power is power.

❝ self-respect leads to self-discipline; when you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power ❞ 

{ cis man, he/him } huh, who’s SAM CLAFLIN? no, you’re mistaken, that’s actually DIOMEDES AVERY. he is a THIRTY THREE year old PURE BLOOD wizard who is A PHILANTHROPIST he is known for being POWER HUNGRY, CRUEL, BIGOTED, PRETENTIOUS, and POMPOUS but also METICULOUS, AMBITIOUS, A GOOD LEADER, CHARISMATIC, and CLEVER, so that must be why he always reminds me of the song EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD by TEARS FOR FEARS and TAILORED SUITS, BOOKS WITH HIGHLIGHTED QUOTES, ORNATE DETAILS, POPPING THE CORK OF A CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE, POLITE SMILES HIDING CRUEL INTENTIONS and PLAYING THE VIOLIN FOR HOURS AT END i hear he is aligned with THE DEATH EATERS, so be sure to keep an eye on him. { mar, 23, gmt+2, she/they. }

His words leave her feeling uneasy, nervous, fearful, but still she pulls herself to her full height. She will not let him see her weak spots, she will not allow him to know the anxieties his threats send through her veins. She will not. ‘‘ I meant what i said, Avery. ’’ she says cooly, trying her best to ignore the knotting sensation in her stomach or the bile rising in her throat. ‘‘ every word. ’’

“Hm, then let me say some things I mean,” he begins. “First of all, I’ll be speaking with your mother about your ... ah, willingness to betray me and, frankly, the cause.” A smile plays on his lips, knowing far too well that most of these young Death Eaters live under the thumb of their well-meaning parents. “Secondly, should you ever go through with such a foolish plan, no matter whether you succeed or not ...” Diomedes takes a small moment before finishing. “I’ll kill you, or if I can’t do it myself, have you killed.” He’s not smiling any more. 

The smaller blonde shifts uncomfortably on the spot, eyes scanning the room around, wondering if Cassius is nearby. ‘‘ okay. ’’ it’s quiet, eyes still looking around in an attempt to avoid eye contact. ‘‘ you wanna talk here? ’’ with witnesses.

“Here is fine.” Watching her squirm a little satisfies him, he won’t lie. Such a big mouth, earlier, and now it was all gone. Part of him wishes that she would stick with it, stand by it: that showed strength of character after all. But a lack of strong character is a good thing, in this situation, he thinks. “See, that last thing you brought up really stuck with me.” He tries to catch her eyes, but soon lets his own gaze drift. “Am I right to assume that was just something you were saying in the moment?” Diomedes cocks his head. “If not, perhaps I’d like for you to reconsider your words, or even potential plans. Trust me, Philippa, if you were to do anything close to expose me ...” He pauses, for a mere second. “It would not work out well for you.”

Ever since the rather awkward confrontation at the ball, Pippa has made an effort to avoid Diomedes (and his wife) like the plague, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do so forever. At the meetings following the event, she had kept her head down and her mouth shut, and up until now, had managed to make a swift exit at the end. Today, however, she was stopped. Her body TENSES at the touch and her breathing hitches. She knows who it is before he even speaks, before she even turns around, and it takes her a moment to find words. the calmness in his voice is what throws her off, in fact, it’s what really tips her anxiety. ‘‘ uh .. no thank you. maybe another time, i can check my diary, we can pencil in a coffee date or something. ’’ stop talking. 

Diomedes could not suppress a sigh. There was no need for niceties here, he knew: the people around him knew what he was capable of. They were all sinners. Still, he felt like Pippa would respond better to a softer approach. For now. “I asked nicely,” he said. “Because I thought we could perhaps approach this as adults.” The other was one, after all, by now: it was time for her to know that actions had consequences. Diomedes would not let his position be threatened by a low-ranking Death Eater with no filter. “But it wasn’t really a question. I’m sure whatever you have planned can wait a few minutes. We’ll talk, and you can skip on to the next best thing, yes?”

Pippa’s threat has stayed with him, he has to admit it. Well, he doesn’t want to call it a threat: rather a drunk attempt at one, but still. Diomedes isn’t someone who likes to be threatened, even if he struggles to take it seriously, and so after a Death Eater meeting a few weeks later, he catches up to the smaller blonde and places a hand on her shoulder to halt her. “Philippa,” he says, voice low. “I’d like to speak with you, please.” He’s well aware that here she is in less of a position to make a scene, with him outranking her and her mother most likely present, somewhere. He’s calm, polite, as he looks at her, but he hopes that that is all the more threatening. “About our ... ah, conversation from a few weeks ago.”

