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Post by Neville Longbottom on Mar 31, 2009 19:32:24 GMT -5
Neville wound his cloak tightly around his neck. The gesture was due to not only was it bitterly cold out, but he really did not want to be recognized at the moment, not to mention the fact that vampires were around a lot more these days. He honestly did not like being outside of St. Mungos, especially this close to nightfall, but circumstances had him out of his comfort zone today. The Order had received a tip that there was someone in Knockturn willing to give them information, for a price of course, and since information was something that they seriously lacked, he had taken the chance to come out and check it out. He could have sent another Order member of course, but he felt as though that this was something that he needed to check out himself.
Of course, Luna had no idea what he was up to, and he wanted to keep it that way. If she knew, and he knew that eventually, she would, she would most likely hex him up one side of London and down the next, but he would cross that bridge when he had to. Coming to a corner, he looked around for any threat, keeping right hand inside his cloak close to his wand. Seeing only a few run down buildings and a few that he was fairly sure were selling items of dark nature, he continued on to the allyway where he was told he would meet his informant. He had no idea what to expect, or what to hear, but in times like this, he had to take what he could get. After all, Neville Longbottom had something to prove.
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Post by julia on Mar 31, 2009 20:55:54 GMT -5
Another fight. Really, Julia should have been able to see this one coming. Well, probably not yet, she still wasn't good enough with the whole being a Seer thing. But really, going out together was enough to spell disaster these days. She was getting closer and closer to the end of her schooling, closer to James demanding she join the ranks of Voldemort's followers. And of course this had been the subject of their latest fight. James had introduced her to a friend, a fellow Death Eater, and she had just taken off. No doubt he was looking for her all around Knockturn by now.
At least he hasn't killed you yet. That thought echoed around in her head as she traveled, wrapping the cloak tighter around the pink polo. Nothing stood out in Knockturn Alley like hot pink. At least he hasn't killed you yet. It flashed back into her mind, causing her throat to tighten as she choked back a sob. Really, he was her big brother. He was supposed to protect her from all of this. Sure, James thought that he was protecting her, maybe. But more likely he was thinking on how to make this work for him. To boost himself.
But Julia didn't want to be like her big brother. Not anymore. No, she had other plans. Get some money aside and take off. Try to find the surviving members of the Order of the Phoenix. She had hard whisper of them a few years ago, and it seemed like her dream. Maybe she was being an irrational teenager, but it just seemed like something she would love. Julia turned into a side street, ducking into the shadows and pressing herself against the wall. Her head fell into her hands as she took a few moments to catch her breath. After a few minutes of heavy breathing, and the occasional choked sob, Julia realized she wasn't alone. Composing herself a wiping her eyes, Julia looked up at the other figure in the alleyway.
"Oh. Um. Excuse me. I didn't see you." [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Mar 31, 2009 22:02:59 GMT -5
Neville was so lost in his own thoughts and problems, he had no idea that he was no longer alone. Years of living on the edge and fear of death had made him very cautious and not to mention very vigilant. Before another word was said, he had whipped around in a half second with his wand pointed out in a defensive stance. What he saw before him made him relax, but only just a little. He had also learned in recent years that trust was very rare and as a result, did not trust anything he saw, at least not at first.
"Oh. Um. Excuse me. I didn't see you." The timid sounding voice belonged to a girl...no he amended to himself, more like a young woman, and from the looks of it, she was in trouble. It could still be a trap, so Neville approached with caution, and only lowering his wand slightly. As cautious as he was, he was still a kind and helpful person. If this woman was in genuine danger or distress, he wanted to help her if he could. His business could wait, at least for a moment. "Excuse me Miss. Can I help you somehow?"
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Post by julia on Mar 31, 2009 22:41:50 GMT -5
When the wand came out, Julia's own was out just as quickly, the same sort of defensive stance taken. Her assumption was that the man in front of her was a Death Eater. After all, who wasn't these days? Is this really what it was coming to? That everyone was just going to draw wands first, ask questions later? And James wondered why she didn't want to join Voldemort as soon as she graduated, like he had. Julia readjusted the grip on her wand, still trying to calm herself down completely.
