He did not need anyone telling him anything, he alone had enough ideas and scenarios to grind his mind to a mess, there was no need for anyone to add to it, however there she was, in front of his apartment door, once more early in the morning, barging in, again without even bothering to take off her shoes "What is it now Tonks?" exasperation coated his voice, which he did not even try to hide anymore.
"I need to ask, it will sound bad, but I need to know." She turned around on the spot, wide eyes filled with worry "What did you do?"
Exhaling slowly, he tried to redirect the conversation, however he knew sooner or later she would just circle back to her initial ideas and concerns. However he did not posses the answers she was looking for.
June had passed in a blink of an eye, and just like that without even knowing so did two weeks of July, however that time did not go unnoticed. The letters stopped coming in, not only for Talbott, but for the rest as well. Talia just stopped, after several months she just suddenly stopped. The only thing that still arrived was the package with sweets she sent on a monthly basis, that containing one simple note "Sorry, been busy, hope you are all well." Nothing more, nothing less.
That, coupled with the fact that he learned Charlie returned and also visited the Ministry while he was still in the hospital recuperating really irked him to no end. That also made him worry sick since he told Tonks about the dragon incident where Talia came to his and Felix's rescue. Of all the reckless things she could do or did, that had to be at the top of the list for certain.
Charlie also not visiting him was another thing entirely. It was not as if they were necessarily friends, however they did have their fair amount of interactions during their school years and from what Bill mentioned, his brother was up to date with the entire Talia predicament. In his mind it was either Charlie did not wish to see him, or Talia told him express not to.
"I didn't do anything Tonks. She just stopped writing." Closing the door since it was obvious she was not going to leave the apartment anytime soon, he invited her inside the kitchen in order to offer her a cup of coffee. He watched her pour four lumps of sugar, which made him wrinkle his nose in disgust, even for someone like him that had a sweet tooth, that was overly excessive.
"Something must have happened." She took a sip, deciding to add a bit more sugar before concluding it was sweet enough, however Talbott looked like he was going to be sick on her behalf "I mean, why shut everyone out just like that?"
Rolling his eyes, he took his own cup in his hand, not because he actually wanted to drink, but in fear that Tonks might start adding sugar in his as well "Maybe she's plotting something, who knows? Or maybe she got sick of us." He stopped mid action while wanting to lift to cup to his lips, just to stare at her scrunched face and hair changing color.
"Are you being serious right now? Why would she…you know what? Maybe you're right, maybe she did get sick of us trying to not tell her about how you are and what you are doing." She retaliated in full force, Talbott performing another dramatic eyeroll.
"Spare me." He leveled her with a glare "You have still continued to feed her all sorts of information despite my express wishes, so don't point fingers at me." Taking a sip from his cup to calm his nerves and prevent himself from saying something he might regret, Tonks still continued.
She calmed down a fraction, leaning against the counter, however she was still agitated "What if something did happen?"
"Like what?" he quickly countered, already deciding he had enough of the discussion "She can scare off fucking dragons, she can come back from the dead. I think she's got it covered."
His eyes widened as Tonks put down the cup with such force that the handle broke off, content spilling "Right, because she's just a weapon without feelings." If he would have been face to face with a man, Talbott would have surely used force, despite it not being his go to. He would not have anyone talk like that, no matter who they were. However, despite not laying a finger on her, he still had to give her a piece of her mind.
"Do not EVER attempt to put words in my mouth." He saw her trying to appear smaller under his harsh tone, eyes averting to the mess she made on the counter "I know she is suffering, I know she is alone there, because I sent her there." His eyes appeared dangerous, each word dripping with all the pain and hurt he had been desperately trying to bottle up "You don't get to come into my home, point fingers without knowing everything."
"Talbott I…"
"No." he brutally cut her off "Everyone has a bloody opinion on me and Talia when none of you should. Do you think I haven't been worried sick? I wanted to go there, write, but I might end up doing worse, take the danger to her and what then Tonks? Tell me what then?" he breathed in hard as if he had run with all his might, calming down only when she approached him, wrapping her arms around him.
His entire body was under shock, Talbott not knowing what to do with the situation given "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about both of you. I just don't want to see this damaging either of you."
"Too late." He sighed, pushing her away from him, face averting as to not look at her worried expression "We are both damaged already, it is how it is."
Tonks just nodded, action which he noticed from the corner of his eye "You know Talbott, there will never be a right time, danger will always follow us, we're Aurors." Glancing back at her, the kept his jaw clenched refusing to say anything more "But she knew that, she was ready to become one of us. So go if you want to, write, this situation, this silence it's absurd." Her hands rose to rest on his shoulders "Make it a good time, stop waiting for one to come out of nowhere."
"Alright. I understand what you're saying." He nodded in defeat.
Grinning from ear to ear, she finally let him go since she knew he did not appreciate being backed up into a corner "Good, or else I would think the sorting hat placed you in the wrong house."
He knew well enough he had absolutely no right to send a letter asking for an explanation, however it was more or less exactly how he wanted to handle the situation he was in. Silence countering silence would result in a deafening affair, each losing themselves in a nameless dance, a forgotten song with no lyrics. Was she actually giving him a taste of his own medicine? If so, she was far better than he was at the game. If he knew her at least as well as he thought, she was handling it, she was keeping her head up high.
