Gladys Gudgeon

Looking like someone else was weird, that much Remus knew. But, he had to admit, it was also oddly refreshing. In this new temporary body of his, there were no weird scars that made him stick out like a sore thumb. This body was also stronger than his usual one, with toned muscles and less of a baby face. It was strange but Remus kind of liked, even if he knew it wouldn’t last forever. The whole thing made him feel a little like Cinderella.

“Hmm?” The voice of a petite blond woman brought him back to the present, his attention back to what was important about tonight: observing the people, measure how much this whole thing tilted the balance in the new minister’s favour, even when all of it was a really hypocrite act since it had been the Death Eaters the ones to destroy the healing center in the first place. “Yes, a success.” Remus agreed, looking at the woman who he recognised as Gladys Gudgeon from seeing her transform back at the orders headquarters. “The canapes are really good and everyone seems to be having fun. At this rate, St. Mungo will be back on it’s feet in no time.”

Gladys mentally had to remind herself that it was Remus in front of her. He looked so unlike himself, which she very well knew was the point, but no one said that any of this was her strong suit. This was an outing with the Order though hopefully a way to safely leave the bosom of Aversio into what she hoped was the safer ones of the Order. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to fight this war it was just that she had grown to a point where she was afraid she was losing herself within it. She sipped her drink in her hand as she eyed the canapes. The truth was Gladys herself loved food, but her more polished and social climbing counterpart probably would never eat in public. She turned her wistful gaze from the food back to Remus.

“Well, one can only hope. It’s too much of a centerpiece of the wizarding community to stay down for too long. I’ve heard things have been quite strained since the attack, so at the very least this should provide some relief for that. The beginning stages of hope and rebuilding. I’d say.” She wasn’t sure if she believed what she was saying, but she id know just how important St. Mungo’s was and the work they did. If not for St. Mungo’s she probably wouldn’t have come out the other end of her attack. “How has your evening been so far, I mean other than the food of course? Meet anyone new?” She inquired curiously with a smile.

Marlene had often fantasized about what it might have been like, to have a sister. But she had never been given more than Marcus, whether from their parents’ belief that two was enough or her mother’s refusal to risk having another daughter, she would never know. Whatever it was, there were only two of them and while Marlene McKinnon loved her brother with all her being, it didn’t stop the wondering. It was probably something every young girl did, but that didn’t stop her. So instead she had found herself grasping hold on others, finding her own sisters in other women. It had started with Greta, when she was young, with bright eyes and unruly red hair, in the badgers den. And then Florence, when Marlene had left school and entered the war with determination and more hope than she could hold. Gladys had come somewhere in the middle, vibrant and loving, something someone Marlene had always wanted to protect. 

“I’d have paid good gold to have seen that.” Marlene admitted, a laugh rolling off her tongue with great ease. Time with Gladys was always so easy, a puzzle clicking into place, always seeming to occur at the precise right points in time. “No need to clarify, I knew what ya meant,” another laugh. Easy. Almost normal. “What d’you say we carve into this beautiful mountain of food and catch up? Merlin knows how I could use it.” And then, the question. It was one Marlene had gotten used to but still, she didn’t like to answer it. “I’ve been tired, but – all in all, can’t complain much, I guess.” She could but what good would the brutal details do. “What about you? With those brothers of yours I’m sure there are some new stories ta catch me up on.”

“It was a sight to behold for certain. I’m glad it was a good call.” Gladys found herself settling into the couch with Marlene and unpacking the abundance of food she’d brough along along with the plates and plastic silverware the restaunt had included. The last thing she wanted to leave in her wake was dishes or a mess. Only the remanants of a good time should linger after moments between friends not chores or messes. 

