Post by Trevor Williams on May 19, 2012 21:02:32 GMT -8
Bob = Robert Lawson
Kit = Kathaleen Whisper
Monday, December 22, 2008
Whisper Manor
Their infiltration into Hogwarts had been interesting to say the least, but atleast now Lawson knew exactly what was going on despite the insanity of it all. They'd returned to the basement of the Hogshead Tavern to spend the night before trekking out to find the Whisper Manor, Lawson had promised Kathallen that he'd take her home. .After that? He wasn't sure what he'd do actually, if anything it sounded like the location would prove to be a quiet and safe place to hide out for awhile and possibly teach Kathaleen whatever she wanted to know about defense against the dark arts. They were flying high over the English countryside atop Lawsons flying motorbike, their few belongings in bags strapped onto the back with Kathaleen carrying Fred.. There was no way he was going to abandon his motorbike, they'd been through to much to end their relationship now! "Seems it's remote enough! Lawson yelled over the sound of the engine and the wind as it was nearly beating them to death. Peering down through his riding goggles he could see acres and acres of trees, If it was as remote as it seemed? The hideout would be quite perfect.
"Lets go down for a closer look shall we?!" With that he dropped the motorbike down to near tree-top level. "Never been here right?" he asked, a bit unsure of the exact direction to take.
Clutching tightly to Fred, one arm wrapped around Lawson’s waist, her face buried in Fred’s Neck she almost didn’t hear him speak. Kathaleen lifted her chin up just enough to shout back at him, “No never been here.” She gasped out. Keeping her eyes shut tight. It wasn’t that she didn’t like heights; it was that the wind blew to hard and Kathaleen didn’t have ridding glasses like Lawson. “I think…it’s to the left!” She said, pointing out the top of a large house. Or it might have been a barn; she couldn’t be sure from this far away. Kathaleen had written down the address on a piece of paper and given it to Lawson; he’d read it then set it on fire. As they came closer to the Manor Kathaleen could tell that it wasn’t too large in size nothing like some of the houses they’ve passed. Obviously her Great-Grandmother was not very high in standing, enough that she was respected but not enough to not work.
Kathaleen tapped Lawson’s chest, where her hand rested. “There! You see it?” she shouted at him, still trying to keep her breath. Every time she lifted her head the wind tried to steal it away. She shifted slightly, legs and thighs numb from the constant ride. She’d be glad to get off this bike. As they neared the front of the house, grey cobble stone drive way, long fence going around the obvious part of the property, the house itself was made from a red brick and had at least two chimmenies that Kathaleen could make out. The front door was painted white with four panes of glass. “Looks nice” She shouted, wondering what the inside would look like.
"I hope its your house and not someone elses! I'd hate to die as a suspected burglar!" he quipped over the roar of the engine, swerving to the left he gracefully decended until making contact with the ground below. The house wasn't to bad at all, it boasted a moat atleast which was something Lawson Manor did lack. "Not bad at all." he responded, cutting the engine. Compared to his families home, It was a little bit smaller but that didn't matter.. and who knew! Maybe it was bigger on the inside. "I like it, very secluded." he said as he removed his riding goggles and engaged the kickstand. "Let's check it out shall we?" swinging his leg over he hopped off, stumbling a few steps as his legs were stiff and a little sore from riding so long. "Gah, getting to old for this stuff.." he said with a soft sigh, turning for the front door.
The silence from him cutting the engine was almost deafening. Kathaleen pushed Fred off her onto the ground and pulled herself off the bike. Her legs, like jelly wobbled for a moment. She reached out and grabbed the bike to steady herself against it. After a moment she followed him. ”secluded is right. I didn’t see a house for miles when we were up in the air.” Moving past him she pressed her hand against the front door. There was a bright flash of light and she was flung back into Lawson, who had been waiting behind her. She blinked her eyes open. “That sucked…” she remarked lightly. The door now stood open and a small house elf, dressed in an old blue children’s suit stood there. He bowed slightly and stepped back. “New Mistress Whisper! We been waiting long for you!” He squeaked and stepped back. ”come come. Rupple is me! Tizzy be here toosnapped his fingers and another house elf, smaller then him and in a horrible pink girls dress stood next to him.”Tizzy sees guests are here! Tizzy will make tea. Rupple will show them the parlor.” Her long nose quivered with excitement. Rupple nodded and motioned for them to follow moving into the French doors on the left. It opened into a large parlor complete with old faded red velvet chairs. [”Sit sit. Rupple will start a fire for Mistress Kathaleen and…guest” Moments later a fire was blazing in the hearth. Kathaleen frowned and sat down just as Tizzy brought the tea, squeaked and flung her self at Kathaleen’s feet. ”Tizzy is so pleased to have a Mistress again!” Kathaleen yelped and tried to pry the small creature from her legs. ”Yes, yes alright…okay….” she looked at Lawson for help, but the small elf let go and with a snap of her fingers disappeared. ”…I’ve never really been around house elves. Not many trips to the Kitchens. Is that normal behavior?” she asked rubbing her shoulder absentmindedly.
"Oof!" Lawson stumbled back as he caught Kathaleen who was thrown back from the door, some sort of protection obviously. "Let that be a lesson to you.. don't touch strange doors!' he said mocknig a lecture. Though when the door did open, the first thought for Lawson was. 'I wonder how insane these elves are...' He'd grown up around the Lawson families house elf, who was actually quite stable for a House Elf but he'd seen some rather flakey and insane Elves too over the years.. It was apparent pretty quickly that this one was a bit.. crazy? He said nothing as he followed Kathaleen inside, Fred outside was investigating every tree possible again. "Thank you." he said politely to Tizzy as he took the offered seat, watching the antics of the two elves. Clasping his fingers together he continued watching, until Tizzy clung herself to Kathaleen, Lawson could barely contain his laughter at the scene and made no offer to help her. Disappearing, he brust into laughter until he started coughing. "Yes and No.. Some House Elves are more psychotic then others.." he remarked.
