Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 8, 2008 1:36:29 GMT -5
Meg's budget was not unlimited, and there were certainly potions ingredients that were difficult to get one's hands on. She had a few connections she could milk but she didn't have the extra money it would take to do that, and didn't want to dry up any important favours she might need later. Because, though she didn't like to admit it, her little revenge fantasy wasn't the best way to use up good will.
She could, however, try to hit up the Deva's safehouse. She was, after all, doing Deva work. That Prophet reporter had badmouthed their organazation and really, she literally was asking for trouble. Meg was almost amazed nothing had happened with her yet. She could change that.
She had no intention of killing the woman--she'd never killed anyone, and had no intention of doing it, ever. She didn't even plan to seriously injure her. Just a few scare tactics, really; that's all Meg was good at anyway. Enough to get Juliet Hughes to pay them a bit more respect.
So Meg searched through the ingredients cabinet at Cross Manor. She was never sure if she was alone there; the place was huge and almost creepy, and people came and went as they needed to.
[ Open! ]
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Robert Shaw
Wizard
Criminal
I was a child once, the fear of the world in my eye
Posts: 1,033
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Post by Robert Shaw on Aug 8, 2008 4:03:51 GMT -5
As they needed to indeed...
The five senses were wonderful, a brilliant mind even better but every now and then that sixth sense of intuition became the most invaluable asset of his arsenal. It even surpassed his careful planning, logic and caution that border lined paranoia eighty-five percent of his daily life. If one could call being a hunted fugitive and terrorist anything remotely close to such a thing.
The takeover of Hogwarts had been so long ago and yet the memories of it were still firmly imprinted to his brain. The sounds of shattered innocence and hope, the scents of fear and cowardice, the sight of success... It had been the perfect plan, the perfect blitz of fear into the minds of the British people. It had been exactly what The Voice had wanted even until it's very conclusion and yet they had the gall to mock him in the end simply because he had allowed all of them to live. They, who knew nothing more to try than the failed mistakes of the past.
They were the ones who were beneath him, NOT the other way around.
Just what did that matter? He had taught them, knew them, and they had trusted him at a time. He knew who the worthy ones had been! Most of the insignificants were barely able to transfigure a matchstick, who were just barely past the safety of their mother's protecting arms... Just how was refusing to shed the blood of mere children such a cardinal sin to their beliefs?! And now his foreign brethren called him weak ... they called him afraid ... a coward. Could they not see the method behind his unorthodox actions?
But it wasn't just them anymore, was it? No, the people were beginning to fall in line behind that belief as well. The article in the Prophet was no doubt the mere tip to the lance, it only raised the challange to action yet again. Yes, Robert knew the time had come for the public to be reminded once again. But if their hearts and minds could survive a strike through the core of what they coveted most dearly, just what more could he possibly do that was still shy of death?
The silent halls of the Manor shed little help onto his dilemma, and as he quietly neared closer to the stores for the third time that day he found the sounds of another's rummaging to be a rather welcome distraction. No lawman would make themselves that detectable unless they wanted an early retirement; and while it might end up to be nothing more than a kitchen elf, he was curious as to who might have cards of their own to play for him. From the doorway all he could see was the back of her rather recognizable head and even though curious he almost said nothing as to not deter her persistence.
"You'll find a good two dozen or so things that could kill in there, no tea or scones though."
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Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 8, 2008 9:52:14 GMT -5
Megara turned around, startled by the voice behind her. The man really did have a way of sneaking around. "Merlin, Shaw, d'you have to sneak up on a girl like that? Could have killed me of shock, you know," she chastised lightly before returning to her task.
She casually grabbed bottles to read their (sometimes faded) labels. She'd written down just what she needed; she never had a memory for exact ingredients. "I'm not looking to kill her," she said matter of factly, picking up a small bottle with a reddish powder inside and examining it. "There are more interesting things that can be done."
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Robert Shaw
Wizard
Criminal
I was a child once, the fear of the world in my eye
Posts: 1,033
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Post by Robert Shaw on Aug 15, 2008 21:56:18 GMT -5
"Merlin, Shaw, d'you have to sneak up on a girl like that? Could have killed me of shock, you know. I'm not looking to kill her, there are more interesting things that can be done."
The girl turned about quickly in a manner only describable as a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. It was amusing really, especially since she had nothing to fear - unless she actually did have her hand in the jar, that might actually pose a small problem. "I think of rats before cats when I hear noises from the cubboards," Robert replied uncommitedly, finding her second remark to be far more interesting.