More than likely the letters were a show of weakness, Talia carrying her heart on her sleeve.
So if she stopped, she was getting over him, them, moving past the memories their created together.
Walking into the office, his brows furrowed as he saw a box on his desk, addressed to him. The address stated it was from Romania, however it appeared to be different from the usual location "What are you doing Talia?" opening the package, again it was filled with sweets and small souvenirs, a single note in her handwriting sticking out from between the content "An awesome gang deserves a sweet break. Talia."
Frowning, he closed it back up, sticking it under his desk just as Moody entered "Gear up Winger, you're going to Azkaban. Sirius Black has escaped early this morning and I need you to go investigate."
Everyone knew of the Black name, especially Sirius, especially given his connection to the Potter family and why he was convicted all those years ago.
Executing the direct order, Talbott wasted no time in heading out in order to investigate if anything could be of use at the prison. If he broke out unassisted as the initial report stated, then who knew what the rest of the prisoners were plotting. Prisoners like Munday, the Cranes, the list continuing on and on.
Talbott was never a believer in Divination, signs and such, however it appeared that life was indeed trying to send him a message. Every time he was close to making up his mind, something happened that made him take a few steps back in order to assess the situation all over again.
Evil was spreading its large dark wings, it started growing and gathering strength and for all that it was worth, it appeared that anything good started to slowly and gradually fade away. He had a close call not long ago, what was to say he would not be the one to go head to head with Sirius Black and lose? He was out there risking his neck day and night and at the end of the day, the entire turmoil appeared to barely make a dent.
As if he had nothing to show for, nothing to truly give him a bit of comfort. The last shred of hope that he still held died out when the letters stopped coming in and he knew he was to blame for it, however he still resented her in a way. He knew it was silly, he knew it should not ever have crossed his mind, yet the anger kept him grounded in a sense, kept him steady.
Yet he knew if she would suddenly appear in front of him, his knees would grow weak, his breath would hitch and his heart would take tumbles. And all that resentment would fade away instantly, just because of her and her wide eyes looking into his own, those eyes that would always question everything, yet also grant him answers.
Not like the cell that belonged to Sirius Black for so many years did. Yet Talbott was a tad impressed, he managed to escape due to his Animagus form. If he was trying to be honest, he would actually state he was genuinely curious as to how he managed to even keen his sanity.
Despite the vacant cell with little clues, he still did not leave, instead deciding to check up on the Cranes. Josephine was still at it, talking to the walls, digging small holes with her dirty nails. One good thing was all the Ministry did. Despite her obviously having gone insane, they still Obliviated the years of the ritual. She still knew of Talia, yet could not remember much more, apart from her obvious dislike of her own blood.
However, Constantine Crane was the total opposite. Cold, calm and collected, his eyes taking in Talbott's form "Well, well, if it isn't you." In his case, the Ministry had to go back and erase almost all of his memory, apart from recent days. Yet he still knew Talbott was the one that captured him and he still knew he had a child "How is my little princess?" the heir to the Crane legacy.
"Never better, unlike you." Talbott's eyebrows lifted slightly as his eyes flickered to the chains surrounding him.
Constantine smirked upon hearing that, eyes closing slowly, brows drawn together "You know Winger, even with a clear mind and not many memories, I can tell you one thing." Looking back into his eyes, he saw that calculated stare "She will make me proud."
"I'm certain of it." Closing the small door to his cell, his footsteps echoed against the stone floor. If there was one thing Talia had, that was potential. There was something familiar in both her and Constantine, that cold predatorial stare had been passed on to her, no doubt about it. Yet she was her own person, set of forging her own path.
She would definitely make the name proud, just not in the way Constantine wished or wanted.
"Well, well, I figured I recognized that voice." Talbott stopped, looking at the name scribbled next to the cell "How did it feel, to take him down? How did it feel to have that wild blood boil in your veins?"
"What do you want Munday?" peering inside the cell, those dark beady eyes glistened.
Shrugging his shoulders, he smiled, action forced and fake "Oh not much, just waiting for time to pass." Talbott hated it, yet the deed was done. Mirunna had spoke with Ministry officials, telling them it was due to Jasper Munday's help that they located Talia and managed to capture Constantine "How is Talia really?"
He continued to watch Talbott's eyes glaring back at him inside the dark, damp cell, his sinister smile growing larger.
"Send her my regards when you manage to see her." Why Mirunna chose to take such actions in order to reduce his sentence by a few good years was beyond him. She even visited him regularly, which was also concerning "If you manage to see her. With such a sour expression I can only imagine you two are having a lover's spat?"
"You should be left here, to rot away."
Tilting his head to the side, Jasper smirked "Now, now mister Winger, is this really how you show your appreciation? It would appear the pillar is crumbling and I truly am curious as to why."
Taking a step back, Talbott turned on his heels, heading towards the exit.
If someone can have feelings for a monster like Jasper Munday, still try to save him, why did he suddenly feel as if he was worse than him? Not morally, as he knew what needed to be done, yet somewhere, deep inside his core, it felt as if something dark brewed and he knew of only one potion strong enough to destroy all shadows of doubt, hurt and pain.
However the times when she would jump in to save him were long gone.