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Post by Devin Brady on Sept 9, 2007 1:04:57 GMT -5
((I feel that this is most necessary, only because drama is more fun. And anyone who appreciates Devin as the trouble maker that he is will enjoy this... I suppose.))
The fact that Apollo went along with little rebellion, though the look on his face was anything but contempt. Well things rarely worked out perfectly, and you were forced to either make due, or mold your plans around the events occurring. Devin decided on the latter, he would mold around them. He was about to throw them in a loop, adding more confusion to the mix. He took a second to think then looked at Shaw. The leader was obviously worried about control, which is to be expected when you don't have the full respect of those around you. That wasn't to say that the famed Robert Shaw didn't have respect, no he had tons of it, but those around him were there for themselves, not for Shaw... they weren't dedicated to the one unmasked Deva.
Headstrong as he was, Devin was also clever, and he knew all the drama was in their favor, only allowing things to become unstable. Which was really all they needed. Speaking at last, he addressed Shaw, "I have an offer. As I can see the blood-lust in Schmidt's eyes, I will fight him, but I want my own wand. And I will remind you, that I handed over my wand, on my own, without a fight." He looked at the others around him, he was no idiot, there wasn't even a chance of him fighting his way through 19 people on his own, no matter how good he was.
He looked back at Shaw again, staring directly into his eyes. "I think I'm quite trustworthy, I've been well behaved. Surely you know I could have been a bigger nuisance." he paused before speaking again, "Now like I said I have an offer. I wouldn't say I am really all that bloodthirsty, so really I have nothing to gain in this fight. But I suggest we put my wand on the line, if I win, I get to keep my wand. If I lose I give it back, no questions asked. Now I would also like to point out, I know what I'm facing. I also know I stand no chance against 19 fully trained adults, so even with a wand I am no real threat."
"I think that makes things even. I have something to gain, Schmidt, is more than eager for a peace of me, so that alone is his prize." He slowly removed his robe, highly doubting Shaw would take up his offer, but it was worth a try wasn't it? He slowly rolled the sleeves of his shirt, up revealing well built forearms. There was little doubt in his mind that he had the advantage. Not by much, but enough. He was in better physical shape without a doubt, but he knew his foe all to well. He was mentally unstable, but highly skilled. Enough aurors had fallen at his hand, that he would put nothing past him. Devin showed no outer worry though, he had one more trick. One that always cut the playing field in two, he had Legilimency.
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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 Sept 9, 2007 14:55:48 GMT -5
Schmidt stepped back, albeit heavily reluctantly but he did step back. And this was good, this was very good indeed but Robert was not counting his blessings just yet. Both Raynor and Brady were disarmed but they were still within his bubble of personal space and security. That needed to be rectified very, very quickly.
As the ex-auror spoke both Robert's wand and eyes shifted to the man, aiming just over Tamis's right shoulder at his chest. Brady's voice now becoming more of a personal annoyance than a negative disturbance. I wouldn't say I am really all that bloodthirsty, so really I have nothing to gain in this fight. But I suggest we put my wand on the line, if I win, I get to keep my wand. If I lose I give it back, no questions asked. Now I would also like to point out, I know what I'm facing. I also know I stand no chance against 19 fully trained adults, so even with a wand I am no real threat. I think that makes things even. I have something to gain, Schmidt, is more than eager for a peace of me, so that alone is his prize." So wait, what was this wager? He gives Brady his wand, let's him duel Schmidt on his terms, and above all else he gives Brady and incentive? Now perhaps Merlin was questioning just who was in charge or perhaps Brady was much denser than he gave credit, either way there was no way he was letting that ex-auror duel with a significant advantage.
"You had your chance to play dress-up hero. That time has passed and quite frankly Mr. Brady, you're now becoming excessively bothersome to me. I think instead of watching you become one with your equivalently high ego, I think I'd rather you become one with the floor." With nothing more to be said and a small smirk of satisfaction across his face a jet of non-verbalized red stunner shot from his wand. Problem solved, a bit crude perhaps but equally effective. "I don't care where you put him, dump him outside to the cowards for all that it matters. Just make it somewhere that I don't have to hear his ungrateful hypocritical voice." Robert ordered as a groan of obvious frustration escaped his shadow-like demeanor. He was tired of this, tired of the potential backstabbing, the egos, he was tired of all of it because it was apparent that no one was realizing anything at all.
