so what you heard bout me?

Status: Open | @darkestdawnstarters Location: A Park 

These days, it felt like going out in public was almost asking for trouble. She knew about the shadow that appeared in the corner of her eyes. The darkness that was there when she wasn’t looking and yet gone when she turned her head. While her code status kept her and her family relatively safe. It wasn’t like she was being completely safe. Aurora tried to help out whatever Order members remained. Sending food or supplies or whatever else they needed. She knew the risks, as did her husband, but both of them weren’t ready to quite give in to violence just yet. Although these days, she was more ready than he was. 

However, she couldn’t let fear dictate her life, especially not with Cedric. While he was only four, he was smart enough to catch on to when his parents were feeling a little off. If she had said no to going to the park, then that would mean him asking questions and throwing a fit and he did deserve to believe things were fine. To run around and play with the toy broomstick he had gotten for his third birthday. Even though it did make her a bit nervous to watch him fly. Like he was growing up too quickly in such uncertain times. 

Aurora sat on a blanket in the grass, keeping a close eye on her son when she noticed the dark spot again. Quickly, she turned her head to look around and when she gave up she saw Cedric asking questions to a random stranger. Her heart raced as she jogged in a manner to still look casual. “Cedric, dear, you can’t leave mummy’s vision, okay?” She approached him and the stranger. “I am so sorry about that,” she said a bit sheepishly. “I promise I don’t let him just…fly off without a care.” Hopefully the stranger could forgive this lapse in parenting.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

To say Alecto was not good with children was putting it mildly. She felt such an emotional disgust to most children. Thankfully pureblood society encouraged marrying young to have a long line of children to continue the name, but they did not encourage actually spending much time with said children. Though, Alecto rebelled against the first part so she doubted that the second part would happen. She didn’t intend to get married, and she certainly didn’t intend to have any children. Thus, when she came across the children, Alecto felt a bad taste in the back of her throat and looked for exits from the situation. 

It was surprising then that as she cut across the park having trailed Frank for a good part of the day that a child appeared in front of her. He was young by the looks of him, but Alecto couldn’t figure out why he had popped out of nowhere and was now chatting excitedly. “Merlin.” She gasped, stepping back when she almost ran over and stepped on the tiny human. “Where’s your nanny?” She looked over him and around for any adult running towards him. Surely someone would notice him missing. But, he hardly seemed to notice her questions or annoyance and instead kept chattering about his toy broom and his dad and whatever little bloody thing he was talking about now. The woman ran up to them and Alecto’s gaze snapped from the child to her. “Is he yours?” She inquired, almost tempted to call the child an it. Merlin, perhaps she should have kept her son on a leash if she was going to let him run away. 

** Amycus was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Alecto’s voice, his eyes turning to the staircase with a grin on his face as he saw what she was wearing. “Alecto, you know you don’t need to impress me, right?” His voice dripped with sarcasm. Her house elf had returned with the firewhiskey and he took a generous sip of it. “Neither. Well, I guess it depends on your definition of solemn and a party,” he smiled a little.

There was something weird about thinking about the future. As a child, he never really thought much about it. But now that it was here, Amycus knew that their lives would go in very different directions soon. It used to be that you never saw one without the other, but now that was starting to change. Their father’s pressure on him (and Alecto, to an extent) to marry as the only male child was becoming almost unbearable. And while he usually didn’t crack under pressure, his father was a completely different story. 

He would no doubt be married within a year or so. Perhaps even with his own heir on the way. And Alecto would most likely be single. Not that he pitied her. Sometimes he wished that he could do the same as her. Give their parents the finger and do whatever he wanted. But he was 28, going on 29 in no short time. And even his mother was getting worried about his chances of getting married. Which always earned an eye roll from him. As if that was going to be an issue. 

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

As Alecto descended the stairs, she knew the impact she was making. The robe was dramatic and beautiful and the stairs framed her just so. Yet, none of this had been done for her brother, or really for any company as she had not expected to receive anyone tonight. “I don’t need to. You should already be impressed enough by me by this point, dear brother.” She replied with a smirk and sent the elf to go get her a glass of bourbon before she joined her brother. Sitting down just as dramatically on one of her couches, she eyed her brother and could sense the serious mood behind his snark. 

The pressure to be married had been hard on the two twins. It had started earlier with Alecto than Amycus. Her parents expected her to start courtship right after leaving Hogwarts. Within a year or two she should have been married to a proper pureblood man to continue his line. They soon discovered that Alecto would do no such thing. She did not want to marry and end up a glorified prized breeding cow. She would slowly die in that life and so she had fought her parents. It was partly why she took some of her trust to invest and create her own wealth. Alecto was sure her parents would cut off her money in order to manipulate her down the aisle. 

Amycus was another story. She knew he didn’t want to get married, though not for the same reasons as her as he would be the man in the relationship. Still, she understood and supported him time and time again when their parents pressured him. His age didn’t count against him though, unlike with her. Men seemed untouched by the weight of age in their society, something that always upset her of course. She could sense that this was on his mind so she sipped her drink when it arrived and stared at him. “Has dad brought up marriage again?” She inquired. 

Open Para | Of Starts and Of Mixing

She probably shouldn’t wander around these days, at the very minimal it wasn’t the best idea for her to be wandering around for wherever she had planted the bloody bitterroot the previous year. It had been before the Ministry had fallen and before it had been ‘reborn’; before there had been codes of access and certainly before it had ever crossed Emmeline’s mind that maybe marking the spot would have been the better idea than having to take a long walk in abandoned woods. 

It certainly wasn’t for the sake of Mungo’s that she’d made it more difficult to find, that was for sure.

