Emmeline Vance

benjyfenwiick​:

Benjy let out a relieved breath as Emmeline sat up and told him it would be okay to write to Caradoc. He took a step forward and used his hand to help her sit all the way up, wanting to make sure she was steady and wouldn’t fall over before leaving her alone for a minute. “Okay, good!” he said, trying for a smile. It was shaky, somewhat fake, but there - meant to comfort. “I’m going to write him, I’ll be right back, okay?”

He took a tentative step away from her and turned, walking quickly out of the room. The second the door was closed, he ran. It had been months since he tried running with his leg, but the adrenaline at trying to help Emmeline pushed him forward. The small little barn with the owls was next to the house at the McKinnon Farm, so Benjy didn’t have to go far. He summoned some parchment and ink to write a quick letter to Caradoc, using the first owl that landed next to him.

Caradoc, Something is wrong with Emmeline. She woke up, but can’t remember anything - not even her name. I need your help. Please hurry. We’re at McKinnon Farm in the infirmary. -Benjy

From there, Benjy sent it off and moved back to the infirmary, slower than he’d been a second ago, his leg shaky from even the smallest amount of running - plus the battle earlier. He was not meant for this. When he got back to Emmeline, he gave her another smile. “I know he’ll be able to help,” he told her, trying for confidence. “His name is Caradoc and he’s… nice.”

It was sort of a lie. No one would ever describe Caradoc Dearborn as nice. But he was the best person for this job and would know more about this than Benjy.

@dearborncaradoc​

Benjy’s letter found itself in Caradoc’s hands quickly, despite the late hour. There was no response back because Caradoc decided not to waste any time and instead made haste for the McKinnon Farm. What he had read troubled him, inevitably thinking of the curse he had cast on Mrs Avery not even a day before. Then the woman’s memories had coiled around his fingers like vines, and he had tugged them away as one would do with wild weeds. Nothing could restore them. It was a cruel spell, and the mere thought that something akin to that could’ve happened to Emmeline made him uneasy. As he readied himself to make the journey to the farm, he had to remind himself to not jump to any conclusions just yet. 

But still, he hoped this was simply shock on Emmeline’s part upon witnessing something traumatic, or the temporary side effect of another kind of spell. Because—and that was the true mercenary thought that came his way—they could not afford to lose their most expert healer. 

Thus, time was of the essence and Caradoc did not lose any on his way to the infirmary. Not long after the letter had been sent and received, he was walking through its doors.

“I’m here,” he said, as he approached the two. Knowing about Emmeline’s loss of memory, he made sure not to make sudden movements as to not scare her. “I’m Caradoc,” he introduced himself to her, once he came to stand near her bed. “How do you feel?” The question a simple one, not wanting to bombard her with too many informations or requests.

But he eyed Benjy in the meantime, “for what have you treat her so far?” he asked, wondering if her loss of memory was the only sign of something being wrong.

@emmeoutofline​

Emmeline was momentarily alone, but when Benjy returned, she frowned, eyes lighting on his leg. His limp on it seemed more pronounced, like something had caused it stress. She hoped it hadn’t been on her behalf. She hoped she was imagining that it was worse.

Caradoc. The name didn’t immediately bring anything to mind, but she thought hard, trying to put a picture together in her mind. By the time a man walked through them, Emmeline hadn’t conjured a face exactly, but his didn’t seem unfamiliar. She trusted him. Not quite the same level as Benjy, and that was a trust she couldn’t explain, but trust nonetheless. Caradoc was someone to believe.

“I’m... confused,” she admitted. “I don’t really know why I’m here, and I can’t... Things aren’t coming to my mind very easily. Benjy told me a little, and I think I’ve picked up a couple bits, but it’s... It’s so fuzzy.”

Maurice had expected some resistance. Some version of ‘I’m too busy’ or ‘not right now’ or even ‘I couldn’t stand to spend that much time with you’. He even took a breath ready to argue his case some more, but the question was not one he had prepared an answer for.

He looked at her perplexed. If this had been someone who’s intelligence he doubted, he might have looked at her like an idiot. But he knew Emmeline was smart. Wasn’t she? Great, now he had to question his own intelligence. 

