M is for Morning (Dorian/MLE/OPEN)

[Christine Montgomery]

It was a beautiful morning. The air was crisp and full of promise. Sunrise wouldn't be for another few minutes, and Christine was looking forward to watching the rays slip over the mountains as she had done every morning this school break.

Things had been quiet for a while at the school and they were just letting older students back into the forest provided they had good cause to be there. There was a lull in terror so to speak so Christine's guard was down. She had told herself many times that she had to get back to normal. Sam had. Actually Sam had flourished since recovering from the attack, almost everyone around her seemed to get back on some sort of routine, but Christine hadn't adjusted yet. She wondered if she ever would. In any case she needed to try, thus her morning runs. If she couldn't get over her demons, she'd try running from them. Literally.

Her mistake.

The sun was just cresting, casting light on the grounds as the shadows fled. Christine was just turning the corner where her run would end in the center of the park.

She stopped abruptly. Her eyes focused in on the scene. Her brain not yet adjusting to the horrific image in front of her.

She was naked. Whoever she was. Posed grotesquely, hanging from a tree. Her body was white. Completely white - as if it had been bleached - as it certainly was bloodless. Her eyes were open, but on closer inspection it was because her eyelids had been surgically removed, not that Christine saw that much yet. She was distracted by the blood. In stark contrast against the naked white woman was the deep blackish red slash across her throat that spilled down her body into a puddle on the ground.

That was all she could see before the terror set in. She brought her wand up, her heart was racing. Was the murderer still there? Would she be captured? Would she share the fate of that woman? The fear was choking her on top of the disgust of what she saw. She had to run. She couldn't be there anymore. She tried apparating, but her body wouldn't listen. She tried screaming, but nothing came out.

Turning in a circle her wand at the ready she shifted looking one way then the other. She thought of sending up a flare, but again her terror as to whether or not the murderer was still there stopped her. She needed help. Geoffrey. Geoffrey would know what to do.

Racing to a nearby "police box" her fingers trembled as she called her brother. It took her several tries to get the number out. For nothing it would seem as he didn't pick up the phone. At this point tears were freely falling down her face as she curled up inside the box. She locked it, and even then she knew it wasn't much should someone come for her. She gave into her fear for all of a minute imagining the worst scenarios she could think of, then calmly with a shocked detachment she called someone else. Someone she hadn't seen in a very long time.

[Dorian Humbert]

Dorian had just gotten into the office and started going through his inter-office memo pile. There seemed to be a lot these days, and the Minister was keen for everyone to know what was going on after the more recent attacks so it was a required part of his job to read through each memo at the start of each day. A tiresome task that involved far too many notices of So-and-so's birthday surprise, or What's-his-face's retirement party. Dorian didn't like to waste any time on these matters, so he often arrived earlier than most of the others in the office. It was for this reason that he was caught off guard when his telephone rang - it wasn't actually a phone, but something relatively similar to a muggle telephone, but not too common among most wizards, even most in the Ministry.

"Dorian Humbert," he said matter-of-factly to the person on the other end.

[Christine Montgomery]

"It's me." she whispered too numb to realize that he might not recognize her.

"She's in Hogsmeade park." her voice was a little stronger that time, but still odd and detached.

"You have to come." she hung up the phone then and curled back into a ball, her eyes wide and the grip on her knees tight.

[Dorian Humbert]

There was something strangely familiar about the voice on the other end of the line, but he didn't have time to focus on that at the moment. What struck Dorian most about the voice was the terror. He could hear her shaking as she spoke. Panic-stricken. Her words didn't form a coherent thought, but he had enough information to make his way to Hogsmeade Park to investigate. He notified the Magical Law Enforcement secretary where he was going, and asked for backup to follow. But he wasn't waiting for the squad to assemble. There was a woman in danger, possibly two. He had to go now. Dorian rushed to the atrium, the only place in the Ministry of Magic Headquarters you can disapparate from, and quickly left for Hogsmeade Park.

He appeared at the entrance of the large park, just under the iron gates that normally welcomed visitors. Today they welcomed danger. Dorian drew his wand and proceeded into the park, scanning left to right, looking for a sign as to which way to go. He spotted the Police Box off in the distance and started to sprint.

She was there, huddled in a ball on the floor of the Police Box. Her head was down, her face obscured. He knelt down by her, his right hand still firmly grasping his wand, and spoke in a calm, low voice. "Miss, are you alright?"

[Christine Montgomery]

She was shaking, her lower lip was ravaged from where she had been biting it to keep from screaming.