Gladys’s face lit up at the question if there was ever anything she could always talk about it was her brothers. Certainly, they spent more time on her nerves than they once had, but in their own ways they were both still her heroes and she thought the world of them both. “Always with the two of them. Gal had the best match last week he was on fire straight out of the gate. He and the snitch danced at the other seeker was attempted to tail him but just didn’t have the broom work to keep up. It was one of those rare moments when you knew Chudley had it in the bag straight out of the gate as long as he caught the snitch before the keeper mucked it all up. It was glorious really.” She recounted the story as she added food to her plate. “Though, truly I don’t see either of them as much as I’d like. Where my parents dragged me off to safety with them without my opinion being accounted for my mother keeps insisting they’re grown men who simply don’t need us meddling in their affairs. As if, I’m six and still need my dad to check for banshees under my bed.” She laughed she tried to be understandign about why her parents were more protective of her but it still just felt unfair at the end of the day. She didn’t want to focus on complaiants or the things that were beyond her control without a fight. That was not the goatl of the night so instead she dug into her food eating quietly as she turned to Marlene. “What about you? How’s your brother? Or you? Any exciting tales to tell?”

The bells of the store pulled Aurora from her haze. She’d been in her head the whole walk to the store, but instantly turned on her game when she found exactly who she was looking for. Gladys. The leaders of Aversio had asked Aurora to find her and talk to her considering more than a handful of people had admitted to her that they wanted to leave the organization. Aurora didn’t mind doing the dirty work, not when it involved the possibility of a night of shopping. Even if the place was closed… “I mean, I wouldn’t have minded the chance to try a few things on, but I’m not here to shop. I was looking for you Gladys. I was hoping we could talk.” Aurora said walking into the store. 

Closer to the other woman, Aurora could see the dress she had on much better and nodded in approval. Aurora’s eyes went wide, not able to hide her interest in the dress. It fit Gladys like a glove and Aurora had to think about whether she was jealous of her or attracted to her. “It looks… amazing honestly. I hope you’re going to buy that. In every pattern.” Aurora looked down at her lanky body and pushed the idea of trying on the dress out of her mind. She would not fill something like that out. Better to stick to her skirts and button downs. “Not what I’m here about though, even though my wardrobe could totally use an upgrade.”

Gladys had been surprised by the sound of the bells but she was more surprised by who was entering the store, but she couldn’t help but smile. She liked Aurora she might not know her that well but she was just one of those people. Gladys made a point to always have it together on the outside, it came in part because she truly had a passion for fashion and using it to express herself, but it was more. She remembered falling out of touch with it after being attacked. She tried to use her clothes to hide to blend in but it only seemed to bring more attention and pity her way. The first day she’d gotten up and put on a pretty dress and heels marched into the Great Hall for breakfast the whispers seemed to dissipate. The disaster on the inside was still there, but people didn’t seem to notice when the outside was wrapped in a pretty package. It had since become the way that Gladys got through the war. Aurora though she had to admire because she seemed to have it all together on the inside and out.  “Oh?” She was surprised to hear Aurora say they needed to talk her mind raced to her activities of late she wondered what had sparked this. “Well, luckily you found me and we can talk here. I’m the last one.” She assured her as she moved past her to secure the lock into place and flip the sign, she pulled the shade on the door for good measure as she turned back to the other woman studying her. 

“Oh yeah, any thought of a paycheck is being invested right back into my closet.” She laughed lightly with a shake of her head. “It’s a good thing I took this job to support my clothing habits and not my actual lifestyle or I’d be eating a lot of burnt rice.” She gestured towards the pile she’d created for herself on the counter. It could be considered excessive, but everyone had their vices pretty clothes just happened to be hers. “Well, we’re sensible, intelligent women. There’s nothing to say we can’t accomplish two things at once. We’ve got the store all to ourselves. I could pull a few things for you to try on while we talk. If anyone can find you what you’re looking for it is me.”

