L. Evans | R. Lestrange

Lily turned the information about Narcissa Black over in her mind. How on earth could this happen somewhere like Elkridge? She knew it wasn’t like Hogwarts, with the ever-present spectre of Albus Dumbledore acting like a shield upon all its inhabitants, but surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t want to harm one of their own…

Lily let out an ungodly noise and rested her head on the table in response to Molly’s question about James. What was going on with them? All Lily knew was that she couldn’t get his stupid hair out of her head, or his stupid smile, or the stupid way he laughed. Ugh.

“Honestly, Molls?” Lily asked, sitting up. “I’ve got no idea. He had a thing for me at school, we became friends, he’s definitely gotten over it and is capable of being a mature human being. This idiot, however?” Lily gestured to herself with her thumb. “This idiot caught feelings.”

Glancing up, Rabastan sneers, a foul look.

Glancing up, Rabastan sneers, a foul look.

“Suit yourself,” Rabastan said with a shrug, taking another sip from his hipflask and eyeing Lockhart over the top of it. Something about the way the young man in front of him was behaving felt... off. Rabastan felt that familiar buzz of excitement in the low part of his stomach. He was like a dog with a scent when it came to secrets, and while he didn’t expect Gilderoy Lockhart to be a particularly profitable subject, he needed something to take his mind off things.

Lily nodded in agreement. “That’s a good point,” she said. “I’ve been thinking all morning about where you’d be able to hide someone on campus. It’s got to be somewhere that no one’s going to just stumble into, you know? It’s not going to be a dorm, unless it’s a single room, but…” she screwed up her nose as she pondered. “Surely someone would have to overhear, right? So unless it’s somewhere like the Draco Dormiens common room, it needs to be somewhere off the beaten track.”

Lily reached up and pulled her hair into a messy bun, securing it with her wand.

“I know this is mad,” she grimaced, looking almost embarassed, “but all I can think about is carrot cake. Do you fancy swinging by the Seven Sisters with me for coffee and cake? We could brainstorm ideas.”

Elladora sighed, this was a hard situation for anyone involved and even trying to think up ideas on how to solve it would take a while. Fair enough, there was a group of them to brainstorm ideas, but everyone would have a different approach and even if they did vote on what would happen - people would still not agree and it would be chaos. “I agree, it’s hard to take someone off the grounds without someone having seen something.” 

Rabastan pulls his hip flask from his pocket and takes a healthy swig. The firewhisky burns his lips and his mouth and he relishes it. He’s standing outside the hospital wing, looking like death warmed up, having just come from his… interview with the authorities. He’s in a foul mood and ready to take it out on just about anyone.

Glancing up, Rabastan sneers, a foul look.

“What,” he asks, “do you want?”

Alice had been avoiding the oncoming cold as if it ignoring it for long enough would make it go away. Unfortunately, that’s not how colds work. After some insistence from friends she was on her way to the hospital wing to get treated. Her robe was held tightly around her shivering form. She caught sight of Rabastan in her peripheral vision, but had no intention of speaking with him. It wasn’t until he spoke that she fully acknowledged his presence.

Lily raised an arched eyebrow and looked at Mariah for a moment. She bit down on her bottom lip a little, musing on how to phrase her response. Mariah wasn’t a member of Draco Dormiens, and so Lily wanted to be careful not to let slip anything that might jeopardise the secret group.

“Not wrong if that’s how you see the world, I suppose,” Lily said slowly. She was thinking hard about the situation, trying to piece together the parts of the evening and the information gathered. “Did you go to the party?”

Mariah shrugged. She came by towards the end, she got caught up in the laboratory that night and didn’t realize the time until the campus clock tower struck the late hour. She promised her friends the she would make an appearance. But by the time she arrived, most of the party patrons were falling over drunk or paired off with their night dalliances. “I did, at the end,” Mariah confessed. “I didn’t see you there, Evans. I mean I arrived as the party was winding down.” At Hogwarts, Mariah was always a wee bit jealous of Lily’s affinity for potions. Mariah had a knack too, but she was not as esteemed at Lily. And the competition followed them here at Elkridge.

She held out the bag to Mariah. “Want one?” she asked.

An owl swooped past them on its way to the Owlery, and Lily chewed on her sweet as she watched it glide silently through the air. The refreshing fruity flavour fizzled on her tongue and she blinked, realising she’d been lost in her thoughts. If she was honest, as much as Narcissa Black’s strange disappearance had been playing at her mind, so too had her encounter with James at the party...

Pulling herself back to the present, Lily turned to Mariah.

Rabastan pulls his hip flask from his pocket and takes a healthy swig. The firewhisky burns his lips and his mouth and he relishes it. He’s standing outside the hospital wing, looking like death warmed up, having just come from his… interview with the authorities. He’s in a foul mood and ready to take it out on just about anyone.

