Caradoc Dearborn is Emmeline's pimp (mrdearborn) wrote in throwingstones, @ 2010-03-20 21:16:00 |
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Upon arrival to Prewett Manor, guests were greeted by an elf who checked their invitation and each individual person was lead to the garden where the maze awaited them. On their own, each guest received instructions from the elf along with three clues to help them through the maze. The object, of course, was to reach the centre where Mr and Mrs Prewett, and the rest of the successful party waited in a tower and watched over those struggling. By five in the afternoon, those who had not made it through yet were led by way of magic to the tower and the party began. At the party, a string quartet provided the music and petit fours and Hors d'œuvres were served while guests were welcome to socialise until sunset when the party was declared through. Walden, Emmeline and Andromeda Emmeline hadn't been here long and she was already more than ready to go. She hated purists. And she was convinced it was Rabastan behind every mask and that even if her hair was brown now, and her eyes were a dark green, and her tits were a size bigger, that he'd see her and know. But luckily she'd managed to avoid anyone who looked like they might be his shape and size in favor of sticking close to Andromeda and wandering casually through the maze. Walden really had no desire being anywhere near a social event. Normally he clung to Eva but she was at home, mourning. His mother had insisted that he go to represent his sister and to prove that the Macnairs thrived in the face of tragedy. All he wanted to do was show up on Caradoc Dearborn's doorstep and murder him. No, that didn't seem good enough. A quick death wasn't what the Auror deserved. He was yanked from his train of thought as a few masked children ran into him before running further into the maze. No, he was not even remotely close to being in the mood to socialise so he spotted a path that was obviously a dead end. All he needed was five minutes of silence and then he could return to being charming and whatever else was asked of him. With a quick glance around, making him look much more suspicious than he actually was, Walden slipped away from his group towards a momentary escape. Andromeda still wasn't at complete ease with being throw back into this all again, and even with her hair glamoured a dark red and her dark eyes a pale grey, it was still hard to believe that at any moment someone wasn't going to be able to pick her out and this entire little charade was over. On the other hand, it was surprising to find how easily it was to pull forth her upbringing that she had pushed back for so many years. Once a purist, always a purist? Ugh, she hated the thought of that, but was in no position to philosophically think about that all right now. She had been sticking close to Emmeline the entire time they were here, tittering about about whatever stupid and "proper" subject popped into her mind, while speaking in hushed tones to the younger female about who could potentially be taken, and when they needed to move to avoid the few people she could pick out anywhere in the crowd, even with the glamours and mask in place. She had a feeling their were a few people from her past that would be able to pick her out anywhere- namely her parents and Narcissa, and so she wanted nothing to do with them. With one of her arms wrapped delicately around the crook of Emmeline's elbow, she let out another one of those tinkery laughs that was seriously beginning to grate on her sanity, ready to just find someone and snatch them. Looking up to survey their surrounding in the maze, she noticed a masked male who seemed to be hard-pressed to get away from all insanity these types of things included. Immediately dropping her voice down an octave or two, she muttered to Emmeline, "Him. He's already looking like he wants to get away from everyone... so, why don't we help?" And with that she directed her over at a slow pace to where the man had turned in the hedge maze, going back to ditzy purist until they where out of sight. "Oh, I wonder what could possibly be down here? All of these dead ends have me wondering if we will ever find our way out of here." Kill her now, please. Emmeline let herself be dragged along with Andromeda. She'd done plenty of the society thing in her younger days but she was always left out completely. Fullblood Gryffindor and all that. So she was uncomfortable here, even if she fit right in with her fancy dress and vapid conversation skills. Emmeline kept her mouth shut because by now she was ready to choke on her own tongue. Following someone into the maze felt far better. It was difficult though to find their way in the damn thing and they came to several dead ends before they eventually rounded a corner and saw the man who'd been looking to escape the party. She yanked Andromeda back a few inches. "He's right there," she mouthed. The moment Walden had found himself alone he'd taken his cigarette case out. He didn't smoke around his mother because she hated it but there was no one stopping him now, so he used his wand as a lighter and carefully took a drag through his mask. He jerked his head up as Andromeda's voice echoed through the path that wound before his chosen alcove but he didn't see anyone. He remained turned and he watched the opening of the tunnel as he took another drag from his cigarette. But there was movement just around the corner and Walden rolled his eyes. It was likely that two of the less intelligent women had gotten themselves lost and he had half a mind to let them remain so. Curiosity got the best of him however, and he wandered towards them before poking his head around the corner. "Hello there. It seems you two have lost your way." Andromeda hadn't been expecting to be yanked back by Emmeline so suddenly, and looked at the younger girl with a slight glare, though it dropped off her face when she made out the words formed on her lips. Well, that could work to their advantage-- Or there went their element of surprise as the male appeared smoking a cigarette right in front if them. Something, something about him was so familiar it was terrifying, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. This did nothing to help her nerves, but she tried not to let it show as she threw back up her best display of the "Hello to yourself as well, and it appears we have. How silly of us, but this maze is simply so sprawling, we did not think it would be so much of a feat." As she spoke, she pulled Emmeline a bit closer to her to try and make it less obvious that her hand that had been curled against her lower back was dipping into the make-shift pocket near the back of her hip she had made in her dress. She was no seamstress, but with how tightly corseted her top was, knew there were really no other options with this all. "Have you found yourself lost the same as us?" That smile was plastered on her face as