“In case of emergencies.” He said slowly, perhaps a little condescendingly. Hadn’t he said that? He wanted to learn emergency first aid. What else would you need that for? “If you hadn’t noticed, we aren’t exactly in short supply of them.” If you put all the Order members together, they probably had some staggeringly high average, one emergency an hour, maybe even more.

.

The man’s answer wasn’t a satisfactory one, not when it came to determining who he was or what sort of things might be more beneficial for him to learn. She thought his face seemed vaguely familiar, but it seemed words were much more helpful in jogging her mind than images. Fine, she’d have to wing it.

“Well, but what I meant is... What kind of emergencies?” she asked, trying not to let her frustration over his response show. If he thought enough of her expertise to come ask, he did have to be so condescending when she tried for follow up, even if it was vague follow up. “Are you wanting to heal cuts and bruises, learn more medical counterspells, take care of burns... There’s just such variety, and we can’t possibly cover everything. So what it is you want?”

And yes, their emergencies did tend to run high. Emmeline need only glance at the files around her to know that. “They do tend to come in clusters,” she admitted.

Boundaries (Legal and Otherwise)

Wow, Emmeline was taking this way too hard. Marlene was beginning to wonder if this was even about her, or if something else was really behind the other witch’s distress and she was projecting onto Marlene because she didn’t know how else to cope. That certainly made more sense than somebody getting this upset about someone just peeking at somebody else’s medical care records, didn’t it? Marlene tried not to hold it against Emmeline – they were all under stress, with the Order and the war and everything, she knew that intimately – but that didn’t mean she was just going to meekly accept censure she hadn’t earned without at least making her own case to point-out how much Emmeline was overreacting. “Well I’m not poking-around in other people’s folders, am I?” Marlene rolled her eyes, but only a little bit. “That would be rude, trying to snoop into other people’s secrets instead of just talking to them to their face.”

You’d have known about Remus then, though, whispered a sly little voice in the back of Marlene’s head, and she went still as a kudarung sighting a hawk overhead. Would she have? Had Emmeline known, and kept it a secret from the rest of them – kept it a secret even from Marlene, as she was weighing whether or not to open her home to Remus’s pack and potentially place her family in danger on the security of his word? His word, that Emmeline might have known wasn’t trustworthy? Would she have kept that secret? Could she have kept that secret? Marlene realized that she honestly didn’t know, and it chilled her.

She tried to shake it off, forcing a smile that came out more sour than she’d have liked, and said, “Fine, then, so tell me.” The words, too, came out perhaps a little more testily than Emmeline deserved, even if she was treating Marlene like she’d been a hairsbreadth away from committing actual larceny. “Maybe I didn’t want to ask anyone because it’s not something I wanted to have anyone know I was worried about, but fine.” She threw-up her hands in a gesture of exasperated surrender. “It’s a bit late for that anyway, so go on – tell me.” She couldn’t stop the irritated tone from leaching from her words as she asked, voice going soft and tight with concern, “Is Alaric okay? I mean, really okay?”

“Not now,” Emmeline snapped, “but you’re clearly setting a precedent that you don’t have any concerns for privacy and confidentiality and gladly would do so later if it suited you.” Perhaps that was reaching when Marlene had looked in her brother’s, but Emmeline stood by it. Someone so willing to do it once would surely do it again. And that was assuming she never had looked in someone else’s. Plus, if she was doing it, Morgana only knew who else had taken an attempt. 

Emmeline snorted. “But isn’t that exactly what you’re doing? Snooping through your brother’s records instead of asking him? Clearly you’re not terribly concerned about seeming polite.”

As Marlene went still, something in her gaze suggested it was her own mind that had caused it, not Emmeline’s words. Clearly she didn’t particularly care about anything Emmeline had to say. Seemed par for the course around here. People needed her when they needed a healer, but the rest of the time? Most didn’t care whether their supplies were stocked or whether Benjy had made it home for a few hours rest before his next shift. They just cared that someone was there when the moment hit.

She pursed her lips and looked away. “He doesn’t seem to have any long-term effects from that bad spell. He’s fine, but I still say if you’re that concerned with his wellbeing, check on it. Don’t go snooping through files as though they can fix whatever you’ve got going on.”

