Yes, I am finally back, and I have a new chapter. This chapter has pretty much bitten the bullet by way of story direction: some of you may like where it's heading, others may not. My only request is that you bear with me and voice your opinions. I wrestled with this for weeks.
The move is over, and things are finally settled, and so new chapters (I hope) will come fairly regularly again. Thank you for your patience and support, I hope you will enjoy and that this chapter was worth the wait.
(Re-beta'ed by Dances With Vampires)
Chapter 4: Lessons Learned
Severus sat with Lucius in a small, unwelcoming bar where none dared to pry into the business of other patrons. They were invisible.
Lucius had known Severus since their school days. He was one of the few Death Eaters he trusted with his life. He wasn't fanatic like Bellatrix was, but he still shared a place in the Dark Lord's inner circle, and was one of the few to survive (not unscathed, but survive nevertheless) objecting and pointing out a flaw in the Dark Lord's plans. Bellatrix, however. . .she would blindly follow anything that the man ordered. And so, she could not be witness.
"The Order is getting suspicious," Severus told him. "What is it about this woman? If I'm going to throw them, I need to know which direction to throw them in."
"You know I can't tell you," Lucius answered.
"They don't care about the Muggle, they care about your interest in her; they weren't watching her house, they were watching you - and you very nearly got caught. You need to give me something to distract them. Otherwise, you aren't going to be able to piss without risking interruption."
"He doesn't want her dead, if that's what you are asking," Lucius said coolly.
"Well, you weren't exactly in the middle of a civilised conversation when the Order arrived."
"He wants her scared. Not that it took much effort on my part; the woman is a shipwreck. She's in no immediate danger - it was simply a visit advising her to back away from our messes."
"Please. Were it anyone else, they would already be dead."
"You know I would tell you if I could. He wants this closer than his wand. If the Order somehow caught onto it and he found out I told someone - even you - we would be dead. Just hope that he gets bored of this whole thing quickly. Merlin knows I am already sick of that whey-faced mouse."
-.-.-
It seemed like divine intervention when Claire - a cousin on their father's side - called to offer her condolences, and also to invite them to stay with her for a while at her boarding house in Wales whilst Corey's murder was under investigation, until the news settled down.
By the time Maddie and Troy came home, the house was once again presentable thanks to 'Tonks's' spells, and their flights were arranged. She had no idea if the wizards would find them there, but it would at least keep them out of her way whilst she figured out her plans.
Convincing Troy to leave with Maddie while she stayed alone in their flat, however, was a very different ball game. She wasn't willing to tell him anything; she wasn't certain of it herself. She informed him of their pending travel arrangements, and it took every ounce of her inner strength not to back down whilst his rage boiled. After everything else that morning, it drained her more than a week without sleep.
Maddie knew an argument brewing when she saw one, having been on the receiving end enough times. She retreated to her room.
"I'm not leaving you here on your own."
"I have work to do. I'm going nuts already, I need to be doing something."
"You shouldn't even be at work. For Christ's sakes, Corey just died!"
"So I should stay home all day and think about how I very well may be the reason he's dead?" Eliza argued. "Can I remind you that the last time I took time off, there wasn't a press in this house not completely sorted and organised - including your own?"
"This isn't time off - this is called 'bereavement'! How can you possibly think about going to work at a time like this? You know you survived that car accident, and yes, I know you don't remember much about Dad, but Corey is right when he says this isn't what Dad would have wanted you to become! It's not healthy. You spend all day with dead people."
"I would have thought you of all people would understand how important my job is. If I can stop another person getting killed, then I'm bloody well going to do it-!"
"They would never let you back in the office, Elle. You saw your brother's mutilated body at a crime scene, people don't just bounce back from that sort of thing!"
"What makes you think I'm bouncing back from anything? If I'm not working, I'm left to my own thoughts, and right now they are more than I can handle. I don't want to be fussed over, and I know you will be doing nothing but fussing over me the next few weeks, I can't handle it right now. I need to be doing something productive. All I want is to sit in my office and find a cause of death for one of these nineteen people so that we just might stop another one from dying."
"Fine! Sort out cupboards, repaint the walls, buy new furniture, I don't care! But you are not going to work, we are not going to Wales, and that's final!"
"Troy, I need to be alone. Now I can either be alone at work with you at home, or alone at home with you at Wales. And-"
"And what if someone did kill Corey because of these cases? What do you think will happen if you dig into them more? What's to stop them from coming after you next? You may have gone to University, but you're pretty damn stupid at times."