Interesting in a juvenile sense of course, really he was just using it to push her buttons. Why? Because he still didn't fully trust her and more importantly: she had roundabout ties to Thornton, who had direct ties to Raynor who wanted him dead for various reasons. If that wasn't enough reason to hold a leash of sorts, then someone's standards needed some serious changing.
"If some half-sodden lass stole your boytoy, I'm sure there are less extreme - not to mention wasteful - ways to retailiate. Plus, some of those have likely lost all signs of potency."
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Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 16, 2008 0:35:27 GMT -5
Meg paused and rolled her eyes, feeling a bit insulted. "Please, Shaw, do I seem like the type who'd get all wound up like this over some boy?" she scoffed, putting down the bottle and turning to face him full on. "I mean, really. Just because I'm young? Or a woman? Let's face it, I'm a right lot more stable than some of the psychotics we've got in our little organization."
A small smile came to her lips. "My plans are a bit more group related, actually. There's been a woman writing articles insulting my work. You came up too; I'm sure you must have seen."
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Apollo Schmidt
Wizard
Known Former Death Eater
Night Shall Reign
Posts: 46
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Post by Apollo Schmidt on Aug 18, 2008 9:33:06 GMT -5
Apollo was like a cornered wolf, he had nowhere to go, trapped by Cross manor just as much as a man behind the bars in Azkaban which he had eluded desperately knowing it would most likely kill the 46 year old even more so than this manor was. Apollo had been relatively trapped and confined to the manor for over a year now letting himself out for only a few things, mostly shopping trips so he could browse the much lacking black market for the ingredients to lethal potions and other lovely toys. He was so accustomed to the feel of the manor, to the seemingly endless isolation that he could feel when something was happening… or maybe he could just hear the conversation. He headed to the noise he finally identified the male in the conversation, Shaw.
"I mean, really. Just because I'm young? Or a woman? Let's face it, I'm a right lot more stable than some of the psychotics we've got in our little organization. My plans are a bit more group related, actually. There's been a woman writing articles insulting my work. You came up too; I'm sure you must have seen."
Apollo himself decided to enter into the conversation “Psychotics hmm? I personally think that bit the ministry put out about me being… I think they used the term ‘mentally unsound’… was inaccurate.” Apollo muttered in his gravelly tone his green eyes watched Shaw like any predator would watch a foe. Subconsciously his rough right hand rested on the soft fabric of his black robes right over his blotchy and faded mark.” If you are doing something group related perhaps you might want to ask someone of your group if they have the ingredients or perhaps the poison you want.” He added at a normal conversing tone letting his normal slightly sadistic smile hold on his poker face.
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Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 18, 2008 10:02:16 GMT -5
Speak of the devil, Megara thought cynically. There was certainly something unstable about Schmidt. A couple of years ago she would've been terribly uncomfortable anywhere near him; now she just brushed it off.
"Oh now, I don't want to keep everyone from their Big Important Tasks," she said evenly. "I mean really, this is just a run-of-the-mill bit of revenge. It'll be done by lunch; hardly anything I need to worry anybody else about." Of course, now that both men were there she could use their help if they were offering.
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Verum Sloan
Ministry of Magic
Head of Department Department of Mysteries
Head of the Department of Mysteries Senior Wizengamot Member
Posts: 18
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Post by Verum Sloan on Aug 18, 2008 11:16:44 GMT -5
The halls passed the man as he strode through them; Their magnificence was undeniable. He strode forward, he could hear voices...several of them...and was interested to hear their speech. The man's black robes, and cloak, all magnificently embroidered with silver and gold thread, billowed around him as he walked; The cloak's hood drawn up over his silver haired head, casting the upper half of his face into deep shadow so that the end of his nose, his mouth, and his beard appeared to simply be floating before the darkness. The man navigated the halls easily, he had traveled through them many times since he joined the ranks of those who so revered the manor. He paused at the door through which the voices were floating into the halls, and listened for a moment.
"I mean, really. Just because I'm young? Or a woman? Let's face it, I'm a right lot more stable than some of the psychotics we've got in our little organization. My plans are a bit more group related, actually. There's been a woman writing articles insulting my work. You came up too; I'm sure you must have seen."
"Psychotics hmm? I personally think that bit the ministry put out about me being…I think they used the term 'mentally unsound'… was inaccurate...If you are doing something group related perhaps you might want to ask someone of your group if they have the ingredients or perhaps the poison you want."
