For some reason, I'm always more excited to write Audrey chapters :P
This chapter was updated as of 6 July 2015.
6. Audrey: The Enemy's Visage
Audrey had forgotten how amazing duelling made her feel.
It was something she soon remembered as she stepped into her first day back to Auror training, one early August morning.
All of the trainees were lined up along a wall. Audrey stood tall amongst them. She remembered now why she had always wanted to be an Auror. There was a certain pride in fighting to protect, as opposed to just fighting, or fighting to kill, or fighting for selfish reasons. It was a noble job. It was the same occupation her father held for quite some time.
Halloway paced in front of the line of trainees. Behind him stood the Aurors that had a higher seniority and experience. Some had smirks on their faces, clearly amused by the poor quality of potential Aurors presented to them.
"Some of you have had long, relaxing summers," Halloway said in a booming voice, his tone bordering on sarcasm. Obviously, no one had been able to take advantage of the one month break in the summer between training years. "I'm looking to erase all memory of that. Find a partner and line up across from each other. Now!"
Trainees rushed to grab onto someone and line up as Halloway had instructed. He continued to emit the same aura of cold shrewdness that he had the day Audrey first met him. It was probably the reason everyone's eyes were filled with fear and urgency to do as they were told. Then again, fear wasn't always the best leadership tactic. One only needed to search very recent history to see that.
Soon enough, Audrey found herself lined up in front of a young man. His features were sharp and when Audrey met his eyes, she recognized him from Hogwarts. Something Fawley, Audrey believed. She didn't feel like putting in the energy to recall his first name.
He seemed to recognize her as well, judging by his change in demeanour. His eyes widened and nostrils flared. That was never good, in Audrey's personal experience.
"I assume you are all very poor of practice," Halloway shouted. "Practice throwing hexes and jinxes, and deflecting them. Do take turns. I wouldn't want any of you to hurt yourselves so soon. It would be a waste of St. Mungo's resources." The emphasis he placed on the word 'waste' suggested he saw them all as little more than that – pure rubbish.
Without warning, the man Audrey was paired with decided to take the first throw. Audrey easily deflected his jinx, and followed it with one of her own. They traded off like this for a while. Audrey kept herself calm and composed. It was a trick her father taught her when he was practicing duelling with a friend. Audrey was young then, not even enrolled in Hogwarts, and her father had allowed her to witness a 'proper duel' as he called it, against her mother's wishes. It was their little secret, of course.
Audrey never forgot what he told her that day. Always keep your mind clear, no matter what happens.
Her partner clearly had not experienced the same advice. With each throw he became more frustrated, until finally, he did what Audrey had expected him to do.
Her partner threw a jinx, and as Audrey was deflecting it, he started another. Audrey found herself with insufficient time to deflect the second one, so she arched herself sideways to avoid the path of the spell. As Audrey was avoiding the jinx, she threw one of her own, catching the man off guard and throwing him backwards.
After that, duelling soon wrapped up. Halloway started calling names and performance grades.
"Audrey Callaghan. Bare pass!"
Anger surged through Audrey like a rushing river. As much as she recognized that he was purposely trying to irritate her, she could not stifle her indignation any longer. What was the point of adding the "bare," anyways? She walked up to Halloway. "Bare pass?" she asked. "What's that supposed to mean? I deflected everything thrown at me."
"Barely. You missed one."
Audrey realized what he was referring to. "No, I dodged it. That was kind of the point."
"The point, Callaghan, was deflection, which you failed to do," Halloway shouted angrily. "However, I acknowledge your perception of the hazard. Bare pass."
"Well, a criminal isn't going to give a bloody damn about deflection! I dodged it, didn't I? And all my other deflections were perfect."
"You passed, Callaghan. Move on."
And Audrey should have moved on, except it simply wasn't in her nature. Audrey had always had a strong desire to be the best and outperform in everything she did, and the pursuit of this desire was driven by the ambition of a Slytherin – something that was both a blessing and curse, if she was to be perfectly honest. So, naturally, when faced with an inadequate outcome, Audrey was anything but pleased.
"I'm better than a pass," she seethed. "I'm damn near perfect."
"'Near' being the key word," Halloway snapped in reply. "Bare pass."
Audrey dropped herself heavily onto one of the Leaky Cauldron's rickety stools and waved the bartender for a glass of firewhiskey. The glass of amber liquid slid into her hands. She took a large sip, wincing at the burn along her throat. The glass landed on the bar with a slam.
Audrey absolutely hated the feeling of not getting her way. Her mother often told her that her incessant stubbornness would be her undoing, but Audrey did have a habit of not listening to her, especially in their final years together. How could she, when the woman would always try to pretend like everything was nice and peachy?
Then again, Audrey supposed that it was more a matter of disagreeing with her mother than not listening. After all, if she didn't listen, she would have probably been long gone from that house the minute the Ministry was overtaken by Voldemort.
"This is stupid," Audrey grumbled.
"Stupid or not, I will not have my own daughter be incompetent at sewing," her mother chided, sliding the sewing project towards Audrey. Lucille Callaghan had a special stubbornness about her, and it was something she seemed to hand down to her children.
"Not the sewing," Audrey clarified. "I mean, sure, I think this is stupid too, but most of all, I think it's stupid that we're sitting here sewing, now, of all times."
Her mother raised a challenging eyebrow. "And what would you rather be doing?"
"Fighting for what's right."
"Audrey - "
"Spare me, mum! You know how wrong all of this is, everything You-Know-Who is doing," Audrey exclaimed. "Why do we continue to pretend that we're the same as them?"
"Audrey, you listen to me carefully," her mother said in a deathly quiet tone. "There is nothing your father and I care about more than your safety. Both of you."
"So you would sit here, pretending to be like every other pureblood family out there, just because you want us to be 'safe'?" Audrey challenged.
