The Romanticism of Simplicity
Chapter Thirteen
"What took you so long?" Ty asked when Gemma finally came back.
"I didn't feel well enough to apparate," she lied, dropping her clothes on the couch. "I had to wait."
She wanted to look at him, to meet his eyes, but she was terrified that he would see right through her - that he would somehow clue in and know who she'd been with. The flush on her cheeks was still as bright as it had been when Ron's lingering fingers had called it forth and she was almost certain that Ty could feel the heat radiating from her body. He MUST be able to. How could he not when she herself was still so happily dizzy from it? And even if he couldn't, surely he'd be able to sense her anxiety...or was it guilt?
"You don't look so good," he commented, studying her face.
"I'm just tired."
He stepped forward and placed a cool hand on her forehead causing her heart to stop mid-beat.
"You're hot."
"Er...well..."
"It must be fever from the wound," he sighed. "You should lie down."
Gemma breathed a deep sigh of relief and turned towards the bedroom.
"I'll be in in a minute," he called after her. "I'm just gonna make some tea."
Inside, she found one of his t-shirts in the closet and hastily threw it on before climbing under the sheets. The distressed cotton was soft against her warm skin and the coziness of it lulled her into a state of relaxation. Her head sank deep into the plush pillow and not long after, her weary joints loosened and she felt herself drifting off.
Another week passed without any word from Dullison or the other Death Eaters and as they waited, Gemma and Ty had to constantly remind themselves to breath. Dullison was planning something - something that would surely test her loyalty - and while Ty knew that the longer the wait the worse the mission would be, Gemma couldn help but feel relief. She tried to convince herself that it was all a bad dream and that she'd wake up any minute and find herself asleep at her desk at the Ministry, cold cup of coffee in her hands and Hermione skimming through the yellowed pages of Hogwart's a History. Sometimes, late at night when she was surrounded by silky darkness and the mark on her arm was no longer visible, she allowed herself to believe that none of it had happened - that the man next to her was the man she loved and the tearing at her heart wasn't guilt but happiness.
Finally, around one in the morning on a Friday, Gemma and Ty were roused from their sleep by a quick 'crack' and a hoarse voice.
"Get up you God damn gits!" Maureen barked, waving her wand and blowing the covers from the bed.
"Whatthehell!" Ty yelped, rolling over and rubbing his eyes free of sleep.
"Get up!" she repeated. "We've got work to do!"
Gemma was up without hesitation and rushed to throw on the jeans and jumper that she kept beside the bed.
"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into," Maureen stated, watching her bend over to tug on her shoes. "You're all Dullison talks about these days."
"Is that good or bad?" she asked, standing up and snatching her wand from the nightstand.
"It's not bad...but it's not good either," she explained. "It really comes down to what kind of mood he's in."
"How's his mood today?"
She let out a light cackle. "It could be worse."
Ty grunted softly as he pulled on his shirt. "Who are we going for this time?"
"All I know is that we're headed to Romania."
"Romania?" Gemma questioned.
"Romania," she repeated.
"Any idea who we're fighting?"
"The usual set of aurors I'd imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew them."
Gemma's heart skipped a beat. What if Ron was there? What if she had to fight him?
"Well I'm ready if you are," Ty added, pulling on his cloak and glancing over at the two girls.
They nodded and with three loud 'cracks' they were gone.
They arrived just outside of The Pheonix Feather and almost immediately, Gemma noticed the ominous figure just down the alley. Maureen caught his eyes and nodded. Gently - discreetly, she ushered them inside.
"Wands ready?" she whispered as they took a seat at a table in the back.
The couple nodded.
"What's our sign?" Ty asked.
Just then there was a loud explosion outside followed by the unsettling sound of shattering glass and a woman screaming.
"We just got it," Maureen snickered.
A tall, lanky wizard at the bar jumped up from his seat. "Bloody hell!" he shrieked. "C'mon Bill!"
His chubby friend started to follow suit, but Ty quickly yanked out his wand and thrust it in their direction.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" he shouted and the two men's wands soared across the room.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" the tall man shouted.
He replied by throwing them over the bar with a particularly nasty hurling hex and in the next few seconds, it seemed like the world was being turned upside down. Outside, multicolored flashes of lights were being shot back and forth from wizard to wizard, colliding with everything in their path. Inside, the pub was being torn to bits by frantic witch's and wizard's poorly aimed spells. The small, round tables were being blown into thick brown splinters, the dirty windows were being busted into shards and customers were scurrying about, desperately trying to steady their wand arms and plant their feet.