Wounds Revisited

House of Bones / Order Headquarters 26 March 1982, Evening @emmeoutofline​

Had Frank not been the one to tell Isla of her cousin’s death, perhaps he would have gotten taken care of more quickly—between Skimble, his mother, and Alice, he wasn’t sure how much more he could continue avoiding going to an actual Healer. The cut was deep, that was already certain when Sirius first dragged him home, but Frank had been in denial about it healing.

Perhaps Frank would have been aware sooner that the Emmeline at headquarters now wasn’t the same one who had taken care of his previous fight injury—had he not been occupied with counting the dead and searching for the maskless. As if that would give him any real closure, but was worth a try.

He didn’t think that hanging out around the Bones’s was a great way to spend his Friday night, but it had been long enough that he just had to cave—in spite of the fact that he had promised Emmeline the last time that he wouldn’t get hurt.

“Emmeline? I know that—you know, I told you I wouldn’t get my arm sliced off again?” It was hard to be humorous about the whole thing. “I tried using that charm and some leftover herb for it, but I don’t think it’s the same cut. I have no idea what those Death Eaters are working with.”

As she grew more familiar, or at least reacquainted, with work expectations, Emmeline knew she couldn’t focus all her energy in one place. She had to try to double up. Clearly Emmeline was capable of it because she’d been doing it for months. While she felt a bit run ragged already just from work, Emmeline couldn’t let it get the best of her. If she’d managed, she’d manage. She didn’t see any other option.

That’s why she found herself at the House of Bones staring at a supply closest. She’d refamiliarized herself with some of them at work, but others took new research. Plus, there was an entire shelf with bottles labeled things like “Severus’ healing salve” and “Severus’ Nerve Calming Drought: Test Batch.” She could only assume with the variety that Severus had made them, but when he was only a vaguely helpful outline in her head, she couldn’t do much about that yet.

She nearly jumped when she heard a voice behind her, and when she turned around, she didn’t immediately have a name. She should really go through these files and see if they could jog anything. But what he had to say was... Oh dear. Well, that wouldn’t wait, would it?

“Oh, um, let me see what I can do,” she said. After a pause while she tried to debate whether she was truly capable of reattaching someone’s arm if it had been sliced off and decided he must be stretching things a bit. Hmmm, actually I might need a slight jog of the details. While I finish tidying some of these, can you grab your file off the desk? I want to remember what I did last time.” Also his name. That seemed the best way to get his name.

Date: March 30, 1982 Location: Bones Infirmary Starter: @bristlybranwen

Emmeline couldn’t explain why, but she felt a sudden urge to cry as she organized the last set of papers and slipped them back into the file folder. Everyone. She’d been through absolutely everyone’s files now, and while she a good sense of their medical histories and even some memories jogged of the people they belonged to, she still felt like she was missing things. 

She’d started at her desk, which felt comfortable and natural, but by the end, Emmeline hadn’t been able to sit upright like that anymore. No matter how unprofessional she knew it was, Emmeline kept gravitating back to the beds. She’d woken up in one, and although she was getting more back every day, that still made them feel like a home base of sorts.

Benjy’s eyes went even wider, if that was possible. How the hell was he supposed to explain to her that there was a war going on without freaking her out more. She looked terrified and he couldn’t blame her - not when she’d woken up in what seemed like a strange place and didn’t even remember what was going on. “You were fighting some - some bad people.” He cringed - it sounded stupid, even to his own ears. “I don’t know why this is happening to you, but I’ll figure it out.”

She seemed to be calmer the longer he talked, however, and that seemed promising. “Uh, yes… yes.” It didn’t sound very confident, so he cleared his throat and straightened up. “Yes, you can sit up. I can examine you, if you’re okay with that. I know someone who, uh, sort of knows about memories too,” he explained, thinking about Caradoc. “Maybe I could write to him, see if he can help. Are you good with all that?”

.

Bad people? Even as she gave him a look, Emmeline saw a flash in her mind of a figure in a creepy mask. She shivered, not understand it but unsettled nonetheless. She wanted to curl back into herself, but Benjy was asking her to sit up. She should do that. Carefully Emmeline moved. As helpful as she felt, nothing seemed to be physically wrong, she realized as she gingerly shifted upright, wiggling her toes just to prove that she could.

She nodded, then figured she should verbalize. “Yes.” Her voice was small, but it was a voice. “Yes, um, that’s fine.” If it was someone Benjy trusted, it should be someone Emmeline trusted, even if she didn’t totally understand why. 

