4 Dec 2024, 00:42
The Athanatos Investigations II
𝓕 I N N E G A Nx𝓒 O N N O R
３ＲＤ ＹＥＡＲＧＲＹＦＦＩＮＤＯＲThe Athanatos Investigations II 1st of December 2024@Avis Marlong, @Mathias Pride, @Winnie Harper
He pushed another old issue of the Hogwarts Headliner aside. A messy, teetering pile of yellowed pages had emerged near the edge of the desk as he combed through the archives in search of something, anything relating to the Athanatos family. Sighing, he drummed his fingers impatiently on the wooden surface as his eyes scanned the next headline, which went into a botched prank involving dungbombs and a very miffed Professor. Nothing useful.
Nothing on Athanatos. Not a hint, not a whisper, not even a hint of a whisper. He pulled at his messy clumps of hair in frustration, but surprisingly, that didn't help.
His gaze fell on the Daily Prophet folded neatly on the table’s corner. He’d swiped it out of curiosity earlier, and the bold headline greeting him made his stomach churn:
Shockwaves Across Wizarding Society: Mathias Pride Engaged to Half-Blood Winnie Harper.
What?
His lip curled into a near snarl as he pulled the paper closer. How had he missed this? Not being at the ball certainly did not help, nor did having to work through a towering backlog of assignments which he'd been procrastinating on. Still, I should've known, Finnegan thought to himself, clenching his jaw as he read on.
Of course, Pride had to make it all about him. The piece was dripping with self-importance, detailing the so-called star-crossed romance and Pride’s noble crusade for equality. Because everyone knows Mathias cares so much about people other than himself. Finn thought while he skimmed the quotes. The urge to commit the fifth-year hurt only grew with every sentence he read. The reporter had to know Mathias was a smug and disingenuous liar, right? A cockroach of a boy, something so flat and low to the ground that the sole of your boot is incapable of crushing it.
Pride, the noble visionary, breaking boundaries with his so-called love for a half-blood. Finn snorted at the part where Mathias claimed the engagement was an act of courage. "Courage, my arse," he muttered, a little too loudly which earned him a sharp "Shh!" from one of the library aides. He mouthed a halfhearted apology, then slumped lower in his chair, crumpling the edges of the Prophet in his hands.
Pride, you insufferable utter knobhead. The idea that Winnie—sweet, happy Winnie—would be bound to him forever was a grave injustice. Engagements led to marriages, marriages led to families which meant, eventually, there would be children. Pride's children. He gagged a little at the thought, but the truth was that both Pride and Harper made no secret of their intense face mushing sessions. It was kind of impressive really, how Winnie managed to snog him without throwing up at the overpowering smell of multiple expensive colognes which usually accompanied the Athanaos boy. He might be called Pride, but he is an Athanatos alright. Just as prone to being involved in accidents, at very least.
He pushed the paper aside and leaned back, staring up at the high-vaulted ceiling and sliding his hands down his cheeks. What to do? He didn't think he could stand to read more Hogwarts Headliners, and just the one Daily Prophet article on Mathias Pride had ruined his appetite for more newspaper reading. His chair wobbled precariously as he tipped it back on two legs and yawned. I can get back to it tomorrow, he decided. It was the weekend after all, he was already feeling plenty weird for being in the library on a Sunday.
It wasn't until he let the chair drop back onto four legs with a thud that he saw her.
Over by the far side of the library, a familiar girl sat at a small table, hunched over something. A book? An assignment? Who was to say. The streak of blue in her hair caught was unmistakable though, and Finn grimaced lightly when the memory came rushing back. The saddest birthday party ever. Aamon Athanatos had been there, how many days after his own accident? Either the kid was really damn unlucky, or there was more to it. Winnie had been there too, Mathias, Astra Norrick, and then this girl, a first-year from the looks of it. At least now she looked to be in good health, a lot less pale than before.
Pushing his chair back with a scrape that made the library aide glance up at him, Finn ignored the disapproving glares thrown his way and grabbed his bag. After he had slung it over his shoulder, leaving the Headliners where they lay, he carefully approached Avis's table. That was her name, right?
Careful not to startle her he stopped just short of where she was seated, gripped the strap of his bag with both hands and politely cleared his throat. "Sorry... you're Avis, right?" If she would let him, he would grab a nearby chair, spin it around, and straddle it backwards. His arms draped over the top of the backrest and his chin rested on top while his eyes took the measure of her. "You look much recovered." His eyes narrowed to mere slits before he spoke again. "Did you say someone pushed you down those stairs? I'm sorry, I don't quite remember. I was a bit preoccupied with fuckface Pride."
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
4 Dec 2024, 04:11
The Athanatos Investigations II
Avis had, surprisingly enough, managed to sleep pretty well the night before. There is only so long one's brain can keep them awake before their body's exhaustion trumps the anxiety. As such, she was actually somewhat refreshed, taking the time to comb out her hair and braid a small braid down the side. She had spent most of yesterday combing through the library, but the only thing she found was a stupid book with pages torn out of it. That was unnecessarily unhelpful.
This morning, she had a stack of books about various things. Creatures, or "beasts" as Hogwarts seemed to call them, and some history books. Honestly, it was getting sort of tiring. It was, however, still more exciting than the potions homework she was forcing herself to do beforehand. She had never been a procrastinator, and she didn't plan on starting now. As she worked, she found herself casting quick glances at her stack of books, and she pushed them to the edge of the table, careful not to let any drop. She rubbed her eye with one hand and leaned over her homework, squinting a bit to try and make out the words she had written just a moment ago.
"Sorry... you're Avis, right?" She nodded as she looked up at the interupter, and she narrowed her eyes a bit at recognition. Right. He had flung the spell on the pink lady's boyfriend. He had thought Aamon was the hero in the scenario. She tried for a half moment to place his name, with no luck. Maybe he had introduced himself at some point, but Avis had to admit she had been a bit preoccupied at the time. Was he at the hospital wing as well? She vaguely remembered someone, but it really could have been any student with a Welsh accent.
"And you are...?" She spoke with a open but guarded tone. After all, he had cast a spell on a guy for no apparent reason, except the fact he seemed to like the guy's girlfriend. As he sat down, she shifted a bit, sitting tense and rigid and following his movements warily.
