Pepper is the sword-arm of crazy (pickledpepper) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-06-04 09:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-06] june, georgina wilkes, octavius pepper |
Who: Georgina Wilkes and Narciss Pepper
When: Tuesday, 5pm
Where: Knockturn Alley -> Private room at the Leaky Cauldron
What: Pepper wants to have a word with Georgie, right up close.
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
After the rampant destruction of his flat above the Banshee's Scream, Pepper had managed to salvage very few things. One of those things probably now qualified as his oldest possession, which was a little bit odd, as it was a small collection of long, golden hairs, and Pepper's hair was anything but long and golden. Right now, though, he was exceptionally glad for the foresight he'd shown in finding and keeping these hairs as he double checked everything he had with him - women's clothing in roughly Narcissa's size, including shoes and a long cloak in pale blue, his wand, a vial of an awful looking potion, a purse with enough money to rent the private room at the Leaky Cauldron for half an hour, with extra for a tip... All present and accounted for. Checking the time, he glanced at the shuttered and boarded window again to make sure no one on the street could see what was going on in the empty building before uncorking the vial and feeding two of sweet, precious Cissy Black's hairs into it. Almost immediately the sludge began to change colour, swirling until it became a pale pink. He rolled his eyes, knocking it back with a grimace at the far-too-sweet taste, making sure to swallow as much as possible before putting the glass on the ground and crushing it with his boot. Evanesco, he cast silently to get rid of the evidence. There were not going to be any loose ends here.
He could feel his body changing, shrinking and tightening and by god did that feel strange! Almost disturbingly unsettling, actually, and he imagined the expression on his face mirrored how Narcissa would look when faced with a dirty Muggle child as he shucked his own robes off. He'd been pale before, but his skin now was practically porcelain, white and creamy smooth. His centre of gravity was different as well, but he could adjust to that. Pulling on the clothes he'd picked out, he made what adjustments were necessary with his wand, though it didn't have to be perfect - the cloak would pretty much cover the whole outfit anyway. He just needed to pull it off for five or ten minutes. Once dressed, he shrank his discarded robes right down to fit into the purse and pulled out a small mirror to check his appearance. Very Narcissa.
After a couple of walks around the room to make sure he could imitate her movement well enough, he ducked out the side of the building, pausing to settle himself into the new persona before striding into the street as though he owned it, an expression of distaste on his borrowed face as he walked two buildings down to Scrollduggery. The bell tinkled as he entered and he walked directly to the back of the store where Wilkes was waiting to assist any customers that might come in. "Georgina, just who I wanted to see." A light smile floated along with the strange voice.
Georgina was having a rather dull, unexciting day. Everything had been relatively unexciting since the Quidditch match last weekend, and she smirked at the thought. Her fellow Death Eaters had not owned up to the act yet but it went without saying that it was entirely their organisation's work. With an ill grace, Georgina went through the motions of opening and keeping the shop throughout the day, occasionally throwing out the usual shoplifter or two. During other times, she simply watched them struggle with one or two of the items, bewitched to whack them on the head repeatedly if taken near the door, for amusement. It really was menial work. Menial and dull and entirely, completely unchallenging.
The afternoon drew nearer and Georgina found herself tapping her foot impatiently and scowling. Perhaps the last couple of customers had tested her patience for far too long since she didn't even wave them goodbye as she usually did in the event that people actually came in to buy things. It was around ten minutes before five when she began to arrange the wares and shutter the windows in preparation to closing the shop. Georgina was just coming out of the small, cramped back office when Narcissa walked in, smiling as if she belonged there. Wasn't she supposed to be in Wiltshire? Georgina looked surprised, although not displeased. "Narcissa!" she greeted and strode over to kiss the older woman on the cheek. "What are you doing in London?" she asked, ushering her inside as she finished closing.
"Just running some errands." No need to explain what those errands might be - Cissy always had been a little queen bee, and Pepper doubted as though someone like Georgina Wilkes would actually question her. Which worked ever so much in his advantage, of course. Now that he was actually here it was easier than he'd expected to "feel" Narcissa and remember the syntax and vocabulary he'd gone over so he'd sound more like her, possibly due to the adrenalin starting to run through his veins. He was standing right in front of Wilkes and she had no idea. "I noticed the time and decided I might as well come and see you while I'm here. I can see I was just in time - perhaps we could move to somewhere more civilised when you're done? The private tea room at the Leaky Cauldron should do for a short conversation."
