so you wanna play with magic?

full name: leonora montenegro

pronouns/gender identity: she/her, cisfemale

birth date: november 1st, 1959

star sign: scorpio sun, scorpio rising

blood status: pureblood

hogwarts house: slytherin

WHERE: Wimbourne House

WHO: open (0/2)

All things considered, the situation in Wimbourne House could have been worse. It was damaged, but not destroyed, and the foundation was mostly intact; a lot of places all over the UK had had it significantly worse with the unstable weather.

And yet, it was still a pain to get things properly fixed. Leo Montenegro was nothing if not a perfeccionist, especially so when it came to proving her worth to the Witches' League. To say that she was overworked and even more ill-humoured than usual would be an euphemism, but that hardly mattered to her. Others were just going to have to deal with it.

"What– That's not the right color." She pinched the bridge of her nose, only barely keeping herself from another explosion. A sigh as she took out her own wand to correct the mistake. "Can't leave any of you out of my sight for a second, can I?"

“If you’re ignoring me, that means you’re ignoring God himself,” Eve replied self-righteously. She so easily equated herself to God that it was no wonder she wasn’t floating up into the sky, or being christened with Sainthood. Instead, she was continuing to push her belief on others, all under the guise of helping the community by attempting to sign people up for missions work. “I’m just trying to save your soul.”

Eve was under the impression that while all souls should try to be saved, she’d be happy being the only person allowed through the pearly gates.

.

Leo smiled – no, grinned – and finally took the time to look at the flyer. "Anti-Magic Coalition. How very thoughtful of you." A touch to the paper, a little bit of concentration, and it was suddenly on fire. A simple trick, but she found that wandless, nonverbal magic, even when limited, tended to scare muggles a lot more. Leonora's gaze turned coy as she eyed the girl once more, as if she hadn't just set literal fire to her propaganda. "But you see, I'm afraid your brave efforts might be lost on me."

WHERE: A street of London, UK

WHO: Leonora & @evesgospel

It should have, by all means, been an ordinary day. Leonora had left the Ministry at the usual time, and was now making her routinely walk toward Knockturn Alley. If anything seemed to be out of the ordinary, it was the quiet streets – the usual hustle and bustle of London now reduced to hushed whispers as wixen and muggles alike hid inside their homes, still shaken by the recent weather events.

But because there were no longer any ordinary days left, she was only halfway through her walk when a flyer was aggressively pushed in front of her. Leo had been aware of a sharp, almost silvery voice in the background, but she had chosen to tune it out until the flyer forced her to acknowledge the muggle's presence. She raised her eyes, fighting the annoyed expression that wanted to settle in her face. "Honey, when someone ignores you, that usually means they don't care for your flyer."

WHERE: Church of the Holy Sorcerer, Cardiff, UK

WHO: Leonora & @theprophetgoyle

Leonora waited exactly one day after the Cardiff storms calmed down before stepping foot in the city, only one goal in mind. Ever since the first whispers about the so-called "Prophet", she had wanted to see it by herself, but it wasn't until the recent climate events that Che-Wei had bothered the Death Eater higher-ups enough to warrant him a visit.

She had been ushered into what looked like a small office by a young girl in ragged robes, and smiled patiently to her as she explained that it might be a minute until the Great Prophet was done with his holy duties. After the girl left, Leo's smile turned into a smirk as she examined her surroundings. Admitedly, she was impressed. It took a certain mindset to see the opportunity that Che-Wei had envisioned, and even more so to actually execute such an idea.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door behind her creaking open, and she turned around, her smirk even larger than before. "Oh, Great Prophet," Leo greeted Che-Wei with a saccharine voice, "I am in dire need of your wise guidance."

What was he up to? The question was more loaded than perhaps even Leo realized, which was why he was even more careful now in answering. In this case, he realized one of his secrets had better stay locked away. The other he could part with. But only because this was Leo. No matter what else they were, he knew she wouldn’t stab him in the back when his mother was involved.

“My mum escaped from Azkaban. I still don’t quite know how she managed to make it back to London. But I found her a few months ago. Her mind is all fucked up, and she can barely function on her own. I just—I can’t have anyone knowing about her, Leo. You know why.” Because it’d be one more person underneath Voldemort’s thumb. One less way that they could control him.

.

Adelaide Avery. Leonora was more familiar with the name than she was with the actual person. All that she really knew was that Asher's mother had been in Azkaban for a while, and that it was a sore subject for him. It never felt right to ask anything further than that.

