Aurelia Tullos

I’d rather not sleep with anyone. Kill… the first person to hurt Anna. Marry? That’s really funny.

He smiled as the other spoke rather sweetly to his child but what she told him seemed a lot like the many hate mails he had recieved from his so called fans on his decision to quit his team. “It does.” he said curtly, although he tried keep the bite in his tone to a minimum. If he wanted to get the job done for Dumbledore, he couldn’t afford to get on her bad side on the very first meeting. “Not many people with unlimited time in their hands will understand how time is in fact a luxury.” He held his daughter’s hand so that she didn’t run away again. “I am sure Hogwarts will keep me busy next term onwards.”

“You’ll be teaching then? I think that’s a great move for you,” she said with a nod of approval. Rae was still trying to contain her excitement over the fact that he was the Dante Esposito. Sure, he received plenty of flack over his decision to leave, but she thought it was a smart move. Puddlemere needed to realize that they couldn’t place all the responsibility onto one player to win versus the whole team. Rae looked back down to the little girl and smiled. “You must love having your dad home with you. It’s good to have a father who cares,” Rae mentioned thoughtfully.

“Why would you drinking make me happy?” Stefan asked, his brows raised. “Happy is a rather strong emotion to feel for your company, Rae. Maybe before, I did sometimes feel happy with you but, you sort of broke my trust, didn’t you?” He took another shot, asking the bartender to bring them even more alcohol. “Have you ever thought about it? How many friends you lost over a decision you shouldn’t have made? Or do you think it’s worth it?” 

She remained silent, trying to focus on why this was important. She wasn’t that naive girl anymore who didn’t know any better. She wasn’t weak no matter how much she kept hearing it from others. Rae already knew what her regrets were and Stefan’s words didn’t have the same bite as what they used to. But she was sober. With every shot, her resolve would eventually diminish. As soon as the alcohol was placed in front of them, she took another shot. A drink for the friends that were lost, she thought to herself. “You and I both know that it wasn’t worth it,” Rae answered, staring into the shot glass. “Have you never had a moment of weakness? Made a decision that you thought was for the better but it only made things worse?”

“Matching tattoos? I like you, Rae, but not that much.” she said teasingly and laughed a little, but it was mostly that Claire didn’t get tattoos. The scars on her body which she hid with enchantments told enough stories about her life, she didn’t need tattoos for anything. “But if you want to get one, I’ll help you pick.” she added enthusiastically. “What are you thinking?” 

She threw Claire a small smile as she looked over the designs. Maybe this was her way of reclaiming her body back for herself. Even with some of the salve that she had been using on her scars from her father, they still had a faint presence on her torso. “Perhaps a dragon. Very cliche, but not as cliche as a phoenix. I feel like it’s the most appropriate for me. Maybe right around here?” Rae said, lifting her shirt slightly revealing the mark that was ever present on her torso and up her side.

“Really?” His brows rose as he considered her offer, amusement evident in his eyes. “Are you sure you want to owe me in return for that guy?” Tilden mattered little to him and he usually kept out of his way, so it wouldn’t be much to do from Stefan’s side, a small price to pay to fuck with just a little bit more. It was another of his favourite little games after all. “Alright, as long as he doesn’t bother me, I’ll leave him alone.” He didn’t entirely plan on going out of his way to keep the promise, but this should be good enough for her. “But you owe me now, and I guess I am going to ask something very simple of you. Nothing you need to worry too much over – drink with me, Rae.” he said and handed her a shot of firewhiskey, a brow raised as he waited for her to take it. “You promised.” 

Rae stared at the shot glass and thought back to the last time she had let herself drink. Even in the safety of her own room, she fell apart so easily in front of Anna. At the very least, Anna comforted her through it and brought her back. For her to relive everything in front of Stefan... she wasn’t looking forward to it. But she had to do it. Tilden and her hadn’t been friends for a long time, but she didn’t want him to have to suffer more than what he already had. She took a seat beside him and took the shot, feeling the alcohol burn down her throat. It was only the beginning, but she was already dreading the night ahead. “Fine, are you happy now?”

Adelia put it down, a smile creeping onto her face. Today felt-it felt normal, like the day any girl her age would have with a friend. It was nice to pretend, sometimes. Her face contorted into a grimace at Rae’s question. “No,” she said softly, “The extended family on either side don’t talk to each other, so they always buy it when I tell them I’m spending the holidays with the other half.” She shrugged, trying to play off the lingering sadness about what’s become of her parents. “What about you? You abondoning me to the horrors of the empty Hufflepuff common room?”

“Me abandon you for my hell of a home? Never,” she said shaking her head. There was always a chance that he’d recover, that he’d remember or that her mother would retaliate. It was better for her to stay as far away as possible. “I might spend the rest of my break out on the Quidditch Pitch. The smell of cookies and sugar is starting to give me migraines.”

Rae was certainly one of Claire’s favourite person and it had a lot to do with the fact that she was one of the few people she’d known longest in this school. But also, she mostly listened to what Claire said when most liked to brush her and her opinions off as nothing. She didn’t stop chatting as they walked through the Winter Wonderland together, her eyes falling on the tattoo artist who was busy doing at tattoo for someone at their booth. “Of course that’s permanent – do you want to get one?” she asked her grinning widely. 