She felt him before she heard him, which was the only thing that saved him from an immediate hex. Still terrified however she drew back and held her wand out as though to protect herself.

His voice was a balm against her terror, but she didn't let herself believe he was there until she lifted her head and her eyes met his, "Dorian..."

[Dorian Humbert]

He was dumbstruck for a moment. Nothing could have prepared him for meeting her again. Not here. Not in this way. "Christine?" he stammered.

It had been a year since Dorian had seen Christine. He was on assignment in Egypt, tracking a dark wizard that had been terrorizing all of Europe and had fled to Africa. She was there sight seeing and managed to interfere with his pursuit on two separate occasions. The first simply slowed him down, but the second time...the second time she got them captured. Dorian had tracked the dark wizard to a nightclub, and who else should be there but Christine. After distracting Dorian and allowing the dark wizard to escape yet again, Dorian scolded the woman for batching his investigation. To no one's surprise, Christine got herself captured and Dorian was forced to rescue her. After spending a night together, she disappeared. He had thought of her from time to time, but never expected to see her again. And certainly not in the manner.

"What are you doing here?" he said a little more forcefully than he meant to.

[Christine Montgomery]

Their story - a bit more romantic in her mind - seemed to wash over her too as she saw him once again.

She had been sailing with her uncle at the time. He had just put into port and was headed into "dangerous" trade which Christine was prohibited from. His idea was to send her to a convent for a week, her idea was to explore the Egyptian ruins, and since she was beyond clever and capable her idea won out.

She may have been exploring where she shouldn't have been exploring, and Dorian in his high and mighty way had promptly told her so. That argument and the other ones that followed were so intensely passionate it was no surprise that after he got her tangled up in his mission full of danger and adventure that two consenting adults would find passion in other ways.

Consenting. And she would go to her grave insisting that was the way of it, but if her father, her uncles, or her brother for that matter ever found out what Christine had done, what Dorian had "done" to their precious baby, well the thought didn't bear thinking.

It broke her heart to leave him, but it was for the best. She never intended to see him again, but carried him in her memories. Then a few months ago who should show up at the Ministry but Dorian himself? She had been visiting her brother, and thankfully the man hadn't seen her, but her heart stopped. He was there. In London. Within reach. She questioned her brother and found out that he had been transferred.

Christine knew she had to stay away from him, what they shared could never be revealed. The fact that he thought she was four years older than she was could also never be revealed...unless she happened to run into a murder scene.

"Did you see her?" she asked passing over his question. Her fear was receding, it had been this way in Egypt as well, somehow she trusted that she was safe with him.

[Dorian Humbert]

He still wasn't sure what he was looking for, who she was, or what had happened to her. He needed more information. And he needed to be sure Christine was safe. 

"No," he glanced around quickly. Where ever she was, she was not in clear view. Perhaps behind a tree or down the hiking trail. "Where is she? What happened?" His questions came out rushed, impatient. His adrenaline was pumping, more so now than when he first arrived at the park. If there was someone sinister here, he couldn't leave Christine alone in this box.

[Christine Montgomery]

Christine hadn't realized how far she had run to get to the Police Box, it didn't seem far enough away from the scene that he would have missed it, but fear had carried her feet.

Swallowing that fear down, she motioned outward in the direction of where she had come from.

"She's..." she trembled as the visual came to her mind, then jerkily she pushed Dorian out of the way, barely crawled out of the box and promptly threw up her morning energy shake.

When she was finished dry heaving she tried to compose herself, "Sorry...I'm sorry."

[Dorian Humbert]

Kneeling was not the most sturdy position to be in, so when Christine pushed him aside he stumbled just far enough to avoid being covered in her sick. "Don't apologize," he replied compassionately. "Take a deep breath, and tell me where to find her. It will be alright." Her nerves were infecting him. What had she seen that had made her this terrified? He looked in the direction Christine had motioned to for some sign of the illusive woman, but quickly turned his attention back to Christine as he gently rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. "You're safe. I'm here and nothing will harm you."

[Christine Montgomery]

She believed him. She hadn't seen him in a year (the time at the office didn't count), but it was if their time apart never existed. Then again she hardly knew him before and yet it felt as if she had always known him. When he put his hand on her his warmth seeped into her soul and once again memories of the man threatened to overwhelm her. Her body and mind were at war with the past and present, but one thing was clear: if he was with her, she'd survive.

Feeling more in control of her disgust she wiped at her mouth and swallowed back another dry heave.

"I'll show you." she said with more confidence than she felt.