"Ah," Georgina nodded in assent and began waving her wand to put up the security wards, "I trust your anniversary went well?" She remembered that it was Narcissa and Lucius' anniversary a couple of days before and was thoughtful enough to inquire. Georgina knew that the older woman would take note of this and would hopefully end in favourable comments about her in good company. She beamed as Narcissa suggested tea since Georgina was about to invite her anyway. Nevertheless, she nodded and said, "If you step outside, I'll just lock the door and we'll be off." Once that was done, she cast a glance back at the shop to make sure everything was in place.
"You've sent your parcels home ahead of you?" she asked politely, keeping step with Narcissa Malfoy. Georgina did not notice anything amiss although she should have realised that Narcissa would not call without notifying her first. Still, she was easily appeased since it seemed all very familiar and natural.
Pepper naturally didn't have a clue how Narcissa's anniversary had gone, nor did he particularly care. Actually he hoped they'd gone on holiday somewhere and drowned, so long as news of it didn't get back until after he was done with Wilkes, but he couldn't exactly let that show right now so he just let the thought entertain him completely imperceptibly. "It was lovely, thank you," he replied. "And yes, I hate to be burdened by packages, don't you?" That was Cissy to the core. He well remembered her having other people carry her books so she'd have her hands free for checking her robes or hair or clamping onto Lucius' arm or what the fuck ever, and he doubted that had much changed. Carrying things was menial work, dreadfully beneath her. Now, what the hell kind of smalltalk did these people make? The Leaky wasn't far, but still. He spotted one of the Muggleborn shop signs and nodded towards it with a slight gesture, nothing over the top but he was sure any of Cissy's simpering socialites would be paying attention to her every move. "I'm glad to see the signs have been restored to their proper appearance."
Georgina was feeling a little sluggish, she had been working since nine that morning, so she did not exactly notice the small discrepancies in Narcissa's behaviour. There were some minute pauses where she could have seen that the person she was accompanying was merely someone masquerading as Narcissa but she was either too diverted by looking around or was not inclined to observe so closely. "Did you get any amazing presents from Lucius?" Georgina inquired, showing mild interest in the subject since the Malfoys had always displayed excellent taste.
"Oh, as am I," she replied, looking at the signs with the slight air of amusement, "I believe those children thought it was an excellent way to display their bravado and as a way to provoke our community." Georgina held back a snort and laughed softly instead. "Fools," she said, raising an eyebrow at Narcissa as if expecting the other to agree with her.
"They only engage in such petty idiocies because they do not possess the intelligence to comprehend anything greater," Pepper said haughtily, resisting the urge to toss his hair or anything ridiculous like that. Over-acting was tempting but held the risk of ruining this whole thing, and that was not something he wanted to happen, not when he had a good forty five minutes left in this weird, fragile little body. Anniversary presents though, shit. Fuck if he knew what sort of overpriced pieces of crap poncy fuckpots gave each other on anniversaries. "Lucius always gives excellent presents. He has exceptional taste in jewelry. I'm sure you'll see some of it when I next have occasion to wear it." Convincing enough? He hoped so. Luckily they were nearly at the Leaky Cauldron now, so he carefully unclasped the purse, taking out the galleons to cover the room charge; he didn't intend to linger in the main rooms, just be seen.
It was interesting to see what it was like being Narcissa Malfoy walking into a place of business though - someone scuttled over to help him immediately. "I'll be needing the tea room for half an hour," he announced, as though it were impossible to even comprehend that this would be a problem. The money he placed on the counter was more than enough to cover it though, so unless someone was already there (which he hoped they were not), there wouldn't be a problem. "This should cover it." The girl didn't object with any logistical difficulties so he swept past, a strangely fun movement to make, leading Wilkes to the door to the private room.
