Hestia Jones drabbles - round one
Jan. 22nd, 2013 07:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
author_by_nightSo for a while, I kept trying to write fanfic about Hestia Jones (Harry Potter). For whatever reason, no one storyline stuck.
So instead I've taken bits of WIPs and turned them into drabbles. Feel free to nitpick, feel free to offer other input. :)
Part I
1981
1. Despite the restrictions her parents, Glynn and Phyilis, have placed on her, Hestia does not feel sheltered by the war. She is often fearful (and believes this is not normal ), and she realizes there is a reason they practice hiding on a regular basis, but Hestia still considers herself safe. She is sometimes allowed to visit with Bill and Charlie Weasley, even though her parents do not get along with theirs. More importantly, Hestia has her younger sister, Megan. The war is scary, but if she focuses on the friends she occasionally has and the family she always has, everything feels okay.
2. Hestia takes pride in being Welsh, even if she is also English through her mother. It is her belief that the reason there have been fewer deaths in Wales is because You-Know-Who knows better.
3. One day, her mother mentions to her that in two years, she will be old enough to start wizarding school. She tells Hestia that they have decided that if the war is not over, she will be attending a wizarding school other than Hogwarts.
Hestia knows it will make her parents feel better, so she smiles wanly, trying not to think about the pictures she has already drawn of the Hogwarts in her mind, about her promise to Charlie that she will beat him when she plays Quidditch for Hufflepuff, provided she is indeed there and he gets Sorted into Gryffindor, the endless supply of Pumpkin Juice, the fact that she would be Sorted into Hufflepuff, for goodness sakes.
4. Hestia borrows a book Charlie has on various magical creatures, but it bothers her that almost all of the creatures are shown as bad. When she tells Charlie this, he says “yeah, that’s the point, it’s a rubbish book and I wanted someone to share my disgust.”
Her parents explain to her that it seems harsh, but even humans like werewolves and part-giants ought to be given a limited amount of trust. Hestia doesn’t want to acknowledge that they would ever utter such nonsense, so she lets it go over her head.
5. When the war ends, the Jones family celebrates in Diagon Alley with dozens of other people. Hestia notices a girl around her age standing by a shop, not looking so happy. She wants to say something, but before she can, a haughty looking woman with dark hair whisks her away.
1983
1. Hestia almost literally cannot wait to go to Hogwarts. She and Charlie have already planned exploits into the Forbidden Forest, and she’s looking forward to seeing Bill and Charlie on a regular basis, now that their parents’ hot-to-cold relationship won’t be in the way.
2. Although Hestia had told everyone from her parents to Charlie to herself that it would be okay if she wasn’t in the same House as people she knew, she realizes instantly that she’s lonely without friends. Her roommates already seem to be friends, and the only one interested in including her is Dora Tonks, who can change her hair at will.
But Hestia wants all of them to include her, so one night she blurts out that she is related to Gwenog Jones, the famous Quidditch Player. After that, Hestia is not lonely for much longer.
3. Sometimes it bothers her that Ismene calls Dora a “freak”, even if it is meant to be a joke. Supposedly. She thinks it hurts Dora a little bit as well - nobody laughs like that naturally.
4. One day it occurs to her that Dora was the girl she saw two years before. She asks her why she was so sad, and the other girls look at Dora curiously. Dora starts to reply and then makes a joke that is completely off-topic.
5. The more time Hestia spends with her new friends, the less she sees Charlie, until she has almost forgotten they both attend Hogwarts. Charlie handles this by eavesdropping on a conversation about Gwenog visiting for Christmas, storming to the library table and announcing that Hestia is as related to Gwenog Jones as she is the Whomping Willow.
The other girls lose a lot of interest in Hestia - except for Dora, who is impressed by Charlie’s outburst and wants to spend every moment with him. So they do.
1986
1. Hestia loves Professor MacMillan, so when she enters class that September and sees a new face, she feels sad. Sadness soon turns into anger when she realizes the Professor, Theresa MacNair, is a horrible human being who hates any living being that isn’t pure human 100% of the time. She isn’t so fond of the ghosts either, citing that they must be “enemies of God.”
2. The Fat Friar becomes Hestia’s mentor, ensuring her, Dora, Bill and Charlie that Professor MacNair has no idea what she’s on about.