When he spoke, her wand dropped to her side. But at least he wasn't aiming his wand at her anymore. Well, not as directly as he had been. Good. It wasn't like she was going to hex him. She had no reason to. "That depends." A simple enough answer. Her eyes flicked to the entrance to the alley, expecting James to come along and drag her back to the house for a nice little chat about her future. "Are you promoting the same crap as everyone else around here?" She questioned, not really caring anymore if someone heard who shouldn't have. If James wanted her to join up with Voldemort, people would have to start treating her like a person, not just like a Seer, like she was some sort of pet or an object to be used. [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Mar 31, 2009 22:54:36 GMT -5
Neville watched as this woman whipped out her wand just as fast as he had, and getting into roughly the same stance as he. "Very nice," he thought to himself. Her actions were something that he could appreciate and even admire. She was either a very well trained Death eater or, dare he hope, someone that could be a potential alley. He took a moment to really look at her. She was pretty enough, though she had that hard look about her, the one that said she had done some pretty hard living in her short life. No one that age should have that much stress on them was Neville's opinion. When she spoke, it was with a voice that was hard and dripping with skepticism.
"That depends...Are you promoting the same crap as everyone else around here?" He let his hopes rise just a little. That one statement, if it was not fake, told him that this woman was a potential alley. Neville decided to throw caution to the wind and trust her..at least for the moment. He walked slowly toward her with his empty hands in front of him, he had stowed his wand back in his cloak, but within easy reach. He wanted to show her that he was unarmed, and that he was showing her some measure of trust. "If by 'crap' you mean what this world has been brainwashed into believing, then no, I don't believe a word of it. Now I ask again, what can I do for you? I can hep you if you are in need."
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Post by julia on Apr 1, 2009 5:34:02 GMT -5
Julia's wand slowly lowered to her side, though it remained in her grip. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place his face. One of James' friends? No. There was no way. He didn't look like the Death Eater 'type', whatever that was. No, the man in front of her was too different from everyone else in Knockturn for him to be one of them. Or at least she hoped to. She might not say she cared, but spilling her true feelings about everything that had happened in the past ten years wouldn't be a good plan if this man was indeed a Death Eater.
She tensed, tightening the grip on her wand as he approached her, but the item remained at her side. He didn't have his own wand out anymore, so there didn't seem to be any real reason to worry about that. Of course there was wandless magic, but that couldn't be helped, could it? She ran her free hand through her hair, letting out a sigh at his question. But at least he wasn't like the rest of them, or sounded that way. "Well, there's not too much anyone can do. I'm just sick of it all. My brother has been trying to shove more and more of this into my brain for the past ten years, getting me ready to join Voldemort when I graduate, but he never seemed to think I might not want to join up with the cause." Who would think so? Joining Voldemort was the thing to do these days. "It's just that I'm sick of everyone looking at me and treating me like I'm some sort of pet, or an object that they'll all be able to use if I join. I mean, it's not like I'll be able to force visions or anything. Really, you'd think people would know more about Seers before jumping at the chance to force one into their ranks." [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Apr 1, 2009 20:37:06 GMT -5
He was not stupid. He could see a lot in this girl. he could see that she was going through something pretty serious and perhaps life changing. He could see that she had led a rough life in a very short amount of time, and more than anything, he could see that she did NOT want to be in the situation that she was currently in, whatever that was. Knowing pretty certain now that she was a small threat to him, Neville came closer to her, knelt down and looked her in the eyes as she started to rant. Hell, it was more than that, she opened up the floodgates.
"Well, there's not too much anyone can do. I'm just sick of it all. My brother has been trying to shove more and more of this into my brain for the past ten years, getting me ready to join Voldemort when I graduate, but he never seemed to think I might not want to join up with the cause." Who would think so? Joining Voldemort was the thing to do these days. "It's just that I'm sick of everyone looking at me and treating me like I'm some sort of pet, or an object that they'll all be able to use if I join. I mean, it's not like I'll be able to force visions or anything. Really, you'd think people would know more about Seers before jumping at the chance to force one into their ranks."
So that was it, she was a seer and Voldy and his cronies wanted to use that to their advantage. Hell, he wanted to use that to the Order's advantage. But he, unlike those that she just mentioned, knew that a seer's power could not be turned on and off at will. He knew now what he had to do. The first thing that he had to do was to get her away from anyone that would harm her, even if that meant her own brother. He would deal with the consequences later.
