And Let Them Fall One By One [Tag John Smith-Event #1]

John had been sitting at his desk, in the Transfiguration classroom. His feet were propped up, and he leaned back in his chair. He had one quill behind his ear and another pursed close to his chapped lips. Five books laid open upon his desk and two on his lap. Doing research for his book could sometimes be a tedious matter, but sometimes it was enjoyable. He hadn't done much tonight - said goodnight to his son, kissed him on the top of the head (much to Peter's dismay), briefly had an encounter with Molly, and then retired back here to do some much needed work.

John put his quill down before running his hands over his face. He was getting a bit tired, the words on the aging pages began to all blur together. Perhaps he should take a break... or maybe even just go to bed. It was still relatively early, but he was nearly thirty now and he became tired faster than he used to.

That was when John heard the knocking on the classroom door. He pursed his lips, unsure of who could possibly be doing so at this hour. He stood up, placing his books on top of the others on his desk. He put his one quill down, but had completely forgot about the other one sticking out from behind his ear.

He moved in the awkward manner he did to reach the door. Slowly, he reached out and opened it. There stood one of his students, a Slytherin girl. "Uhm, Miss Quinn, isn't it?" He questioned, one of his eyebrows raised as he did so. "Is there, uh, anything I can help you with? It's awfully late..." John questioned. He took a closer look at her, furrowing his eyebrows. Something was up with the way she looked... something seemed off.

Filth? John's head whipped back at the use of the insult. He stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips. He did not take kindly to being called such a thing, especially by a student. This was unacceptable. "Miss Quinn, I assure you that that sort of language is not taken kindly here. It is not appreciated to come to my domain during the middle of the night, when you should be in your bed - mind you, and being called filth." John told her outright. "I'm afraid you'll be serving a detention this weekend. I do not care what plans you may have had, but you better cancel them."

When Aileen raised her wand, John's face went slack. He thought, momentarily, where he had placed his wand. It wasn't in his pocket, like it normally was, but instead he had left it on his desk, resting on top of one of his books. He wondered if he would have time to rush back to his desk, but realized that he would not. He couldn't believe that a student had even dared raise a wand to a professor.

"Crucio." John's eyes widened and he was suddenly knocked backwards, writhing in pain. Every single cell in his body erupted; he felt like he was on fire while being stabbed with a knife over and over and over again. The pain was unimaginable. He was in such agony that he could barely see or think. All he could do was scream out; he screamed at the top of his lungs. He had never felt anything like this before... nothing as horrible as this other than the mental pain of the death of his late wife.

Jonathan just lay there; even after the curse was ended, he could still feel the pain. Obviously Aileen was not herself. He didn't know her well enough, just from having had her in class, but he knew that that was not normal. The tone of her voice had sent shivers down his spine. He's here? John really hoped she hadn't meant what he thought she meant. He wanted to say something; he wanted to speak up, but found it best to keep his mouth shut as she glided toward the door.

He couldn't move. The pain was still ebbing its way out of his body. His breathing was ragged and all he could do was stare at the ceiling. Perhaps he had gotten off lucky. She could have done so much worse to him... and where would that leave Peter? Oh, his poor son. He couldn't imagine what would happen to him had he been killed. He'd be left with Molly, which wasn't such a bad thing, but to lose both parents... he didn't want to even think about it.

He needed to move though; he needed to get up and tell someone. He needed to find help, tell them of what had happened. Aileen was obviously possessed, possibly under the imperious curse, and that did not mean good news. If Voldemort was coming their way... things could end very badly here at Hogwarts.

Vanessa darted into the room, quick like a swift. Her body moved as if she were running, although of course, being a ghost, she floated in mid-air and couldn't physically run. She'd called out John's name before she'd even completely entered the room, first glancing down one end of the room and then spinning to face the other as she looked for the man she'd heard screaming.

"John?" She called out again, her voice a shrill wail out of fear. She'd never heard anyone scream like that, except maybe herself... and she'd never have dreamed of hearing such a noise come from John of all people. She had painted him as invincible, simply because the alternative frightened her too much. The idea that John might not be as invincible as she wanted to believe was unbearable. It was only when she happened to glance down that she found the man she was looking for. On the floor. Hurt. Her eyes welled up - not that she noticed, she was too distracted to notice the droplets sliding down her cheeks.

She approached him, unsure of what to do or say. "John...?" She murmured, scared to raise her voice. Scared to do anything that might cause him more pain. Yet she couldn't bear to do nothing. "It's me, Vanessa... I-I'm here..." she stuttered, reaching out an arm, hesitating for a moment. Then she swallowed the saliva gathered in her mouth and placed her hand as solidly as she could on his arm, just above his elbow. "Please be alright!"

