Home sweet home
She walked along the street, four books in her hands as she looked around. Half her locs in a bun while the other ran down her back, it was seconds before she was walking next to him. He needed expertise and effectiveness for the next part.
He grabbed her arm as she walked past, putting the other over her mouth and he pulled her into the magic barrier around the alleyway. Her arm pulled forward before rearing back into his ribs, one of the books used as a bat against his side. He found himself on the floor with an angry Dorcas Meadowes holding a wand to him.
He needed expertise and effectiveness, unfortunately he lacked both. “Hey girl.” He smiled awkwardly, he watched the wand lower slightly before staying in the air. “I’m just here for a conversation.” He placed his hands in the air, very peacefully.
“Conversation?” She questioned back and Barty could hear the difference in the years they hadn’t talked. “I only have those with friends.” She replied back, “And definitely not someone who just tried to kidnap me.”
“Well I didn’t think blondie would appreciate me turning up at your apartment.” He argued back, as he dragged himself off the floor. His side stung, “What the fuck.”
Her eyebrows furrowed together, “How do you know where we live? Were you sent here?” She stepped forwards, her wand inches from his neck.
“Please, none of you guys could hide from me for long.” He tried to move the wand from his neck but she pushed it back, “Really? I wasn’t sent here to hurt you, anyone. No one knows I’m here, or I’m sure cares.” He sighs as she stays still, unconvinced. “I’m here about Regulus.”
Barty can see how she suppresses an eye roll but he can see the way her mouth twitches down. “What about him?” She questioned, clearly convinced he is not a threat she moves her wand to pick up her books.
“He’s dead, Dorcas.”
“I know.”
He watches her move, his breath stuttering. “Wha- Does it mean nothing?”
“People die every day.” She stood with her books as she turned to him.
“Strangers die every day, he was your friend.”
“No.” She steps forwards, “He is not my friend, you-” Her finger pokes his chest. “Are not my friend, after 5th you both became strangers to me.” Her eyes look down, he doesn’t want to follow her sight but her hand reaches to hold his forearm. “You all chose your side, you can die on it with no sadness from me.” His arm was thrown back down as Dorcas turned to leave.
“Frank and Alice.” Barty called out as she stopped, “They aren’t safe, in five days they’ll be attacked.” When she turns around, he can’t tell what she’s really thinking, he used to be able to.
“I won’t be led to a trap- they’re fine in their safe-”
“In Liverpool?” He asked, cutting her off. “At 47 Windle Road?” She looked at him, assessing. “You can trust me.” He tried to convince but she didn’t seem it as her wand slipped back into her hand.
“What did you just say?” As she turned back to face him, Barty couldn’t help but shrink. “Trust you? Trust you? Lift up your robe- if it’s bare I’ll trust you.” Her head tilted to the side, “But we both know it’s not.”
He didn’t move, to lift his robe or out of the way of her wand. He couldn’t quite breath either.
“Do you even regret it?” She questioned as they stared at each other.
“I joined for Regulus and Evan- they didn’t have a choice.” He could see the words written on her face, ‘There’s always a choice.’
Instead her face hardened, “No- you joined to get back at daddy, hoping he’d be forced to pay attention to you.” The sneer on her face didn’t weaken, “And your friends- let’s talk about them. How are they doing?”
He didn’t have a response, not one she’d want to hear and not one he felt confident saying. She knew, and so she turned around and left. As he was left alone in the alley, he thought it could have been worse. She could have arrested him.. or tried to kill him..
He’ll take that as a sign there friendship can be saved.
________________________________________
Dorcas turned down the street, not letting anyone onto her anxiety as she breathed and took the golden ear ring from her left into her fingers. She turned the opal gemstone that hung from her ear towards her three times and waited as she stepped slowly.
“Cas?” Marlene’s gargled voice was a relief. “You okay?” Dorcas asked, scouting out her surroundings.
“Yea- just eating.” Her girlfriend replied, Dorcas could hear the slurping of the noodles through the connection, unfortunately.
“Hm.” She could see Lily’s apartment up the road, “Hope it’s good, you sure everything’s alright? No knocks at the door? Paper under it?” She asked, looking back towards the alley.
There was a silence for a second, “You know I don’t answer random knocks and I can’t read anymore.. why? What happened?”
“Nothing- just being cautious.” She entered the apartment building, smiling at one of the tenants leaving. “What do you mean you can’t read anymore? Yes you can.” Confused, she walked up the stairs.