“Some are here as a sort of purgatory,” he explains. “Others, like me, are here because we want to serve more students. I was never truly ready to leave, so I didn’t. As for dark creatures and dragons... well, muggles fear us just as much, do they not? The devil works to put fear in people’s hearts. It does no good to submit to him.”
Hestia does not believe in purgatory or the devil, but she believes in the Fat Friar.
Ficlet: Exactly, Sort OF
Hestia had almost backed out of Christmas this year.
She had wanted to be with Bill and Charlie, whose father was still in the hospital. She had wanted to be with Sirius, who she knew needed the company. She had not wanted to be with her parents, as horrid as it seemed.
Hestia knew her parents were good people. They had strange political ideas, but only in the best interest of their two girls, Hestia and her sister Megan. Megan was a surprise for everyone, conceived long after Phyillis and Glynn Jones had been told they couldn’t have more children. The war years had been horrible for them, especially with a baby. Hestia knew her parents had wanted to believe Fudge was the final solution, but also that Fudge was right, that You-Know-Who wasn’t back. Because if he was, then it meant they’d have to relive those years all over again, and who knew how long?
But for all Hestia knew they just wanted their daughters’ safety to be assured, for all she knew it was love, not ignorance, blinding them, she couldn’t respect their decision to invite the Fudge family over on Christmas Day.
“The Diggory’s aren’t coming, so we have seats open anyway,” her mother had reasoned.
“Did Mr. Diggory say he was coming before or after you told them Fudge was invited?”
“After...”
Hestia had rolled her eyes. “Mum, what if they believe Dumbledore?”
“That’s why I was hoping they would come. The man took advantage of them in a time of weakness! It would be so comforting if they could hear for themselves that -”
Megan had interrupted the conversation by bursting into loud laughter.
“Sorry,” she gasped, folding a piece of parchment. “Susan Bones sent me a funny letter.”
Hestia had given her sister a sideways glance.
The two sisters had not discussed Fudge nor Dumbledore over the summer holiday; Megan, who’d fancied Cedric in a casual way and considered him a mentor, seemed too devastated by his death to have an opinion either way. She spent most of the holidays with friends from school, re-emerging in August with a slightly more despondent attitude. Hestia had wondered what her friends had told her.
But nothing compared to the Megan who had come home to them. Her normally cheerful sister was angrier and aloof. Megan snapped at her parents no matter what they said and was elusive as to what she had been doing, answering most questions with “yes”, “no” or “mmmm.”
“Are you having a good year?”
“No.”
“Have you at least made new friends?”
“Yes.”
“Really? That’s lovely - tell me about them.”
“No.”
“Do you like Professor Umbridge?”
“Mmmm.”
Hestia had tried to get something out of her sister several times, but the fifteen year old wouldn’t budge. Therefore, when Hestia knocked on Megan’s door, she didn’t expect a reply.
Hestia opened it to see Megan sitting on her bed, fiddling with a coin.
“Meg?”
Megan looked at Hestia. “Oh. It’s you. I thought you were Mum.”
“You really shouldn’t be shrugging her off, y’know. It’s Christmas.”
“Yeah, and I really wish she’d let me stay with my friends.”
Hestia shut the door and sat on Megan’s bed. “Is this about Cedric?”
“No.”
“Is it Umbridge? I’ve heard she’s - difficult.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Hestia wished she could tell Megan that she did understand, that You-Know-Who really was back, and that there were people trying to stop him. But while she suspected Megan knew just that, she couldn’t know for sure. Still, Hestia also knew better than to casually assume that it was just hormones.
“So what’s up with you? Is it a boy?”
Surprisingly, Megan’s face brightened, and her voice lowered. “Yeah. A boy. Don’t tell Mum and Dad.”
Finally, they were getting somewhere. “I won’t. What’s this boy like?”
“Well... we call him D.A. And I really fancy him, but I can’t tell anyone we’re dating... I really don’t know whether or not I should even see him, because Mum and Dad wouldn’t approve.”
“Why not?” Hestia asked.
Megan considered her own point. “He’s just a little rough, you know? I don’t think my parents would like the way he talks. Or the stuff he wants to do with me.”
Hestia raised her eyebrows, and Megan’s face reddened. “Not like that! It’s just - he’s not afraid to break a few rules here and there. But they’re mostly Umbridge’s stupid rules...”
Megan stopped.
“It’s okay,” Hestia told her.
“Hestia, Megan! The Tonkses are here!”
“We’ll talk more about this later,” Hestia told Megan.