Alastor never had kids, and at this point he was sure he was never going to have them. There had been a time when he had thought he would get married, settled down, and have kids. But everything had changed in the blink of an eye. And maybe that was why it was so hard for him to admit that he cared about the young members of the order like they were his own. He would rather take a bludger to the head than ever talking about feelings. But if there was one person he would never hide his emotions from -and it was mainly because he saw himself in her: the good, the bad, and the ugly. he knew all about losing your entire family all at once- was Charity. Things were not going good, and the situation in regards to her mission, a mission he had send her, volunteer her for, was creating a tension that while anticipated, Alastor wished Charity did not have to experience. But this was war, they knew what they were signing up for.

He still felt awful, and it went beyond being her SO for the mission. Charity was the closet thing to a daughter Alastor was ever going to have. That was perhaps why he found himself looking at the display on the window of a boutique. He wasn’t even sure if Charity wore any of that, but it was the thought the counted, right? Alastor walked into the shop only to be disappointed they were already close. 

“Oh” he tried to hide his obvious disappointment, “I’ll come back later” he apologized. “Um sure” he said with no idea what the girl was talking about, “I gotta be honest I just walked in looking for a gift” he shrugged. 

Gladys was all too aware there was a war going on around them and that she should be on alert, but rather than reaching for her wand when someone entered the shop she headed towards them. A vague thought about her wand crossed her mind, but honestly, she thought she’d set it down somewhere on the counter or by her purse. She should probably find it after this and cross her fingers that she didn’t need to be concerned around the man who had entered the store. As the distance between the two lessened she found herself relaxing even more as she recognized who it was. Everyone within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement knew how Alastor Moody was. For Gladys, it was the one person whose memos she hand-delivered quietly and quickly without any fanfare. For as fun and friendly as her relationship with Kingsley was the idea of Alastor intimidated her a bit. However, today they were on her turf and it was obvious he wasn’t comfortable in the setting around him so she flashed him a sunny smile on her approach. 

“Nonsense. You’re here now no reason to have to find time in your schedule to come back again.” She assured him wit ha smile as she looked at him. “Well, if a gift is what you came in looking for then I will be sure you walk out with the perfect one.” She promised sincerely as she glanced back at the freshly stocked racks and then back at him. “We’ve got something for just about everyone right now.  Do you have something in mind for the gift that caught your eye? Or you could just tell me a bit about them and I can help you find it.” 

Benjy just shrugged, he wasn’t going to try to change her mind, if she didn’t want to sit then she could just leave. There was something inside of him that had surface ever since he found out he had been betrayed by his friends, by those he loved. And it was in those moments that he was aware of just how much he was his mother’s son, her blood ran through him. And Benjy wondered if he had a different kind of upbringing, one where his parents didn’t try with all they had to make sure he was kind, and loving, and forgiving, if he would’ve turned into the heir his grandfather always wanted. If instead of looking up to Alastor, spending time with him, it would be his uncle the one Benjy would take lessons and pointers from. Ever since Charity had read to him that book on parallel universes, Benjy had started to imagine all the possible versions of himself, and out there was one version of him that had the strength to be cruel to Gladys. It wasn’t this one, and he was going to have to fake it.

He raised an eyebrow at her quick reply. He had sat through more interrogations than he would’ve liked to, and that was always a sign of guilt. Maybe the best thing to do was stand up and walk out, but then she kept talking, and with each word all the things Benjy had kept locked in were starting to burst through the padlock he thought was safely guarding all the rage and fury that had come out of finding out his friends were part of a terrorist organization, that his friends had cause so much pain, so much death.

❝Wow…❞ he tried his best not to snap, what person was he becoming? he never got angry, but right now he wanted Gladys to know that his parents had been there too, and other people’s parents had actually died because of that little stunt. ❝Yeah well I almost died, so excuse me if I don’t feel bad because you feel guilty about your friends murdering people to get what they wanted…❞ he said trying not to look at her, ❝and what’s worse they didn’t even succeed, did they?❞ Benjy scoffed, this wasn’t him, or what was worse, maybe that part of him had always been there, and what if this was the real him? bitter, angry, the war had taken enough, he would not allow it to take that from him as well. 

