InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Duck and cover!"

lavender is sure that living is worse (lavishly) wrote in pandorarpg,
@ 2012-02-01 19:13:00

Entry tags:

!status: complete, ^date: november 14 2003, character: agatha bole, character: lavender brown

Characters: Lavender Brown & Agatha Bole
Setting: Brown home, Friday morning, between ten and eleven
Rating: PGish
Summary: Agatha was assigned Fenrir's case and Lavender happens to be one of the few survivors out there.

The owl from Dean had woken her from her not at all restful morning nap. There was nothing refreshing about crying yourself to sleep and the world didn't feel any better when she woke up, but at least she was home. And home was just about the safest place she had left now, which really wasn't safe at all because she couldn't help but feel that her being here put other people at risk because she wasn't safe.

She padded back out in the living room, collapsing onto the sofa opting for a change of scenery and really just needing to prepare herself for Matthew and Jessica's arrival. If she wasn't strong for anything else, she could be strong for them, she could give them whatever she could just as she did with anyone else she thought needed it. There was a knock at the door and Lavender jumped, instinctively reaching for her wand. They might not have been a house hold that used magic often, but the instinct would always be there, especially because what she knew was out there, coming after her. But then she remembered.

"Mum," she called out, "I thought you were going to pick up Matthew and Jessica?" The last thing she needed right now was a Libby encounter, especially when she wasn't ready for it.

"No," she said ducking her head down the hall to not have to yelling so loudly, "Libby is dropping them off, that's probably her now."

Groaning, Lavender heaved herself off the sofa and over to the front door wondering exactly how her wonderful big sister was going to make this worse. Although Eliza had surprised her earlier this week, so maybe Libby would as well. Lavender opened the door, not bothering to look through the peep hole because seeing Libby wouldn't things any. "I'm so gla-" she stopped mid sentence when she saw that it was decidedly not her sister. "Hello, may I help you with something?" She said carefully.

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 12:51 am UTC (link)

Agatha looked at the young lady with the obvious markings on her face, and presumed this must be Lavender Brown.

"Miss Brown, I'm Auror Agatha Bole. I was hoping we could speak for a few minutes. This is rather important," she added in case it had sounded too much like a request.

Bloody Fenrir Greyback, and this poor girl could likely be a target, seeing as she'd already survived an encounter with him. He was a beast (definitely not a man) that didn't care for unfinished business.

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lavishly
2012-02-02 01:18 am UTC (link)

She stood there for a moment not quite sure what was happening. There was an auror at her door. Unless it was one of friends, which Agatha Bole was not, this was not something that happened often or at all and it wasn't good. A whole span of emotions passed over her face.

It was the silent more than anything that alerted her mother that something wasn't right. "Lavender?" Sylvia called, even if she had hoped her daughters would get along, she knew it would never be that silent. "Who is at the door?" Sylvia came into the living room needing to actually see that everything was all right.

That seem to spark her into action. Lavender glanced over her should to address her mother, leaving the woman still standing at the door. "It's fine, it's someone from the Ministry." She looked back at Auror Bole. "What exactly are you here about? And you know, please come in if this is going to be one of those things that would be better if I was sitting down."

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 01:27 am UTC (link)

Agatha had expected family, as she'd originally been to Brown's flat and had only come here after finding the flat unoccupied. She kept an eye on the older woman to ensure her protectiveness wouldn't interfere, and entered at the not-quite-invitation.

She looked around for the nearest set of seats and walked toward them, 'casually' asking a question as she walked.

"Have you seen today's Prophet, Miss Brown?"

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lavishly
2012-02-02 01:50 am UTC (link)

Lavender closed the door behind the woman following her to take a seat back on the sofa. Her mother stayed back by the door, fine with being little more than an observer and support in waiting until it was needed. "You mean do I know that -" she closed her eyes and swallowed not wanting to say his name or really think about it all, "know Greyback escaped?"

She pulled her feet off the ground and into her body, small was good, it made her compact and easier to protect against. "Yeah, I think I have that one covered." Not that she wanted to, breaking down at work, even if it was mostly family, was not a way to improve her day or even how her life had been going recently.

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 02:40 am UTC (link)

Agatha nodded. "That saves me from giving you the bad news, then. I've been assigned to the case, and I wanted to stop and see if he's had the nerve to come close this soon."

The young woman's body language wasn't hard to read, it screamed fear. She wished she had some news to change that, but she didn't, and she wasn't exactly known for being overly compassionate. She could sympathize, but her job was to catch the animal that might come after her, not to coddle her.

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lavishly
2012-02-02 02:47 am UTC (link)

She was allowed to be afraid, after everything that monster had taken from her and in many ways was still able to take from her even when he was locked away. And now he was free - escaped from Azkaban making the world just that much worse. It made her wonder how many others could have escaped. What other dangers were out there, waiting to attack.

"If he had do you think we would be even sitting here simply having this conversation?" And there it was, Lavender turning her fear or even sadness into anger. Anger was always easier to focus, it could give her some sort of strength when she had none and she was going to need it. "But does that mean you have reason to think he will? And that the Ministry actually has no idea where he is?" Because that just filled her with confidence.