"How nice," Georgina remarked, noticing the slight vagueness of Narcissa's speech but declined to comment on it. Perhaps Mrs Malfoy simply had other and more important things on her mind than enumerating her anniversary presents, Georgina assumed. Moreover, the simpering over her husband was enough to assuage any uncertainty on Georgina's part. Narcissa was madly in love with Lucius and did not waste time in telling everyone how blissful their domestic life is. To each her own, Georgina supposed. Narcissa was happy with her life while she, if given the same circumstances, would have felt incredibly stifled. Without any apprehension, Georgina followed her friend inside the private room.
And... the door closed behind them. For a moment Pepper actually couldn't breathe, almost unable to believe he'd gotten her here without messing it up. Still it wasn't all said and done yet; slipping his hand back into the purse, he found the handle of his wand, bringing it out and casting a silent Petrificus totalus! in one smooth motion. Wilkes crumpled to the floor and he allowed himself a grin that probably looked very out of place on Cissy's perfect fucking face. Next, silencing charms, because he didn't want anyone getting curious about what was happening in here. He set the purse down on a low table and bent to pick Wilkes up - Narcissa wasn't as strong as he was, so it was harder than he'd have liked, but he managed to settle her in one of the chairs, performing a perfectly textbook incarcerous to make sure she would stay there before carefully removing just part of the body bind so her head would be free. It just wasn't as fun otherwise.
Before Georgina could even scream, she felt the spell hit her and was immediately immobilised. Panic and fear gripped her as she tried to struggle free or even force her hand to move to the wand that was painfully digging into her ribs. What the hell was Narcissa doing? The almost maniacal grin that graced the older woman's face was completely out of character. Confusion joined the other emotions, making her heart thud dangerously fast.
Pepper ran through the rules he'd set for himself so he wouldn't go overboard and get himself caught as he watched Wilkes' expression as she realised what was happening to her. Don't say anything that would link back to anyone - he didn't want to implicate the vigilantes any more than he did himself. (Well, maybe a little more. Alright, quite a bit more. But he still didn't want to do it.) Don't do any permanent damage. He'd dithered on that one, but in the end, as sure as he was that Mill was serious when she talked about burying these people, he wanted to push his boundaries at a reasonable speed. Walking into her office and announcing he'd just killed a Death Eater was not the way to go about that. Don't use any questionable magic that would show up on his wand. And don't take too long. The Polyjuice wasn't legal grade so he couldn't rely on it lasting exactly an hour. He wanted to be out of here well before it wore off.
Time for the other contents of the purse - four cheap rings, one to fit each of the fingers on his right hand, and a small, sharp knife. He slid each ring on before turning back to Wilkes, using the motion to aide the momentum of his arm as he swung his fist against her jaw, open slightly so it wouldn't hurt him as much as it did her. Not exactly a skill Narcissa would know, he thought with a small smirk.
The punch hit her squarely on the jaw and Georgina heard it click as pain shot through her head. Narcissa Malfoy most certainly did not hit like that. She wanted to swear at the impostor, throw hexes at her... or him, and possible cause as much damage as she could. But Georgina couldn't. She was helpless. Fucking fuck, she thought, ruefully remembering how her mother had washed out her mouth when she first said the word. Georgina could taste blood where she bit down on her tongue. The sharp, irony taste jolted her from her formerly lethargic state, making her even more aware of what was happening to her. Hatred boiled in the pit of her stomach. Georgina was entirely sure that this was not her friend so she was justified to want to smash the other woman's face in.
It was slightly disappointing that Wilkes didn't cry out or say anything, demanding to know what was going on or whatever, but Pepper liked to think he was a glass half-full kind of guy, and the fact that the metal of the rings had broken the skin and small amounts of blood were welling up would just have to be enough. And actually, the fact that she didn't make a noise rather inclined him not to make one either. You really couldn't discount the psychological effect of complete silence. It tended to unnerve people, especially people who were being beat the hell out of, and since prying for information would reveal where his loyalties lay even more than the fact that he was, well, beating the hell out of her, he really had no need to say anything. Circling a little, he landed another two hits in her gut one after the other, one part of his mind and vision keeping a wary eye on her in case she somehow managed to master wandless magic enough to break free of the body bind and the incarcerous. Unlikely, yes, but paranoia was useful. He passed around behind her for a moment to shake his arm out - Narcissa really didn't have the upper body strength that he did - before coming round to the front again. A couple more punches, then he'd slice her a bit.