          “          i  think  you’ll  be  pleased  .          ”          she  boasts,  sliding  the  first  draft  of  the  piece  she’s  been  composing  about  him,  and  his          (          so  -  called          )          humanitarianism,  across  the  table  .  it’s  just  a  fluff  piece,  but  she  has  a  feeling  it’ll  be  eaten  up  by  the  public  .  heroes,  for  lack  of  a  better  phrase,  are  needed  more  than  ever,  and  even  diomedes,  albeit  not  heroic  in  the  slightest,  provides  the  perfect  case  .  they’ll  see  his  generosity,  and  celebrate  him          —          discouraging  fishing  expeditions  for  the          ‘          truth  .          ’          though,  in  all  her  time  at  the  prophet,  she’s  never  once  observed  any  desire  for  truth  .  not  really  .  as  far  as  she’s  concerned,  all  they  really  desire  is  a  good  story  .          “          let  me  know  if  there’s  anything  you  want  changed  or  removed,  of  course,  but  i  think  they’ll  love  it  .          ”

where: alexi dolohov’s newly inherited manor  who: eden + diomedes.

they’re tucked into the corner of eden’s great-uncle’s parlour, now her elder cousin’s parlour from a neat inheritance of properties. eden shifts so that she’s facing her conversation partner on the sofa, hands curled around a goblet of fine elven-made wine that refills like magic. part of her worries that the alcohol will loosen her lips to the point that she divulges a long-buried secret. the other part reassures herself that she’s russian, more than able to hold her drink and capable of remembering to keep her lips sealed about her more UNSAVORY dealings.

on a night like tonight, that’s not difficult, as eden is spectacular at being petty and vain. “HE -” eden gesticulates wildly towards her cousin alexi, who is schmoozing with some guests across the room. “–got this estate and a house in bordeaux. all i received was investment holdings in a cauldron factory. am i worth nothing in this family!?”

What better way to spend a night, than by drinking wine and sitting in a finely-furnished home? Diomedes feels right at home, here, sipping his own glass of elven-made wine and observing party guests. He sits by Eden, her pettiness rather infectious. Diomedes has never thought himself above such things.

“Two houses? That’s quite unfair,” he says, head shaking. “Bordeaux is a rather disappointing part of France, though.” Diomedes takes another sip, eyeing Eden’s cousin. He decides like likes her better. Too bad her great-uncle doesn’t feel the same, but he is certain the other will get her due soon enough. “Pardon my candor, but they seem like fools to me, if that is all you receive. Pity, for them.”

Pippa’s whole body is SHAKING with anger, it’s bubbling inside, weeks and weeks of pent up frustrations finally daring to break the surface. She stays rooted on the spot as he speaks, her eyes looking over his shoulder, the grip on the empty glass tightening. ‘‘ we are not the same - do you hear me, fuckface? we are not the fucking same. ’’ the glass goes flying, barely missing him, smashing against the wall. ‘‘ i’ll go out there, i’ll go out there now, i’ve heard rumours about all the terrible, horrible things you’ve done, and i’ll tell everyone. you’ll go to azkaban, you here me? even if they don’t believe me right away, the accusations alone will be worth an investiation, and then you’re fucked. Now for the last time, get the fuck outta my face. ’’ 

Such anger, such violence. Diomedes thinks about all the way Pippa could use such emotions rather than this. Maybe, after all, Cassius was right to put some faith into the blonde, but Dio knew that he would not follow him in that. He lacked the patience. Besides, there’s the threat that falls from Pippa’s lips so carelessly. He’s amused, partly, but a part of him worries. Pippa seems daft enough to make such a mistake, and while he knows she’d pay for it, he has no interest in doing the same. And so he steps aside. “Why don’t you go get some air, Philippa?,” he says, voice calm yet tense. “Count to ten. We’ll talk about this some other time.”

Fleur was blissfully unaware of what the man before her had done, for if she knew surely she wouldn’t have been able to keep her cool even at this event. “If I should choose to, yes, they would hold one. But I am not so sure that is such an important thing to focus on.”

