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Lily Evans ([info]emerald_eyes) wrote in [info]beyondthepages,
@ 2010-05-19 20:45:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!complete, 2023 10, benjy fenwick, dorcas meadowes, lily evans

RP: Pick-me-Up
Characters: Lily, Benjy, Cas
Time/Date: Evening, October 19, 2023
Location: Casa de BenjyCas
Warnings/Rating: Narrative swears
Summary: Lily goes over for painting and to share the "amazing" news
Status: Complete



After telling Sev where she'd be going and giving him a rough time of return, Lily popped to an alley near Benjy and Cas' flat. Everything was rubbing her the wrong way, and it was like the fucking war hadn't really ended. Like it had just paused, like they'd been given a breather, and now it was business as usual. Just when she'd started to get used to the idea she wouldn't have to keep looking over her shoulder, she'd have to start all over again.

They'd all been starting to settle into this more comfortable life, and now something was starting to wear at the edges of it.

Rapping on the door, she waited for someone to answer, and she smiled softly when she saw Benjy. Stepping close to him, she embraced him briefly. "He's back," she said softly in lieu of greeting.

"Back? Who's back?" Benjy grinned and stepped back, and his expression shifted when he saw the look on Lily's face. That look in her eyes. "Oh fuck. Lily, no."

She nodded miserably before she shook her head. "I guess ..." She stepped into the house as Benjy stepped back. "I guess he showed up this morning. Sev's mark ..." she gestured to her left arm. "It ... it's not ... dark, but it's ... more visible than it was just yesterday. He ... owled Harry and ... that's the news we got back."

Exhaling softly, she shook her head. "Then there's ..." she trailed off. "Is Cas in? I'd rather not go through this twice."

"Yeah." Benjy rubbed Lily's shoulder lightly. "Meadowes," he bellowed toward the other side of the flat. "Company, yeah?"

He guided Lily to the couch and flopped down beside her. Well, fuck him. He wanted to know what was going on, but figured they should wait for Cas to join the party.


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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 01:15 am UTC (link)
"I'll be there in a moment!" Cas shouted, setting her book on its spine. Things had certainly changed in the past forty years, and she was in the process of trying to catch up; a break, and a chance to catch up with the recent past was an appreciated break.

Padding out into the flat's main area, she caught sight of Benjy and Lily's faces; something was wrong. Someone was dead or injured or otherwise incapacitated. She felt her stomach tighten, and braced for the worst; she wasn't sure what had happened, but from what she could glean from their expressions, it wasn't something pleasant.

"Alright, then," she started. "Has someone died?"

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-21 01:20 am UTC (link)
"Kind of the exact opposite of that," Benjy said. "The worst possible person you could think of to come back?" He arched his brows expectantly.

Lily offered a little smile to Cas before she shook her head. "He's young," she emphasized. "He's not the Dark Lord we knew in our time, but he's ... he's still a teenager. Still going by Tom Riddle. There's a chance he'll be at the school, with ... the other students. I ... don't know much, honestly, just what little we've been able to scrape together since this morning."

Benjy glanced up to Cas, holding out an arm and beckoning her to join them on the couch.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 01:28 am UTC (link)
Cas swallowed hard, lowering herself onto the couch. "He's back?" She asked, sinking back against the cushions. "What kind of bloody awful joke is the universe playing on us? It throws us all over our deaths, only to do the same for him? That isn't ..." she paused. "That isn't fair." She acknowledged that it was a ridiculous statement, one more befitting of a toddler than a twenty-year-old; she just couldn't quite bring herself to care. She had jsut gotten used to going out to dinner, walking to work, going shopping, all without fear; his presence made all that virtually impossible. It didn't matter that he was young, possibly still at school. His followers were here, and they'd ensure history would repeat itself.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 01:31 am UTC (link)
"There's more," Lily said quietly. "Just ... when you think it can't get worse, right?" She managed to pull up a little smile. "Someone let Bellatrix out of her cage. She's been sending owls ... threats. She sent a note to Severus threatening me. Sent a note to Harry threatening ... me, or Lily Luna, or Ginny. Or all three of us, for all I know. She hasn't ... hasn't sent anything to you two, has she?"