With his annoyance silenced and Raynor's wand in his pocket, his gray orbs flicked back the short stature savior of the student population. "You were saying something about disorder and I believe I answered your inquiry. Now if you'd be so kind as to have a seat Tamis, the migraine pounding in my head would be most eternally grateful."
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Drew Thornton
Ministry of Magic
Auror-in-Training
I didn't do it and you can't prove otherwise...
Posts: 14,114
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Post by Drew Thornton on Sept 9, 2007 15:09:04 GMT -5
Drew jumped back a little as Shaw hexed Brady. The Ravenclaw wasn't a fan of the guy and actually thought his hexing was a bit overdue, but Drew really hadn't expected Shaw to do it there in front of everyone, especially the little kids. Drew had never once forgotten that they were in danger these last few days, but he had to admit that he felt a sense of safety knowing Shaw was in charge.
Then again, this was the guy who had Crucioed him on the pretense of getting information his people already had. Shaw was a loose cannon just like the rest of them.
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Post by Tamis Raynor on Sept 9, 2007 15:31:25 GMT -5
The wand slipped from her grasp and into Robert’s pocket, bringing an inevitable dread with it. Its loss hung heavily over her head and she had to remind herself that it was necessary. If she had not handed it over, it would have been taken from her. By giving it freely, Robert had not won it, and therefore it was at least of no use to him. Either way it would have been no use to her; she was not planning on walking out of this room.
The breath that Tamis had not realized she had been holding expelled through her nose as the wand directed over her shoulder shot a stunner at the man behind her. Closing her eyes, she felt rather than saw the man crumple. Damn it, Brady. The last thing they had needed was one less staff member. Overall useless, they served as rather ample distractions. His had been rather ill-placed. If they survived this – and if he was not in a St. Mungo’s ward if they did – Raynor was going to hang Devin by his toes and showcase the man in her office. The imagery at least brought her some comfort.
Through most of the confrontation, she had remained passive, mentally clocking the time that had past and wishing for a watch. How much time had elapsed? How much did she have left? Very little. And every second that past was one less that she had to work with.
"You were saying something about disorder and I believe I answered your inquiry. Now if you'd be so kind as to have a seat Tamis, the migraine pounding in my head would be most eternally grateful."
The childish urge to stick her tongue out at him was quelled with a considerable amount of regret. Her shoulders squared, her chin lifted, and for a moment much of Tamis Raynor’s trademark fire rekindled. But before much could be made of it, her demeanor slumped again. The physical exertion was too much? Some might think so, and Tamis wished they would; underestimation was useful. No, to do this, Raynor had to hang her pride with her own hands.
“You still haven’t accepted my offer, Robert. If I estimated correctly, you only have about ten more minutes to do so.”
Her face gave away as much as it had since she entered the room; its features still blank of any expression that would give way to her thoughts. Shaw was a strategist; the mind was his playing field. He never could resist a riddle, especially not when he found what the prize was for solving it.
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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 Sept 9, 2007 18:57:47 GMT -5
Apollo was a patient man he knew how to wait, he had sat dormant in the Sahara desert for years at a time, though this was his own fault for beign discovered as a Death Eater he would have given his life for his master had he been given the chance, or the order. Apollo Knew one day he would have what he wanted, he would have his charge, he would insure that his master's dream was carried out, the riddance of mudcoated flesh, and the superiority of all whom deserved it, the pure-bloods.
Most would have figured Apollo was a boiling cauldron... yet he wasn’t; he was merely simmering the heat of the flame beneath him keeping his anger warm and ready to flow. Then came something Apollo would never enjoy, Shaw raised his wand after listening to Brady’s lecture on HIS dueling terms which Apollo would have stood for except Brady keeping his wand in case of victory. Shaw's wand fired the red stunning blot and in that second Apollo boiled, a flash of thunder, a strike of lightning, all in the flash of red. Under the mask Apollo's face contorted in fury his knuckles went white his wand bent slightly in his hand and Apollo nearly lost it. Shaw would get a piece of his mind, he had taken prey from a tiger and the tiger was about to lose it. A low grumble sounded from Apollo as he made his choice, hex Shaw or exactly what his choice was. Without a further word Apollo spun on his heel and in a rapid walk he left, he would not succumb to Brady's bait, nor would he hex Shaw, not in public at least, that would wait for closed doors. The splinters of the once formidable oak doors were rapidly at his side. As Apollo reached the suits of armor, Apollo lost it, out of sight of the students all they would hear is a barbaric yell followed by the sounds of soft explosions as hexes ricochet off the suits of armor, He didn't stop walking though, Apollo wouldn't leave the castle, not yet.