“So paranoid.” Marlene replied. “I’m choosing to abstain. I’m bored of it.”
“You can’t choose to not read Marlene. And because you’re bored of it?”
“Enough for a lifetime, darling.” Dorcas rolled her eyes, “It’s okay, you can just read everything for me.” And she knows if she was sat across from her girlfriend right now, she’d have a grin on her lovely face.
“Oh will I now? And what if I get bored?”
“Bored of doing things for me? Please, that’ll never happen.” She was right but Dorcas still grumbled.
“Yes your majesty,” She voiced, elegantly. “I have to go now, stay safe.” She stopped outside the door to her friend's flat.
“You should refer to me like that more often.” Was the cheek filled reply.
“Okay, princess.” Dorcas said before ending the connection, imagining the reaction it achieved made a grin of her own appear. It was quickly substituted with a friendly smile as the door opened without a knock. “Waiting for me?” With a raised eyebrow she enquired.
“Waiting for my books.” Lily held her hands out for them, to which Dorcas dropped them into her arms. “Thank you very much.”
“You mind if I use your fireplace?” She walked more into the apartment, most of it being packed up by now.
Lily went over to a box on the sofa, “Yea- sure, where you going?”
“Just some last minute work for the ministry.” She replied, “Sorry- can’t stay long.” As she grabbed a handful of powder Lily assured her she was fine, so she was teleported through green smoke in an instant.
“Ministry of Magic!” She stepped through the fireplace onto black tiles, wizards were scrambling like always but she pushed through the crowd. Her breathing subsided, although her face gave nothing away her hand hadn’t stopped shaking. She headed down to the basement, abandoned by most but The Order had made a small office there.
“Peter?” Something clattered to the floor as he turned around.
“Dorcas? I thought no one’d be in today.” He scratched the back of his head, moving around the room.
“Alastar should be here, just need to talk about a few things.”
“Any changes to the plan?”
“Not that I know of.” Dorcas moved through the dimly lit room, nodding to Peter before leaving.
“Bye.” He replied back.
He probably hadn’t seen Alastar because he’d been in the small office the whole time, that’s where she went. “Alaster?” With a long creak the door opened, papers were scattered around as he sat in front of a board. String connecting the pieces.
“Meadowes.” With a flick of his wand the string moved the papers again. “What do you want?”
She couldn’t tell him about Barty coming to her, everyone had enough suspicion of her being a Slytherin anyway. She didn’t need to add fuel. “Reassurance. It’s too quiet for nothing to be happening, are you sure this is the best way to handle it?”
Alastar looked at her for a second, it was unnerving. “What other way would there be?”
“Stay at Hogwarts over the summer, move them to another country after.”
“You think they’d stay in England to get what they want?”
“What do they want? We don’t even know.” Her voice raised.
“It’s not what they want but more what we have to protect-”
Her hands curled, “How are we protecting them? It? There’s no back-up, in the middle of muggles and only one person knows where they are.”
“You gave Evan’s back-up no?”
How did he- “How do you know about that?”
He looked over at her, an eyebrow raised.
“Who’s back-up for the Longbottoms?”
His eyes rolled back to the board, “Me.”
“Oh.” She allowed herself to breathe, everyone had back-up. “Does that mean you know where they are?”
“Do you know where Evans is?”
She wished she did. There was a silence after as Dorcas watched him move the string again, relaxing she went over to the desk and picked up a piece of paper. “Liverpool?” She read, Alaster’s wand stopped momentarily. “I have been hearing about Death Eater’s there, think it’s anything?”
“Liverpool?” She could feel her heart in her chest, in the corner of her eye he was staring. “I wouldn’t worry about it, neither should you. Don’t you have a girlfriend to protect? Focus on your own family, Meadowes.” He shuffled in his seat, the soft creak of his long leather jacket filled the silence.
She hummed as she pretended to look through more papers.
“Those papers prove it to be safe- the Longbottom’s, the potter’s. They’re all fine where they are.” He spoke but the paper didn’t mention Liverpool, she had just picked a random one.
Barty was right, too specific to be wrong. Alaster all but confirmed Liverpool was where the Longbottom’s were, did they know where Lily and James were? Did Barty tell her as some psychological trick? She didn’t know, there were too many players on the board.
“I might have a location for some Death Eaters.”