Ty and Maureen worked their way towards the gaping doorway within a matter of minutes, plowing through whatever happened to cross their path. Gemma spotted them just as they reached the door way and was about to run after them when she was shoved hard in the back and knocked to the floor. Not soon after, she found herself dipping under an upturned table to avoid a rogue spell that ended up hitting the wall and bursting into flame.
"Shit," she murmured, watching the the orange flames rise to lick the ceiling.
"WHERE IS SHE?" she heard Ty question from somewhere to her right.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before pulling herself to her feet and taking aim at a rather large wizard getting ready to fire at her.
"Sorry about this," she whispered to herself. "STUPEFY!"
The brut of a man went rigid and toppled over onto a chair, crushing it.
"COME ON!" Maureen urged, waving frantically with her hands and starting out towards the street.
"Right," Gemma breathed, taking one last look at the man to make sure he was okay.
The trio ran outside into the midst of the fight and found a few familiar faces.
"What a way to spend a night, eh?" Samson grinned. The reflection of the fire inside the pub glinted in his black eyes.
"You're telling me!" Maureen agreed.
"Any sign of aurors yet?" Ty asked after sending another wizard face first into the dirt with a leg locker curse.
"Shouldn't be long now," Samson answered.
Out of nowhere, a burst of green light came flying at their heads and they ducked just in time to miss the worst of it.
Samson rounded on the witch it had come from and caught her with a jelly legs curse before she could hurry off.
"That bitch nearly set my hair on fire!" Maureen gasped, clutching a clump of the fried, yellow strands between her fingers.
"Well let's not stand around and wait for the next bastard to come along," Samson suggested. "Come on. We've got work to do."
They set off down the dark alley, firing at everything that was moving and blocking or dodging everything that came their way. For the most part they managed to stay together. But the farther ahead they got, the harder it became to look out for eachother. Eventually they were split up.
Gemma, who had been concentrating on remembering spells that would stun without injury, hadn't even noticed that this had happened. She just looked up and realized she was alone.
For a moment, she contemplated hiding in one of the abandoned shops and waiting for it all to end, but as she was thinking it through someone came up behind her.
"DON'T MOVE OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!"
Shocked, she fought to regain a steady breath.
"TURN AROUND SLOWLY AND DROP THE WAND!"
She did as she was told, circling around to face her attacker.
"Fuck, Gemma! Is that you!?" Kenneda screeched, squinting to see through the dim star light.
Gemma didn't reply. What was there to say?
"I can't believe this!" she continued. "ACCIO WAND!"
Gemma's wand left her fingers easily and flew into the hands of her friend.
"How could you do this!?"
"Kenneda..."
"How could you turn on us like this!?"
"Kenneda, I..." she started to answer, but was cut short.
"DIFFINDO!" Kenneda spat.
Gemma was smacked in the chest and knocked clear across the cobblestone street.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" Kenneda barked, watching her struggle to her knees and gasp for breath. "WE TRUSTED YOU FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!"
"Please..."
"DIFFINDO!" she repeated.
This time the spell hit her in the stomach and sent her sliding backwards into the outside corner of a robe shop. There was a sickening crack as her shoulder met the jagged edge of a brick and she couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain.
"Kenneda please," she begged between bouts of dizziness.
"OF ALL THE LOW DOWN THINGS TO DO!" she ranted. "AND RON! WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT!? DIDN'T HE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU!?"
As Kenneda went on, Gemma tried to think of a way to reach her wand. She'd never be able to pull it free without the use of both of arms.
"YOU WERE ONE OF THE BEST GEMMA!"
Her brain continued to swim with ideas. If she could just get Kenneda to come closer, to take a few steps forward.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT!?"
It was a long shot, but she had done some wandless magic once in a situation similar to the one she was in. She didn't know how she had done it - it just sort of...happened.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"
She closed her eyes and visualized her wand in her hand. The soft ridges at the grip, the smooth birchwood...
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
The wand, slipping from Kenneda's grasp, somehow made it to Gemma's hand and when it was secure between her fingers, she pointed it out in front of herself.
"How d-did you do that!?" Kenneda gasped, taking a few steps back.
Painfully and relying heavily on the wall behind her, she pulled herself up from the ground, keeping her hand as steady as possible the entire time. Her breathing was heavy and labored.
