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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 19, 2008 17:22:42 GMT -5
Roland loved his job, but that didn’t mean he didn’t feel stressed sometimes. Most of the time he took out his stress on the Death Eaters, but there was a time to act with a little more care. Usually, that was when children were involved. His most recent assignment, which had taken him out of town to the mountainous hills of Wales, had been just such an assignment.
A group of Death Eaters that he’d been tracking had holed up in a small muggle town, making slaves of a muggle family with a large farm. They’d all been placed under the Imperious Curse and had no choice but to do whatever the Death Eaters wanted. Mostly all they had done was cook and clean and, occasionally, steal things from the neighbors.
He’d finally managed to track the Death Eaters down, and he had to fight them… but they commanded the muggles to stand in front of them as a kind of human shield, so that he was unable to fight them adequately. They knew he wouldn’t turn the full force of his wrath on them when there was a chance it would hit the children. The three children, in particular, haunted him with their wide, innocent eyes.
In the end, the Death Eaters had gotten away, and he’d had to bring the muggle family in to have their memories altered. But one of them, the oldest, was a girl of about 13. She reminded him so much of his youngest sister, Amandine, and it hurt him. Although he wasn’t good at saying it, he loved his family, and positively doted on his little sister. He knew war was coming and he feared for his baby sister’s safety.
So he sat in the Hog’s Head, downing shots of firewhiskey and trying to block out the memories of the muggle children’s vacant eyes.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 19, 2008 22:52:41 GMT -5
Hayden himself just returned from a mission himself. It was difficult, yes and the Death Eaters had gotten away much to his dismay. However, the good thing about the mission was that he prevented from anyone getting hurt. Of course, that was what he kept telling himself. Although he felt like he failed his mission because the Death Eaters got away, he had to look on the bright side of things or it would have brough him down hard.
The Hog's Head was the usual place he went after he returned home. He was tired but a drink was always in order. Walking in, he didn't bother looking around, but a familiar face caught his eye.
Hayden walked up next to him and stood there. "Hey Roland," he said before ordering his drink.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 19, 2008 23:15:32 GMT -5
Roland glanced up to see his cousin Hayden standing next to him. "Oh, hi, Hayden," he said. His tone wasn't particularly enthusiastic, but that had less to do with the company and more to do with his own personal issues. "I heard you were off on a mission. When'd you get back?" He took another drink from his glass, draining it, then nodded to Zander for a refill.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 20, 2008 0:14:21 GMT -5
He gave a nod to Zander as he filled a glass for him. "Yeah, heard you were off on one too," Hayden said. "I just got back from mine just a few minutes ago. Figured I'd stop in here before I head off back to my place and sleep for a few possible days." He ran his hand over his eyes before looking back to Roland.
"When did you get back?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 20, 2008 9:53:39 GMT -5
Roland took his newly-filled glass and stared into the depths for a long moment. "Last night, actually," he said. "Spent the day at the Ministry for a debriefing." He sighed and turned his head sideways to look at Hayden. "My mission wasn't exactly successful. How about you?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 20, 2008 10:07:34 GMT -5
"It depends on how you define successful. I've been trying to look on the bright side of it. They ended up getting away, but I did prevent them from harming anyone else. They had jinxed a poor woman sleeping, and just a day before I got there I found out that I was a day too late for someone. It was an elderly muggle, but still." Hayden shook his head. These kinds of things came with the job, he knew that. "Although I think I did injure the leg of one of the deatheaters."
He sighed before downing half his glass. "What about yours?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 20, 2008 10:27:22 GMT -5
"I had 'em cornered," Roland said. "But they were using a family of muggles under the Imperious Curse as slaves... they made them stand in the way, so I couldn't get a clean shot. One of them hit me with a paralyzing spell in my wand hand... and they got away." He clenched his fist angrily. "Only good thing is, I saw their faces... no masks. I can identify them. And when I see them, I swear... they're going to regret it."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 20, 2008 10:35:22 GMT -5
Hayden felt bad for Roland. "Hopefully you'll get them," he said. He knew that Roland had every right to be angry. "You'll run into them again sometime and you can finish it. I just wish that we could catch one. If we could, then maybe we could get names of people in the ranks of the deatheaters." He finished off his glass. "Although, it's not going to be that easy until they start getting extremely careless."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Nov 22, 2008 12:12:40 GMT -5
Roland sighed and took another drink from his glass. Right now he felt useless, like a failure. This was unacceptable to him. He should be out there, tracking the Death Eaters and pounding them into the concrete. He knew that they had come back this way, but he'd lost them in London. For all he knew, they could have apparated out of there, but so far, he had been unable to find any evidence of that. So instead, he was here, trying to drown out the memory of the little 13 year old muggle girl and her vacant blue eyes as she stepped in front of the Death Eaters.
"You're right," he said. "Right now, it seems like they're everywhere and they know what they're doing. Their actions may seem random, but I'm convinced there's a pattern."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Nov 24, 2008 23:26:16 GMT -5
"Maybe there is a pattern, but we just haven't figured it out yet. We could possibly figure it out by taking a step back and looking at the attacks," said Hayden. "They're smart and we've got to try and find a way to outsmart them, and find their weaknesses. I'm afraid if we don't do that, then we will remain a whole step behind them and things will get worse." He gave a shake of his head and finished off his glass. "Plus, they know that we'll think about how we should have got there faster. They'll try and make us drive ourselves crazy."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 1, 2008 14:16:40 GMT -5
Roland's expression was grim. "Things will get a lot worse before they get better," he said. "Not to be negative, but I'm convinced that if we don't get a break soon and catch one of these guys, they're just going to keep catching us by surprise. We'll be reduced to cleaning up their messes after the fact. This new trend of going around wearing hoods... it's frustrating. How are we supposed to even know what we're dealing with?"