Megan shook her head. “I’ve told you everything.”
Hestia sat up. “Come on. Everyone’s starting to show up.”
“I’m busy.”
“Staring at a coin?”
Megan shrugged. “Coins are entertaining. This girl I met, Luna, told me she solved a puzzle in a coin.”
Hestia pulled Megan’s arm and walked until Megan slid off the bed.
“Jeeze, fine,” Megan snapped.
Phyllis was downstairs with Tonks and her parents, who didn’t look overly comfortable.
Hestia and Tonks had become fast friends at Hogwarts, and soon began spending most of their vacation time together. Their families soon followed suit, and it was not unusual for one family to stop at the other’s for Christmas dinner.
But this year was different; Andromeda and Ted were fully aware of whose side Phyllis and Glynn were on, and Phyllis and Glynn were suspicious of Andromeda and Ted’s side. Andromeda had never really liked Dumbledore either, but she’d also made it clear that she didn’t quite understand why Fudge was so important to the Jones family. Hestia knew that they all considered their friendship too important to let those details deter them from spending time together - still, it was awkward, especially with Tonks and Hestia in the Order. Andromeda and Ted felt some guilt over not telling their best friends what Hestia had been up to- Andromeda probably felt less guilt, simply because as a former Slytherin, the need for secrecy made sentiment fairly irrelevant. But Slytherins were still human. In any case, Ted was definitely uncomfortable with it, even asking Hestia on numerous occasions when - if, Hestia corrected him each time - she would come forward to them.
“It’s good to see you,” Andromeda said evenly.
“Likewise,” Phyllis returned. “I was sorry you couldn’t come last night. You were with family, I trust?”
Andromeda nodded. “Yes. A relative of - Ted’s who has recently emerged. Then we went to Ted’s Mum’s for dinner.”
“How wonderful.”
“Indeed. Have Fudge and his family arrived?”
“No, they should be here soon. I hope that is not a problem.”
“It certainly is not.”
“Megan, how’s school?” Tonks asked while giving her mother a sad glance.
“Mmmm,” Megan mumbled.
“Answer Tonks’s question,” Phyllis reproached.
Tonks shook her head. “It’s okay, I should’ve known better, I used to hate that question myself. I always knew I was supposed to say I loved taking exams and writing essays, right, Megan?”
Megan laughed. “Exactly. Sort of.”
So instead I've taken bits of WIPs and turned them into drabbles. Feel free to nitpick, feel free to offer other input. :)
Part I
1981
1. Despite the restrictions her parents, Glynn and Phyilis, have placed on her, Hestia does not feel sheltered by the war. She is often fearful (and believes this is not normal ), and she realizes there is a reason they practice hiding on a regular basis, but Hestia still considers herself safe. She is sometimes allowed to visit with Bill and Charlie Weasley, even though her parents do not get along with theirs. More importantly, Hestia has her younger sister, Megan. The war is scary, but if she focuses on the friends she occasionally has and the family she always has, everything feels okay.
2. Hestia takes pride in being Welsh, even if she is also English through her mother. It is her belief that the reason there have been fewer deaths in Wales is because You-Know-Who knows better.
3. One day, her mother mentions to her that in two years, she will be old enough to start wizarding school. She tells Hestia that they have decided that if the war is not over, she will be attending a wizarding school other than Hogwarts.
Hestia knows it will make her parents feel better, so she smiles wanly, trying not to think about the pictures she has already drawn of the Hogwarts in her mind, about her promise to Charlie that she will beat him when she plays Quidditch for Hufflepuff, provided she is indeed there and he gets Sorted into Gryffindor, the endless supply of Pumpkin Juice, the fact that she would be Sorted into Hufflepuff, for goodness sakes.
4. Hestia borrows a book Charlie has on various magical creatures, but it bothers her that almost all of the creatures are shown as bad. When she tells Charlie this, he says “yeah, that’s the point, it’s a rubbish book and I wanted someone to share my disgust.”
Her parents explain to her that it seems harsh, but even humans like werewolves and part-giants ought to be given a limited amount of trust. Hestia doesn’t want to acknowledge that they would ever utter such nonsense, so she lets it go over her head.
5. When the war ends, the Jones family celebrates in Diagon Alley with dozens of other people. Hestia notices a girl around her age standing by a shop, not looking so happy. She wants to say something, but before she can, a haughty looking woman with dark hair whisks her away.