she slowly inched her wand up far enough to properly grab it around the handle, if Emmeline could only distract him long enough, she could stun him. Hopefully. Emmeline could feel Andromeda shifting behind her to move toward her wand and she crossed in front of Andromeda giving the man a coy smile. "Fabian?" she asked, acting as if she was guessing though she thought she might know it if it was him. "Or... Julien?" It was a fake name but who the fuck cared. It was too dangerous to go naming off the real purists at this point. "Father said I couldn't talk to strangers so you'll have to enlighten me if you want me to disclose how lost we are without finding myself glued to my mother for the rest of the evening," she teased, her voice light and airy, as good an impression as she could do of her viper of a step-mother. "Your name for mine?" She placed a hand on his elbow to guide his attention to her when she finally got a good look at his eyes and she nearly jumped as if she'd been stung. Walden Macnair. Probably. Shit. Walden had a routine that he followed during almost every society event. Walk in, sort out who was where, and then head for the alcohol. He'd done just that when he'd arrived at the Prewett home, despite the fact that it was two in the afternoon. He'd had a few and the voices of the girls sounded familiar, but he wasn't exactly sure who they were. He was forced to make small talk with so many people at these things and he was terrible with names. "I'm fairly certain that the point of a masked event is so that people get to know each other without the crutch of a name. I won't be offended if you don't give me yours but it makes me less inclined to share my own." He took another drag of his cigarette and looked between them again. "I would be more than happy to escort you back if you'll allow me." No, she did want to give this man who was looking more and more familiar her name. And no she did not want this man who was looking more and more familiar to escort them back. For a second there, the hatred of having to resort to acting like some dumb, defenseless twit nearly got the best of her in her response to Walden, but she managed to not let that smile falter. "But the request was turned on you first, kind sir, which would make it your disclosure we are waiting for." There was a split-second when Andromeda wondered if that statement even made sense at all, then realised the type of company she was in. Just throw together lots of big words with some fancy sentence structure and surely it would make sense. She merely chuckled at his second statement, intent on bringing forth more stupidity when she stopped suddenly. In trying to get a more comfortable grip of her wand, she had gotten it caught on the back of that corset and a momentary look of surprise passed over her face. Andromeda tried to recover as seamlessly as possible, that chuckle picking back up with a note of uncertainty as she hurried to continue this conversation. "What a nice offer, but I am not sure if that will be frowned upon by my mother?" She was flailing now and it was obvious. Plus, she was pretty sure there were quite a few things about this all that her mother would disapprove of. What the hell is Andromeda waiting for? Emmeline asked herself, giving her friend an expectant look but not seeing anything forth coming. Her own wand was hidden inside her dress as well and it was a little late to be pulling it out considering Walden could see all of her at this point. There was no subtle way to do it. "Sophia Bones," Emmeline supplied, letting her hand move to rest on Walden's arm. If she could just get her other hand to her wand she wouldn't need to pull it. That would be enough to let her apparate away. "And what my mother doesn't know won't hurt her." She made a move for her wand, abandoning any pretense of subtlety as she tightened her grip on the man. Andromeda's movements were odd and she looked uncomfortable. She seemed very nervous as she spoke and he watched her carefully. He knew he should recognise her, but he just couldn't bring a name to the front of his mind. But then the other woman was speaking again before he had a chance to question Andromeda's awkwardness. Her hand on his arm, her voice and the actual words, all combined and suddenly Walden was struck with recognition and then momentary confusion. What the hell was Emmeline Vance doing at a garden party and why was she pretending to be a Bones? And who was her friend. But he didn't have time to think on that because Emmeline was moving to grab something, probably her wand, so he shouted a disarming spell and then he stepped forward and reached for the other girls mask, feeling the material underneath his fingertips. Things went south, and they went south quicker than Andromeda really had any chance to react to. One second she and Emmeline where trying to get this done, and though having a minor setback, managed to not fail too horribly. That didn't last that way for long, though. At such a short range, she wasn't even sure if it would work at all, but the second she saw Walden move for his wand, she threw up a shield charm. Whether it worked or not in defending against that disarming spell on the other female's part was lost to her when she saw a large hand coming towards her face. And then her mask had been ripped off. Oh this was really not good. Her first thought was to get the hell out of here in that very instance, but something against her usual nature told her that she very well might be leaving the younger girl to a certain death. With another startled look sent towards the male, she tugged Emmeline back away from him in one swift movement and then disapparated the two of them out of the maze. Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit. When Emmeline appeared with Andromeda where they hadn't been before she was annoyed beyond measure. There's no fucking way she'd have left that maze if she hadn't been dragged out. She had seen recognition in Walden's eyes when he'd look at her and then he'd full on seen Andromeda so there was that. But going back wasn't an option. Walden was no doubt already gone and she'd be putting herself in the sort of unnecessary position of risk that Edgar might very well ground her for. And so she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from blaming Andromeda, because really it was both their fault, and she went off to find Caradoc. He was going to be pissed, but there was no getting around it. She and Andromeda were now confirmed. Walden had not expected Andromeda to be the woman behind the mask and he didn't even attempt to hide his surprise. He was almost relieved that they disappeared because he didn't feel like explaining to Bellatrix that he'd killed one of her sisters. It was bad enough he had to report back that she was with Emmeline Vance. He took a brief moment to find humour in the fact that he had a personal relationship with both of them, although one was slightly more so than the