"Oh now, I don't want to keep everyone from their Big Important Tasks...I mean really, this is just a run-of-the-mill bit of revenge. It'll be done by lunch; hardly anything I need to worry anybody else about."
"Tut tut tut...this will not do..." he muttered to himself, and pushed the door inward. There they stood; Shaw, Schmidt, and the Candlebright girl. "Foolish..." He allowed the word to ring through the chamber, which it did, even though he had spoke in barely more than a whisper; A calm, and dangerous whisper. "...Childish at best."
He reached up and lowered the hood of the cloak, peering around the room at it's occupants. He paced around the room for a moment before stopping, and turning, his gaze upon the three.
"Physical pain...the most extravagantly useless of all magic tricks...poison her...hmph!" the man's nostrils flared as he snorted his displeasure at her ways. "You do not know what true poison is!"
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Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 18, 2008 13:32:14 GMT -5
To Megara's surprise, yet another man appeared in their midst, and this one quite critical. Had she misread the schedule? Was this supposed to be the crusty old white men day at Cross Manor?
She didn't know this man, but she instantly disliked him. She hated being criticized, and hated even more when that criticism came from some stranger who clearly thought himself better than her. Megara had never been a big fan of authority, and this man had an air about him that rubbed her the wrong way.
"I'm sorry, did you need something?" she asked rudely, glaring at the man.
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Verum Sloan
Ministry of Magic
Head of Department Department of Mysteries
Head of the Department of Mysteries Senior Wizengamot Member
Posts: 18
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Post by Verum Sloan on Aug 18, 2008 15:50:20 GMT -5
"You want to watch your tone, girl..." said Verum sharply; He was not inclined to forgive insolence this day "...I have placed into graves men of three times your age and skill." In truth, he knew neither her age nor skill, for he had not the patience to delve the mind of one so hopelessly inept, but he guessed she could not be long out of Hogwarts, and doubted very much that she subscribed to the realm of skill to which he did.
"Nevertheless...I can appreciate your sentiments." he continued with a thoughtful flick of his wand; A large winged armchair appeared in midair and fell with a thunk to the ground next to him. He took his conjured seat, and twiddled the wand between his left hand fingers. "It does seem that we have not been taken seriously. While I do commend Mr. Shaw here for his work..." he nodded appreciatively at Shaw "...It has proven that petty tricks like poisoning journalists of no particular consequence will do little to command the fear desired, for, if taking command of the halls of Hogwarts did not strike into the hearts of the Britons fear, then how could doing harm to some pathetically foolish reporter accomplish it?"
He looked hard at them for a moment.
"Petty revenge is a fool's desire...you do not look like fools to me..." he was now making a tiny ball of fire dance around the tip of his wand without looking upon it. "So...the question is...do you truly want to hurt Juliet Hughes, so-called journalist...one fool enough to challenge us?"
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Megara Candlebright
Witch
Wicked Times Bartender
it was done by my double[on:she's a rebel][of:she's a saint]
Posts: 90
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Post by Megara Candlebright on Aug 18, 2008 20:01:03 GMT -5
This man didn't scare her. Her gaze remained even thoughout his speech on his accomplishments and threats ... what would he possibly gain by killing or even hurting her? She was the only member who'd even been doing anything, for Merlin's sake, and she wasn't afraid to point that out.
"Oh, yeah, the Hogwarts bit. You all are so proud of that one. In case you people didn't notice, though, Hughes was right there. Running off, tail between your legs, completely unheard of for a year and a half," she said, icily. Cooler heads prevailed, she knew, but this was something that she needed to get off her chest. "The only reason people in this country even remeber we exist is because of me. News travels fast, and fear is forgotten. Forgive me if you and all those graves you've filled don't intimidate me. All any of you have done is sit and plan in this dusty old mansion. If my actions aren't bold enough for you, grandpa, than get off your arse and do something yourself."
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Verum Sloan
Ministry of Magic
Head of Department Department of Mysteries
Head of the Department of Mysteries Senior Wizengamot Member
Posts: 18
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Post by Verum Sloan on Aug 18, 2008 20:35:00 GMT -5
A rarity; She had caught an opportunity to speak to him in such a way on the one night, and on the one subject that would not earn her a burst of green light. He looked at her for one long moment, then said.
"I quite agree. We have been far too willing to restrict ourselves of late, and I grow weary of it."
He crossed his legs, and let the small fireball die away, letting his arms fall into his lap. He surveyed the girl before him with a mild interest; She had a fire to her that he could respect, but doubted she knew where to draw her line.
