Disgruntled ((Heather and other friends))

[Justin Finch-Fletchley]

Justin sat there between crisp white sheets, calmly regarding the scenes of bustling chaos surrounding him. It seemed to be getting more crowded by the moment. Was it more casualties being brought in or just worried visitors? He hadn't had any visitors yet to clutter the Hospital Wing yet further, but right now he had plenty of entertainment anyway. Well, not plenty of entertainment but plenty to... exercise his mind with. Goodness knows he had plenty enough. Evidently Death Eaters had attacked Hogwarts again. It wasn't the first time. He'd become aware when he'd been in the DA in his fifth year just how much danger they were in; he didn't walk around in some deluded fantasy that Hogwarts brought safety like some people did. But it was still his home, and it troubled him that it was not impenetrable. An Englishman's home might be his castle, and that was literally true when he was at Hogwarts - but yet the walls had been breached.

Yes, he had enough to think about for sure. He'd be here a while; Madam Pomfrey had made sure he wasn't in pain but she had a few more pressing cases to attend to. Understandably - he wasn't particularly badly hurt whereas he had a feeling others would be. Death Eaters wouldn't have let the entirety of the Hogwarts populace get away as lightly with an encounter as he considered himself to have done. Justin gave a small Gryffindor a smile as she was borne past, before his attention was diverted to the owl which had just deposited a copy of the Daily Prophet on his lap and was now impatiently demanding payment by pecking him savagely on the shoulder. "All right, keep your... talons on," he told it as he rummaged around in his pocket for a Knut and dropped it in its outthrust pouch. Anything to get rid of it. But now at least he had some proper entertainment rather than just things to brood over. He glanced at the front page of the newspaper - already proclaiming the outrages seen at this very location today and triumphantly wondering whose political career was in tatters and whose head was for the chop. "Unneeded," he murmured to himself, as he turned the first page. "Irrelevant," was the comment on the next one. "Unhelpful. Complete rubbish. Utter nonsense. True piffle." He shut the paper again and laid it on the bedside table, shaking his head to himself. "Unneeded and irrelevant piffle, all of it."

[Heather Foster]

Heather carefully ran up the stairs to the owlery making sure she didn't slip on the steps. Madam Promfrey obviously didn't need anymore injured students in her wing. The smell of owls hung in the air as she rounded the corner into the large room. There were all different colors of feathers on the ground and even some gruesome droppings. Quickly heading toward the large windows Heather looked around. Where was that bloody owl? She had spent it off to Hogsmeade just before her last class of the day. That had to be an hour or so. That had be plenty enough time for a parcel to be delivered. Also, the village wasn't that far away. Heather sighed angrily while slumping against the wooden wall, sliding down onto the ground. She was feeling rather impatient at the moment, which was odd for her. Heather wasn't one to lose her cool over anything, but there was a certain amount one could take before breaking. Well, that was exactly how Heather was feeling. Death Eaters had attacked Hogwarts yet again, injuring many students. How in the name of Merlin were they getting into the castle? Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place in the wizarding world! Leaning her head against the wall, Heather closed her eyes wishing that the parcel could just be there by now so she could see Justin. At first Heather wanted to wait a couple of days before visiting her friend, but a little voice in her head was telling her to visit him now so he didn’t think she was being an awful friend.

"Ouch!" Heather shrieked at the painful nip at her ears. She was jostled out of her worrisome thoughts and quickly attending to bruise. A large grey owl was perched on her shoulder with a parcel attached to its leg. Searching inside her bag for a treat she handed it to the owl while taking the parcel. It gave a hoot and flew up to join the other school owls. "You know there are other ways to wake someone up. Maybe a little hoot or something along the lines," she said toward the owl knowing that it didn't understand her. Quickly jumping to her feet she headed back down the stairs. Heather wasn't paying all that much attention to her feet and tripped over a stair. Grabbing hold of the walls she let out a sigh, her heart racing. She hated it when she had another klutz attack. Not even taking the time to dwell on her clumpishness, she continued down the stairs off at a run toward the Hospital Wing.

The first thing that Heather noticed about the wing was that it was quite crowded. There were almost a dozen people in beds with worried friends at their sides. Heather was sure Madam Promfrey was happy about the wing at the moment. Her blue eyes gazed over the beds finally spotting Justin's toward the end. Making her way toward him with a large smile on her face she stopped at the foot of the bed. He was holding up a newspaper and muttering to himself like an old man would. With a raised eyebrow Heather smiled as he noticed her. "Would you like a pipe and a cane go along with your old man attitude?" she asked with a teasing smile. You could always count on Heather to tease anyone even if the timing was wrong. Setting the parcel down on his lap she took a seat at a nearby chair. "Hey...." Heather began softly wondering what else to say. "I hope you like the present...took forever to wait for that darn owl to come back."