Avis recoiled slightly at the harsh statement. She had heard the whole comment but chose to address the second part,and his actions, first. She wasn't quite sure who Pride was, but she had a pretty good guess, considering the kid's less-than-stellar opinion of him. She leaned back slightly in her chair, relaxed in pose but tense in posture. "What'd he ever do to you?" Her face held guarded indifference, but there was certainly a right answer to the question, and more importantly, a wrong one.
Finally, she addressed his actual question: had someone pushed her down the stairs? At the time, Avis had thought so. And to be fair, she had been mostly right. It had only been slightly off. She bit her lip and looked towards the table, really anywhere but him. It hadn't necessarily been someone, but "Something," she quietly amended, risking a quick glance up at him, trying to predict his reaction. She already regretted saying it and shivered as she realized: The things had touched her. Seeing them had been bad enough, but they had touched her, they had pushed her, and that just felt ugly.
@Finnegan Connor
This morning, she had a stack of books about various things. Creatures, or "beasts" as Hogwarts seemed to call them, and some history books. Honestly, it was getting sort of tiring. It was, however, still more exciting than the potions homework she was forcing herself to do beforehand. She had never been a procrastinator, and she didn't plan on starting now. As she worked, she found herself casting quick glances at her stack of books, and she pushed them to the edge of the table, careful not to let any drop. She rubbed her eye with one hand and leaned over her homework, squinting a bit to try and make out the words she had written just a moment ago.
"Sorry... you're Avis, right?" She nodded as she looked up at the interupter, and she narrowed her eyes a bit at recognition. Right. He had flung the spell on the pink lady's boyfriend. He had thought Aamon was the hero in the scenario. She tried for a half moment to place his name, with no luck. Maybe he had introduced himself at some point, but Avis had to admit she had been a bit preoccupied at the time. Was he at the hospital wing as well? She vaguely remembered someone, but it really could have been any student with a Welsh accent.
"And you are...?" She spoke with a open but guarded tone. After all, he had cast a spell on a guy for no apparent reason, except the fact he seemed to like the guy's girlfriend. As he sat down, she shifted a bit, sitting tense and rigid and following his movements warily.
Avis recoiled slightly at the harsh statement. She had heard the whole comment but chose to address the second part,and his actions, first. She wasn't quite sure who Pride was, but she had a pretty good guess, considering the kid's less-than-stellar opinion of him. She leaned back slightly in her chair, relaxed in pose but tense in posture. "What'd he ever do to you?" Her face held guarded indifference, but there was certainly a right answer to the question, and more importantly, a wrong one.
Finally, she addressed his actual question: had someone pushed her down the stairs? At the time, Avis had thought so. And to be fair, she had been mostly right. It had only been slightly off. She bit her lip and looked towards the table, really anywhere but him. It hadn't necessarily been someone, but "Something," she quietly amended, risking a quick glance up at him, trying to predict his reaction. She already regretted saying it and shivered as she realized: The things had touched her. Seeing them had been bad enough, but they had touched her, they had pushed her, and that just felt ugly.
@Finnegan Connor
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
7 Dec 2024, 22:09
The Athanatos Investigations II
𝓕 I N N E G A Nx𝓒 O N N O R
３ＲＤ ＹＥＡＲＧＲＹＦＦＩＮＤＯＲThe Athanatos Investigations II 1st of December 2024@Avis Marlong, @Mathias Pride, @Winnie Harper, @Aamon Athanatos, @June Selwyn
Or not. In which case any future harm that befell her would be entirely her own fault, for meddling in things she shouldn't, for stirring the pot. It wasn't the case yet, but from what little he knew about Avis, she'd struck him as a tenacious girl, a straight shooter. Both bark and bite, he mused, like a pup's.
The girl's question about Mathias Pride hung between them while Finnegan tried to decide how best to answer it. He drummed his fingers in a steady rhythm against the chair's backrest, pursed his lips a few times, then straightened up. "Ask anyone about Mathias Pride," he said, "they'll all say the same: he's arrogant, abrasive, sleazy, all of it. Come to think of it, that's most of Slytherin really, but anyway..." A glance over his shoulder toward the librarian aide made him lower his voice a little. He was on the verge of telling Avis how, in his view, someone like Winnie could never really be in love with someone like Mathias, how their whole relationship was just completely off, but he stopped himself. Mathias Pride, for his many faults, had played a very clever game by framing him as Winnie's stalker. So anything he mentioned now which sounded remotely like he was jealous of Mathias would merely feed into that rumour. Thankfully, there was still plenty wrong about Mathias Pride he could point to without bringing up Winnie and the Slobber Sessions, which Mathias seemed to love bragging about. "When Winnie was tending to you, I learned two new things about Mathias Pride. First, he's an Athanatos, like Aamon, like Gideon, like Vladimir." He did not know how many of those names she'd recognize, but Aamon would be an anchor at least. "That makes him dangerous."
He scooted a little closer, chair and all. If he gave her all he knew, he reasoned, perhaps she'd be more inclined to tell him all she knew in return. "There's a long history of accidents at Hogwarts, Avis. I've been able to find things going back to the fall ball of 2019. I've been reading through the archives of the Hogwarts Headliner and I still have a lot to go, but, it's not good. There were hags at this school, hags and hag slugs. People have died. Students have died. And then that name, Athanatos, it keeps coming up. I don't have any proof, not yet, but those hags, all those accidents, I bet they are connected to the Athanatos family somehow." He paused briefly to let it all sink in. He'd meant to tell @June Selwyn all this, back at the previous ball, but now he was spilling the beans to a clueless first-year instead. She'd probably get terribly frightened, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. She should be.
"Look, I haven't got it all worked out yet, but I can assure you of this: I play on the Quidditch team so I get to see the inside Hospital Wing plenty. I've never, ever seen a first-year come in with a severed hand before. That just doesn't happen. I mean, what's even the explanation for that? And then you tell me that a couple days later, that same boy is involved with you getting thrown down a flight of stairs by 'something'?" He airquoted the last part. "That doesn't add up, and the fact it's Aamon Athanatos just makes it all the more suspect. Oh, and let's not forget what Aamon said about Mathias, controlling the threads of fate? What's that supposed to mean? Their family is known for having produced seers, that wasn't hard to learn, but threads of fate? I don't know about you, but I don't much like the idea of the school's biggest cunt being capable of controlling much of anything. The whole thing reeks."
