Quidditch League, Round 5
Position: Beater 1
Prompts:
(quote) No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. Helen Keller
(quote) A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. John Barrymore
(song) "If I Die Young" by the Band Perry
Character: Benjy Fenwick
Activity: A Day at Work
Word Count: 1,394
Benjy Fenwick sighed as he sifted through the mountain of paperwork piled haphazardly on his desk. When he signed up to be an auror, he was expecting battles and crazy broomstick chases and last stands on tall, rickety bridges while a storm raged overhead. Instead, what did he get? Paperwork.
His mental rant was interrupted when his partner-in-crime, Ted Flimmsby, entered, munching on a chocolate frog. His hands and face were smeared with chocolate. Benjy noted with a raised eyebrow the beginnings of a beer belly on his associate.
"You may want to watch how many chocolate frogs you eat, Ted," he said. "We have to be fit to be aurors, remember." Ted shrugged and stuffed the last of the chocolate into his mouth.
"As if we ever get to do anything strenuous," he muttered as he threw the wrapper, along with the card, in the bin. Ted shared Benjy's resentment at the lack of interesting cases that came their way, but Benjy was just a bit subtler about it.
He sighed and shoved a pile of his papers over to Ted's desk. "Have a sort through these, will you?" he asked wearily, rubbing his eyes. "You never know, there may be something interesting in there."
Ted snorted. "As if!" he said. However, he dutifully began reading through each paper and putting it into one of his piles; Junk, Wrong Department, Interesting, Very Important and Exciting. Needless to say, the Very Important and Exciting pile stayed empty for a long time, as did the Interesting pile.
These were two men who were used to being ignored and forgotten. Benjy had realised that he was not a remarkable man and one of the only good traits about him was that he not only disliked the Dark Lord, he hated him with a burning passion. So, a few months ago, when somebody had told him about the Order of the Phoenix – an organisation set up against Voldemort and his band of witches, wizards and magical creatures – he thought it would be perfect for him.
However, as he was new to it, none of the other members trusted him with important missions that much yet and he was left out of a lot of secret meetings for "veteran members".
So, Benjy was once again relying on his job to yield some exciting opportunities for him. So far, though, it had done nothing but disappoint. But that was about to change.
"Oh my gosh!" Benjy cried as he scanned the next page. Ted practically leapt out of his seat and flew across the room to see what Benjy had found.
"What? What? What!?" he cried excitedly.
Benjy held the paper out to Ted, who took it and skimmed it quickly. His face lit up, before falling again. "Oh," he said when he got to the bottom of the page.
"What do you mean, 'Oh'?" Benjy asked angrily. "This is an exciting case! You've been complaining about not getting any of these for months! What's wrong with it?"
Ted bit his lip and put the paper back on the desk, staring at the floor. "It's just… It's a bit of a suicide mission, don't you think?"
Benjy glared at his partner. "Seriously?" he growled. "Look, Ted, you may have been joking or something about being bored, but I was not and I am not passing up this opportunity just because of some no-good, scaredy-cat auror who-" Ted held up his hands in defence.
"Ok, ok, I get the picture!" he said, sounding wounded. "It just doesn't seem possible."
Raising an eyebrow at his partner, Benjy replied without missing a beat. "No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit. Are you a pessimist? Because if you are, there is no way this is possible. So just grow a pair and let's DO this thing!"
Ted stared at Benjy, a little stunned at this poetic outburst. "I'm not a pessimist, Benjy," he muttered. "I'm just getting too old for this…"
Again, Benjy was not phased in the slightest by this rational yet negative comment. "A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams," he said sternly.
"What?" Ted asked blankly.
Benjy sighed. "John Barrymore said it. Basically, old is not defined by age, it is defined by when you start to lack ambition and when, instead of thinking 'I will do that', you think 'I wish I'd done that'. Your dreams and ambitions are no longer dreams and ambitions, they are things that you wish you'd done when you had the chance. And you, my friend, still have the chance. So make the most of it." Benjy took the Mission Briefing back from Ted and read it through again, more carefully this time. "It doesn't look too bad. It's fairly straightforward, just with a lot riding on it. Apparently, the Ministry combined with the Order of the Phoenix have intercepted a message and cracked one of the codes that He Who Shall Not Be Named has been using. Suspected high-ranking Death Eaters such as Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy will be convening in an abandoned but well-protected (magically) house. Our mission is to break in, hide there and place trackers on the death eaters."
Here, Ted interrupted. "Trackers? As in, the muggle things? Why not put the Trace on them?
"Because they're more likely to notice that and then they won't lead us anywhere good. However, muggle trackers cannot be detected magically so we will have a better chance of finding out where their base is."
"Ah, I see," Ted said. "Continue."
Benjy quickly read the last few paragraphs. "That's basically it. After we've planted trackers on them, we hide out until the meeting is adjourned and then leave after the rest of them; without being seen, of course. Stealth is a crucial aspect to this mission," Ted opened his mouth to speak but Benjy continued, anticipating his question. "This is because if they see us there, they'll know that if we aren't there to attack them, we did something else. And they'll also realise that we cracked their code."
Ted shrugged, clearly impressed at how thought-out the mission was. "Well, I suppose that doesn't sound too bad…" Benjy nodded his agreement. "But there's definitely a risk aspect in it. If the Death Eaters see us…" Ted trailed off, not needed to clarify what would happen if they were spotted.
"I know. But, this could prove a vital help in the war effort and damn it, we will do our damn best because we deserve a break!"
"Ok, ok, calm down," Ted said soothingly to his flustered partner. "We can do it, or get seriously injured trying. Ok?" Benjy nodded without speaking. "But, listen… If I die on this mission… I'm too young. If I die, I want you to pull out all the stops for my funeral. Bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses… Sink me in the river – maybe at dawn? And I definitely want some singer to send me away with the words of a love song."
Benjy winked at his friend. "You got it, Ted," he promised. "I'll let your mother know that you're safe with the Lord – and I don't mean the Dark Lord!"
Ted smiled. He knew Benjy was trying to make light of the suddenly serious conversation, and he appreciated it. "Thanks," he said simply.
"No problem," Benjy replied sincerely. "So, should we let our bosses know that we're happy to do this mission?"
Ted grinned. "Well, happy is a bit far… Just say we're willing."
Benjy laughed. "I'll be sure to tell him that. See you later," he said, before exiting the room.
Although Benjy did return from that mission alright, as well as his partner Ted, Benjy did not realise that his days were numbered and he was already in his final year of life. If he had known that, who knows what he would have done differently. Quit the Order? Run away to a foreign country that was untroubled by news of magic and Dark Lords? Maybe. Maybe not. If Benjy was a true untold hero, perhaps he would have changed nothing, and embraced his destiny and inevitable death like the true Member of the Order of the Phoenix that he was…