"Not to me," Benjy offered as he rubbed Cas' shoulder, tugging her up against his side.

"Well," Lily shook her head. "We're dealing with Bellatrix, and ... we'll deal with Tom. Right now, he's ... in the hands of the Ministry, and ... who knows. Maybe they'll be smart for once and pitch him into Azkaban where he belongs."

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 01:38 am UTC (link)
Cas leaned against Benjy, squeezing her eyes shut at Lily's discussion of the threats. "Nothing for me, either," she added. "All quiet on this front." She sighed. "Has anyone got a clue where Bellatrix is? Maybe the Ministry could pull off some preemptive bit? I dunno, lock her up before she actually causes any real damage. Or, if they do throw Riddle in Azkaban, before she breaks him out," she added. The last thing that needed to happen was a jailbreak; she already couldn't imagine the uproar this peaceful slice of time might be in soon.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 01:42 am UTC (link)
"No. I heard they went to Lestrange Manor, but ... it's owned by someone else and there was no evidence she'd been there. Only so much they can do in the constraints of the law, right?"

Lily shuddered at the idea of Tom going to Azkaban only to be broken out. "This is ..."

She shook her head. "This is why we need to paint the hell out of this place. I just ... wanted to catch you two up to the breaking news. I'm sure there'll be something about it in the papers ... they can't hide this particular return, right?"

"I dunno. The Prophet seems to be pretty good at covering up all sorts of shit," Benjy pointed out cheerfully. Squeezing Cas' shoulder, he nodded to Lily's suggestion. "I say we paint away all the worries for tonight. Fuck the rest of the world; we'll have fish on our walls, yeah?"

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 01:54 am UTC (link)
"That sounds like an ace idea. Fish are certainly preferable to threats and other things and the Prophet. Far preferable."

She was still in shock, still wanted to deny the fact that, in some form, Lord Voldemort was back. The thing that had killed her friends, plunged the Wizarding world into chaos, and eventually claimed her life was back among the living. Bellatrix was out of the box, running about like a loon, raising all sorts of discord. She'd have to talk to Benjy about getting actual wards, not just simple anti-theft ones, back up and wandering off alone was certainly going to end. She couldn't help but think the war was coming back; she just hoped they'd fare better this go around.

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-21 01:58 am UTC (link)
"Right," Benjy agreed. He pressed kisses to both Cas and Lily's cheeks before he stood up and tugged the girls along with him. "Suppose first order of business is covering things we don't want to get the paint on," he reflected as he flicked his wand to summon the tarps.

Lily did manage an actual smile. Maybe by the end of the evening, they really would have forgotten about this ... if only for a few moments at a stretch. There was no point in worrying about what-ifs until they became realities.

"So how exactly are we going about this? Benjy said something about splattering the walls before painting up the fish. Is that ...?"

"The way we're doing it? You betcha." He grinned to Cas. "Unless you had another, better idea?"

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 02:18 am UTC (link)
"That was the general plan, I thought. Get rid of the oppressive whiteness of it all..." Cas trailed off. She tucked a loose hair behind her ear and brushed her hands against her jeans. She wanted to think about something else, anything else. She wanted to pretend that Bellatrix wasn't out there in the night, wand in hand with her master in the Ministry's halls. It begged for disaster. It would be the kind of carnage they hadn't seen since their own time, which, frankly, now that she thought of it, wasn't that long ago.

"We going to use drop cloths or charms?" She asked.

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-21 02:24 am UTC (link)
"Tarps, with charms for the gaps," Benjy said, a fierce grin on his lips. He was kind of for the idea of throwing paint against the walls. It would help work off some of the ... excess energy, or whatever it was he had going on. The rage. The urge to hurt Bellatrix for threatening his friend. For threatening anyone. For bringing back the war-feeling he'd been starting to shed.

Flicking his wand again, he summoned the cans of paint he'd bought. "Game on, ladies," he said with a grin.