Gladys really had to learn to listen to her gut more. She swore she’d get into far less trouble if she did so. She knew when she decided to remain in her seat that Benjy was not in a forgiving mood where she’d have some sort of hope in talking to him and helping him see reason. Not to mention this wasn’t the place where they should have this out. No matter. She remained glued to her spot as she took in the words that felt like rocks being hurled at her. Her fingers gripped the edge of the table as she took the words in her lips pursing her face drawing into something between hurt and like she’d swallowed a lemon whole. 

“Don’t look at me like that. You asked me a question and I have you the honest answer.” She said as she leaned forward her voice lowered to a whisper because the last thing she wanted to do was cause a scene in the middle of the coffee shop. “You don’t need to put your Auror pants on I’m telling the truth. You could administer a dose of veritiserum and I’d tell you the same thing. I didn’t know anything about the plan on the Ministry until I was wrapped up in the middle of it.”  Her face fell into a hard line as she studied him. “I get why you doubt me after--well, I get it but I don’t have anything else to hide. I wasn’t running around in a mask or trying ot take down the Ministry I was doing my job nothing more. When did you turn into a hard-headed snob who doesn’t listen to other people or believe in giving a friend a chance.”

The surprise and compassion were on her face the instant that he said that he almost died, but she doubted that it meant anything to Benjy in this state, so instead of asking what happened or how he was like she wanted she contented herself with giving him a once over. Whatever happened he seemed to have recovered. Thank Merlin. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re talking out of your backside and tossing around assumptions like they’re rose petals at a wedding.” Her hand smacked against the table with a growl of frustration. “You don’t get to judge my reactions and how I respond to situations. Do you know what it felt like to be trapped in that ballroom? To know that everyone around me would be happy to see me end up the same way as Dorcas because I’m not as good as you all? Do you have any idea how it felt that night when I got trapped in the alley with a Death Eater and almost didn’t make it? It was like I was back there in that alley again I just wanted to get out in one piece this time.” She hissed as she looked up at the ceiling trying to pull herself back together. She refused to cry in front of him and both of them acting irrationally and snapping wouldn’t get them anywhere either But her choices were cry or lash out and she never wanted to be the girl who used her tears to manipulate people, so instead she didn’t filter the words that came out next. “I came over here because I thought you were my friend? And sure I thought you were pissed at me and I had explaining to do, but....I was wrong obviously you’re just like the rest of the purebloods too good for the rest of us.” 

A little shopping never hurt anybody – though by the way that Florence avoided doing so, you would have thought the act of trying on new clothes was toxic to her very being. More often than not, shopping meant trying on more than half the garments in the store, in the end, only to purchase the same dress or shirt or pair of pants that she’d bought on her previous visit. It was a waste of time. Tedious. And yet, every few months or so, Florence dragged herself out of her apartment on a hunt to try and find something new. After all, she’d had the same ‘look’ for years. Wasn’t it about time, at the old age of twenty-four, to branch out and at least pretend to enjoy trying something different? As she strolled down the street after a cup of her morning coffee, Florence found herself in front of a store front she hadn’t visited before. It was a cute little boutique. A local place, not some local location of some larger company. And from the window, at least, it looked cute. Florence pushed the door open, smiling slightly as the bells jingled above her. Soon enough, though, someone called out to her to let her know she’d come too early – that the store wasn’t even open yet. “Oh, I’m so sorry – I didn’t realize! But it looks fantastic in here. Did you put up the displays yourself?” The woman ought to take pride in her work, at the very least. “Will you be open soon?”

Gladys couldn’t believe that she’d forgotten to lock the door behind her after she let herself in. She was lucky that no one with more nefarious purposes hadn’t used that fact against her in the hours she’d been working this morning. She was far too unaware sometimes and one would think after all the times it had come back to bite her in the ass she’d get a little wiser, but she’d been so focused on getting her hands on the display everything else had been an afterthought. She was relieved to see the person who wandered in was a woman who seemed interested in the clothes rather than taking her down. Upon closer inspection, she recognized Florence and offered a sunny smile. She couldn’t help but beam at the compliment as she moved closer to her. “Well, thank you.  I just kept dreaming about them and I knew it would be great.” She admitted as she rocked back on her heels surveying her handiwork once more before she turned to Florence again tossing her hair over her shoulder.