Georgina groaned as another two punches hit her, she couldn't hold back the anger any longer. She wondered whether she should ask what the impostor wanted but she was Georgina fucking Wilkes for crying out loud. She did not want to humiliate herself by mouthing off like some stupid woman. Instead, she let out an impertinent sort of giggle, her eyes narrowed at Narcissa. Or the person who assumed Narcissa's form. "You must be such a pitiful individual that you needed to have me trussed up before attacking," Georgina snarled, "What's wrong? Can't you hold your own in a proper duel?"
No reply, no reply, no reply, as tempting as it would be to point out what a fucking hypocrite that question made her. Like the Death Eaters fought fair. If they did there'd be a hell of a lot more of them dead or in prison right now, and as much as he wanted to balance that out, he wouldn't be able to look himself in the eye (metaphorically) if he lost his self-control. This was going to go down exactly as he'd planned it. The next hit to her face came with a slightly sickening sound - that was going to bruise. Pity she'd get it seen to, it would be all kinds of lovely shades of purple otherwise. He reached for the knife, the handle clinking quietly against the rings in his hand as he gripped it and surveyed her, trying to decide where to cut. Not the throat. Visible places, mostly the face, as utterly cliched as it was. All that lovely long hair provided him with a good way to keep her still without magically immobilising her head, too. He moved around to the side to grab it, holding it tightly, close to the scalp, drawing the tip of the blade down her cheek from just under her right eye.
Her breath stuck in her throat as she caught sight of the knife. Georgina mentally steeled herself, tightening her jaw, which clicked painfully as she did so. She would not show fear. She would not betray weakness. Georgina wished she had accepted her father's invitation to have dinner at home that night so they would have known she was missing when she did not turn up. She kept her narrowed eyes fixed firmly on Narcissa's lovely face, which was now almost unrecognisable solely due to the odd expression that was not usually present there. Georgina hardly even blinked at the blade's proximity to her eye. To hell with it all, a small part of her thought. She was immobilised and she could not even twitch her arm to her wand. Wandless magic was too risky since she had not bothered trying to learn. What else was there to do but stare down the attacker until it was over?
And people said Slytherins were cowards. They had steel inside them, most of them, and Pepper could at least respect that in Wilkes, even if everything else about her disgusted him and made him choke on his own scorn. Luckily for her he didn't intend to take very much longer. She was bruising, dripping blood and likely furious at herself for getting caught like this. He paired the cut already made with a horizontal line over the bridge of her nose before moving the blade with a flick of his wrist to her throat, open to him with the way he was holding her head back.Georgina had had enough. The cut did not hurt her as much as she expected, it was uncomfortable... the blood began dripping from the cuts and unto her cheeks down to the point of her chin. Bile rose at the pit of her stomach, more out of anger and outrage than anything else, and she spat at him. Georgina smirked at the impostor as if goading them to get on with it. She had done her part in insulting them, she was contented in that aspect at least.
It was tempting to just drive it in, especially when she spat at him. He'd never killed anyone before, of course, and he did have to admit there was a part of him inside that just wanted to see if he could actually do it, but that wasn't the plan. He had to have self-control, if he didn't have that, he didn't have much at all. So instead he just let it hover, not even bothering to wipe off the splatter that had hit him. The blood-drenched edge kissed her skin for a moment before just nicking it slightly, enough to say, I could have killed you if I'd wanted. And that was what he really wanted, wasn't it? Control over another person's very life. He had the power right now to say whether she lived or died. Loosening his grip on her hair, he brought the knife back up to neatly slice off his handful before dropping her, walking back to stuff the knife and hair back into the purse. The rings next; his hands were almost trembling with adrenalin as he tugged them off and took up his wand, using scourgify to get any obvious signs of blood off his hands. He cast a glance back at Wilkes, trying to decide how he wanted to leave her while he made his way back to the Apparation point outside. Well, no use having her scream when he opened the door, someone would find her soon enough. He lifted his wand steadily, pointing it directly at her and uttering a single word:
"Stupefy."