One hour later, as Stephen made his way into camp, he was stopped dead with a feeling of dread. Something just wasn't right and he didn't know how he knew. He just did. Not wasting any time he hurried toward Poppy's tent, but as he neared it he noticed a small group of soldiers huddled together, talking and speaking in frantic tones.
What's all this?
As he neared the group he could make out the figure they were hovering over and trying to revive: Theodosia. His heart skipped a beat, numbness stealing over him for a moment before he sprang to life. "Excuse me, I'm a healer, what's happened here?" Stephen asked as he came to kneel by her form, feeling for her pulse. He found it. Thin and light it was, but it was there still. He barely breathed in relief. "Not sure. We found her like this not a few minutes ago. All the other healers are out bringing in the wounded from the field," one dirt caked soldier informed him, his eye twitching.
"I see," murmured Stephen, looking into Theodosia's eyes before he performed a diagnostic spell on her. Apparently everything was fine, she was only sleeping, but he knew this was no natural sleep. Some sleeping potion was behind this, and he deduced quite easily who had been the culprit. That could only mean one thing. "Where is the healer, Poppy Pomfrey?" Stephen glanced up after he had coaxing an antidote into the petite woman's mouth, forcing her to swallow.
The soldiers glanced between each other before returning their gazes to him, their eyes shifty and sheepish. "We don't know, actually. She's not out in the field with the others and she's nowhere in camp, but her things are still here..." the eye-twitching soldier trailed off lamely.
Having known that would be the answer he'd receive, he forced down his frustration with himself for not having been able to come sooner, not having been here to prevent this, to protect his friends when they needed it most. Keeping his sigh to himself, he lifted Theodosia into his arms. "I'll be looking into this matter, thank you gentlemen. If you'll excuse me, I shall appropriate Miss Pomfrey's tent and tend to Miss Mellers, here" he told the group and didn't wait to hear their response.
Carrying her carefully, he stepped into the tent and laid her down on the cot and stood waiting as the antidote brought her around. Her eyes moved behind her eyelids and her breathing became less steady as she tried to move, tried to speak. It looked like it was taking her great effort to do the simplest things of opening her eyes, of opening her mouth to speak and force her voice to work.
"Danger... Poppy... mirror in pocket... use," Theodosia managed to rasp out, taking labored breaths, her eyes tired and exhausted beyond belief. "Mirror in your pocket? Use it?" Stephen frowned, ignoring the first part of what she'd tried to say, as he already knew Poppy was in danger, which was beyond him at the moment. He had nowhere to look, could only guess at where the villain would be hiding her. He did know she couldn't be dead, however. Purely instinctual, he mused as he watched Theodosia gesture to her pocket, her index finger pointed. "Mirror... use," she reiterated, still rasping.
Stephen nodded, following her directions in withdrawing the hand mirror from her pocket, holding it in front of him. Before he could do anything, mutter any incantations, the mirrors surfaced rippled and shimmered to produce an image of Belladonna a moment later. She frowned, seeing it was who it was. "Not a word, I'm on my way," she told him and her image disappeared.
Doesn't waste time, this one. It's no wonder she excelled in her training and finished early.
Waiting, Stephen sat on the seat beside Theodosia, taking her hand in his, to comfort both the both of them, moving to replace the mirror in her pocket as he did.
Belladonna wasted no time in tossing on her cloak and leaving her house. She apparated just outside of Poppy's tent, moving back the flap and entering in one fluid motion. "I'd keep that mirror, Stephen, if I were you," she informed him, prompting him to heed her and rise to his feet. Theodosia, however, barely glanced in her direction upon hearing her voice.
"What's he done to you?" Belladonna asked, her heart constricting in anger, not towards the petite healer, but towards Aurelius. Theodosia made to sit up, Stephen springing to action, helping her balance herself. "Fast acting sleeping potion," she informed the tall golden haired Unspeakable. "And as you can see, Poppy has been taken," Stephen put in dryly, though his green eyes barely flashed with anger. At his words, Theodosia laid herself back down, her eyes closed. "I failed her," she rasped, clearly guilty and upset.