The longer he spoke, the more worked up he got about it all. He held in his hands 10,000 loose pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle, yet he couldn't even begin to find the bits that were supposed to go along the corners and edges. All he knew was that the pieces fit together, he just didn't know how yet. "What happened to you was not accident, Avis. What do you remember about it? Have you spoken with Aamon since?"
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
8 Dec 2024, 17:19
The Athanatos Investigations II
Avis frowned as he introduced himself. What had happened to the courtesy at Hogwarts with the house and year in the introduction? She hadn't followed the rule, but most people did. She didn't like it that he hadn't, and she wasn't sure why. She searched him, trying to read him, and her frown deepened when she couldn't find anything. Well, besides his intense hatred of Pride. Even if the only evidence he had for that was the fact that the kid was a Slytherin. Like 1/4 of Hogwarts. Finn must hate quite a lot of people if that was his standard.
Pride, it seemed, was also a terrible person because he was related to Aamon. and someone named Gideon, and Vladimir. Avis rolled her eyes. "So you don't like Pride...because he is related to a guy named Vladimir?" she spoke in dry, monotonous sarcasm, "Oh the horror." Besides, Aamon wasn't dangerous either. Well, he sort of was, but it wasn't his fault. Did Pride also have creepy dolls following him around?
As he moved closer she pulled back. Whatever he wanted, whatever he was looking for, she instinctively did not want to give it to him. He could have at least given her a handshake. Besides, the Fall Ball of 2019? Quick math showed that was 5 years ago, half of Avis' life. Being 11, she still didn't have quite an accurate account of time, and she couldn't imagine something 5 years ago having any impact now.
Except the Athanatos family was involved with quite a few of the problems. Problems that included death. Avis remained quiet and a bit too still as she mulled this over in her head. For 1, Aamon was an Athantos, whatever that meant, and for another...she wasn't quite sure. "So your goal is to what? Prove it's all related to the Athanatos? What would that accomplish?" She paused as he continued on his rant-like endeavor, save for a barely audible, "They cut it off" at the mention of the severed hand, and letting out a small huff of annoyance at the "threads of fate". Not that she understood what it was. However, like any stubborn child, she thought she did. "If I hadn't come to Hogwarts, my future would have been different. Boom. I have controlled the "threads of fate." Are you scared of me now too?" He was totally scared of the Pride kid.
His questions pulled her back to the point of the conversation. "I know it wasn't an accident," Avis snapped, pulling forward a bit in her chair to glare directly in his eyes. "I was there, remember? I was the one who was dragged through the halls with a broken leg. " and all that Finn had cared about was Aamon.
Then she shied back, biting her lip, pushing her potion work to the side, propping her elbows up on the table, and resting her head on her hands. Screw it. What did it matter anyways? She spoke softy, hesitantly, unsure of her words. "Aamon...there are these things. They're like...." she paused. this was hard. Maybe she could explain the other night. "Sometimes at night..." Great. What if he was a prefect and would give her detention or something for being out past curfew? "I found him. at the edge of the woods. screaming. Like it was the end of the world. It was dark, so I cast Lumos." She shuddered a bit, thinking about what could have happened if she hadn't been able to cast the spell. "Then...they..." She trailed off. She understood what Aamon was thinking. She couldn't tell Finn that there were dolls basically trying to destroy him. He would never believe that. Avis wouldn't believe it, not if she hadn't seen it.
She closed her eyes for a moment and gave a slight shake of her head. "I know it wasn't an accident. Nor was the hand. There isn't much to remember. It was my fault anyway. He warned us, I didn't listen, and then I was at the bottom of the stairs. Yes, I have spoken to him since." Then she felt bad for her complete lack of helpfulness and added, in an almost pleading voice. "I can't...I have to convince myself it's real, Finn. I was there, and I can barely believe it. I'm not going to have everyone think I've gone mad." She covered her eyes with her hands. "I don't know what to do." She didn't want to see that look she thought he would surely have, that stupid pity look. Pity was for losers, and she hated that she had put herself in this position.
@Finnegan Connor
Pride, it seemed, was also a terrible person because he was related to Aamon. and someone named Gideon, and Vladimir. Avis rolled her eyes. "So you don't like Pride...because he is related to a guy named Vladimir?" she spoke in dry, monotonous sarcasm, "Oh the horror." Besides, Aamon wasn't dangerous either. Well, he sort of was, but it wasn't his fault. Did Pride also have creepy dolls following him around?
As he moved closer she pulled back. Whatever he wanted, whatever he was looking for, she instinctively did not want to give it to him. He could have at least given her a handshake. Besides, the Fall Ball of 2019? Quick math showed that was 5 years ago, half of Avis' life. Being 11, she still didn't have quite an accurate account of time, and she couldn't imagine something 5 years ago having any impact now.
Except the Athanatos family was involved with quite a few of the problems. Problems that included death. Avis remained quiet and a bit too still as she mulled this over in her head. For 1, Aamon was an Athantos, whatever that meant, and for another...she wasn't quite sure. "So your goal is to what? Prove it's all related to the Athanatos? What would that accomplish?" She paused as he continued on his rant-like endeavor, save for a barely audible, "They cut it off" at the mention of the severed hand, and letting out a small huff of annoyance at the "threads of fate". Not that she understood what it was. However, like any stubborn child, she thought she did. "If I hadn't come to Hogwarts, my future would have been different. Boom. I have controlled the "threads of fate." Are you scared of me now too?" He was totally scared of the Pride kid.
His questions pulled her back to the point of the conversation. "I know it wasn't an accident," Avis snapped, pulling forward a bit in her chair to glare directly in his eyes. "I was there, remember? I was the one who was dragged through the halls with a broken leg. " and all that Finn had cared about was Aamon.
