¤ α н r ¤ (starcrossed) wrote in valesco,
@ 2009-09-02 21:32:00

Entry tags:

alice longbottom, anneliese jugson, emmeline vance, frank longbottom, group, william jugson

Not for the first time, Anneliese felt like an intruder in her own home. She slid as stealthily as possible out of her own bed, moving so slowly that at one point she felt like she hadn't been moving at all while holding her breath so forcefully it felt like her lungs were going to explode all to ensure that she didn't wake up Will. No, no, that would be bad. Thank Merlin he was a heavy sleeper, or else she was sure he would've woken up to the inadvertent kick she had given him after finally getting out of his reach and falling to the floor.

Frozen, she waited to hear him snore again before continuing to creep out of the room. Of course, Anneliese made a quick stop at Henry's room to make sure he was alright, but once that was settled she silently made her way to the task at hand.

Ever since Will had come home yesterday, he had been acting--- strange. That was the only way she could describe it, even after two days of pondering over it. And then--- Anneliese shook her head roughly, as if warding the thought away while she quietly tiptoed down the stairs to the main room. She didn't know what she thought she saw on his arm earlier today, but she would have sworn she saw lines or something, and then with the way he had been acting--- it could just as well have been a new mark she didn't know about or a tattoo for all she knew! But there was something else, in the pitt of her stomach bitting at her, telling her that--- that maybe she should get a second opinion.

Finally making it downstairs, she swiftly bent down to sit her knees in front of the fireplace. Despite already having the floo powder, Anneliese curled her hands into her lap, thinking one more time about what she was about do. She just needed someone to tell her she was being silly, and that there was nothing to worry about because it was probably just nothing. Her paranoia was just because of Fabian (at the thought of him, her stomach wrenched so uncomfortably it took her a few minutes to recollect herself), because of what was happening around them. And if that she flipped Will over to look at his left arm, nothing would be there.

Emmeline would know what to do, she always knew what to do. "Emmeline---- Emmeline!" Anneliese began to hiss the second the fire turned green. It wasn't that late to be making a call: Will had been very adamant about going to bed early, and not just because he had been tired from the day. Please respond, please respond.

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advancingly
2009-09-03 03:43 am UTC (link)

The fire startled her, nearly off the couch. Emmeline had been so exhausted an hour or two (or three?) ago that she hadn't made it to her bedroom, and had simply slumped onto her couch and fallen asleep. There was no energy left within her to take off her shoes, change into her pajamas, or drop into her bed. No, all her energy had been given to the Order, and to the Ministry, and to all the terrible anxiety and memories the death of the Prewetts brought upon her.

Emmeline wasn't sure how she was actually sleeping, as all her dreams were about Gideon and Fabian, or Caradoc, they always went back to him---her exhaustion must be overwhelming her need to jolt awake, and she was forced to suffer through the images that her tired brain was creating. Terrible, she felt terrible in her bloody sleep. It was like she'd been the one that was killed, or she was the one that was once again losing your loved one, it was painful and she couldn't escape it because the same thoughts drifted in and out of her mind when she was fully awake and conscious.

Somehow, the flare of her fireplace pushed through her nightmares, and Emmeline blinked wearily. She hoped it wasn't some more bad news, but seeing as that only came in the form of a patronus lately...Emmeline hurried over, her eyes snapping wide open at the sight of Anneliese. She dropped down and answered,

"What's wrong?" Because something was always wrong.

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starcrossed
2009-09-03 04:03 am UTC (link)

That this would only be a quick conversation, Anneliese had promised herself that before, and only reinforced that thought now that she saw Emmeline's face. It was hard to hold back frowning deeply at the sight of her friend, not only because it looked like like twenty hippogriffs had just run her over followed by a vampire draining all her blood, but because as soon as she saw Emmeline, Anneliese thought of Gideon. A pained expression broke out on her face, only followed by the thought of Fabian--- Anneliese focused very hard on the circle's under Emmeline's eyes to stay calm.

She took a deep breath, and began to talk feverishly.

"I think--- I think there's something very wrong with Will," she rushed, her hands knotting with each other on the other side of the fire. Despite feeling like this was the worst idea ever, Anneliese didn't know who else to turn to. Emmeline wouldn't make up things for her benefit, she had believed her when she told her about Anna Marie (it had--- taken some time, yes, but eventually Anneliese understood), so---

"He's been acting so strange since--- since yesterday and then--- then--- I thought--- I don't know, it was only for a second, it could've just been a--- a shadow on his arm, or--- anything but--- I'm just--- paranoid, right? From--- everything? Will couldn't-- it's just from--- just tell me I'm being ridiculous again and-- and-- I'll go right back to sleep."