"Then they will come after me. Not you, and not Maddie. I have a security detail following me around all day, I don't need to worry about her and you while I'm trying to do my job."
"My job is security - do you have any idea how easily someone could slip past them? If you're at work, you open yourself up to a whole new set of threats. You're staying home."
"Troy, I don't ask much of you - ever. I'm asking for time alone. Claire's is far away enough that Maddie won't be bombarded with news about this from every direction, and right now you can do more for her than I can," Eliza said firmly. "I can cope with this, she can't. And her being here isn't healthy, you know that."
Troy took a deep breath and paced in a circle. Eliza didn't dare to believe that she may have found the key to him backing down.
"I promise, after the conference I'll go up there with you," she lied. "I have so much to organise for this conference, I've been working on this stuff for months – I can't let it all go to waste."
Troy took another deep breath and paused. "You'll join us?"
"I'll join you if nothing comes of this. But if there's some sort of miracle break, I'll follow it." She hoped she had put enough emphasis on 'miracle'. "We haven't seen Claire since Dad died, and she's family - it will be good to catch up, and for Maddie to meet her. I'll be all right here, I promise."
Troy looked... not unlike someone had slapped him. She was pushing him away with a reason that was weak at best, and she had never been a good liar - lying by omission was the closest she could come to sounding half-convincing. It wasn't that she was lying. . .she was just neglecting to tell him about the series of ambushes she'd experienced all morning.
"When is the flight?" he asked finally, defeated.
"Tomorrow - you should arrive just before lunch. I've already taken the suitcases down from the loft."
Guilt tore her up as she watched him climb the stairs to tell Maddie. She wanted so badly to tell him everything that had happened, but he would never believe her - no one would. And any mention of the events would no doubt only make him worry more, and land her in a hospital psych ward.
-.-.-
She waited for the sound of drawers opening and being emptied before she climbed the stairs, stopping at her bedroom door. She hadn't been in there since her encounter with Lucius, and her hand froze just short of the handle. It took a few breaths and some courage before she could force herself to enter.
The room looked completely untouched, save for the broken lamp on the bed, but the air felt thick and unsafe; she probably wouldn't be able to sleep in here for a while. She felt violated, as if her room had somehow betrayed her. Her room was supposed to be private, hers, safe - something which it had been through her childhood and two older brothers. It had been so innocent, so normal. But it was where everything had started, and though Lucius (she hoped) was long gone, his presence still hung in the air.
She grabbed the gun and reloaded it. She nearly burst into tears when she discovered there had been one round in the chamber still. If she hadn't been so afraid she might have noticed he had neglected to empty it completely. Must have been part of being a wizard; after all, why would they need guns? And even if she shot him, there was no telling whether it would kill or even wound him. She roughly pushed those thoughts aside, snatching an oversized pyjama top (one of Troy's old shirts) and her pillow. She pulled the guest linens from the linen press, ignoring Troy who watched her from his doorway at the end of the hall, and carried everything down to the lounge. She tucked the gun under the couch and set up a makeshift bed. It was a small mercy that Troy didn't ask for an explanation. She felt so drained and exhausted that she didn't think she could tell him anything but the truth.
-.-.-
Later that night she woke up, and noticed the light on outside. Troy was sitting on the stoop, a lit cigarette in one hand and the cigarette box in his other.
"I thought you were quitting," Eliza commented, taking the box. He didn't fight to keep it, and she dropped it into her handbag inside the house.
"Why aren't you sleeping in your room?" Eliza bit her lip, trying to think of a lie that could almost be considered plausible. She was spared. "I'm worried about you. You could have done anything in medicine, you had your pick - you could have been a surgeon, but you went and became a coroner. You know, all these years I've been defending you when Corey started having a go at you, but he was right. You survived the accident that killed Dad only to spend almost every waking hour with the dead. I don't know if you feel some sort of connection with Dad, or. . ." He let out a frustrated sound. "Or if the only distraction you can think of is spending more time with stiffs after your brother died. You haven't been in a relationship since that professor of yours-" Eliza was glad he didn't see her blush. "You're not living, Eliza, you're existing. Dad always talked about how we would all grow up and save lives."
"You catch them, I damn them, and Corey got them off - well, when it was tax-related. I save people from meaningless deaths; I help catch the murderers, the rapists, the scum of the earth."