Rae’s eyes landed on the tattoo artist’s booth. It was certainly strange to be set up at a fair, especially a holiday themed one. It made her think back to another tattoo she was supposed to obtain, but couldn’t due to her not able to go through with the kill. Maybe that was for the better. No mark meant that she didn’t have something else tying her down. It would be difficult to achieve, but eventually she would find her way out. Maybe there was hope for a more normal life where she could enjoy herself like how she could be with Claire. “I think a tattoo would actually be fun. Do you want to get matching tattoos? Or something a little more badass?”

@lilyjulietevans

Anna had stayed behind at school for two reasons–wanting a warmer Christmas environment and Aurelia Tullos. The pair were finally getting close again, and given how lonely Rae seemed most of the time, Anna wanted to give her a holly jolly Christmas. It’s why she’d snuck into Rae’s room while the other girl was out, decorating her friend’s side with tinsel and a stocking she’d bought with her first initial on it. Small Santa hat sit on her head as she heard the door open behind her and found her friend standing in the doorway, sheepish smile falling over her face.

“Merry Christmas, Rae.” She pointed to the other Santa hat, sitting on the foot of her friend’s bed. “I’m not quite done yet, but still… Do you like it?”

@raeofdarkshine​

It had been a long four years without her friend. Even in the small moments that they shared between them, it hadn’t been the same until now. Rae finally felt free to be with her friend again. Sharing what happened to her was cathartic. It wasn’t like how it was when she had told Stefan or Amycus. There was a sense of relief, knowing that her friend understood where she was coming from and that she wasn’t going to go away. Things would never go back to the way they were, but at the very least, Rae had her friend back in her life. 

She walked into the room with her bags from the holiday markets and smiled as she donned her hat. “It looks great in here. Happy Christmas, Anna,” she said as she took a seat. “Can I help?”

He hadn’t expected to see her till he started his job at Hogwarts. Aurelia Tullos. Death Eater. And Dumbledore seemed convinced that the girl could be swayed to join the Order and turn spy to them. To convince her to do that was the price he had to pay to aquire a job at Hogwarts. He didn’t understand Dumbledoe’s weird ways. Why did he need him if he could pursue her himself. But he supposed it made sense in a way – it would be far less suspicious to see a quidditch coach and teacher interact with her than the Headmaster himself. He didn’t know if he should speak to her now or not, but before he could decide, his seven year old daughter made the decision for him, running towards the brunette and smiling brightly. “I love your sweater.” the little girl told Rae, and Dante hurried to catch up with her. “Caro, I’ve told you, no running!” @raeofdarkshine​ 

Aurelia was wandering around Hogsmeade with a rare moment of relaxation for herself. There was no one spying on her, no one to question her every move. Even Aidan had gone to visit his uncles for the break. She could barely remember a holiday season where things had been good. At the very least, Anna had opted to stay with her and there were a few of her other teammates who stayed behind as well. She was in the middle of looking at some of the booths, trying to figure out what presents she could possibly get when a little girl ran up to her. It caught her off guard for a moment, but she found herself smiling and crouching down to the girl’s level. “Thank you. I like your scarf,” she said before looking up to the man who had followed the girl. In an instant, she recognized him. “You’re Dante Esposito. And you’re here... I guess quitting Puddlemere United provides you with a lot more free time on your hands.”

“Right, I didn’t let you. I forgot that.” he scoffed and took another sip from his bottle. “It’s not even about forgetting, more that.. Toots doesn’t matter enough for me to remember.” He looked at the other curiously, a smirk on his lips. “Affecting everything how exactly?” he asked her before rolling his eyes. “Lay off him? Now why would I do that? He’s my favourite little play thing. And it’s not like I owe you anything, Rae.”

She took a deep breath and tried to pull together her patience. She couldn’t get irritated with him right now. Besides, he had a valid point. He didn’t owe her anything. “If he doesn’t matter enough, then you must be bored with him by now. You have plenty of play things to mess with who would be more fun than him,” Rae explained. “What if I did something for you? Something that would make you lay off of him. Like I said, he’s in my house, he’s on my Quidditch team. I would rather not have to deal with him making that worse for me.”

“Sorry I can’t help it,” She murmured, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “You’re worth it to me. I don’t know what happened to you, Rae, but we do miss you. I just wish you could see yourself how we see you.”

Rae kept quiet, keeping her eyes on the ground. She wondered if she would ever be able to do as Winnie said. She hadn’t thought much of herself in so long that it seemed like too much to try to do just that. “I should go. Maybe I’ll see you around. When you’re sober, yea?”

closed to @raeofdarkshine​

She was browsing through one the booths in the village, snorting over the various knick knacks and oddities that were on sale. Adelia picked up the one she felt was the most hideous, turning to Rae and holding it up. “What do you think?” she asked, “Best of the lot, yeah?”

Rae made a face at the other girl and shook her head. “Put that away. It’s probably cursed,” she said waving her hand as though to tell Adelia to send it away. She continued looking amongst the bits and baubles trying to see if there was anything worth buying. “So are you going home anytime soon?”

“They don’t have to be the same, but it would be better if we had you back in any way.” She murmured softly, before frowning. “Okay. I’m sorry, I just,” A tear slipped down her cheek and she shook her head, a forced laugh escaping her lips. “I’m just drunk, don’t worry about it.” She murmured halfheartedly.

Rae removed her hands and sighed. It was a bad idea to come to the party in the first place. She should have stayed in her room. But her run ins with Winnie were inevitable. “Please don’t cry,” she whispered. “Especially not over me. It’s not worth it.”