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 03:04 am UTC (link)

"I'm sorry, Miss Brown. I don't mean to cause you any further worry, but I'd rather you be ready. Greyback is known for not liking unfinished business. You survived without being turned, and he would consider that an insult. So do I think he'll come after you? Very likely. The one thing I don't know is when."

She could understand the anger - that was often her own reaction to things, but here and now she was a professional above all else.

"And no, the Ministry doesn't know where he is - that's why they put me on the case. I've gone after him before, before the Battle. I promise, I'll do what I can to get him."

Then, as if coming out of nowhere... "Miss Brown, do you like bubble gum?"

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lavishly
2012-02-02 03:22 am UTC (link)

She wasn't surprised. Not that her nightmares had been worse lately, but they were always of him coming after and wanting to finish what he started. That might have just been a fear, but she liked to think that it was also a response to energies out there. And whether she wanted it or not, she and Greyback were connected.

"No," she said not sure she understood the question and even less sure that she liked the sudden change in conversation. This was the auror assigned to catch Greyback asking about bubblegum? One who hadn't been able to catch him last time either. "I do not like bubble gum."

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	aurorskickarse 2012-02-02 03:38 am UTC (link)
	"That's good, actually. For my purposes, anyway." She reached into her robes and pulled out a pack of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum in kiwi flavour, then held it out to the girl. "Take this a moment, will you? But don't pull a stick from it yet." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lavishly
2012-02-02 03:55 am UTC (link)

Lavender stole a glance at her mother, who was still standing a few feet off. It was a relief that she was still there just in case she needed something a little more comforting and really so she had some sort of witness to this. Only once Sylvia nodded did she reach over and grab the packet of bubble gum.

There were few things worse than artificial flavoring, but fake kiwifruit had to be near the top of the list just below sour apple. "I'm going to wager a guess this isn't actually bubble gum or rather isn't just bubble gum."

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 04:20 am UTC (link)

"You're right," she said as she pulled a silver zippo lighter out of her robes pocket. She then pulled out her wand, tapped it against the lighter, then the packet of bubble gum, and spoke an incantation.

"If you see or even hear from Greyback in any way, shape or form, pull a stick out of that packet. It's linked to this lighter, which will allow me to Apparate to whatever your location is. Don't even think of taking him on yourself, just use this to contact me, all right?"

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lavishly
2012-02-02 04:34 am UTC (link)

Lavender turned the gum over in her hand, trying to figure out what to do with it. Obviously she would have to keep it on her person at all times, like her wand but not quite as a handy. Couldn't it have been something cuter, like she had done with her watch?

"Is it a one time sort of thing? And what if I'm in a place that you can't apparate to?" As far as she knew that was only Hogwarts, but there had to be other places like that. Still, she supposed that this was better than nothing or those pathetic notes she could scribble in a journal and Ernie actually checked what was written. However, she was sure that the DA could come up with something better.

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-02 04:59 am UTC (link)

"It will work every time you pull a stick. If you happen to be someplace that can't be Apparated to, like Hogwarts, then I'll be drawn to the closest Apparatable location. Either way, I'll be close enough to help catch him."

She looked up to the mother and back. This was the best she could do, aside from locking the girl up in the Ministry jails. "Have you any other questions?"

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lavishly
2012-02-02 05:17 am UTC (link)

So she had as many chances to call as she had sticks of bubblegum or until it was lost or taken away. That was good. It meant that if needed she could leave some sort of bread crumbs along the way. It might also mean that she could be tracked and the charm could be reversed, but maybe that was okay too.

"Is there anything else I can do? Other than like just wait around and then pull a stick of gum at the right time?" Lavender Brown needed some sense of agency in this situation and without it she just felt sort of helpless. And when she felt helpless, she started to cry and she when she started to cry - well, that was when the world started to fall apart in ways it couldn't always be put back together again.

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	aurorskickarse 2012-02-02 05:32 am UTC (link)
	This was always the hardest part. How to advise someone when there was the possibility of danger, but no guarantee? "I'd stay away from the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade," she began. "And maybe invest in a silver knife. Aside from that, just use your common sense. Don't do anything foolish." She stood up and nodded to the mother, then to Lavender. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lavishly
2012-02-06 07:41 pm UTC (link)

Lavender snorted, not quite able to hold the reaction back. Getting a silver knife sounded like a great way to end up hurting herself, but it was something to consider. Her mother didn't exactly agree with her daughter's reaction if the warning 'Lav' was any indication.

So, she unraveled from herself, trying to seem more like an actual human being who happened to exist in the world. "Alright, stay away from the Forbidden Forest and keep my not-gum on me at all times." As for being foolish, she didn't expect to go looking for trouble, the problem was the trouble just sort of found her or she turned a corner and there trouble was. "Thank you," she added a moment later just to preempt any motherly intervention or scolding.

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aurorskickarse
2012-02-06 10:10 pm UTC (link)

"All right then," she replied. "You're welcome."

She wondered if the girl realized that most people didn't get such visits, and that Aggie didn't give her signalling system to just anybody. Of course she didn't, most people had such low opinions of Ministry employees, including Aurors, that they often doubted them even capable of doing their jobs.

She only just managed not to sigh.

"You take care," she said as she made her way to the door with the intent of continuing her werewolf hunt.

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