"And that doesn't worry you one bit? Wouldn't you like to save someone before they die?"
Eliza went back inside. "I'm not having this discussion again."
Their departure the next morning came as a relief. And in the days that followed she worked solidly using the lounge room coffee table as a desk, barely allowing herself distractions as menial as eating and drinking. After two days of no contact, Janice turned up the next evening with dinner, strongly suspecting Eliza of neglecting herself.
No one expects you to go tomorrow," Janice assured, watching Eliza attack the pizza as though she had only just rediscovered what the hunger pangs meant. "You don't have anything to prove."
"I've spent too many hours on these cases to ignore them now. And I've spent too long on my theories to have them go to waste."
Especially now, Eliza thought. Her encounter with the witches and wizards was incredibly enlightening; now she knew there was something different about the victims, and their killers. She couldn't say outright what she knew, but she could point science at the fact that they were different. Someone could take her theories and run with them, exposing the bastards for what they were, and get them well and truly away from her whilst they contended with the masses demanding an explanation. Did the government even know? Had they been covering it up all this time, just as conspiracy theorists believed they did about aliens? Did those exist too? She banished the thoughts and launched herself at another slice.
"It's okay to take time for yourself in situations like this."
"This is time for myself, Jan' - my work is all I have. I can't keep a potted plant alive to save myself, I haven't time to commit to a pet, the only men interested in me are generally sickos, and my mother is the last person I want to be around. What would you suggest I do?"
"Go to Wales with Troy and Maddie, look at some shops or go somewhere touristy. Spend time with your family."
"Jan', I'm not a fool - forty-eight hours passed days ago, your only hope of catching whoever killed my brother is if they strike again. If you had anything, you would have told me before now, and I'm not going to put my life on hold for something we might never have an answer for."
Janice stared at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said irritably, before sighing and confirming what Eliza suspected. "I don't know. . .I really don't. . .goddamn, it's the first case in a long time that isn't one of those random deaths and it may as well be. What if it is connected? What if the only reason it's different and so violent is to be a warning?"
That was the question Eliza asked herself since her encounter with Lucius. He was deliberately vague about his involvement with Corey's death, but he made it clear he knew or was the killer, and why. Was it a coincidence, or had he used her brother to get information about her? It seemed farfetched - there were so many people who knew her better, or (even as much as she hated to think about it) would care more if she died. And what she knew couldn't possibly be that vital. All she knew was that Lucius was connected to these wizarding murders, and only by his own admission. Was she really that much of a threat? What use could she possibly be to them?
She wrapped up the evening with Janice, and as she lay on the couch listening for every tiny sound, she questioned the logic of what she was going to do tomorrow. True, someone would stumble on the pattern soon enough even if they hadn't already, and it wasn't as though she was out and out calling them magical. . .she was just pointing out a link. . .and if not her, someone else surely would, and it wasn't as though she'd come up with these theories after her encounter. That had only confirmed them. But no one else would know that they were potentially the truth. . . .She drifted into an uneasy sleep.
-.-.-
Despite the protective detail's insistence that they drive her to London, she took the tube. The tiny London streets weren't designed for today's traffic, and only the insane or paid would drive through it.
Besides, no one would attack her in public. They wanted to keep their existence a secret, and appearing out of nowhere and casting a spell on her would arouse suspicion. All the same, the rocky ride was agonising. She scanned the face of everyone there, trying to see if Lucius was among them. He said he'd been watching her; there was no reason she could think of for him to suddenly stop.
On one of the few seats sat a man with dark glasses, a cane, and a golden-haired lab. Could Lucius turn into an animal like that witch they'd told her about? Was the dog even a dog? Or was the man with dark glasses really a wizard disguised to blend in? She shook herself; she was being foolish and paranoid. She straightened her shoulders. The only way she was going to beat them was to keep her head together. She repeated this over and over in her mind, but all the same her eyes kept drifting to the dog and the blind man.
A bus took her the last few blocks to the conference address, her security on either side of her, much to her irritation. She was relieved when she finally did arrive at the venue; they went their separate directions and kept an eye on her from a distance. Industry colleagues greeted her, offered their condolences, and voiced their surprise at her attendance, all the while comparing cases as they waited for directions. Janice quickly found her, and linked a friendly arm around hers, steering them somewhere more private.