Noticing their close proximity for the first time since pushing him out of the way she wanted to apologize again but her brain was locked against anything other than doing the absolute minimum. She was fighting against the shock, fighting to be strong for him, for the woman who had been killed, and for herself.

Getting to her knees she leaned against the Police Box to fully stand. She gripped on to his sleeve, her wand also curled tightly in her fingers. She was almost behind him taking small steps and guiding him to where she had seen the woman.

When they came across the scene again Christine couldn't face it. She positioned herself behind him almost at arm's length and swallowed thickly while looking at the back of his jacket as her grip tightened and she focused on her breathing so she wouldn't be sick again.

[Dorian Humbert]

He tried to argue with her. She didn't need to take him. She didn't need to experience again whatever it was that she'd seen. But she was having none of it. He gave in and allowed her to guide him slowly up the trail until the scene came clearly into view. At once several thoughts flooded into his brain. Protect Christine. Secure the scene. Summon the detectives. Find the culprit.

He reached behind him to where she was clinging to his jacket, and he pressed his hand to her wrist as best he could. He didn't want her to move. He needed to be the shield that protected her from the hideous scene before them. "It's okay."

With his free hand he summoned his patronus, a griffin, and sent word to the Magic Law Enforcement office, requesting immediate back up. There was already a team on the way, he'd alerted them when he left the office, but now he had an exact location and a description of the situation. Almost immediately five Aurors apparated around them. Dorian, as the first on the scene, directed them on how to proceed. He would allow them to secure the scene and begin the investigation, at least until he could get Christine to a safe place.

He turned to her, still using his body to block her view, and gently placed his hand on her cheek. His dark eyes looked tenderly over her face. She was so pale, she looked as though she could be sick again at any minute. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere safe." He turned her away from where the woman's cold, lifeless body swung gently in the morning breeze. "I'll take you home. Where do you live?" He didn't expect her to live far from here, if she was out running the trail this early. He wondered if it would be far enough to give her some comfort.

[Christine Montgomery]

She kept her eyes closed until she felt his hand on her face. If she were thinking, if she were capable of thinking that is, she'd hate how scared she was, how helpless. Christine had never in her life been helpless. Even in Egypt she had handled herself well, and a myriad of other adventures that bordered on deadly Christine handled it and didn't even blink an eye. She had seen dead bodies before from sickness, even saw a man shot once and another cursed dead, but she had never seen anything like the woman hanging from the tree. It was so deliberate, so harsh and provoking, and as sick as it was, it was artistic. The person who had committed the heinous act enjoyed what they had done, he or she had painted a masterpiece with love, with passion.

The energy at the scene left Christine cold and sick, but opening her eyes and meeting Dorian's gentle concern revived her in a way. While she wasn't completely capable of rational thought, some instinct of hers saw his concern and it calmed her. He was there, other Aurors had arrived, she was safe. She could be brave.

She lost herself in his eyes, for just a beautiful peaceful moment the world and all it's ugliness melted away. Then he asked her where she lived.

She almost answered him. She almost gave everything away. Quickly rational thought came back. If he hadn't made her feel safe, if she were still locked in her terror she wouldn't have been able to come up with a lie, still she hesitated and answered, "The Avalon...I'm...I'm traveling. I don't live in England."

[Dorian Humbert]

"Alright, we'll go there." He had no intentions of asking for permission to accompany her, he wasn't going to leave her side. If she didn't want him there he would camp outside her door in the hallway. There was no way he would be leaving her alone. He wouldn't allow her to be targeted for stumbling across the gruesome scene they were walking away from. Until they could find the demented wizard or witch responsible for this crime and bring them to justice, Christine would be under his protection. 

He wrapped his arm around her waist as they moved away from where the Aurors were now placing protective enchantments to preserve the crime scene. Their incantations became quieter and more muffled until they were just whispers carried on the wind. Dorian put his lips close to Christine's ear and whispered "everything is going to be fine." And the disapparated, headed for London.

[Christine Montgomery]

He didn't have to worry about her fleeing his side, though given their respective history who could blame him? But even if she wanted to leave him again, at that particular moment she was helpless. Letting him take care of her was the obvious solution, the only solution - at least until she snapped out of the horrified daze. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the body, and she had to clench her fists to avoid going into a panic again.

"Thank you." she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She stopped moving forcing him to stop as well so she could face him. For a brief moment again something broke through the shock: gratitude. "You came. I knew you would." she revealed. Then as if embarrassed she lowered her eyes and continued walking toward the expensive hotel.

[Dorian Humbert]

***Continued***

[Christine Montgomery]

***Continued***

The Auror portion.