other. Walden put his wand away and straightened his robes before rolling his shoulders back. His mother was no doubt searching for him, so he would go play the good son and then he would report to Jack the moment he got the chance. ------- Aston, Sirius and Lily Six months ago, or perhaps only one month, Lily would not have been here. She'd have seen the idea to kidnap people at a party and she'd have begun raising questions and doubts. Surely not every Pureblooded man who went to these parties was a Death Eater. It would be masked also, so what would prevent them from abducting a completely innocent bystander? Were they the type of people who did that? She'd have argued and folded her arms and disapproved on principle. And surely she would not have volunteered immediately without even stopping to consider the logistics. But six months, and even one, was very far away, and Lily felt like a different person now. Because before she'd been able to be objective, look at the Order as a way to fix what was broken. And now... well, now she just wanted the Death Eaters to know that they couldn't tear her life apart without her fighting back. The time of being passive was long gone, and Lily wasn't even sure she missed it when it disappeared along with those morals of right and wrong she'd felt so strongly about. Tonight they were nowhere to be found as she laced her arms through Sirius', her wedding rings in her jewelry box in her bedroom, her hair piled into blonde curls on the top of her head and her eyes blue as they starred out of the mask obscuring her face. They'd been investigating their area of the maze for some time and finding no one of worth, but as they rounded a corner Lily stopped them, placing a finger to her lips and slipping her hand from Sirius' arm as she peered tentatively around the corner of the hedge, her eyes sharp and almost predatory as she investigated before easing back beside Sirius. Wordlessly she gestured with her head for him to look and judge the lone man standing on the other side. They had a target. While some people might have assumed that Sirius would never go back to another Purist Society event in his life, he had done just that, and he was even enjoying it. It was fun being glamoured and in costume with Lily on his arm looking for some young Death Eater to nab and bring back to Caradoc. Part of Sirius was surprised, however, that Lily was so very intent upon the pair of them capturing a Death Eater considering the fact that she had been against causing them much harm only weeks ago. Still, the other part of him understood. Lily had dealt with a lot in those weeks, and Sirius could see that she was becoming more determined to set things in the world right, and he was glad of it. They had all joined the Order to get things done, and nothing was going to get done if they weren't serious about anything. He paused when Lily stopped and shushed him from the inane babble he had been spewing to look more properly Purist and followed her gaze. There was a young man alone in their portion of the maze, and it seemed Lily had decided upon him as a target. Sirius was perfectly fine with that, and as they had discussed, he nodded at Lily and made his way over to the young man to distract him. If there was one thing Sirius was good at, it was distracting a person or causing a scene. "Excuse me, sir. You wouldn't have happened to see a blonde around here, about so tall." Sirius gestured to indicated Lily's height. She's a charming little thing, promised to meet me here away from prying eyes, but I haven't been able to find her." As much as he prescribed to the blood lines and their beliefs, and as far as he would go to uphold everything pure and proper, Aston still found these social gatherings inane and completely uneccessary at best. It really wasn't his place to question it, though, the fact that this may possibly have to all do with the Prewett's showing off their newly returned Golden Child. Or even why it had to be something of a costume party. There were much more important things to be dealing with right now, the least of which directly revolving around Rabastan Lestrange... but this really wasn't something he could avoid. He knew that and hated it, and yet here he was. After his mother had set into her new favourite game of pointing out potential mates for him for what seemed like forever, Aston had excused himself to go off and look for his father. This had not been the actual plan, but it was one that his mother would not question in the least. Instead, he had made his way into that maze, hoping to find himself lost, though in the process try and figure out what could be done about the current situation at hand. With the Wizengamot in place as it would, a conviction was laughable to even think about, but it didn't mean that things still couldn't go horribly wrong before it ever got that far. The DMLE had a personal vendetta against the Lestrange family as a whole, and now with one of them in their grasp? Who knew what sort of extremes would be taken to ruin the lives of they and potentially so many others in good Purist standing? With his arms clasped behind his back, he had been walking slowly through a near deserted area of the maze, and didn't notice the two conspirators that came upon him until the male confronted him. "Hm?" Aston stopped where he was, looking up at someone he didn't recognise. Well, with the state of dress around here that wasn't too hard to fathom, but knowing these people as he did, it wasn't hard to discern just who was who in all of this. But this male... he could only assume was some outsider of Society, some cousin invited by someone feeling charitable to the lessers. Or something like that, he could only deduce from what was being said. He really didn't want to become involved with, or have knowledge of, any sorts of affairs with blondes about so tall again. "No, I have not," he replied curtly, "And I am not entirely sure if some sort of lewd meeting away from prying eyes is exactly what the Prewetts had in mind while offering up this maze as part of this all." Oh yes, he was in exactly the right state of mind to go lecturing strangers. It was a good plan, the one Lily and Sirius had made. It was simple, not flashy, and most importantly it wouldn't put her in danger. All in all, a plan that would be approved of. But the hinge of this plan was on Sirius not getting distracted in his part of distracting their target. Lily shifted impatiently from behind the shrubbery as the two men conversed, unable to hear the words that were being exchanged. As they stood now, Lily wouldn't be able to slip out and do her part without being seen, and her being seen was not part of the plan. Sirius needed to get the target to turn his back to where she was standing, keep his attention, and be prepared in case for some reason the man spotted her. Her foot tapped silently against the ground, her wand grasped in her hand and her back pressed against the greenery as she