The conference room was broken up into sections based on districts, with boards of victims and science-related evidence or information around the walls. Seeing so many photos of the now-confirmed murders, she couldn't help but wonder how many they didn't know about; at a glance, she guessed there was somewhere between fifty and eighty. Those who had them quickly booted up their laptops, whilst others organized the files or notes they had elected to bring. She recognized the man at the front, setting up the flatbed projector with some assistance and checking through his slides. As the room settled, the only sounds were fingers against computer keys savagely entering passwords, and the occasional turning of a page.
"Thank you all for coming. For the few of you who don't know me, I am Mister Andrew Saunders, and I have been working alongside Scotland Yard in these pending investigations. We all know why we are here: including three more individuals found this morning, the total of these unexplained deaths has reached sixty-seven across the country, and there is no sign of that number slowing down; if anything, we have reason to believe it's on the rise. Early this week, we got lucky. Little Whinging had evidence that supports that these deaths are deliberate, and that there may be signs of the killer slipping up. This is the time in which we need to pool our resources." As Eliza watched and listened, her mind couldn't help but wander back to his lectures that she'd attended as a student. He was her role model, the one who helped her decide to become a coroner. Back when she was studying medicine, there had been signs of aging. His silvered temples had spread, leaving his well-groomed hair now mostly grey flecked with black. His thick black-framed glasses were a little big for his face. But despite the smile lines she remembered him having, many had since given way to prominent stress lines. "I would like to defer to Doctor Raveien, who has been the forensic principle in the Figg case." He smiled to her, gesturing for her to come to the front.
As she made her way to the front, a rodent streaked along the front wall and hid amongst some old archive boxes. She and a few others jumped.
Saunders greeted her warmly with a familiar hug, and took the opportunity to whisper to her, "I still have a copy of the information you sent me, so any time you want to or need to stop, just let me know." He smiled and kissed her cheek, yielding the floor.
Eliza straightened herself up and glanced at the archive boxes where the rat had come from. "The joys of a low budget - can't even afford a decent mousetrap," she joked, and there was a murmur of agreement. Rodents making homes and nests in archive files was far from uncommon (especially as old as some of the ones here were), and one of the most convincing motivators for the introduction of electronic storage.
"The Figg case, we did pull some DNA from the scene. There weren't any matches. However, we were able to confirm one male and one female, both with AB positive blood types. Presently, I've investigating a possible link relating to blood type, as the vast majority of victims also have AB, or at have least one family member also killed with AB, generally a child and one parent or one adult. Or, in some very rare cases, only the child. Thirteen of the victims are AB positive, one is AB negative. The remaining five are more common types."
In Eliza's mind, that sounded about right. It was the magical community's war, not theirs. So who was on what side of the fence?
"The other thing we found was a cat, alive, but only barely. In our experience this is the first survivor; when we looked back at all of our cases, this is the first time anything from fish to children came out alive. It's also the first time we've had any evidence of a crime - beyond the body, that is."
"Where's the cat now?"
Eliza pursed her lips, and couldn't help but think, No doubt debating whether to ever transform into a cat again. It hadn't occurred 'til later that the woman very nearly ended up with a hysterectomy. Did she know that was what they were planning, or did she get out of there without knowing? What would she have thought if she had known? "She was taken to the RSPCA, and has since gone missing."
A murmur ran through the crowd as they debated if the disappearance was intentional or coincidental.
Eliza studied everyone at the meeting very carefully. They looked just as uncomfortable as she did, but one person not for the same reason as the others - it was more of a 'I-know-something-but-can't-say-what'.
Interesting.
-.-.-
They broke for lunch not long after, and Eliza made a beeline for the tech hovering around the mince pies.
"Excuse me, hi, I'm Eliza. I didn't catch your name in there?" she asked, holding out a hand.
The woman started. "Oh, sorry, I'm Veronica - Veronica Granger," she replied pleasantly, shaking her hand.
Eliza stared at her for a moment, before clasping down on her hand and dragging her to the ladies' room. She quickly checked that it was empty before locking the door.
"What the devil are you doing?" Veronica demanded, snatching her hand back.
"Do you know someone by the name of Hermione Granger?"
"She's my niece, how did you. . .?" Veronica broke off. "You know about them too, don't you?"
Eliza backed away from her, not sure if she was stunned or relieved. "I only found out yesterday." Someone else knew about them. "Are you. . .?"
"No, only Hermione. But you can't tell anyone," Veronica warned. "Not that anyone would believe you," she added. "So who do you know who's one?"