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Post by Devin Brady on Sept 9, 2007 23:23:52 GMT -5
To tell the truth, this was all to be expected. How could it not be, Devin had been trying his luck purposely time after time. To say he had expected Shaw to actually stun him though, wouldn't be completely true. From what he knew about the man, one of his major weaknesses was dueling. So for him to draw his wand on an armed man with superior skill would be a death sentance, however Shaw had no prior awarness of the wand stashed deep inside his robes. That was a fact, that remained hidden, as the ex-auror hit the floor. A simple headache would be sufficent for what he learned, and with the complete knowledge that he stood no chance at fighting his way out... he would reveal no wand. No instead knowing a stunner was coming seconds before it erupted (Legilimency is a true gift) he positioned himself as best he could. The hope was to make the head ache as small as possible, without giving his skill away.
All in all though he was the true winner, well in his own eyes at least. Raynor was sure to feel different, but if Devin had been awake to see Schmidt storm out of the Great Hall, it would have proven enough. He had damaged Shaw's ranks. He had caused a hole in the supports. He had suffered a stunner yes, but he managed to avoid the torture of Schmidt and cause the same amount of drama. Enough said, he had done all he needed to do, and would awaken with a smile.
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Post by alfonztytusjedynak on Sept 10, 2007 9:34:21 GMT -5
Alfonz was quite...stunned himself with the display of testosterone being shown by the ungrateful ex-auror. Wasn't it enough that he was getting a duel, one he obviously wanted to cause, and then only to refuse it? Though it may have not made sense to some, Alfonz had dueled this arse, and lost. Alfonz wasn't foolish enough to try an convinced himself that he had won, but it did allow Alfonz to study the scenario with some background knowledge as he stuck to lingering behind the other Deva.
Brady was given the chance to duel, Schmidt was more than ready and if it wasn't for Shaw, he wouldn't have even given Brady the dignity of backing down like the beaten pup he actually was. No, Shaw really did have a merciful side by sparing his life. One Alfonz probably would not have given if he were in charge. It was a good thing then that he was not. Alfonz wouldn't have dirtied his hands with the auror's blood himself either, but then again, the differences between Shaw and himself were not only evident but great. Alfonz, however, still stuck strong to his where his loyalties lied. Shaw was the man, indirectly, that had kept his sister safe this entire time. Kept all of the students safe. Brady was just a foolish idiot that couldn't keep his mouth respectfully shut.
With that said, it only somewhat surprised Alfonz when Brady decided that he did want to duel...but on his terms? That was key, now wasn't it? Alfonz saw it even more clearly now than what he had before. In their duel, it was all on Brady's terms, and it had something to gain for him. He wanted to lose his job. Alfonz didn't know how or why that made sense, but it had to be it. Why else would he have taken Alfonz dancing a dance Alfonz had no chance in winning? Because it was on Brady's terms, and Brady's rules.
Alfonz blood started to boil even more as his hand found it's way to his pocket and wrapped itself tightly around the end of his wand. He watched patiently at the circumstances taking place though, and as Brady started to undress and continue to state his terms. Shaw was quick to react, and a smile grew on Alfonz's face so wide that he was afraid the mask would stretch out of shape. He refrained from cheering, but it was pretty close.
I don't care where you put him, dump him outside to the cowards for all that it matters. Just make it somewhere that I don't have to hear his ungrateful hypocritical voice.
Time to vacate the room? Just for a few minutes, for Alfonz could resist the chance to dump Brady on his own in a broom closet and lock the door with a pretty hefty lock charm. Something he knew from his past and locking himself and Celina in a room away from their father. Yes, not even their auror of a father could break that charm, and it would make Brady a bit less annoying to be out of the way.
