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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 3:52:00 GMT -5
Riley made it to the apparation area of the Ministry, still in tears, and she rushed to the Auror department. She felt like she couldn’t breathe, and she felt like her heart had been ripped right out of her chest. The silence around her seemed to press in on her and overwhelm her, and she thought it would drive her mad.
She was completely alone.
Steeling herself not to break down anymore than she already had, she sent a patronus to Angelique. She thought maybe she should send one to Vincent as well, but didn’t. She didn’t think she could handle it right now, and going through this with Angelique was going to be bad enough. She didn’t know how to get through this, all the questions and the… Oh, Merlin. His family. She had to tell them. How was she supposed to break the news that their son and brother died?
She sank into the chair at her desk, burying her head in her hands before she realized she still had her blood on her hands. It was dried by now, but she must have looked a mess… she couldn’t pull herself out of her seat to go clean up. She could just wait for Angelique.
The flower Roland dropped off on her desk this morning was just about the only vibrant thing in the office, and she hated it. It just wasn’t fair. Frustrated, she grabbed it and threw it in her desk. She couldn’t look at it anymore.
She told him this could happen. She told him they should take back up, or that he should have told his family, and he just kept saying no. He trusted her to help get them through this. She had killed a man for him, and swore not to tell anyone that they planned on going after Blake and the other two… and she felt like she failed him. What if it didn’t even stop Blake?
Barely moving, she sat and waited, her thoughts tormenting her and her body shaking with her quiet sobs.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 10:54:33 GMT -5
Angelique had been spending the evening alone in her small house in Hogsmeade Village. Wesley was out with Evangeline, and Natalie was, of course, at the ball. It had been a peaceful evening so far, and there was no indication for her of what was about to happen.
So she was a little surprised when the patronus from Riley came rushing into her house, telling her to meet her at the Ministry.
Immediately, Angelique had a bad feeling. There was something about New Year's Eve that she'd never liked... it was about new beginnings, but also about endings. Biting down on her lower lip, Angelique decided to go by floo network, and so it was not long before she hurtled out of the fireplace at the Ministry and hurried down the hall to the Auror office.
She heard Riley's muffled sobs before she even entered the office. The MInistry was deadly silent; it reminded Angelique of a tomb.
She stepped into the office and saw Riley sitting at her desk, sobbing into her hands. "What happened?" she asked immediately.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 11:01:04 GMT -5
Riley looked up, and just seeing another living person seemed to pull her together a little. The office suddenly didn't seem as dead, it hit her that she needed to take care of things, that she couldn't curl up and not wake up for a week. It just wasn't an option.
"Scourgify," she whispered, and her hands, at least, were clean.
"Roland's gone," she said, the words sticking in her throat because she couldn't believe them. Even if he had survived the explosion, she left him there, and he would have died in the fire. She bit her lip hard... it was her fault. She screamed, and it had distracted him, and then she just left him. She tried in vain not to keep crying.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 11:07:06 GMT -5
"Gone?" Angelique repeated.
One look at Riley's tear-streaked face, and she knew exactly what Riley was trying to tell her, but she didn't want to believe it.
"Where? Where has he gone?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 11:16:51 GMT -5
Riley shook her head. She wished it was that easy, that he had just picked up and left. It would be easier if he had left her like that... but no, he was ripped away, and the last thing she could remember telling him was the night before, that she didn't want him at all.
Her hands fisted, but she tried to hold in her tears, and took a deep breath. "He's d... he went after the Death Eaters from his last assignment. I followed him, and we were outmatched and outnumbered and he was killed."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 11:21:58 GMT -5
"Damn it!" Angelique hissed.
Merlin, she had hoped that wasn't what happened. How many times had she told him to stay away from that case? It was too dangerous... He simply wouldn't listen. He was stubborn as a mule, and it had cost him his life.