"No one personally, I still don't know much about it. I just got caught up in it somehow," Eliza explained.
"This is strange. . ."
"Why?"
"Well, they don't involve people like us, not unless we can't help but know – such as, if we're a family member. Apparently they normally put a spell on you to make you forget, why didn't they do that to you?" Veronica asked, interested.
"Ask your niece, she was there," Eliza replied.
A buzz sounded overhead. They were due back.
"Hmm..." Veronica opened her purse and pulled out a card. "Give me a call sometime. But you need to find a problem with your theory… I think you're stumbling too close to the truth and that is really dangerous. You don't want to make enemies of them."
"It's too late for that."
-.-.-
Eliza packed her laptop away, glancing at the ring. Tonks gave it to her to keep her safe, and now she'd just found her aunt.
"Eliza?" She looked up, and her eyes met the professor. "I would like to let you know I am the M.E. on your brother's case. I'm truly sorry about what happened to him."
"I heard, thank you." She smiled weakly.
"I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through, but I'm not surprised that it was you who made this breakthrough. You always were a bright one. Did you have any more notes?" It was like candy to him, the possibility of a link.
"I'll send you everything I have." If They decided she was becoming too problematic, she would make sure that the next best person knew. And as They seemingly knew nothing about technology as simple as a stereo, it was her cautious assumption that such ignorance extended to e-mail.
"Excellent, I'll try and keep you apprised on your brother's case, though I wouldn't fancy the detectives hiding any details from you."
"Thank you, Andrew." She gave him another warm hug and a friendly peck on the cheek as they parted ways.
Eliza headed out of the building. The weather had turned. From above the sidewalk, rain pelted a sea of black umbrellas and their silver spikes. It was so heavy that she could hardly see three feet forward. She pulled her umbrella out of her bag and made a dash to the bus stop, but missed it. It was getting late, and people were hailing taxis rather than waiting. The station was only five blocks away, she could make it without a struggle. She'd likely pay for it with cold, but she was just as likely to catch one if she waited another ten minutes for the next train. She looked around for her security, whom she swore had been behind her a moment ago. Just because she couldn't see them didn't mean they couldn't see her, so she made her way in the direction of the station.
A hand closed over Eliza's shoulder as she rounded the first corner. She shrugged it off, thinking that it was one of the security detail. The hand closed down again and tightened in a vice grip, forcing her to stop.
"Waiting for the bus in this weather will make me just as-" She turned irritably to face him, and would have fallen back in surprise and fear if he hadn't held her so tightly.
It was Lucius. Eliza tried desperately to pull free.
His large umbrella covered both of them. "Join me for a walk." His hand moved from her shoulder and closed around her arm only slightly lighter than would bruise, enough to make it clear he had complete control. He steered her down the street. She looked back, desperate to see if the security was following, but the mass of black umbrellas had swallowed them. She looked at the nearest wall. Assuming Tonks knew what she was talking about, she could smash the ring on it, and they would come and save her.
"Oh, that's right." He grabbed her hand and yanked the ring off, dropping it down a drain when they passed one. "Don't even bother crying for help, no one will hear you."
"What do you want with me?" she pleaded slightly breathlessly, as she tried to keep pace with his long strides so as not to lose her arm or be dragged behind him like a child's toy. "Let me go, I'll scream," she threatened.
He just laughed. "If it will make you feel better, scream all you want. We were interrupted last time, and the message clearly didn't sink in."
She shrank back at the look he gave her. Could they read minds? How did he know about what was discussed, unless he changed his appearance like Tonks had. . .? She spent so long pondering the possibilities that she hadn't realised they'd come to a stop down some desolate secluded alley. She had no idea where she was. Back the way they came, she could see people making their way home from work, and the amount suggested they couldn't have gotten that far. Lucius's grip had relaxed when she allowed him to lead her to wherever they were. She saw the opportunity, took it, and ran.
She didn't make it three steps before his hand closed tightly around the wrist which had been damaged in the accident all those years ago, this time hard enough for the pain to cripple her to her knees. She looked at the people walking past, but despite the commotion, no one looked her way.
"Somebody help!" Still no one gave an indication that they'd even heard her.
Lucius pulled her up by her wrist, ignoring her whimpers of pain. "You can see them, but they can't see you. All they see when they look this way is a solid wall." Her other hand scratched his as she tried to pry her fingers free.
