Terry was knee deep in books... he was completely surrounded by his collection and was trying to organize everything so that they were sorted by author and genre simultaneously. Running a hand through his hair, he heard a knock at the door, and he grinned a bit, figuring Daphne had gotten tipsy with her friends and forgot her key. Getting up quickly, he moved to the front of the flat to unlock the door.
He pried it open, his smile dropping into a quizzical look when he saw a thin blonde on the other end.
Cecilia was out of breath, rushing from the restaurant and Apparating to Daphne's and Terry's new flat. She was wringing her hands, chewing on her bottom lip when he answered the door. Her eyes raising to meet his wearily.
Terry's jaw dropped, and he looked behind Cecilia, as though he was expecting Daphne to be standing there. "Not since a few hours ago when she left to meet you. She and Pansy left..." he checked his watch again, "Half past six." It was now half past seven.
It was hard to forget Pansy being in the new flat. She'd scoffed at the books he was sorting, made a few Ravenclaw jokes before she left. He'd let them go as usual, and then re-submerged himself into the organizing.
"She's meant to be with you." The tone was serious. Not exactly accusatory, but it was certainly anxious.
Cecilia was trying not to fret. She was trying to keep her cool. Still, she couldn't stop pulling at her fingers, her hands still cold from the outside. She looked past him, as if thinking it was a whole big joke and that her two friends were just hanging around in the kitchen or something.
"No- no, I got to the restaurant and-" she paused, sighing. "Their things were there but they weren't-"
There was an intense pounding building in the back of Daphne's head, her blood beating inside of her ear drums. Groaning, Daphne opened her eyes but it was hard to see. The room was dim.
She pulled at her arms to rub her temples but they were stuck. Her arms wouldn't move.
Her wrists were tight.
Something wasn't right. Her body was stiff and upright, held in place and she couldn't move with her arms strung back behind her and her legs pinned together. She could see the faint outline of another woman besides her, dark hair and thin frame.
"Mmmm," came a mutter from very close. The sound of Daphne's voice, however low, was killing her head.
Did they drink too much? Was this the hangover from hell?
Pansy tilted her head, which had been propped on her shoulder, up to better look for Daphne. But in the low light it was hard to see exactly their surroundings. "Daph?" She moved to reach out and realized she'd lost feeling in her hands, which were tied extremely tightly behind her. "W-wot happened?!"
Pansy blinked her eyes, trying to see clearly. "Looks like there's a door?" she replied, but she really wasn't that sure. "What the mother fecking bloody feck is going on?"
But her outburst was a bit loud, and it stopped her from hearing something overhead.
"I think I hear someone... upstairs," she choked, feeling something dry on her tongue. She wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she could tell she'd ingested something that was causing her to feel this way.
With Cecilia otherwise engaged and Fred taking the closing shift at the shop, George was rather uncharacteristically taking advantage of his open evening to, well, clean. He'd taken to spending most of his time either at work or Cecilia's, generally stopping by his own flat just to throw some clothes around and add more dishes to the pile growing in the sink. And after an unexpected visit from Molly a few days ago which had both begun and ended with a firm smack to the back of the head and a lecture about the downsides of living in filth, he had to admit that the place could do with a bit of organizing.
The knock at the door, then, came as a bit of a surprise. He fumbled with the doorknob, peaking around a teetering pile of freshly laundered shirts to see who he owed the interruption to.
"Cess- hi. Erm, Terry- hello. What's- going on?" It was clear from the look on the two unexpected visitors' faces that something was quite obviously off.
She hadn't said the words out loud yet, hadn't wanted to admit that this was happening. But once they passed through her lips, her stomach flipped, her hands shaking as she stuffed them in the pockets of her coat, not quite sure what to do with them. She looked up at George, her brow furrowing as she did what she could to keep herself calm.
There was no use getting crazy, that was going to be of no help to anyone.
"I still think we should search the restaurant again," Terry insisted, fidgeting in his place. Standing still was not on his to do list, and he knew that there was something, anything they should be doing to further this along.
But if Cecilia was right, then maybe George would be able to contact someone on this lovely Saturday evening. If they were normal people they would be enjoying themselves right now, just as Daphne was supposed to be doing.
It didn't take much more of an explanation for George's mind to jump to the same conclusions he assumed both of theirs had - with the way things had been lately, someone not being where they were expected to be was an automatic red flag.
The piles of clean clothes he'd been holding was carelessly dropped, freeing up his hands to instinctively reach for one of Cecilia's, eyebrows knitting together as he glanced between them, thoughts racing as he tried to piece together the full train of events from just their clipped sentences.
