don't break in unsteady hands -- ernie

[PENELOPE LYNN SHERWOOD]

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She wasn't the same, not since that night. Penny couldn't explain it. Years of training, years of knowing what was to come and yet somehow - she didn't know anything. She had avoided him for a few days after waiting for the feeling to pass. Penny had always talked big to him, called him out on any flaw she could and told him she would be ten times the hunter he was. Maybe she had taken on the vampire by herself and maybe she was able to kill a wolf with her first shot - but what about after? What about the way her hands shook as she tries to wash away the red stains? What about the way she sought the comfort of her brother as if she was a silly child? Was she just all talk? Sherwoods had to be strong but somehow, somehow she wasn't feeling very strong.

It was like walking in a dream in many ways. She drifted from class to class with the memories of the hunt constantly lingering in the back of her mind. She saw their eyes when she closed her's, she could feel them surrounding her in her dreams. Penny couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was something wrong with her. They were filthy creatures, what did it matter if they died? What did it matter if she had been the one whose hand had killed them? She was so easily lost in her daze. Poking at her breakfast with her fork she looked up towards the table of red and gold, looking for the boy who had the face of an angel even though he was far from being one. It didn't take long to spot him settled in among his fellow house mates.

Why had they warned her of all the wrong things? It had been as if he and Preston both thought they could keep her from hunting and yet - well what was done, was done. There was no going back on this now. She just had to find a way to get past what ever this was, this feeling inside. But there was something else she had to do first. As much as she liked to think she could do this on her own she couldn't. Going to Preston would be admitting to everything he had been hoping for, admitting to being too weak. But she wasn't weak, she was something - but it was not weak. He was the only other one she could go to, the only other one she could trust to know something or have some idea. He was her trainer after all it was his job to make sure she was fit enough to do the job and do it right.

Rising to her feet Penny walked over to the Gryffindor table where he sat among his peers, talking away as if he hadn't a care in the world. It annoyed her how he didn't come to her, wasn't that what he did every other time? Run to her aid as if she needed saving? This time she had to go to him. She took long steps as she approached him unsure if she wanted to hit him or hug him more. When she finally arrived behind him she gave his shoulder a hard shove. She wanted to yell at him, call him an idiot and a jerk even though he hadn't done anything. But instead she wrapped her arms over his shoulders and buried her face into his neck.

Showing so much affection for him in font of others had never been something Penny had been fond of, but she also had never felt such a strong need to seek his comfort. "You're a stupid jerk, you know that right?" It wasn't what she meant to say, but sometimes she couldn't help it, but he would know she really meant I need you. But didn't he just assume that was what she always meant? She pressed a tender kiss at the nape of his neck and with drew her arms. Maybe she should have apologized for storming off on new years, or even for avoiding him. But she wasn't the sort to apologize for anything.

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702 Words | ERNEST FALCON HOLMES |

[ERNEST FALCON HOLMES]

no one can hurt you now

His life had been going all right, even without her being next to him. He was getting used to having her one minute and losing her the next minute. It happened like a habit, but it had stopped bothered him long ago, because he knew whichever road she rook, it would always lead her back to him. That was the way his little girlfriend loved him, or so he assumed. Her heart was like a symphony with different highs and lows that he would probably never get. But complicated as she was, his little girlfriend was still a girl, a child in a tough cover. She would never admit it, but he could feel it in his soul when she closed up to him, hiding in his protection and his warmth. He never tried to claim her as his own possession like she might think, though he was very much possessive of her. Each and every time he told her that they were meant to be something, it was only him reminding her that she would always be safe with him, for he would protect her no matter what.

Falling in love with a little girl was a challenge for a man. He would not say that he was a grown man. But a man he still was. She might as well say to him that she was good enough to kiss and not to date, that love was only for weaklings and that the two of them, whatever they were, were only for fun. He was no longer hurt by the childishness of his fifteen-year-old girlfriend. Her soul was still too wild to be tamed, her heart was still burning, being forged in fire so it was understandable that he got hurt when he tried to reach for it. He would not expect his little girlfriend to see the love of a man for her. Time would fly. She would not be fifteen forever. She would be sixteen, and seventeen, and eighteen, and a woman eventually. By then, she would understand his heart. 

Be that as it may, he still found joy in waiting for her, watching her growing up day by day, seeing her making faces at him, running to her aid and keeping her from all harms. It was the feeling that a man would not find in loving a woman. That was, perhaps, his reward for falling in love with a little girl. On the days like these, when she hated him too much to be anywhere around him, his eyes were still looking out for her, and entertaining him with the same job of a little girl's boyfriend - watching and waiting. Some people asked him what about her was so exciting to him. He would tell them that everything about her was exciting to him.

But that morning, instead of looking perfectly fine without him by her side by she always did when they broke up, his little girlfriend looked so blue that it concerned him. He had noticed that the fierceness in her eyes had burnt out, which made him wonder. "...and she thought I came to win her back." One of the boys sitting at his table raised his voice then burst out laughing. He was talking about his ex-girlfriend and how he had humiliated her at the New Year Party. Ernest smiled along, though his mind did not follow the story at all. It was flowing somewhere near the Slytherin tables, where his little girlfriend was. From where he sat, he could not see her. He thought of coming after her the moment he caught sight of her coming into the Great Hall for breakfast. But he did not, for he feared too much that he would push her away. If something was troubling her, he would find out, but probably not directly from her. 