"You will forgive me, however, if I am a bit more ambitious than plastering dark marks on walls, and poisoning people that half the wizarding community would thank us for being rid of. My interest lies in London, at the heart of a far larger realm of the journalistic empire."
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Robert Shaw
Wizard
Criminal
I was a child once, the fear of the world in my eye
Posts: 1,033
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Post by Robert Shaw on Aug 18, 2008 21:25:31 GMT -5
Did he think her driven by romantic motives? At the moment what else did he really have to go off of, she was young, attractive to an extent, and worked at a nightclub that catered primarily to the youthful blood of wizarding Britain, why then should he assume she wasn't driven by at least some slight romantic endeavor? It was possible and seeing as an open mind had kept him alive and a step ahead thus far why should he stop that now over a child rummaging through a potions cupboard? After all, journalist aside for a moment, there were many reasons for children to want to kill each other and most of them were far more foolish than romanticisms.
Schmidt's arrival to the conversation was not personally welcome to Robert, but he made no grand showing of any such a notion. The man was unstable, whether he believed it or not and while in the back of his mind Robert in some way felt that instability a potential liability; the man was alive and was one of the last of an era that is remembered only for its leader. Yes, Schmidt was a liability, but more to himself than anyone else in the organization. He would fall on his own sword eventually, and Robert could only hope to be there to watch it happen and laugh.
Words continued to be exchanged, another man approached from the halls, and suddenly that rather nice doorway he was in felt more than a right bit crowded. As Sloan and Schmidt got the girl more and more hotter under the collar with their distaste of both her plan and her target Shaw figured now was as good a time as any to diffuse the bomb before she exploded. She could explode in Diagon all she right well pleased, but not all over the lavish estate.
"I believe - last that I checked - our cause could not be achieved through any route that involved petty squabbling." Robert began, having backed clear of the doorway and now leaning against the corridor’s wall. "The only way to ensure a threat is no longer such is to either maim it, or kill it. Hughes has tarnished our name, just as we have tarnished the Ministry's reputation. And just like the Ministry retaliated to us, I believe something of ... due process ... is required for her as well."
Steel grey eyes flicked from one man to the other briefly before falling back to Megara. "She's your target if you so desire." His head turned to both Sloan and Schmidt. "Because not all wars can be won by great battles and superior numbers. Skirmishes and taunts are necessary gambits."
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Verum Sloan
Ministry of Magic
Head of Department Department of Mysteries
Head of the Department of Mysteries Senior Wizengamot Member
Posts: 18
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Post by Verum Sloan on Aug 19, 2008 15:18:39 GMT -5
"Well enough spoken, Shaw." said the elderly man, examining the long fingers of his right hand. "It is you, actually, that I have come to bend and create words with."
He seemed to have come on the proper day for offering up plans of action; While this fool was off poisoning journalists, the rest could work on something a bit more...substantial.
"I have received a bit of information from a very old friend, indeed; One who is sympathetic to our cause." he said with the air of one almost bored with his surroundings. "Invaluable information it is too. He has given me the keys to the destruction of an entity that has been outspoken against those like us for years; I daresay The Voice shall find what information and assistance I have secured quite interesting indeed."
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Apollo Schmidt
Wizard
Known Former Death Eater
Night Shall Reign
Posts: 46
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Post by Apollo Schmidt on Aug 19, 2008 22:36:36 GMT -5
They thought him insane. Ironic but luckily Apollo was quite within his right mind however warped, or not, it may be. How would an insane man be able to let this old man’s words fly by knowing in his mind that physical pain was part of the key to the true element, fear. Then came the arrogance of young Candlebright, yet he agreed to parts, it was no fault of his that Shaw failed to act, had Shaw said the word at any time in the past year Apollo would have marched to war or any alternative. He let his right hand drop resting it on his wand knowing that this old man was on a road that like Shaw would get him killed. “I am sick of standing idle, Shaw.” He muttered softly as he rightly handed back the assignment that Candlebright had started and wanted.
He thought for just a moment letting his thoughts chain together, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to return to the hunt. Apollo was a hunter, a slayer of Aurors, he had numerous kills and he wanted to return to the rush, to the glory of forcing a predator into prey, such was the cruelty of nature. Intrigued by what Sloan seemingly danced around he was going to insure that he managed to do something because one could only brew so man potions and practice so many curses before it became tiring or the practice began to actually dull the edge becoming more repetitive and less effective. “Perhaps the time has finally come then.”
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