After All These Years // Erezebet

[hzp5050]

It used to have been a weekend trip for Taunt Marie and Roxanna to visit. She'd buy her all the candy she could stuff and some joke items to keep her entertained. It was a treat after all the work Roxanna did throughout the week be it chores or studies. She smiled at the fond memories as she smelled Hogsmead. She could literally still picture the shops as she had seen them back when she had the sight. She hoped she could find a way to cure herself of the unfortunate event soon but she doubted it. Clearing her thoughts she wondered if she'd find anyone she knew.

Harry, Hermione and Ron were most likely not here, either by choice or Ron had probably gotten some detention. She shook her head he was always getting himself into trouble and it was mostly his mouth that did the trick. Oh well, she decided to go to the Hog's Head. She and her Taunt always visited there first for a cup of butterbeer. Most people preferred the hustle and bustle and the light of Three Broomsticks but frankly, she had found that she liked the quiet that the old and rusty place provided. As she sat fumbling over the cards she had been looking at for many years now she wondered what life would have been like for her now had her aunt been alive. Would she still be a seer, would she be in Hufflepuff, her aunt was a Ravenclaw alumina after all and she wondered about that. So from the same family line came a hufflepuff, a slytherin and a ravenclaw, that was really, really odd. She shuffled her card and decided to divine for herself, it was not often done even though she liked to know things she just didn't like to do it publicly and people really never left her alone these days, well mostly younger kids because she was often helping some first or second year with their dreaded history of magic essay or other. As she flipped the cards letting the magic of the cards talk to her she thought that she would meet someone here today, hopefully she'd been SOMEONE soon because didn't like her auto phobia to kick in. Maybe this had not been the best idea after all.

[falguerra]

It was rare that Erzebet had time to visit places like Hogsmeade, especially during the fervent panic of the Ministry after last year's breach in security. Panic was a ridiculous thing. These people would have not been taken by surprise if they had done what they should have done, rounded the lot of them up and let the Dementors sort them out. That was likely why Erzebet was now spending the majority of her days patrolling the Ministry, instead of being out looking for illegal magic or something. She was not exactly "popular" after her neutralization of a few wizards. When were people going to learn that you couldn't win this war by being "civil"? It was like working with a bunch of ostriches and lemmings!

Erzebet ran a hand through her thick, curly hair that was sloppily pulled back with potion and elbow grease, sighing with frustration. She would rather have been here with her sister, but with the term starting she was going to have to make due and suffer the lighthearted childish bleating of students on her own. Hopefully she could find her sister a jumper, or a sweater to wear, in an unoffensive color of course. Something black...or perhaps Slytherin green. She looked down at her own clothing; she wasn't the most fashion forward person...but she could at least pick out something decent.

Watching some young people run by to a shop, she tightened her full lips into a grimace. As if the little brats didn't need enough protection when they were in school, why were they being allowed to even leave the castle? If one of the Lestranges turned up right here, at this moment, what did they think they would do? Ask for directions to the nearest candy shop? Invite the kiddies for a warm butterbeer?

It looked like things were almost too peaceful here, aside from the typical visitors. She felt almost useless walking around like a regular witch, looking for things to buy and something to occupy her time. The Hog's Head wasn't too bad, honesty. She could at least sit down and enjoy a drink, maybe something to eat. The Three Broomsticks was far too...lively for her, she always found herself looking around for anything and everything that seemed out of place. It was just too taxing, mentally. Her thoughts traveled again back to her sister. What would she be doing at this moment? Would she be frustrated with dealing with that many people in that setting? She hoped that she was staying away from the troublemakers...Slytherin was chock full of kids thinking that a polyjuice potion and a clique made them Dark Wizards or something. Gryffindor was full of self righteous little cretins who lacked boundaries. Just like years back, when she was in school. And just like then, it wasn't a stretch to assume that there would be agents there, looking for pliable young students to influence. It wasn't paranoia, not really. She just was clinging to some hope that at least one part of her old life could be left alone, without someone and their blasted ideology making things difficult.

She took her drink and turned to spy a young woman who looked...familiar. She could not place it at first, so she narrowed her eyes and tried to focus on the details of what she was seeing. The girl was definitely familiar...but from where? She thought back to the Ministry...didn't she work with someone who had pictures of...ah, it came back to her then. This girl was related to someone she'd known from work. Nasty bit of business what happened to her...

She didn't see fit to go barging over and interrupting her solitude, so she just walked up to where she sat, silently watching her, waiting for her to acknowledge her presence. After a moment of just watching her Erzebet felt she looked silly, maybe a little bit creepy just standing there, so she decided to at least say something. "Erzebet. I worked with your aunt." It was quick, to the point, and Erzebet felt it was at least somewhat pleasant, compared to her usual way of addressing people.