As the house elves disappeared leaving them with their tea Kathaleen leveled a glare at her Professor. “Thank you, then for your help against a crazy house elf. Maybe they’ve been so long with out…er…a Mistress or what ever that they’ve gone a bit barmy.” Shrugging Kathaleen picked up her tea and looked at Lawson. She cast a quick charm on her tea to see if it was poisoned or spiked. “ And they told me reading all those Murder Mysteries and Horror stories were useless.” she remarked dryly. Then fixed herself and her Professor some tea, ”How do you take it?” she asked. Fixing it as he directed she held it out to him. “So…how do I call one back? Just say their name? Tizzy? And-” Tizzy appeared and smiled, Kathaleen sighed and stood up. “Is the tea not to Mistress’ liking? She asked worriedly, ringing her hands in her dress. Looking over at Lawson, she glared for good measure then turned her attention back to the house elf. “No, Tizzy it’s fine. We were…that is…I was wondering where the bedrooms were and could we have a tour of the house?” Tizzy clapped “Of course Mistress! Tizzy will be happy to show the house!”
Tizzy showed them through the other door in the parlor. Taking them to the dinning room, then through their into the main hall way, where the front door was. The French door on the right lead to the living room, and a set of stairs, and a door onto a patio, Tizzy explained, that there was another set of stairs in the kitchen. Up the stairs on the second floor Tizzy pointed out the Library, and family portrait gallery. Tizzy kept that door shut stating that under orders of the old Mistress they were not to go in there. Kathaleen raised her eyebrows and looked at Lawson. Shrugging they followed the small thing as she pointed out two bed rooms. Stopping at one with an oak door. “This is too be Mistress’ room. It was Mistress Whisper’s before and now it be yours.” The room was furnished and decorated in black and gold with hints of red here and there. Not overly done, not overly girly. Kathaleen smiled. “And there’s a room for…Mr. Lawson isn’t there?” Tizzy nodded and lead them to another door across the hall pushing it open. It was slightly smaller then the first room but all in all it was laid out the same. Tizzy closed the door and pointed out the attic’s string. “Only two levels. I expected more. Ah well.” Kathaleen murmmered and tossed her bag on the bed in her Great-Grandmother…no her room, as they passed.
"You're quite welcome!" Lawson responded grining. Accepting the cup of tea, he nodded. "Thank you, and its possible.. House Elves can be 'special at times." The tea was quite welcome, as his throat was extremely parched after the long, tiresome ride here. "Oh yes just... nevermind." he said waving his hand as Kathaleen got a answer to her question. Quickly finishing off his tea, he rose from his seat and clapped his hands. "Oh great, I love a good tour!" Soon he was following Kathaleen and the Elf on the grand tour, eventually finding his 'own room' though, he was looking for a good place to practice duells and though they could do it outside, he preferred a grand open area indoors just to stay out of sight. "IS there a basement? Or a nice large open room around here?" he asked, though he'd been rather impressed with the Library and had already made a mental noet to check it out later. waiting for a response he leaned forward, whispering to Kathaleen. "More? Its quite nice.. I might just say forget the war and stay here!>" he said teasingly.
Kathaleen shrugged and waved at her ear where Lawson had whispered. “Right. Well, they wouldn’t find us that’s for sure.” She agreed but her thoughts had fallen back to Lilian. She knew that neither of them could just wait out the war. So she followed Tizzy back down stairs. “Master Lawson should be pleased with this!” She squeaked at him. Once on the main floor again she walked to the parlor again, and tapped on the wall next to an old painting of the sea-side. A door morphed into view. Kathaleen’s eyebrow jumped up to her hair line. “Well. Great. Secret rooms.” She shook her head and Tizzy pushed the door open inside, it appeared to once have held wine. But had been cleared out for the most part. “If Master and Mistress gives us days we will have it it for your needs…” Tizzy said looking at her feet. Kathaleen smiled and looked for a light, Tizzy seeing what she was looking for snapped her fingers and candles along the walls lit up. “Mistress Whisper did not like wine. Nor the other two before her. This room has gone unused and mostly forgotten.” Tizzy said looking around at the dust. “Just tell Tizzy what you wants and Rupple and Tizzy will make it so.” She said happily. Kathaleen patted the thing on the head. “Thank you Tizzy.” She turned to Lawson and smiled. Tizzy looked at Kathaleen then at Lawson and then back again, she giggled to herself before disappearing. Kathaleen shook her head. “Strange creature. Will this work for you then?”
"Oh fantastic.." Lawson murmured with a perked brow at the new doorway. "I love secret rooms!" he chirped excitedly before rushing in with the others. "Oh, this will do quite fine." he assured Tizzy as he looked around the room. After disappearing he began to pace about the room, noting every design feature, object and the like. "Good open space. I think it'll work quite well." he gestured to a bench against one of the walls. "I can mix potions there.. yes.. yes it'll be just perfect." he said, almost rambling as he turned on his heel to face Kathaleen with a big grin. "Nice place you have here kid!"
“Thank you.” Kathaleen responded leaving the room and going back to the parlor. She leaned back and sighed. “I’m going to go finish my tea and then have a bath.” She left him, her eyes barely tracing over him. Her shoulders slumped, tears stung at her eyes. After a moment she blinked them away. Grabbing her tea off the counter she headed up stairs slowly. Fingers brushing against the walls she wondered how many other woman, girls, did this same moment. The house seemed to be familiar to her, but not enough that it was comforting. She sighed and leaned against the wall, tears pushing out of her tightly closed eyes. She pressed a hand to her chest to stop the ache. She gave a silent sob, shoulders shaking. Tizzy appeared and pressed a hankie into her hand and then was gone. Kathaleen didn’t even notice, she just pushed the cloth into her face and slid to the floor. After a minute, or ten she couldn’t be sure, she stood up. Breathing leveling out. Hanging her head she used the wall for support and started back to her room. She pushed open the door and didn’t bother looking around the room. Once she got to the bathroom she frowned the light was bright and so she turned it off, Tizzy had already run the water for her. “Tizzy…candles?” She asked, a moment later Tizzy appeared looking sadly at her mistress and made three candles float in the air, casting just enough light Kathaleen could make it into the tub. Sighing, Kat stripped down and stepped into the water. It was just this side of being too hot, hissing, when some of it hit her newly healed wounds Kathaleen finally let herself relax into the bath. Her mind wondered, and she thought about her sister and where she was, and once more how to get into the death eaters camp to find her.