peered around again at the guys. This mission was so close to complete and successful that she could taste it. And she really needed a successful mission completion. "Come on, Sirius," she muttered imperceptibly to herself while she watched. "Just get him to turn a little more to the left." Sirius had to fight hard not to laugh when he was accused of using the maze for a lewd meeting. Purists were so absolutely ridiculous with their propriety it was insane. It was just one of the hundreds of reasons he was glad that he had decided to leave it all behind and live a normal life. "The Prewetts really were not thinking then, were they? It is the perfect opportunity for a lewd meeting as you call it, and I cannot imagine there are not others who had a similar idea to my own. Being under the watchful eye of a chaperon can grow dreadfully dull after awhile." Biting the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out in laughter, Sirius gestured down the path of the maze pretending that he saw one such improper couple. Latching on to the other young man's arm, he tugged him in that direction a little, effectively turning him so that Lily had a chance to come up behind him without being noticed immediately. He hoped he didn't get punched for forcefully moving the other. "See what I mean. There is a couple right there. I knew I was not the only one that would take advantage of this fine bit of entertainment and have a stroll here in the maze." It wasn't so utterly ridiculous a thought when you had the knowledge of just what a lewd meeting could lead to, as Aston did. He wasn't the type of person to immediately chum up to anyone he encountered on any given day, but with this male he had woefully encountered, he took an instant dislike for. He was not looking for some sort of conversation about anything, especially not with this topic at hand. "I rather doubt they were the ones not thinking, though could direct those same sentiments towards another being." Salazar, this almost was like holding a conversation with Rabastan! Which only made him want to get away from this person all the more, knowing just how much trouble something like that could lead to. And then he grabbed his arm. Rage flashed over his features, though mostly obstructed by that mask, as the other tried to direct him to look at something down the maze. Aston yanked his arm away from the one he had no clue was in fact well known blood traitor, Sirius Black, and spoke in a voice that was deathly calm. "If I was not about to get my point across before, I really have no interest in this train of thought you seem to be babbling on about nor do I think it is in your best interests to lay a hand on me. I have not seen this blonde you speak of, have no reason nor want to help you find her, so if you continue on your way I think that would be for the--" Stupefy, Lily thought clearly, stepping out from behind the hedge as the spell collided into the back of the man who looked as if he were about to attack Sirius at any moment. Well, it was fortunate Alice had seen to getting her Nonverbals up to par. They'd come in quite handy in this mission. Smiling a self congratulatory grin, Lily pocketed her wand into the hidden slot in her dress as she pushed her mask up over her face and strode quickly over to where their target lay curled on the ground. "How do you inspire complete strangers into wanting to hit you, especially when they don't even know it's you?" she asked Sirius without looking up from the body. "And if you say 'talent,' I might be the one to hit you." Sighing, she crossed her arms, regarding the man at her feet. A few weeks ago she'd have felt guilty doing it this way, striking a man who wasn't armed in the back just seemed quite... dirty. And wrong. But again, things were different now. Still, Lily wanted to be sure before they delivered this person to Caradoc. Bending down, she reached out a hand towards his mask, lifting it off and letting it fall to the ground as she stood, her eyes widening as she gazed on him. Widening and then narrowing. Aston bleeding Mulciber. She fucking knew it! Hitwizard or not, Frank's cousin or not, she knew he was a Death Eater even if no one else did. Students did not use Dark Magic on other students unless they were aspiring to the ranks of the Unholy. Before she could stop herself, her foot in the too high heels shot out and into the flesh between his ribs and his hips as hard as she could. Yes, he was now stunned and unarmed and it was really classless to attack someone in such a state but she couldn't help it! "That is for Mary, you evil insane bastard!" The words were said with a hatred and venom she'd been harboring for weeks, and even though this wasn't the man who had killed her sister it was very much the boy who had attacked her friend. She glared at his unresponsive form, not daring to take her heated eyes from him despite Sirius beside her. "Do you think Caradoc will be annoyed we're bringing him a Hitwizard?" she asked him, her voice even despite the anger that was making her shoulders shake. Sirius had to try really hard not to chuckle through the entire rant from his new friend, and when Aston finally slumped to the ground, the sound bubbled up, and he quickly found himself doubled over, hands on his knees, laughing, eyes locked on the limp form of the young man in front of him. He had very nearly composed himself and replied with 'It's a talent.' when Lily asked how he inspired complete strangers into wanting to hit him, but he dissolved back into laughter again instead at her threat. It really was a talent. He, the one and only Sirius Black, was fantastic at making people want to hit him. His laughter stopped when Lily pulled the mask off of his new friend, and he stood staring, mouth slightly agape at the face she revealed. He recognised Aston Mulciber, and it was obviously Lily did as well because before Sirius could say a word, she was driving her foot into his side. If he hadn't recognised their captive, he might have stopped her, but he let her go. There was little doubt in his mind that this one could be a Death Eater considering the group of people he had called friends during his Hogwarts years. Lestrange, Avery, Snape. Lily could kick him all night as far as he was concerned. The only trouble was that they had instructions to bring him back to Caradoc so that he could be interrogated so there would be no letting him die from internal injury at the hands of a crazed ginger. Blonde. Something. Frowning a little, Sirius grabbed hold of Lily's shoulder and tried to tug her away from Mulciber. "Easy there. I think Caradoc wants him alive, but I'm fairly certain that he'll get what's coming to him if it makes you feel better. And I don't think he'll care that we're bringing him a Hitwizard. In fact, it's probably a good thing. If he confesses to being a Death Eater, maybe Caradoc can plant the seed of doubt in the minds of the higher ups in the DMLE and get him ousted." Point his wand