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advancingly
2009-09-03 04:45 am UTC (link)

It was the lack of sleep, it was the lack of energy, it was everything from the past two days combined that made Emmeline forget that she knew things, and forget to hold a neutral or confused expression at Anneliese's words. What? Her face read every emotion that was coursing through her. Anneliese had seen what? He'd been acting strange since yesterday? Since---Emmeline's hand flew to her mouth as she stared, wild eyed and nervous at Anneliese. Oh God, she needed to calm down, her friend was---

"Are you home?" her voice was hushed, but the panic in her heart was threatening to cause a heart attack. How did death eaters hide their marks? Emmeline didn't know for sure, but---could Jugson have forgotten to do whatever it was necessary, to cover it? In his...his probable euphoria at the death of Fabian and Gideon Prewett? Jugson had always hated Fabian, there was no question about that, and---oh God, she's already caught one death eater, so---

Emmeline let out a sharp breath and her expression changed into a very serious one, "You need to come over here, right now." This was no time to try and keep secrets from Anneliese. She'd done it for too long and look what had happened! Anneliese had seen his mark (unless Jugson just so happened to get another tattoo branded on his arm), and who knew what the death eater would do now that his wife was keen on his secret. "Now, Anneliese!"

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starcrossed
2009-09-03 05:27 am UTC (link)

As both hands went to cover her mouth, Anneliese was finding it now impossible to control herself. That wasn't the reaction she was hoping for! Not at all! What did that--- what did that mean, what was Emmeline trying to say! Anneliese's brain went much faster and much farther than she ever wanted it to, and--- no, Will couldn't! He wouldn't there was no way that--- Anneliese felt her stomach drop drastically.

Emmeline--- Emmeline was worried, she was horrified-- for her. Not because-- not because she had woken her up or thought that this was stupid, but because all over her face there was short of anxiety, worry and fear. No one looked like that acted like that when everything was fine. Emmeline actually thought there was something wrong. That Anneliese might--- that there was something to be paranoid about.

Anneliese jumped up quickly, nearly bashing her head on the fireplace in the process. This was bad this was very bad, what was she going to do, what was she going to--- Henry! Henry--

"WILL!" Anneliese stumbled back from the fireplace, her heart beating so hard it felt like she was about pass out any second. Having no idea or not if she had broken the floo connection, Anneliese put her hand over her chest as she regarded her husband. How long had he been standing there? How much had he heard? Despite how much she willed herself to look normal, she was sure there was no way he would assume everything was fine by looking at her face.

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willss
2009-09-03 07:05 am UTC (link)

He'd been in such a good mood.

Will could not have planned the platform attack any better. Sure, Dolohov had been a moron by going to Vance, but that was his own fault; survival of the fittest. Will couldn't care about his fallen comrade, not when the plan had become even more perfect than he could have possibly imagined. How could he have guessed that Fabian Bloody Prewett was going to be on the platform at that time, along with his sidekick Gideon. It was far too perfect for a mere mortal to plan, so Will had decided immediately that it was a divine intervention that had sent the Prewetts to Platform 9 and 3/4 yesterday morning.

Oh, it was the best of mornings.

Anneliese's birthday had come quickly, and they'd spent the day (Will having taken off the day weeks in advance as a surprise for his wife) in bed, the rightful place for such an occassion. Of course, his wife believed that all his flourish was for her birthday, which was partly the truth, but Will could not deny that he had felt a great surge of power coursing through him since the attack. The Dark Lord had allowed him to make the arrangements, given him the duty, and what had he done? He'd managed to take down not one, but two members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Antonin could be replaced. The morale of the Order? No, that was going to be shaken even more than it was, forever.

Anneliese sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night did not go unnoticed. Will's training had caused him to have trouble sleeping through the night, every suspicious sound jerking him awake to investigate, so hearing Anneliese deliberately try not to make a scene had definitely alerted his senses. He'd stayed close behind her, remaining on the steps as she entered the floo and began her conversation with...Vance? Will's ears perked, and he nearly let out a strangled sort of sound as he heard his wife's words.

He looked down at his arm and saw that the concealment spell he normally placed on his Dark Mark was faded, that the very distinct outline of the tattoo was visible. Holy shit. Will couldn't waste another second, Vance knew he was a death eater, and the second she had a chance to tell Anneliese she would, and---he didn't mean to startle her, but Will hurriedly came up behind his wife and put his hands onto her shoulders.

"You all right?" he asked, honestly looking concerned. Will could read Anneliese like an open book, there was no way she'd be able to hide anything from him. He just needed---Vance would be here, she'd probably get Longbottom too--he needed to do something, "You look scared."