"Does it matter?" she asked.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I'm surprised you even have to ask."
"I didn't think you were the type to seek revenge."
Gemma gave her most believeable laugh. "Wouldn't you?"
"I like to believe I'm better than that," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Five years Kenneda. Five fucking years and for what? FOR WHAT!?"
"You were selling secrets Gemma."
She shook her head. "No. No I wasn't. But I am now."
"Don't do this," she pleaded. "Come back with us and talk to Fudge. I'm sure it'll all work out."
"I can't."
"If not for you, then for Ron. He loves you Gemma."
"You're wrong."
Kenneda lowered her wand and moved closer. "I've seen the way he looks at you."
"You weren't there..."
"What?"
Gemma's brain was going a mile a minute trying to come up with something to say.
"You weren't there that day...when I was fired. You didn't see his face when Fudge read off those accusations."
"He was probably just shocked."
"No...he doesn't love me anymore. I don't blame him."
Kenneda reached out a hand to her but Gemma flung her wand out straighter, grunting at the sharp pain in her shoulder.
"Stay back!" she ordered.
"Gemma...this...this is crazy."
"Do me a favor would you? Tell Fudge I said thankyou for fucking up my life."
"Gemma..." Kenneda started to protest but was stopped midsentence by a stunning spell. She fell over into a rigid little heap, unable to stop her wand from rolling away.
"Please stay out of my way," Gemma sighed as she moved past her.
By the time she found Ty again, most of the Death Eaters had either retreated or been captured and the streets were beginning to quiet down.
"Where've you been?" he asked when she came boudning around the corner.
"Around," she huffed. "Where's Maureen?"
"I haven't seen her...or anyone else for that matter."
"Well...what do we do now?"
"We clear out," he explained. "There's nothing else we can do tonight."
She let out a long breath. "All right."
No sooner had they appeared at Ty's flat than Dullison's house elf had appeared behind them.
"M-Ms. Herrin," it croaked, wrining it's hands nervously.
"Yes," she answered.
"Mr. D-Dullison wishes to s-see you."
"Now?"
"I-immedately."
She glanced over at Ty. "Don't wait up."
"Be careful," he retorted. "Don't turn your back."
"Are you kidding me," she snorted.
Dullsion Manor was as cold and miserable as ever. All the candles and fireplaces were out except for the ones in the study and the absence of noise only heightened the eery sound of the wind outside. It howled and scrame as though it were an ailing dog, the high-pitched wails settling in the pit of her stomach like a bucket of ice.
"M-Mr. Dullison is in h-here," the tiny creature said, standing back with his arm outstretched to guide her inside.
"Thankyou," she nodded and stepped over the threshold.
Dullison was sitting on one of the leather couches, staring into the fire and swirling the contents of his glass.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked, clinging tightly to her wand beneath her cloak.
He tilted his head back to look at her, a small grin curling the sides of his hideous mouth.
"Ah, Ms. Herrin," he breathed. "Please, take a seat."
"I'd rather not," she shook.
"I insist. You look absolutely beat."
"All the more reason for you to hurry with whatever it is you have to say."
"There's no need to be rude," he laughed. "I only wanted to say how pleased I was with your performance tonight."
"If that's all then," she began, turning around to head back out.
"You and Mr. Morrow were just about the last people left standing."
"I'm really very tired," she pressed.
"Brilliant, really."
"Mr. Dullison..."
"There's just one thing that puzzles me," he added, getting up from his seat and joining her by the door.
"What's that?" she sighed.
"You say you want revenge."
"And?"
"Yet when you're face to face with one of them, you're surprisingly merciful."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"A stunning spell?" he smirked. "Doesn't impedimenta or perhaps crucio seem more fitting?"
"I think my stunning spell worked quite nicely thankyou."
"I don't doubt...but you see, these people are our enemies. Once they're down, we don't want them to get back up."
"Believe me," Gemma retorted. "She couldn't have gotten back up on her own."
"Nevertheless, we WILL be seeing her again."
There was a short silence in which he captured her eyes. His stare was terrifying, harsh and cruel, and she struggled with maintaining a firm standing.
"I really have to go," she said.
He grabbed her wrist before she could leave and pulled her back to him. "Don't underestimate me Ms. Herrin. I know more than you think."
She yanked free and held his gaze. "I'd be surprised if you knew anything at all."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving him to ponder his latest recruit.
Chapter Thirteen
"What took you so long?" Ty asked when Gemma finally came back.