Meanwhile Tizzy ran to Rupple. “Mistress is very sad. Very dark…Tizzy is worried for her…” Rupple sighed and patted his friend on the shoulder. “Tizzy should rest. Rupple will take care of Master-“ “Lawson” Tizzy supplied having heard it earlier. Rupple nodded and snapped out and next to Lawson. “Master Lawson should be writing or telling Rupple what he needs the space to be used for so Rupple can start work…”
Despite the tone of the situation, Lawson had made his attempts to try and keep Kathaleens spirits high though it seemed he had only been moderately successful. "Enjoy your bath M'lday." he wished her with a smile and polite nod, anything to try and cheer her up right? Nevertheless there were other pressing problems, like what was the next step? The situation was still pretty sketchy, especially as far as the ministry and exact goals of the Death Eaters were concerned.. The best bet was making a connection with the Order of the Phoenix as soon as possible, but on the other hand Lawson was keeping his distance from everyone until he understood the situation better. He was now siting in the living room again, pondering these questions when Rupple appeared next to him. "Gah! Oh hello.." he grumbled at the House elf, a little annoyed by his persistence. "I'll let you know as soon as I know myself." he tried joking with a hollow laugh which ended with a sigh. "You can help me bring my bags in and find a place for my motorbike though.."
Rupple was a very good house elf. He noted that the man-guest seemed to be displeased with his presents. “Rupple will put the Motorbike in the shed and place and unpack Master Lawson’s things. Rupple will only come when Master-Lawson calls him” And then he winked back out, assumedly to push the motor bike into the shed and unpack as he’d said he would.
Kathaleen pulled herself out of her bath, dried off and wrapped herself in a robe. “Tizzy…” a small pop and Tizzy stood before her. “Tizzy is here!” She squeaked. Kathaleen smiled and looked at the house elf. “I have a couple of favors…One, do you know where Great-Grandmother Whisper kept her journals? Two, can you wash and clean my clothes? And can you find something for me to wear in the mean time?" Tizzy nodded and winked out again then back. “Tizzy has placed a spare sleep dress on Mistress’ bed. Former Whisper Mistress kept her journals in the library. Tizzy can not touch them. They are spelled.” Tizzy hung her head. But before she could cry or punish herself Kathaleen spoke up. “Thank you, you did wonderful Tizzy.” The house elf left and Kathaleen crossed the thresh hold into her room. She picked up the faded blue night-gown, it was floor length with straps and three pointless buttons on the front. On whole fairly decent... Feeling odd but putting the clothes on any way, Kathaleen sighed. She knew her professor was trying to keep her mood up and it worked, most of the time. Opening the door she headed for the Library still towel drying her hair. She let the towel fall on her shoulders as she entered. The room was large, far larger then you light assume from the outside. But then, this was many, many generations of Whispers collections. She ran her eyes over the spines of some of the covers. There on the highest shelf something sparkled and caught her eye. She frowned, and grabbed the nearest ladder thing, and climbed up. Pulling it off, she saw three more like it, one with a plane blue cover and one with a red cover, another with a green cover and the one in her hand with a brown cover. She pulled all three of them off, and then paused; there hidden behind another book was a slim leather bound book with black ink on the side. She picked that one up as well feeling a small jolt go through her. Once down she curled up in one of the chairs, Tizzy had already started a fire and brought more tea for her. She opened the first book and began reading.
"I... bleh." Before he could even make an offer to help, The elf was gone. It'd been many years since a House Elf had served him and it was quite odd actually, and then he wondered just how the Whispers had treated their house elves. Many people treated them quite horribly, though his family had always treated their house elf with respect. If anything it made him feel a little useless, "eh, might as well have my own look around." Yes, somehow the tours always missed the good parts and he wanted a crack at that library. Leaving the living room he wandered the halls until he again found the Library and surprisingly Kathaleen. "Find something good?" he said with a faint smile.
Kathaleen looked up and tucked the black covered book she’d been reading under the seat cushion, holding up the red covered journal. “Yes, well…sort of. Just my Great-Grandmother’s old journals. Nothing really interesting yet. Well…It is interesting just…not really. Pretty mundane stuff.” She trailed off looking away from Lawson stumbling over her lies. Picking up her cup of tea she sipped on it. The black covered book had been from Frances Whisper, as of right now Kathaleen didn’t know what relation she was exactly. But so far the book was interesting, far more then Great-Grandmother’s dairy. This journal had spells written in it, thoughts, it was….well it rather reeked of angst teen ager with a dark twist to them. She shivered while reading it. But that was tucked away. Her voice got stuck in her throat. She had no idea how to make small talk Lawson. So she just let the silence sit and stretch. Turning her eyes back to the worn pages of the book.
"Ah." He nodded in response as he paced towards one of the bookshelves. "Family history can be quite interesting, even if it is mundane.." he explained to her while scanning the titles of the various books on the shelves. "Sometimes you find interesting surprises, find out that that you were more like them then they realized, same problems, all of that." It was then he found one book, that seemed to have a interesting title as he plucked it from the shelf. "Or you find out something utterly shocking and its either amusing or well.. shocking.." Truth was? He was rambling a bit, his rambling tone piercing the otherwise silence of the room for a few moments before he realized he was rambling and looked up to her. "Oh.. So so sorry.. I'm rambling again."