Lily laughed softly as she saw the cans of paint flying it. Stripping out of her robes to reveal the shorts and tanktop she wore beneath - she'd anticipated getting very, very messy - she carried her robes to the bathroom where they - theoretically - would remain unpainted. She slipped off her shoes as well before heading back out to join them. "Do we color in any particular order, or just ... whatever we feel?"

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 02:55 am UTC (link)
"Any color, Lily. The only rule is to get rid off the oppressive feeling of the white; it's unnerving, and I can't sleep with all this monotony." Which was sort of true; she certainly could -and did-sleep. She just found the blandness depressing, She was jumpy, anxious to put down the tarps and charms and get to work; she couldn't wait for the paint to cake in her hair, on her cheeks, under her fingernails. She wanted big bright color; she wanted life.

Cas grinned at her friends. "Well, let's get to it, then."

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 03:07 am UTC (link)
Lily dodged as Benjy laid out the tarps, and she helped him set the charms for the places where there were gaps. She eyed the wall before she charmed over the windows.

She looked around for brushes before she shrugged slightly. Popping open the top of a can of violet paint, Lily swished her wand and flicked a splatter of it toward the wall.

So, all right, there was something to flinging paint at the wall that was good. Fun. That would let her forget for a bit.

Benjy moved to turn on the wireless, to something loud with a bouncy, dancy beat to it as he joined Lily in the paint flinging. A nice base of splatter would be a good backdrop for their fish, and it would definitely not be bland.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 03:16 am UTC (link)
Cas popped the top off a can of green paint, and, eyeing the others, promptly sent some splattering against the wall. There was something deeply satisfying about the way it settled, which, she acknowledged, would have sounded mad, had she said it out loud. She giggled a little, sending more hurling towards the wall. A few stray drops landed on her cheek and she laughed; nothing like a little color in the complexion, she thought.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 03:30 am UTC (link)
Lily glanced over to Cas before her eyes widened in surprise as Benjy flicked some paint - not toward the wall, but toward them.

"Oops," he said with a grin that said he wasn't at all sorry.

Lily glanced down to the blue splatters across her shirt, and she arched a brow. "Benjamin Fenwick, there are things in here that do not need to be painted. I suggest you practice your ... aim."

On the last word, she flung a bit of her own paint toward him, catching Cas in the crossfire.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 03:42 am UTC (link)
"Ack!" Cas squawked as the paint hit her. She flicked some of her own paint back at him, grin widening. "Those things to be painted? I am one of them, Benjy. Although," she said, looking towards Lily, "I think I look rather smashing in these colors. Really quite a look!" She laughed, sending paint back in the direction it belonged.

She knew she should have left it alone, really, shouldn't have started a paint flinging competition beyond retribution, but Benjy was there and she couldn't help thinking how good he'd look in green and purple. Catching Lily's attention, she motioned towards Benjy.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 04:15 am UTC (link)
Lily grinned and nodded slightly to Cas before she flicked paint at Benjy.

"Whoa, hey! I thought we were at least pretending to try to hit the walls!" He laughed though, and moved to press his back to the wall - at least this way, some paint would get on the wall as well if they were going to be throwing it at him.

Rolling his painted self against the wall, he grinned as Lily flicked another rope of purple paint toward him.

She smiled and laughed softly before actually applying some of the paint to the wall. "Do either of you actually know how to paint fish? Or are they just going to be stick fish?"

"Or fish sticks," Benjy offered with a grin.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 08:02 pm UTC (link)
"Er..." Cas confessed, between giggles."Not quite? Not real ones, at least. I've got that general fish sort of outline with the fins and whatnot. As for fish sticks, I've got even less skill at painting them than I do cooking them!" She laughed, flicking paint at the wall. "What about you two?"

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 08:19 pm UTC (link)
"I could probably manage something decently fish-shaped," Lily admitted. "Maybe a bit on the cartoon side of things, but ..." She grinned.

That would really probably fit in just fine with the splatter motif they had going on.

"Excellent. Lily will be in charge of cartoon fish. I'll handle abstract backgrounds. You know, so we have something to stare at and debate what it is, what it looks like, what it could be."