"I believe I can help you Miss., despite what you may think, but you have to trust me. As a sign of that trust, I will tell you who I am. My name is Neville Longbottom. Now, who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
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Post by julia on Apr 1, 2009 20:53:46 GMT -5
Julia couldn't believe what she was saying. Just spilling her true feelings about everything to some complete stranger. Hell, for all she knew he was going to drag her off to be Crucio-ed until she gave in or there was nothing left. Wasn't that what Death Eaters did? Just used brute force to get people to bend? And if those people wouldn't bend? Well, Julia didn't particularly like thinking about that. Especially since she'd grown up with those people.
When he spoke, when he told her his name, Julia's jaw dropped. Longbottom? She had heard of him. Of course she had heard of him, James ranted about Neville Longbottom and the Order of the Phoenix so much, it was no wonder that Julia had become fascinated by them, had chosen to study them as much as she did, albeit in secret. But how would he help her? Except perhaps in the long run, after she had graduated.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Longbottom." She managed, the respect shining through in her voice. After all, he was leading the rebellion against Voldemort and his ways. The man was everything Julia wanted to be. "My name is Julia Porter." [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Apr 1, 2009 23:30:13 GMT -5
Neville had to suppress a grin when he saw her mouth drop. That was a reaction that he had seen Harry get countless times, but had never experienced for himself, and he found himself conflicted about it. On one hand, he was honored that he would be recognized by someone who was out of the order and, from the looks of it so far, not a death eater. But on the other, he did not do this for the fame and notoriety. hell, truth be told, he really wished that he did not need to do this at all. Still, this could come in handy for both him and the order. He had the very distinct feeling that he had just made a powerful new ally.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Longbottom....My name is Julia Porter." This time, he did chuckle. He lazily waved off her formal speaking of his name, "please, call me Neville. I find very little use for formalities, especially in these times. It is a pleasure to meet you Julia. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing alone in this," he gestured around him, "roughpart of town?" He had a pretty good idea based on her earlier statements, but if he was going to help this young woman, especially in the short term, he needed as much information as possible. He had already decided that he was more than likely going to take her to Order headquarters as soon as possible.
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Post by julia on Apr 2, 2009 10:51:22 GMT -5
Julia realized it wasn't every day that the man in front of her was respected this much for his work. After all, the majority of the wizarding world would jump at the first chance to take him down. Very few actually believed in the things that he did. But Julia was included in that small number, and was quite sure that she'd never be able to shake the feeling of respect that she had for this man. He led the Order. The reason that she actually put up with James, what gave her hope that there was something other than becoming a Death Eater.
His chuckle made her smile a bit, and she let out her own chuckle when he asked her to call him Neville. Well, at least that was cleared up. Julia had always been a fan of formalities, as long as the person she was being formal to was alright with it as well. But being casual was alright as well. She ran a hand through her hair at his question, letting out a sigh. "Well, I agreed to come here with my brother, James. He's a Death Eater and we really hate spending time together, it leads to fights, but I needed to pick up a few things. And then he wanted to introduce me to some of his friends, Death Eaters of course, and I just took off from him. And I'm sure he's looking around for me, so I just ducked into the alley, wanting to get away from everything for a bit." [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Apr 2, 2009 14:01:49 GMT -5
"Well, I agreed to come here with my brother, James. He's a Death Eater and we really hate spending time together, it leads to fights, but I needed to pick up a few things. And then he wanted to introduce me to some of his friends, Death Eaters of course, and I just took off from him. And I'm sure he's looking around for me, so I just ducked into the alley, wanting to get away from everything for a bit."
Yep, it was just like he thought. Julia was in way deeper than even he had originally thought. At first he thought that her brother was just a bad influence on her, but to actually want to force her to join them...well that was just too far in his opinion. He now knew without a doubt that she needed his help, and he wanted to help her any way he could. He considered his options. He could of course take her right now to Order headquarters, forget his mission for the moment, and not only train her himself but harness her powers for good, which he was sure that she wanted anyway. Or he could offer he as much protection as he could now and send her back to school, hoping for the best. The second option did not sit well with him. Here was a child that needed his help and he would not be able to live with himself if something bad were to happen to her. Still, he decided to give her the choice.
"Julia, I believe that I can help you. As you are seventeen you are old enough to join the Order, though in the state it is in now, we could probably take you even if you were sixteen, or even fifteen. So it is yor choice. What do you want to do, and more importantly, what do you want me to do for you?"