Watching Lawson wonder around the library Kathaleen raised on eye brow. “S’alright Professor.” She shook her head and looked back down at her book, it must have been from her Great-Grandmother early twenties. The name signed in float-y letters at the bottom was, ‘Alexia Whisper’. Kathaleen traced the pen marks with her finger, letting the book rest open on her lap. Her eyes stared at the fire with out seeing it. She sighed and looked back down at the journal. Maybe…she should keep with the tradition and write in one as well? She shrugged off the idea looking back at Lawson then away and at her book. “When do you think we’ll be able to start training?” She asked. Another thing of tea appeared and along with it a few scones and biscuits. Kathaleen helped herself to more tea but avoided the food.
Flipping through the pages of the book he offered a faint shrug. "As soon as you feel you're up to it I suppose." He figured she'd probably want some rest first, but whatever suited her was fine with him. "Rupple keeps asking me what I need for down there." he chuckled. "I havent thought that far ahead, but.. persistent little booger." he quipped, before noticing the biscuits she had. "Oh! biscuits! May I?" he asked, putting on his most charming of smiles given he was almost starving after the long ride they'd taken.
"Then can we start tomorrow?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. She leaned forward. "Yes Alexia whisper said that Tizzy and Rupple generally were ignored by her parents, but took good care of her as a child. Very loyal creatures, she said...." Kathaleen trailed off, standing up and easily sliding the black covered book in with the others. "I think I'll take these to my room and bed down. I'm exhausted. But we can start tomorrow..right?" for the first time since she'd walked in on her families murder her voice carried a note of...something that hadn't been there. Hope maybe.
He smiled at her. "That'll work with me. I imagine I'll be pretty stiff in the morning after a ride like the one we took earlier, ugh." The dull muscle aches were already begining to set in a little, and he knew it'd only be down hill from here. "Seems most House Elves are ignored, Sad really." he admited, thumbing through the last few pages of the book as he himself recounted fond memories of their own house elf and the fun times they'd shared. "Oh. yes.. bedtime reading is good, good.." he said absently, sliding the book back into its place. "And we'll begin.. I hope you're ready." he said with a sly smirk and wink. "Good night Madame Whisper." he said bowing slightly.
Raising her eyebrows Kathaleen offered a tired, half-hearted smile at her Professor. That sentence sounded so very wrong. She shook her head slightly but no hair fell in her face, she’d have to break herself of that habit. “Yes…a shame.” She responded, walking to the door. “Good night Professor Lawson. Sweet dreams.” She said, though the ‘sweet dreams’ came out a bit more dry and sarcastic then she’d hoped for. Waving from the door, her bare feet padded down the hall to the bed room. Honestly, she had meant to read before going to sleep, however when her head hit the pillow she was sucked under. Nightmare’s plagued her dreams. She rolled over, and woke up gasping. Stumbling out of bed she ran to the bath room leaning over the toilet. Though she felt like vomiting, nothing came up. Leaning against the wall she just stared blankly for awhile. After some time she stood up and unable to go back to sleep, light one of the lamps by her bedside. She opened the black journal.
*A/N This is…somewhere in the middle of the first war. There are no dates and it’s hard to tell exactly how old the writer is. There’s a new wave happening. A new era will be emerging. And I plan on being in the center of it. Mum yelled at me again today, something about being peaceful. Just because I cursed some kid in Diagon Alley. Really the muggle-born filth deserved it. I managed to get my hands on this there are three newspaper clippings and one cut out from a year book of Belatrix Legstrange Isn’t she just gorgeous? I find her so amazing. She was a seventh year when I started school but I never actually met her. I mean, I was just a first year, to lowly to be noticed. Anyway. Apparently this war that’s going on, with something called the Death Eaters, they’re fighting for a truly noble cause. It’s amazing. My family doesn’t take sides, they just sit around grandmother watching her, watch her stupid crystal ball. Apparently the ‘gift’ of seeing skips a few generations. Sometimes I wish that I’d never been forced to move in here. It’s so infuriating! I have all this talent that no one sees! But someday, they’ll know me and my name.”
Kathaleen read on, slightly horrified and intrigued. This person, girl apparently, filled the pages with talk of death, killing and hate. As she got further into the book Kathaleen realized that this girl, was not a true whisper. No, she was muggle born through and threw. Her parents had been friends of the Whispers, (Kathaleen was curious how that was possible but the author didn’t see fit to explain) and when they died there were no living relatives. It was only by chance that this girl had magic, and there for was adopted into the family. Sunlight peeked in under the blinds. Kathaleen looked up, realizing that she’d read most of the night and was only half way through the journal. She tucked it under her pillow. The poor girl in the journal was so…dark and hurt. And no one in her family could even see it. She still hadn’t seen a name yet. Sighing she stood up and walked to the closet, pulling out the newly cleaned jeans and an old shirt. Tucking her wand into it's holster, she ran her fingers through her hair and stepped out into the hallway.
She passed the libary and went to the dinning room. Hopefully Professor Lawson would be there and ready to start the training.
After Kathaleen had left Lawson must've spent an hour skimming through the many books in the whisper collection, some where rather interesting though the collection paled in comparison to his fathers of course, but that collection had been amassed over two lifetimes and through extensive traveling. But eventually fatigue began to set in and after retrieving Fred he retired to the room the House Elves had shown him. It was certainly a step up from the Hogshead Basement, and more comfortable then his cramp Office slash apartment he'd had at Hogwarts. As well as not being so drafty of course. "Here you go, I'll be in shortly." He told the floppy and lanky hound as he laid him on the pillow of the bed, taking a few moments to pet and scratch what he sometimes considered his only true trust worthy friend. Getting up from the bed he took his time, kicking off his shoes, dropping his trousers and losing his shirt as he wandered into the bathroom to take a shower.
