Just Another Day

“So that automatically means we have to help and make things move quicker? You’re a real downer, aren’t you?” Peyton pointed out with a frown as her brows dipped. 

“I never said that I smoke because I enjoy smoking. My point you shouldn’t let fear stop you doing what you want to do.” He replied before bringing the cigarette back to his lips. 

I love you for a life time,

Not only for a day.

I love you for who you are,

Not what you do or say.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Thank you for continuing to be the amazing person you are and for being in my life. 

All my love, 

Autumn xx

(P.S yes this is partly a gift for myself, so I can be put out of my misery and not have to risk poisoning people when they have to experience my cooking. :D)

Accompanying gifts: 

Iris approached the male, seeing the cigarette firmly placed between his lips, she then pressed hers into a thin line, blinking a few times. She saw him peer toward her then looked down at the unlit cigarette in her hand. “I- Uh- You got a light?” She asked, brow raising with a slight smile.

The male turned his head slightly looking at the woman before giving her a small nod fetching a lighter from his pocket, finding it quicker than using his wand. His finger flipped, thumb scraping against the wheel of the lighter creating small flashes of sparks before lighting as his other hand covered the flame protecting it from the cold breeze as he held it out for the female. “You’re lucky I’m not a death eater.” He stated, meeting her gaze before continuing, “I mean, you’ve basically just announced to me that you don’t have your wand.” A small smirk tugged at his lips. 

“Y’know, those things will kill ya.” Peyton stated as she pulled up alongside and rested her forearms against her bike. She wasn’t sure why she said it, it was just the first thing that came to mind and thought it might be enough to get him out of his own head.

The male tried not to roll his eyes at the female. He’d heard the warning enough times, if he was going to give up he would have done it by now. “We’re all dying from the moment we are born, so I don’t think it matters much. I could go for a walk tomorrow and get hit by a bus or maybe a death eater will kill me both of which will kill me fast than these things will.” He pointed out nonchalantly as he gave a shrug. 

In the two years that they had been together, Autumn had never once seen Ryan break down this way, not even when his grandmother had passed away. It broke her heart to see him like this and to know there was little she could do or say to help him. Standing up from her position on the chair, she moved to crouch in front of him and gently pried his hands away to take them in her own. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. She’s a strong girl, you helped to raise her that way.” Autumn placed a finger under his chin in an attempt to get him to look up at her. “You got here out Ryan, you saved her from that place. Just like I know you’ll help save her from herself in the aftermath. None of this is your fault.” She pressed her lips to his forehead in hopes of offering some kind of comfort. “You’re there for her now and that’s what matters most.”

As Autumn pulled his hands away from his face Ryan felt the tears spilling over. He looked away trying to hide them, trying to control the spasms in his abdomen. Swallowing the lump in his throat he met her gaze as she lifted his chin. “I shouldn’t have even let them get near her... I should have been there to stop them from taking her. If I had been there I wouldn’t have had to save her.” He stated through tears as he angrily wiped them away. “I’m sorry babe--” Ryan sniffed back his tears before continuing “-- I don’t mean to dump all this on you, I just, I  feel like I’ve failed her.”

“I don’t know what to do Autumn, I-I don’t know how to make things better for her.” He cried hiding his face in his hands. “I-I was supposed to protect her! I promised I’d keep her safe... I should have been there-- I should have been there.” 

“No, no, no.” She muttered to herself over and over as her eyes scrunched up, she couldn’t take hearing the tears in his voice, it only made it worse. “Please, no more. No more, no more, no more.” Lucy wanted nothing more than to look up and believe it to be true but the thought of doing so and him disappearing again was too much. She just wanted to go home. She promised that she’d never speak to them again. Whoever they wanted, whatever they wanted she would do. Just as long as they stopped this, anything but her brother. He had always been her one safe haven in the mess of the world, the one thing that could make everything better. And now it was tainted. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!”

It was no use, he was getting through to her. He couldn’t just leave her though if only there was some way to calm her down -- to help her. The male sank to the floor resting his head against the bars still wanting to feel close to his sister, to let her know he was there. “You know, when dad sent me out of the house with you, I knew I wouldn’t see him again... It was the look on his face y’know, I just knew and he told me, he was like look after your sister--” Ryan paused clearing his throat as the emotion built up inside him, tears sliding down his face as he sniffed. “At the time I just thought he meant to look after you until he got mom out of the fire but the older I get the more I think he knew they weren’t going to make it back out...” The male looked back up at his sister wiping his face on his forearm. “I-I’m sorry luce...I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you this time.” 

