Post by Trevor Williams on May 13, 2012 17:49:54 GMT -8
Sarah = Natalya Grant
Me = Jennifer Herado
December 24, 2008, 12:23 p.m.
So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head
I try to live without you, every time I do I feel dead
I know what's best for me
But I want you instead
I try to live without you, every time I do I feel dead
I know what's best for me
But I want you instead
One of the perks of being the daughter of a semi-well-known Death Eater was being able to walk the streets freely without worry despite the attacks that had sent everyone into a frenzy. That was why Jennifer Anne Herado found herself inside a café this freezing afternoon, bundled up in a scarf and her favorite black robes near the small fireplace the eerily empty place had. She was munching cautiously at the caesar salad wrap she had ordered off the café's menu and sipping at her iced tea. It had always been a favorite of hers here at this place, which was why the pending war hadn't stopped her from coming here. It was one of the few places that had stayed open in order to try to maintain a public norm and have their own itty bitty, silent protest against the wrongs done at the now-closed school and the Ministry.
Jennifer herself had mixed feelings about this whole ordeal. On the one hand, she had grown up practically adoring Voldemort and all he and his followers stood for and had practically been prepared to take the mark should he ever come back. In that front, it left her utterly thrilled that there was something she could now do to serve the dead man's memory. On the other hand, there was Charlie, and she couldn't simply just give him up. She had grown to care very deeply about him over their brief couple months of dating at the school, and just giving him up didn't seem possible. Of course, she hadn't spoken to him since the eve of the battle, not even on the train home the day following. She just hadn't known what to say to him. Her mixed feelings made it hard, but they had also been what had stopped her from going up to her father and telling him that she wanted in because she really didn't know if she wanted that or not.
What would be the best choice for her? Life as a Death Eater or dating Charlie and standing by him? If she were to stick with Charlie, she feared her protection in this war would be gone. She would be foolish to stick with him, completely foolish, but it was what she wanted. Every time she thought of leaving him, she felt sick, and it hurt so much she wanted to cry—something Jennifer didn't just up and decide to do on a normal basis. Crying was for the weak; crying was for the girly-girls, and she was neither weak nor a girly-girl. She was strong, tough. She wanted to stay that way, but if she stuck with Charlie, even if she wouldn't cry and would therefore feel tough, she would lose the protection her father offered her, and thereby she would become weak. Why was it that, when she knew what would be best for her, she wanted the other? Why did she want Charlie when she shouldn't, if she was in her right mind?
Safety was a big issue in this world now. Could Charlie keep her safe? She thought long and hard on that question, but she couldn't come to an answer. She wanted desperately to believe he could, but then again, Charlie was only one person compared to legions of Death Eaters. She and Charlie were only two against many. Of course, the Death Eaters wouldn't be directly after them because, let's face it, Jennifer wouldn't necessarily be siding against them by choosing him, just choosing not to join them. But maybe they only looked at things in black and white. Maybe it would be looked at as siding against them. Maybe she would be putting them both in danger by choosing the one over the other. Oh, she was so confused. She needed someone she could confide in, someone she could talk to, even if she couldn't divulge the whole situation.
She sighed and then took a bite of her wrap, which had lost its flavor to her in all her thought. She set it down and played a little with her straw, swirling it around in the light brown beverage before taking a sip just as a cold gust of wind, which caused her to shiver, accompanied by the sound of a bell distracted her as she looked up to see who it was. Maybe it was someone she knew. It was, after all, a small world.
Natalya was glad to be out of the ministry. Everything had been so hectic since the attacks, she hadn't had any time to herself in days so that morning when she went into her office, Ms. Amanda Levine announced since it was christmas eve and she had been working her butt off, she was taking the afternoon off. So at noon Taly had grabbed her purse and headed to a local cafe. Walking in out of the cold wind, she looked around and saw a familiar face- Jen Herado. She smiled across the room at her and waited to see if she recognized her.
Jennifer smiled as she recognized the blonde that had entered the café. She lifted her arm, motioning the woman over. "Hey, Natalya!" she greeted, the appearance of a new face being enough to change her mood for the time being. There was no need to let herself get weighted down by worry. It was just stupid, right? Maybe this was just what she needed...a distraction. She'd left her dad because he was annoying her with constantly telling her to do something and she'd needed time to think, and now she'd had time to think, and a friend had appeared. "Merry Christmas!"
