RP: Finding Zahara Who: Hyperion, Cooper, and Zahara When: Thursday, February 1, 2010, afternoon Where: Warehouse outside of London, then Dora's house What: Hyperion and Cooper find and rescue Zahara Warnings: Emotions, references to violence
There had been precious little to go on the night of the explosion. All Hyperion had known for sure was that Zahara had been at the Leaky Cauldron but that she was not among the dead or injured that had been pulled from the rubble. He'd found her phone and things, which told him she'd been there at the time of the explosion. The fact that she'd not been found had led him to believe someone had taken her. What he hadn't been able to figure out was who or why. When Theodore had woken up on Tuesday and asked to speak with him, his suspicions had been confirmed.
Someone had kidnapped his pregnant fiance.
He still didn't know why, but by the time the ransom note arrived on Wednesday, he'd had his suspicions. The demands were simple: drop a certain string of connected cases he was on, and Zahara would be returned to him whole and unharmed. If he didn't comply... well, let's just say he didn't need his imagination to visualize the threat contained in that note. The proof of life picture was enough for him to believe they were serious about hurting her if he didn't comply, as he knew her lip hadn't been busted nor her eye swollen after the explosion.
Whoever was behind this kidnapping clearly did not know him well, though. He was determined now more than ever to not only get Zahara back, but take down the person responsible and make sure they paid on multiple levels for what they'd done.. Where he'd been scattered and beside himself with fear before, Theodore's memory combined with the ransom note had filled him with a single-minded focus that was normally more prevalent in the women in his family. It was one of his traits that made him so damn good at his job, and it was what would bring his Zahara back to him.
It had taken him a couple of days to use what he'd seen in Theodore's memory to track down the kidnapper, but he had no doubt that there was someone behind him, pulling the strings. Once he'd figured out who had done the grunt work, it was a matter of tapping his contacts to figure out where the bastard was keeping Zahara. It was tedious, mind-numbing work at times, but he was focused.
When he finally had a list of potential locations ready to go, he knew that he should pass it on to his mum and the team she'd put on the case, but he had to see this through himself. He knew that there was a strong possibility he would have to do something that wouldn't technically be approved and could cost him more than his job, which was why he'd pulled Coop along with him instead of his mum or any of the other Aurors. Their first three locations were busts, and it was already afternoon by the time they reached the fourth, having had to take the time to interrogate the people they'd come into contact with in the first three locations. He had to be thorough with this, had to make sure he didn't overlook anything.
If Cooper hadn't gone into Quidditch, Hyperion rather thought he'd have made a halfway decent Auror; or perhaps maybe it was just that they were a really good team. They'd made their way into the warehouse south of London without alerting the man inside, Hyperion disabling the wards put up--sloppily, he might add, Dora would have been horrified at how shoddy they'd been--and them slipping inside. He'd left Coop to detain the man, who he recognized as the one who'd kidnapped Zahara, though he couldn't discount the possibility that there might be more players in the game. He only came across one more person, though, the one person he'd wanted to find more than any other.
Zahara, bound to a chair, her hair matted and dirty, her lip and eye still swollen, her skin pale and splotchy beneath the layer of dirt and filth. As much as he wanted to run straight to her, his training had him taking the time to do it right. He checked for wards and other traps, clearing the room piece by piece before he finally made it to her. And when he did, trusting that Cooper would have his back, he finally let his guard down.
"Zahara, my love," he breathed as he magicked her bindings away, sinking to his knees in front of her. She was alive and no more harmed than she'd been in that picture. He lifted his free hand up to cup her cheek and with his wand cast the spell to check their bun's heartbeat. The sound of a steady, quickly beating heart filled the room, and the tears finally came. He tucked his wand away so that he could pull her off the chair and into his lap, hugging her tightly, burying his face in her hair.
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Hearing his voice, she regretted every morning she had given him grief for talking before she had a cup of coffee. In the next moment the room filled with the bun's heartbeat and she knew that her biggest fear had been one of his biggest fears as well. Relief flooded through her, causing her to go a bit limp as she fell easily into his arms. The tears were already slipping down her cheeks, as her head fell to his shoulder, slender arms wrapping around him to press herself as close as she could. Sobs racked her body with relief, their bun was alive. The blast alone had made her terrified that something terrible had happened to the bun, Kevin wasn't a small man. Then there had been that terrible man, she shut her eyes tightly, she didn't want to go down that road. Hyperion was here now, that meant everything was going to be okay. She was going home.
"Hyperion," she choked out, her arms tightened around him. She was attempting to catch her breath, but she was overwhelmed with emotions. There was the relief of having her husband holding her again, their bun being alive, and that feeling was followed so closely by the dread of knowing that they had lost so many in the blast. Too much had happened, all she wanted then was to go home. "Home... Please," she begged softly, wanting to be as far from this room as possible.
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He rocked her gently as she cried, his own tears far from dry as he held her tightly against him. This entire situation had been harrowing, the fear that he might never get to hold her again, that their daughter might never get a chance to join this world--it was a feeling he never wanted to experience again, but it also wasn't quite over yet. He stiffened a bit at her soft begging, wishing it could be that simple, that he could just take her home and hold her and forget the world. But he couldn't, and he honestly didn't want to go back to the flat at all. It being right next to where the Leaky had stood was far too painful. Instead, he'd been staying mostly with Coop and Gen, though he'd spent some time at Dora's as well.