"Like clouds then?" Lily supplied helpfully as she started more deliberate application of paint to wall.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 09:33 pm UTC (link)
"I'll interpret it to the guests," Cas joked, hurling paint at the wall. "Not that we're having any guests in the foreseeable future, I mean. Alice is still getting used to some of us being back among the living, last I saw, and at this point, I haven't got any close colleagues at work. And Lily, you understand this masterpiece ... interpreting it to you would serve no purpose!"

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 09:41 pm UTC (link)
"But you'll make friends. And if not you, I'm sure Benjy already has several potential mates lined up in the wings," Lily teased.

Sort of teased, because it probably was true enough. Benjy would likely be friends with half of London before long.

"Potential nothing. They've already signed contracts," he joked back as he joined in the 'actually painting the wall' part of the project.

"But yeah, interpretation's probably going to be interesting. Sure you don't want to move in, Lils?" He waggled his brows playfully at the red-haired witch.

"Only if you fancy a quick demise at Sev's hands," she replied before she stuck out her tongue at him.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 09:57 pm UTC (link)
"Benjy, feel free to contradict me, but I think I can say we can both do without dying ... again. I mean, I, personally, don't remember the first time, but I'm going to assume it wasn't really something pleasant." Trying to brush her hair back, she accidentally smudged a bit of paint across her cheek. "Besides, at this rate, I'll have to interpret myself!"

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 10:07 pm UTC (link)
"I remember," Lily said softly. "Not what it's cracked up to be, and not something I'm eager to have another go at." Once was enough though if Bellatrix had her way, Lily would meet death again - soon.

She'd simply have to ensure that didn't happen.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for being a downer," Benjy chastised as he flicked more paint on Lily.

Lily yelped as the paint snatched her out of her thoughts. "Wall, Benjy. Wall."

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 10:34 pm UTC (link)
Cas flicked more paint at the wall, before turning her attention to Benjy. Sending some flying at him, she braced herself for the inevitable revenge. "We can't be dead just yet, anyway. There is painting to do; otherwise, Merlin knows whoever's forced to clean this place out will come to the conclusion that we were off our nut and generally unable to apply paint."

Dead. Cas feared she'd be hearing it more and more with the Dark Marks and Tom Riddle back.

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-21 10:43 pm UTC (link)
"Well, we are off our nut, and we don't know how to apply paint," Benjy pointed out. "Or if we do, we are currently failing to demonstrate that knowledge."

He grinned and nudged Lily lightly before he started in on the other wall.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-21 10:45 pm UTC (link)
"We are off our nut, yes, but we do know how to properly apply paint, btu have decided to rebel against it and just go for broke with color. We're artists! Or nutters. It all sort of depends on your interpretation, I suppose..." she trailed off.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-21 11:53 pm UTC (link)
"Perhaps a bit of both," Lily offered with a smile.

Casting a drying charm on the wall, she looked around for the brushes so she could get started on her attempt at fish.

Benjy glanced over to the girls and grinned. "Hey Cas. You've ah. Got a bit of paint on you. Kind of ... all over, really. How'd that happen?" He grinned playfully to her before he continued splattering paint on the other wall.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-22 12:30 am UTC (link)
"Why, Benjy, I haven't the foggiest. It seems you're in a bit of a state yourself, though. Strange how these things happen, eh?" Cas said, trying for mock innocence. "I can't imagine what could have happened to you; such a deplorable state, isn't it, Lily?"

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-22 12:40 am UTC (link)
"Horrid," she agreed. "I do, however, think that Benjy is acting a bit too innocent there. Think he might've had something to do with it?" She grinned as she studied the wall before plucking one of the brushes free.

Starting with an outline, Lily began to paint a fish.

"Trying to imply I'm acting?" Benjy said with a look of mock shock. "I ... I can't believe you'd say something like that, Lily. I'm ... hurt, and distraught, and ... hey. You've got a bit of paint on you, too.

"You girls are so messy."

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-22 12:56 am UTC (link)
"So are you, Benjy. You've got paint all over yourself! You shouldn't go 'round looking like that, you know," she said with mock seriousness. "People will think you're some sort of ruffian. As for us, well, they'll just think we're artistic. Lily's got the paint brushes to prove it." Cas stepped back to look at their handywork, and watch Lily paint. "Much better," she announced."Not so abysmally bland."

