Only The Righteous and Pure are Truly Free (OPEN)

[viola]

July 21, 2008
Stage Two
3:37pm

Freedom.

It was a concept that Annemarie had never fully known what to make of. Who was free in this life, and from what exactly were they supposed to be free from? The freest time in Annemarie’s entire life had probably been in the nunnery with Sister Mary Ellen and the rest of them. She was finally finding herself, only to be set on another path by the Almighty God, Himself. It was frustrating. She wanted so badly to be welcomed into His graces, and yet, other opportunities presented themselves and wouldn’t have left her be even if she had ignored them. This was her time to find or help others find what freedom was. It wasn’t her time to enjoy it.

However, as she walked around the stages at the Stonehenge Music Festival, she found that she held the concept of freedom within her grasp. She was the Muggle Studies Professor at a school that was out, so therefore she had no work to worry about, she held her life within her own hands, so therefore she was in control, and yet as Annemarie picked up a piece of parchment that blew into her legs, she would come to find exactly what she knew she never had any of.

There was no freedom for those of a different kind.

In her hands, the older woman held a piece of parchment that spoke of what a pure race was. It was almost as if it had been an advertisement just thrown around for any random child to pick up and read, infecting their young minds with such garbage. It was disgusting, and yet, it made Annemarie feel vulnerable just reading it.

The blue shimmering shawl that covered her shoulders that day, matched the navy colored dress that she had worn to the festival. She was a fan of the Goblin’s Choir, and had been since they had sung once before a type of gospel that she was sure was for public appearances only. She hadn’t cared, for their voices were unlike any goblin voices she had ever heard before in her life, and that was who she was there to see that day. However, being early, she found that she was about to listen to another band first called….actually, she couldn’t remember what the paper had said. The Daily Prophet was nothing that she had ever subscribed to rather, she read it off of the streets or purchased one here and there.

So, standing to the side of the younger looking crowed, parchment still in her hands, she leaned up against one of the rocks that formed the Stonehenge to listen. Annemarie had no idea what she was in for, nor did she think that the band was actually responsible for such flyers laying around. Why would they? They all seemed to be young men gathering on the stage….

…and yet, Annemarie got the strangest feeling that there was something strange going on. She shook her head, her loose curls flopping every which way as she crumpled the disturbing paper up, keeping it locked within her hands. It was probably nothing. A feeling brought on by a ruthless world she lived in…nothing more than that.


((OPEN FOR ANYONE))

[lizareese]

Day one. Day one of miserable work that was at least outside of the hellish Ministry. For one who had been employed for over a year, she was still not receiving warm welcomes from those who were co-workers. Not once had she been invited out for a drink with the crew after work, not once had she been given a proper introduction, and only once had she been thrown a friendly smile...that she could remember.

The shabang had only started a couple of hours before, bands began playing around two in the afternoon, but stations and carts were set up earlier, for the convience of being ready when the Festival opened to patrons. Elizabeth was the lucky one to be picked for the Ministry Care for and Regulations and Control of Magical Creatures. Her job was to be sure creatures did not run amok and there was nothing illegal floating around. How she always managed to draw the short straw was beyond her, the woman was sure it was all a set up.

However, it meant a few more hours that week for work outside of the stifling building the Ministry was home to. Besides, the woman did not mind so much knowing she had the next day off and was able to spend it on an actual official date with someone who had not only been kind but interesting inside of Diagon. There had been a face she had not run into since first moving to London on her own, though she could not remember his name by this point, she wondered what happened to him, if he had been shipped back to France?

While the woman technically had a station she was to attend to, there was one other Ministry worker from her department at the Festival alongside her. They were to take shifts roaming and standing. Starting at three-thirty it was her turn to roam. What wonderful luck, there was a band playing soon that she would not mind hearing. A few places around the magical areas and the WWN had been playing the band's music for a while. They were not so bad, though her taste in music was usually more downplayed than the rock they performed.

Icy blue eyes moving over faces and glancing at the creatures on leashes, Elizabeth kept a look out for anything more than unusual. Three-headed snakes, fire-breathing dragons, krups without owners, anything that should not have been.

Keeping a particular eye on a man with one hand in his robes and the other quite clearly grasped around his wand, Elizabeth ran smack into something-- or rather someone.

"Pardon me," she said quickly, not bothering to try and hide her thick accent.

[viola]

And they're only going to change this place by
Killing everybody in the human race
And they would kill me for a cigarette
But I don't even wanna die just yet

It was as if Annemarie was invisible. That was, when she wasn’t preaching to the choir or to the preachers themselves about what was right, and what was wrong. What would light the way to a prosperous future and what would not. Even as she stood against the stone nearest to the second stage, she was invisible. Though, Annemarie even wondered if that mattered any more?

It seemed when she wasn’t invisible, someone only noticed her to put her down or to disrespect her. The only reason why in the school she was visible was for the mere fact that every student needed a teacher to hate, and if they knew her, she was it. It was ironic how much she had given up to be put right back in the same situation she was in when she was a child at the school. It was amazing how little things actually changed.

It was from behind, the forceful push that had Annemarie practically toppling over, but not completely. Her blue shawl falling from her shoulders accidentally and the crumpled piece of parchment falling from her hand caused Annemarie to gasp trying to catch both from falling into a puddle. Her luck prevailed as always, and she caught the purity rubbish parchment as her shawl fell into the puddle.

A woman’s voice came from behind, and she took a deep breath. Annemarie looked over, catching her balance and tilted her head slightly. In her youth, she would have snapped back with something like ‘watch it!’ or ‘back off!’ but any more, it was as if the snake within the Slytherin Head of House had died out. It wasn’t completely gone, oh no. But random strangers rarely were able to set her off any more, not like they used to.

“It’s not a problem,” Annemarie tried to keep her temper from rising. “It wasn’t as if the shawl was expensive or anything.” Ok, so she tried to keep her temper, but sometimes it didn’t work. After the pamphlet about what race was better, and so on and so forth, she was a bit peeved. She just didn’t realize how peeved until what had just happened, happened.

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
It gives us hope when the whole day's done

(Invisible Sun/Police)

[lizareese]

Although Elizabeth had plowed someone over, and she only truly knew it was a someone compared to a something because there was a voice attached, her eyes remained on the man holding his robes shut with one hand inside. Perhaps it was a surprise for another, or maybe it was to keep his pet warm, but with the activity in January, things were more under cover than anything else, and Elizabeth would prefer as a Ministry Official to put a stop to anyone she should know by way of Shaw. If the man was a part of the organization, why should he be left alone to be so ridiculous?

Moving along only a few stops, the German stopped full force, hearing the woman's words now behind her and seeing the man withdraw from inside his robes what she had recognized from earlier. It was an informational pamphlet, but why was he being so suspicious about it? A few had been harassed by Ministry Officials already, perhaps that was his reason? The man was offering the papers to a few young adults that were making their way to the stage further on, four or something.

"Your magical, do not worry, it will come clean," Elizabeth stated suddenly, turning around to the woman she had run into. "And if you are incapable of performing magic, then take it to someone who can clean it." Muggles had something, she had heard her step-father speaking of them, but she could not remember exactly what they were called.

Casting a glance to the shawl, her eyes never made it that far. In the hands of the woman before her was one of the exact pamphlets the man was ridding himself of.