Maurice popped up in a fireplace. The House of Bones was one of the few places he was willing to go relatively regularly without much concern. Over the last week he had avoided too many public outings, but in his mind, the Order and The House of Bones was still a safe place.

He did a scan of the room. If he was happy with what he saw, or rather, who he saw, it didn’t show on his face. He marched over to Emmeline and sat down.

“Good, just the person I was looking for.” Again, no shift in his serious facial expression. “I need you to teach me to heal. Just the basic stuff. Emergency, first-aid type things.” After the last attack it had become abundantly clear that he had no hopes of emergency healing in a tight spot. He needed that skill. He and Emmeline had talked before, of her doing a segment on the show about a similar topic, explaining the basics to people. He wanted those lessons now for himself.

.

Emmeline suspected she looked a bit like a deer in headlights as she processed his request. She’d barely relearned things herself! How was she supposed to teach someone else? He seemed so confident that she could help, and Emmeline didn’t know how to turn him down. She didn’t even know who she would be turning down.

“Um, why do you feel like you need them?” she asked. It was a bad question, but maybe he’d give her enough to put the pieces together. It was a long shot hope, but Emmeline had done a good enough job at work hiding what had happened, even if she hadn’t actually hidden that something had happened. It had been a long few days, but it already had her defensive about the idea of admitting what she didn’t know.

Date: March 29, 1982 Location: House of Bones Starter: Open

She could almost do her job again. Emmeline felt like she was barely sleeping as she poured over books, pamphlets, and staff directories. People waved at her in the halls. She smiled, waved back, and immediately went to check who in the poison department she might know. Slowly a blurry outline of her work had taken shape. She could mostly navigate the people in her own department and do okay again at her job. Everyone else must have noticed that things were wrong, though. She kept having things like Pepperup, Dreamless Sleep, and even Calming Potions pushed her way. At least they all seemed to believe that she was just overworking herself or dealing with some minor muggle bug. Emmeline didn’t dissuade them, but she’d spent so little time following all the relaxation advice that she was actually just a few pushes from the edge now. The circles under her eyes felt like they’d never leave. A few times she’d stopped to start in contemplation at a bottle of Dr. Umbly’s, but it wasn’t worth the risk. What if all her new thoughts and recovered memories were part of the smoke screen of whatever had hit her? What if going after the fog took everything else? No, she couldn’t risk it.

Which is how on her first day off in four days, Emmeline found herself hoisting a stack of files from the infirmary and settling in the floo front parlor at the House of Bones. She was still hazy at best about why the Order even existed, much less why she was part of it or who else was around besides Benjy. Hopefully these files could jog some things, and by putting herself in a prominent place, perhaps she’d run into others who could help fill in the gaps.

Peter could only think that he was immensely grateful for Emmeline, and the way that, despite her curiosity, she was so ready and willing to keep his secret and be patient with him for any more information. She truly was a wonderful woman, and he was really glad that he’d told her. It felt like a slight ease on his shoulders, for the first time in the longest time. “Thank you,” He repeated to her again. He wasn’t sure if the secret should or would ever come out, especially because he didn’t want to out Sirius as well, but maybe someday.

He paused slightly when she stopped to frown at him, feeling his face heat up even more at her words and ducking his head. “I mean, I suppose I am, it’s just…” He trailed off slightly, unsure how to even explain it. How could he talk about being bullied when he was younger, when he wasn’t around the other Marauders? Let alone, of course, the fact that he couldn’t talk about the way the other Death Eaters treated him. No, he was probably capable of taking care of himself, but none of that was conclusive to survival, and so he had to let it happen, didn’t he?

“Of course,” he said quickly then, “If anything happens, I promise that I’ll come right back. I will try and be a bit more careful though, so you won’t have to worry as much.” He watched her as she turned her back and began rearranging things, a soft smile on his face. “Thank you again,” He spoke then, “I suppose I should get out of your hair and maybe get back to work.”

.

Regulus stared at her for a long moment, waiting for a confirmation for needing more. And she gave it - her gaze was desperate, almost annoyed that the cards did not tell her what she’d been seeking. Without hesitation or approval, Regulus flipped over the next card, placing it in a cross over the middle. “This is what is the way from reaching what you desire. The card that crosses you.” 

