Growing up with her aunts' tales of the destruction and misfortune that went on during their stay at Hogwarts had made Lydie think she was desensitized. It had always stressed out her brother, right from the start. He had always been the cautious one, worried about everything and nothing, everyone and everything. Lydie was the ying to his yang, always trying to convince him that these were just stories. That all the badness was over, their aunts had fought in the War and there was nothing to worry about anymore.

It was a dark type of irony that brought Lydie down to the Headmaster's office to hear about her brother's place in the explosion. That the Leaky Cauldron had exploded was difficult enough to wrap her mind around. It was such a historic place, they'd stayed there as kids when visiting family in London... Lydie could not picture the place now. Was there just a big empty space where the Cauldron had once been? Hearing about her brother made the big empty space feel like it was inside of her.

Today she was going home to spend time with family and... wait for Jai to wake up, she guessed. Lydie had sensed that something was going to happen last night; she thought she had felt the excitement of her brothers 19th birthday. The sibling senses had made her feel the anticipatory jitters that Jai usually had. It was not, though, the thrill of Jai's first birthday outside of Hogwarts in many many years.

She sat at one of the long tables and didn't eat. Thoughts were buzzing around her mind and for once loudmouth Lydie didn't feel like rambling on the biggest scoop she had heard. There was one person, though, who she felt did deserve to know about what had happened.

Jordyn was, admittedly very busy, following the Halloween party.  She was satisfied that it was a normal Hogwarts Halloween with the stamp of her groups of prefects’ effort stamped onto it.  Leadership was a natural place for Jordyn.  She imagined herself the head of a floor of St. Mungo’s by the time she was 30 years old if she kept up with it.  Unfortunately, for the time being, she didn’t really have that kind of money or resources, so while Jai had spoiled her for her birthday, she could only send him a card that she made, some candy from Hogsmeade (that she had actually bought with him) and some pictures. 

There would be more things at Christmas, she had written.  He, of course, was happy with whatever – at least that’s what he had written.  He had also written that he was going to have some birthday drinks with some of his friends on Guy Fawkes – watch the fireworks… all of that.  He had mentioned Diagon Alley, potentially the Leaky Cauldron… and then Jordyn had heard.

News travelled fast – between families owling it at ungodly hours and the post in the morning… everything was a mess.  Jordyn hadn’t gotten anything though.  Her parents were in the country and probably saw no reason to get in contact – it wasn’t as though Jordyn was anywhere close to the explosion.  But she hadn’t heard anything from Jai either and he was near it, from what he had written to her. 

So, when she didn’t hear anything and then sent a note and still got nothing… Jordyn was on pins and needles.  So, when she saw Lydie at the Gryffindor table, damn the whole house thing… Jordyn approached.  It wasn’t as though tact was her greatest strength, and she tapped Lydie on the shoulder, “Have you heard from Jai? I sent him an owl… but I havne’t gotten anything back.”   

Just as she was about to get up and make her way toward the table that she knew Jordyn usually sat, she felt a tap on the shoulder. Lydie turned around to see just the girl she'd been planning to see. Her eyes connected with Jordyn's and Lydie couldn't help but wonder if she somehow knew Jai was hurt. Lydie knew that Jord was under a lot of pressure, being head girl and all... but her eyes were frantic, and not in the way they had been during the days before the big Halloween party.

"Have you heard from Jai? I sent him an owl... but I haven't gotten anything back."

Lydie's heart jumped up to her throat again. The thought of telling Jordyn about what had happened and the possibility of having to console her suddenly made Lydie nervous. She'd been desperate for the opportunity to bond with her brother's girlfriend, but this was not what she had in mind. The awkward waves in the halls were preferable to her brother's unstable condition.

"He was there," Lydie told Jordyn. "He... he hasn't woken up yet." She couldn't help it -- her eyes filled to the brim with tears, but none fell. She swallowed hard and looked back at Jordyn. "I'm going to see him today. I don't really know.... how bad it is." She could not picture her older brother, who had always towered over her, covered in burns and cuts and laying still in a bed.

The look on Lydie’s face was not one Jordyn wanted to see.  She would have preferred having the younger Gryffindor laugh in her face, tell her not to worry so much, or something crazy like that.  It would have been much nicer to hear that than see the way she looked at her.  It was a look Jordyn sort of already knew…

Biting the inside of her cheek, Jordyn nodded.  She was going to try to process it best she could, but she wasn’t sure if it was really even really sinking in.  He was there.  The first butterfly fluttered and it was like they were all suddenly unleashed at the same time.  Her stomach flipped and she didn’t really know how she was going to even say anything. 

It was just sort of… hard to swallow.  She would have asked if she could go… but Lydie wasn’t the one to make that call, and she wouldn’t put her in that position.  She wasn’t going to do that.  She also just… nodding was the best she could do at the moment, still swallowing the lump in her throat.  “You’ll owl me?”

"You should try to come." Lydie said instantly after Jordyn requested an owl. Normally Lydie didn't care whether she was the bearer of bad news. She liked to see people's reactions, even if she felt badly for them. In this case, though, it was too much. Lydie just couldn't lose her big brother. Even though she was the loud one, he had always been there to protect her. Through thick and thin, the fights, the petty betrayals -- Jai had always always been there for her.

The closest thing she had right now was Jordyn. Lydie felt like she had been dealing with this heavy news all by herself ever since she had heard it, and she couldn't carry the weight alone any longer. Tears started spilling over and Lydie choked down a sob. Without much warning (or permission) she grabbed Jordyn into a tight hug and bawled into her shirt. She could feel the Head Girl badge rubbing against her cheek. Lydie had enough confidence not to worry about the fact that they'd never done this thing before, this huggy sentimental thing. But the time called for it.

