The knocks on the door fell of deaf ears, sounds echoing inside the small shed, however no one opened from within. Cursing, Talia ran a hand through her hair, mind working on several other options. For the last three days she had travelled from the Dragon Sanctuary to the village, just to find the portkey office closed. Everyday she would linger, killing several hours and burning multiple cigarettes while watching, however no one ever came to open the padlock securing the rusty chains.
It was not normal, something clearly happened and she could not shake the feeling of being trapped.
She could procure a false Muggle passport, however that would take a few days of running around like crazy and she did not really enjoy flying via plane. That was one of the Muggle contraptions that still baffled her, made her anxious and too alert, however given the circumstances, she was actually considering going through all that trouble. Overall it would be a lot faster than driving to England and risk having her car breaking down halfway through, if luck was on her side.
Yet it was not, had not been for a while.
Curse the Death Eaters, she barely evaded them while returning to the Sanctuary. Charlie eagerly waited for her return, Talia being surprised Talbott reached out to him. In his hands a letter, a very long one all addressed to her, one neither were sure she would ever get to read, however fate did appear to favor Talbott more than her.
Apologies by the dozen poured, quill pressed too hard against the paper as he scribbled words, bleeding ink onto the parchment in certain areas. She only needed to read it once before burning it to ashes. Any sort of regret from his part made her skin itch, any apologetic words were lost somewhere at the back of her head, there were far more important things in the works.
Yet she still thought of him and returning.
"I'm a bloody idiot." She whispered, wiping the sweat from her neck. She had been sitting under a tree, watching the portkey office door for the past couple of hours, as if she expected her glares to magically make it open. Digging a finger into the cigarette pack, she sighed annoyed realizing there were none left.
Lifting herself from the ground, she dusted her pants with one hand, while with the other she threw the empty carton towards a nearby trash can, missing it by a hair "I can't catch a break can I?" Talia yelled out, earning her a few stares from the people passing by, as she marched over to collect the garbage and angrily throw it in its proper place.
There were too many lingering emotions and she knew that. With everything happening she felt as if she had not been herself in such a long time, as if a part of her had been ripped apart from her against her will. Then again, there was a lot of that going around lately.
But she was certain all would change once she managed to smack Talbott upside the head, yell in his face and then forgive him. Because she knew, despite his betrayal, that she had already forgiven him, however she always made certain to never forget. It was the way she worked, the only thing still keeping her grounded.
However the anger bubbling in her gut could barely be contained.
"Over there." Hearing English being spoken with such urgency, especially in a Romanian village where many barely could string two words together, made her stop entirely, muscles tensing. The air buzzed with magic, something that should not be happening out in the open like that.
Like a shadow, she moved, concealing her form, following the source like a predator.
"You're coming with us Rosier." A grunt followed, spell leaving a wand as Felix was knocked against a wall, body falling to the ground. He rose his eyes to stare at the Death Eaters, gritting his teeth in defiance at his enemies.
"I am going nowhere with you." He hissed trying to get back up, only to be forced back into the dirt, a boot being pressed against his chest.
Peering around the corner, Talia saw only three Death Eaters, all with their wands out and on high alert. If she attacked, they still had a chance to back her into a corner and take Felix with them. Rapidly structuring the plan inside her head, she placed her wand back in its holder, fingers working on unbuttoning her shirt.
Stepping from around the building, she paused, hands crossed over her chest "I can't believe you are all so incompetent, how long does it fucking take you to bring one man in?" in a second all eyes and wands were directed at her.
"Who the bloody hell are you?"
Talia glared, pointing a finger at the Death Eater who decided to address the question "The one to clean up your mess and ensure you don't botch this." Lowering her hand, she started walking towards him, but as she anticipated, no one attacked since she did not have her own wand out "If I have to present myself to you, then you truly are useless." She smacked his hand, the rest closing in on her, now more alert and tense.
"State your name, I won't ask again." He waved the wand in her face, its tip lighting up slightly.
Cocking a brow, Talia turned to look at them "No one? I'm offended, it appears I am losing my touch." The men kept looking at her, taking note of the scars, stealing glances at each other. The oldest one of them slightly lowered his wand, connections going up in his head like fireworks, Talia smirking "And there it is. Finally." She clapped mockingly "I assume you know my father?"
"I do, yes, but while you are his daughter, I don't know you personally. You should have been dead."
Rolling her eyes, she huffed, foot tapping impatiently "Well, being dead is not something that appeals to my tastes." Pursing her lips, she shook her head "Now, say my name."
"Talia Crane." The words rolled off his tongue in a hungry manner, Talia smiling.
"Good, very good." she glanced at Felix, his eyes wide in horror as he continued to look at her, face pale in fright as Talia just leaned in slightly "Don't worry Rosier, I will take good care of you."
As wands slowly lowered, two of the men sent after Felix turning their backs on her, a vicious smirk played on Talia's lips. One round kick was enough to knock the balance out of the first one. The one who spoke her name felt the force of her fire, flames burning his hand and wand to ashes. Incendio flew from her hand, hitting the other one, a punch ensuring the first one stayed down.
Running to pick up Felix's wand, she handed it to him as he quickly got up. Wrapping his fingers around the familiar magical wood, he pointed it to her chest, Talia remaining still and unimpressed at his display "I advise you not to be stupid."
"A Crane, a bloody Crane!" he shook in anger, yelling at her.
Slowly, Talia lifted a hand, reaching out to him "And you're a Rosier, so what? Does it matter? We make our own paths." Taking a step forward, the tip of his wand pressed against her chest, Talia running a hand through the stray hairs covering his forehead "We are nothing but our own Felix. Now come with me, we need to get out of here."