He nodded, gravely. “You’re right, of course.” Diomedes admired the other’s composure, that was for sure. “There are much more important things. And you must be busier too, these days, I imagine. Still: such a long commitment should not go unrecognised.”

archie feels like a parasite inside the walls of the ministry, in a room of mostly rich people and elitists, and he’s certain they all see it too. he catches glimpses of a eye contact that he’s certain are laced with judgement, even disgust. ( they know you don’t belong here, they’re watching you ) it doesn’t help that a perfect example of one of those evil, rich, elitist bastard appears right at that moment. everything that comes out of diomedes’ mouth sounds the same: a veiled and somehow backhanded comment followed by more insincerity. his presence alone adds more tension to archie’s shoulders. “ we fuckin’ get it, man.”  archie stares down at the contents of his champagne glass and his heart sinks an inch or two because he does not have enough left in his glass for this. “ and like–you know i ain’t actually fallin’ for any of this… charitable guy shit? just makes you more of an asshole.” 

Oh, great. Diomedes stares down at Archie Fairfax with a mix of distaste and annoyance, but also a fair amount of superiority. It was more than clear to him, after all, that he was better than the other, in every way that mattered. “Ah, Archie.” Diomedes paused. “Don’t worry, I’m not in the business of wanting to impress the likes of you.” A polite smile curled his lips, but on his face it was venomous. He took a sip from his champagne, looked around the room for a moment before letting his gaze. “I have to admit that I’m not at all concerned about your opinion of me, so feel free to think what you wish. It hardly matters, does it?” His smile grew. The fact that Archie dared speak to him in such a public setting annoyed him, and he decided he’d return the favour with attempts at cruelty. “Much like you.”

Though he was well-practised at it, the process of biding his time amongst the ranks of the Death Eaters - always pretending to defer - got tiresome. Particularly to an idiot like Lestrange, so stuck in the past. The sigh escaping from Diomedes was almost precisely how he himself felt, eaten inside by irritation that could not otherwise be let out. “I share your frustration,” he began, thinking of the mission he had gone on with Fairfax. “He can’t control himself. But,” Cassius continued, with an air of calculation, “I think perhaps he can be controlled.”

He was candid with Dio - as much as he ever was. Whatever trust could exist among their kind was between them. “When it comes down to it, I prefer the other one. Of slim pickings.” Some of his frustration leaked into his voice, before he turned to Dio, mustering a smirk, “Still, we work with what we have, no?” 

Diomedes thought on that. He was quite sure most of the young followers could be controlled, but he’d much prefer it if such things weren’t necessary. It was a frustrating waste of time and effort, after all. He had to admit, though, that seeing his manipulation work well was satisfying, at times. If only they were all as malleable as ones like Danielle Goyle. “Oh, most certainly. Someone who lacks such self control is just begging for someone else to ... ah, have them on a string, hm?”

He nodded, then. “Of course. We can’t complain too much, of course. Some of the younger ones I suspect are part of the Order –” Diomedes’ nose crinkled in distaste. “– seem even more intolerable than either of those twins.” Something that was quite beneficial to them, of course. “I can’t imagine that we were so headache inducing back when.”

“I will gladly marry Juliet again. I think sleeping with either of the two left would make things rather complicated; Cassius for me, as I’m well – not wired to like men. Zelda for me as well, but I am also not looking forward to facing either Juliet’s or Cassius’ anger after the fact.” He thinks, for a moment. “Ah, for the hell of it, I’ll sleep with Cassius. I doubt I will like it, but I think Juliet would forgive me easier? If not, I’d choose Zelda of course. In this case, though, I’ll cuddle with Zelda. I’m sure we’ll both thoroughly not enjoy it.” 

“Does my time look like it deserves to be wasted on such ... uninteresting things?” Diomedes sighs, and then starts, “Let’s do this alphabetically, yes? Archie is, while most likely the most annoying person to roam this earth, an useful asset. When he’s got his head on his shoulders, that is. Danielle has potential, I think, and she’s quite easily manipulated if you press her buttons right. Besides having potential as a Death Eater, I’ll be thrilled to see her grace the stage soon. Philippa has a lack of self control that is rather embarrassing, and none of the guts to stick with the things she so boldly says. I do hope Cassius can help ... ah, focus her. I think Rahim is one of the few younger Death Eaters that, well, seems to know what he’s doing, and I’m sure he will live up to his family name. Theo, however, is just disappointing. I feel rather bad for his parents, I must say. I don’t have anything else to say on him. Valeria is someone who ought to show a bit more of herself, I think, but I’m certain her time will come. If I’m to judge her off her parents, I do hope she’s a bit more like her mother. I like Victoria well enough: she seems to be quite devoted. Z bares a rather unfortunate name, but much like Rahim, seems to know what he’s doing. I think he could grow into an even bigger asset, should he try.”