"I didn't feel well enough to apparate," she lied, dropping her clothes on the couch. "I had to wait."
She wanted to look at him, to meet his eyes, but she was terrified that he would see right through her - that he would somehow clue in and know who she'd been with. The flush on her cheeks was still as bright as it had been when Ron's lingering fingers had called it forth and she was almost certain that Ty could feel the heat radiating from her body. He MUST be able to. How could he not when she herself was still so happily dizzy from it? And even if he couldn't, surely he'd be able to sense her anxiety...or was it guilt?
"You don't look so good," he commented, studying her face.
"I'm just tired."
He stepped forward and placed a cool hand on her forehead causing her heart to stop mid-beat.
"You're hot."
"Er...well..."
"It must be fever from the wound," he sighed. "You should lie down."
Gemma breathed a deep sigh of relief and turned towards the bedroom.
"I'll be in in a minute," he called after her. "I'm just gonna make some tea."
Inside, she found one of his t-shirts in the closet and hastily threw it on before climbing under the sheets. The distressed cotton was soft against her warm skin and the coziness of it lulled her into a state of relaxation. Her head sank deep into the plush pillow and not long after, her weary joints loosened and she felt herself drifting off.
Another week passed without any word from Dullison or the other Death Eaters and as they waited, Gemma and Ty had to constantly remind themselves to breath. Dullison was planning something - something that would surely test her loyalty - and while Ty knew that the longer the wait the worse the mission would be, Gemma couldn help but feel relief. She tried to convince herself that it was all a bad dream and that she'd wake up any minute and find herself asleep at her desk at the Ministry, cold cup of coffee in her hands and Hermione skimming through the yellowed pages of Hogwart's a History. Sometimes, late at night when she was surrounded by silky darkness and the mark on her arm was no longer visible, she allowed herself to believe that none of it had happened - that the man next to her was the man she loved and the tearing at her heart wasn't guilt but happiness.
Finally, around one in the morning on a Friday, Gemma and Ty were roused from their sleep by a quick 'crack' and a hoarse voice.
"Get up you God damn gits!" Maureen barked, waving her wand and blowing the covers from the bed.
"Whatthehell!" Ty yelped, rolling over and rubbing his eyes free of sleep.
"Get up!" she repeated. "We've got work to do!"
Gemma was up without hesitation and rushed to throw on the jeans and jumper that she kept beside the bed.
"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into," Maureen stated, watching her bend over to tug on her shoes. "You're all Dullison talks about these days."
"Is that good or bad?" she asked, standing up and snatching her wand from the nightstand.
"It's not bad...but it's not good either," she explained. "It really comes down to what kind of mood he's in."
"How's his mood today?"
She let out a light cackle. "It could be worse."
Ty grunted softly as he pulled on his shirt. "Who are we going for this time?"
"All I know is that we're headed to Romania."
"Romania?" Gemma questioned.
"Romania," she repeated.
"Any idea who we're fighting?"
"The usual set of aurors I'd imagine. I wouldn't be surprised if you knew them."
Gemma's heart skipped a beat. What if Ron was there? What if she had to fight him?
"Well I'm ready if you are," Ty added, pulling on his cloak and glancing over at the two girls.
They nodded and with three loud 'cracks' they were gone.
They arrived just outside of The Pheonix Feather and almost immediately, Gemma noticed the ominous figure just down the alley. Maureen caught his eyes and nodded. Gently - discreetly, she ushered them inside.
"Wands ready?" she whispered as they took a seat at a table in the back.
The couple nodded.
"What's our sign?" Ty asked.
Just then there was a loud explosion outside followed by the unsettling sound of shattering glass and a woman screaming.
"We just got it," Maureen snickered.
A tall, lanky wizard at the bar jumped up from his seat. "Bloody hell!" he shrieked. "C'mon Bill!"
His chubby friend started to follow suit, but Ty quickly yanked out his wand and thrust it in their direction.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" he shouted and the two men's wands soared across the room.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" the tall man shouted.
He replied by throwing them over the bar with a particularly nasty hurling hex and in the next few seconds, it seemed like the world was being turned upside down. Outside, multicolored flashes of lights were being shot back and forth from wizard to wizard, colliding with everything in their path. Inside, the pub was being torn to bits by frantic witch's and wizard's poorly aimed spells. The small, round tables were being blown into thick brown splinters, the dirty windows were being busted into shards and customers were scurrying about, desperately trying to steady their wand arms and plant their feet.