The hot blast of water was soothing to his aching muscles as he immersed himself, standing there for six or seven minutes just trying to relax and unwind after the previous two days. Lawson sighed softly, realizing that Hogwarts and all of this was only the beginning and it'd certainly get far worse before it got better. The fact was Lawson hated being out of the loop, not knowing how far Masters schemes had gone and not knowing truly how dangerous or bad the situation was. For all he knew he could be a wanted man right now, or perhaps he could go tap dance in the Ministers Office. And how strong were the Death Eaters now? Was it just abunch of old school survivors looking for revenge? Or had they replenished their numbers and were making a move for true power? It was impossible to know at this point. Liberally Lawson began applying the soap to his body while a magical scrub brush started its work on his back, allowing him to concentrate on his thoughts. Then there was Kathaleen, he knew he couldn't leave her by herself for long, it was to risky and it felt wrong. Why he felt so responsible for her he didn't know really, but that was jut how he was sometimes. The Masters question made all of this a lot more difficult, as well as her sister of course.. Because otherwise he could probably get her enrolled at another wizarding school elsewhere but.. That was a moot point, for now he was going to do as he'd promised her and teach her what he knew.
'The things I know..' he thought to himself with a hefty chuckle, certainly all of the magic he knew wasn't suitable for her of course, but it was amusing to think about. The Dark Arts made up most of those spells, and he'd do his best to avoid teaching her about those arts unless he felt it'd allow her to better defend herself. The Dark Arts had seduced him before he knew it, and he'd be damned if he let that happen to her. Though as he washed and scrubbed he began thinking about the things he'd need to start the training process and began making mental notes of it as he moved onto washing his somewhat grimy hair. After a good 30 minute shower, he cut the water off and dried himself off before wandering back into the bed room to a notepad and quill which he used to make some notes for the Rupple, which he slipped under the door knowing the elf would probably find it. Soon the lights were out and he was curled up in bed with Fred sleeping almost on his head. Sleep came easy after such a long day..
The following morning it was just as he'd said, he woke up with muscle aches all over, and with a lot of groaning and cursing he pulled himself from bed, staggering around the room to unstiffen his joints he found the closest, and the clothes that the Elves had expertly unpacked and hung up. Changing into a proper set of clothes for the day, he left the lazy basset hound in bed as he trotted down stairs and to the dinning room where he figured breakfast would be served and low and behold, thats where he found Kathaleen. "Oh good morning!" he said rather cheerfully
Rupple and Tizzy had worked all night on the list Master Lawson gave them. By morning, Tizzy went off to cook up some breakfast, and Rupple put the finishing touches on. They were done by the time Kathaleen set down for breakfast.
Kathaleen, sighed and sipped her tea eyeing the biscuits. She picked one up and put it on her plate, tearing into it but not eating it. She looked over her shoulder as Lawson came in, chipper and bright. She glared at him, and pushed the food away. “Morning Professor. I’m ready to start, when ever you are.” She stated, quiet ready to get down to business. She toyed with her wand and leaned back in her chair. “Oh, and I was wondering, if you’d help me ward the house. I was talking to Tizzy about it ealier. Just some basic stuff to keep it well protected.” Running her fingers through her hair, Kathaleen was glad to see that her shoulder no longer had that dull ache. It was indeed healing up fast and nice. Her eyes drifted off to the ‘magic’ door. “If you’d like to eat breakfast first I can busy myself in the Library.”
"You should eat more." Lawson told her as he sat down for breakfast. "Hard to wage war against Death Eaters on an empty stomach. you know? Besides, Look at you.. skin and bones.. Eat something or you'll look like me!" It almost sounded like a school lecture but.. On to the other question, which he nodded an affirmative to. "Of course, I can help with that quite well." yes he was quite handy at charms. "We should name our hideout something." he said as he took a sip of his morning tea and dug into breakfast.
Bringing her plate back to her she took a bite out of the bisqute. "There happy?"she asked, and then pushed it away agian. "I ate already in my room. I was just picking." she lied smoothly this time. Tilting her head left, and the right hard she heard a satisfying pop. "Good, thank you." yawning the last of sleep from her voice, she frowned. "What do you mean name? It's called Whisper Manor...or are you thinking of like...The Bat Cave or something?" She shook her head, eyes wide. "You are a strange one, Mr. Lawson..."
"Well.. alright." He reluctantly relented from the whole matter of food, concentrating on his own breakfast instead. Lawson couldn't help but burst out laughing at her mentioning of the Bat cave. "Or the Catcave works." he said teasing her, yes most thought he was strange for his knowledge of muggle culture. "Maybe a theme song too, how about that?"
Unable to fight the laugh that bubbled in her throat, Kathaleen jumped up from the table, "Duh-Duh! DUN DUH DUN DUH DUnnnnnaaahhhh CATCAVE!...." She sang, before falling into the chair laughing. "Oh merlin." Wiping the tear from her eye she stood and walked away from the table. It was too silly and ludicrous to be imagened. But halarious all the same. Smiling she looked out the window. "We'll need costumes you know. Can't go out in our normal clothes! And masks." She laughed, picturing Mr. Lawson dressed up like batman, she snickered and burst out laughing again. "You, with bat ears! And...." she broke off with another laugh.
"Tights? are we going to wear tights?" he asked smirking, though maintaining some sense of seriousness. "I don't know, Never pegged myself as a man who'd wear tights.. But dont knock it til lyou've tried it right?" Finally he couldn't help it, first with a small chuckle before bursting out laughing.