Glancing up, Rabastan sneers, a foul look.

“What,” he asks, “do you want?”

Rodlphus rolls his eyes, already not looking forward to any interaction with his brother. They’ve barely spoken during Cissa’s ‘disappearance’ – maybe they should have, he thinks, but they talk about so little these days – and though he knows it’s only to be expected Bastan would show up at the hospital, Rodolphus wishes he didn’t have to face him. 

“Just want to see Cissa after her… whatever that stunt was,“ he glares at his brother, holding up his hand to ask for the flask of whiskey. “Maybe see how you’re doing.“

“Whatever that stunt was is correct,” mutters Bastan, holding out a hand for the hipflask again. He purses his lips at the comment about how he is.

Lily smiled, grateful for Elladroa’s agreement that they were supposed to be doing the right thing. She was all over the place at the moment, barely able to concentrate because of the kidnapping, and she valued hearing the input of an older student. Elladora had been a year above Lily at Hogwarts; a fellow Gryffindor with a brave heart and a quick mind.

“Have you any ideas about where to start?” Lily asked, shaking her hair back from her face and looking at the older witch with a puzzled look. “Something about this doesn’t seem right, but I can’t put my finger on it. Obviously there’s nothing right about a kidnapping, but it feels… I don’t know, it feels off. Do you know what I mean?”

Elladora smiled, she liked Lily and always thought she had great ideas when it came to things like this. She knew they would be able to all come up with good ideas as a group, even if it took some time and she was thankful for Lily’s patience with some members who didn’t want to do the right thing.

Lily reached up and pulled her hair into a messy bun, securing it with her wand.

Lily found her eyes drawn to James’ lips as he spoke; the way his mouth shaped the words he was saying. Doing so made some elated, delightful creature flip over in her chest, an almost giddy feeling coursing through her veins, as Lily wondered what it would be like to run her fingers over the curve of James’ smile, to press her lips against–

Pull yourself together, Evans.

Lily blinked a couple of times, catching the end of James’ sentence about the boys.

“That sounds super fun!” Out the corner of her eye, she saw a group of girls taking shots and grinned. “It looks like pretty much everyone on campus is here tonight. Did you invite anyone exciting?” 

She pushed to the back of her mind the rest of her question about whether James had invited anyone special. They were friends, right?

James rambled when he was nervous and Lily made him extremely nervous. she was gorgeous, and that smiled blinded him, but of course he couldn’t tell her that. He could tell her about the summer, about the classes, but not that he had the biggest crush in history and it seem to grow bigger the more he denied it. 

“It was, we did a lot of camping and touring around the country. Sirius now has a bike and he’s been trying to drive everywhere.” he admitted with a chuckled before shaking his head, “No one that I know of, do I have to invite celebrities to my parties for people to come?” he asked with a frown not getting Lily’s meaning, and if he did, he would stay say no, since the only one he would want to invite would probably say no.

“Celebrities? No, I don’t think there’s any celebrities at Elkridge, are there?” She laughed and took a sip of her drink. Whatever it was that he’d given her to drink was delicious--sweet, but with a sharp aftertaste. She glanced down at it. “What is this I’m drinking, by the way?”

Lily wondered for a minute if she should say something, should mention how she’d wanted to write to him over the summer, but had nothing to say. It wasn’t like she’d had a reason to write to him other than the fact that she wanted to trace her fingers over the handwriting that came from James Potter’s quill. It still astonished her that she could feel that way, considering their history.

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short,” Lily tuts, knocking Mary’s elbow affectionately with her own. “Your opinion matters just as much as the rest of us. More than the rest of us, actually, considering…” Mary is a powerful witch, Lily knows that. She’s sharp as a tack–she took nine NEWTs, for goodness sake–and she’s got the gumption to stay true to her integrity even after everything she went through at school. Mary Macdonald is a powerful witch, but she is also a good one, and Lily so admires that about her.

More than that, Mary understands what it’s like to live in the liminal, to straddle two worlds and to fit into neither.

“Tell me honestly, ember to ember,” Lily says using the codeword the two of them had decided upon at school to refer to their blood status. It had started out as MB–Muggleborn, or perhaps Mudblood if they were feeling like reclaiming it–and morphed into the word ember. Lily likes the nickname, the codeword; there’s something appropriate about the idea of the two of them being embers, ready for some burst of oxygen to ignite their flames.

“How did you feel about coming back to Elkridge this year?” she asks. “Leaving behind Orla and your folks, I mean.”