Ty and Maureen worked their way towards the gaping doorway within a matter of minutes, plowing through whatever happened to cross their path. Gemma spotted them just as they reached the door way and was about to run after them when she was shoved hard in the back and knocked to the floor. Not soon after, she found herself dipping under an upturned table to avoid a rogue spell that ended up hitting the wall and bursting into flame.
"Shit," she murmured, watching the the orange flames rise to lick the ceiling.
"WHERE IS SHE?" she heard Ty question from somewhere to her right.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before pulling herself to her feet and taking aim at a rather large wizard getting ready to fire at her.
"Sorry about this," she whispered to herself. "STUPEFY!"
The brut of a man went rigid and toppled over onto a chair, crushing it.
"COME ON!" Maureen urged, waving frantically with her hands and starting out towards the street.
"Right," Gemma breathed, taking one last look at the man to make sure he was okay.
The trio ran outside into the midst of the fight and found a few familiar faces.
"What a way to spend a night, eh?" Samson grinned. The reflection of the fire inside the pub glinted in his black eyes.
"You're telling me!" Maureen agreed.
"Any sign of aurors yet?" Ty asked after sending another wizard face first into the dirt with a leg locker curse.
"Shouldn't be long now," Samson answered.
Out of nowhere, a burst of green light came flying at their heads and they ducked just in time to miss the worst of it.
Samson rounded on the witch it had come from and caught her with a jelly legs curse before she could hurry off.
"That bitch nearly set my hair on fire!" Maureen gasped, clutching a clump of the fried, yellow strands between her fingers.
"Well let's not stand around and wait for the next bastard to come along," Samson suggested. "Come on. We've got work to do."
They set off down the dark alley, firing at everything that was moving and blocking or dodging everything that came their way. For the most part they managed to stay together. But the farther ahead they got, the harder it became to look out for eachother. Eventually they were split up.
Gemma, who had been concentrating on remembering spells that would stun without injury, hadn't even noticed that this had happened. She just looked up and realized she was alone.
For a moment, she contemplated hiding in one of the abandoned shops and waiting for it all to end, but as she was thinking it through someone came up behind her.
"DON'T MOVE OR I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!"
Shocked, she fought to regain a steady breath.
"TURN AROUND SLOWLY AND DROP THE WAND!"
She did as she was told, circling around to face her attacker.
"Fuck, Gemma! Is that you!?" Kenneda screeched, squinting to see through the dim star light.
Gemma didn't reply. What was there to say?
"I can't believe this!" she continued. "ACCIO WAND!"
Gemma's wand left her fingers easily and flew into the hands of her friend.
"How could you do this!?"
"Kenneda..."
"How could you turn on us like this!?"
"Kenneda, I..." she started to answer, but was cut short.
"DIFFINDO!" Kenneda spat.
Gemma was smacked in the chest and knocked clear across the cobblestone street.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" Kenneda barked, watching her struggle to her knees and gasp for breath. "WE TRUSTED YOU FOR MERLIN'S SAKE!"
"Please..."
"DIFFINDO!" she repeated.
This time the spell hit her in the stomach and sent her sliding backwards into the outside corner of a robe shop. There was a sickening crack as her shoulder met the jagged edge of a brick and she couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain.
"Kenneda please," she begged between bouts of dizziness.
"OF ALL THE LOW DOWN THINGS TO DO!" she ranted. "AND RON! WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT!? DIDN'T HE MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU!?"
As Kenneda went on, Gemma tried to think of a way to reach her wand. She'd never be able to pull it free without the use of both of arms.
"YOU WERE ONE OF THE BEST GEMMA!"
Her brain continued to swim with ideas. If she could just get Kenneda to come closer, to take a few steps forward.
"WHY DID YOU DO IT!?"
It was a long shot, but she had done some wandless magic once in a situation similar to the one she was in. She didn't know how she had done it - it just sort of...happened.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"
She closed her eyes and visualized her wand in her hand. The soft ridges at the grip, the smooth birchwood...
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
The wand, slipping from Kenneda's grasp, somehow made it to Gemma's hand and when it was secure between her fingers, she pointed it out in front of herself.
"How d-did you do that!?" Kenneda gasped, taking a few steps back.
Painfully and relying heavily on the wall behind her, she pulled herself up from the ground, keeping her hand as steady as possible the entire time. Her breathing was heavy and labored.
"Does it matter?" she asked.