"Missing- so were they actually at the restaurant? When did anyone see them last-" Though even as he questioned them he was moving back inside his flat, having already made a decision. He could only assume that if they were here, they had already considered the possibility of a misunderstanding or missed connection, that this wasn't just a flighty whim of a worry
( ... )
Harry was pacing in his living room, his hands raking through his hair as he looked at Skylar. It had been a shitty fucking day and he didn't really want to explain himself again after having to do so with everyone else on his force.
"That guy was an asshole- he didn't want anything to do with us-"
"I just don't understand how you can let it go that far!" Skylar told him, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him pace the length of his flat.
She was completely overwhelmed by his story, coming home to announce that he had been suspended. His issues with controlling his anger were beginning to scare her. If he couldn't control himself at work then what was stopping him the next time they were alone?
"Is this because you're detoxing? I need to understand what's going on-"
"I don't know-" he said, stopping where he stood. "After everything we've done to ensure their safety- after the battles we fought to make sure that Death Eaters couldn't hurt them anymore-"
He coughed, his shoulders sagging.
"How could they not want to help?"
It was then that a small, flittering chipmunk came throw his window and Harry stopped. Suddenly George's voice filled the room, ""Harry, there's a situation. Never mind being off work, make sure you've got trousers on, we're coming to you."
It was frustrating and wrong, Skylar knew that. But it wasn't a fight that the muggles understood or even knew about. Their words had been separated for a reason.
Before she could say any of that the patronus burst into the room.
"No- Harry, you're suspended," she said, pointing at the lingering mist of silver smoke where the chipmunk had just been. Skylar was shaking her head.
Everything was happening so quickly. It had only been an hour ago that Skylar and Harry had been fighting with each other in his living room over his suspension and now they were apparating over to an abandoned church to investigate signs of cult activity. There was no time to waste, which had actually worked in her favor considering Harry didn't have to time to argue over her tagging along.
But as chaotic as everything was, the confusion and the obvious fear that everyone had been masking, they seemed to have put themselves on the right track. The Expandable Ears had confirmed their confusions and Hermione's research gave them a place to start searching. Now all they had to do was split up and search the churches.
That wouldn't be too difficult.
As soon as they landed, Skylar had her wand in her hand and she was alert. They landed outside an abandoned church surrounded by a desolate and quiet wooded area.
"Everything here seems quiet so far-" she said, dropping Harry's hand to check their surroundings.
"We ought to get inside and see if there's a sign of anything-"
But Harry had a feeling that the quiet was a good sign- one that said this wasn't the church- though whether that was actually a good sign considering their intentions was still up for determination. He took a step ahead of Skylar, his wand out, lighting the way in front of them. He didn't want her there with him, didn't want her anywhere near danger if he could help it.
But it seemed she was as stubborn as he was.
"You know, I'd have loved it if you stayed home-" he said, sparing a glance over his shoulder at her.
"And I'd really love it if you weren't breaking any laws right now- considering you're suspended and all," she told him, throwing him a knowing look as she caught up with him.
Though her gaze was quickly pulled away and back at scouting their surroundings. Even though it was quiet, so quiet that she could feel the crumbling of dried, left over fall leaves beneath her feet, here she knew better than to let her guard down. This location had been targeted for a reason and there could be somebody just inside.
"I would have gone crazy sitting in your bloody flat while you were out here with no back up. Are you trying to kill me?"
"George is plenty back-up," he said, dismissing the idea.
He didn't pay attention to the fact that he was scoping out one church while George was scoping out another. He just spared another glance at her before grabbing at her hand. If they were going to do this, he wasn't going to let her go.
"Besides, Sky, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you-"
Comments 103
He pried it open, his smile dropping into a quizzical look when he saw a thin blonde on the other end.
Reply
Cecilia was out of breath, rushing from the restaurant and Apparating to Daphne's and Terry's new flat. She was wringing her hands, chewing on her bottom lip when he answered the door. Her eyes raising to meet his wearily.
"You um- when was the last time you saw Daphne?"
Absolutely not the right thing to say.
Reply
It was hard to forget Pansy being in the new flat. She'd scoffed at the books he was sorting, made a few Ravenclaw jokes before she left. He'd let them go as usual, and then re-submerged himself into the organizing.
"She's meant to be with you." The tone was serious. Not exactly accusatory, but it was certainly anxious.
Reply
"No- no, I got to the restaurant and-" she paused, sighing. "Their things were there but they weren't-"
Reply
She pulled at her arms to rub her temples but they were stuck. Her arms wouldn't move.
Her wrists were tight.
Something wasn't right. Her body was stiff and upright, held in place and she couldn't move with her arms strung back behind her and her legs pinned together. She could see the faint outline of another woman besides her, dark hair and thin frame.
"Pansy-" she called, voice hoarse and low.