Then she shied back, biting her lip, pushing her potion work to the side, propping her elbows up on the table, and resting her head on her hands. Screw it. What did it matter anyways? She spoke softy, hesitantly, unsure of her words. "Aamon...there are these things. They're like...." she paused. this was hard. Maybe she could explain the other night. "Sometimes at night..." Great. What if he was a prefect and would give her detention or something for being out past curfew? "I found him. at the edge of the woods. screaming. Like it was the end of the world. It was dark, so I cast Lumos." She shuddered a bit, thinking about what could have happened if she hadn't been able to cast the spell. "Then...they..." She trailed off. She understood what Aamon was thinking. She couldn't tell Finn that there were dolls basically trying to destroy him. He would never believe that. Avis wouldn't believe it, not if she hadn't seen it.
She closed her eyes for a moment and gave a slight shake of her head. "I know it wasn't an accident. Nor was the hand. There isn't much to remember. It was my fault anyway. He warned us, I didn't listen, and then I was at the bottom of the stairs. Yes, I have spoken to him since." Then she felt bad for her complete lack of helpfulness and added, in an almost pleading voice. "I can't...I have to convince myself it's real, Finn. I was there, and I can barely believe it. I'm not going to have everyone think I've gone mad." She covered her eyes with her hands. "I don't know what to do." She didn't want to see that look she thought he would surely have, that stupid pity look. Pity was for losers, and she hated that she had put herself in this position.
@Finnegan Connor
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
9 Dec 2024, 17:06
The Athanatos Investigations II
An ugly scowl came over him when she questioned his reasons for disliking Mathias Pride. Maybe she'd hit her head on her rapid descend down the stairs, maybe that's why she hadn't picked up on Pride's suffocatingly large ego. She had been the one Mathias had stepped over, like she was a pile of human garbage laying between him and Winnie. How had she not noticed? If anyone had reason to dislike Mathias Pride it was her, because the Slytherin had made it plenty clear he couldn't care less if some first-year was sprawled half-dead on the floor. All he had cared about was eating his greasy schnitzels and smearing the grease all over Winnie's face with his mouth.
"So your goal is to what? Prove it's all related to the Athanatos? What would that accomplish?"
He groaned softly, not at all in the mood to get in an argument with the Ravenclaw who was holding up a very unflattering mirror to him. Are all first-years this annoying? It was that know-it-all tone, the grating righteous indignation in her voice like they were playing a game of 'gotcha'. Had he been this annoying too? He felt the sudden urge to return to his common room and profusely apologize to several of his upperclassmen for having been a stubborn little git.
"Are you scared of me now too?"
"No." The girl was getting on his nerves, what had he done to earn such hostility? To ask the question was to answer it, he could've been a bit friendlier, maybe then she wouldn't have felt the need to meet him with hostility. On the other hand, spending the better part of a Sunday morning digging through archives was not exactly Finn's idea of a fun time. All that reading had made him grumpy and brought on a dull headache.
"I was there, remember?"
The urge to say something mean was almost too much to resist, but he pressed his lips together into a hard, thin line and stayed his tongue. He was just about to get up and leave when her demeanour changed. The cocky self-assuredness made way for a softer, less certain tone.
"Aamon...there are these things. They're like..."
Things? What things? The Forbidden Forest? Another incident? As if Aamon wasn't already involved in enough of those. Avis' train of thought was derailing fast, leaving him in the dark about what exactly had happened. One thing was sure and certain though: whatever had happened had been deeply disturbing, that much was clear from the look on her face alone.
"I know it wasn't an accident. Nor was the hand. There isn't much to remember. It was my fault anyway. He warned us, I didn't listen, and then I was at the bottom of the stairs."
Back to the stairs again. He wished she would've elaborated on Aamon's third incident instead, the one by the forest. What were these things she was talking about? It was hardly possible to be less specific...
"I don't know what to do."
A brief silence lingered between them while Finn tried to find a place in his overwhelmed head to put the new information. The more time he spent looking into the Athanatos family and frequent accidents taking place at Hogwarts, the more questions he had. Avis, presumably only aware of a slither of the bigger picture, was already at a loss. He wished he could show her the way, but he had no answers either. Nothing definite anyway, just suspicions and many, many dead ends.
"You're not mad," he said after a while, a bit more gently this time. "Admitting you don't know what to do is not madness. Whatever happened, whatever you saw... I believe you, OK? Given all that's happened with Aamon, I'd be bloody mad not to."
He sighed deeply, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and regarded Avis with a tired expression. "Regarding what you said about Vladimir, see there's a bit of a snag there. Hang on." He got up, went back to the desk he had previously occupied and picked up the pile of papers he'd been going through. "Ah, here..."
He tossed an an archival copy of the Daily Prophet from January 2022 in her lap. "According to that, Vladimir is dead, but he isn't. I've seen him at balls, and he looks very much alive thanks very much. I believe he lives in Hogsmeade now. Now either that paper has been meddled with and it's a hoax or it's not just Aamon Athanatos who has strange things happen to him." That was putting it midly. Between losing your hand and returning from the dead, the latter feat was certainly a great deal more impressive. "Considering all that's happened with Aamon, things you and I have both been witness to, I chose to believe the latter. And that's not all. There's an article on the destruction of a Hag coven in there too, just in case you weren't yet convinced those are real." He puffed his cheeks and let out a long, drawn-out breath. "Those things you mentioned, what did they look like? Did you get to see them?"
"So your goal is to what? Prove it's all related to the Athanatos? What would that accomplish?"
He groaned softly, not at all in the mood to get in an argument with the Ravenclaw who was holding up a very unflattering mirror to him. Are all first-years this annoying? It was that know-it-all tone, the grating righteous indignation in her voice like they were playing a game of 'gotcha'. Had he been this annoying too? He felt the sudden urge to return to his common room and profusely apologize to several of his upperclassmen for having been a stubborn little git.
"Are you scared of me now too?"
"No." The girl was getting on his nerves, what had he done to earn such hostility? To ask the question was to answer it, he could've been a bit friendlier, maybe then she wouldn't have felt the need to meet him with hostility. On the other hand, spending the better part of a Sunday morning digging through archives was not exactly Finn's idea of a fun time. All that reading had made him grumpy and brought on a dull headache.
"I was there, remember?"
The urge to say something mean was almost too much to resist, but he pressed his lips together into a hard, thin line and stayed his tongue. He was just about to get up and leave when her demeanour changed. The cocky self-assuredness made way for a softer, less certain tone.