He looks down at it. “The Knight of Cups, reversed.” Regulus smirked, looking back up at Emmeline. It meant she wasn’t getting emotional enough with others, letting them in, giving herself to them in a real and authentic way. 

“Perhaps you should let someone see your heart,” Regulus explained. “The Knight of Cups, placed this way, symbols a person’s lack of emotional honestly. Have you been hiding, Vance?”

Emmeline watched closely as he flipped the card and explained. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. “What have I been hiding?” she asked back. Emmeline tapped her fingers on the table in irritation. Everything so far made sense to her. It all fit with where she was and where she wanted to be. But here was supposedly her answer of more, and Emmeline didn’t get it. She kept everything so organized, tried to keep everyone on the same page and stocks resupplied. She was on top of all of it, and the cards wanted her to be emotionally honest? What did that even mean? Emmeline didn’t have time for emotional vulnerability, and who would she provide it to even if she did?

She sighed and slid back from the table. “I guess I’ll have to ponder that one,” she said dryly, then looked up at Regulus. “Thank you, though. I- The rest of it was helpful. I don’t know where to go with this.” It occurred to her that perhaps she was emotionally closing herself off right now, but Emmeline couldn’t just sit and talk through any little thing that she might not be offering completely with Regulus. Surely he wouldn’t want her to even if she did. He must have other things to do.

Emmeline lowered her wand, which Benjy took as a good sign. She still seemed lost, however, and that frightened him as much as it seemed to scare her. Benjy swallowed hard, letting out a long breath through his lips, but her questions were less threatening than the wand had been. He nodded, even though it wasn’t an answer. 

“You were in a battle and got injured,” he explained, trying his best to keep his tone neutral. He wished Maddy were still here. She might be able to handle this better than him. “I’m - I’m your healer.” It was the best explanation he could think of without scaring her further by giving her too much information. “What do you last remember?”

Benjy frowned at the question at the same time Emmeline did, unsure why she was asking him that if she didn’t even remember him. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her before taking a tentative step forward, keeping his hands up. “If you’ll let me, I can examine you more… we might be able to figure out what happened.”

“A battle?” Emmeline repeated. “Why was I in a battle? A battle over what?” She put her hands up against her head as she tried to answer his question. “I- I don’t know. I see you. I remember waking up. I-” She looked up, eyes wide. “What’s happening to me?”

The idea of being examined chaffed slightly, and Emmeline didn’t know why at first. Eventually it occurred to her that she should be the one examining, but she couldn’t well examine herself, even if she had known what she was doing. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said quietly. “I suppose... Do you need me to get up?” She stayed where she was for now, so unsure that she didn’t want to move until she had permission.

Technically, she knew she didn’t have the right to get annoyed considering she herself had asked the question, but the prospect of going over a full list of names that would probably mean next to nothing to her sounded like the last thing Mary would ever want to do. Lucky she didn’t have to. “Good,” she nodded at Emmeline. “Then you can give it to Bones or Dearborn.” They could deal with supplies and all that; Mary was perfectly happy to limit her own contributions to one overpriced potion, thanks. “Was that all?”

Emmeline nodded as Mary dictated what she should do with it. On one hand, Emmeline was a little annoyed she’d have to explain it to someone else, but Mary was helping with something rather expensive. Besides, if Emmeline pestered enough inner circle members, maybe they’d realize this was something they should be paying more attention to.

“No, that’s all,” she said. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” With another quick nod, she turned to go. Mary didn’t seem the sentimental type in her experience.

March 24, 1982

Emmeline finally went home to her own bed. She still wasn’t convinced she fully understood what was going on, but she couldn’t handle the way Benjy watched her, constant worry in his eyes. She’d remembered or figured out enough to know that she did trust him, perhaps more than anyone else in the Order. She wasn’t supposed to talk about the Order. That was a secret.

Instead of worrying about it anymore for the night, though, Emmeline drifted off to weird murky sleep full of floating dreams--or were they memories?--just out of reach. 

🚦 - be stuck in an elevator with, be stuck in traffic with, be stuck in the apocalypse with

Elevator: Dorcas (seems the least likely to result in injury)

Traffic: Peter (they could probably chat long enough to fill that time and both are even tempered enough to handle the frustration)

Coffee: Peter 

Dinner: Benjy