at Mulciber, he cast an Incarcerous and watched passively as the magical ropes bound up their captive. After levitating him, Sirius put on his best Purist face and bowed to Lily with a gesture for her to lead the way. "After you, fair lady." It took a few long moments for Lily to compose herself so that she didn't look murderous. However, her blue eyes slipped free from their glamour, shining jewel bright with their signature green as a sure sign that she was as far away from calm as she could be. But she nodded, reluctantly, giving Mulciber another glare as Sirius bound and raised their captive. Caradoc said the apparation wards were down, so it was fortunate they didn't have to smuggle a party guest out past the others. That could be highly problematic. "Don't splinch him," she warned Sirius, smoothing her hands down her dress and being relieved they had stopped trembling. Then, sure she was composed enough to not splinch herself, she turned on her heel and disapparated with a pop. Not at all looking forward to the fallout sure to come from their victim. ------- Felix, Marlene and Remus Probably the biggest bummer about going to a costume party undercover as a purist girl is that they seemed to be completely incapable of being creative in their costume choices. Rather than the focus being on the costume element, the purist girls seemed to concentrate so much more on the expensive pretty dresses aspect, and trying to look like they were the girl there who'd spent the most on their outfit. The "costume" part of it seemed glossed over, and they all claimed to either be some classical literary figure, or a Greek or Roman goddess, or a character from the Arthurian legends. Marlene had decided on going to the garden party as Maid Marian from Robin Hood, figuring the tale had existed long enough to have purist eyebrows raised at the choice. Not that it mattered, in Marlene's opinion. She was a girl in a dress and a mask. This wasn't a costume, in her opinion, but it made for a good cover. "Ready?" she asked Remus, hanging a few steps behind him as she vanished her drink, preparing to attempt her best "damsel in distress" act on the first potential death eater they ran across. Remus had never felt comfortable dressing up -- he felt like he was calling attention to himself, and well... that was never really something he enjoyed much. So he dressed simply, wearing fine dress robes and a mask to hide his face, but still nice enough to fit in with the rest of the crowd so he could simply blend in and be unnoticed amongst everyone else. Which is exactly what he wanted. "Ready as I'll ever be," he said, glancing back at her. "Are you?" Marlene pulled out the makeshift drawing of the maze's layout, trying to pinpoint where exactly she and Remus were located at on the map by this point. They were quite close to one of the areas they'd been told was a secluded space (and thus a good spot to do the abducting from), and so Marlene decided that the next bloke who came by was getting nabbed. Hopefully her instincts were as good as she liked to pretend they were, and they'd end up leaving with someone who actually was a death eater. "I was born ready," Marlene replied, flicking her hair sassily over her shoulder as she shoved the map back down into the front of her dress between her cleavage, and began to stalk off in the direct of a blond masked man a few yards away who was by himself. And then tripped, completely on accident, as she'd strayed a little too close to the wall of the hedge maze and caught her foot on a vine. She went with it, and attempted to keep up the stumbling until she knocked into Felix, using him to support herself while climbing back up to her feet. "Oh goodness, I am so so incredibly sorry. I'm horribly lost and I'm beginning to think they've charmed vines to jump out at me on purpose. I absolutely loathe plants," she added, her inner herbology lover wincing at the statement. Felix was at his best when partying, not only did he get to look his best but he got an immense amount of pride in being able to charm anyone and everyone. He was an excellent social climber, despite the fact that his Grandfather had told him it wasn't necessary. Still, being a Vance from conception, and a Greengrass from birth meant Felix had to do a good show of impressing others, and he enjoyed doing it. The only problem with the party however, was that it was impossible to keep track of the people you wanted to see. He'd been practically attacked by Mrs. Avery who wondered where Viola had gotten to, and had lost sight of Aston whom he had wanted to talk to. What the bloody hell did he care where Viola went? If he was lucky she was dead somewhere, her mask asphyxiated her or something. At Mrs. Avery's insistence they were to have dressed as a pair, Viola as a princess, and Felix as a prince. Well Felix didn't really want to be associated with his insufferable fiance just yet, and instead had shown up in a much better costume. Clad in a deep blue robe with a mesh designed to look like scales, Felix was a dragon, made very obvious by the blue and gold mask that tapered like a snout, jewels encrusting the entire thing. He looked damn good, and he knew it. What he liked best about the costume was that it implied that he would sooner eat Princess Viola or burn her extra crispy, than be her Prince Charming. Mrs. Avery wasn't so pleased. "I am quite displeased that you could not follow basic instructions," she said tersly, cradling a drink in her claws while sniffing at him disappointingly. "I am deeply sorry Mrs. Avery," he lifted his mask so that she could best see the fake sincerity in his eyes. "I just knew that the costumes of a Prince and Princess would be a popular one," which was in fact true, the majority of al couples were dressed as exactly that. "I wanted to show that myself and Viola were better than that, that we truly stand out," he smiled winningly, seeing that Mrs. Avery was falling for it, and he took her hand to place a kiss on it. She was sold, and Felix let his mask recover his face so that she wouldn't see the smirk, as she giggled and withdrew her hand. "Well if you insist," she tittered, and Felix struggled not to roll his eyes. "Now if you excuse me, I'm in search for Mr. Mulciber," he bid his leave, and turned away from his future Mother-in-Law, wishing that he'd never heard the name Avery. Thank Merlin Mr.Avery wasn't around to see the kiss he planted on his wife's hand. Striding deeper into the maze it was clear that Aston was no where in sight, a fact that irritated Felix. Staring at the large hedges in annoyance, he was about to turn back around when he was nearly knocked to his feet by some girl, the witch in question latching on to him to prevent herself from falling over. Immediately his brow furrowed in disgust, what the hell did she think she was doing? He had his hands grasping her forearms to shove her off of him when she began to talk, and he remembered that while she was likely some moronic