"Aamon...there are these things. They're like..."
Things? What things? The Forbidden Forest? Another incident? As if Aamon wasn't already involved in enough of those. Avis' train of thought was derailing fast, leaving him in the dark about what exactly had happened. One thing was sure and certain though: whatever had happened had been deeply disturbing, that much was clear from the look on her face alone.
"I know it wasn't an accident. Nor was the hand. There isn't much to remember. It was my fault anyway. He warned us, I didn't listen, and then I was at the bottom of the stairs."
Back to the stairs again. He wished she would've elaborated on Aamon's third incident instead, the one by the forest. What were these things she was talking about? It was hardly possible to be less specific...
"I don't know what to do."
A brief silence lingered between them while Finn tried to find a place in his overwhelmed head to put the new information. The more time he spent looking into the Athanatos family and frequent accidents taking place at Hogwarts, the more questions he had. Avis, presumably only aware of a slither of the bigger picture, was already at a loss. He wished he could show her the way, but he had no answers either. Nothing definite anyway, just suspicions and many, many dead ends.
"You're not mad," he said after a while, a bit more gently this time. "Admitting you don't know what to do is not madness. Whatever happened, whatever you saw... I believe you, OK? Given all that's happened with Aamon, I'd be bloody mad not to."
He sighed deeply, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands and regarded Avis with a tired expression. "Regarding what you said about Vladimir, see there's a bit of a snag there. Hang on." He got up, went back to the desk he had previously occupied and picked up the pile of papers he'd been going through. "Ah, here..."
He tossed an an archival copy of the Daily Prophet from January 2022 in her lap. "According to that, Vladimir is dead, but he isn't. I've seen him at balls, and he looks very much alive thanks very much. I believe he lives in Hogsmeade now. Now either that paper has been meddled with and it's a hoax or it's not just Aamon Athanatos who has strange things happen to him." That was putting it midly. Between losing your hand and returning from the dead, the latter feat was certainly a great deal more impressive. "Considering all that's happened with Aamon, things you and I have both been witness to, I chose to believe the latter. And that's not all. There's an article on the destruction of a Hag coven in there too, just in case you weren't yet convinced those are real." He puffed his cheeks and let out a long, drawn-out breath. "Those things you mentioned, what did they look like? Did you get to see them?"
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
9 Dec 2024, 19:12
The Athanatos Investigations II
He didn't answer her question. That was annoying. Avis had been legitimately curious about why he cared about all this, but all she had gotten was a groan. Had she worded it wrong?
Silence stretched at the end of Avis' responses and she looked down, sure that Finn was about to laugh. She certainly would have, if she had been in his position. That was the worst part of being a sarcastic, blunt person: The fear that someone else might return the favor. Except he didn't. He didn't even continue his vague hostility, rather he dropped it. She looked up in surprise as he told her she wasn't mad.
"Admitting you don't know what to do is not madness. " Avis pulled up a bit as if a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That...wasn't something she wanted to admit. In her house, she was generally expected to know the solution, and if she didn't know, she would just guess. She tried to believe him, she really did. To tell someone else, to admit it and figure it out, would be so nice. But 11 years of habits are hard to get rid of. She curled her legs up and hugged them, curving out of her straight posture. If she was about to destroy one habit, she might as well lose them all.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Finn spoke again first and tossed a paper into her lap. She looked at him for a moment. He just had this sitting there? A random newspaper from 2022? She was somewhat curious about what other random articles were scattered about. She pulled the newspaper up, refusing to move out of her new position, and as such the newspaper covered her face. Which was a good thing, considering the small smirk that had made its way to her. It gave her no small satisfaction to receive the information she was looking for before giving him his information.
She scanned the article as he spoke. She wasn't entirely sure that was how "progressive declines" in health worked. Generally, those were pretty visible. And apparently, the guy was actually alive. According to Finn. Avis wasn't quite sure how to process that. "I don't see why that would be faked, especially if they're going to send the guy out in public." Much to her own chagrin, Avis also supposed she had to believe the latter. There was, apparently, also an article on Hag covens. Avis pulled the newspaper down to stare at him, an incredulous look on her face. "Do you just have the entire Daily Prophet prints memorized?"
She tossed the paper down onto the table, frowning at her cast-aside potions homework. "I'm sure they're real." She hadn't known they existed until now, but she was prepared to believe just about anything at this point. "They're a prominent family, of course there is sketchy stuff going on. But Pride doesn't seem to be involved in..." she gestured, slightly towards the article but mainly towards the world in general..."this"
She returned to hugging her knees, resting her head on her knees, a subconscious effort to continue looking at Finn, even though she wanted to bury her face. As she spoke, her hands would slowly pull apart, and she would use gestures and add emphasis."They're like little versions of Aamon. Like caricatures, except worse. Way worse. They're wrong, grotesque." There were more details, but Avis really didn't want to think about them to try and explain. "They were trying to pull him into the forest, they want him." She rolled her eyes a moment, distracted. "Aamon thought it would be a good idea to walk on the edge of the forest in the middle of the night. Not that I was out past curfew. It was strange, all these problems, and Avis was still worried about getting detention for being out past curfew."The light, I don't know, hurt them? Burned them? The light did something, and they ran. Floated? Retreated, I suppose. Aamon says they are dolls. I think. He mentioned a fairy tale, but I didn't know it. Something about Faceless Dolls and a German guy?" Her eyes widened slightly, filled with terror. "We saw them, yeah. The other girl and I. Aamon doesn't know why. But I think I've made them mad. I told Aamon to try to keep his wand lit if they don't like light, but Aamon doesn't seem like a very good listener. Nor is it a solution." Avis realized it was a bit of a ramble, but she also didn't know what else to do.
@Finnegan Connor
Silence stretched at the end of Avis' responses and she looked down, sure that Finn was about to laugh. She certainly would have, if she had been in his position. That was the worst part of being a sarcastic, blunt person: The fear that someone else might return the favor. Except he didn't. He didn't even continue his vague hostility, rather he dropped it. She looked up in surprise as he told her she wasn't mad.