"Why are you doing this?"
"I'm surprised you even have to ask."
"I didn't think you were the type to seek revenge."
Gemma gave her most believeable laugh. "Wouldn't you?"
"I like to believe I'm better than that," she stated matter-of-factly.
"Five years Kenneda. Five fucking years and for what? FOR WHAT!?"
"You were selling secrets Gemma."
She shook her head. "No. No I wasn't. But I am now."
"Don't do this," she pleaded. "Come back with us and talk to Fudge. I'm sure it'll all work out."
"I can't."
"If not for you, then for Ron. He loves you Gemma."
"You're wrong."
Kenneda lowered her wand and moved closer. "I've seen the way he looks at you."
"You weren't there..."
"What?"
Gemma's brain was going a mile a minute trying to come up with something to say.
"You weren't there that day...when I was fired. You didn't see his face when Fudge read off those accusations."
"He was probably just shocked."
"No...he doesn't love me anymore. I don't blame him."
Kenneda reached out a hand to her but Gemma flung her wand out straighter, grunting at the sharp pain in her shoulder.
"Stay back!" she ordered.
"Gemma...this...this is crazy."
"Do me a favor would you? Tell Fudge I said thankyou for fucking up my life."
"Gemma..." Kenneda started to protest but was stopped midsentence by a stunning spell. She fell over into a rigid little heap, unable to stop her wand from rolling away.
"Please stay out of my way," Gemma sighed as she moved past her.
By the time she found Ty again, most of the Death Eaters had either retreated or been captured and the streets were beginning to quiet down.
"Where've you been?" he asked when she came boudning around the corner.
"Around," she huffed. "Where's Maureen?"
"I haven't seen her...or anyone else for that matter."
"Well...what do we do now?"
"We clear out," he explained. "There's nothing else we can do tonight."
She let out a long breath. "All right."
No sooner had they appeared at Ty's flat than Dullison's house elf had appeared behind them.
"M-Ms. Herrin," it croaked, wrining it's hands nervously.
"Yes," she answered.
"Mr. D-Dullison wishes to s-see you."
"Now?"
"I-immedately."
She glanced over at Ty. "Don't wait up."
"Be careful," he retorted. "Don't turn your back."
"Are you kidding me," she snorted.
Dullsion Manor was as cold and miserable as ever. All the candles and fireplaces were out except for the ones in the study and the absence of noise only heightened the eery sound of the wind outside. It howled and scrame as though it were an ailing dog, the high-pitched wails settling in the pit of her stomach like a bucket of ice.
"M-Mr. Dullison is in h-here," the tiny creature said, standing back with his arm outstretched to guide her inside.
"Thankyou," she nodded and stepped over the threshold.
Dullison was sitting on one of the leather couches, staring into the fire and swirling the contents of his glass.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked, clinging tightly to her wand beneath her cloak.
He tilted his head back to look at her, a small grin curling the sides of his hideous mouth.
"Ah, Ms. Herrin," he breathed. "Please, take a seat."
"I'd rather not," she shook.
"I insist. You look absolutely beat."
"All the more reason for you to hurry with whatever it is you have to say."
"There's no need to be rude," he laughed. "I only wanted to say how pleased I was with your performance tonight."
"If that's all then," she began, turning around to head back out.
"You and Mr. Morrow were just about the last people left standing."
"I'm really very tired," she pressed.
"Brilliant, really."
"Mr. Dullison..."
"There's just one thing that puzzles me," he added, getting up from his seat and joining her by the door.
"What's that?" she sighed.
"You say you want revenge."
"And?"
"Yet when you're face to face with one of them, you're surprisingly merciful."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"A stunning spell?" he smirked. "Doesn't impedimenta or perhaps crucio seem more fitting?"
"I think my stunning spell worked quite nicely thankyou."
"I don't doubt...but you see, these people are our enemies. Once they're down, we don't want them to get back up."
"Believe me," Gemma retorted. "She couldn't have gotten back up on her own."
"Nevertheless, we WILL be seeing her again."
There was a short silence in which he captured her eyes. His stare was terrifying, harsh and cruel, and she struggled with maintaining a firm standing.
"I really have to go," she said.
He grabbed her wrist before she could leave and pulled her back to him. "Don't underestimate me Ms. Herrin. I know more than you think."
She yanked free and held his gaze. "I'd be surprised if you knew anything at all."
With that, she turned on her heel and stormed out, leaving him to ponder his latest recruit.