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Post by julia on Apr 2, 2009 14:30:45 GMT -5
Julia watched him, hating the feeling that she had intruded upon some sort of important business. Surely Neville Longbottom wouldn't just be wandering around Knockturn Alley for the fun of it. But he was offering to help her, so she couldn't have been a huge interruption, right? And she had a feeling that something big was going to happen because of this meeting, that she'd have a chance to get away from everything she'd been having problems with before.
And there it was. Neville was offering a chance to join the Order. She hadn't been expecting that at all. Once again, she ran a hand through her hair. "I'm actually not quite sure." She admitted, looking at Neville again. "If at all possible, I'd like to finish school, maybe set aside some money somehow to take care of myself. When I'm at school, James leaves me alone. Is there anywhere I'd be able to go during vacations?" She asked, starting to formulate a small plan. "I'll definitely take you up on the offer to join the Order, whether I do it now or when I graduate."
She hoped he was alright with that idea, she just didn't want to give up school yet. She didn't even know why. Maybe it was that not everyone at the school was like the Death Eaters, some felt the same way she did, they just never vocalized it. [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Apr 3, 2009 11:42:55 GMT -5
"If at all possible, I'd like to finish school, maybe set aside some money somehow to take care of myself. When I'm at school, James leaves me alone. Is there anywhere I'd be able to go during vacations?" She asked, starting to formulate a small plan. "I'll definitely take you up on the offer to join the Order, whether I do it now or when I graduate." She was wise beyond her years, and somehow he had already known that. Hogwarts was the best place for her, and he knew that too, but even so, it was still an evil school and he felt the need to protect her. Though, she did have a point, her brother would leave here alone there, and when she graduated, she could fully join the order.
"I commend you for wanting to finish your education Julia. I can sense that you are already a fairly powerful witch and with the training that Hogwarts can give you, not to mention my own personal training once you get out, there is no telling how much you could achieve. Yes, go back to school, prepare yourself, and as for money, don't worry about that. I assure you that you will be taken care of once you leave. You will never have to worry about your brother again."
Normally, Neville hated to break up families, but this was a special case, and both of them knew it. She needed protection from her brother and Neville, as well as the rest of the Order would do what they could to do so.
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Post by julia on Apr 3, 2009 16:06:34 GMT -5
His reaction was a relief. Hogwarts was a dangerous place, she would have understood if he had been hesitant. There were plenty of chances to get into a mess there, especially if anyone figured out that she actually wanted to join the Order, that she was serious about all of this. She'd just have to be a bit more careful with the things she said around the students and professors when she went back. And then she had something to look forward to after graduation.
"Neville, I can't thank you enough for what you're saying. I heard about the Order a few years ago, and ever since I've been trying to find out everything I could." She smiled, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulder. "If there's anything I can do for you or the Order before I graduate, please don't hesitate to ask." She was excited, almost unable to wait until she graduated. But she wanted to learn everything she could from Hogwarts, meet the people she would be going up against in future years, maybe even learn something about the Death Eaters that they'd be able to use.
"But I do have another question. If I need to find you, where would I look?" If something were to happen at Hogwarts, Julia wouldn't go back to James. If it came down to it, she'd just join the Order straight away. And in order to do that, she needed a way to find them. [/size] |
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Post by Neville Longbottom on Apr 4, 2009 11:19:26 GMT -5
"Neville, I can't thank you enough for what you're saying. I heard about the Order a few years ago, and ever since I've been trying to find out everything I could." The relief was evident in her voice, and Neville smiled to hear it. It was not very often these days that he got to make someone happy, and he was glad to do it. This girl had potential, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure that she lived up to it. Not to mention lived long enough to realize it. She was the future of the Order, and it was witches and wizards like her that would lead in the new order that would arise with the defeat of Voldemort. He knew that he had to cut this short, Order business could only wait so long, but he hated to let her go this soon. Thankfully, she saved him from having to make an awkward decision.
"But I do have another question. If I need to find you, where would I look?" Thankfully, he had the perfect solution. You did not hang around Hermione Granger for many years and not have some things rub off on you. He took a simple looking mirror out of his pocket and handed it to her. "This is a communication mirror. All you have to do is to look into it and say my name. I will appear in it as soon as I can and we can talk. If I ever need to contact you, I will do the same. You will feel it heating up when I am trying to contact you, so try to keep it on you at all times. Its a simple enough spell, and besides, who would question a mirror that you carry with you?" He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Listen, everything is going to work out just fine. Just get through this year and when you get out, we will take care of you. Things will NOT stay this way for much longer. I can promise you that."
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