“Also don’t apologize, I’m the one who left the door unlocked and its just shy of opening time, please feel free to stay.” She assured her with a tilt of her head as she gave her attention to Florence. “Did you come in for something in particular? I mean, since it's only you and I here I’d be more than happy to find whatever you’re in the market for.” She promised happily. If there was one thing that topped her affinity for making things look beautiful it was helping someone find that perfect outfit that made them feel beautiful and walk a little taller or put a little pep in their step. It was the very thing she’d always dreamed of, well, a variance of it since this wasn’t her own personal boutique, but still as close as she’d ever been.

sybilltrxlawney:

Sybill should have seen it all coming sooner. Or maybe she’d just been scared to put the pieces together. The tricky little visions, the strange energies, all the whispering. But her inner eye had done what it could to take care of her regardless- a gut instinct to build her home in the forest, a low-key job outside of the ministry. Perhaps there was a reason she was the first to be blessed with the gift since Cassandra- the universe must have sensed the need for a prophet at this time. Or maybe it really was just the magic in the number three, and there was nothing more to it than that. 

Regardless, tonight wasn’t a night for prophecies. It was a night to drink and talk and give her roots a chance to settle in the dirt again, re-calibrate herself. “You may have a point- without ambition there would indeed be fewer fights. But would we live in the world we want- the world we are fighting for now- or would we all just be too lazy to go against the status quo?” She talked even though Gladys didn’t really need an answer, she talked because it would help to order her own thoughts. 

Happiness was all Sybill really desired of life, all she aimed for. It was nice to have met another who seemed to share the simple philosophy. Perhaps they found it in slightly different ways, but it was good that they could come together to try and bring it out of each-other too. 

“Oh I have my most viable and sound ideas when I’m drunk.” She nodded sagely and cracked a smile “I like your thinking dear, it’s always easier to discuss issues over drinks.”

Gladys raised an eyebrow as she contemplated Sybill’s response to her questions, her face scrunching in concentration as if she were trying to find the right answer. It was the kind of quandary her father would enjoy but whether it was the drinks or just her own mind it spun Gladys around in circles a little. “I suppose that’s a valid question. One whose response certain requires charts and in-depth mapping to find the right answer if there is one right answer.” Tossing back the rest of her drink with a bright grin she shook her head “Tonight is certainly not the night for that. It is the night of drinking and brainstorming. Between us, we shall come up with something brilliant I am sure of it.” 

In truth, Gladys wasn’t exactly sure of it, but what she did know was that she needed a night like this to just let go without the heaviness of the world falling on her shoulders or the darkness attempting to ebb out all of the light left inside of her. She wanted to remember a time when her whole life was like this, but for now she she would take a night.

“Then its decided you must teach me your ways to be certain. The only decent idea I’ve ever had while drunk was to glitter a pair of scuffed heels to turn them into ruby slippers. Though, to be fair, I’m not sure it even qualifies I mean to be certain they were gorgeous and I wore the heck out of them. But glitter was literally everywhere in my flat for it felt like weeks before I could clean it all up.” Gladys laughed easily shaking her head as she thanked the waitress who arrived with fresh drinks. “But so long as we don’t try and put an end to all of it with glitter we shall be safe.”

✚ for a kiss on a wound.

♕ for a kiss of swearing fealty.

✿ for a sweet kiss on the cheek.

♠ for a kiss that leaves a mark on the skin.

♆ for a kiss where there is a pulse.

ϡ for a kiss that lets you know I love you.

ღ for a kiss filled with passion and need.

† for a kiss to say good bye forever.

✄ for hateful kiss – gonna make you feel the scorn okay?!