1983
1. Hestia almost literally cannot wait to go to Hogwarts. She and Charlie have already planned exploits into the Forbidden Forest, and she’s looking forward to seeing Bill and Charlie on a regular basis, now that their parents’ hot-to-cold relationship won’t be in the way.
2. Although Hestia had told everyone from her parents to Charlie to herself that it would be okay if she wasn’t in the same House as people she knew, she realizes instantly that she’s lonely without friends. Her roommates already seem to be friends, and the only one interested in including her is Dora Tonks, who can change her hair at will.
But Hestia wants all of them to include her, so one night she blurts out that she is related to Gwenog Jones, the famous Quidditch Player. After that, Hestia is not lonely for much longer.
3. Sometimes it bothers her that Ismene calls Dora a “freak”, even if it is meant to be a joke. Supposedly. She thinks it hurts Dora a little bit as well - nobody laughs like that naturally.
4. One day it occurs to her that Dora was the girl she saw two years before. She asks her why she was so sad, and the other girls look at Dora curiously. Dora starts to reply and then makes a joke that is completely off-topic.
5. The more time Hestia spends with her new friends, the less she sees Charlie, until she has almost forgotten they both attend Hogwarts. Charlie handles this by eavesdropping on a conversation about Gwenog visiting for Christmas, storming to the library table and announcing that Hestia is as related to Gwenog Jones as she is the Whomping Willow.
The other girls lose a lot of interest in Hestia - except for Dora, who is impressed by Charlie’s outburst and wants to spend every moment with him. So they do.
1986
1. Hestia loves Professor MacMillan, so when she enters class that September and sees a new face, she feels sad. Sadness soon turns into anger when she realizes the Professor, Theresa MacNair, is a horrible human being who hates any living being that isn’t pure human 100% of the time. She isn’t so fond of the ghosts either, citing that they must be “enemies of God.”
2. The Fat Friar becomes Hestia’s mentor, ensuring her, Dora, Bill and Charlie that Professor MacNair has no idea what she’s on about.
“Some are here as a sort of purgatory,” he explains. “Others, like me, are here because we want to serve more students. I was never truly ready to leave, so I didn’t. As for dark creatures and dragons... well, muggles fear us just as much, do they not? The devil works to put fear in people’s hearts. It does no good to submit to him.”
Hestia does not believe in purgatory or the devil, but she believes in the Fat Friar.
Ficlet: Exactly, Sort OF
Hestia had almost backed out of Christmas this year.
She had wanted to be with Bill and Charlie, whose father was still in the hospital. She had wanted to be with Sirius, who she knew needed the company. She had not wanted to be with her parents, as horrid as it seemed.
Hestia knew her parents were good people. They had strange political ideas, but only in the best interest of their two girls, Hestia and her sister Megan. Megan was a surprise for everyone, conceived long after Phyillis and Glynn Jones had been told they couldn’t have more children. The war years had been horrible for them, especially with a baby. Hestia knew her parents had wanted to believe Fudge was the final solution, but also that Fudge was right, that You-Know-Who wasn’t back. Because if he was, then it meant they’d have to relive those years all over again, and who knew how long?
But for all Hestia knew they just wanted their daughters’ safety to be assured, for all she knew it was love, not ignorance, blinding them, she couldn’t respect their decision to invite the Fudge family over on Christmas Day.
“The Diggory’s aren’t coming, so we have seats open anyway,” her mother had reasoned.
“Did Mr. Diggory say he was coming before or after you told them Fudge was invited?”
“After...”
Hestia had rolled her eyes. “Mum, what if they believe Dumbledore?”
“That’s why I was hoping they would come. The man took advantage of them in a time of weakness! It would be so comforting if they could hear for themselves that -”
Megan had interrupted the conversation by bursting into loud laughter.
“Sorry,” she gasped, folding a piece of parchment. “Susan Bones sent me a funny letter.”
Hestia had given her sister a sideways glance.
The two sisters had not discussed Fudge nor Dumbledore over the summer holiday; Megan, who’d fancied Cedric in a casual way and considered him a mentor, seemed too devastated by his death to have an opinion either way. She spent most of the holidays with friends from school, re-emerging in August with a slightly more despondent attitude. Hestia had wondered what her friends had told her.
But nothing compared to the Megan who had come home to them. Her normally cheerful sister was angrier and aloof. Megan snapped at her parents no matter what they said and was elusive as to what she had been doing, answering most questions with “yes”, “no” or “mmmm.”