woman, she was also probably the daughter of someone important. And she might be a good lay. Smiling indulgently instead, Felix helped her to her feet, hands still on her arms to ensure that she wouldn't pitch forward again. "They are rather cumbersome," he agreed, tone friendly and amused, "I've lost a friend myself, and I'm willing to believe these vines had something to do with it. Are you alright?" "I'm so absolutely embarrassed," Marlene replied, annoying herself for sounding like a simpering idiot. No wonder the purist girls only seemed to talk about tea parties and new hats; they were completely unable to take care of themselves. Trying to give up control like that was probably the hardest thing for Marlene. That and walking in heels outside; this was such a stupid idea. "But I'm fine now, thanks to you," she smiled up at the guy, trying to find a tone that was some mix of embarrassed and modestly flirty. Marlene lightly pulled one arm free from his hold to push her dark hair back behind an ear. "If it's alright by you, may I accompany you through to the end of the maze? I feel like I've been wandering alone in circles for hours, and you certainly look like the sort of person who knows where they're going. I can trust you to keep me safe from any rogue vines, yes?" "Of course, what sort of gentleman would I be if I left a young lady to a wall of rogue plants," he held out his arm to escort her, all smiles. Well if this didn't stroke his ego, Felix thought blithely, holding back the smirk. He could only hope that Mrs.Avery wasn't still nearby, he doubted she'd take kindly to him even touching a girl who wasn't Viola. His robes made a brushing sound as they dragged across the grass, and he motioned for her to fall into step with him. He didn't know who she was, but unless she was Emmeline he highly doubted it mattered. Though, as he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, it was her costume in question that puzzled him. He may have been pureblooded, but he wasn't stupid. He could recall that muggle tale about a ponce in green tights, and the insufferable woman he had been obsessed with. "I hope you don't find this presumptuous," he started, still pleasant," but may I inquire as to why you are dressed as Maid Marian?" Marlene didn't want to chance glancing back at Remus to make sure that he was in place where he needed to be -- there was no reason to suspect he wouldn't be, and all double checking would do is potentially blow their cover. He'd never let her down on things like this before, so she was certain it was fine, and continued to walk with Felix through the hedge maze, knowing they were nearing the spot they needed to be. "Oh goodness no, I don't find it presumptuous at all!" she replied, giggling slightly, as if having her costume recognised for what it was by someone who was presumably very rich was the greatest honour out there. "I'm just surprised that you were able to tell what the costume was. And I suppose it's because I wanted to avoid showing up in the same gown as anyone else; can you imagine how embarrassing that would have been?" She paused, trying to direct their movement down the final hallway of hedges. "Oh I'm awful; I haven't even commented on how brilliant your costume is yet. A dragon, that's fantastic. And the craftsmanship is impeccable; it certainly brings out the colour in your eyes." She was very good at steering the conversation, and Felix's suspicion was easily casted aside when she directed the focus back to him. "Thank you," he smirked, his eyes were an astounding shade of blue, and the choice in costume only enhanced that. "Unfortunately you are the first to say this, my--" he stopped, clearing his throat, "my aunt was not particularly happy to see that I was not playing the prince for all these eligible young ladies." His smile was brilliant as he lead them down the last row of hedges. "Well, I definitely have to say that even in the dragon costume, you still look like a prince," Marlene replied with a light laugh, trying to control the urge to vomit. Not, of course, that the fellow was particularly unattractive -- he was good looking, but given his attendance at the party, he was almost also certainly a death eater. And especially after what had happened to Emmeline earlier in the week, Marlene was feeling a little bit nervous about quite literally flirting with danger. The two came across another dead end in the hedge maze, and Marlene concluded that this was it. "Oh drat, I thought for sure we were almost at the end," she noted, placing her hands on her hips. Although maybe... "The privacy is a bit nice, though," she flashed Felix a smile, moving to hold onto each of his hands so that she could make sure he was facing away from Remus's direct line of fire. Remus had crept silently after the pair as Marlene led their target through the maze, keeping a safe enough distance away not to be heard -- they'd studied the map long enough together to come up with a plan of action, although his stronger sense of smell certainly helped him keep track of the pair as they moved. He held his breath as the neared the dead end, having no choice now but to get closer if he was to have any luck hitting him with a spell. He drew out his wand, leaning slowly around the corner to make sure they were both in a good position for him to attack safely. As he came around the corner, his shoulder bushed against the hedge noisily -- he muttered a curse under his breath at his carelessness, and quickly aimed his wand at Felix's back. "Stupefy!" Felix was intrigued about this notion of 'privacy' that the witch was going on about. She was absolutely right, no one in sight, it would be the perfect opportunity to have a shag against those irritating plants. Felix had his mouth open to respond when he heard a rustling sound from behind him, and he stiffened abruptly. He was obnoxious but he wasn't stupid, and as he look at the witch in front of him that twinge of suspicion he'd had earlier came back more insistently. Maid Marion, the damsel act, what a fucking bitch. At Remus' shout Felix had already lunged out of the way, the spell hitting Marlene directly in the chest. With reflexes he rarely had to use Felix had his wand out, displeased fury lining his face. Crucio would have given him the most pleasure, but instead Felix flung a blasting spell towards his attacker, not at all concerned about the girl who was currently immobilised. Remus watched in horror as his spell hit Marlene instead of its intended target. He dove out of the way of the blasting spell, not having enough time to cast a shield charm, and as he stumbled back up to his feet he pressed a hand to his mask to keep it from slipping off his face at the abrupt move. He wanted to hurry over to Marlene's side to revive her, but letting the Death Eater get away was a far greater risk and he didn't want all their planning to go to waste. "Accio wand," he whispered the spell urgently, not wanting to draw anymore