Leo had long ago reconciled with the fact that she wasn't a good friend. She wasn't the one to offer a warm hug, nor give Asher sweet words of hope. It didn't mean she didn't care, though, and she wasn't about to turn her back on him when he clearly needed the help. "Okay." She nodded. An I’m sorry almost slipped out, but it felt entirely pointless, so she held back. "I'm in. Just know I might use you as an alibi too."

“There’s no easy way around this, so I’ll just—I need you to date me.” He let the words sit out in the open air before quickly qualifying them to the best of his ability. “Not actually date me, just, pretend. I need an alibi. An easy excuse for when people have been asking me what I’m doing or where I’ve been.”

.

Whatever Leo had been expecting of this conversation, it surely wasn't that. And yet, she had to at least mentally admit that it was a really good idea. "How come I never thought of that?" She mused out loud, a tinge of frustration to her tone, but it was gone just as quick. There was no use to dwelling in self pity; this could be helpful, it really could.

Still there was a part of her, the smallest bit, that had to ask. She had to at least try to be a decent friend. "At the risk of being counterintuitive, since you're trying to use me as an alibi... what are you up to, Asher?" Leo asked, trying to see through him as they had mutually done so many times before. Maybe he'd just give her the obvious answer, that their activities were on the rise. Maybe it would even be true. But in any case, she had to ask.

Emmeline was minding her own business walking the corridor when she felt someone shove her into the Astronomy classroom. She grabbed her wand, ready to attack whoever it was, when it turned out to be Leo. Still she kept her wand in her hand until she explained why she had shoved Emmeline. She put her wand in her pocket before turning back to speak to Leo, “It’s fine. Just a little warning next time. I was just about to hex you.” She heard what Leo said next, “She is?” Emmeline thought Hogwarts would be the last place her mother would step foot into but clearly not. “I wonder what she’s doing here then. Do you know?”

.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I was in a hurry." Leo looked down to the floor, admitedly a little ashamed of herself. She'd usually be able to keep her cool in such a situation, but the sheer ammount of panic she felt over the possibility of Ms. Vance finding Emmeline had taken the best of her.

Not because of Emmeline herself, of course. But the idea of the Vances finding out that Leo had known for over a month where their daughter was and never said anything... she couldn't take such a risk. If they were to ever find out, it had to be through her.

She shrugged sincerely at the question. "I honestly don't know. She was right outside the Headmaster's office." The smart move, in retrospect, would have been to chat her up and find out what could her business there possibly be, but alas, Leo really wasn't on the top of her game these days. "Do you think she knows?"

“I actually, well, I have a bit of a favor to ask of you.” Cutting straight to the chase wasn’t Asher’s usual way, but with Leo it didn’t make any sense to try and prolong the inevitable of what he wanted to accomplish. She was too smart and keen to see through any charade he might be placing up. Which meant whatever this was had to be stated as clearly and succinctly as he could manage it. “I know, I know that things are dangerous, that there’s a bigger power that we answer to. But I need you.”

.

A wave of relief washed over her, so strong it almost felt wrong. Perhaps a better friend would have shown concern for Asher, would have wanted to know more and how to help; but Leo was more than happy to skip the pleasantries and jump straight to the point.

It wasn't that she didn't care either, but simply that they could only beat around the bush for so long before her own mask started to crack too. A breakdown wouldn't help either of them, right? "Well, you sure have me intrigued now. What is it?"

Asher cut through the gardens with a purpose, a thumping in his heart. How strange, to know someone, and still not be aware of how they might respond to the things in which Asher intended to share tonight. He wished he could’ve been given the gift of omniscience. That somehow he would have the power to understand the future before it even occurred. Maybe then his movements wouldn’t be so stilted. Maybe then he could look up at Leo now, and not slightly grimace at the paths that the night might take.

“The Malfoy’s really like to outdo themselves with places like this.” A legacy the Avery’s would never leave. Asher wasn’t really upset about that. 

.

Leo turned around when she heard the familiar voice, almost feeling relieved for a second. For as anxious as she was about the interaction that was about to take place, it truly had been too long. "As they do with everything, really." With a small smile, she patted the spot on the bench beside her. "I was surprised when you reached out. But I'm glad you did." That was only half a lie, anyway.

WHERE: Astronomy Classroom, Hogwarts

WHO: @vanceofmyheart​

It only occurred to Leo that shoving Emmeline into an empty classroom without further explanation might have been a bit rude of her after they were already inside. “Sorry about that.” She shook her head, a hint of a chuckle in her lips before her expression became more serious. “I just, um. Your mother’s here, at Hogwarts. That’s why I brought you in here.”