Perfectly Imperfect

It was strange, being so close to her but still feeling distant. Once upon a time he would have never left the girl’s side. Remus noticed the slight shadow of a smirk move over the auburn haired young woman’s lips, and mirrored it with his own. “But who am I to complain if I didn’t get them gifts in return?” The male commented, laughing lightly as he peered over toward her. 

Robin almost found a smile tugging at her lips as she listened to Remus’ laugh. It had been so long since she’d last heard it. She had missed it. “Well, that’s where you’re going wrong then. You should get them a gift.” She told him quite enjoying the conversation, it was pointless but there was a tone to it that they’d not had in a long while.

It was hard for Remus not to notice the cuts and bruises that littered what parts of her body were exposed. His jaw tensed and his brows furrowed for a moment, his heart almost felt as though it had jumped up into his throat. “And yet I don’t receive any gifts from them, it’s a shame really.” The male was trying to hold the conversation together, without letting it take a somewhat awkward turn as they usually did. 

The redhead watched the male’s expression wondering what was going through his mind, there was a time when they were that close she could almost read his thoughts. His reply earned the smallest of smirks from her as tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’d put in a complaint.”  

“Nope.” Remus replied. “It was my attempt at a joke.” He laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Just the same old level of underappreciated.” The male laughed once again, shrugging his shoulders.

“Wasn’t very funny,” Robin replied with bringing her gaze up to look at the male. It had been a few weeks since she had last bumped into him, each time it happened she felt awkward not really knowing what to say. It was a shame really considering how close they once were. “I’m sure that’s not true. I bet your trio appreciates you. You are best buds after all.” 

Andrew offered Robin a small smile as she spoke. “I promise.” He reassured her as they both moved into the bar. Usually, he might have asked her to grab a table while he ordered the drinks. But tonight thay didnt seem like a realistic request. So, instead he walked up to the bar with her in tow, ordered a glass of whiskey for himself and turned to her. “What are you feeling?” He asked, eyes moving over the woman to take in her current state. She was quite obviously anxious – that was to be expected.

Robin forced a small smile in reply feeling slightly at ease knowing she’d be safe with the male by her side. As she followed her friend she tried to keep her eyes focused on him rather than the people scattered around the bar. “ I’ll have the same as you please.” The redhead replied thinking it may help calm her nerves.  

“Alright.. Who stole all my Valentine’s gifts?” 

Robin rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to offer herself some comfort still finding it uncomfortable to be out of the house. “Still Mr. Popular then?” 

@imperfect-robin

Andrew walked into the bar first, reaching out a hand for Robin to take. He knew she hadn’t left the house since the attack and honestly, he was worried for her. The blond had witnessed first hand how bad things could get for her, and he worried about her going to that place again. He offered her a smile, hand still extended. “We’ll just have some fun, okay?” He met her gaze. “And I’ll be here.” 

The redhead trailed behind him slowly, unsure about the whole situation. She was beginning to doubt her choice of coming out as she looked around the bar noticing that there were a few more people in there than she would have liked. It was probably too late to turn back now anyway, plus if she kept putting it off any longer she may never leave the house again. Robin wasn’t quite sure why she had been so anxious to leave the house, she couldn’t work out whether it had developed after the attack or if it was down to her being depressed again -- either way she found herself wanting to stay cooped up hidden away from the world. Robin’s grip tightened as they made their way through the crowd. “Just don’t leave my side, okay?” She told him chewing on her lip.

“It’s a lot harder than it looks.” He said, looking up at the other individual with a smile. “And he’s a lot heavier." 

Robin raised her brow, the smallest of smirks tugging at her lips. It had been the most she’d been able to manage since her false arrest. Her moods had been low again and she’d found herself hiding away from the world. It had been the first day in a while that she’d been out of the house. “Drew, that is possibly the smallest dog I have ever seen. I can’t see him being heavy at all.” 

As soon as he heard her calling out his name, he went running. He didn’t care if they could hear his footsteps echoing down the corridor, all he cared about was getting to his sister. “Robin? I’m coming, okay? I’m coming.” Xavier called out one more time before finally arriving outside her door. As soon as his eyes landed on her, his breath rushed out of him in one go and his eyes welling up. He’d failed. He’d failed her. He was suppose to protect her and keep her safe, everything he did or had ever done was all in aid of making sure she was okay. Yet here they were, him feeling helpless as he watched his baby sister covered in bruises. “I’m gonna get you out, okay? I’m not leaving here without you. You’re not staying here. They’re not gonna lay another finger on you, because I’ll kill them.” He spat out, trying to hard to reign his temper in and keep control of his emotions. Though he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. “I’ll say it was me. Whatever they’re trying to say, I’ll say it was me. You don’t deserve this.”