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starcrossed
2009-09-03 07:35 am UTC (link)

Her reaction was inevitable: it was the middle of the night, she had just had a very disturbing conversation with Emmeline, and yes, she was now terrified. Anneliese let out possibly one of the loudest screams she had ever mustered, jerking so violently at Will's sudden touch that she couldn't help but lurch back.

What-- what-- what--- Anneliese's Ravenclaw mind reeled so fast she couldn't even keep up, all possibilities of what was really going on here flying through her brain so fast she couldn't begin to remember even one. What was he doing, why would he--- her heart began to beat so fast it didn't feel normal, and her stomach gave an extremely unpleasant twist. The look on Emmeline's face--- but Will could just as easily be genuinely concerned as to what she was doing so late---

In spite of how fast her heart was beating, how weak her legs felt, and how distorted her vision felt, Anneliese still honed in directly to Will's left arm, her eyes focusing so intensely there was no way he couldn't notice. But there was nothing there. Or at least--- nothing that she could see from here. Her body went very stiff for a few seconds, and she hastily took two more steps away from him.

There could have been something else Emmeline was thinking about--- just as easily as Will's grip on her could have been too tight--- Anneliese began to take very deep breaths, trying very hard to understand what to believe.

This--- couldn't--- be happening.

"I-- I am scared," she rushed quickly, her mouth clenching tightly as she sought so desperately to choose her words wisely. "I--- don't-- know what's going on."

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willss
2009-09-04 12:27 am UTC (link)

He was going to kill Vance for this. Will promised himself this as he put his hands out in a placating manner toward Anneliese, eyes wary of any sudden movements. Who knew how fast Vance and Longbottom would be here, a fucking power duo if he'd ever seen one. She should be Longbottom's field partner, they would have arrested Will years ago if they had all the time to plot and work their conspiracies together. No, he couldn't let them get here before he settled things with Anneliese, and right now it looked like she thought he was about to perform the Killing Curse on her.

No--he couldn't let them take Anneliese away from him.

Will suddenly felt a panic arise in him at the prospect; no! What he and Anneliese had was good, he was a good husband, a good father---he deserved to have this side of his life---Anneliese, Anneliese and Henry were the only decision he'd made for his fucking self in the past two years, Will hadn't wanted to be an auror! He'd wanted to play quidditch, he'd wanted to heal dragons! There had been no desire to become and auror, but when the Dark Lord said so, you did and you did it without a second thought. No, no Anneliese was the only thing Will guarded with his life; he'd rather die than lose her, he knew this for a fact and that's why she couldn't leave--

His thoughts twisted for a moment, wondering how terrible that might sound, but it was the truth---Will hadn't realized how much he needed and loved his wife until this very moment, and every creak of the house made him jump, thinking that this was it, that they were going to come and take his entire life away in just a blink of the eye---

"No---!"

Will had no choice, he knew he had no choice. He was ready to throw up as his wand (it was always on him, always) struck up, pointing directly at Anneliese's head. Will shut his eyes so he didn't have to see her face, "Obliviate!"

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__frankish
2009-09-04 01:49 am UTC (link)

Only the prospect of catching William Jugson as a death eater could pull Frank out of his self-induced comatose. Well, Emmeline's fearful arrival bursting into his kitchen unannounced would've had the exact same effect, but what kept him going now was finally being able to prove that his so trusting partner was, in fact as he had been suspecting for years now, a follower of the Voldemort. It took a few minutes to slow Emmeline down enough to understand what she was saying, but once that was accomplished, a very familiar rush began to pump through his blood. Took Anneliese long enough to figure it out.

Frank quickly sent a patronus to Alice letting her know what was going on while following Emmeline out the door.

Maybe they could detain him, maybe the Order could get something out of him, something, anything--- Frank was beyond editing himself at this point: it would be lying if he didn't want to extract revenge for Fabain and Gideon's deaths through any means possible. This would do them justice, this would give the Order the boost it needed to keep going, information, answers, he knew they should have kept Dolohov instead automatically turning him in---

Finally, finally.

Getting inside the house undetected was no problem with Frank's training, Emmeline's basic knowledge of the layout itself, and their invisibility cloaks. And they had no problem locating which room to start in first, because the kitchen lights were on. Not a sign Frank welcomed, but unfortunately they would have to start there first now. Perhaps they would walk in and see a scene that they liked, like Will already passed out on the floor. Frank would enjoy that. Or---

That fucker.