"I don't know what I'd do without him," Lydie cried, still embracing Jordyn. Right now she was the closest thing Lydie had to family; she was someone else who cared about Jai. Lydie knew (because she was Lydie) that they'd traded 'I love you's and the level of intimacy that they shared. It was a different kind of connection but Jordyn had to be struggling, she had to be. "He's my big brother," she sniffled, finally pulling away. She wiped away tears, but could feel her long eyelashes were still wet. "I just don't know what I'd do."

So, maybe she should try. But, truthfully, Jordyn didn’t think she could.  She didn’t know what kind of school rules would allow for her to leave grounds for someone who wasn’t her family and she didn’t know if she could ask an authority without making a complete fool of herself. She loved her boyfriend, she finally began to tell him as often as she should during the summer, but even then it was something she declared between them.  She didn’t tell teachers.  That was just… too much information for them.  Plus, she was sure she’d be needed on campus.  She’d be busy – that was a good state for Jordyn to be in. 

Giving her a task or a thing to do would help, even if she had nothing else to say to Lyddie.  She didn’t really say anything, just anxiously shift her feet and look at her, which resulted in the crack in the very fragile composure.  Jai’s younger sister crumbled like the flakiest pastry she’d ever had in her life, and immediately, Jordyn felt so uncomfortable.  Yes, Jordyn was horrified, yes, she was really nervous – but she just got the news.  It didn’t have time to really sink in… not like it should, anyway. 

Awkwardly patting the younger girl on the back, Jordyn looked around helplessly.  She knew that Lyddie couldn’t see her face – a blessing – because she must have looked like a lamb ready for the slaughter.  Jordyn was not keen on large displays of emotion, but Gryffindors (or maybe Patils) hardly had the same feeling.  Jordyn wasn’t judging, she was just uncomfortable and nervous, and those things did not generally lend themselves to physical contact.

Clearing her throat, the corners of her eyes definitely pricking (though maybe more from anxiety right now)… she gulped.  “I’m sure we won’t have to,” Jordyn tried to sound reassuring, “Jai wouldn’t – I mean, he couldn’t be…” she didn’t know how to say it, really, but she at least pretended to have resolve. “You won’t have to."

The last thing that Lydie wanted to do was be the bearer of bad news. Jordyn was cool, she was important, she was wicked smart- and to top it off Jai loved her like crazy. And through her trials of eavesdropping, Lydie had come to learn that Jordyn felt the same way. That was practically a miracle, Jai was a right mess and Lydie didn't want him to fall down a path of unrequited love. Not too long ago she thought that was the worst thing that could have happened to her brother.

Lydie knew her family was overly-expressive. It was just their nature- their emotions were on the surface. Jai had the tendency to drown his problems, pushing them down until they forced their way up and gasped for air. Lydie wasn't like that at all, therefore putting herself in the strange situation of leaning on Jordyn for support. Without looking Lydie could feel Jordyn's tension and discomfort. She wasn't the emotional type -- she was the cold and aloof type.

But she was trying. That said a lot, meant a lot to Lydie, who hugged Jordyn tighter after the pats she gave Lydie. Sniffling, she finally pulled back once Jordyn started to talk. Even the girl who was known to be distant and stiff was cracking. Lydie wiped away her own tears as she watched Jordyn's eyes fill with them. It felt like a tight squeeze on her heart when Jordyn trailed off. "he couldn't be..." No. He couldn't. He just - couldn't.

"I really... really hope not," Lydie choked. She blinked and a few more tears fell from her great big eyelashes. "He- He's stronger than he thinks," Lydie bit her lip and then looked back at Jordyn's eyes. "You know?"

Jordyn could only really nod at what Lydie was saying.  She didn’t know what to say.  Reassurances weren’t hers to give and she wasn’t the healer here.  She would be one day, but even then healers weren’t really allowed to work on family or close friends, right?  Jordyn wasn’t even sure she could, really, even if she had to.  Even now her hands were shaking.

Though she put on a tough face, Jordyn was a nervous person.  She had tons of insecurities and she was constantly worrying about what other people thought of her and how they perceived her abilities.  Her ambition was driven by the need to validate herself. 

“You’ll write though?” Jordyn asked, uncertainty woven into the words.  “I mean, if there’s anything to report?”

Lydie didn’t know her brother’s girlfriend very well at all. With her finger on the pulse of Hogwarts’ social life, the fifth-year knew the names of almost every seventh year. After all, the older kids were much more intriguing. Not a lot of entertaining drama went on amongst the groups of first- and second- years. So, Lydie knew all about Jordyn’s ambitions and who her friends were. They’d spent a summer occasionally being in the same house. Lydie felt like she should know more about Jordyn and her personality, but she just didn’t. There was just one thing that Lydie was able to figure out about Jai’s girlfriend: she was private.

“You’ll write though? I mean, if there’s anything to report?”

“Of course,” Lydie gushed sympathetically. She didn’t know what was happening with her brother, really. All she knew was that he wasn’t the wholesome, healthy Jai that she knew and loved. After everything that they had been through with Fae (and were still going through), Lydie thought her family was safe from harm now. “He’d want you to know. He really loves you, I can tell,” Lydie reported dutifully. Lydie fancied herself a good judge of people. Some of the time she was wrong, sure… but when it came to her big brother, she was usually right.