"Admitting you don't know what to do is not madness. " Avis pulled up a bit as if a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That...wasn't something she wanted to admit. In her house, she was generally expected to know the solution, and if she didn't know, she would just guess. She tried to believe him, she really did. To tell someone else, to admit it and figure it out, would be so nice. But 11 years of habits are hard to get rid of. She curled her legs up and hugged them, curving out of her straight posture. If she was about to destroy one habit, she might as well lose them all.
She opened her mouth to speak, but Finn spoke again first and tossed a paper into her lap. She looked at him for a moment. He just had this sitting there? A random newspaper from 2022? She was somewhat curious about what other random articles were scattered about. She pulled the newspaper up, refusing to move out of her new position, and as such the newspaper covered her face. Which was a good thing, considering the small smirk that had made its way to her. It gave her no small satisfaction to receive the information she was looking for before giving him his information.
She scanned the article as he spoke. She wasn't entirely sure that was how "progressive declines" in health worked. Generally, those were pretty visible. And apparently, the guy was actually alive. According to Finn. Avis wasn't quite sure how to process that. "I don't see why that would be faked, especially if they're going to send the guy out in public." Much to her own chagrin, Avis also supposed she had to believe the latter. There was, apparently, also an article on Hag covens. Avis pulled the newspaper down to stare at him, an incredulous look on her face. "Do you just have the entire Daily Prophet prints memorized?"
She tossed the paper down onto the table, frowning at her cast-aside potions homework. "I'm sure they're real." She hadn't known they existed until now, but she was prepared to believe just about anything at this point. "They're a prominent family, of course there is sketchy stuff going on. But Pride doesn't seem to be involved in..." she gestured, slightly towards the article but mainly towards the world in general..."this"
She returned to hugging her knees, resting her head on her knees, a subconscious effort to continue looking at Finn, even though she wanted to bury her face. As she spoke, her hands would slowly pull apart, and she would use gestures and add emphasis."They're like little versions of Aamon. Like caricatures, except worse. Way worse. They're wrong, grotesque." There were more details, but Avis really didn't want to think about them to try and explain. "They were trying to pull him into the forest, they want him." She rolled her eyes a moment, distracted. "Aamon thought it would be a good idea to walk on the edge of the forest in the middle of the night. Not that I was out past curfew. It was strange, all these problems, and Avis was still worried about getting detention for being out past curfew."The light, I don't know, hurt them? Burned them? The light did something, and they ran. Floated? Retreated, I suppose. Aamon says they are dolls. I think. He mentioned a fairy tale, but I didn't know it. Something about Faceless Dolls and a German guy?" Her eyes widened slightly, filled with terror. "We saw them, yeah. The other girl and I. Aamon doesn't know why. But I think I've made them mad. I told Aamon to try to keep his wand lit if they don't like light, but Aamon doesn't seem like a very good listener. Nor is it a solution." Avis realized it was a bit of a ramble, but she also didn't know what else to do.
@Finnegan Connor
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
10 Dec 2024, 14:58
The Athanatos Investigations II
"I don't see why that would be faked, especially if they're going to send the guy out in public."
They? Who were they? Did Avis know something he did not? She seemed to suggest Vladimir was being puppeteered and commanded, sent out, as she put it. Of all that Athanatos family members, Vladimir was the one he knew least about, it was not inconceivable that she had picked up on something regarding the revived graduate that he had missed.
""Do you just have the entire Daily Prophet prints memorized?"
His laugther was bright and unrestrained. Several startled students looked up at the intrusive noise and at least one of them sent a foul look his way. "Sorry," he muttered, none to keen on having his library access revoked. "No I don't, but I am not spending my sunday in here for fun either." The implication was straightforward, he knew which articles to point out to her because he had just been reading them. "I can think of a dozen things that I'd rather be doing but... someone has to do it, someone has to look into it." Sometimes he wondered why the rest of Hogwarts seemed quite content with numerous accidents and killings all around them. Maybe such things were to be expected in magical society, but if that were the case, he wasn't sure he wanted to pay that price of admittance.
"They're a prominent family, of course there is sketchy stuff going on. But Pride doesn't seem to be involved in...this"
He arched an eyebrow at her. It was true, he had no proof of any connection between Pride's lust for Winnie Harper and Vladimir Athanatos's death and revival, yet he could not shake the feeling that there was some thread connecting those events. Even a family as powerful and prestigious as theirs was subject to the laws of cause and effect. "I wouldn't be so sure."
He was reminded that he was speaking with an eleven-year-old way in over her head when she retreated into herself. She drew up her knees and turned into a small ball on her chair, as though she could escape all that she had gotten into if she just made herself small enough.
It took him a second to catch up and grasp that she was speaking of the things next, though it soon became abudantly clear. She had been right to worry about being thought mad. If not for his study of the newspapers and all else he'd learned in recent months, he surely would have thought her stark-raving mad. Dolls come alive? It sounded like something out of a storybook, the kind used to scare young children straight. It would be easy to dismiss what Avis said as a fanciful imagination and with a shock. It was that fear which must've kept her from running to a Professor and he could hardly blame her for thinking that way.
The more she talked, the more frightened he became. House stereotypes be damned, he was not beyond fear or concern for his wellbeing or that of others. Avis looked equally terrified and for a short while a stunned silence hung between them. "To hell with curfew," he muttered, having picked up on her obvious lie that she hadn't been out past bedtime. That didn't match the rest of her story and was a painfully obvious attempt to dodge any trouble he might give her for it. "We've got bigger things to worry about."
What to do? Reading newspapers was out of the question. This was urgent. It sounded as though Aamon had narrowly escaped a horrible fate. Considering he had lost his hand the last time, Aamon's forest adventure could have undoubtedly ended worse if not for Avis and some other girl.
"We can't just sit here..." he said, mind racing. "The other girl, do you know her name? We have to find Aamon now, we have to figure something out. Light..." He had jumped up, collected his bag and urgently motioned for Avis to follow him out of the library.
The time for carefully prodding Aamon for answers was over. The boy was in immediate danger and something had to be done. Whether these animated dolls could be beaten remained to be seen, but doing nothing was not an option. If Lumos kept them at bay, then perhaps Lumos Solem would do more? It would be the irony of ironies if it now fell to him to teach others Charms. No, this was beyond any student's skill to handle. They needed a Professor @Orion Lécuyer.