It took them a little while to get to the station, not least because they had to stop for something that at least resembled blood – ketchup was the best they could do. Now, the two wizards were by no means professional make-up artists, but after a short while with the two of them putting a great deal of effort in, they managed to come up with something realistic enough. At least, from a distance. It helped that Jean had brought along his blood-stained hoodie and the bruises on his face were more than enough to make it look real. Of course, he had to get rid of the make-shift sling for the purpose of this outing, which Elodie would not have been happy with. But, when he stumbled into the station shouting, he managed to look convincing enough that he caught the attention of many of the officers. “Please! Someone – I – I need help.” The blond’s voice boomed through the room, alerting everyone to his presence. Jean was not an actor by any means of the imagination, but perhaps the knowledge that Lucy needed help spurred him on a little to do his greatest performance to date – for now. His hand was held over his nose, also covered in blood ketchup. He could hear the chattering amongst everyone and felt a little self-conscious when not one, not two, but three officers began to move closer to him – perhaps this was the most excitement they’d had all day. 

Once they’d put everything into place and restaged the attack Ryan gave his friend a nod before entering the building first and taking a seat on one of the chairs to look as though he was waiting for an appointment. He then proceeded to discretely look around the room trying to count how many officers were there and to see which one had the keys to the cells. The only problem was that he couldn’t see the keys hanging off of any of the officer’s belts. Chewing on his bottom lip he wracked his brain trying to think of a backup plan, and then he saw them. The small silver glint on the desk catching his eye. Now he just needed the distraction. Turning to look out the door he caught Jean’s gaze through the glass and gave him a small nod. The scene was convincing, enough so to grab the attention of three officers giving Ryan the chance to stand up moving out the way and standing in front of the desk where he quickly and discretely grabbed the keys before slopping off in the direction of the cells. It didn’t take him long to find Lucy’s after already visiting her earlier that day. “Luce.” He whispered loudly before coming in front of her cell. Looking down at the keys in his hand he fiddled with them trying to find the right one. “I’m going to get you out, okay?” He stated, removing the key and trying another one. After trying another three he smiled as he heard a click. Pulling the cell open he ran over to his sister and planted a kiss to her forehead. “Come on, we’re taking you home.” He told her as he gently scooped her up in his arms. As he started to head back he noticed the other two witches that had also been arrested and as far as he was concerned they too had been falsely arrested and by the looks of them tortured too. The male looked towards the exit knowing he had to hurry but he couldn’t find it within himself to walk off and leave them there. And so he gently placed Lucy back down before unlocking their cells too. “We have to hurry and we have to be quiet.” He told them as he bent back down to pick his little sister up. 

Jean nodded as his friend explained further that he didn’t have much of a plan beyond what he had already conveyed. “Well, winging it is what we are good at.” He offered with determined smile. “We’ll get her out.” He said, completely confident that they would be able to do so. The blond shook his head as his friend asked if he needed any help. His legs were perfectly capable and while there were other parts of his body that did give him an awful lot of trouble as he walked, he could deal with it without aid. “I’m fine – just a little slower than usual.” He said, stepping back into his room to slip on some trainers – thankfully, he wore them loose enough that he didn’t need more than one arm to assist. He moved back into the room to meet Owen. “So, what are we waiting for?” 

Ryan gave the male a tight smile thankful for his support. “Yeah.” He nodded knowing that between them they would manage to save her. “Alright, no worries.” He replied waiting at the bottom of the stairs for his friend as he began to think about how they were going to go about getting Lucy out. The wizard looked up as he heard the male, forcing a smile as he walked over to the door. “Come on then, she’s at the police station.” 

He wasn’t here. He couldn’t be here. It was another trick. Another sick game to get her to break. Didn’t they know they’d already won? They’d already broken her, she had no more left to give. Ryan wasn’t there, he couldn’t be, she’d called for him, cried out his name for help, only to be taunted that he was never going to come and he would never be there to save her. “Go away.” She muttered angrily. “You’re not here. You’re not here.” If she could rock back and forth she would have just so she didn’t have to look at him, but it hurt too much to move so instead she just lay there. He kept talking, spouting out fake concern as if to try and make the apparition more believable. Make it like her Ryan. Her big brother. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” She cried out, agony filling her voice as she was unable to take any more. The tears kept falling down her cheeks leaving trail marks in the dirt and blood on her face. 

He looked hurt at first when she told him to go away, but then she carried on talking and it became apparent that she wasn’t really talking to him per se. “Luce, it’s me, I promise. I’m here okay? And I’m going to get you out of here, just hang in there okay?” He spoke through tears not taking his eyes off of her once. Ryan flinched as she screamed at him. It pained him to hear her so upset. It was the first time he felt like he’d failed her. “Lucy, please, just look at me okay? It’s me.”