Walking up to the slumped body, he nodded at Shaw gently whispering as he passed, "I'll do it, and be back in no time," and picked up the lifeless hunk of meat and started to carry him out. It was rather disgusting that he had to actually touch, or get anywhere near the man, but the outcome and effects would be excellent. And Alfonz couldn't resist actually partaking in something that had to do with Brady being the fool, instead of himself. It was all too amusing, and after everything he had to give up because of this man, it was well worth it.
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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 Sept 11, 2007 0:37:14 GMT -5
Robert's eyes flicked to and fro from Raynor to the dead seeming body of Devin Brady repeatedly with a torn mind. The woman hadn't sat yet, hadn't obeyed and while part of him simply wanted to add her to the floor as well, another was more intrigued as to on what level her Ravenclaw wit was working. He was it find out quicker than he'd hoped and it was his brain that would be paying dearly for his past and present transgressions.
“You still haven’t accepted my offer, Robert. If I estimated correctly, you only have about ten more minutes to do so.”
Offer? She'd made no offer, unless she and Brady had somehow within the past few seconds switched both bodies and mentalities in the past few seconds she had said nothing. Or perhaps he was going crazy, after all he had just hexed a man for nothing more than rude verbal rebuttal. Mind you, this was the same rude verbosity that he'd tolerated for roughly seventy-two hours and it had bothered him more than a little bit but it had been done out of cold emotion as opposed to necessity...but now was not the time to ponder his sanity. Speaking of, what was this about a ruddy time limit of ten minutes that he was supposedly wasting?
The pulsating pain in his head was now turning into a dull but immensely bothersome throb. He didn't have time for this, or much anything else at this point. He needed sleep, he needed aspirin, and he needed Tamis to sit down and behave like the good little lassie she was playing herself to be! Oh that last part, he knew outright that it wasn't a card he held tightly within his hand at the moment. He had it; it was just nearly being passed across like a rookie in his first game of Hearts…
Jednyak then approached and before Robert could even nod to the man's whispered words, made off with the unconscious auror’s body. Robert didn’t really didn’t care what truthfully happened to the man, he’d been trying both Robert’s patience and his own luck since the first night and left little reprieve between his heroic bouts of verbose speeches and stupidity. Brady had simply crossed his line. As Jednyak disappeared through the door with the man’s limp and immobile carcass a smirk of satisfaction crossed his face before he picked up where he’d planned to begin in the first place. “Now that that’s taken care of I have but one thing to clarify. You didn’t make an offer to me Tamis, and I can’t rightfully accept or much more likely deny an offer that does not reside on my little table of air and breathing space." He paused a moment, begining to wonder if their little conversation even held the student's ears. “Are you sure they didn’t give you the kiss during your little frolic in Azkaban? Your heightened sense of delirium is making Schmidt out there seem like quite the sane chap which for you should be quite the unwanted accomplishment.”
Just because he’d lost control for a moment, did not mean it was not able to be regained. His voice held a tone that many could decipher as an ill form of bemusement, which it was in every sense. However his amusement went beyond that, the near mutiny, the stupidity of Corrion’s former experienced hand, the short-of-stature savior and all of her little (and some not so little) dwarflings looking up to her to save them… The entire ruddy hall held some sort of amusement to him at the present moment, each face claiming it’s own distinct syllable of unspoken laughter. It could almost be said that he enjoyed watching them all suffer in their childishly cute little mental and physical aches, pains and unspoken shrieks of want…
Almost.
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Post by Tamis Raynor on Sept 11, 2007 18:37:07 GMT -5
Tamis' jaw tightened noticeably as Brady was unceremoniously hoisted out of the room. However, her sympathy only went so far. She still quite clearly recalled nursing a bruised ribcage for two weeks after her little escapade in the Entrance Hall. Though she never did find out how she was transported to her office that night, the bruising had been a fair hint. If the man woke up sore, it was well deserved karma.
“Now that that’s taken care of I have but one thing to clarify. You didn’t make an offer to me Tamis... Are you sure they didn’t give you the kiss during your little frolic in Azkaban? Your heightened sense of delirium is making Schmidt out there seem like quite the sane chap which for you should be quite the unwanted accomplishment."
"If I was among the soulless, Robert, you would not have the luxury of this conversation," she replied flatly, not allowing the sting of his comment to show.
