auror edward w. watkins (ingratiating) wrote in find_horcruxes, @ 2009-11-21 17:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | edward watkins, meredith watkins |
Who: The three youngest Watkins (Edward, Meredith and their baby brother Lawrence)
When: 21 November, early afternoon.
Where: HOGSMEADE!
What: Meredith wants to stalk Lawrence while he's in Hogsmeade; Edward is cranky because he's on patrol. They spy their brother kissing a girl. :|
Rating: PG for mild language? IDK.
Meredith was always up for some exciting new adventure, but there was a chance that she was going to get caught. That was mostly because of her inability to keep herself from looking strange. Did she really need her black peacoat and sunglasses and a scarf tied around her head? Most definitely not, and there was a chance that her "sleuthing attire" wasn't going to keep her incognito. Hell, some of the children that had walked by had looked at her, and one woman actually had asked "oh, dear me, you poor child, did you just come from a funeral?" She was pretty sure there was a sense of sarcasm in those words, so she couldn't help throwing a retort back. "How unfortunate that I'm still dressed far better than that hideous vomit green skirt and snow boots you're wearing. What kind of combination is that?" The girl huffed, turning slightly red. "Just watch. In some years, it'll start a trend!" As she walked away in a strop, Meredith shook her head in disdain. Giving out fashion advise was not the mission today. And as she remembered the mission, Meredith pulled out her journal from her pocket and raised it in front of her face, with her eyes behind the sunglasses peeking over and scanning the crowd. "Edward, I don't see him. Do you?" Edward listened his sister's interaction with the girl with amusement, and a bit of pity for the girl who had made the mistake of insulting Meredith's outfit. He had learned that lesson the hard way, and he was sure he'd never forget it. That didn't stop him from teasing Meredith from time to time, but at least he was prepared for her wrath. "I'm with you," he commented, never once taking his eyes off the crowd. "On her outfit. That green was disgusting." Technically, he was there for work, which was a relief to him, to be able to keep an eye on his sister and all of her friends and the students from Hogwarts, but it was also a bit frustrating. He wanted to sneak around like Meredith wanted, but it was bloody impossible to justify that while on the job. He also was probably the least incognito person around, dressed in his Auror robes. At least he had his goatee; if Lawrence spotted him, the goatee might be the only way their younger brother would walk right by. "No, I don't," he sighed. It was a risk, this Hogsmeade weekend, after the turmoil the wizarding world had been through over the last few months. He hadn't expected the Death Eaters to show up at a large gathering of wizards of all kinds, but they had. He couldn't have the same hopes for that weekend. "Maybe he slipped into a shoppe when --" Edward's voice cut off and his eyes widened. "Got him. Coming out of Honeydukes." When Edward had shown up in front of Meredith with that goatee on, she had a good laugh for two minutes before deciding they were off to business. Now that she looked at it, at least she was able to refrain until need be later on in the day. But as soon as he had spotted him, Meredith's head whipped around to follow his gaze. "Brilliant!" Without waiting for Edward (because she obviously assumed he would follow), she sidestepped behind a group of seventh years walking by, ducking her head down at the same time. They were just a year younger but she wasn't going to take the chance of having one turn around and proclaim very loudly about how much they missed have her around. "Meredith!" he hissed as she walked away, hoping to stop it before she got very far. She wasn't supposed to leave his sight, and there she was, running off like he wasn't even there. "Bollocks," he muttered under his breath as he pushed himself away from the wall and followed after her. He smiled politely at the gaggle of students she'd passed, recognising a few faces and pointedly ignoring the giggles of any girls as they whispered amongst themselves. Apparently being an Auror was appealing to some women; who would have thought? It didn't take very long for him to catch up to her, and then he grabbed her arm to stop her. "I thought I told you not to just go running off. You stay by me, or you go back to the cottage, end of story." He wasn't even looking at her, his attention focused on their surroundings again. He did, however, spot their brother up ahead, stopping to wait for a girl to catch up with him. "Who's that?" he asked, his brow creasing slightly as he squinted down the road at the pair. What was his deal? Meredith spun around to frown at him. "Why are you so bleeding paranoid? I'm right here!" But before she had a chance to scold him farther, he had spotted someone and she craned her neck up past the other students to get a good look. They were still far off but it wasn't hard to see that there was a girl with him. When she saw him reach for her hand, she knew this was what they were looking for. And Meredith had to keep herself from running off again in excitement. "Come on, you can't be too slow either!" She pulled her arm out of Edward's grasp, but only to grab his hand and drag him with her in that direction. "I'm working," Edward moaned, trying to shake his hand from Meredith's grasp. The last thing he wanted to do was get into trouble for not paying attention while he was hanging around Hogsmeade, on the clock or not. "I thought I explained that to you, that you've got to do all the work today because I can't go sneaking off and I can't get distracted!" Edward huffed. Women. And they said men never listened to them. In Edward's world, sometimes the reverse was actually true. He finally shook her off just in time to see the couple start to turn towards them, and Edward got a glimpse of a familiar face before he turned away to avoid being spotted himself. "She looks familiar," he muttered to Meredith out of the