Frank knew Will was capable of some pretty terrible things, but this? Unceremoniously Frank pulled his invisibility cloak off, only able to simply stare at the scene in front of them. His mind put everything together quickly, but that didn't mean he still wasn't stunned. He faintly recognized his fingers gripping tightly to his wand, and even more so realizing that Emmeline had brushed past him before it was too late. No-- For safety, he leered behind in the shadow of the doorway, eyes locking on Will.

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advancingly
2009-09-04 04:44 am UTC (link)

"NO!"

Emmeline forced herself past Frank and into the living room of the Jugsons. The Jugsons who were hugging and kissing and---no! No, she was not going crazy, Anneliese had just flooed her and---"NO---Anneliese, get away from him---he's!"

She caught Jugson's gaze and Emmeline faltered. He seemed far too calm to have done anything terrible, which was what made Emmeline's stomach twist in pain. No, he must've charmed Anneliese, Emmeline knew her best friend. There was no way that Anneliese would look as calm and serene only a few minutes after the floo call. It wasn't possible. Will Jugson had memory charmed his wife, and with no valid reason to investigate it, there would be no way to prove it. Emmeline's mind trailed, wondering how the hell she could get out of this now. To her surprise, Jugson was the one that provided her with an excuse.

"Did Anneliese floo you again?" he said with a chuckle, his arm going around his wife's shoulders. Emmeline was glad Frank had stayed in the shadows, it didn't seem like Jugson had noticed his arrival. "She's been sleep walking, isn't that weird? Called my mum the other day for a cake recipe."

Emmeline gaped up at the man, her eyes not even moving to her friend's for a second. He---this----She couldn't handle this. There was no way she could handle this. Why did this have to happen today? Why couldn't it have waited----forever? Did it have to be the day after one of her best friends was murdered? Probably by the man standing in front of her? She couldn't take it, she was going to either collapse, blow this house, up or----

She reached up and smacked Jugson hard across the face before disapparating with a loud crack.

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__frankish
2009-09-04 06:24 am UTC (link)

For a few moments Frank lingered in stunned silence, half willing himself to not want to believe what he was watching. But of course it was actually happening, this was Jugson they were dealing with here, their own personal death eater on hand. Frank had some idea before of how low the other man could go, but this suddenly felt like a whole new level. It was wrong, he was wrong, this was the exact thing the Order was fighting against, and, it had just--- who the fuck did this bastard think he was, just--- Frank felt his stomach twist unfavorably as he felt his limbs begin to twitch with rage with every passing second as his thoughts snowballed.

It was amazing how fast Frank felt his skin, his blood begin to boil, how fast he felt himself shift to a completely different person. There was no question against Emmeline, Frank believed her story unwaveringly. Which only left Will as the perpetrator, the death eater, the one person he should have taken care of a very long time ago, Voldemort---

Wand in hand, Frank jammed his arm to the left, barely watching as Anneliese was wrenched out of Will's grip and flew across the room. He did not flinch as the cupboard door banged closed, shutting her completely out of harm's way. All Frank could focus on was Will, his fucking smirk and how with every passing second he could feel the deep-seated fury build and build. He didn't care where the source of this outrage was coming from, he didn't care to think where Emmeline had gone to, no, no that wasn't important now. Nothing was more important than beating Will Jugson to the ground like he deserved.

This was enough, Frank had endured enough, for any person's entire lifetime, and he was done. He was done, this was going to be finished, and it was all Jugson's fault. Frank immediately began to attack relentlessly.

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willss
2009-09-04 07:25 am UTC (link)

"Oh, shit!"

It was all he was able to get out before he was slammed back into his armchair. Will couldn't figure out what was happening, Anneliese had literally flown away, there was this thing charging at him from the shadows, and---holy shit, it was Longbottom. Will's mind swirled as he tried to figure out was happening and dodge the volley of spells being shot at him. He'd thought it was weird that Vance had come alone, but he had been too wrapped up in his lie to notice the shadows and--she had smacked him, and that had made Anneliese worry over him and why was he making up excuses when he was being attacked in his own fucking house?

Will's wand shot up to deflect another spell, completely thrown for a loop. This---could not be happening. Longbottom looked like he'd lost his goddamn mind, and all Will could think of were the spells they'd thrown at each other during training, how he recognized the other man's distinct style of dueling. One of the best, Will knew even he couldn't deny that, but he did have the advantage of being on the field every day with Longbottom. So he fought back; he knew what Frank was going to shoot at him, and he fought back.

That was, until the spells stopped flying and Will was suddenly being pummeled by Longbottom's bare fists. This--was not going how he'd expected their inevitable showdown to go, and Will's hand to hand combat kicked in as well. Longbottom had the brute strength, but Will was the death eater that mercilessly killed without a second thought; that kind of anger and rage gave a whole new element to a fight.