The redhead found herself crying even more as she heard her brother’s voice. “Xav, I-I didn’t do anything I swear.” She promised through her tears, scared that people would actually believe what they were accusing her of. Her body wracked with sobs as she rested her head against the bars wanting nothing more than to hug her big brother. Robin looked up panicked by her brother’s suggestion. “No! No, Xavier, don’t. Please, I can’t lose you too. I haven’t done anything wrong, they’ll see that. They have no proof.” 

Odessa groaned as she moved in her cell, sitting on the terribly uncomfortable bed with her back against the wall – one hand clutching her side. Hearing the voice shout out for the first time. “None of us did what they’re saying.” The raven-haired witch half-shouted back, though even that proved to be a mistake given the pain she felt. She wasn’t sure how many others there were, but where there were two, there were probably more. “It doesn’t look like it matters, though.” 

"Why are they doing this? We can't give them what they want, surely they see that." Robin was trying her best not to move to avoid aggravating her injuries. "Are there others here or are they targeting specific people? I'm sure when the others find out, they'll have to let us out."

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Andrew replied immediately, shaking his head at the mere suggestion that she did. “They’re in the wrong. This can’t be right or legal.” The blond wasn’t an expert on the law by any means, but he was sure they couldn’t imprison someone for this long without evidence, much less beat them the way they had. “He can’t think that he can do this and get off without so much as a slap on the wrist. He deserves a good punch in the face – and the rest.”

"Then why? Why would they do this? Why am I here?" She couldn't stop the questions from falling from her lips, barely pausing between each one. She tried to listen to his words, follow the conversation but her head was all over the place as she kept replaying the questioning. "It doesn't matter, none of it matters. There's no use fighting them, we'll never win. They’re the Ministry for Merlin’s sake."

Xavier had heard the rumours, heard the commotion through train, thankful for once for stopping in a small town. As soon as he had overheard Robin’s name, his heart had stopped and fear had over taken him. His own little sister, someone who in his eyes were completely innocent. He’d gone running through the town, not stopping for anyone who called his name, only having one destination in mind. As soon as he made it to the police station, he didn’t stop to make his claim, not when he heard Robin’s voice crying out. “Excuse me, you can’t go through there!” He didn’t stop, instead followed Ryan as he went through the doors. “Robin? Robin, can you hear me?”

Robin wasn’t sure whether she’d actually heard the male’s voice or if it was just her imagination. “Xav?” She called out shifting to try and peer through the bars but stopping as she was hit with a wave of pain. Hissing, she settled back down not being able to move properly because of her ribs and leg.

“I know.” Andrew didn’t need the redhead to inform him of this. The moment he had heard about it, he knew that it couldn’t have been true. He stepped forward and gripped the bars of the cell tightly. “And that fucker is going to know it too when I’m through with him.” The blond felt almost as protective over Robin as he did his own sister – he was sure her brother was a step ahead of him already in seeking vengeance. The only reason he hadn’t sought down the culprit yet was a need to make sure Robin was okay – something like this could certainly have a deep impact on her after all she’d been through. 

“I don’t understand... I-I don’t know what I did wrong.” Her voice cracked full of emotion and pain as she moved to attempt to release some of the pressure on her ribs. “He was asking about death eaters and ... and my mom.” Her brows furrowed in confusion as she replayed the scene in her head trying to work out what had happened. Wincing, she shook her head. “No, Drew, you can’t. He’s crazy. It’ll just make things worse.” Though she was thankful for his concern and anger knowing it was just because he cared. He’d been there when she most needed someone and here he was again by her side.

There was something about immeasurable time that managed to torture the mind, body and soul-stretching you thin somehow. Each new minute feels like an hour and each hour feels like a day. Robin knew realistically she hadn’t been in the cell for that long but Merlin it had felt like it. The room stood still and silent making the redhead feel lonelier than she’d ever felt before. She turned slightly, her eyes rolling over the cold stone wall. They were old stones from the quarry, along with the floor. Everything there was hard and cold. She only hoped that this mess would be sorted out quickly before she drove herself insane.

“What a warm welcome.” Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest. “The lack of magic got your grouchy?” She asked, looking down at the witch.

A soft sigh fell from the redhead’s lips. “Sorry.” She muttered looking up at the raven-haired female. “No, it’s not even the magic it’s the guy that put the stupid barrier up, he’s been sniffing around and asking questions. It’s fucking annoying, like what’s his issue?”