"Yes, I would, and I am. Our family follows traditions, but that does not mean we need to be prejudiced towards anyone - pureblood or muggle-born."
"Well, that's just plain ridiculous," Audrey stated with a huff. She shoved the sewing project back towards her mother and crossed her arms indignantly. "Just because people have done it for so long doesn't mean it's right, and I know you agree with me. What's the point in all this? Being arranged to marry some bigoted traditions-follower and living in a big mansion just so we can be snooty aristocrats. And I'm an adult, you know? I can walk out that door right now and join the Order of the Phoenix, and you couldn't stop me."
Her mother's face paled instantly, and Audrey wished nothing more than to swallow back those words. She hated scaring her mother, or causing her pain, especially because there was nothing Lucille cared more about her than her children. "Audrey... I sincerely hope you wouldn't do such a thing," she said quietly. "You're right, of course. It is all rather silly, and look at the ruckus it causes. Despite that, and no matter how little you care about your own life, you need to remember that I would be lost without you and Brady, so for my sake, do not put yourself in danger."
Audrey let out a small sigh, then replied, "You know I wouldn't want to hurt you. I just get so angry about the whole thing. And it's not like it's any better this way. Brady sends me letters from Hogwarts, you know, and all the Slytherins give him the dirtiest looks, while everyone else steers clear of him because his wardrobe has green and silver. It's tough, mum."
"Yes, it is tough, and yet neither side has a reason to kill you two," her mother reminded. "Always remember that."
Audrey heard someone take the seat next to her, breaking her out her thoughts, and just about threw the glass at their head. The last thing she needed was well-intended company. After all, the path to hell was paved with good intentions. Unfortunately for Audrey, it felt like she was already halfway there.
She waved for another glass of firewhiskey.
"I would slow down, if I were you."
Audrey's hand twitched - even her own subconscious reflexes were driven by her anger. Audrey could never remember feeling so furious in one moment. She slowly turned to face the person next to her, the source of the voice. Her jaw set when she recognized the person, and she immediately turned away.
"Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Sod off, Flint."
Marcus Flint had been an insufferable toad, for as long as Audrey could remember. He figured himself better than just about everybody - which was ironic for someone that failed a year - and was unimaginably rude to everyone. More so to Gryffindors and those considered 'unpure' of blood, but he saved a slice of rudeness for even his fellow Slytherins and pureblood supremacists.
"So hostile, Callaghan."
"Nope. Sod off," Audrey said. "I swear if one more Slytherin so much as acknowledges me, I will burst a gasket." Her encounter with Daphne still haunted her. She hated that they treated her like one of them, because she wished nothing more than to be forgotten by all of them.
"Lacking house pride, I see," Flint commented obnoxiously. "Not the only pride you're lacking."
Audrey took a deep breath before speaking. Just like Daphne, there was no getting out of this conversation. "What do you want, Flint?"
"To deliver a sentiment that you should be aware of," he started, with a smirk on his face. "Daphne may be nice to you, and you may have that half-blood Beauxbatons girl to keep you company, but the rest of us don't see the Callaghans as more than cowards."
"A sentiment that is equally felt towards the likes of you," Audrey said, motioning towards Flint with her glass.
Flint narrowed his eyes. "Watch your back, Callaghan."
With that, he jumped off the barstool and left the pub. It felt as if the air around her was still heavy with the poor manners and mediocrity of Marcus Flint. Audrey shook her head and downed the rest of her drink. Unfortunately, it did little to ease her mind.
Audrey hated August. It was stifling. The air was more water vapour than oxygen. The sun was too damn hot.
August was just a terrible month. At least in London it was. Back in Tramore, the small Irish coast town that Audrey had been raised in, the August sun would be accompanied by a cool sea breeze. It was one of the many things she missed of home.
Audrey sighed and continued scanning the streets of Diagon Alley. This was her first shift under a Senior Auror. Jacob Inselberg was fairly young, probably in his mid-twenties, and new to Britain. He had been trying to make conversation with Audrey for the past half hour, but Audrey stuck to her short, closed off, one-worded answers.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up at Jacob with a questioning look.
"Just so you know," he started, "none of the other Senior Aurors wanted you."
Audrey arched an eyebrow at his audacious comment. "Excuse me?" she asked challengingly.
"Listen, I'm new, and I don't know what you've done, but people don't really like you. That being said, I have no reason to judge you, so if that's why you're so quiet... well, you shouldn't worry."
Audrey paused before replying coldly, "I didn't do anything." In essence, it was the truth.
Jacob removed his hand from Audrey's shoulder and they continued to walk along the streets in silence. Things seemed as calm as they could be at this time of year. Parents were shuffling their children in and out of stores with parchment crumpled in their hand, and the ice cream shop was especially crowded. Diagon Alley in August was just about as noisy as the Ministry had been that day Audrey moved to London. It made Audrey grimace.
That's when Audrey noticed him. As distracted as she was by the crowded atmosphere, it was also what allowed her to notice a hunched, cloaked figure shuffling through the streets. He stood out like a sore thumb in the contrastingly exciting environment. His hand was hidden in his cloak, only adding to Audrey's uneasy feeling.
"Hey, Jacob," Audrey said. "Look at that man. He looks really out of place. And I can't see his hand, which isn't really adding to the semblance of innocence."
"Good catch, Audrey," Jacob praised. "Let's go question him."
As soon as Jacob said that, the man's hand came out of his cloak holding his wand. He was raising his wand shakily into the air, as if he was weakened by months of malnourishment. No one had even noticed him yet, too busy reading supplies lists and chatting.
"I don't think we're going to get the chance," Audrey said, pulling out her wand. "Take cover!"
And the cliffhanger has yet to be resolved. I'm sorry :P
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