          ‘   maybe  ,   but   ye’ve   always   been   better   at   plannin’   than   i   am   .   ’   her   tone   is   loose   and   slightly   too   nonchalant   to   seem   genuine   ,   but   she   leans   forward   -   balancing   precariously   on   the   edge   of   her   seat   -   and   taps   lily’s   knee   .

          she’s   often   thought   ,   bitterly   ,   what   could   have   been   if   she   hadn’t   jumped   the   gun   .   if   she   was   even   the   slightest   bit   better   at   conflict   resolution   .   maybe   she   wouldn’t   have   spent   long   nights   in   her   bed   ,   sheets   at   her   feet   ,   the   shortest   unexpected   touch   of   the   fabric   sending   her   into   cold   sweats   .   maybe   she   wouldn’t   live   in   constant   fear   .   awake   ,   fearful   of   a   more   calculated   spell   ,   one   that   would   finish   what   mulciber   started   .   asleep   ,   fearful   of   the   nightmares   where   he   succeeded   the   first   time   .

         and   worse   -   selfishly  -   mary   wonders   how   it   would   have   been   if   it   was   another   muggleborn   .   the   thought   brings   a   sour   taste   to   her   mouth   .

“Mum and Dad are ok, yeah,” Lily says, suddenly realising that she’s been holding her breath in some kind of sympathy with Mary. “It feels weird, being back, if I’m honest.”

She screws up her face and hums, trying to think of the best way to explain what she means.

“I think I felt more part of... well, part of this world when we were at Hogwarts, you know? I don’t think it was necessarily easier, don’t get me wrong.” Lily shoots a meaningful look at Mary. “But it’s more that things are so much more proximate here...”

Bastan ignores the comment about Melius Sanguine. Narcissa is right, of course, that it’s all a wretched mistake, but there’s no point going over what they’ve discussed hundreds of times. He manages to bite his tongue when it comes to Bellatrix, too, because Bastan cannot understand the idea of using his sibling as a pawn. He only has Rodolphus, and Rodolphus only has him. Regardless of the distance between the pair of them, Rabastan would rip the heavens to the earth like a torn tapestry for the sake of his brother.

“I haven’t told you how beautiful you look tonight, have I?” he asks, slipping his hand down to take Narcissa’s and hold it against his chest as though they are about to waltz.

That isn’t the kind of dance Rabastan has in mind, however. In one swift motion he’s swapped their positions, turned them round so that Narcissa is against the wall and Rabastan’s thigh is pressing between hers. He wants tenderness, but he also knows that Narcissa won’t give it to him. Not tonight, and probably not again.

“So, do you think we have time to go back to your room?”

She breathes a sigh of relief when Bastan decides to drop the topic, and when he takes her hand in his to his chest she grins at him, promises sparkling behind her eyes. Narcissa gasps, pressed against the wall with nowhere she could or would want to go, and nods decisively at him. “A few hours til midnight, and Iris will be drunk at Rodolphus’ arm until at least then, no doubt.”

Narcissa tightens her fingers around his hand, pushing back against Rabastan just enough to let him know that not only do they have the time, she’d like to begin using it. It’s a familiar game between them by now, really; no show of tenderness or too much gentle affection, no indications of this signifying anything beyond an understanding that they’re both extravagantly attractive people. Attractive, young, and filled with lust.

“Alright then, Miss Black.” Rabastan takes a step back, and holds out a hand to Narcissa. The light catches the glimmer of jewels at her throat and ears and once again, he’s got a lump in his throat and he’s half inclined to sweep her up, to take her somewhere and hide her away so that she doesn’t have to play this game that her sister’s goaded her into.

The thought, however, leaves him when he sees the glimmer of lust in her eye.

Lily turned the information about Narcissa Black over in her mind. How on earth could this happen somewhere like Elkridge? She knew it wasn’t like Hogwarts, with the ever-present spectre of Albus Dumbledore acting like a shield upon all its inhabitants, but surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t want to harm one of their own…

“I know some of the others think that we shouldn’t get involved, but isn’t this what we’re supposed to be about? Doing the right thing, even when we don’t want to. What do you think?” she asked.

“I think you’re right,” she said gently. “I think it does make us as bad as them, and I think it’s wrong that we allow harm to happen to people just because we don’t like them.”

Narcissa’s hand is under his shirt, brushing against his skin and causing jealous goosebumps to appear in the places where her fingers have touched and left him wanting. Rabastan swallows.

“What’s your rush?” he asks, suddenly craving the tenderness of that touch again. He reaches out a hand and wraps it around Narcissa’s waist, pulling her flush to him so that they’re pressing against each other. He knows she can feel how desperate he is for her. “We don’t have enough time for me to do all those filthy things I wrote about in my letters, but we’re not exactly pressed to get it done right now. I’d prefer to take my time.”