And it was the honest truth. The students to her back weighed heavily on Raynor's mind; a constant reminder of the consequences should she fail here. Lacking such a burden as a soul and her entrance into the Great Hall would not have been so placid. It would have cost her her life, and no doubt a number of the youthful faces behind her, but if Tamis could have had her way, she would have aimed to kill the moment she past the threshold. But as it were, her moral were in tact, her conscience active, and her rationality of being more use to the students alive than dead constantly nagging her in the back of her brain.
Roughly nine minutes.
Steeling herself, the Deputy crossed her arms; the oversized sleeves puffing like a pair of freshly baked soufflés. The sudden urge to vomit was overwhelming. The students might eventually be able to forgive her for this, but could she forgive herself? Questions would be asked later. For once, she threw her brain to the wind and followed her instincts.
"I'm here to negotiate an exchange of prisoners," she said solemnly, dropping the riddles. "The offer is simple; you release a portion of your hostages and I stay in their place, submissive to whatever you demand." She had to pause there, the words making her physically ill to commit to. Corrion would have to fight her for the right to hang her after this. "If you turn the offer down, I walk out of here, Robert, and I won't come back."
There was no lie in her eyes. As much agony as it would cause her, she would turn her back on the students in the hall and leave; she would not have much choice in the matter. The portkey that composed her left boot was detonated to transport whoever was in contact with it from the Great Hall in eight minutes time.
The bargain itself seemed to hold little weight in terms of negotiation. But Tamis understood Shaw. She was offering him the one thing that she knew he wanted; her. He had gone to too many lengths for it to be otherwise. The letters, the carefully directed antagonizing, the night four months ago that remained as a fuzzy blur in her memory… The question of why constantly floated along the length of Raynor's curiosity, but the point was that he had made this personal. It might just be the tool she needed to help the students help themselves.
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Lianna Maylorn
Hufflepuff Prefect
Fifth Year
Sitting on the edge of the World
Posts: 1,122
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Post by Lianna Maylorn on Sept 11, 2007 20:11:25 GMT -5
Two days, four days, just how long it had been now was unknown to her brain, and quite frankly it wasn't all that important a detail in the long run. It was another meal on another night with the Deva watching their every breath and twitch -- and she still couldn't go home or in the very least back to her dorm bed. If one had bothered to pay her a bit of attention anymore they would find that she rarely left the minute comfort of the Hufflepuff table and when she did it was never for very long but she had become increasingly stubborn to believe that the only people who actually paid the slightest bit of attention to her actions (what few there were to be seen) were the sentries themselves. Everyone else was far too worried about their own necks while she, she just worried about getting home.
She wasn’t sure of the time or if the food was fresh or stale, all she was truly sure of was that she was still alive and while to many present that would be satisfactory enough it was nowhere near such the case for Lianna Maylorn. The third year picked at whatever it was on the plate before her (the same food that had been there for a good fifteen minutes already) as the Entrance Hall doors groaned in opening. That wasn’t supposed to happen, no one was supposed to leave, if anyone left they got punished, they got hurt so that meant that…someone was coming…in?
As Professor Raynor appeared in the doorway and made her way to the front a small glimmer of a smile, a small glimmer of hope graced the girl’s lips with a much needed accompanying sense of personal relief. Her green eyes followed the woman as her food lay to age at nature’s moldy will, eternally forgotten due to the rapidly unfolding events. Raynor talked, Shaw talked, Raynor talked, Shaw talked, Raynor—no, Professor Brady talked, sentries moved, Shaw talked… It was all moving far too quickly for her ears to catch any of it but her eyes could see it all. Shaw and Raynor’s eerily calm demeanors, Professor Brady’s courageously defiant gestures, the challenge and respective refusal, words…words…words…one of them leaving and then…
A flash of red as Brady crinkled like an empty toffee wrapper to the floor.