If Avis followed him out of the library, he would halt outside the double doors and turn toward her. "Do you think you can find Aamon and that other girl and take them to Lécuyer's office? And I mean straight to his office. Lie or drag them there if you have to, don't take no for an answer. Or we can swap if you prefer, but then I'll need to know that girl's name and you will have to make sure Professor Lécuyer understands that this cannot wait."
They? Who were they? Did Avis know something he did not? She seemed to suggest Vladimir was being puppeteered and commanded, sent out, as she put it. Of all that Athanatos family members, Vladimir was the one he knew least about, it was not inconceivable that she had picked up on something regarding the revived graduate that he had missed.
""Do you just have the entire Daily Prophet prints memorized?"
His laugther was bright and unrestrained. Several startled students looked up at the intrusive noise and at least one of them sent a foul look his way. "Sorry," he muttered, none to keen on having his library access revoked. "No I don't, but I am not spending my sunday in here for fun either." The implication was straightforward, he knew which articles to point out to her because he had just been reading them. "I can think of a dozen things that I'd rather be doing but... someone has to do it, someone has to look into it." Sometimes he wondered why the rest of Hogwarts seemed quite content with numerous accidents and killings all around them. Maybe such things were to be expected in magical society, but if that were the case, he wasn't sure he wanted to pay that price of admittance.
"They're a prominent family, of course there is sketchy stuff going on. But Pride doesn't seem to be involved in...this"
He arched an eyebrow at her. It was true, he had no proof of any connection between Pride's lust for Winnie Harper and Vladimir Athanatos's death and revival, yet he could not shake the feeling that there was some thread connecting those events. Even a family as powerful and prestigious as theirs was subject to the laws of cause and effect. "I wouldn't be so sure."
He was reminded that he was speaking with an eleven-year-old way in over her head when she retreated into herself. She drew up her knees and turned into a small ball on her chair, as though she could escape all that she had gotten into if she just made herself small enough.
It took him a second to catch up and grasp that she was speaking of the things next, though it soon became abudantly clear. She had been right to worry about being thought mad. If not for his study of the newspapers and all else he'd learned in recent months, he surely would have thought her stark-raving mad. Dolls come alive? It sounded like something out of a storybook, the kind used to scare young children straight. It would be easy to dismiss what Avis said as a fanciful imagination and with a shock. It was that fear which must've kept her from running to a Professor and he could hardly blame her for thinking that way.
The more she talked, the more frightened he became. House stereotypes be damned, he was not beyond fear or concern for his wellbeing or that of others. Avis looked equally terrified and for a short while a stunned silence hung between them. "To hell with curfew," he muttered, having picked up on her obvious lie that she hadn't been out past bedtime. That didn't match the rest of her story and was a painfully obvious attempt to dodge any trouble he might give her for it. "We've got bigger things to worry about."
What to do? Reading newspapers was out of the question. This was urgent. It sounded as though Aamon had narrowly escaped a horrible fate. Considering he had lost his hand the last time, Aamon's forest adventure could have undoubtedly ended worse if not for Avis and some other girl.
"We can't just sit here..." he said, mind racing. "The other girl, do you know her name? We have to find Aamon now, we have to figure something out. Light..." He had jumped up, collected his bag and urgently motioned for Avis to follow him out of the library.
The time for carefully prodding Aamon for answers was over. The boy was in immediate danger and something had to be done. Whether these animated dolls could be beaten remained to be seen, but doing nothing was not an option. If Lumos kept them at bay, then perhaps Lumos Solem would do more? It would be the irony of ironies if it now fell to him to teach others Charms. No, this was beyond any student's skill to handle. They needed a Professor @Orion Lécuyer.
If Avis followed him out of the library, he would halt outside the double doors and turn toward her. "Do you think you can find Aamon and that other girl and take them to Lécuyer's office? And I mean straight to his office. Lie or drag them there if you have to, don't take no for an answer. Or we can swap if you prefer, but then I'll need to know that girl's name and you will have to make sure Professor Lécuyer understands that this cannot wait."
( Attempting to leave the library and about to head to Orion's office unless stopped.
Offering Avis a choice between finding Aamon & Emily or going to Professor Lécuyer )
Offering Avis a choice between finding Aamon & Emily or going to Professor Lécuyer )
OOC note: Whew! I was not expecting things to go in this direction when I started on this reply, but I think it's the right way to go.
@Avis Marlong — In case Avis doesn't follow Finn out of the library, you may assume that Finnegan will leave by himself to try to find Professor Orion Lécuyer first (with no success guaranteed), then Aamon, and then try to locate Avis again. You are also free to try to stop Finn of course.
@Orion Lécuyer — Calling in all the brownie points that being a Prodigal DADA student gives. I have no idea if you're game to involve Orion in this. If not, I can simply state that his office is empty and will go from there. That said, dealing with cursed dolls that are injuring students seems very much the kind of thing that a DADA Professor ought to be dealing with.
@Aamon Athanatos — Same as with Orion, I don't know if you're game for Aamon to be found. I can work with either Aamon being found or not being found.
@Emily Shephard — OOC I am aware you are the "other girl" that Avis mentioned (but Finn doesn't know), so I am tagging you as a matter of courtesy.
Once @Avis Marlong has replied here and I know if Avis goes along with Finn's plan or not, I'll send out an owl to all of you with some ideas on how to proceed. It should go without saying that no one is under any obligation whatsoever to join in. Nor is my idea how things should go, I'm merely trying to offer an opportunity for anyone who wants to engage with it.
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio
10 Dec 2024, 17:11
The Athanatos Investigations II
Avis smiled a bit as Finn laughed, but contained her own laughter. Now was not the time for that dreadful thing, especially in a library. Still, a small snort managed to escape, a small distraction from their dilemma.
Finn, apparently, was the only person in the entirety of Hogwarts that cared about these "problems." "Someone does, sure, but no reason it has to be you." He didn't seem like the type of person to curl up with a book, ever, much less spend a minute more than was necessary on anything.
Great. He was sure that Pride had something to do with it, but he had no proof to back that up. That seemed to be common with Finn, with many theories and ideas without any apparent proof. Still, he had believed Avis, so she supposed she ought to return the favor. She gave him a reluctant nod of acceptance. That was to be dealt with later.