"There isn't even a small part of me that wants to let you out of my sight, my love, but this isn't finished." He leaned back a bit, bringing both his hands up to frame her face and push her dirty hair back away from it so his eyes could meet hers in an earnest gaze. "I have to make sure the fucker who did this will pay, that he'll never be able to do something like this again." His expression darkened. He wanted to kill the bastard, and he would be surprised if Coop hadn't roughed him up at least a little bit while he was "restraining" him. "Coop came with me. He'll get you to Dora's, and I'll be there with you again soon," he promised, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
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Zahara felt her heart drop when he told her it wasn't finished, she wanted it to be finished. There was fear in those watery, red rimmed, hazel eyes as they met his gaze. It was his words next that made her realize if they did just leave, that meant the man could potentially do this again. Fear filled her eyes, and her head nodded. "Please be careful?" she begged softly. The fear that had filled her wasn't because she thought Hyperion couldn't handle the man, it was because she had thought about running into the man somewhere. The wizarding world wasn't as big as some might think, she knew it would be bound to happen,and that thought scared her. "Please don't let him be able to do that again," was a very soft terrified voice, as she tried to press closer to him.
"Thank you," she said, eyes falling closed as his lips touched her forehead. Knowing that she was going to Dora's instead of home filled her with instant relief, she hadn't even realized that she didn't want to actually go home. There wasn't even a thought to the cats, she just wanted to get home with Hyperion. Cooper would do for now, she knew Hyperion trusted the man enough that he brought him here, she was safe with him.
⚔
The fear in her eyes only served to fuel his fury, to make him even more motivated to deal with the bastard who had done this to her. "I will," he promised. He had no intention of letting the fucking hurt him in any way more than he had by taking Zahara. "Did he... Zahara, did he touch you?" He had to know. Oh, he would kill him if he had, but he still had to know. He already knew the fucker had hit her, but if he'd done more...
Hyperion was relieved that she wasn't upset to be going to Dora's, but he realized then that he needed to warn her what she would be walking into. "Zahara, the... the blast. There were a lot of losses. Ewan and... and Phillip." He could barely get the words out, but she needed to know before she went to Dora's and saw the state of his sister, her friend. He had no way of knowing that she'd heard the list of the dead on the radio already.
He stood them both up though and then scooped her up in a bridal carry, holding her against his chest as he walked out of that dingy room to meet up with Cooper again. The kidnapper was bound securely with a cloth bag over his head, but that wasn't his focus just then. "No problems?" he asked his best mate, checking that no one else had come along--they had no way of knowing if this pathetic excuse for a man had a partner, after all.
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Zahara shook her head at his question, knowing that he meant more than just the marks on her face. "No, thank the Gods," she breathed. It had been a fear, she still had no idea just why they had taken her. They hadn't harmed her, nothing that wouldn't heal quickly without medical attention, at least she hoped. There was still the fear over if the thing he'd used to knock her out when he snatched her had harmed the bun, and the fear that Kevin covering her body with his own had harmed the bun. She knew that he was talking about something worse though.
"I know," she said in a pained voice. Now wasn't the time for it though, she wanted to comfort him though. She pressed closer, leaning in to kiss him again. It was dangerous, what if Cooper didn't have the guy already? She knew better than to try to make it a long kiss, and she quickly moved away so that they could get going. She cuddled against his chest, fresh tears slipping down her cheeks as the realization washed over her that she was finally going home, Hyperion had her.
"He's got a few problems," Cooper said, nodding his head towards the man he had bound. He had shot him with a few stinging jinxes, but they hadn't felt like enough and so he'd purposely broke the man's nose as he'd gotten the hood on him and bound him to his own chair. He was relieved to see the letter in Hyperion's arms, and he was already moving to step around the man so that he could come over to Hyperion. Cooper knew how badly he had wanted to hurt the man that had hurt Hyperion, he couldn't imagine how badly Hyperion must want to hurt the man.
"It's been quiet otherwise, no one else on the grounds," he said after he had cast a muffliato charm, just in case Hyperion was taking the man in alive. "It's just us, and now my wards." Which meant even if there was a partner, they weren't going to be able to apparate inside.
⚔
He knew that Zahara wouldn't lie to him--couldn't, really, she had a shite poker face--and so he was relieved when she answered in the negative. He didn't think he would be able to control himself if that bastard had assaulted her. And when she said she knew about the losses in the blast, a part of him deflated against her, taking that brief bit of comfort she offered. He still couldn't let himself grieve in the way he knew he needed too--there were still things that needed to be done.
Hype's head tilted slightly to the side as he glanced at the bound kidnapper. "I've got a feeling he'll end up with a more than a few," he muttered darkly. He wanted to tear the bastard limb from limb. He glanced back at Coop when he spoke again, nodding at the report. And then he shifted to hand Zahara over to his best mate. "Get her to Dora's, contact Persephone, see if she can give her a full work up. I'll join you guys as soon as I can," he promised. Before he could do that, though, he needed to interrogate this piece of shite.