"Please, you're hurting me." Her tears mingled with the raindrops. "Please." She stared directly into his, hoping to see some flicker of. . .something. But it was like looking into the dark clouds above.
Without warning, something changed, and she was yanked as though on a violent roller coaster. The alley disappeared.
-.-.-
Her feet were suddenly on solid ground. She fell to her knees, vomiting, trying to cradle the wrist he let go of as he moved away from her being ill.
It was the field of a paddock, no signs of civilisation anywhere. When the nausea subsided, along with the pain in her wrist, she realised that the weather showed no signs of rain either. She looked around desperately for a landmark, anything that would give her a clue.
"Where are we?" she asked, still shaking - partially from terror, partially from exhaustion.
"Somewhere we won't be interrupted." He smiled malevolently. "We still have much to discuss." He took a good look around, and his voice changed - almost considerate. He held out a hand to her. "Give me your wrist." Eliza scrambled to back away, holding it protectively. Lucius's patience snapped. He shook the umbrella three times, and it closed of its own accord. A second later, it was a black cane. He pulled a stick from the handle, and snatched her wrist.
Eliza made a pleading sound, certain of more pain, and struggled to escape. It wasn't until he released her and there was a good few meters between them again that she realised the pain was gone. She held her wrist to eye-level, not wanting to take her eyes off Lucius. She sat in the grass, stunned.
"I don't suppose you are going to let me dry your clothes." His voice was still courteous, but there was humour behind it.
She was about to give him a brash reply when he dried his own clothes using magic, without removing them. She looked around. Running hadn't helped her so far, and she doubted it would do her any good in an open field.
Lucius didn't wait for an answer. As thoughts about anything and everything raced through her mind, she noticed the wind didn't bite as it had a few moments ago. What she would give to wipe that smug smile off of his face. She bit her lip, now thoroughly confused, but the image of her nails raking down his face still gave her a sense of satisfaction.
He conjured up a little outdoor table setting, complete with a checkered table cloth and a fine teapot. It was fascinating. The other times she'd seen any magic, she was too terrified to comprehend it, but this time. . .it was amazing. Lucius helped himself to a seat, apparently no longer interested if she was there or not. They were on the top of a very tall hill, with a lookout all around them. There was no sign of civilisation within ten miles or further.
"It's a long walk back to London. Have a seat and some tea."
Eliza stared. It was Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the flesh. She didn't close the distance, staying seated in the grass, arms hugging her knees. "What do you want with me?"
"As I clearly couldn't impress upon you the danger of your situation, you're going to speak to someone who will make sure that you understand with no uncertainty what the repercussions will be if you continue with this defiance." If she hadn't heard the words spoken, she'd have thought he was talking about something as interesting as the weather, and it was this tone that terrified her now. His tone gave no hint as to who or what was coming.
Looking at the horizon, she guessed there was about another hour before the sun was gone. She spotted her bag, and she remembered the gun and reached for it. The bag flew out of her reach and into Lucius's hand.
"I just want a cigarette," she confessed innocently. God knew it helped her brother with his stress.
"Those things will kill you." He found them, and threw them at her feet.
"So will you," she replied, picking up with the box. "I'll take my chances with the cigarettes." She lit the cigarette and took a drag, triggering a coughing fit.
"God, that's disgusting," she wheezed, tossing it away, ignoring the entertained look on Lucius's face. "Can we get this over with?" she continued to cough. "I'm sorry about what I said at the conference, I just want your kind of out my life," she pleaded. "Please, just tell me what you want and I'll do it, just get the hell out of my life."
"He will be here soon, and then we will know just how sorry you are, won't we?"
The silence was deafening. Horrid thoughts and endless grizzly possibilities circulated through her head. The sun was nearly down, but the silence was more painful than anything else. She searched for a topic.
"So your name is Lucius?"
He said nothing, but nodded once in reply as he drank his tea.
"Do you have a family?"
"I have two children," he said shortly.
"Corey was about to be a father." A tiny bubble of anger swelled inside her.
"I was aware."
"So why does his kid have to grow up without a father?"
"The decision to have him killed was not mine, if that is what you are getting at. Frankly, I much preferred dealing with him than yourself, and in all honesty I think you will come to find most fathers are overrated. Not that I would expect you to understand given how little you remember of yours." His tone was casual, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to those words than he was letting on.