He could hear her. He could hear the worry and the fear that built up in her voice. His eyes were closed and his breathing was heavy. He tried to concentrate solely on that. In and out; in and out; in and out. Keep breathing. Keep it steady. You can do it. He needed to gather his strength, not just for his body, but for his voice. His throat felt dry, his mouth like a desert as well.

John could feel Vanessa next to him and, was that her hand on his arm? He could feel it, the coldness of it. But the cold didn't make him uncomfortable; it calmed him down, made him feel better. Finally, when he gathered enough strength, he opened his eyes. He let out a groan, still in quite a deal of pain. "Ye-" he coughed, his voice hoarse. "I'm okay Nessie... sort of. Ugh." He let out another groan at his attempt to move and immediately stopped. Moving was probably not the best thing he should do.

"Something's wrong," John started. "It was..." John then decided it best to withhold the name of his assailant from Vanessa, knowing she might hunt the girl down. "A student. Something was wrong with her... like she was under the imperious curse. It's him, he's back. She told me that. This was a message... I was a message. There still might be other people out there. We need to tell someone; we need to get help." He knew exactly who was being targeted. Muggle borns, half bloods, and probably blood traitors. He just hoped that no one got killed.

John let out another cough; the screaming had done his throat no good. God, I could use a drink right about now, he thought to himself... maybe that would take the pain away.

[ASKGJLSKHFA /curls up and dies]

Vanessa would have normally felt pathetic and embarrassed if she had ever let herself cry, especially in front of John, but she couldn't help but let out a strangled sob as she watched him. It all might have been more bearable if she had only known what to do, but she didn't and she felt so lost. She watched as he opened his eyes and listened as he spoke, but all she could really think about was who did this to him. She calmed down only when she heard him call her 'Nessie'.

"Don't move..." she whispered frantically, still hesitant to raise her voice and uncertain if she had the strength to even if she wanted to. She curled up, crossing her legs and sliding as close to him as she dared. And she listened, for what else could she do?

"I can't just leave by yourself, not in this condition!" She objected, when she he had finished. "If you think I'm going to go off and play the messenger while you lie here in pain, you've got another thing coming." She might have sounded more intimidating if her voice wasn't a small squeak. "You're mad, John. And he could come and massacre everyone in this damn school for all I care, I'm not leaving you by yourself!" She paused, considering her words. "I... I didn't mean it like that." She murmured slowly, noticing for the first time that at some point whilst he was talking, she had slipped her hand in his.

[This is actually the most she's ever referred to somebody by their first name when speaking to them I think... just a random note.]

John looked over at her and gave her a small, soft smile. She was crying for him. Merlin, if only he could reach out and cup her cheek with his hand. He was afraid that he'd simply go right through her and that didn't particularly help the situation they were in. He let out a small chuckle in her telling him not to move. "Yes, I-" he let out another groan "I got that." Moving was bad.

John let out a sigh; he should have known she wouldn't leave - and the stubborn way she was made him realize that it would take a lot of convincing to get her to go. "I hope you didn't," John said softly, attempting to squeeze her hand in anyway he could. "I've got family here, darling. Which is why I want you to go get help. For them, for everyone else, for me. Plus, y'know," another groan accompanied by the slightest chuckle, "I could really use a medic about now. Just... just hand me my wand. I may be in pain, but I can keep away anyone not welcome... not that anyone will come back; she did what she came here to do. I was only a message. That was it. Please, Nessie." He looked up at her, giving her the smallest smile.

[Aww, I did notice that~
John, now is not the time for chuckling! Why do you do that? Stop it! >3> ]

"Good then. You're not as stupid as you look." She tried for an insult, a joke, like how they used to talk. That seemed like a long time ago. That wasn't fair. She'd only just got John, after all.

She felt him squeeze her hand softly, and she stiffened, before relaxing and squeezing back as best she could. Her head shot up at being called 'darling'. That seemed far too grown-up to be used on her. That was the kind of name people in love called each other. She didn't deserve to be called such a thing. John deserved better.

"I don't want to leave you behind." She sniffled pathetically, but she pulled herself away from him and went to find his wand. She picked it up, without hesitating, before turning back to him. He looked so broken, lying there, instead of dancing around like a prat like he usually did - like he was was supposed to do. She despised herself for listening to him. But she returned to his side faithfully and handed over his wand.

For a second she leant forward ever so slightly, as if to kiss him. And then she remembered the situation and knew that she couldn't. She let another tear slide down her cheek, before rubbing her eyes furiously. If she was going to go and face Lord Voldemort, or whoever was out there, she'd rather not look so miserable. She wanted to give them grief. She wanted revenge. Sighing, slightly, she leant down and pressed her lips to his cheek, with a hand resting above where his heart would be. Surprisingly, it wasn't as hard as she'd assumed it to be. She wanted to say that she loved him, but that just wasn't proper, and she might cry again anyway, so she pulled herself away sharply.