Lianna didn’t know the man well, and while his reputation made him look like a man who belonged away from children, the silent picture she’d just watched however gave quite the opposite meaning. But that sight, oh that horrible sight! The flash in her self-created metal silence as his body dropped unceremoniously to the floor over and over in her mind. It was simply one realized fear too much and while the third year closed her eyes to try and run from the image she’d seen, she found that it only reappeared there in the darkness as well. A nightmare…everything was nothing more than a living nightmare now and there was no eventual waking up anymore…
With Lianna’s smile faded and her hope now barely a flicker of it’s former flame, the girl quietly rose from her seat a few moments after Brady was silently dragged out of the hall. She didn’t know where she was going, and she didn’t really care anymore. If she couldn’t go home, and she couldn’t go to her dorm, couldn’t eat or even cry anymore just what was the point of sitting there and taking it? The door that was her exit looked kilometers away to her vision, and her feet felt as though they were moving mere millimeters at a time but among all the irrationality that was her in her mind, there was but one fully rational thought.
Get. Out. Of. The. Hall.
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Celina Jedynak
Ravenclaw
Seventh year
Because it just took time, before a bird's wings could heal again.
Posts: 6
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Post by Celina Jedynak on Sept 11, 2007 20:37:07 GMT -5
A tear here and there hit the table silently as Celina masked her anger with sorrow. It was not right for her to be angry, a useless emotion at a man she had little to no respect for since she met him. She had tried. Oh, how hard had she tried to respect Brady, but now that was an emotion she would never feel toward him. And therefore, she didn't even want to see him. Didn't want to look at whatever was happening, and so, Celina kept her face in her arms laying on the Ravenclaw table.
Bits and pieces of an argument heard, but the only voice that Celina looked for was that of her brother's. She feared he'd speak up again, figuring his cover already blown, but as smart as she knew he really was, her fear was soon evaporated. A foolish fear, and untrusted thought, one in which she should have known better not to even have. Celina scolded herself for thinking such untrustworthy thoughts about her brother. What reason had she that proved her brother was in the Deva for any reason but to protect her as he had told her? What reason had she for feeling that he was wrong in any way? None. And therefore, in between her sorrow, and hate for an authority figure she had to respect, she was angered with herself for her own selfish thoughts against her brother. Celina should have known that Alfonz wouldn't put anymore at risk than he had already, indirectly.
Looking up, just after Alfonz walked through the entrance to the Great Hall, she witnessed and wiped her face of the tear streaks that only just reappeared moments later. She looked down at the table again, but this time held her head up, able to hear what was said between Shaw and Raynor. What was this about an offer? Celina stopped her breathing to listen as her eyes grew wide in terror.
I'm here to negotiate an exchange of prisoners. The offer is simple; you release a portion of your hostages and I stay in their place, submissive to whatever you demand.
Had Raynor just said what Celina believed her to say? Exchanging herself for students? Celina's hands grabbed the bench as if preparing herself. If anything happened, she would be the last person to step foot outside of the walls of Hogwarts. Where would she go if she was one to leave? Back to her parents? That was terrifying in amongst itself, but what was more horrifying was the fact that Celina would be leaving the side of Alfonz. After all she had felt, all the doubts she had had about him, and the realization that he was there for her and her alone...she was not about to change plans and make him go through this alone without her there. She wouldn't have it. That was all she could think about, not even Raynor being Shaw's puppet scared her as much as leaving did. If anything was for sure in Celina's mind, it was one thing and one thing only.
Celina Jedynak would not leave Hogwarts.
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Gail Lawrence
Witch
Leaky Cauldron Waitress
Just looking for something new.
Posts: 274
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Post by Gail Lawrence on Sept 12, 2007 17:25:26 GMT -5
Gail had been roused from her short nap when Raynor had entered. She had been sitting, knees up, against the wall between the window and the door to the Entrance Hall. Her entrance, as well as the commotion in her wake, could not have failed to catch her attention. Despite her exhaustion from the past two days (Was that really all the longer they had been there?), her nap had been light, restless, and ultimately unfulfilling.
Raynor's time in Azkaban had changed her appearance, as she was haggard and thin, but the light in her eyes as she strode toward the High Table was the same as always. However she looked, it had seemed to Gail that help had finally arrived. She had tried twice, once alone and once with three others, to plan an escape. Unfortunately, the plans were always deemed unworkable, and no action had been taken. Hope was running out. Raynor, always a pillar of strength, seemed to be just the thing to start turning things around.
Thus, she was astonished and appalled to watch as the former Deputy handed over her wand without any stalling or complaint.