She was about to ask when a soft rumble rolled in around them. The sun's last light had dipped beyond the horizon, but there was still enough of a glow to see that something was coming toward them with terrifying speed. In an instant, she was certain that it was worse than the man she had been dealing with, and made no hesitation of running to him. The table setting was cleared, and Lucius stood with his robes billowing as the wind picked up. Eliza made to move behind him, but Lucius sidestepped her, blocking her path. Her flight instincts won and she made to bolt. His hand closed tightly on her wrist.
It materialised before her, and she took an involuntary step, backing as close to Lucius and as far away from the hooded figure as possible; a dark hooded robe covered his face and body like a horrid cliché. She didn't want to know what was under that hood; whilst there was no odour she could smell death around him. Her legs buckled, but Lucius held her up. A white hand with overly long fingers and pointed nails reached out to her, and she shrank away, not wanting that thing to touch her. She closed her eyes and pressed herself as far into Lucius as she could. Thoughts of what this thing could be were flying. If witches and wizards existed - couldn't other things? Was this a vampire? Some sort of Lich?
His fingers held no warmth as they gently brushed her cheek. She craned her neck away. The gentleness vanished, and the hand grabbed her jaw and pulled her face closer.
"Little Eliza, at long last." Even his voice was cold, snakelike. "Look at me."
She refused to open her eyes, and his grip tightened.
"Look. At. Me." His tone made it clear this would be the last time he would ask. She didn't want to open her eyes, but found herself fighting to keep them closed. She struggled to turn her head before she saw him, but the thing had her in a vice grip. Her eyes opened, and a silent scream escaped her lips. She stepped on Lucius's feet several times as she tried to back away, but he didn't seem to notice or care.
The skin on the thing's face was pulled tight, his ears and lips too small, his eyes and mouth too large, and two narrow slits where his nose should have been.
"Tell me, do you find me so repulsive?" His thin lips pulled into a terrifying smile, moving closer so their noses would be touching if he had one. Fear rooted her feet now that it was apparent there was no escape. Pain from the tightness with which Lucius held her shoulders was numbed.
"Yes," she whispered, her voice quavering.
The thing howled with laughter, letting go of her jaw and putting some merciful space between them. "Yes? Yes, the years have not been as kind to me as they have to you." Lucius let go of her, and she fell to a crumpled heap on the ground. That didn't matter - she was free. She scrambled to her feet and ran. She made four paces this time when roots erupted from the ground and wrapped around her ankles; she screamed as she again fell to the ground, clawing and trying to crawl away. The thing howled in amusement. "Lucius, are you sure this is the right girl?"
"What do you want with me?" Eliza begged, fumbling with the roots in panic. They began to drag her back to the thing, and she dug her fingers into the ground but to no avail. Lucius pulled her to her feet by the back of her neck, and held her upright whilst the thing circled her like a hawk, eyeing her from every angle. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She wanted this to end.
"How far the apple falls from the tree," the thing said. "You have more of your father in you than I expected. A pity you didn't inherit his backbone. Even your brother was willing to cooperate." Eliza stared, speechless. She was so disoriented at this point, she wasn't even sure she was still standing. "To think that your father could hide you all from me." He shook his head. "It would have been kinder simply to strangle the lot of you in your cots rather than raise this lie-" He waved a hand at her, somewhat disgusted. " So selfish to leave you so defenceless, and clueless," he finished in mock-pity.
Eliza closed her eyes, wishing he would stop talking. Even if the security detail knew they'd lost her they could never find her. She wasn't sure she was still in the country, let alone London. Why didn't she listen to Tonks? She'd never imagined anything this bad. What a poor reflection on her imagination. "This isn't possible, this isn't possible. . .," she whispered over and over to herself.
"Oh, but it is. This is very possible."
"Please, let me go, I'll stop the investigation, I'll destroy the evidence, please, just let me go."
"It's too late for that now, your rebellious stunt this afternoon assured that," he tutted in a simpering tone. "Consider this a warning for the next time we call on you, and believe me, there will be a next time. I will forgive your misgivings about listening the first time - after all, you had no idea what you were up against." He grabbed her jaw and made her look him straight in the eyes. "Now you do." He threw her to the ground. "Of course, forgiveness must be earned," he added, pulling out a stick. "Crucio!"
Eliza screamed. Her body felt like it was on fire, being stabbed and tortured as she writhed. The screaming gave her no release. Tears streamed down her face. After what felt like a lifetime passing in seconds, the pain stopped, but the sensation was still there. She breathed heavily and coughed up blood, her whole body shaking in exhaustion. She was curled in a fetal position, sobbing silently.