[They so nearly kissed for real here but I don't think Vans is quite ready for that and it just wasn't appropriate considering how pissed she is...]

John smiled, laughing a bit before it turned into a cough. The pain was still there, but it was subsiding a little bit. However, he still felt sore all over his body. He'd probably feel it for days to come. Why would anyone ever want to inflict such a curse on another person? It seemed so cruel, but then there were some really cruel people out there.

John smiled once more. "I know," he said softly. He was glad, though, that she had gotten up to get his wand. When she handed it to him, he weighed it in his hands - was it heavier now or was he really feeling that weak? It twirled it about in his hand for a moment, just glad to be holding it. He wouldn't be caught off guard without his wand ever again.

John blinked up at Vanessa. Was she...? No, she wasn't going to kiss him, but he could feel his heart rate increase at merely the thought of it. She did, however, give him a kiss on the check and he smiled. "Hey, I'm okay you know? I'm okay... just hurting a bit. It's just the others I'm more worried about. Someone could get killed tonight, Vanessa, and I guess I'm just thankful it wasn't me..." he sighed. This could be a very, very bad night for some poor, unlucky soul. Hopefully they'd be saved in time.


[ALL THE FEELS]

She watched him twirl his wand in his fingers, and noticed that with every movement he winced. He could try to tell her all he liked that he was fine but she knew he was lying. She wanted to help him, she wanted to nurse him back to health, or at least wrap her arms around him. She wanted to kiss him over and over again. She wanted to take care of him.

"Yeah, well, the others aren't important to me..." she mumbled bitterly. But she floated upwards, and began to drift towards the wall to the outside corridor. She paused before going through, and turned to face him once more.

"Please don't leave me all alone again." She begged, realising now just how lonely she would be if she lost him. Realising that her one chance at finding some happiness had come when they'd gotten stuck in the room of requirement last year. If she lost him, or she let him down, she would never be able to forgive herself. And she knew that she would plummet back into being an empty shell, and then she would really be dead. She took a deep breath, before she took the plunge. "I love you."

She didn't care anymore if she cried. She just wanted him to know, in case she might not get the chance to tell him ever again. Because she did love him. She loved him with every fibre of her being and she'd just been too blind to notice and too proud to admit it.

John just gave a small smile when she mumbled. That was just how she was, and he knew that. He hardly could condemn her for that; she was just really worried about him. He understood - he always did. John was just glad that she was going. When she turned back to him and spoke, he blinked for a moment, slightly in shock.

John offered another smile at her. "I won't, Nessie, I promise," He told her. He really did promise, though it would be a hard one to keep solely because he couldn't control the actions of others, like tonight for instance. But he would fight with all he had to make sure that she, nor the others in his life, would ever be alone. He never wanted them to feel that again, or ever.

And then she dropped it. Those three little words that meant so much. People often threw them around willy-nilly, but not Vanessa. When she said it, he knew she truly and absolutely meant it and he could feel that in his heart. His smile grew into a grin. He was a bit surprised he hadn't been the one to drop that first - he was always the more touchy-feeling person in this relationship. If only he could get up and wrap her in his long arms and never let her go. He did the best he could do at the moment, and that was to speak the truth. "I love you too, and always have."



[;_____; my feelings. they have just... exploded. omg. OVER POUR OF ALL THE FEELS]

(I like to take a moment to say: You're Welcome!
The lesson we learned? Cursing helps make ppls admit feelinss and brings couples together)

[My emotions. MY EMOTIONS.]
[[AILEEEN YOU FUCKING SLY DEMON PM-ING ME TO DO THIS POST JESUS LOOK WHAT YOU DID]]

Vanessa didn't know what to say after that, she could only manage a small watery smile - which quickly turned into a full on grin as a laugh burst from her lips before she could try to hold it back. But she didn't care, she was in love. And he loved her back. And now she to go and find help and deal with whoever it was that had hurt John.

"Take care of yourself." She ordered, and turned to float through the wall...

[I am so torn between finding this whole post extremely fucking cheesy and adorable. -_-]
[[Also I didn't know if you wanted to continue/leave this so I left it kind of basic/open ended.]]

[I think it was a little bit of both, hahaha. xD But uhm, I dunno. We can end it or we can throw John into the Hospital Wing or something. haha]

[dude i don't even know my brain is too clogged up with feels to think straight.
yeeeah we could put him in the hosp. wing .... and then john and vans can make out and shit -- we all know they'll just be awkward little buggers....]

[bahahaha. yes, make out sessions in the hospital wing~ xD]

[yes good
even though i could never initiate it cause ig et really nervous that you wont liiiike it]

[aww, I could never not [omgdoublenegativesalixstop] love it~ I'm actually bad at it too because I think the same thing. xD Bahaha. Oh my. <3]

[oh my god i don't know what i am going to do with these two... DX]