fourcolorlove | open rp } { gotta go back to hogwarts

It starts in a bar.

Seth and Richie, admittedly, spend a lot of time in those after the latter graduates Hogwarts and they set out on their own. They manage to develop quite the reputation for themselves, using magic to make some pretty notable scores, and while it's not the reputations that most upstanding wizards would want, it's a life that suits Seth just fine. Or at least it does, until the fence their meeting, a friend that they used to know in Hogwarts, starts chatting over their beers about some big dark ritual going down.

Some kind of cult, older than the Deatheaters, older than Voldemort, was doing some ritual sacrifice. That "stuck up bitch" from Slytherin they used to know was involved. The fence thought it was funny. Thought it was some kind of comeuppance. In fact, he's so entertained with himself that he misses the way the humor drained from Seth's face, the way his fingers tighten around his flagon of beer.

What he doesn't miss is the way Seth promptly excuses himself from the conversation, taking his cut and heading out the door far too quickly. Even Richie looks confused as he gets up to follow him, shouting questions at his brother's back as they go: Does he know what he's doing or what exactly it is he's walking into?

No, Richard, he hasn't quite figured that out yet.

Does he know what he's going to do once he gets there?

Again, no, he's kind of winging this one.

But whatever this is, it doesn't sound good for Kisa. So it doesn't take much for Seth to apparate just outside the area their friend mentioned, and it isn't long until things get messy: the Seth Gecko special. Some of the cultists run. A good number of them wind up dead due to the reflecting spells. But at the end of the mess, they win, and Seth is making his way over to where they have Kisa chained, and crouches down in front of her.

"Kisa, it's me." He doesn't want to spook her, he knows she's probably terrified, so he doesn't touch her right away. "It's Seth. I'm just gong to take the blindfold off, alright?"

Since the time she was young Kisa has been told she was special. That she was connected to a magic older than any living person, and stronger than even that which the Dark Lord has possessed. It had given her a sense of entiltement, she supposes, a superiority complex that comes with the territory. She always thought she was meant to have a special destiny, something beautiful and pure.

But her parents answered to a higher power, the Lords, and had passed her over when the time was right. It was horrible. They sacrificed a young man in front of her, and she tried to run and get away but they had managed to disarm her from her wand before she could get away and tied her up. She had been so afraid of what would happen next.

Then there's noise. A fight she can't see. And a voice she never expected to hear again, let alone now. Relief floods her body and she nods.

"Alright."

It's as much as she can manage to say, the other words die in her throat. She is still too shaken to speak much.

Callused hands brush against the sides of her face, drawing the blindfold up and off, and then all she sees is Seth, with the occasional glimpse of Richie over his shoulder as he ... cleans things up more or less. Once Kisa can see, he starts moving over to the other bindings so he can release her.

"We're going to get you out of here, okay? We've got a portkey - are you okay to travel?"

"Not really, but I'll survive."

At the best of times, Portkey travel can make you kinda queasy -- as she already feels pretty sick she has no doubt it will only make things worse but sometimes that can't be avoided.

Portkeys are rough, but Apparition is rougher. He'd rather take option A where they can at least kind of control the landing. Which, after their winding and wily trip from one key to another, he's immediately reaching for the nearest garbage can to place in front of her, just in case.

She appreciates that -- because she definitely ends having to use it. Throwing up for a few minutes before standing up, wiping her mouth.

"I think that's most of it."

It's fine, Seth will just stand there and hold her hair. When she's finished, he guides her slowly over to the couch, letting her sit and get her bearings. It's not the nicest place in the world that she's been taken to, and it's clearly a hide out, but it's clean, and for now it's safe.

"How're you doing otherwise?"

"Terrible."

She has a feeling that she'll feel that way for a long time -- she won't forget the things she saw for a long time, if ever.

"Care to explain what that was all about?"

"Richard," Seth begins, turning a glare back on his brother, and Richie just gives him a cool look in return.

"Forgive me for wanting to know what kind of hornet's nest we may have just kicked over. Because those definitely weren't Death Eaters."

Kisa can't help but wince a little at Richard's words. She understands his frustration -- she does -- but it's a lot to take in right now.

"Some dark magic is much older than the death eaters."

"We don't have to deal with this now."

That much is certain. For now they're in a safe place, and they can deal with the nitty gritty in the morning.

"You want to clean up? We've got a shower, and we can probably round you up a change of clothes."

She nods her head a little numbly. She's still covered in blood and who knows what else.

"That would probably be a good start."

Richie nods before going to fish out some fresh clothes, and Seth helps her to her feet, before moving to steer her towards the shower. By the time Richie returns, Seth's started a hot shower, and hands her the clean clothes.

"Take your time. We'll be here if you need anything."

She nods a little numbly. Eventually the shock will wear off and things will feel more real and terrible but for now all she really wants in that shower.

"Thank you. You didn't have to help me."

Edited 2018-08-07 02:31 (UTC)

He gives a small shrug in return. "As I said. Seemed like the right thing to do."

She looks at him curiously. "Do you always do the right thing?"

"Not always." He pauses for a moment as he weighs the question again. "My idea of the right thing doesn't always match up with everyone else's."

"No, and I have been one of the people to judge you for that in the past." She pauses for a moment. "I misjudged you."

"You aren't the first and you won't be the last. But we were kids." Seth gives her a bit of a smirk, something more casual seeping into his posture. "What the hell did we know?"

"Nothing, it turns out." Or at least it feels that way now, like everything she thought she knew -- it doesn't feel quite so real, now.

He nods once, before stepping out of the door of the bathroom. "I'm gonna go make up the spare room, so just come find me when your done. The location is charmed up the wazoo, though. They won't find you here."

She worries her lip in thought for a moment.

"They won't stop looking until they do -- if I stay here I'll be putting you and your brother in danger."

"My brother and I can take care of ourselves. And we won't be staying here long." Once they've had a chance to rest and recoup, they would figure out their next move and move on to the next safe hold. "But we're not going to leave you to handle this on your own. There's safety in numbers."

"You are correct in that, I have a much better chance of surviving if I am not on my own."

The odds would be much harder if she was completely on her own.

"See? I am smart about some things." He grins a bit at the fact she just admitted he was right, before stepping back to give her some room to actually take that shower. "We'll figure it out together."

"I don't doubt that we will."

But for now she'll head inside to actually take that shower, they can figure out the rest after that.

open rp } { gotta go back to hogwarts

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