that the house was perfectly fine. It also revealed two small gravestones in the front yard, with the words 'Kes Dameron' and 'Shara Bey' written on them.

He squeezed Andy's arm again. ]

You're not hurt, right? You're okay?

Once Upon a Detention

[flightforfreedom]

Five weeks of weekend detention. It seemed like an unbearable amount, especially since they had to serve it under the boring charms professor rather than with the care of magic creatures department. Prof Liotitus fell asleep, half the time, snoring in his chair as Andy and Poe had to write out line after line of why they felt bad for beating the shit out of a kid who completely deserved it.

Poe had already got an added week just by writing 'he deserved it' eighty times. But now the professor was asleep and the room was quiet and he couldn't help but look over at Andy.

Andy, who hadn't even thought of grabbing her wand when she jumped into the fray. Andy, who probably should have been pulling Poe off the kid but instead joined right in with him.

Who knew just how deep the words had stung, even when no one else did.

Andy knew him better than anyone.

He looked up at the professor's chair - still asleep - and then shuffled his seat a little closer to hers.

"Andy."

[killtime]

Andy hadn't thought twice about it. Even if she didn't know how sacred the memory of Poe's parents was to him, and even if she didn't know how much the words must have hurt him — she'd never been one to stand idly by while a friend was in a fight. And she wasn't sorry, not even a little, for what they'd done. She's only sorry she didn't give that kid the beating he really deserved. Through every moment of the sound lecture they'd received, she'd been quiet but stubborn, defiant in her face. Unrepentant.

Once Professor Liotitus had dozed off, the bullshit she'd been writing turned into a series of suspiciously phallic drawings. She'd probably get another week of detention. Which is probably what she intended anyway.

At the sound of her name, she glances up at Poe, lifting her eyebrows at him slightly. After a small pause, she likewise shuffles her seat a little close to his.

"What?"

She's not sure what she expects. An escape plan, maybe?

[flightforfreedom]

He caught sight of her little row of dicks scribbled across her page and he couldn't help a smirk and a quiet, "Nice," before remembering what he'd wanted to say in the first place.

"I just - wanted to say thanks. For having my back out there. I'll make up the detention to you later, I promise."

[killtime]

She props her arm up on her elbow, resting her face in her hand as she watches him, the corner of her mouth turned up ever so slightly in wry amusement.

"Who says I did it for you? Maybe I just like a good scrap," she quips back mildly, idly drawing another vague dick-shape in the margins of her parchment as she gives him a little friendly mocking. "Besides, we both know you making it up to me probably means a quickie in a broom closet somewhere — which we would've done anyway."

[flightforfreedom]

"Well, you do like a good scrap, but pretty sure you wouldn't have thrown down quite so amazingly without some investment in the subject matter." Him, he means. Him and his gorgeous hair.

"And that's - I'm - I mean yeah, though I was going to say something more along the lines of 'epic fingering', but." There's a weird note to his voice, like he's trying to make it a joke and not quite landing it.

He shifts a little, and wets his lips.

"Look, I.. I mean it, Andy. Thanks. You - you're my best friend." He swallowed. "No, more than that. You're more than that."

[killtime]

She'll neither confirm or deny the investment she's accused of — she only hums a little sound of acknowledgment without giving any straight answer. Not that it matters — he already knows she'd punched somebody for looking at him wrong, nevermind even drawing her damn wand — but she's always been the type to play off a verbal sentiment.

That's not unusual. What is unusual is the funny little something in his tone — something slightly off, as if he's nervous. Or trying to navigate an unfamiliar territory. She wasn't sure there was much unfamiliar territory left between them anymore — but that's the perspective of a dumb teenager who's gone out of her way not to think too hard about how much her best friend really means to her.

"Sure," she responds after a beat, a twinge of dryness covering up whatever slight uncertainty she feels towards the oddness in his voice, "Not everybody offers to 'epically finger' their best friend, but it's not like I'm complaining."

[flightforfreedom]

“Well that’s because everyone else is dumb,” he replies in his usual automatic banter, like he’s not even thinking about it. But it hadn’t been what he wanted to say, so he curses himself inwardly and tries again.

“I just — he was being an asshole, and he shouldn’t have brought up my parents, but—“ he frowned. “I couldn’t help thinking about it, you know? And I thought- Andy- you get me. You really get me. You’re my favourite person in the universe, and I- they’re wrong, about me, about any of it, because I’d give up all the fooling around and whatever in an instant, I’d you asked me to.”

Well, here went nothing.

“If you wanted it to me just us - if you wanted there to be an us... I want that too.”