It felt good to laugh, really laugh, for the first time in days. Kathaleen sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure you could pull of the tights look, Professor..." She said and then let the laughter leak away. "But then, maybe you could." She shrugged as if to say, she didn't want to think to hard about it. Cheeks flushed from laughing she set down her tea. And headed to the newly dubbed CatCave. She pushed open the door, and then stepped right back out. "Those house-elves sure know how to work." she stated, and waited for Lawson before going back in
The whole idea seemed so ridiculous it kept him roaring with laughter for a few moments before finally dying down. "Oh.. That's so funny.." he sighed softly, chuckling a little more. Forcing himself to finish off his breakfast
in a quick fashion he soon joined Kathaleen, and lead the way down the stairs to the 'CatCave' as it were. The things he'd asked for weren't to major, some training dummies, obstacals and restrains to allow for realistic training for many scenarios. "Oh bloody hell!" he bellowed, with a edge of disapproval as he spun around on his heel to face her. "They forgot the leopard print wall paper.." he said quite seriously, until the rather serious look was replaced by a grin. "It'll be quite perfect.. Yes indeed.."
If Kathaleen had brought her tea with her, she would have dropped it in surprise. Luckily she'd left it on the table, and instead stared at him. "Oh please, Mr. Lawson, Leopord print is so last year." she bantered back non pulsed. After a moment she looked around and walked over pokeing at one of the shackles hanging from the wall. "So, when do we start?" she asked, turning to look back at him.
"You know me.. Always behind with the times." He quipped while striding around the room, double checking that everything he wanted was in place. Of course, the need for some of the 'equipment' here depended entirely
on Kathaleen and how far she was willing to go. Hogwarts was for general education in magic, Even if the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class wasn't a jinxed joke, it still wasn't enough in his opinion to prepare
anyone for the real challanges of combat though that wasn't true with all schools and in fact? Some were quite brutal in their teaching methods but for Lawson he believed he could find a place in between that'd allow him to
teach Kathaleen what true wizarding combat was like and prepare her for many things. He wasn't sure how well she'd handled herself against the Masters kids, as they hadn't spoken about it but he intended on finding out eventually anyway. As he examined the dueling dummy, he shifted on his heel to face Kathaleen again. Lawsons Expression was different then it was before, serious and focused as he approached her.
"First.." He started. "I have to ask you Kathaleen, how far are you willing to go? Are you prepared to face your fears? Are you ready for a taste of what real combat has to offer?" At this point he began to circle her, as if he was a predator stalking his prey. "Are you ready to face death itself and discover how to beat it? I can either teach you the basics, or I can relate to you what I've experienced.. But if its the latter?" he chuckled, shaking his head at her. "It won't be easy, It won't be fun and it could be painful.. Is that what you want?"
Stepping away from the wall and the chains she stood in the middle of the room. She watched as something shifted, changed in her Professor. Gone was the fun-loving, joking man, a shiver crawled it’s way up her spin. He asked her questions. Kathaleen was quick to answer them, truthfully. “All the way. Yes, I’m ready. I want to learn it all…” she whispered. As he circled her she stood stalk still, keeping her chin up and eyes locked on the wall. “Yes, yes this is what I want.” her voice was thick, with fear, as she said it. But that was alright fear wasn’t something new to her. She was ready to face everything he could throw at her. She would face it, fail and face it again. Lilian’s smile kept playing in her head, her laugh, like a record stuck on repeat. She nodded again.
Lawson was mildly impressed by her attempt to be brave and strong, but despite the horrors she's already seen she'd only had a tiny taste of what was to come. In someways it pained him to have to do this, but he knew it was for her own good and hoped she wouldn't hold back on him either. "Good.. The first thing you must remember is.." Trailing off he'd put about six feet between them by the time he circled back around her, "That you must always be ready! Death doesn't wait on anyone!" It was a tipoff, the only break he'd give her today as he drew his wand in a swift motion and flicked his wrist, crying out 'Stupefy' which shot out a jet of red light towards her which would probably hit her somewher below the waist unless shed moved, regardless Lawson rolled behind the cover of one of the basement columns to prepare for his next attack. "The one rule in war is, there are no rules, no honor.. Its all about sneaking up behind your opponent and bashing his head in and doing what it takes to be alive!"
Breaking from Cover Lawson quickly ran to the next column, letting off a few more Stupefy spells against Kathaleen before taking cover again. "Don't believe the romantic stories, this is a dirty business that puts you life at risk all the time.. If you want to be alive at the end of the day? You have to be ready.."
The tip off was just enough, she spun to face him, throwing up a shield. But she wasn’t fast enough it hit her leg, and she went down. With out pausing to think she crawled as fast as she could behind the nearest cover. Gritting her teeth she cast the counter curse for stupefy and stretched her leg. Looking over the edge of the box she ducked down just in time to miss a streak of red that Lawson sent at her. Kathaleen bit her lip and aimed her wand at the pillar waiting to see a body part. She swallowed and crawled slowly away from her box, moving quietly as possible until she rolled against the ground to hide behind another pillar herself. Kathaleen went through all the spells in her head. “morsus-seco” she shouted at her teacher. It was a fairly simple stinging spell, meaning literally, ‘sting-pain’ She leaned back panting. Another set of curses buzzed by her she ducked down and crawled back to her boxes, waiting for Lawson to run to another cover the next spell “Locomotor Mortis” on the tip of her tongue. She took aim and waited, breathing heavily waiting.
'Not bad.. not bad at all.' Lawson thought to himself as he patiently waited behind the column, but it wasn't going to be enough. He'd used his speed, reflexes and advantage of cover to avoid her attacks. The other key lesson here would be patience, the rash were the ones who would lose while those who took their time and worked all of the angels were the most likely to win the day. Another important lesson was the value of a good distraction, popping out from theother side of the column he only exposed himself for enough seconds to conjure a hailstorm of 'heavy' metal ballbearings over Kathaleens postion, Oh it would hurt quite a bit and probably leave a 'few' small bumps on her head but the point of this exercise was to drive her to the limit, once the distraction was in play he fired a second spell off in quick sucession, his corrupted version of Mobilicorpus, but instead of simply lifting a body a few inches, it'd throw her upward towards the celing if it struck her!