Reply
Did they drink too much? Was this the hangover from hell?
Pansy tilted her head, which had been propped on her shoulder, up to better look for Daphne. But in the low light it was hard to see exactly their surroundings. "Daph?" She moved to reach out and realized she'd lost feeling in her hands, which were tied extremely tightly behind her. "W-wot happened?!"
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The pounding in her head made her vision fuzzy but she would recognize the dim outline of her longest friend anywhere.
"Pans- I don't know," she said, coughing. Her mouth was dry and lips were cracked.
"Can you see anything?"
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But her outburst was a bit loud, and it stopped her from hearing something overhead.
"I think I hear someone... upstairs," she choked, feeling something dry on her tongue. She wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but she could tell she'd ingested something that was causing her to feel this way.
Reply
The knock at the door, then, came as a bit of a surprise. He fumbled with the doorknob, peaking around a teetering pile of freshly laundered shirts to see who he owed the interruption to.
"Cess- hi. Erm, Terry- hello. What's- going on?" It was clear from the look on the two unexpected visitors' faces that something was quite obviously off.
Reply
She hadn't said the words out loud yet, hadn't wanted to admit that this was happening. But once they passed through her lips, her stomach flipped, her hands shaking as she stuffed them in the pockets of her coat, not quite sure what to do with them. She looked up at George, her brow furrowing as she did what she could to keep herself calm.
There was no use getting crazy, that was going to be of no help to anyone.
Reply
But if Cecilia was right, then maybe George would be able to contact someone on this lovely Saturday evening. If they were normal people they would be enjoying themselves right now, just as Daphne was supposed to be doing.
Reply
The piles of clean clothes he'd been holding was carelessly dropped, freeing up his hands to instinctively reach for one of Cecilia's, eyebrows knitting together as he glanced between them, thoughts racing as he tried to piece together the full train of events from just their clipped sentences.
"Missing- so were they actually at the restaurant? When did anyone see them last-" Though even as he questioned them he was moving back inside his flat, having already made a decision. He could only assume that if they were here, they had already considered the possibility of a misunderstanding or missed connection, that this wasn't just a flighty whim of a worry ( ... )
Reply
Harry was pacing in his living room, his hands raking through his hair as he looked at Skylar. It had been a shitty fucking day and he didn't really want to explain himself again after having to do so with everyone else on his force.
"That guy was an asshole- he didn't want anything to do with us-"
Reply
She was completely overwhelmed by his story, coming home to announce that he had been suspended. His issues with controlling his anger were beginning to scare her. If he couldn't control himself at work then what was stopping him the next time they were alone?
"Is this because you're detoxing? I need to understand what's going on-"
Reply
He coughed, his shoulders sagging.
"How could they not want to help?"
It was then that a small, flittering chipmunk came throw his window and Harry stopped. Suddenly George's voice filled the room, ""Harry, there's a situation. Never mind being off work, make sure you've got trousers on, we're coming to you."
Reply
Before she could say any of that the patronus burst into the room.
"No- Harry, you're suspended," she said, pointing at the lingering mist of silver smoke where the chipmunk had just been. Skylar was shaking her head.
"You won't have back up. You can get hurt-"
Reply
But as chaotic as everything was, the confusion and the obvious fear that everyone had been masking, they seemed to have put themselves on the right track. The Expandable Ears had confirmed their confusions and Hermione's research gave them a place to start searching. Now all they had to do was split up and search the churches.
That wouldn't be too difficult.
As soon as they landed, Skylar had her wand in her hand and she was alert. They landed outside an abandoned church surrounded by a desolate and quiet wooded area.
"Everything here seems quiet so far-" she said, dropping Harry's hand to check their surroundings.
Reply
But Harry had a feeling that the quiet was a good sign- one that said this wasn't the church- though whether that was actually a good sign considering their intentions was still up for determination. He took a step ahead of Skylar, his wand out, lighting the way in front of them. He didn't want her there with him, didn't want her anywhere near danger if he could help it.
But it seemed she was as stubborn as he was.
"You know, I'd have loved it if you stayed home-" he said, sparing a glance over his shoulder at her.
Reply
Though her gaze was quickly pulled away and back at scouting their surroundings. Even though it was quiet, so quiet that she could feel the crumbling of dried, left over fall leaves beneath her feet, here she knew better than to let her guard down. This location had been targeted for a reason and there could be somebody just inside.
"I would have gone crazy sitting in your bloody flat while you were out here with no back up. Are you trying to kill me?"
Reply
He didn't pay attention to the fact that he was scoping out one church while George was scoping out another. He just spared another glance at her before grabbing at her hand. If they were going to do this, he wasn't going to let her go.
"Besides, Sky, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you-"
Reply
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