"No, you didn't fail her, you did what you could and I for one thank you," Belladonna shook her head, trying to comfort the petite healer in her own way, offering a half smile. She then looked to Stephen, offering her trademark smirk. "I'll also not have you blame yourself in any way, either," she told him before he could say anything.
Stephen shook his head. "I should have tried to get here sooner, but alas, I didn't and I cannot change that. However, I can offer my services to you, and ask what else can be done, what else I can do to try to bring Poppy back," came his clear and sincere response, his eyes locked on Belladonna's. She had to admit, she was truly touched by his sincerity, but now was not the time to get misty eyed, no, not in the least. Theodosia also made to speak once more, but as Belladonna could only guess that she'd say the same as Stephen, she cut her off. "I know what you're going to say and no, these soldiers need you more at the moment. You have done enough," before she turned back to Stephen, weighing his offer. "I will accept your offer of help, but you must know, this'll be a dangerous undertaking," she told him.
"As I am fully aware, but will just say this, I had more than enough aptitude and ability to go into auror training, but I hadn't had the motivation for such an endeavor. Now, however, I have prodigious amount of motivation," he explained dryly, his arms crossed, his demeanor quite serious. It really did warm her heart to see it. "All right, Doctor," Belladonna teased lightly, before turning to Theodosia again. "I thank you once more, Theodosia. Poppy is lucky to have you for a friend," she comforted her. Theodosia smirked, still quite lethargic, but apparently feeling better. "I could say the same for you," she returned.
Belladonna rolled her eyes and waved it off, though, she was secretly touched. She said her goodbye to Theodosia and left the tent, beckoning for Stephen to follow her outside. "Since we have Danny taking care of your place for the moment, perhaps you'd not mind staying with me? It would be far easier to reach you if you were where I am. I also wonder if you might be able to take a little time off, if you were indeed serious in your offer," she requested of him, perfectly comfortable in their professional relationship when others would be blushing or averting their eyes if they were to say the same thing.
He thought about it a moment before answering, his eyes grave. "Both can be arranged. Shall I call upon you tomorrow, at your residence, once I have settled the matter with the senior healers?" Stephen inquired, his voice never changing its calm and musical light Irish lilt. Nodding, she gave him her address and finalized their plans before she bid him goodbye. "Thank you, Stephen. I truly appreciate your help," she told him, giving him a quick hug, which he returned in like. "No need to thank me. It is quite unnecessary. I shall see you tomorrow. Stay safe," he told her, releasing her from the hug.
"Ditto, Doctor, until tomorrow," was her response before she disapparated, plotting out her new plan. She would need reinforcements.
That same evening, Stewart was interrupted in his jazzy madcap piano playing by a knock at the door. "Friend or foe?" Stewart called, rising and moving towards the door. "That depends. Serenade me and I will certainly not be friendly, Stew," came the response through the door. Recognizing the sarcastic wit and the clipped and light twanging North Carolina accent of Belladonna, he grinned and opened the door. "Oy, I thought everyone loved my dulcet tones!"
She shook her head and entered inside. "Come and sit, make yourself at home! I just love having a day off! Though, really, not so much a day off, but a day to get collected before they send me out on another mission, Merlin knows where," Stewart rattled off, gesturing for her to sit on the sofa, as he moved about, vanishing the odd bits of food and clothes that he'd left lying around. "Fancy a butterbeer? When's the last time you ate? You know... food?" Stewart asked of her, grinning his daffy grin at her hoisted eyebrows.
"This morning, but that's beside the point-" she began before he cut her off, looking more than incredulous. "This morning?! Egad! No, you're eating, not if's and's or but's," he told her and conjured up a plate of éclairs and a bottle of butterbeer for her. Belladonna, however, glanced at the food and turned away, as if it turned her stomach to look at. "I'm quite fine, thank you, Stew, but you need to sit down, please," she implored in her steely sort of voice; her eyes flitting back to focus on him.