"The other girl, do you know her name? We have to find Aamon now, we have to figure something out. Light..." He had jumped up, and Avis bounced up with him. Well frick. Clearly, Finn was not one for planning, unlike Avis. Avis would rather plan out every little moment before doing anything. She supposed that was what made him decent at Quidditch, or at least decent enough to get hurt all the time. But this was not Quidditch. Avis would have much rather sat down and actually thought through it, though there wasn't much to plan. She frowned at his height. Why did everyone have to be taller than her? Avis wasn't even short! She flew to gently cram her potions homework into her satchel and muttered a silent apology to whomever would have to put away her abandoned books.
She ran to catch up to Finn, meaning to cut him off (for all the good that would do), but she didn't manage to catch up until they had exited the library, and as he turned she nearly ran into him, barely managing to pull herself up just short of him. Generally, the people Avis was chasing didn't just stop, and she was not prepared for that. As such, he managed to get his entire thought out before Avis caught her fleeing thoughts and trapped them down. Once she did, she paused a minute to process his instructions before speaking, words spilling out of her mouth faster than she was thinking them.
"How am I supposed to find them? It's a huge castle, I don't know her name. It was dark, I barely even remember what she looked like." Curse her aphantasia. Avis pulled a hand through her hair, tense from the quick turn of events. "Where would I even start to look? I mean, I can try but it might take a while and..." She stopped short as her hand got caught in a knot in her hair, and she wrenched it out with a harsh yank, wincing a bit. "And even if by some stretch of holden's luck I manage to find her and Aamon, I doubt Aamon would come. He thinks they'll send him to St. Mungos or something. I don't think I could get him there on my own."
Finn, apparently, was the only person in the entirety of Hogwarts that cared about these "problems." "Someone does, sure, but no reason it has to be you." He didn't seem like the type of person to curl up with a book, ever, much less spend a minute more than was necessary on anything.
Great. He was sure that Pride had something to do with it, but he had no proof to back that up. That seemed to be common with Finn, with many theories and ideas without any apparent proof. Still, he had believed Avis, so she supposed she ought to return the favor. She gave him a reluctant nod of acceptance. That was to be dealt with later.
"The other girl, do you know her name? We have to find Aamon now, we have to figure something out. Light..." He had jumped up, and Avis bounced up with him. Well frick. Clearly, Finn was not one for planning, unlike Avis. Avis would rather plan out every little moment before doing anything. She supposed that was what made him decent at Quidditch, or at least decent enough to get hurt all the time. But this was not Quidditch. Avis would have much rather sat down and actually thought through it, though there wasn't much to plan. She frowned at his height. Why did everyone have to be taller than her? Avis wasn't even short! She flew to gently cram her potions homework into her satchel and muttered a silent apology to whomever would have to put away her abandoned books.
She ran to catch up to Finn, meaning to cut him off (for all the good that would do), but she didn't manage to catch up until they had exited the library, and as he turned she nearly ran into him, barely managing to pull herself up just short of him. Generally, the people Avis was chasing didn't just stop, and she was not prepared for that. As such, he managed to get his entire thought out before Avis caught her fleeing thoughts and trapped them down. Once she did, she paused a minute to process his instructions before speaking, words spilling out of her mouth faster than she was thinking them.
"How am I supposed to find them? It's a huge castle, I don't know her name. It was dark, I barely even remember what she looked like." Curse her aphantasia. Avis pulled a hand through her hair, tense from the quick turn of events. "Where would I even start to look? I mean, I can try but it might take a while and..." She stopped short as her hand got caught in a knot in her hair, and she wrenched it out with a harsh yank, wincing a bit. "And even if by some stretch of holden's luck I manage to find her and Aamon, I doubt Aamon would come. He thinks they'll send him to St. Mungos or something. I don't think I could get him there on my own."
@Finnegan Connor-Avis is game for your plan, just unsure. If you can send Avis somewhere to look, she'll go...and if @Emily Shephard or @Aamon Athanatos were to perchance be there...that's the only way I could think of for Avis to find them. She also can't realistically "drag" Aamon anywhere unless she were to literally knock him unconscious.
Avis Marlong | ”She won't cry or beg for help...she'll isolate from the world and fight her own demons so that nobody can throw it in her face later.” |
"The odds of hitting your target increase dramatically when you aim at it." Benji Marecos |
10 Dec 2024, 21:37
The Athanatos Investigations II
Finnegan looked the young Ravenclaw up and down. Christ, she was eleven, she should not have to be running up and down the castle looking for someone because their life was on the line. Neither should he, yet here they were. A first-year and a third-year suddenly responsible for the life and well-being of one of their peers. He should have stayed in muggle school, should have stuck to football. Life could have been so much easier...
Then he was reminded of something Avis had said earlier:
"Someone does, sure, but no reason it has to be you."
It was the easy way out. No one would fault him if he did nothing, no one would fault her either. Because that's what everyone else in this school was doing: nothing.
"Sorry, yes," he caught his breath and frantically looked around, like he could pull some idea from his surrounding. "Let's go find Aamon together then. He's pretty big for a first-year, he can't be that hard to find. Come on..."
But where oh where could Aamon Athanatos be on an auspicious Sunday morning like this? It had been such a quiet, sleepy day, filled with the smell of old, yellowed newspapers. He almost longed back to the dull, boring quiet.
Then he was reminded of something Avis had said earlier:
"Someone does, sure, but no reason it has to be you."
It was the easy way out. No one would fault him if he did nothing, no one would fault her either. Because that's what everyone else in this school was doing: nothing.
"Sorry, yes," he caught his breath and frantically looked around, like he could pull some idea from his surrounding. "Let's go find Aamon together then. He's pretty big for a first-year, he can't be that hard to find. Come on..."
But where oh where could Aamon Athanatos be on an auspicious Sunday morning like this? It had been such a quiet, sleepy day, filled with the smell of old, yellowed newspapers. He almost longed back to the dull, boring quiet.
Finnegan has left the thread, looking for Aamon.
"He's a dweeby chocolate bar lip smacking nerd" - Evelynn Decipio