Angelique sank down in a chair, burying her face in her hands. "Tell me what happened. Start from the beginning."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 11:32:37 GMT -5
Riley winced as Angelique swore, and the guilt hit her like a tidal wave. It wouldn't be the last time.
She'd have to lie a little so that Angelique wouldn't know Riley had agreed to help him, but she already had a story planned out.
"He came up to me earlier and told me he was going after them. I asked him how, thinking he wouldn't have an answer and he said he had already sent a note to one of them... he knew them, apparently. He said he just wanted me to know, but that he was going alone. Angelique, I tried so hard to talk him out of him, but he wouldn't listen. I had to go with him. What if something happened, or he needed me, or I could stop him? There were three Death Eaters when we got there, and the one that seemed to be the leader took off. Roland ran ahead... there was nothing I could have done. I tried to get to him, but the other two were keeping me back... and then I lost track of him for a little. I killed one of the death eaters... the second..."
She stopped and swallowed, looking towards the ceiling to try and block her tears before continuing. "I screamed, and I think it distracted him. He was on the roof of the warehouse we were at, and I heard him call my name... he was hit with some spell and he fell, and then there was this explosion and the warehouse was on fire. They told me he died before he even hit the ground."
For a while, she couldn't look at Angelique as she spoke, but about halfway through, her eyes lifted and met Angelique's, showing the agony there. She didn't know how to handle this, and she never thought it would hurt so much.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 11:40:54 GMT -5
Angelique sighed heavily. "Well, he knew the identity of the one... he reported it to me after Christmas. We tried to pick him up, but we haven't been able to find him. His department said he was away on business... he works here at the Ministry..."
Oh, Godric. It was just like with Olivia. Her death had very nearly brought down the Ministry itself. But then, the Minister of Magic had been a death eater... at least that was not the case now.
The rest of Riley's story rang true... Knowing Roland, he would insist on going in alone and facing it head on. "I told him I was working on that case. Why did he have to do this now? What was so damn important?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 11:46:05 GMT -5
"The one I killed... he attacked Lina." Riley's brow knit, realizing she'd left that out. It just didn't seem important anymore. "Lina... is his brother's girlfriend. She was alone in Hogsmeade with her baby, and she was attacked. He made it just in time, and he told me that he had to do something before someone was really hurt."
She ran a shakey hand through her hair. She was still shell shocked. It was so hard to believe that she'd go home and he wouldn't be next door anymore.
"He said they'd never find the Death Eaters any other way, that they would stay in hiding, so he had to meet them and finish them."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 11:53:14 GMT -5
Angelique looked at Riley for a long moment. It was obvious that the girl was shattered, and it reminded Angelique of the horrible day when her old partner was killed. "He should have told me. We could have put his family into protective custody."
Sighing, she realized this wasn't helping. There was no way to change the past... they could only deal with the present.
She stood up and put her arms around Riley. "It doesn't matter now... It's done. I need to go to the scene... and I need to contact the MLE. If muggle authorities are involved, I'll need them to step in and take over the situation. We'll need to see if they can..." she let out a shaky sigh, then continued, "find his body."
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 11:57:03 GMT -5
"I told him that, too," Riley whispered, and she wished Angelique hadn't hugged her. She was just barely holding it together as it was, and the hug felt like permission to break down... but she couldn't yet.
"I can't-" She was going to say she couldn't go back, especially if they were going to look for a body. The look she gave Angelique was helpless and heartbreaking, but she nodded slowly. "I'll take you," she said. "And the MLE can meet us there."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 12:05:05 GMT -5
Angelique gave her a sympathetic look. Like everyone else in the Ministry, she had long suspected that there was something between Roland and Riley. In fact, she had probably suspected it before anyone else had... from the very first time they barged into her office, begging to be reassigned. Now it would never be, and Angelique could only imagine what Riley was feeling right now.
"I know this is hard, and you've been through a lot. But we've got to secure the situation, and if there was a body, we need to tell his family. They're going to need closure."
