Eddie Carmichael (edasich) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-01-05 08:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | eddie carmichael |
WHO: Terry Boot & Eddie Carmichael
WHAT: Plans that would make one father proud and the other father less so
WHEN: Friday, January 5
WHERE: Terry's place
WARNINGS: Nah
“Help me, Eddie-Wan Carmobi, you’re my only hope,” the first hext had said, followed by one that asked Eddie to meet Terry at his mum’s the next afternoon while she was at work. Eddie had agreed, thank Merlin, so there they were, stood before Terry’s bed holding a bag of crisps and a bottle of juice. The contents of the bed were far more pressing than the libations, though, and Terry turned to Eddie with a look that he hoped didn’t brook anymore questions like ‘So, Hogwarts…?’ “I need to get all of this,” he gestured at the healing supplies covering his bed, “into school without any trouble.” Eddie nodded slowly, assessing the situation. He'd heard plenty of rumours about Hogwarts and what was going on there, from enough people he trusted to believe at least most of them were legitimate. But he didn't ask, and Terry didn't seem to want to share, so they focused on the task at hand. "Alright…" he said, after taking stock of everything spread out on the bed. He picked up a few of the items--mostly common potions ingredients--and separated them. "So, even with strict rules, you should be able to get this stuff in without raising any flags. It's all pretty much useless for anything good unless you've got the rest of the ingredients anyway." He studied the rest. "This is only a serious question if the answer's yes, but you don't happen to speak any Mermish, do you?" As Eddie had spoke, Terry set aside the snack and nodded along, reaching for the potions ingredients and starting to stuff them into his potions kit for school. He paused in the middle of stowing the kit away in his bag and glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “Not presently,” he said, his eyes on Eddie again, “but it can’t be that hard to learn, right?” He paused, grinning. “Or can it?” Eddie stifled a laugh. "I don't know, mate. I don't speak a word. I always thought that'd be a wicked clever way to get things in though, don't you? Meet up on the Hogsmeade side of the lake and bribe them with something to swim your waterproof box of treasures across and meet up the next day? I never got around to trying it out, though." Terry looked impressed and gave Eddie a friendly cuff on the shoulder, but after a moment, shook his head. “Brilliant idea, but something tells me my pronunciation won’t be good enough by then to pull it off.” He paused again, though, and gave the remaining goods a considering look. “I wonder if an owl could be convinced to drop something at the edge of the forest or the boat house or something.” "Terry, my friend, my confidant, my protégé," Eddie said with a dramatic flourish. "It is time that I pass on to you my great secret. Well, one of my great secrets, anyway. I know Hogwarts supposedly has a number of secret passageways, but I never had any luck finding any of those. What I did find, after being told exactly where to look by my Knockturn brethren, was a magical box. This magical box is buried just along the perimeter of the school, and can be opened from both outside and inside the wards. Rumour has it, like fifteen years ago, one of the one-and-done Defense professors had a few bad habits she was trying to keep hidden from the school. They found her out, but never her means of smuggling things in." “I can’t believe you’ve kept this great secret from me, Terry, your friend, your confidant, your protégé, for so long,” Terry said, looking mock wounded. But he quickly dropped the affront and grinned again. “Tell me more. What were her bad habits? Are there any left in the box? Was she fit? Michael will want to know.” "Listen, I can't just go giving everything away," Eddie said. "And let's not ruin Michael's imagination with the truth, yeah? I looked her up in an old yearbook once and she was a bit trollish for my taste. Plus a couple of, ah," Eddie cleared his throat and rubbed his fingers under his nose, "habits Dumbledore didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he did and just didn't give a fuck, you never know with him." He glanced around the room, finding Terry's desk. "Have you got any parchment? I'll draw up a map. It's not too easy to find, and you've got to get your timing just right. Once you've got something in on one side, you've got to get it out the other in less than 24 hours or it'll vanish, yeah? Some kind of contraband spell, or something. Covers your tracks." “Have I got any parchment,” Terry repeated with a laugh, on his