When the boys changed the subject to something involved Quidditch and N.E.W.Ts, he felt someone was coming in his direction. The instinct of a hunter told him to beware because it might be an enemy. But even if that was an enemy, he or she would not risk to do something stupid at school. So he remained where he was and enjoyed the talk. Out of the blue, someone's arms wrapped around him. A voice whispered in his ears something that brought a smile to his lips. One moment later, he felt a pair of soft lips pressed against his neck so gently. His housemates went silent as they rolled their eyes at him. Hastily, he grabbed her hands, keeping the closeness between them before he turned his head and kissed her lips. Someone cleared their throat, but he could not care less. "There you are, babe." He said, grinning as their lips parted.

The Gryffindor boy quickly rose to his feet then wrapped one arm around his little girlfriend's shoulders. "See you all in class." He told his friends then dragged her to the door. "You just made a scene, you know. And maybe you should do that more often, Penny." He turned to her, grinning like a child. As soon as they walked through the door, out of anyone's hearing distance, he spoke again. "Is everything all right today?"

tag: PENELOPE LYNN SHERWOOD
ooc: awww. i love them

TEMPLATE BY ELIZA @ Delusional & SP

[PENELOPE LYNN SHERWOOD]

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Most days Penny might have fought him, pulled her arms away from his grasps and stormed off. But today she let him hold her in place and moved into meet his lips with eyes closed. How easily she was caught up in the feel of his lips against her own and the sweet taste she dare never accept longing for. He had been her first and only true kiss, one that was forbidden in more ways than the young girl had been willing to admit.She was far too stubborn to acknowledge the truth of just what the man before her meant in her life. He could tell her time and time again and she would deny it till her she could no longer breath, but actions always spoke louder than words.

As his lips pulled away her eyes fluttered open, she paid little attention to the other gryffindors and their sneers "Here I am." She said simply before doing something she didn't often do, at least not with so many around to see. Pulling her hands free Penny took a hold of his face and kissed his stupid grin. She didn't know way, or maybe she did and she was just unwilling to accept it. She drew back slowly not caring the looks it was getting her from near by watchers. When he got up she felt the similar warmth of his arm wrapping around her shoulders and she found herself stepping closer so her arms could slip around his waist and her fingers could intertwine with one of his belt lops. Looking up she stole a glance at the beautiful boy, the one who knew exactly how to make her feel safe even when she didn't want him to. How badly she wanted to hate him.

She followed his lead willingly, she had her own eagerness to get away from the crowd of the great hall. She could almost feel her brothers' eyes both watching her every move, maybe both just waiting to see if she would crack. She needed a moment alone, well alone with him. Penny scoffed at Ernie's statements, "Don't get used to it Ernie, it was just because you looked so pathetically sad." Had she ever told him a more blatant lie? It was a habit of her's, always trying to be stone instead of glass, constantly struggling to accept her own truths.She let her fingers slip from his belt loop as he turned to look at her, it was almost hard to look upon him as he asked if everything was alright.

"What, am I not allowed to come kiss my boyfriend hello after being gone with out there being something wrong?" She had crossed her arms over chest and narrowed her eyes as if some stern look she gave him could actually scare him. As if he couldn't read into the real meaning of her defensive stance and answer. He knew her better than most, he had watched her train and knew all her annoying flaws and tells. And she knew it. Dropping her arms she sighed and let her body hang loose before stepping towards him and wrapping her arms around his midsection as she lay her head to rest on his chest. She could hear the soft pounding of his heart and the steady breaths he drew so quietly. Had hist heart raced in terror the first time he saw blood on his hands? Had hsi breath run ragged in fear as he stared down the devil?

"I though that PJ was going to take me camping on the full moon...." The right of passage for every hunter, a moonlit camping trip in the woods to hunt down the vermin that plagued them month after month. Easy first kills. Penny found herself tracing circles in Ernie's shoulder blades as her voice dropped off. She could still see the hungry eyes of the vampires and the bright animal eyes of the wolves, things she had felt so fearless about and yet now they seemed to haunt her. "He didn't take me camping though." She ceased her tracing and rested her chin on his chest as she looked up to him, her blue eyes carefully studying his face. Did he think that perhaps Preston had once again denied her request to go on her first hunt? It seemed to be the only thing her brother and Ernie could ever agree on that she should not hunt. A simple fact that lead her to only train harder.

"He took me into the city instead, nothing I couldn't handle, a few fangs was all." She paused, he'd known she was holding back if she didn't tell him the whole of it. "I guess, some of the others in our group though it would be funny to haze the new girl...they gave us the wrong intel...PJ thought I'd be able to handle it - I did by the way, took care of them by myself...mostly. There was a pack of mutts there too though..." She could almost feel the hot blood on her skin as she thought back to the night, hear their yelps as they met their fates.

She blinked and looked away from Ernie, how weak he must have been thinking her to be clinging to him like a child seeking comfort. She dropped her arms and stepped away from him. "I guess I should be thanking those idiots fro hazing me, I mean how many people can talk about their first hunt and say they handled vampires and werewolves?" A false air of arrogance, a mask for an emotion she couldn't even place. She had hands that were forever stained red, the choice had been her's and her's alone. So why did she have this strange feeling, why was she not happier about finally living up to her family name. She cast her gaze to the side, avoiding looking into his eyes. "I wish you could have been there with me too..." She didn't bother trying to explain why, it was more than she wanted to admit. More than she could admit. It was bad enough to admit her want for him to be around, but she did - no it was more than that, she needed him around.

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1050 Words | ERNEST FALCON HOLMES | *swoons*