She sighed and stood up. "Wait right here, I'm going to send a message by floo to the Leviner brothers. Do you know the address of the warehouse?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 12:07:52 GMT -5
Yes, Riley knew the address, but would it seem to suspicious if she said so? Angelique couldn't know that any of this had been planned.
"No, I hadn't thought of that," Riley said. "It's in London, in the warehouse district. It's an old ammunitions place... and it's probably still in flames."
She decided not to say anything about telling his family. She knew she would have to, but she couldn't bring herself to think about it. One thing at time.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 12:15:35 GMT -5
Angelique nodded. "OK. All right, I'll tell them to meet us here and we'll all go together."
She shook her head sadly. "Damn... this is going to destroy his family. I wish you'd managed to talk him out of it..."
Again, there was no point in wishing anymore. It was too late. What was done, was done, and there was no going back. "I'll be right back, OK? If you need to, why don't you get a drink of water or something?"
She walked down the hall with a heavy heart.
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Post by Riley Neves on Mar 31, 2009 12:24:10 GMT -5
She wished she could have talked him out of it, too. She should have never agreed to help him.. but he would have done it anyway. She buried her head in her hands. Hearing Angelique say it made her feel a thousand times more guilty. As Angelique walked away, Riley whispered, "I am so sorry." That was a phrase she would be saying a lot over the days to come.
She didn't want water, though she probably should.
Instead, she forced herself to her feet and down the hall to the bathroom. If she was going to be dealing with other people, she couldn't do it bloody. She needed to get changed, she needed to clean up a little, she needed to charm herself to stop crying. When she told his family, what right would she have to be crying? She didn't save him, afterall.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 12:25:02 GMT -5
Daniel was sitting in the apartment with his brother watching the television. Sean was probably in the kitchen washing up a few dishes. There was nothing special about New Year's Eve to Daniel, except the dawning of a new beginning. He was watching a special on one of the major channels when a message from Angelique came. Daniel's heart fell, knowing only something bad happened.
He quickly walked over to the chair that usually was the place for their cloaks and put his on while holding Sean's. "Sean! Come on we've got to go to the Ministry, now," he said worriedly.
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Post by Sean Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 12:28:53 GMT -5
It was the tone in his brother's voice that told him it was urgent, and he checked the clock. It was after midnight.
He came out and saw Daniel holding his cloak, which he took and put on without question. "What happened, Dan?" He asked, wondering if the note even said. But he saw enough to know that it was from Angelique, the Head Auror, and if she was calling on the MLE at this hour... whatever it was wasn't good news.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 12:33:58 GMT -5
"I'm not sure exactly, but we've got work to do." Daniel tossed Sean his cloak. "See you at the Ministry." He apparated with a pop! and arrived at the Ministry. Daniel would wait for Sean to appear before rushing to Angelique waited. He knew that this was not good whatsoever, but this is the kind of thing he signed on for. Daniel knew that he would probably have to get the muggles away, but that was what he and Sean were good at.
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Post by Sean Leviner on Mar 31, 2009 12:43:06 GMT -5
Sean apparated just after, meeting up with Daniel in a matter of seconds.
"Let's go," he said, frowning. Hopefully this would be quick and easy, and not too terrible.
They met up with Angelique, who was not in the Auror department but near the floo, which made sense, considering it was how she contacted them.
"Ms. St. Claire," he said, nodding his head slightly. "What's going on?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Mar 31, 2009 14:01:23 GMT -5
Angelique turned to look at them, her expression grave. "Thanks for coming so quickly. I'm afraid it's bad news."
She sighed and rubbed her forehead for a moment, already dreading the fallout from this. She was not looking forward to telling Roland's family... there were so many of them...
"One of our aurors was killed tonight in a battle with death eaters... he was caught in an explosion and it seems unlikely that he could have made it out. It happened in the warehouse district of London, so I expect the muggle authorities are already on the scene."
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