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-22 05:20 am UTC (link)
"What, you mean he isn't a ruffian?" Lily grinned softly. "Not so very far from one, I should think." She glanced back over toward Benjy as he dried the wall he'd been working on.

Turning her attention back to her own fish, Lily smiled. This was ... comfortable, and as long as she didn't let her thoughts roam too much in any bad direction, she thought the night would be all right.

"We should all have a shower together then," he teased with a wink to Cas. "You know, to get the paint off and conserve water."

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-22 05:42 pm UTC (link)
Cas felt her cheeks redden at Benjy's comment. "I think that, just possibly, Severus Snape might want a word with you after that and that said word might be a hex. But that's just a guess, feel free to correct my assumption, Lily," she added.

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-22 05:48 pm UTC (link)
"You really think he would?" Benjy grinned, but he had no doubts. Not that he thought Lily would do anything of the sort, but it was fun to tease and play.

"Right, so, Cas? After we chase Lily back home ...?" he grinned playfully to his flatmate.

Lily chuckled. "I think hex is too mild a word," Lily replied with a grin. "Not that it's even an issue. I have no intentions what so ever of wearing anything less than what I've got on now in present company."

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-22 06:01 pm UTC (link)
"You wouldn't like my shampoo, Benjy. Too flowery for your tastes," she responded, hoping he'd ignore the apple red hue of her cheeks.

"And Lily, I think you're quite right. How does eviscerate sound?"

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-22 06:08 pm UTC (link)
"Much closer to the actuality," Lily said with a grin before turning her attention to her fish. It actually did look a little ... fish-like. She reasoned she should head back soon, so she was home within the window she'd given Severus for her return.

"But I like how it smells in your hair. It'd smell just as good in mine," he protested to Cas. He didn't miss the blush, but that was half of what made this so much fun.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-22 06:41 pm UTC (link)
"But I smell like a twenty-something year-old girl; you wouldn't want to smell like a girl! You're not at all girly," she protested, laughing. The hue of her cheeks had faded to a paler red now, hopefully less prominent than before, and felt the least bit cooler; she had never been particularly prone to blushing before, and had to wonder when this had started.

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[info]of_the_fen
2010-05-22 07:33 pm UTC (link)
"No, definitely not at all girly," Benjy agreed with a grin. He glanced over to see what Lily was doing and crossed over to retrieve some brushes to begin with the abstracts he'd claimed.

Lily glanced back at the others and grinned to Cas. "You can help with the fish, you know," she teased her. "Or the abstracts." Now that the walls were all splattered, she thought Cas should have some say in how the walls looked.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-23 12:45 am UTC (link)
"I'll help on the fish front; or, at least the basic gist of a fish front. I've never done anything much beyond a basic outline, that much I'll own up to." Grabbing a brush for herself, she settled onto the floor and, dipping the brush in the paint, began to scribe her own fish onto the wall.

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[info]emerald_eyes
2010-05-23 12:52 am UTC (link)
Lily smiled over to Cas, and she was content enough to lapse into quiet, to focus on her fish while not thinking about the world outside of this room, with her friends. The dragon of war might be lifting its head, scenting the air, blinking and yawning, but it may well just go back to sleep.

Time would tell; she'd simply have to be prepared and roll with the punches.

Benjy glanced over to the girls when they fell quiet, and he smiled a little before he continued to paint. He was content to be quiet and finish up if they were.

Unlike Lily, he was thinking about what it meant for the Dark Lord to be back. For Bellatrix to be threatening her. Whether it was something or nothing, he intended to be ready for whatever life threw at them.

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[info]dorcas_m
2010-05-23 01:48 am UTC (link)
Adding a fin to the first of her fish, Cas tried to keep her thoughts on the present. She was here, safe, with Lily and Benjy. There was no war (presently) raging outside and Voldemort was not back as Voldemort. Still, she couldn't shake her worries, only exacerbated by the quiet. She had begun to grow accustomed to peace, to living like a normal twenty year old, and the idea of losing that all again made her ill.

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