corner of his mouth, using the moment to gather his thoughts again. "Doesn't she?" "Then why do I have to stay with you? This sort of thing doesn't require going slow. You can go ahead and search around. But I need to catch up with them." She was glowering behind her sunglasses. Meredith Watkins was not a baby. She could understand what he was doing, but this was work for the sake of the children here, not her. She wasn't a child anymore, and she was pretty damn sure, she could take care of herself. If anything was going to happen, easy apparition back home would have her covered. Meredith's sunglasses were big enough to practically hide half her face. The scarf covered her hair well, so when they turned, they didn't give her any acknowledgment. When Edward turned away, Meredith stepped right in front of him to hide herself, and then peeked over his shoulder at the couple. She squinted but when that didn't help, she pulled of her sunglasses in frustration and then checked again. "Oh. Bloody. No." The girl did indeed look familiar, but recognition didn't dawn till a few seconds of watching. And then Meredith's jaw dropped open. "Isobel McKinnon." She had a good point. He didn't have to, and he shouldn't, but he'd been looking forward to seeing his brother for months. Work or no work, he still wanted to say hello at some point during the afternoon. Whether that would include embarrassing his brother or not, he wasn't sure, but when Meredith recognised the girl, Edward had a feeling that any hopes to embarrass Lawrence just flew out the window. "What?" Edward turned and looked over his shoulder at the pair. So that was why the face looked familiar. He knew Marlene well enough, and Effie's face was everywhere because of the Magpies. "Fuck me. He's --" Just then, Lawrence leaned in to kiss the girl. "He's snogging my boss's daughter!!" Meredith didn't bother staying to listen to Edward finish that sentence. She knew who she was through several connections besides brother's boss's daughter. She brushed past him right away and headed toward the couple who hadn't noticed her coming at all. Of course, how could they when they were too wrapped up in each other - ugh - to look up and see anyone approaching. She came up right behind Lawrence and plastered a smile on her face before leaning over toward her younger brother's ear. "HI, LAWR!" That definitely got his attention, because they quickly separated and he spun around to meet her eyes, his face turning pale. Meredith kept on her smile. "Got your letter last time. I think it was missing a very important detail!" "Uh..." Lawrence blinked a few times in shock and embarrassment. He should have known that Meredith (or any of her friends) could have spotted him. They lived in Hogsmeade, for Merlin's sake, but the possibility had completely slipped his mind. "What... important detail?" he asked, hoping that Meredith was referring to something else and not Isobel. While Meredith walked up to their brother and Isobel, Edward took a moment to pull his journal out from his robes and scribble a quick note to Marlene about what they'd seen. It might have been a low blow, especially if Isobel hadn't told her family, but considering how public the couple was being with their affections, Edward's justification was that anyone could see them, so it wasn't a betrayal if he let Marlene know. In fact, it was probably better that he told her before someone else could, or before it made its way to her through the gossip channels. That done, Edward tucked the journal back into his robes and slowly wandered over. Meredith's eyebrows shot up, while she kept up the cheery appearance. It was a look that could easily intimidate a third year into a sobbing wreck. Lawrence was used to it by now, and was increasingly hoping that Isobel wouldn't fall prey to the seething look. "What important detail? My darling brother, I would think that something like what was going on here would be a very important detail!" She hardly noticed Edward's stunt with the journal. If she had, she might have been slightly hesitant on going that way. It wasn't that Marlene didn't have a right to know, but supposedly, Edward found out about Barty from someone other than her, and she would have liked to be the one to have broken it to him. But oh well, things didn't always turn out that way, so if anyone else knows, they know! Lawrence looked helplessly over Meredith's shoulder at his brother, who was approaching, but Edward only shrugged and grinned at him, as if to say Lawrence was all on his own. "It's..." He couldn't very well say nothing when it was obviously something, but he also wasn't exactly sure what it was. "It's none of your business," he muttered. "I don't have to tell you everything." Besides, it was entirely possible that the last time he'd written, nothing at all had been going on, for all she knew. How was she supposed to know any different? "He has a point," Edward said from behind Meredith, deciding to take pity on his brother. "And I think it's very clear what's going on here." Meredith threw a glare over her shoulder at Edward before looking back at Lawrence. Before she could say anything, though, she noticed him looking at her attire in a funny way. "What?" Lawrence looked back up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you look like you just came from a funeral?" Meredith had a strong temptation to box him over the ears for that, but she narrowed her eyes at him in a threatening manner before turning to the girl who was probably feeling very alienated from all this. And she was indeed standing away from the group, looking mighty comfortable. "Isobel." she said, giving her a smile that Isobel all too smartly didn't seem to trust right away. "Apparently, Lawrence is either very good at keeping secrets or his attraction seemed to develop overnight since this was clearly not something he thought to tell us before that." Okay, maybe he was right and maybe it wasn't her business, but she would have liked to think he could trust his older siblings with these things! "Meredith," Edward said sharply. Poor Isobel. Not long before, he'd been feeling sorry for