Still, the mention of midnight and what is to come makes bile rise in Rabastan’s throat, irritation flicker like static electricity down his arms and into his fingertips.

“I still think you’re a fool for agreeing to this farce, by the way,” Rabastan hums, and brushes a wayward piece of hair away from Narcissa’s face. “What on earth do you have to gain?”

Narcissa closes her eyes in frustration for just a second when he mentions tonight’s agreement. She sighs, and despite their compromising position she doesn’t move, only resting her forehead against Bastan’s shoulder. “Perhaps you know what I felt when you both joined Meluis Sanguine, then,” she mutters, not hiding her distaste at that decision of the twins. 

“Bella asked, and you know how things have been between us. Plus, I suppose there’s only so many times you can say no to their requests without whispers of traitorism beginning to circulate,“ Narcissa manages to convince herself with her words, if only to a degree. Truth to be told, she’s not quite as sure about tonight’s events as she’d have liked to be. “They won’t ask me again after this. I won’t be making your mistake anytime soon.“

“I haven’t told you how beautiful you look tonight, have I?” he asks, slipping his hand down to take Narcissa’s and hold it against his chest as though they are about to waltz.

That isn’t the kind of dance Rabastan has in mind, however. In one swift motion he’s swapped their positions, turned them round so that Narcissa is against the wall and Rabastan’s thigh is pressing between hers. He wants tenderness, but he also knows that Narcissa won’t give it to him. Not tonight, and probably not again.

Lily turned the information about Narcissa Black over in her mind. How on earth could this happen somewhere like Elkridge? She knew it wasn’t like Hogwarts, with the ever-present spectre of Albus Dumbledore acting like a shield upon all its inhabitants, but surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t want to harm one of their own…

“I know some of the others think that we shouldn’t get involved, but isn’t this what we’re supposed to be about? Doing the right thing, even when we don’t want to. What do you think?” she asked. 

          the   air   is   stale   between   the   two   ,   the   duo   quiet   enough   it   was   possible   to   hear   their   thoughts   turn   and   click   if   you   tried   hard   enough   .   mary   ,   sat   on   the   arm   of   a   fluffed   couch   ,   smoothed   her   lips   down   to   a   thin   line   ,   eyebrows   furrowed   the   slightest   amount   .   now   ,   mary   and   the   pureblood   elite   were   not   on   friendly   terms   -   as   even   a   troll   would   be   able   to   see   that   -   but   narcissa   black   never   outwardly   did   any   harm   to   mary   .   well   -   besides   calling   her   a   mudblood   .  .  .   but   that   didn’t   warrant   a   kidnapping   ,   did   it   ?

More than that, Mary understands what it’s like to live in the liminal, to straddle two worlds and to fit into neither.

“Tell me honestly, ember to ember,” Lily says using the codeword the two of them had decided upon at school to refer to their blood status. It had started out as MB--Muggleborn, or perhaps Mudblood if they were feeling like reclaiming it--and morphed into the word ember. Lily likes the nickname, the codeword; there’s something appropriate about the idea of the two of them being embers, ready for some burst of oxygen to ignite their flames.

Lily turned the information about Narcissa Black over in her mind. How on earth could this happen somewhere like Elkridge? She knew it wasn’t like Hogwarts, with the ever-present spectre of Albus Dumbledore acting like a shield upon all its inhabitants, but surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t want to harm one of their own…

“I know some of the others think that we shouldn’t get involved, but isn’t this what we’re supposed to be about? Doing the right thing, even when we don’t want to. What do you think?” she asked.

Mariah held the butt of her lit cigarette betwixt her lips and exhaled as she dug in her pockets to pull out some spearmint leaves. She put the cigarette out on the flagstone wall and popped in three green and minty leaves in her mouth. She went to school with Lily back at Hogwarts. It seemed like ages ago now.

“Nothing is how it’s supposed to be,” Mariah replied bluntly. “Choices are relative to every witch. Doing the right thing for you, could mean the wrong thing for me? I choose my work and my plants over people at times. Is that wrong?”

“Not wrong if that’s how you see the world, I suppose,” Lily said slowly. She was thinking hard about the situation, trying to piece together the parts of the evening and the information gathered. "Did you go to the party?”

Lily turned the information about Narcissa Black over in her mind. How on earth could this happen somewhere like Elkridge? She knew it wasn’t like Hogwarts, with the ever-present spectre of Albus Dumbledore acting like a shield upon all its inhabitants, but surely the Death Eaters wouldn’t want to harm one of their own…

“I think we should rescue Narcissa regardless of whether or not she may be a death eater and it may be a trap. I agree with you that sometimes doing the right thing might be something you don’t want to do but someone has to do it.”