I don't like the sound of this... I can tell something has happened.
Stewart didn't sit, but serious immediately coated him, covering the daft eccentricity. "Something's happened, hasn't it?" Stewart asked, his voice less light and mirthful. She nodded, her expression so alien without the trademark smirk or even her occasional half smile. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Poppy's been abducted, and I am sure you know by whom," Belladonna began without preamble.
His knees buckled and he sat down heavily onto the piano bench, his heart heavy, feeling like he'd just been hit with a few stunners. He was completely winded by the very thought that Poppy, his baby sister, could be dead, could be hurt, could be a million things. He was suddenly angry then, angry thinking and picturing Aurelius in his mind. Red-hot loathing spread through him then, bringing him back to life. "What information do you have? A locale? Any slight hint as to where they could be?" Stewart quizzed her, getting to his feet again, his hands clenched, more than ready to jump to action and get down to business. "No, nothing conclusive. I know you won't be easily assured with anything until she is found, but I am on this, though it would be nice to have your help, aside from just Stephen's," Belladonna responded, also rising to her feet.
A confused expression settled onto his face, replacing the anger, putting her in mind of Stewart's truest form, the daffy lighthearted form. "Stephen? Our resident naturalist is involved?" Stewart inquired, perplexed at the very idea, though he meant no insult to his friend, a former fellow Ravenclaw. "Let me start this from the beginning," she smirked, relating to him everything, all the events leading up to that very afternoon, leaving nothing out for his benefit.
By the end of the narrative, Stewart was shaking his head in surprise and appreciation. "You really have done all you could. You're something else, Bella," he told her honestly, truly touched by her steadfast friendship. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "No, I am not. If I really were something else and done all I could do, none of this would have happened. You see, there's still something I have left out that you need to know about. I think I can trust you, a friend and fellow Unspeakable with this," she admitted, and launched into her best-kept secret about her being a metamorphagi, and her ability to use that and act as a double agent, infiltrating the Fatali, all of which was completely unofficial and unaffiliated with the Ministry. Stewart was immensely surprised to know she did this all of her own volition, for her own personal reasons, asking nothing in return for her services; services which no one even knew about.
All Stewart could do was stare at her in surprise when she had finished relaying everything to him. "Merlin, but you are secret. Egad, how did you ever keep all of this to yourself? No one knows? Absolutely no one?" Stewart fired one question after another, most curious. She smirked once more, shaking her head again. "No one knows except for you now. Not even Danny. Though, really, we can talk about me any old time. I need to know if you'll be able to help me," Belladonna waved away the questions and soldiered on. "Egad, are you mad?! Of course you'll have my help, all that and more. Merlin, my baby sister's in danger, and you expect me NOT to help?" Stewart sputtered, aghast with the idea.
"No, I didn't expect you to refuse, but I just wanted to make sure," she rolled her eyes. "In any case, I need to know if you might be open to staying at my house for the next while. It would work so much better if I were able to contact you if you are where I am, for the most part. Stephen will be there too," Belladonna added, brushing her golden curls from her eyes. "Aye, aye. That can be easily arranged, say no more, say no more," Stewart nodded and saluted in his usual daffy fashion. Belladonna couldn't help but laugh at him. "Right. Now, shall we get you packed up? At the rate we're going, my house will now be a headquarters of sorts," she snorted at the very idea. "Headquarters indeed!" Stewart guffawed before he headed off to pack up what he needed.
She followed and offered assistance and between the two of them they were quite ready. "So, to headquarters, captain?" Stewart winked. She could tell he was trying to use his daffiness again. It was his best defense mechanism after all. "Yes, and tomorrow, I'll see to adding to our number, oh daft one," Belladonna rolled her eyes and led him to her home.
I wonder whom she'll be recruiting to our cause. I suppose I'll be finding out soon.