“Are you having a good year?”
“No.”
“Have you at least made new friends?”
“Yes.”
“Really? That’s lovely - tell me about them.”
“No.”
“Do you like Professor Umbridge?”
“Mmmm.”
Hestia had tried to get something out of her sister several times, but the fifteen year old wouldn’t budge. Therefore, when Hestia knocked on Megan’s door, she didn’t expect a reply.
Hestia opened it to see Megan sitting on her bed, fiddling with a coin.
“Meg?”
Megan looked at Hestia. “Oh. It’s you. I thought you were Mum.”
“You really shouldn’t be shrugging her off, y’know. It’s Christmas.”
“Yeah, and I really wish she’d let me stay with my friends.”
Hestia shut the door and sat on Megan’s bed. “Is this about Cedric?”
“No.”
“Is it Umbridge? I’ve heard she’s - difficult.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
Hestia wished she could tell Megan that she did understand, that You-Know-Who really was back, and that there were people trying to stop him. But while she suspected Megan knew just that, she couldn’t know for sure. Still, Hestia also knew better than to casually assume that it was just hormones.
“So what’s up with you? Is it a boy?”
Surprisingly, Megan’s face brightened, and her voice lowered. “Yeah. A boy. Don’t tell Mum and Dad.”
Finally, they were getting somewhere. “I won’t. What’s this boy like?”
“Well... we call him D.A. And I really fancy him, but I can’t tell anyone we’re dating... I really don’t know whether or not I should even see him, because Mum and Dad wouldn’t approve.”
“Why not?” Hestia asked.
Megan considered her own point. “He’s just a little rough, you know? I don’t think my parents would like the way he talks. Or the stuff he wants to do with me.”
Hestia raised her eyebrows, and Megan’s face reddened. “Not like that! It’s just - he’s not afraid to break a few rules here and there. But they’re mostly Umbridge’s stupid rules...”
Megan stopped.
“It’s okay,” Hestia told her.
“Hestia, Megan! The Tonkses are here!”
“We’ll talk more about this later,” Hestia told Megan.
Megan shook her head. “I’ve told you everything.”
Hestia sat up. “Come on. Everyone’s starting to show up.”
“I’m busy.”
“Staring at a coin?”
Megan shrugged. “Coins are entertaining. This girl I met, Luna, told me she solved a puzzle in a coin.”
Hestia pulled Megan’s arm and walked until Megan slid off the bed.
“Jeeze, fine,” Megan snapped.
Phyllis was downstairs with Tonks and her parents, who didn’t look overly comfortable.
Hestia and Tonks had become fast friends at Hogwarts, and soon began spending most of their vacation time together. Their families soon followed suit, and it was not unusual for one family to stop at the other’s for Christmas dinner.
But this year was different; Andromeda and Ted were fully aware of whose side Phyllis and Glynn were on, and Phyllis and Glynn were suspicious of Andromeda and Ted’s side. Andromeda had never really liked Dumbledore either, but she’d also made it clear that she didn’t quite understand why Fudge was so important to the Jones family. Hestia knew that they all considered their friendship too important to let those details deter them from spending time together - still, it was awkward, especially with Tonks and Hestia in the Order. Andromeda and Ted felt some guilt over not telling their best friends what Hestia had been up to- Andromeda probably felt less guilt, simply because as a former Slytherin, the need for secrecy made sentiment fairly irrelevant. But Slytherins were still human. In any case, Ted was definitely uncomfortable with it, even asking Hestia on numerous occasions when - if, Hestia corrected him each time - she would come forward to them.
“It’s good to see you,” Andromeda said evenly.
“Likewise,” Phyllis returned. “I was sorry you couldn’t come last night. You were with family, I trust?”
Andromeda nodded. “Yes. A relative of - Ted’s who has recently emerged. Then we went to Ted’s Mum’s for dinner.”
“How wonderful.”
“Indeed. Have Fudge and his family arrived?”
“No, they should be here soon. I hope that is not a problem.”
“It certainly is not.”
“Megan, how’s school?” Tonks asked while giving her mother a sad glance.
“Mmmm,” Megan mumbled.
“Answer Tonks’s question,” Phyllis reproached.
Tonks shook her head. “It’s okay, I should’ve known better, I used to hate that question myself. I always knew I was supposed to say I loved taking exams and writing essays, right, Megan?”
Megan laughed. “Exactly. Sort of.”