Jean laughed lightly at the wizard’s comment – the pain it caused evident in his features. “You’re not wrong.” The blond listened to his friend’s questions and replied with a nod. He would rather continue without addressing it, as if it hadn’t happened. Going through the memory in his head only made the fear he felt in that moment real again, every time he thought about it he felt his heart begin to race as if he needed to run to get away from someone who wasn’t even present anymore. “I know.” He nodded. “I’ll be okay.” He was careful not to lie, but he didn’t believe that it was anything that Ryan – or anyone else – needed to worry about. Jean pressed his lips together, nibbling on the inside of his lips as he listened to Ryan describe the state Lucy was in. By the sounds of it, it was far from good and whoever had caused her this much pain did not deserve to be in the position they were in. How could anyone hurt her? Just thinking about it made his chest hurt – in a different way than it already did. “We need to get her out of there.” It had already been established, but Jean now understood completely the urgency of the matter. Listening to Ryan practically giving him orders, he nodded along. “How much worse could it get?” He asked, rhetorically before adding, “she’ll understand. It’s Lucy.” Maybe she wouldn’t like it, but she would at least understand the reasoning behind it. “It’s your sister. And she needs help.” He moved back onto his heels. “I am already kind of a distraction.” 

Ryan found himself feeling guilty for making the male laugh as he saw his features fill with pain. He nodded at his friend not wanting to push him, he knew Ryan would be there if he wanted to talk. The wizard nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that was the plan but unfortunately that was as far as my plan went the rest is going to be winging it.” A frown made its way to his face, he knew he should have thought about it and planned it out to ensure nothing would go wrong but he didn’t want to wait any longer and risk them hurting her more than they already had. Giving a shrug, he nodded finally agreeing with Jean’s offer to help.  “Okay, let’s go. Are you alright to walk or do you need help?” He asked stepping closer to the male.

“Don’t tell her that.” Jean said, not agreeing with either of them. Though, he was well aware that he may have been telling other people to rest. It was just dreadful for him, though. The blond looked to the ground for a moment as he began to speak. “Well, I would not exactly call it a fight – but some man went crazy and tried to kill me.” The words sounded almost nonchalant. Almost. “But it isn’t important.” He said, more concerned about the situation at hand. His brows furrowed as Ryan mentioned that Lucy wasn’t well enough to explain what had happened. That didn’t sound good at all. A frown found its way to his lips as he continued. “Broken?” The blond didn’t like the images that filled his head as Ryan had said that word. Did he mean physically or mentally – or both? Jean nodded as his friend expressed his anger. At the moment, he was more confused, concerned and worried than angry but he hadn’t seen anything to be angry about – other than the stupid fact they had detained her. “We have to. I want to.” He protested. “I can help.  She needs us – you – us now.” While Jean desperately wanted to ensure that Lucy was okay – to see her, to help her – he knew that she would need her brother more than anyone else right now. It was important that Ryan help her. And he might have listened to him with that in mind, but he couldn’t let Ryan do this on his own – who knew what would happen? Especially if they had done unspeakable things to his sister. Surely there was something he could do. “I can help.” He insisted again, determined to do something. There was no way he would be able to rest now, anyway. “I’ll just follow you anyway. C’mon – I’ll be a distraction or something! We’re a team.” 

“Elodie doesn’t need me to tell her that, she already knows she is right.” A small smile tugged at his lips as he thought of the fiery witch. Ryan’s brow began to furrow as he listened to his friend explain his injuries. He knew times were dark and that there were dangerous people around but it worried him to know that they were this close and that they’d managed to get to his friend. “You seem quite calm for someone that went through that, I mean, it sounds traumatic Jean - are you sure you’re okay? You know it’s okay not to be okay, right?” He explained, worried about the blond. The Frenchman was so pure and innocent that sometimes he found himself concerned that the wizard didn’t necessarily process things as well as others. “Yeah, she didn’t even believe I was there when I saw her. It was ... scary.” And it was. The male was unsure whether they’d permanently damaged Lucy or whether she just needed time to heal. He really needed to find out what they’d done to his sister.  Ryan looked at him chewing his lip, unsure what to do. On one hand, he could probably do with the help but on the other, he didn’t want his friend getting even more hurt. “I’m not sure Jean... You’d have to take it easy okay? Seriously. You’ll just have to keep watch or act as a distraction, okay? Because Elodie would kill me if something else happened to you.” And he was more afraid of the blonde witch than he would ever admit.