Gail hit her head back against the wall to ensure she was not dreaming before standing slowly. Her joints cracked loudly, and her lower back ached badly. Nonetheless, she walked up the middle aisle and took a seat at the front of the Hufflepuff table. She was in disbelief and found she needed proof that Raynor had come to Hogwarts without any plans for the students’ freedom. A few friends sat nearby, but most, among both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, were sitting away from the High Table, and she was largely alone.
Her opinion of Raynor did not seem to improve, and she covered a grimace with her hand as Brady openly challenged Shaw and his comrades. The Ravenclaw had formed a positive view of the new Transfiguration teacher during their discussion over the Winter Hols, but his actions now appeared to be reckless. And I had wondered why he was fired. She watched his tragedy progress and winced in sympathy as he was ruthlessly Stunned. Regardless of the futility, Brady at least showed that their captors were not united. Maybe something could come of that later.
As the situation unfolded, Gail became more and more convinced that Raynor had come alone. No grand plans. No escape routes. Nothing but herself and the wand she had so easily relinquished. As Raynor was the last real authority figure that Gail trusted, she was crushed. Under normal circumstances, she would have left long ago, but there was nowhere except another hallway full of guards and empty classrooms. So she continued to watch.
She was especially intrigued by the ten-minute time limit that Raynor had put upon her so-called “offer” to Shaw. She may have lost track of it in the chaos of Brady’s foolishness, but she could not recall Raynor making any offers. And neither could Shaw. The deal was simple enough, though, and Gail thought it was extremely gutsy either way. And either way, the students would be left behind, whether all of them or only some. Her eyes bulged a bit at Raynor’s daring and at her ability to potentially walk off and leave her beloved students to the wolves.
Grateful for her position near the front, Gail hoped that if Shaw accepted the offer (though she doubted it), she might be one of the ones to leave. Not to abandon her classmates, but to try and find some way to help get them out. But, even if he did accept the deal, he was likely to select students who favored the Deva’s way of thinking. The Ravenclaw put forth a fairly neutral face, but it was not hard to decipher that her loyalties lay elsewhere than blood and Darkness. Despite her hopes, she thought it far more likely that Shaw would take the deal and then renege on his promise to let some students go (hostages sounded so wrong). The offer was still up for grabs, so she just had to wait to see what their captors would decide and work from there.
((Wow, that was a LOT longer than I thought it would be!))
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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 Sept 12, 2007 21:19:12 GMT -5
"If I was among the soulless, Robert, you would not have the luxury of this conversation,"
There was no bite in her words, no pittiful retort or smart alec comment, nothing. No it was quite clear she was done wasting his time and finally getting down to whatever insane cognitive thought had gotten her past Corrion's watchful eye and into this room.
Business was still business and she claimed she had a deal? There wasn't much Corrion could offer him, nor was there much that Tamis herself could offer sparing her own life but surely no one was that stupidly heroic and foolish anymore? Brady had been foolish, but perhaps in some way it was rationally so, after all he wasn’t dead so he wasn’t completely foolhardy. But could she really possibly be here to…no she must have something far more logical than that – and if she didn’t it meant either Corrion or more likely she herself was extremely desperate.
But in retrospect just who among them wasn’t desperate? The children were desperate for home, the aurors and Prophet hawks their jobs, the Deva to get out alive, every single party, every persona was desperate for something their reasons simply conflicted and varied and no one at present had a viable solution to any of their problems.
"I'm here to negotiate an exchange of prisoners," she said solemnly, dropping the riddles. "The offer is simple; you release a portion of your hostages and I stay in their place, submissive to whatever you demand." She had to pause there, the words making her physically ill to commit to. Corrion would have to fight her for the right to hang her after this. "If you turn the offer down, I walk out of here, Robert, and I won't come back."
So perhaps there were still those who were THAT foolishly stupid after all. Robert’s gray eyes flicked from the students to the woman as the offer spilled from her mouth, and then back to the students for a look of reaction from those who could hear. Shock, anger, disbelief, they were all present in hearty numbers and perhaps it was those looks or perhaps it was indeed his own reasoning of some rational design that would make his next words more mysterious than his original entrance. But Robert’s reasons, were his reasons, and unlike the students who’s collective mind was an open story, his mind, as much of an exhibit as it was, was closed to the public.