Somehow he managed to push Frank away, Will rolling to the opposite side of the room. He quickly spat before charging across the room, "You didn't fight this fucking hard in Hogsmeade!"

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__frankish
2009-09-04 08:13 am UTC (link)

He was too angry, his body was shaking too much to wait for spells to hit their mark. Even in his raging fit, Will would still be able to predict what he would do, how he would react next, no matter how reckless he became. Frank knew this, and dropped his wand instantaneously to the ground. Using his bare hands to eliminate Jugson would be much more satisfying anyway. He would be able to relish in it, look back and say how he had truly, in every essence, killed a death eater for all it was worth. No coping with flying walls or tumbling back into something.

No, he wanted to watch Will actually fear for his life.

There was blood on his shirt, but Frank was hard pressed to remember when he had been hit, or even how painful it had been. That was not important, his own pain was just as insignificant as Jugson's life. A minor detail, something so unworthy of thought for even one second--- Frank barely noticed Will kicking him away, sliding to the other end of the floor. All he could focus on was his eyes, keeping a direct line of utter loathing the entire---

What?

Frank froze stock still, letting Will ram head on into him. Hogs--- A new craze build inside him that he had never experienced before. This was the one who had sent him to France? Sent him to his expected death three years ago? Been the sole reason behind almost a month of torture, the carving on his arm that would never go away, all the pain--- under his very nose?

Sheer strength coursed through him as he jammed the palm of his hand into Will's face, and followed the motion enough to flip the other man over on his back like a slow turtle. Did he honestly think he would live to brag about this anymore? Pushing one knee into Will's gut, he effectively pinned the other man down. There was no pain, he felt no pain-- like Will hadn't even touched him.

Frank vengefully directed his hands straight for Will's neck, hoping that his tight grip would make the bone snap right then. Much to Frank's dismay, however, Jugson's body did not go limp, only forcing Frank to put all his weight into suffocating the man until he did. It didn't matter how long it would have to take, he would sit here all day if he had to to ensure the person who made his life a living hell suffered until the end.

"I'm going to kill you," Frank hissed through his teeth, clenching harder against Will's throat as he spoke. His nose flared, his eyes only seeing red-- and his shoulders began to shake lightly as he produced a laugh that only James would be able to recognize. "You're going to die right on this floor!"

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alongday
2009-09-04 08:41 am UTC (link)

When Emmeline had returned to the house without Frank, Alice knew that this was going to be a long, long night. She waited all of a minute for her husband to appear, but when he didn't, Alice commanded that Emmeline stay with Neville, and she apparated immediately to the Jugson household, where she knew her husband was going insane. How could Emmeline be so stupid, to leave Frank alone with Will? Not that the two hadn't managed to not kill each other at work, but in the frenzy of the night already, there was no way that Frank---

Alice's eyes widened at the flashes of light in the downstairs windows of the house, and her heart sunk. Oh, Frank..It was easy to find the way he'd entered, and tomorrow, oh, oh tomorrow there would be such a scolding, but right now---Alice rushed into the living room, wand out and ready as if entering a battle or a duel and---Merlin, she was. Curtains were on fire, the couch had been destroyed, how fucking---it had been five minutes! Not even! How had---"STOP!"

She screamed, unable to control herself at the sight of her husband honestly trying to choke the last breath out of Will Jugson. It was---horrifying, and though Alice knew of Frank's history with the Will and his status as a death eater, she could not let her husband become a cold blooded murderer like the man he had writhing on the floor, "STUPEFY! STUPEFY!"

Alice put her hand to her mouth as both of the men's bodies fell limp, Frank onto his back and Will...she was almost afraid to check. She hurried over and dropped to her knees, putting her fingers to his neck to check for a pulse. Yes, he was still alive. Alice rested on her knees for a moment, hearing some sort of noise in the background. A baby started to cry, and all of a sudden Alice felt trapped. Anneliese had to be somewhere, and now their baby was crying, and---

"Rennervate," she said, her wand pointed at Will's chest. She had to wake him, to fix things with his wife, to help the baby before the whole place burnt down. Right now, Alice did not give a damn what he did to Anneliese (Which she was sorry for, but this was too out of control to add more elements---). The man woke up with a jerk, taking a heavy, deep breath before he sat up. He blinked heavily at Alice, who was still on her knees beside him.

"What the fuck---" he began to snarl, but Alice pulled her arm back and punched him straight in the nose. Will howled in pain and Alice reached over and grabbed onto Frank's wrist before disapparating away and back to their home.

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