“Elodie says I should rest, but I think I could still run a marathon pretty well.” He nodded in response, walking further into the room, though it wasn’t really fine. Yet, seeing his friend in such a hectic state, he didn’t want to turn the situation to him. Ryan had said he needed help. The blond waited for Ryan to regather his thoughts. The moment he heard Lucy’s name, mixed with the state Ryan was currently in – both his physical expressions and verbal communications – Jean stopped in place and his eyes widened. “The Ministry? What? Why would they take her? What did they do? Where is she? How bad? What do you need? What are we doing?” The words flew into the air one by one, replaced by a new question before there was even time to answer the last. He couldn’t explain the feeling in his chest – he wasn’t sure whether not knowing was better or not at that moment. “Are we going now?” He asked, finally pausing to take a breath. “I want to help.” Not that he was much use in his current state. It perhaps wasn’t the most calm reaction, but considering it was Jean, it was almost believable that Lucy was someone he cared about because she was an extension of his friendship with Ryan – as well as a friend in her own right. There was more to it than that, though. And if Ryan was reacting like this, something must have been very wrong.

“Elodie is right,” Ryan stated simply. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?” He asked looking at the male concerned. It felt bizarre to the male that suddenly everything went from being so quiet and calm to in a matter of days his little sister being arrested and tortured only then to find out his best friend has also been badly injured. “I honestly have no idea, they wouldn’t give me any information and Luce... well, she wasn’t really well enough to explain what had happened. “ The wizard fell silent as he felt the anger and nausea hit him again as he pictured the state of his sister. “Really bad, I can’t explain it, she was just so... broken?” He wasn’t sure if that was the right word but it was all he could think of to explain. “I don’t know what they did to her but fuck when I get my hands on them they’re dead.” The Hufflepuff was seething and although he wasn’t normally a violet or careless person he knew given the chance he would take revenge for Lucy. “We’re doing nothing, not now. You’re not well enough Jean, but don’t worry I’m going to get her out. You just need to rest up because she’s going to need us when she gets home.” 

The faint sound of his name being called in the distance filled the blond’s mind, pounding in his head. How long had he been out of it this time? He moved quickly from his bed – or at least he attempted to before a sharp pain shot through his torso at the jerked motion. He groaned. Oh yeah. That was a thing now. He wasn’t sure of the time, but he was fairly sure he’d been sleeping a while, since the last thing he remembered was Elodie at the side of his bed bringing him a cup of tea. He reached out – with his good arm – to touch the mug. Freezing. His name rung in his ears again. Ryan? He pushed the door from his bedroom open – with a bit of difficulty – to come face to face with his friend in the living room. Jean’s right arm was in a makeshift sling, his lip was split and his face was covered in bruises though none more noticeable that those caused by the evident broken nose – and that was just what Ryan was able to see. “People usually knock.” He said in a joking tone, before the look on his friend’s face caused his own face to drop into a worried frown. “What is wrong? What do you need? What is happening?” He hadn’t quite understood Ryan’s tone of voice previously, having not properly heard the male. But this was certainly bad.

Ryan’s mind went blank presumably from the shock of the state of his friend. “What the fuck happened to you?” He asked baffled by the male’s injuries. “Merlin, Jean. Are you okay?” It was a stupid question really but he felt he should ask it nevertheless. After pausing slightly to gather his thoughts, his mind went back to the problem at hand. “It’s Lucy. She’s been taken in by the Ministry for Merlin only knows what... You should see her Jean... they’ve...” He lost his voice not knowing how to describe her state. “It’s... It’s bad.”

Ryan didn’t bother knocking the door as he stormed into his mate's apartment. His desperation outweighing his manners. “Jean?” He called out not knowing whereabout he would be-- if he was even home that was. “Jean?! I need your help.” 

Ryan didn’t know what to expect when he arrived home to see the front door ajar. He tried to convince himself Lucy had just left it open by mistake but he knew better, something was wrong, Lucy could be forgetful but she’d never left the house leaving a window or door open. He’d searched the house, checked with her friends but no one had seen her. His first thoughts were that somehow the death eaters had gotten to her which left the male frantic, thinking the worst. After about an hour of searching for her, one of their neighbours approached him, very quiet and timid, almost as if they were scared. And so the Ministry had her, it should have been a relief to him but instead, he was left with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Rushing to the police station following the directions from his neighbour Ryan ran across town and got there as quick as he could. Initially, they wouldn’t tell him what was going on or wouldn’t allow him to see her, something about it being important Ministry business. Well, screw that. Leaving the building he waited for the Ministry meatheads to leave before entering the station again and approaching the muggles. 

       “Hey, sorry to bother you but I was told by the other guys I could come to my sister Lucy Owens.” He gave them a polite smile trying to seem as natural as possible despite the anger bubbling inside him. Giving him a small nod the tall officer led him to one of the cells. 

His mouth dropped open in shock when he first saw her. A wave of nausea hit him as his eyes roamed her body taking in every cut and bruise. “I-I’m going-- fuck-- I’m going to kill them.” He spat through gritted teeth. He felt the tears threatening to spill as he closed the gap between them going up to the bars. “What have they done to you?” A sob erupted from his throat as he held his head in his hands. “I’m so sorry luce...”