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 1, 2008 23:37:38 GMT -5
Hayden just shook his head. "I do agree with that. Things always seem to get worse before they get better. And I also agree that they are going to keep catching us by surprise. I mean, they're battle plan seems so random. There's no set map of where they're going to attack. We need to get people on the inside, even though that will be dangerous and the person will be risking their lives working as a double agent, but at least we would figure something out. If it comes down to it, I'll go for a double agent."
He ran a hand through his hair. He wouldn't mind risking his life as long as it was to save others. "They're wearing hoods so that we can't find out what we are dealing with. They don't want us to know them. Now, we can't trust anyone around us whatsoever. Hell, the guy at the table in the corner could be one of them for all we know. They are doing it so that they can get the best of us and make us weak and fall. If they try to get one of their own in the aurors, we're screwed, simple as that."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 11:41:58 GMT -5
Roland was quiet for a minute, as he thought over what Hayden had said. It did seem like double agents, on both sides, were likely to become a regular occurrence. He had considered volunteering himself for such a job as well. He had the demeanor for it. The trouble was, his identity as a member of the Ferrera family made him too recognizable. It would be hard to pass himself off as a death eater when everyone seemed to knwo who he was already.
But the idea of a death eater within the auror department was a frightening thought. And it had already occurred to him. This was one of the reasons why he kept to himself at the office; he didn't trust anyone.
"I just think about Jamie and Amandine, and it scares me. I want them to have the kind of life they deserve, you know? They're just kids. They shouldn't have to worry about stuff like this. Like that girl getting killed at Hogwarts. We have to work harder to prevent things like that from happening."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 12:23:17 GMT -5
"I know," replied Hayden. "I worry about them too as well as Sheena and Liam. They're so young. I mean, I'm not too much older than they are, but this is what I signed up for. I know the dangers of the job but I want to do it to protect them. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to them." He ran a hand through his hair.
"We'll work twice as hard, but sometimes that might not be good enough. We have to know what is going on over there. I think the reason that they are usually two steps ahead of us is they know what is going on here and if we don't figure out what is going on there, then we're just setting up ourselves. And that girl at the school, maybe we can prevent that from happening again. After all, there are going to be more of us over there."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 13:35:30 GMT -5
Again Roland was silent for a moment as he drank from his glass. Hayden was probably his closest friend. He was family, but not so close that he felt protective of him, like he did for his siblings. Instead, Hayden was more like an equal in Roland's eyes. They were similar in a lot of ways, more than he and Cyrus would probably ever be.
"Ever think about how it will end, Hayden?" he asked. "For you, I mean. Every time I go out on a mission, a part of me can't help but think that I might not come back. I just hope, however it happens, I go out fighting."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 13:46:33 GMT -5
"I dunno Roland," replied Hayden. "I think about the same thing. I don't know if during a mission something goes wrong and I end up getting killed. That enters my mind every time I go out. Although, I think if I can take a few of them with me it'll be worth it." He tossed back the rest of the contents of his glass and put it on the bar.
"I do hope I'm around long enough to see them fall though. I just want to make sure that Sheena and Liam have a fighting chance of making it through at having a normal life too. I don't want them to have to deal with fighting this."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 14:06:39 GMT -5
Hayden's protectiveness towards his younger brother and sister was one of the reasons why Roland felt such a kinship with his cousin. Although Hayden was closer in age to Cyrus, both Roland and Hayden were the oldest brothers in their respective branches of the family. So the need to defend the family was ingrained in them.
"I feel the same about Jamie and Amandine," he replied. "And Cyrus's little baby, Mara. They deserve a chance at a peaceful life. I'd love to be there to see them grow up, but if I have to sacrifice myself to give them that peaceful life, I'll do it."
His mood was bleak tonight, and getting worse. He drained his glass and signalled to Zander for a refill. "How are Sheena and Liam, anyway? I haven't seen them in ages."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 14:47:25 GMT -5
Hayden knew that the mood was bleak but it always was whenever the talk of work came along. He also motioned for another refill. "I haven't seen them in ages it feels like, but I know that they're doing fairly well in school since neither of them have gotten kicked out of school." He gave a small chuckle. "I'm going to make it a point to go see them since I'm going to be here for awhile. Plus, I think I should see Jamie and Amandine. I haven't seen them in ages either."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 15:07:32 GMT -5
Zander slid the refilled glass in front of Roland, and he picked it up to take a long drink. The alcohol wasn't burning quite enough for his taste; he wanted it to numb the anger and frustration he felt about letting the death eaters escape. It was beginning to seem like they were fighting a losing battle at this point. They couldn't seem to catch any of the death eaters, and they still didn't know the full strength of Lord Voldemort or his forces. They were just flailing around in the dark, and it was driving Roland crazy.
"I'm going to meet with Jamie and Ama and Cyrus tomorrow," he said, his voice sounding heavy. It wasn't that he dreaded meeting with them; he adored them. But he worried for them, more than he could begin to explain. "I'll give them your regards."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Dec 10, 2008 15:23:40 GMT -5
"Thanks Roland," replied Hayden. "I know that you'll get to see them before I do. Maybe I can time it right where I meet Sheena and Liam here in Hogsmeade. I think their Hogsmeade weekend is coming up soon. Besides, I have to go see mum and dad before they go insane because I haven't stopped by and seen them." He gave a shake of his head. He knew that his parents worried about him and he knew what it was like to worry and he wanted to ease his parent's worry.
"And if you see Sheena and Liam before I do, tell them I'll be coming by to see them, will you?" Like Roland, Hayden worried about about his siblings more than anything.
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