"Take her home. I'm certain she's learned her lesson, for now," the thing said, and vanished.
Lucius bent to pick her up and she slapped him, scrambling away. "Keep away from me!" She resumed sobbing.
"I can take you home, or I can leave you here. Your choice," he snapped. He moved to pick her up again, and this time she let him, crying into his shoulder as they disappeared into the darkness.
-.-.-
Eliza made a dash for the bathroom as soon as they reappeared in her house, and threw up again. Lucius followed her, but she was too preoccupied to take note of what he was doing. Somewhere far away she heard the taps squeaking as the shower was turned on.
After a few moments passed and the nausea seemed to settle, and her tears ran dry, Lucius grabbed her under the arm and led her fully dressed into the shower. He vanished without another word. She sank to the shower floor, still sobbing, still feeling flickers of phantom pain.
She had no idea how long she sat there. The hot water didn't seem to run cold. And by the time she finally peeled off her clothes and washed herself, night was well and truly set in. Pounding on her front door startled her, though she was flooded by the relief that it signalled the arrival of non-magical persons.
"Eliza! Eliza, are you in there?" She recognized the voice as Janice's. "Eliza, my God, what happened? Are you insane? You just left your security detail there - they thought you had been waiting for a bus, and-" Eliza stepped back to let Janice past, into the house. She deserved the rant. Had it not been for her own stupidity, the evening would have played out differently. "I understand that these precautions are wasted on you, but honestly, girl, put your head on straight!" Janice signalled to outside that Eliza was here. "You didn't answer your phone, your pager - do you have any idea what kind of stunt you've pulled on everyone?"
"Jan'."
"I mean, I can understand not wanting to be chauffeured around London. Well, actually I don't, but in your case I do-"
"Jan'."
"After what happened to your brother, and then the theory presented at the conference - we were almost certain we would find your body in the same state as his. . ."
"JANICE!" Eliza finally snapped, startling the detective into silence. "My phone and pager were both flat, it was pouring down rain, and frankly all I wanted to do was get home. You were right, I shouldn't have gone today. I thought I would be fine, but I'm not, and right now I just need some time alone," she said calmly. Her physical exhaustion and rasp from screaming hadn't washed away like the dirt under her nails, but supported her enough to make her lie convincing. "I am sorry about vanishing like that, but please, can you spare the lecture 'til tomorrow? I've been throwing up since I got home, and I am exhausted."
Janice processed this information. "Maybe you should see a doctor? I'm just glad you're okay, you really scared us for a bit. Take the weekend and relax, and please, please don't go off without telling someone."
Janice let herself out. Eliza sank into the nearest chair, at the point of collapse. Just as she closed her eyes the phone rang, but she ignored it. After five rings the answering machine picked up the message.
"Eliza? Eliza, why have I just gotten a letter from Troy and Maddie in Wales? Eliza, pick up the damned phone, I know you're still up at this hour." Eliza resigned herself, knowing she would get no peace 'til her mother did.
"Hi, Mum," she muttered into the handset, positively dreading this conversation.
"So? What's this business about Troy and Maddie, in Wales?"
"They're staying with Claire. . ."
"I gathered that from the letter, but why are they calling her 'cousin'?"
A ridiculous question. "Dad's niece? Last I checked-"
"Eliza, dear, your father and I are both only children. The three of you know this-"
Eliza's heart skipped a beat. All the memories seemed to slip away like smoke through her fingers - she had no cousins, no aunts, no uncles. Another wave of nausea swept over her. Where had she sent her brother and sister?
"Eliza? Eliza?"
-.-.-
Lucius sat in his study, the brandy decanter and glass within reach as he stared across his desk at the flames devouring the logs there. He wasn't sure if that girl was ignorant or just plain stupid. Oh by all means, when measured against Muggle standards she was impressive, but that was as much grace as he was willing to give her. Did she seriously think that she could out the magical world without suffering any consequences? If he hadn't sent Peter, things might have ended so much worse. Now, time for damage control. Whilst most of the information she had gleaned made little sense, a Muggle doctor under duress managed to translate the holes and made the perfect candidate to be the first of many. Stupid woman.
-.-.-
Thank you for reading. Please give a short message telling what you think, and if you have any suggestions for improvement or plots you would like to see.