Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

Quaxo9
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Quaxo9
Rosemary Bain

She paced the length of the room, as though the action could help Lucie. Forcing herself to stillness, she leaned against the solidness of her desk and found herself fingering the ring that the jackdaw had brought. Why would she have worn herself out flying like that for a trinket? If the owner had chased her off, she likely would have stayed to tease them, not flown away like the devil hims... The devil himself.

Rosemary clutched the ring and chain in her fist, her mind putting a story together. Belatedly, she noticed the angle of the shadows - or lack thereof. It was time to meet the girls for lunch. Convenient. She checked in on Lucie one more time, then dashed out of the classroom.

She caught up with Cambria first and suggested they find a quiet place for lunch. Part of her hoped she was wrong - and part of her hoped she was right. If she were right, that meant Darren had lost his insight to a simple bird. Rosemary's mouth curled into a half smile.

When they settled in, she pulled out the ring and chain, laying it gently on the table. "Lucie flew in with it. I hope she put in the effort for good reason. Eve, is it yours?"
Quaxo9
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Monkey Kitty
Eve Travers

Eve stared at the ring for a long time. Her fingers brushed it lightly, but then withdrew like she had touched something hot. "Yes," she said, her voice sounding hollow and distant. "It was mine. It was my wedding ring."

"Do you think it's what Darren is using to track you?" Cambria wondered. "That would explain why Lucie was so determined to bring it back here."

Eve nodded. "Yes. That... sounds like him. It sounds like something he would do. He could have tracked me using anything of mine. But he always liked it to be... poetic. Symbolism. Even if no one else ever knew but him - it amused him."

Cambria nodded solemnly. "Now that we have it, we can stop him from tracking you. The easiest way would be to destroy it. If you want to keep it, though, if it's important to you, we can probably figure out how to..."

Eve shook her head. "I don't want to keep it," she said. Her voice was firmer, more confident. "We should destroy it. I don't want him to have that hold on me anymore."

Cambria suspected Eve meant more by that than just a tracking spell.
Quaxo9
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Rosemary Bain

She felt bad that she couldn't have made it easier for Eve. The more that she heard about the man, however, the more her skin crawled. The more she knew that she needed to get the man out of the picture. He had to go. Rosemary was also getting less concerned about the where.

"Then let's. In a permanent way - no sense leaving it to be found by someone. And maybe it would do some good to use some symbolism of your own, Eve."

Rosemary would have tried to melt it down, but at the end, the gold would remain. If lacked finality. The finality that Eve seemed to want. Her mind was already back with Lucie, however. Not only for the sake of her small friend, but also for the information the jackdaw certainly had on Darren's whereabouts.
Quaxo9
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Monkey Kitty
Eve Travers

Eve felt like her thoughts were moving too slowly. She couldn't keep up. She was mired. Stuck. "Symbolism? Of my...? I don't know what that means. I don't remember what it means..." She knew about symbolism, of course. She had brought up that point herself. But she wasn't sure how symbolism of her own would work. She wasn't sure how to differentiate herself enough to make it happen.

"I'm sorry. Please don't be angry at me..." Cambria gently squeezed Eve's shoulder.
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Rosemary Bain

"No, no. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm sorry Eve. I let my own emotion get in the way of being a decent human being."

She lifted a hand to offer comfort but left it half-way in the air. It was hard to switch from being the angry friend to being the soft, thoughtful friend. Sinking down onto the arm of a chair, she folded her hands in her lap and bit her lip before looking over at Eve. Her right hand tapped against her palm in an odd nervous gesture.

"You don't have to rush anything. He doesn't have the ring anymore - he can't spy on you now. I think you can afford a cup of tea and some lunch."
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Monkey Kitty
Eve Travers

Eve wasn't quite sure what Rosemary was apologizing for. Rosemary hadn't done anything wrong. She had only been trying to help... and Eve had so much trouble following trains of thought these days. But yes, lunch and tea would help.

"That would be good," Eve said. She was still troubled, though. Even as she ate, the presence of her wedding ring felt more like an anchor on a chain, weighing her down.

"Do you think maybe you could just... get rid of it?" she asked suddenly. "So it's gone?"

It was pretty obvious what 'it' was in this scenario. Cambria nodded. "We'll take care of it," she promised. "That's what friends are for."
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Quaxo9
Rosemary Bain

Seeing Eve in such distress sent Rosemary back down the rabbit hole of how one might actually trap a soul inside a guppy. The woman's request, however, brought her back to the present. Picking up the ring and tucking it away into her robes, she nodded in agreement. "Absolutely. We can do that."

Getting rid of the ring would be one thing - getting the man who had used it against her friend into custody would likely be another. She needed to get back to Lucie and have the jackdaw take her to where she found the ring. Perhaps Darren would be there...but he wouldn't stay long if he noticed Rosemary's arrival. It made sense to send the Aurors, but how would she explain to them that they needed to follow her jackdaw to maybe catch a forgotten Death Dealer? It might have been easier to do so if she hadn't made an enemy of several such people earlier in the day. Still...she had to try.