attention to their area of the maze than they may have already attracted. Felix felt his wand slip through his fingers, and it was then that he knew this all had to be some cruel irony for having abducted Zamira. He cursed swiftly under his breath, his brain going through his options. He was easily taller and broader than the man and could likely take him physically, but the attacker had his wand, and Felix's own. It took Felix a split second but despite his pride, he knew the maze would likely be his best chance, and the second he was among the crowd again he was free to let the others know. Not being very far away from the pair at all Felix wasn't going to leave without a parting shot, and lunging forward he aimed a well placed right hook to the masked man's face, satisfied by the sound of the impact. He turned on his heel and was off, not bothering to look back to see how the two were fairing. Badly he hoped. Remus stumbled back into the wall of the hedges around them, hand flying up to cover to bruise that was quickly forming on his cheek from where he'd been hit. He pushed himself away from it only to see the retreating Death Eater trying to make his escape -- thinking quickly, he aimed his wand at the hedge walls instead of at Felix, swishing his wand across his body from one side to the next. The bushes began to extend in front of Felix's path before he was able to get very far, intertwining vines to create a new wall -- thin, but it would be strong enough to serve its purpose. With the Death Eater blocked in and unarmed, Remus quickly hurried back over to Marlene (grabbing Felix's wand up off the ground on the way) and pointed his wand at her. "Rennervate." Watching the plants cuts off his escape was not one of Felix's better moments, and he swore again, louder this time. He turned to see the man he'd punched leaning over to rennervate his partner, and Felix saw his options limiting. There was no way he could go through the hedges, they were much too thick, which left him with one exit which was behind them. Determined and cross that they'd taken his wand, Felix took advantage of the man's focus on the girl to attempt to grab the girl's wand. She was slowly coming to, trying to untangle it from her ridiculous costume and Felix saw his opening. Lunging forward he grasped for it. It took Marlene a few moments to figure out what in the world had just happened. One moment she'd been trying make the man think she was flirting her way into his pants, and the next she was on the ground, trying to figure out why her hair was tangled up in the edge of the hedge. It didn't take her long to put the pieces together, though, as Remus was firing hexes off at the Death Eater and the blond purist fellow was trying to steal her wand from her. Barely having a chance to think before shouting out a spell, Marlene yelled out "Incarcarous!", hoping that it still hit Felix despite her terrible job at aiming. It did hit him, and Felix felt his limbs crushed to his body as ropes slithered around him. Completely bound and now off balance Felix crashed to the ground, grimacing when his ankle twisted awkwardly. This was disastrous mostly because it appeared as though he'd been taken down by a pair of amateurs. "Wonderful," he sneered, trying to get himself out of the hold of the ropes but knowing it impossible. He didn't know who they were, but he could only assume they were do-gooders, and that just made it burn all the more. He was either going to be taken in for questioning, or they knew he was a Death Eater and he was in far worse trouble. Well fuck it, they couldn't prove anything. Remus breathed a sigh of relief -- it had been like watching something move in slow motion, when Felix had lunged toward Marlene in an attempt to grab her wand, and he couldn't move fast enough -- but it turned out he needn't have worried at all as Marlene's spell bound up the Death Eater. For extra precaution, Remus pointed his wand at Felix and cast stupefy at him (this time making sure to hit him and not his ally. Turning to Marlene, he offered a hand to her to help her back up to her feet. "Sorry about that -- are you alright?" Marlene finally remembered to breathe once Felix was bound and stupefied and unable to retaliate any further than he already had. That had almost gone disastrously, but they'd still managed to pull things off. "Yep, I'm great," she nodded, hopping back up to her feet with Remus's help (and almost slipping to the ground again when her foot caught on the hem of her dress). "You, on the other hand, buddy," she added, looking down at the Stupefied Felix, nudging him slightly with the toe of her shoe, "have a date with some of our friends." ------- Constantine, Frank and Caradoc Frank felt slightly apprehensive as he wandered through the crowds of people. He was no stranger to garden parties, though the ones he'd been to in the past had been to pacify his mother and not on an Order kidnapping mission. He was making a point to not speak to anyone and he stayed on the opposite end of the garden from his mother. It was not strange for him to be there, as there was an invite being used as a coaster on his brand new coffee table, but Frank had decided that Order business was easier to do without his mother breathing down his neck, not to mention the quick disappearance that he would be making. She would be offended, he was sure. So Frank chose a simple costume that was made up of dress robes and a mask that covered his entire face. His eyes were no longer blue but instead a dull brown, while his hair had been lightened a few shades. As he scanned the crowd he kept himself aware of Caradoc nearby. They were paired on this mission and Frank had no plans on losing him. So far there was no sign of any of the Lestranges or Mr Nott, the one man that Frank was gunning for. They needed to pick someone who wouldn't be missed right off. Preferably someone who was with a small group. No group would be preferable. He finally cut through a small cluster of females and fell into step with Caradoc. "So this is a garden party," he chided quietly. "Exciting, right?" Caradoc for his part had taken a similar approach to Frank when it came to costumes. Although he wasn't as familiar with purist society by any means, disguises he could manage quite well and he had given himself an extra thirty pounds or so as well as blonde curly hair and a full beard in addition to his own simple mask and robes. Always better to go with a less extravagant costume and be less likely to be noticed, he figured. He was quiet as they moved through the crowd, his eyes silently scanning and taking in everyone and everything he could, although so far he hadn't seen or noticed much beyond a bunch of insipid women gossiping and attempting to show off for their associates. They were like bloody peacocks, preening for everyone and everything in sight and it took all of Caradoc's willpower to remember his manners and not snap at one of them when she bumped into him and