Nora Cadwallader (safekeep) wrote in disorderic, @ 2017-10-14 12:34:00 |
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Nora tended to save up her trips to Diagon Alley these days. Her trips out at all, really. The fewer times she went out, the fewer chances she had at running into Snatchers or Inferi or Death Eaters who called her and Rhys out by name. Her first few stops are uneventful, if gloomy. The growing population of wandless wizards and witches and the miserable conditions for them were distressing, but Nora mostly keeps her eyes low. Her guilt doesn't do quite enough to overwhelm the fact that she feels constantly watched and unable to help. The small collection of wandless next to the apothecary make Nora leave it to her last stop. She studies the cobblestones as she walks quickly by, but increasing cries of "Nora? Nora!" and a hand suddenly on her arm bring her eyes back up. She jerks her arm away and steps back by instinct, afraid. She almost doesn't recognize the woman before her, and when she does, she gapes back at the look of betrayal and shame that cross Meredith Hill's face. Nora's former colleague looks gaunt, withdrawn and utterly miserable. They partnered for nearly two years; they had each other's back. Nora forgot that the woman was Muggleborn, and seeing her here is a shock. She manages a quiet "Mer…" before the door to the apothecary opens behind her and she hears the boisterous boom of the proprietor's voice. "Oi, stop harassing my customers," he demands, brandishing his wand at Meredith and the boy beside her (her brother, it must be), "Or I'll call in the Hitwizards! Go on, go find some other door to darken. I am sorry about them, ma'am. I hope you weren't too bothered. Lousy layabouts." But Nora barely hears him as she watches Meredith's retreating figure. Mer looks back once, but Nora doesn't move to go after her or even comfort her a little. A gloom washes over her, some mix of guilt and remorse and fear. It is such a normal feeling that, until she hears the screaming, she doesn't realize dark creatures are causing it. Three Dementors, drawn to the misery of the wandless in Diagon Alley, descend. Nora has never seen one so close. A deep pit forms in her stomach. Dementors make you relive her worst moments, but she already knows what to expect. She relives it all the time. "Brand, Flume, just got a call in from the Aurors and you're up. You can finish that paperwork when you get back. The scene's secure but don't get in too close until the DMLE clears it. Understood?" "Sir," Nora interjects, "Mer and I should go. We're next up in the rotation anyway, and we've got nothing—" "No, Cads, you're sitting this one out." And she knows, then. The world seems to stop for a moment before the chaos breaks out. Nora closes her eyes and counts ten … nine … eight … She takes slow, careful breaths to keep her panic at bay and tries not to let her memories overwhelm her. It is not an easy fight. They finally bring him in and she's waiting in Emergency and he looks like someone's twisted him, like they've wrung him out and tossed him away. She tries to tell him she's here, she's with him, but he's unconscious and broken and the other mediwizards and the healers push her gently away so they can work and she can watch, helpless. "Come on! Inside!" The apothecary proprietor waves to her desperately, but she shakes her head, no. You're crazy, he screams, and slams the door behind him. One of the Dementors swoops down too close and Nora presses herself into the wall as if that might help her escape. She keeps her stiff upper lip as her colleagues don't quite meet her eye, as patients ask her for help since she's still in her uniform and sitting and waiting, as another Auror tells her what happened and she demands that he tell her the truth, tell her everything. She keeps it up until Baz and her mother and her father arrive and she can't anymore and she breaks into heaving, wrenching sobs. But she can't escape yet. "The worst danger has passed," they tell her, "But…" This is an opportunity, as horrifying as the circumstances were. And one she will probably never get again. "... severe spinal damage ..." The Dementor moves on to someone else, and Nora steels herself. "... rehabilitation ..." She follows the direction Meredith took, focusing only on finding her friend. Nora has always been better when she can focus on doing something. "... managing expectations ..." Nora finds her, cowering and wrapped around her little brother as if that might protect them. "... never walk again …" "Hold on," Nora whispers. She makes sure no one is watching them. They keep him under. He would be in too much pain awake and there is so much healing to do. But she sits and reads to him and tries not to cry. It might be an hour or a day or a week, but she has to be there when he wakes up. He has to wake up. She grabs Mer's arm and in a swirl of magic, they disappear. |