"I'm going to go see how Lucie's doing and if she can tell me more about how she found the ring. If she was spotted...I don't want to wait too long before we make a move."

She excused herself as best she could, offering a contrite smile to both Eve and Cambria as she left. As nice as it would be to stay and support Eve, Rosemary felt that if she could protect her first, she'd have more time for the former after.
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Monkey Kitty
Eve Travers

"I hope Lucie is alright!" Eve said gravely. She knew how important pets could be. Shelby had always raised her spirits despite the darkness all around... as had Shelby's predecessors, since a rat lifespan was much shorter than an Azkaban sentence. Animals were friends too. And friends were everything.

"I'm sure she will be," Cambria assured her. "I'm sure Rosemary has some tricks up her sleeve to get her back on her feet. Erm... back on her wing, perhaps?"

Eve cracked a small smile at that. Cambria poured her another cup of tea, and they waited together to hear how Lucie had fared. In truth, Rosemary was just as helpful to Eve by taking action. The sooner Darren wasn't hanging over her head, the better she would feel.
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Quaxo9
Rosemary Bain

Lucie was awake when she walked in, shuddering and hunkered down in her bower, but awake. The bird perked up immediate upon seeing Rosemary and the woman couldn't help but admit that her heart felt that same leap at the sight of the jackdaw. Rosemary offered her a drink and stroked her head, murmuring encouragement. Lucie relaxed under her person's care - but only for a moment - she started and looked around her, giving a little cry when she didn't find what she was looking for. Hazarding a guess, Rosemary pulled the ring out from her robes.

"Is this what you were looking for?"

The bird flopped forward and closed her eyes, her heartbeat slowing only slightly at the sight of her object. "Lucie, you did a wonderful job finding this and bringing it to me. You've done a marvellous thing. Thank-you so much." This seemed to settle the bird down a bit more and she nestled into the bower. It made Rosemary feel even worse for having to ask. "Lucie, was that man there when you took it?"

The heartbeat sped up again, the jackdaw opening her eyes wide as though anticipating the next question.

"Could you take me there?" Bobbing her head, she made to rise, but Rosemary gently held her down. "It's quite alright, Lucie. Just rest for now. I have to write a letter first."

While Rosemary wanted to go immediately to see if Darren was still where her pet had seen him last, she knew that she would be no match for a Death Dealer. Sure, she could duel just fine, but she didn't have the knack for serious jousting. At least, not when she had no stakes in the matter. She was a bit afraid to find out what she'd be like in a match she was determined to win. Besides, she would need witnesses.

The note she penned to Auror Barclay was dotted with excess ink, the letters long and leaning.

'Auror Barclay, I know we didn't get off to a good start today, but I have a lead on a Death Dealer who has been at large for over 20 years. Please meet me at my classroom in the grounds - I believe you know well where it is - at your earliest convenience. Regards, Prof. Rosemary Bain'

The letter was in the owl's beak and winging its way toward the recipient before she had time to wonder why she'd bothered signing her name with a title.
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Re: Start of Term (Hogwarts) (beginning)

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Monkey Kitty
Eve Travers

Eve watched raindrops tracing lines down the window panes. Each trail was roughly the same, but each path was unique. She could have watched them all day. Doing so kept the troubled thoughts at bay...

"Are you alright, Eve?" Cambria asked gently. When Eve nodded - a bit uncertainly - Cambria continued prodding lightly. "Are you upset about what happened with your ring?"

Eve bobbed her head oddly in a way that was half a shake and half a nod. "...Yes," she admitted after a moment. "I want to be free of him. I don't want him to be able to track me. I want him out of my life. I thought he was out of my life. But..."

"But?" Cambria repeated. "It's alright. You can say what's on your mind. Whatever it is."

Eve kept watching the raindrops. "At least I wouldn't get completely lost again. At least someone would know where I was. I didn't want it to be him. But at least I wouldn't be gone again."

Cambria was silent for a moment as she followed that train of thought. Eve must be so scared of ending up back in Azkaban, even if she didn't talk about it. She must have felt so forgotten... and other than by Liam, she had been forgotten. Cambria was determined that they wouldn't lose Eve to Azkaban again - but that wouldn't calm this fear. This fear needed a different remedy.

"Let me have your spoon, Eve," Cambria said. Eve looked confused, but handed it over. "I'm going to put a charm on this," Cambria told her. "So Rosemary and I will always be able to find you."

Eve took a deep breath, bit her lip, and nodded. She wanted to say something profound. Or at least to say thank you. But if she spoke, she would cry and the tears wouldn't stop. Cambria seemed to understand, though. She reached over and squeezed Eve's hand.
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