Lawson showed himself just enough for her to cast “Locomotor Mortis” a leg-locking curse. She had no idea if it hit, because at the same time it began to rain metal down from the sky, it reminded her of the Masters boy and his damn marbles. Kathaleen cursed and hissed in pain, rolling out in the open to get away, she cast ‘Progjecto’ her shield, but the spell only covered part of her body and she was hit with Lawson Morili-corpus. She was flung upwards and smashed into the ceiling. Crying out she pointed to the ground casting a softening charm on the boxes she was about to land on. It still hurt, but not as bad as it could have been. She lay perfectly still for a moment trying to get her breath back in her body. She jumped up and scudded to new cover, casting “ lumen- sicco” it darkened all the lights in the room leaving them in blackness. It only took her a moment to realize that, maybe that wasn’t the best move. Now it was pitch black, the room was big enough that it didn’t frighten her, but she could only hear her heart beating in her chest. She couldn’t see, couldn’t hear. She pointed randomly and cast nitidus brevis levis” (literally meaning ‘bright’ ‘short’ ‘light’ )a common spell for children playing hide and seek or find the muggle, it cast a bright bit of light for a moment in the room. Kathaleen rolled from her hiding spot right after she cast it so if he fired she wouldn’t be where she was. She caught enough site of him to shoot stupefy at him again, having no idea if she’d hit her mark.
Lawson yelped and stumbled a bit as her leg-locking curse got a lucky break and hit him, this forced him to shuffle back int cover and counter the curse effectively preventing him from his intended follow up attack. Catching his breath, he was surprised when the lights went out. "Clever girl.." he murmured to himself, but ultimately he could use this against her as well. Lawson kicked his shoes off to cut down on any possible noise during his 'sneaking' and then he shuffled out across the floor, keeping the the layout of the room in mind as he moved across the room and took cover behind another column, this would hopefully allow him to make the perfect ambush against Kathaleen. As soon as she casted her brevis levis spell he came out of cover, pointing his wand at her but before he could speak the incantation she cast stupefy at him and only because of his sharp reflexies was he able to drop down to one knee, narrlowly missing the magical bolt.
"Expelliarmus!" he cried out, casting it once, then rolling to his right and casting it a second time! Making himsel fa moving target made it all the more difficult for Kathaleen to get a accurate hit on him, and a quick barrage of spells would really put anyone on the defense.
Kathaleen watched as her spell almost hit her mark. Before she could celibrate too much he cast Expeliarmus. She flung herself away from it and ended up behind a pillar, staying there for only a moment, she cast her shield again and ran after Lawson. He was quick and moved every where at once. That’s what it seemed like at least. Kathaleen was taking a chance, not being under cover. But she’d taken a cue from her teacher. It’s harder to hit a moving target. It seemed harder still to hit a moving target while one was moving. She flung and cast as many first year, second year spells as she could think of. Annoying little things really, more of a distraction while she tried to think of something that would really catch him up and cause him to stumble. It didn’t work, she was so busy trying to think that she wasn’t paying enough attention to the battle. One of his Expeliarmas’ or maybe it was something else, Kathaleen couldn’t be sure. Either way her wand tore itself from her hand and she flew back against the wall sliding down it. Her eyes opened, closed, opened again and then closed. She’d hit her head hard enough that she’d passed out.
And then there was silence and darkness again as apparently his spell his his mark. Waiting a minute or two, Lawson finally came out form his cover, raised his wand and cast Lumos to bring light back to part of the room atleast. A quick search soon turned up Kathaleen, crumpled on the floor and apparently out cold. The sight sent a pang of guilt pulsating through him but deep down in his heart, he knew this was the only way. "I'm so sorry.." he murmured, carefully scooping her up in his arms before carrying her up the stairs. Hopefully she learned somethign from this, but next? He'd teach her how NOT to get knocked out.
Swimming back to consciousness’ Kathaleen blinked repeatedly. It took her a moment to reorganize her thoughts. She was fighting with Lawson. That thought spiked her into movement, she rolled off the bed, head pounding and fired off a stupefy at what she assumed was Lawson sitting in the chair next to her bed. She’d reached half way across the room before she realized, she WAS in her room. That he’d been sitting there. That she’d been knocked out and apparently the Lesson was over. She hissed in pain and clutched her head. “Oh gods.” It felt like Athena was trying to come out of her skull. She leaned back against the wall, still on the floor. After a moment she made her way back to bed. “Sorry Professor.” Kathaleen said looking at the covers.
"Oh, yo..." The poor man never knew what hit him as Kathaleens Stunning spell caught him square in the chest and literially knocked him, the chair and the book he'd been reading over. Lawson hit the floor with a loud thud, out cold for the moment. He'd examined her injuries and done what he could for her, before siting down to wait for her to wake up but of course his mistake was not taking her wand away from her! Well they were even now. After a few moments he finally began to stir with a loud groan. "What the few..err hades.." he grumbled, now his head was pounding from the spell and hitting the floor! It took a few seconds before he pieced what happened together. "Oh.. Kathaleen.." he mumbled, quickly trying to get to his feet just as she apologized. "Oh no.. We're even now I think.." weakly smiling as he leaned against the wall.
She smirked a little. "You said you should always be ready." She looked at her arms, small blurple colors popping up. Shruging she turned to him. "So, until I got knocked out and tried to run through a wall, how'd I do?" she asked, though her head was pounding she was already to start training again. "Should we go back and try again today?" she asked, swinging her feet back to the ground starting to stand. Oh gods that hurt. She was sooo sore.
"Har har.." Lawson said mockingly as he smirked at her. She sort of had a point, but it was indeed his own fauot. "My fault for not disarming the prisoner." He admited while picking the chair up from the floor and sat it right side up. "Well.. You could've done better, but you could've done worse." he told her rather flatly. "But you took your first step into a larger world Kathaleen, You have to confront your fears, learn how to deal with them and turn them upon your enemy." And he knew the truth was that there would be many sessions before she'd learned the skills required to stay alive.