tittered. For fuck's sake. "Prewett was right. It's no wonder these fu- people do what they do. I'd be the same way if I had to live like this," he muttered under his breath when they were clear from the gaggle of women. He went back to scanning the crowd in search of a suitable target. He didn't think they'd have the luck of being able to recognise Lestrange or Nott or one of the other known Death Eaters but with the way things were going it didn't seem to be too much of a stretch to just grab a masked man and go from there. So he too was looking for someone alone or in a small group who could be lured away to make their work that much easier. As with all these events, Constantine had arrived with his family. Thalia was sulking because she saw someone wearing a similar costume to hers, and he found himself wishing that it was Luciana, his preferred sister, that he was here with. He was sick of escorting his sister to parties like these, but it gave him a good buffer to avoid Jocelyn. Sabriel had made it clear that he wanted him to court his daughter, but Stan wasn't ready for that. At least she hadn't debuted yet. Stan wore a simple mask, hating the idea of dressing up, regularly rolling his eyes at the sparkly monstrosity that his sister was wearing. What he really needed was an excuse to get away from her, so he excused himself from his family and went on the search for drinks. The party was ridiculous. People looked ridiculous. Constantine did not appreciate having to dress up, and didn't like that he had to be in the presence of several dressed up people where he couldn't openly laugh. Stan stood off to the side, sipping his drink and trying to keep his face indifferent. Nearby he saw two men who were as underdressed as he was, so he thought they would be like-minded. He strolled over to them, assuming he would know them from somewhere, since it was a Society event. "You're wearing my costume," He joked, smirking a little, "How embarrassing for us both. My sister is nearly in tears for the same reason." The last thing that Frank had expected was to be approached, though his look of surprise was hidden by the mask covering his face. He went through the vague purist catalogue in his head but masks made this slightly more difficult. The man was younger so Frank wagered that he didn't know his name but that didn't matter. That was the upside to the masks. They could all have a conversation without worrying about who the other person was, and this gentleman seemed to be setting himself up for an eventful weekend. He'd chosen the wrong two people to strike up casual conversation. "It's quite the scandal. They really should have a sign up sheet for this sort of thing. It would keep the womenfolk from swooning, at the very least." And then Frank gestured to the group that Constantine had just come from. "Congratulations on a successful escape. We've only just managed the same thing and I don't know about you, but I think a drink is in order before we attempt this maze." All they needed to do was get him further away from his party and if they had to form a quick bond to do so, it was worth it. Caradoc was suddenly very grateful for his mask as he really wasn't sure that he'd have been able to conceal the are you fucking kidding me? look across his face at the other masked gentleman's attempt at conversation. Mostly that people were crying over having the same costume. But that didn't matter. The important thing was that this man was walking right into their trap. And Frank was thankfully handling the purist talk part of this which just left Caradoc to nod his agreement to the drink. But getting him into the maze was going to be the best way to grab him and get him out of the party. Caradoc had the map of the maze memorized and he knew just where every dead end was that they could "mistakenly" stumble into so he was all too willing to get the drinks so they could get this over and done with. Three glasses of scotch were obtained (he figured purist bastards didn't seem like the type to care what others actually wanted to drink?) and distributed before he glanced towards the entrance of the maze. "I expect there are at least fewer crying women in there," he suggested. "Anything to escape their eternal sobbing," Constantine grinned. For some reason, he thought he recognised Frank's transfigured face. He looked familiar, and Stan was just being polite until he could figure out who he was talking to. Perhaps it was some distant cousin, or someone's brother's best friend's sister's fiancé. It didn't worry him, because although the Prewetts were not the top of the ladder, Constantine assumed that everyone at the party was in the same boat. Constantine approached the mouth of the maze and took a swig of scotch, swirling his glass. He started ahead, calling behind him, "I hear that the trick is to keep one hand on the right side of the maze, which seems ludicrously simple now that I think of it." "We will see. I have a feeling they will make it about fifteen minutes into the walk before the chorus of complaints start and then we'll be surrounded by crying women yet again. It is a never ending cycle that we are forced to endure." Frank glanced down at his glass as Constantine took the lead and he looked over at Caradoc with a half smirk. He would make sure to commend him on his purist when they were trailing behind their potential Death Eater. He kept the quip about most society aspects being simple to himself and they wandered deeper into the maze. "The ladies ahead seem to think that they've chosen the right path but I think we should go the opposite way. Clearly they have no sense of direction and I would rather not spend my entire day crashing into dead ends." Well at least Caradoc did know how to navigate a conversation on crying women as it was one area in which he actually shared the opinion of their masked companion. He just needed to remember that everything he said needed to be unnaturally formal sounding, or at least that was how it sounded to his ears. Which was why he'd mostly decided that the less he said, the easier this was going to be. And when Frank suggested going the other way and the women in front of them disappeared around a corner, Caradoc glanced behind him to make sure they weren't within anyone else's line of sight. They were in the clear and he slipped his wand into his hand, concealing it in the long sleeve of his robes before he reached out to Constantine's shoulder under the guise of steering him in the other direction while he flicked his wand to apparate them away to Algie Longbottom's house. Frank watched Caradoc reach for Constantine's shoulder and he glanced around, double checking the places that the other man had already looked at. The crack echoed slightly and there were likely groups of people just waiting to wash into the path where Frank was standing, so without further hesitation he pulled out his own wand and followed Caradoc so that he could help secure their new hostage. |