Still, if she didn’t feel the need to keep her personal stores stocked with ingredients to brew potions that the Order (as if it was still alive and well) if something came up, Emme wouldn’t have been wandering around in bloody rain boots and looking for an ingredient for Exstimulo Potion that likely wouldn’t even be needed unless someone started fighting back. She hadn’t expected to hear the crack of something on the ground behind her, startled and looking around her for a sign of a person, any person, that would be a relief compared to an unknown animal.

“Hello? Is someone there?”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Merlin, Alecto hated this mission. Why couldn’t the idiot have been chased down in the city streets where there wasn’t mud to step in at every turn? Yet, here Alecto was wandering back through the woods looking for the parchment the traitor had dropped. This particular code four had been watched by the Ministry for a while and when the younger Burke approached her about going with him to finally track down the wizard and extract some information Alecto had agreed. 

That was before the idiot gave chase into the woods and they had pursued. Now, the code four was back with Burke while he finished up and perhaps even tidied up. Yet, here was Alecto looking for the parchment that had been dropped during the chase that the wizard said gave a possible location to Lily Potter. Not only was she completely out of her element in the slick mud and annoying musty scent of the wet woods, Alecto was covered in blood. Her expensively cut dress and heels were splattered with the blood of the wizard she had gotten carried away torturing for information. Certainly a shocking sight for anyone who would come across her. As she was searching and cursing under her breath she heard the voice call out. Merlin. Who was out here in their right mind? 

Alecto watched from the shadows and saw Emmeline Vance. Bella’s favorite mark. A smirk graced her features. Maybe she’d have her own fun with her. “Lost are you?” Alecto inquired as she slinked from the shadows in an almost feline manner. Her cheeks were stained with crimson that matched the shade of her lipstick. 

…

Freya stifled a laugh at the way Alecto’s shoulders tensed as she made herself known.  It was always great fun to learn just how to both irritate and endear herself to someone – although, Alecto had hardly been a difficult one to read.  Her very presence seemed to frustrate the older girl; and that was exactly why Freya continued to come around.

“Oh,” she handed Alecto the very pink bag with a curly ribbon tied to the top.  “I just realized I never got the chance to give you your Christmas present.  I was pre-occupied with things.”  They had all been preoccupied with things half a year ago.  “and I woke up this morning just absolutely needing to get it to you.”  

If she were shopping for Alecto because she liked Alecto she would have gone with a nice bottle of alcohol, or perhaps a sleek, black handbag.  But she wasn’t shopping because she liked Alecto, she was shopping because she wanted to see just how far she could push things before she lost that polite, Pureblood upbringing and snapped.  And Freya would simply stand there with wide, confused eyes, but deeply satisfied on the inside because she knew she finally won the game she had been playing for years.  “It’s a hair ribbon.  I thought that shade of pink would look very nice in your hair.”  It would have, had Alecto been about 15 years younger.  There are few other little treats in there.  Some muffins.  No truth serum in those, I promise.  And if you dig to the very bottom there’s that photograph of us from… a very long time ago.  I put it in a cute picture frame.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Freya Rosier was certainly an annoyance to Alecto when she drew close, but she did enjoy watching the girl from afar. It was not common for pureblood ladies to join the ranks, and to be violent amongst their male Death Eaters. So it was nice to see others take advantage of the war for power. However, that was how she liked Freya - from a distance. She eyed the pink gift that was more fitting for a two year old than Alecto with a distasteful sniff. Of course Freya would buy her something like this to simply get under her skin. Bitch. Even in her head, the term was followed by an amused smirk. On the outside, she grimaced and made a face at the present. “You shouldn’t have. No, you really shouldn’t.” 

She opened the gift and was expecting something horrible when Freya told her it was a hair ribbon. Just as she was expecting, it was better fitting for a little girl of three instead of someone of twenty eight. “I think it would be a lovely shade if it was a little smokey.” Alecto said as she held it over the half empty beer glass in front of her. Muttering a spell a little flame shot from her fingers and she lit the ribbon on fire. The pink lovely material burned slightly before she dropped it in the beer and it went out. The muffins she’d have to test. One could never believe Freya’s word after all. “Let’s see what picture you got.” She sighed and dug out the frame at the very bottom, surely from their childhood.

Frank was either far too drunk or he had gotten brain damage from that hoon, because he was under the impression that Alecto Carrow was in fact helping him. He yelped when she prodded his side, “That fucking hurt!” he growled into the pavement, doubling in on himself so that she didn’t try that again. He peered up at the witch. Had she actually just made a joke? This witch who was apparently so terrifying in battle that she ought to make his blood curdle. 

He held up his hands in surrender, and almost fell to the ground when he lost her as his balancing crutch. “Merlin,” he muttered, “I’m going to hate everything more than usual in the morning.” It was the one thing about Frank when he drank, he voice all his thoughts whether he wished to or not. He peered at the witch through the darkness. He was struck with an odd feeling that made his blood turn a little cold, one that he couldn’t quite put a finger on. Not in his current state anyway. Perhaps in the morning, if he remembered anything of tonight, he might spare a moment to ponder over her words. “You’ll regret that trust me. But let me just try my own two feet a moment,” He said, feeling slightly more confident that he wouldn’t simply face plant into the pavement. 

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

If anyone tried to face her about this later, she’d deny it and say it was simply to keep her stupid charge alive. But, yes, Alecto Carrow was helping Frank Longbottom get home and in one piece at that. This was the nicest almost anyone had ever seen her before. Alecto Carrow was not one who was known for helping others. Yet, she was clearly not gentle in her help. “That’s because you took a fucking beating.” She snapped back, watching him curl up and try to avoid her prods. “Merlin, of course it hurt. Now stop fighting me and let me get you back home you fucking idiot.” She muttered. Her threats had been true. Alecto would have levitated him home and made sure to bang his head on every pole if he didn’t go with her on his own.