“Submissive is such a cliché word, but I’m afraid if I were to try to modify your vocabulary it would most likely result in obliterating your memory and I have quite enough of a mess at the moment.” He paused a moment to rub at his pounding forehead. “Fine. Although my better counsel of judgment advises otherwise; I think it better to strip Corrion of his better assets.” Another pause, though this one for thought while gray again found gray. She was unreadable; he couldn’t see a catch, a hook, nothing. Merlin kindly damned this battle of the wits against his favor, but ti did make it much more fun… “Five and no more,” a third pause. “Oh and Tamis, do choose them aloud.”
He wanted to see the contempt, hear the frustration, and feel the hate. While her heroic deed was commendable by society’s many contradicting standards, within this room it would be left to stand only as her crucifixion and nothing more.
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Post by hermione7lunaroc on Sept 12, 2007 21:52:50 GMT -5
Fear and too many emotions to name raced through Lily's bloodstream with each beat of her heart. She watched the scene unfold, trying to take it all in. From Raynor's arrival, which brought hope to the Ravenclaw from where she was sitting once again at her house table, exhausted and disgusting, at least in her mind. And then Raynor surrendered her wand, which was disappointing, but if she knew Raynor she knew she'd have some other plan in mind.
And then Brady was almost dueling one of the faceless and then Brady was stunned. There was a moment where Lily's heart jumped up in her throat and she hadn't even known the man! It was just the act; not random, but seemingly unlike anything that had been demonstrated before. True, she had seen the potions professor stunned, but that lady seemed more crazy than this man, more mad in a way.
And then Raynor's deal. It was simple terms. And when he agreed to it, for five people, she knew she wanted to go and be out of here so badly. But she knew she had to stay, if not only to be one of the older guiding years. Plus, with Raynor having previously been in Azkaban (a part she fully looked - Lily hoped Leah was okay), she probably didn't even known Lily had returned to Hogwarts. She strained herself to listen to the rest of the conversation, knowing that this was probably a piece of cake for Hiro to hear. She had to know who would be chosen.
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Gail Lawrence
Witch
Leaky Cauldron Waitress
Just looking for something new.
Posts: 274
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Post by Gail Lawrence on Sept 13, 2007 10:44:59 GMT -5
Gail’s face fell as Shaw took the offer. His reasoning was undeniable, from their point of view. It would be beneficial for their captors to have one of their best opponents locked away, rather than plotting their downfall. Nonetheless, it meant that the hope that was already dying in the Hall was pressed down further. Raynor was the rock, the unmovable Deputy who always had a plan. Her capitulation removed a lot of hope, at least in Gail’s eyes.
She suppressed a glare at both Shaw and Raynor: him for taking the deal, and her for so easily offering herself for so little reward. Among those who could hear the goings-on, there was a good amount of outcry, and she figured it would work its way toward the windows. Gossip always did move fast.
And then Gail was floored again. Not only did Shaw agree to the deal, but he placed the onus on Raynor of selecting the students to be set free. And he capped it at five. Despite the sheer audacity of the move, it was clever, she had to admit. Whoever Raynor chose, she ran a high risk of alienating the rest of the student body for not selecting them. Five students.
Gail looked around the Hall, trying to decide who Raynor would pick. She would probably select the smartest students. Krissy and Corey would probably be left behind, as Head Boy and Girl. Their leadership was needed. Drew was a likely candidate, as was Hiro. Both were smart, clever, and magically capable. They were also Ravenclaws, and she did not know how much of a role that would play in Raynor’s choices. Away from her own House, her mind flew in many directions. Probably Charlie from Slytherin. Keagan, Tristan, Seanna, Michael, Felicity… Her list kept growing. She noticed it was mostly comprised of Prefects or other, more unofficial leaders. There were many talented students in the school, and Gail was sure that Raynor would be overwhelmed in trying to choose.
She held no hope that Raynor would select her. However much she wanted to help, it was likely that others, people with leadership experience, would be able to do that more than she would. No matter her grades or her neutral stance, she had little to offer in terms of helping free the other students. If the Deputy had total freedom to choose, she needed the ones that could help the most. Strategy would determine the choices. It had to.
The Ravenclaw whipped forward again. Then, with a neutral face and curious eyes, she put her chin in her hand and leaned on the Hufflepuff table, waiting for Raynor’s response.
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