His eyes widened, wand eventually lowering as he continued to stare at her "You said my name."
The sound of gravel alerted them to someone approaching, Felix directing his wand towards the source, Talia's fire burning bright. A fourth Death Eater took one glance around the corner, noting how his partners were all incapacitated, before Apparating away "No, no!" Talia yelled out, kicking the closest Death Eater at her feet a few times in her anger "All this time, all this effort for nothing." Another kick was delivered before she went on top of him, punching savagely, skin on her knuckles breaking apart "You just had to fucking come here!"
"Talia, you'll kill him." Felix urged her, drawing closer.
Turning to him, her eyes were dark and ragging with anger "So what? One less to worry about."
"Please." He extended a hand out to her "We need to go, we don't know how many more are still out there, how many will come after being alerted."
She knew he was right, she knew very well that was the logical thing to do. Casting the memory erasing charm, she made certain to erase all of their memories, everything they ever held dear, not a hint of regret shinning in her eyes. Taking Felix's hand, they both apparated towards the nearest point close to the Dragon Sanctuary, making a run for it before they attracted more unwanted attention.
Charlie and a few men were inside the camp, resting after the tasks performed, however the redhead immediately sensed something was wrong when Felix and Talia came running in. Slowly he rose from the log he had been sitting on, eyes travelling between his friends before he approached, only to be ignored and they both ran inside Felix's tent.
As soon as Charlie followed them inside, he found them in a frenzy, packing and running around gathering what Felix believed he would need "What happened?"
"Death Eaters." Talia briefly mentioned, before turning to look at him "They came after Felix and now they know I'm also here."
Charlie's face went pale upon hearing the news, however he managed to get his wits about him "Where do you plan to go? Please tell me it's not England." He barely finished the sentence leaving his mouth when Felix marched over to them, lit cigarette pressed between his lips, hands coiling into his shirt, forcing Charlie to take a step back in order to regain the balance lost.
"You knew about her this entire time?" a single nod was the only confirmation received, Felix letting him go, pushing Charlie "And you did not bother to even share this very important fact?" exhaling the smoke through his nose, he huffed before taking another drag, hands pushing back the hair falling on his forehead.
"Look, it wasn't my secret to share alright?" Charlie's eyes travelled to Talia who was now just sitting on Felix's desk, having stolen a cigarette off him and was just watching the exchange "But you two need to listen to me. Going now to England is probably what they're expecting. They'll be waiting for you both and honesty, I hate to say this, but since you evaded them once chances are they will kill you and torture you." He said pointing a finger at Felix first then Talia.
"Oh I know that, but what do you suggest? I run again?"
She was mad, Charlie could see it from a mile away, however he still approached her, taking her face in his hands to ensure she was fully paying attention to him "Yes, run for now. If the portkey office has been closed for days, it means it was due to the Death Eaters being here. Who knows what they did to the owner, if he is even alive now." Gently stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, he tried to speak in the softest voice he could muster "Let me get in contact with England, tell them what happened. Trust me with this. Do you have where to go?"
"Of course." Talia assured him, anger in her gut simmering yet subsiding slightly. She knew he was right, she could not return by any normal magical means. Looking past Charlie's shoulder, she locked eyes with Felix who was paying attention to them, however he was pacing back and forth. Nodding her head as if to ensure Charlie she understood what he was trying to tell her, his hands left her face "I need you to get word out to Dumbledore and Snape. They need to know, they need to keep Harry safe."
Creating space, Charlie let her get off the desk "Anyone else that you want me to write to?"
"Moody, that's it. These people will send the message across to the rest." Walking over to Felix, Talia threw away her cigarette, her fingers taking the bud from his hands as well "Look at me, you need to finish packing, we need to go, the two of us." Taking his hands into hers, she could feel the nervous tremble in his limbs "I'll answer your questions, but for now I need you to trust me. I can keep you safe. There will come a time when we can return, we will find an opportunity, but we have to be smart about it."
She was back, as if someone flipped a switch in her head, eyes calm and collected, no anger or sudden bursts of emotions clouding her judgement. She knew survival was far more important than whatever it was she was feeling.
And it helped, seeing her as calm spoke to Felix in ways he had never thought possible. He knew very well that Talia had the means to survive and the resources. However "Why take me with you?" he had to know.
"Because you would do the same for me." She gave his hands a gently squeeze "Now please, finish packing, we don't have a lot of time. They won't come here, however we need to go and ensure they know we left, or else they might get the bright idea of attacking."
"Don't worry about that." Charlie spoke approaching both of them, placing a strong hand on their shoulders "We will handle getting that message out, make a scene at the bar in the village, something. They'll know you left." Pulling them both in an embrace, he let out a sigh "Just please find a way of letting me know you're safe from time to time." Talia nodded, hugging him back.
"I'll miss you Charlie." She uttered pressing a hand against his back hugging him.
"Don't worry dear, this isn't goodbye. There will come a time when we will be together again and have a drink, remembering this moment as an odd way of saying see you soon."
They stayed like that for a few minutes, calming each other down before Charlie went to advise the men what was happening. Felix finished packing, Talia having a bag at the ready like she always did, stuffing inside of it only a few personal belongings before placing it in the trunk of her car. For once even Felix agreed it was the safest way to travel as Death Eaters would not truly pay attention to Muggle cars.
As much as she did hate flying via plane, there was no other option for them. Despite it not being the way she imagined going back, Lisbon would be the safest bet for them for the time being. They would forge a plan from there onwards, however they needed to get away first.
Once more on the run, once more having to hide.