Avery in progress
In progress. seriously in progress.
The first bit had been easy enough. Routine, even. While he doubted they'd be making use of that particular contact again, he'd behaved himself and simply followed the prescribed procedure there. Extracted the information, made the contact forget about giving him the information, and swiped his wand after he'd stunned him. The stun would wear off in a bit - he hadn't put too much force behind it - but by then, he'd be gone. Long gone, with no hint he'd ever been there to begin with.
Now came the fun part.
The first name on the list hadn't panned out at all, and he hadn't wasted his time with it. The second proved a bit easier - the witch was young, likely just out of school. That made him wonder, very briefly, what American wizarding schools were like, but he didn't care enough to really investigate that thought.
He was lucky enough to catch her leaving the house after her parents had gone to work. Dropping his disillusionment charm, he stepped out of the shrubbery as he stunned her. She didn't have time to cry out, and she'd barely registered a look of surprise before he moved her limp form back inside. He patted her down and found her wand in a slit in her jeans, tucked along her thigh. Well, he supposed that was a way to go. Not one he'd have chosen personally, but no matter.
Slipping her wand into the bag he'd stored the others, he leaned against the wall to watch as she eased out of the stun. He watched her intensely as she rubbed her temples and looked around. He grinned when she caught sight of him, and he flicked his wand out to silence her.
The fear in her eyes was absolutely beautiful. Oh, he'd missed that. He'd missed that quite a bit. But what he'd missed more than the fear, was the pain. He knew he shouldn't play too much ... but just a bit. Not enough to even really make her sore after ... but just enough to see the pain.
Pointing his wand at her chest, he smiled. "Crucio," he whispered. The reaction was instantaneous and beautiful. Her back arched, her jaw clenched, her eyes slammed closed, and her lips parted in a silent scream that, had she had a voice, may have ruptured her vocal cords. He let the spell stop, and he watched her as she panted and sweated and shivered and trembled in the chair.
Her eyes opened and fixed on him, and he reveled in the fear there. The pain. There was anger, too, and that almost made him giggle. What could she do, really? Defenseless little Muggleborn girl that she was ...
But he had a schedule to keep. While he could have enjoyed playing a bit more, he thought it was safest to cut off now before his baser urges got the best of him. Flicking his wand toward her temple, he erased the memory of the past fifteen minutes to give himself a sound margin. He stunned her again, released the silencing spell, and let himself out.
By the time she woke up from that stun, she'd simply think she'd fallen asleep in the big armchair by the door.
After finding a quiet place to take care of a thing or two and to get his bearings again, Avery moved on to the next address, feeling rather chipper about the entire ordeal.
It was fun being back in the thick of things.
______________
It took five days, all told ... but he'd had an opportunity to track down a fourth wand and he thought the extra day was well worth the prize.
Well worth it. The last witch had been quite the looker and he'd played a bit. A little crucio here, a little imperio there, and a dash of obliviation when all was said and done. He'd gotten himself back home and taken some time to simply revel in the memories of his playtime. It had been glorious, really, to stretch his proverbial wings like that and he was still a bit giddy with it.
Only after he'd had a chance to calm down and stop grinning did he send an owl to Lucius. Oh, he knew he could Floo himself over, but he didn't want to interrupt anything. He thought it would still be best for Lucius to set a time for them to meet.
The owl was simple enough with only a few words jotted onto it.
I'm back with four. When would you like to see me?
He left it unsigned, but he was certain Lucius would know who it was from - and what it was about. Now, all he had to do was wait.
The first bit had been easy enough. Routine, even. While he doubted they'd be making use of that particular contact again, he'd behaved himself and simply followed the prescribed procedure there. Extracted the information, made the contact forget about giving him the information, and swiped his wand after he'd stunned him. The stun would wear off in a bit - he hadn't put too much force behind it - but by then, he'd be gone. Long gone, with no hint he'd ever been there to begin with.
Now came the fun part.
The first name on the list hadn't panned out at all, and he hadn't wasted his time with it. The second proved a bit easier - the witch was young, likely just out of school. That made him wonder, very briefly, what American wizarding schools were like, but he didn't care enough to really investigate that thought.
He was lucky enough to catch her leaving the house after her parents had gone to work. Dropping his disillusionment charm, he stepped out of the shrubbery as he stunned her. She didn't have time to cry out, and she'd barely registered a look of surprise before he moved her limp form back inside. He patted her down and found her wand in a slit in her jeans, tucked along her thigh. Well, he supposed that was a way to go. Not one he'd have chosen personally, but no matter.
Slipping her wand into the bag he'd stored the others, he leaned against the wall to watch as she eased out of the stun. He watched her intensely as she rubbed her temples and looked around. He grinned when she caught sight of him, and he flicked his wand out to silence her.
The fear in her eyes was absolutely beautiful. Oh, he'd missed that. He'd missed that quite a bit. But what he'd missed more than the fear, was the pain. He knew he shouldn't play too much ... but just a bit. Not enough to even really make her sore after ... but just enough to see the pain.
Pointing his wand at her chest, he smiled. "Crucio," he whispered. The reaction was instantaneous and beautiful. Her back arched, her jaw clenched, her eyes slammed closed, and her lips parted in a silent scream that, had she had a voice, may have ruptured her vocal cords. He let the spell stop, and he watched her as she panted and sweated and shivered and trembled in the chair.
Her eyes opened and fixed on him, and he reveled in the fear there. The pain. There was anger, too, and that almost made him giggle. What could she do, really? Defenseless little Muggleborn girl that she was ...
But he had a schedule to keep. While he could have enjoyed playing a bit more, he thought it was safest to cut off now before his baser urges got the best of him. Flicking his wand toward her temple, he erased the memory of the past fifteen minutes to give himself a sound margin. He stunned her again, released the silencing spell, and let himself out.
By the time she woke up from that stun, she'd simply think she'd fallen asleep in the big armchair by the door.
After finding a quiet place to take care of a thing or two and to get his bearings again, Avery moved on to the next address, feeling rather chipper about the entire ordeal.
It was fun being back in the thick of things.
______________
It took five days, all told ... but he'd had an opportunity to track down a fourth wand and he thought the extra day was well worth the prize.
Well worth it. The last witch had been quite the looker and he'd played a bit. A little crucio here, a little imperio there, and a dash of obliviation when all was said and done. He'd gotten himself back home and taken some time to simply revel in the memories of his playtime. It had been glorious, really, to stretch his proverbial wings like that and he was still a bit giddy with it.
Only after he'd had a chance to calm down and stop grinning did he send an owl to Lucius. Oh, he knew he could Floo himself over, but he didn't want to interrupt anything. He thought it would still be best for Lucius to set a time for them to meet.
The owl was simple enough with only a few words jotted onto it.
I'm back with four. When would you like to see me?
He left it unsigned, but he was certain Lucius would know who it was from - and what it was about. Now, all he had to do was wait.