She leaned forward, taking another sip of her tea. May as well take a good sip. The other had been cut short, not that it really mattered, just that she was a little thirsty. After that was done, she took a small bite of her wrap, setting it back in the little, paper-lined red basket once she had taken it, chewing and sitting back in her chair, her arms loosely crossed as she fought off the lingering cold. It'd go away in a few moments, of course, but right now it was a little miserable.
Taly smiled back and made her way over to Jen's table. Taking off her cloak, she returned Jen's 'merry christmas' with one of her own and draped her cloak over the back of her chair. Smirking, she said, "Well I see you escaped unharmed from the school. Run into any problems there?"
Jennifer didn't respond for a few moments, merely took a sip of her tea to buy time. It was embarassing to admit, after all, what she had to admit. Bested by an Order member. Granted, he was probably something like a hundred years older than her with even more than that much experience over her, but it still was humiliating, especially considering that she wanted to be a Death Eater. It would be so great to present this as a reason for her to be accepted to their ranks...not. She sighed and rolled her shoulders as she sat back in her chair nonchalantly. She took a compact and some lip gloss out of her purse and opened the compact, looking into it as she unscrewed the lip gloss and applied it to her pinkish lips.
Smacking them together and tightening them as she looked them over and removing a piece of lettuce from her teeth, Jennifer shook her head, snapping the compact closed and smiling. "Nothing I couldn't handle, Natalya. Just some brats who thought they could do better than a seventh year. Shame, aspiring so young to be Death Eaters. Don't know what I did to provoke them." She laughed briefly and shook her head. No, it wasn't the truth. It was anything but, but she didn't want to admit to being outsmarted by an Order member, the very people that she had grown up being lectured to about how dumb and incapable and emotionally-run they were and how they could easily be taken out by a first year should the need arise.
Her father would be unforgiving to hear that his daughter couldn't even handle one of the least of these. Deputy Headmaster, Ravenclaw head of house, and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Casey Winslow was one that everyone in the Death Eater ranks laughed at and hated all at once from what her dad had told her. Derrin had, apparantly, on one occasion, bested him simply by mentioning his wife and all the horrid things he was considering doing with her. Had killed him, too--or so they'd all thought. Of course, turned out the man had feigned his death with the help of his fellow Order members, as here Casey Winslow obviously still was today, but all the same. If Derrin could beat him, her father had argued, anyone could.
Yet, he had defeated her. Sure, she'd got in some good spells. She'd left him with a sprained ankle but little more. He'd knocked her out cold. The next thing Jennifer remembered after having sent that Stupefy spell at him was waking up under the Statue of the Humpback Witch with the world spinning in and out of focus and her head throbbing, her heart pounding within it. Her head was still a little sore, come to think of it. She was surprised Winslow hadn't said anything about it and that she'd been allowed on the train. The only thing she could figure out is that he either a) forgot about it in all the aftermath events that followed or b) figured she wouldn't try anything without Death Eaters around. Either way, she'd escaped without the Order taking her in. That was an accomplishment of some sort, she supposed.
Natalya listened to Jen's answer and watched her body language, knowing she was lying. Natalya's grandfather had entrusted her with a family heirloom after Voldemort's last fall: the Faber Family Ring (see character sheet for description). Using the Ring, Natalya saw Jen was lying about the little brats who tried to beat her. Reading her memories, she saw who really bested Jen and was a bit surprised. She knew Jen aspired to be a Death Eater, but didn't think she would've attacked an Order member, especially one she had regular contact with. Smiling amusedly, Natalya looked Jen in the eyes and said quietly, "Uh-huh....so when was it you attacked Casey Winslow then, Jen?"
Jennifer rolled her eyes. Stupid of her, really, to think she could get away with always lying. Natalya always seemed to know. She really should learn Occlumency. But seriously, foul play! And those thoughts and memories were her own. She didn't like the idea that just anyone could figure out what she was thinking about just by meeting her eye or, if they were really good, just looking at her. At least most people didn't know about Legilimency or Occlumency. Ministry preferred it that way for sure. Didn't mean that it wasn't common amongst Death Eater ranks, though. After all, they had their identities to protect and hide from their co-workers. She looked back at Natalya. "Just drop it, a'ight?" she told her, raising a fine-lined brow. "I'm unharmed, and that's all that matters. But I'm curious about you. Just what did you do during the attacks? Were you at the school or the Ministry, hmm?" Perfectly executed defense mechanism put in play there, she thought. Switch the attention to Natalya and all would be well again, no?