And once they left, he tugged his cloak off, laying it over the back of an empty chair, rolled his sleeves up, and then got to work... It was nearly two hours later by the time Hyperion finally made it back to Pandora's house. The interrogation had taken longer than he'd expected, and he'd gotten less out of the man than he'd hoped for, but not all hope was lost. He'd made sure the bastard hurt for what he'd done, though nothing that couldn't be healed easily, and once he'd finished interrogating him, he'd sat facing him, thinking for a few long minutes about whether or not to let the fucker live. The only reason he'd decided not to kill the bastard himself was because he'd been an Auror long enough to know that it would be better in building his case if he was left alive.
And so he'd turned him over to the Aurors... after healing the worst of the damage he and Coop had inflicted upon him and mucking with his memory a bit. A quick stop by the locker room to clean up, and then he was at Dora's. He was told that Zahara was downstairs in the shower, and so he headed that way. A grin that didn't quite reach his eyes curved up the corner of his lips when he spotted Coop standing guard. "I'll take it from here. Thanks, brother," he said quietly, clapping a hand against his shoulder and giving it a squeeze before he went around him to slip into the bathroom.
"I'm back, love," he called out softly, warning her of his presence so that she wouldn't freak out when he joined her in the shower. He slipped out of his clothes quickly and then stepped in under the spray with her. Seeing her there, looking so lost as the water poured over her, broke his heart, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close, still trying to be the strong one for her.
🚿
Everything had passed in a bit of a blur. Cooper had taken her back to Dora's, which was familiar enough because Hyperion had lived there when they had started dating. Persephone had arrived shortly after they had, and Zahara remembered her friend reassuring her that she and their little bun were going to be alright. The next thing she knew, Cooper had been helping her turn on the shower, and explaining that if she needed help getting undressed, or into the shower, he would be just outside the door.
Somehow though she had managed to find the strength to undress herself, peeling off the top that was stiff with Kevin's blood, and shimmying out of the filthy jeans that had felt like they were strangling her legs. Everything was tossed into a pile in the corner, she was intending to throw the entire outfit away, shoes and all.
By the time she heard noise outside the door, she no longer felt filthy. She had washed her hair, and scrubbed herself clean. Somehow though she hadn't found the energy to get out of the shower, she had gotten lost in her thoughts. Everything from Philip and Ewan passing, to the poor Healer that had been knocked out by her attacker. Was he okay? She didn't even know his name, she had no way of knowing if he had been listed among the dead. Hyperion's voice broke the cycle.
"Will you-" she had started to ask him to join her, but then he was there, and she pressed against his chest. The urge to spill her guts just then was overwhelming, and all she could do was wrap her own arms around him and squeeze him. "I'm so sorry about Philip," she breathed against his chest. "And Ewan." Everything else could wait, they had lost a big piece of their family. She knew that Dora and Ewan had been working through their problems, they were fixing things and had a new little one on the way. Philip would never meet his daughter, would never grow old and be Uncle Squeak. Her own heart ached, she couldn't imagine what Hyperion had to be feeling. He'd been through hell, she was sure of it, even if he hadn't said so.
🚿
He wasn't ready to deal with it. Not even close to ready to deal with what the losses meant. He'd come into the shower to hold her and help her deal with her own trauma, and yet here she was, turning it around to be there for him, to comfort him, to grieve with him, and Hyperion, for all intents and purposes, lost it. His teeth clenched almost painfully, his eyes burning moments before the tears began to fall. He buried his face in her wet hair first. He tried to focus on her, solid and warm and alive in his arms, but she'd brought the losses up, and so his mind circled them.
His brother. His only brother left... As frustrated as he'd been with Phillip lately, he'd also been hopeful for him, excited for them both to become fathers around the same time, for their daughters to grow up together. They'd still grow up together, but Phillip would be missing, and it was like a knife to the heart. Slowly, Hyperion sank to his knees, his arms still wrapped around her, until his face was pressed against the small bump of their growing growing child. He pressed a kiss there, letting the tears flow freely. He couldn't talk about it yet, but he could cry. He could give himself that much.
🚿
The moment she felt his face buried in her hair, she let her own tears fall again. Her arms tightened around him, squeezing as she turned her head just enough to press a kiss to his cheek. He was always her rock, the strong one that held her, reassured her when she got some crazy idea into her head. She wanted to be there for him, she wanted to be his rock when he needed it most. For a brief moment she wondered if she lost points because she was crying too, and then he was moving.
She wished she knew the words that would take his pain away, none of this was fair. There was so much good that was coming this year, for everyone in their family. New babies, an entire new generation of Montgomery children. There should have been three new fathers this Father's Day, instead there would just be Hyperion. The places her thoughts went from there brought fresh tears to her eyes, all of the things that the children would be missing, everything that two men would be missing.
There was something comforting in being able to hold him like this, and being held by him. Lithe little fingers combed through his hair, hoping to provide him comfort, as she took comfort in feeling his lips against her stomach, and his arms around her.