feet and fetching it and a pen and a large heavy book for some structure. He passed it all off to Eddie and sat on the edge of the bed with a thoughtful twist to his mouth. “What are the odds of me talking you into dropping this stuff on say…Monday when I’ve gone back? I don’t wanna tempt fate and try and squeeze it in on Saturday or Sunday.” There was also no telling what the Carrows had planned for them when they got back, but he didn’t say this aloud. The last thing Eddie wanted, even for the sake of his friends, was to get Involved. Sneaking healing supplies into Hogwarts (and what a fucked up idea that was, that sneaking magical medical material into a school was both necessary and illegal) counted as Involved. Still, what was he going to do when asked directly like this? Say no? It was hardly the biggest risk he'd ever taken to get something that didn't belong in Hogwarts into Hogwarts. Still, he was hesitant. "Yeah, I can… I can do that. On Monday, yeah. Just to get it started for you, like." Terry could kind of tell Eddie was hesitant, though. He reached for the bag of crisps to tear into it, ducking his face to peer inside and hide his furrowed eyebrows while he sorted them out. “It’s all right if you don’t have the time,” he said, trying and mostly succeeding to sound casual about it. “The map’s a big help and I could probably ask someone else to do it.” "No, I got it," Eddie insisted, feeling like a coward, not to mention guilty. "I can do it. This time, anyway. Actually … be honest, is the school going to expect you to try and sneak in contraband? Because you should give them something sacrificial. Something mostly hidden, like. It'll make them less suspicious if they know you've tried and failed, instead of spending more time trying to figure out how you're trying." “Like hiding something in my bag?” Terry asked, around a mouthful of crisps. “Because yeah, I imagine they are going to expect us to try and sneak stuff in.” "So give them something," Eddie said. "Hell, give them some extra healing supplies. Hide it just well enough that it's clear you put in real effort, but just poorly enough that they find it anyway. Trust me, it makes them less suspicious if they know that troublemakers are trying to make trouble. They'll confiscate it and think you just failed altogether and move on." Terry nodded, glancing over at the spread of healing supplies. It was going to hurt a little to lose any of them. And the detention he was in for when they found it was going to hurt even more. But Eddie had a point. “Yeah, no, that’s brilliant,” he said, wiping his hand on his trousers and holding it out to bump fists with Eddie. “Cheers, mate. I knew you’d be a help!” Fist bumps successfully exploded, Eddie sat down to draw out the map. "You know what," he said between pen strokes, "I'll even throw in a couple of Weasley treasures. On the house, of course." A few more lines and the lake was taking shape, but Eddie paused. Then, quieter, "It must really suck there, huh." “Yeah,” Terry said, quietly, staring down at Eddie’s map. “It does.” He awkwardly dragged his hand over the back of his neck, trying to think of how best to describe it without actually describing it. “They’re really putting Umbridge to shame. The rumors are, you know.” He shrugged. Eddie nodded. He kept drawing and didn't ask any more questions. He didn't really want to know. Once he was satisfied, he presented the map to Terry like it was a beloved treasure. "Memorize that, then burn it. Yeah?" “Yeah,” Terry said again, already scrutinizing the map. “I will.” He flashed Eddie a grateful grin and set the parchment aside for the moment. “Thanks, Eddie.” The silence after his shrug hadn’t been lost on Terry so he kept his voice light when he added, “So, you can just take this stuff with you for Monday and I’ll pick up my sacrificial lamb before I head off to school.” "Sure, sounds grand. I probably oughta not show up at the platform to see you all off, but I'll have it ready at my flat." He decided then and there to add a few supplemental things—nothing that could be tied back to him, of course, he wasn't stupid. It would be a nice surprise for Terry if he did find the right spot in time. "And I'll get everything in on Monday on my lunch break, and then kid, you're on your own." “Cheers,” Terry said. “I really appreciate it.” He studied Eddie for a long moment. “And hey, listen, I know things suck out here, too, so if there’s ever anything I can do…” He gave another shrug. There wasn’t really much he could do, but it felt wrong not to offer. "Nah, mate. Don't worry about me. I've got it made." It was, of course, closer to the truth than anybody ever seemed to realize. "Now, pass the crisps. Smuggling is hungry work." |