himself because his brother was involved with the Head Auror's daughter, but now he felt bad for Isobel, who was the innocent party (unless she'd told Lawrence to keep it a secret, but he didn't think his brother would tolerate that) and bearing the brunt of Meredith's frustration. "Sorry about this, Isobel. It's nice to see you a--" "Maybe," Lawrence began, bristling with annoyance as he interrupted Edward, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it, like you are right now." In all honesty, he hadn't wanted his siblings to make a fuss in case the situation with Isobel blew up in his face. "And this isn't a secret," he added. He didn't wan Isobel to think he was ashamed. "I just hadn't gotten around to telling you because I know how Mum is and you're just going to go and tell her right away." Meredith ignored everything else and only focused on Lawrence's words. She'd probably apologize later on to Isobel because this was in no way her fault, and Meredith knew that. There was just something she needed to discuss with her youngest brother first. "I would tell Mum? I never even told her about Barty! It wasn't until our brother decided to tell him where is hands were going at the Longbottom wed--" "Do not need to know that, Meredith!" Lawrence cringed. He had definitely heard of it and been promptly grossed out by it too, that she need not bring it back up. Of course that was one part of the argument he could easily turn around against her. "And did YOU tell anyone of us about dating Barty Crouch? Because as far as I remember, Ed found out another way too! You're being a huge hypocrite and you don't even realize it!" By now, people around there were starting to stare, which wasn't making anyone, especially not Isobel, any less uncomfortable. "In my defence," Edward began, considering bringing up the reason he told their mother about Meredith and Barty -- which was mostly Meredith's fault, in his opinion, since Meredith was the one who said that blasted thing about the rash. Luckily, for everyone involved, Edward stopped himself at the last second and pressed his lips together tightly. Isobel did not need to hear about that. "How about," he tried again, looking helplessly between his siblings, "we all agree that you both kept something from the rest of us, okay? Actually," because it suddenly seemed like the opportune moment to mention what had happened recently between him and Miriam, not because he wanted to tell them but because he wanted them to stop arguing with each other, "see, a girl kissed me last week. And again on Wednesday. So there, we're all guilty of secrets. Can we stop fighting now?" "What?" Meredith and Lawrence exclaimed together, looking at him in surprise. While her youngest brother probably had no idea who could want to kiss him, Meredith's eyes lit up in realization. "Miriam? She kissed you? When? Are you two official?" "Wait, wait," Lawrence said, holding up a hand. "Who's Miriam? What aren't you telling me now? Can we just get out with everything right now before someone gives me detention?" Isobel was still standing all on her lonesome, but not for long, because Lawrence reached out and pulled her into the group. "Fine," Edward huffed, "but quickly, because I have work to do, and I have to stop at Honeydukes for my squad leader." Merlin, he hoped Isobel wouldn't go tell her father that she witnessed a heated conversation between one of his Aurors and said Auror's siblings. "Last week," he said, looking at Meredith quickly so she knew he was answering her questions, "and I wouldn't call us official." It was, however, a lot closer than they'd been to official before, and he still planned on continuing to see her and go on dates with her. He'd told Modesty that he was seeing someone, at any rate. How serious it was, that was still up in the air. He looked back at his brother for a second. "And she's a friend. Well, was... is. She was a year above me at school, and she's a Healer. There. Now, Meredith, let's leave them alone. I'll say hi to Mum for you, and I won't tell her about this, promise." Edward hoped Lawrence knew he could trust his word on that. Meredith glanced over when Lawrence pulled Isobel over and she felt a stab of guilt. Okay, he had a point. Well, both of them did. They ought to leave them alone, but Lawrence was also right that she didn't share much either. "Can you wait?" Meredith hissed at Edward. Whatever was in Honeydukes, she was sure it could wait because it wasn't urgent enough for him to come down here and get it himself. She huffed slightly and crossed her arms and without looking at either one of them, just came out and said it. "Barty said he loves me." Edward rolled his eyes that time. No, he really couldn't, not if he wanted to remain in good standing with the department. He didn't much like the thought of bothering their brother on a date anymore, either. The whole spying thing -- he was fairly sure he'd only wanted to spy on him, not harass him. "Huh?" His brows lifted at the same time Lawrence's did, nearly identical expressions on their faces. "Barty Crouch, right?" Lawrence asked, causing Isobel's eyebrows to lift as well. She recognised that name, and assumed (correctly) that they were talking about the younger one. What was it with couples confessing their love for each other so quickly? Edward wondered with a slight frown. "Haven't you only been dating a couple months?" First Boyd and Addie, now Barty and Meredith? He shook his head. "Never mind. I have to go. Sorry about this, Isobel, and Lawrence, I'll be around until you lot all leave, so come find me before?" As Edward ran off, Meredith was left alone with them. She turned back around and this time gave Isobel a genuine smile. "If I scared you, I'm sorry." When she didn't say anything to Lawrence, he frowned and waved. "Uh, hello? Do I get an apology too from you for invading my privacy?" "Fine. I'm sorry, Lawrence." After a pause, she tilted her head at him and smiled. "So do you two have any plans now?" "Meredith!" She knew a threatening tone when she heard one, Meredith thought, rolling her eyes. "All right! Have fun. I'll go bother Ed about Miriam." |