Kathaleen offered Lawson a tiny smile at the prisoner remark. She hadn’t actually been apologizing about knocking him out of his chair, but that was alright. She lifted her chin slightly, listening to his criticism. “So what do I do better? How do I get better? Was it when I turned the lights out, when I couldn’t see any more?” She sighed and looked at her hands. “I’ll train day and night, read what ever you want.” She said with conviction. “But I will learn this, and I will learn it faster then any one else had too.” She swore more to herself then to Lawson. Her hands tightened into fists.
A soft smile crossed Lawsons lips as he sat down again. The enthusiasm she showed was good, though Lawson wondered if it might have more to do with a drive for revenge then anything else. Either way that was power she could embrace and turn against her enemies, though the line between embracing the rage and using it and allowing it to consume you was a fine one at best. "Sometimes darkness can be a powerful ally, Thoese who wish to kill you can't if they can't see you." he explained to her, intertwining his fingers together. "But you have to learn how best to utilize it, what could you do better?" he asked mostly of himself, shrugging. "You just need more practice, understanding of tactics and experience.. All of which I can give you."
Then he sighed softly deciding to tackle another subject. "But I have to ask you something, Is there a element in vengeance in this? Is that whats driving you?" He asked the questions, but felt they were rhetorical, he'd done the same thing in her position, but he'd asked to open the subject and explain a few key concepts.
Kathaleen nodded, eyes squinted, watching him. She understood what he was saying about darkness. Biting her bottom lip she tried to think of what she could have done better. “I could have moved quieter. Listened harder for sounds of you moving…” she said softly, more to herself then him. He continued with talk of tactics. “I’m grateful for everything you give me Mr. Lawson.” She said, seriously.
“Yes. Yes, there is some vengeance, but that’s not all.” Kathaleen hesitated, she knew that part of why she wanted this, wanted to push herself to the edge was to gain revenge for her family, but the other part. “Sir, you don’t have to believe me, but I know my sister is alive,” she covered her face for a moment, then dragged them down back to her lap. “She’s the only family I’ve got left. I’ll do what ever I can to save her” swallowing thickly she turned her face away from her professor. The lighting casting shadows to dance on her cheeks. “And until I find her…I won’t stop working or searching.” Kathaleen didn’t feel the need to tag on the fact that if she found Lilian and the girl was harmed, or worse dead, then she would focus solely on revenge. If it came to killing every one and anyone who touched her sister, her family, she’d do it. She’d take down as many people as she could. The young lady sitting on the bed, was not the same that had sat at the table in Hogwarts just a week ago. This girl, woman, was calmly about to face the edge, was standing feet away from it, knew what she was doing and was alright with it, was fine with the consequences.
As she spoke Lawson listened and nodded along, the girl was on the right track and that was greatly pleasing. "It's the least I can do for you Kathaleen." And for him it was, he felt horrible about her parents and though he wasn't responsible, he felt responsible for her well being given the fact that there was noone else. And if anything would save her now it was friendship and love. "I never said I didn't believe you." he reminded, there was no body apparently which could mean she was alive. "And I'll help you with that goal along the way." Lawsons mission was two fold, but if the Death Eaters were involved with her sisters disappearance then it was just a stop along the way really. "However, vengeance.. revenge, call it what you will can be quite.. powerful." He told her, dead seriously as he gazed at her. "Revenge itself is never a straight line.. It's a forest, and as such it's easy to lose your way.. To get Lost Kathaleen, and forget where you came in at... Trust me I know." A wise Japanese man had said that, or atleast he had in a movie anyway. "Hold on to those you love, never forget who you are in the grand scheme of things.. But the man who spoke those words also said.. For those engaging in combat, the vanquishing of thine enemy should be a warriors only concern. Suppress all emotion, compassion and kill whomever stands in your way.. Even if that be a Teacher or Merlin himself. The heart of combat." Well it was partly his words anyway, a few changes but it fit the situation well enough. "You understand?"
“If I do get lost….as long as I don’t forget why I’m fighting, I don’t mind.” She said nodding. As he spoke Kathaleen watched him, interlocking her fingers together. “Yes….I think so. It means…what ever happens, don’t think about anything else until you’ve ‘vanquished’ or killed your enemy….till you’ve reached that goal you set for yourself. And if some one, even some one you trust….gets in your way. You have to kill them to, or dispose of them, to get what you need…right?” She asked, frowning, she hoped she understood what he was trying to say. “Are you saying that if it comes down to saving my sister and killing…y…a friend…I should the friend?” She asked. Merlin forbid that it comes to that, but if it did…Kathaleen wondered if she’d be able to pick up the wand and do it. Really do it. After thinking for a moment, she knew that the answer was yes. She’d do it, and what ever else. She could feel revenge shifting just under her skin. She looked back at Lawson. “If that’s what you were saying then yes. I understand completely.”
"If you get lost, It'll destroy you." Lawson jumped to correct her. "If you get lost, you've forgotten your way, why you chose to walk the path in the first place and ultimately its all in vain." As she recited what his words meant to her it struck him as kind of strange, Professor Robert Lawson of Transfiguration was teaching this school girl about revenge and killing, something the Ministry sure wouldn't approve of that was for sure. Regardless he let her work it all out on her own, obviously she was struggling with it some but that was only natural. "That is your choice, and yours alone Kathaleen. Some of those I went after during my.. 'vendetta ride' had been friends at one point.. I did what was necessary. I'm not telling you who to kill or why.. I'm only giving you the knoweldge to protect others, defend yourself and bring justice to those who deserve it." He paused, pacing his words and letting her soak them in slowly. "What you do with that knoweldge is your choice."