[hzp5050]

At this point the girl jumped slowly. "oh, oh...Merry Meet...my name is Roxanna Lewis...you might have known my aunt" she said thinking about her. She was very startled that someone from her aunt's work would find her. She sighed as she took several deep breaths and she put her cards away. It was rude not to be focused on the person that was talking to you and she really didn't want to appear rude. "W-What...what brings you here?" she asked as she looked up to the direction of the woman. She fumbled till she found her cane and just folded it so that it was not tripping anyone.

She sighed as she said. "she did mention you...she spoke very highly of you" she commented this was the truth yes, her Taunt seldom thought that war was the response but she had respect for many people in the ministry. She shook her head as she took some deep breaths, she felt odd all the sudden. Pulling her blond hair out of her eyes she waited for the woman to say something else if she would say anything else. She wondered how easy had it been to spot her but then again the ministry people had the good grasp of who was related to who. Maybe she could ask how she found her.

"M-May I ask how you found me?" she stammered still feeling a little skiddish. She pulled her wand out but not to attack but to put it down in front of her the last thing she needed someone was to assume was that she would attack anyone when she had no intentions of doing so. She felt strangely...comfort at least it was someone with ties to her Taunt. She had no idea how well they'd known each other but still it gave her a small comfort. She felt a lot better then she had been feeling over the last couple years and especially weeks. Ever since she'd been having visions, she could never get rid of the vision of the death of her Taunt no matter how hard she tried it always came back to her. So she waited now for a response trying not to think about the horrible ordeal.

[falguerra]

Erzebet watched as the girl seemed surprised to hear her. She seemed almost jumpy...maybe nervous? Both were things that were odd to see in such a disgustingly happy place as Hogsmeade. She nodded at the girl's greeting, running the name through her mind. She hadn't heard the name before, but she was certain she'd seen a picture of her. "You're aunt worked for the Ministry, yes?" She asked, deciding that she didn't want to seem impatient at the girl's uncertainty. She wouldn't want her own sister talking to strangers, she couldn't blame Roxanna for feeling a little uncomfortable with her sudden presence.

A ministry worker, at least one in the Department of Law Enforcement who did not run around with a blindfold on knew to be observant. Roxanna was putting away cards, they obviously weren't playing cards. She also noticed a cane, but she thought it rude to ask about it when it belonged to a young woman.

Erzebet was not one who was used to praise. Her work methods were hardly appreciated, even in this time of uncertainty. She had worked hard in the Ministry, but felt her career stagnate for a time while the Minister tried to pretend all was well. So, when Roxanna made a point to mention that her aunt had nice things to say...she was taken aback.

"Truly? She did not seem like the sort to appreciate the things my department has to do...but I had heard the woman was integral to her department...for her loss, I...sympathize." It was an awkward reaction an response, hopefully Roxanna would not take offense to it. Casual conversation was not something Erzebet had a lot of time for, so when she did she was often unprepared. It was not her strong suite.

Erzebet did, however, find humor in the nervousness and paranoia latent in her question...how did she find her? As if she'd been looking for her? Ah, very good...this girl was not going to just have a conversation with a stranger without knowing just how they found her. She had some sense.

"A fair question, answered simply enough. I just happened to walk in here and see you looking at some cards, and I realized you looked familiar. Speaking of...what are those?" She asked, rather bluntly, gesturing to the cards she was putting away. She felt twitchy when she saw Roxanna pull out a wand, only to lay it down. She almost felt her own hand fall to her own, before realizing what she was doing. She just rested her hand where it sat, before lowering it again.

[hzp5050]

Roxanna started with the very last question and worked her way backwards through the woman's response. "T-They're Tarot cards ma'am...they used to be Taunt Marie's before she gave it to me shortly before her death" she explained, holding up a card that she knew was queen of swords. "I can read them..." she knew many people didn't do that Seers were as rare as anyone else. As it was, she didn't tell this woman she was a seer but she knew that by the time their conversation was over she would have no doubt of what she was. She wondered what exactly did this woman's department do but she wasn't going to ask. Her Taunt herself had either worked in the improper use of magic office or another department altogether she was really not sure. She hadn't been an auror having slacked off in a year or two not that she could blame her. Even Roxanna found some of her subjects boring these days but she could not help that. She thought she had more important issues to worry about like not being able to control what she saw and when she saw them. At least when she divined with the cards, she could somewhat be prepared these visions were random and always caught her off guard and no matter how many different visions she had before, the one of the last night of her Taunt always came back to her, it was like a bad food stain that just wouldn't go away.

"She appreciated many things, you'd never know that though" she smiled faintly at the memory. "not until you tried to get it out of her and even then it was a big maybe" she shook her head. Her Taunt never had really let anyone, not even Roxanna know what she was feeling. Sure the woman had given her a lot of affection and Roxanna loved her for all the things she had done, but emotional and affectionate weren't the first two words to describe Marie Lewis.

Her curiosity got the best of her...she wondered if she could ask it, she would have to if she wanted to know if this woman would help catch her father. "W-Would it be all right if I asked...what exactly is it that you do ma'am?" she always called people ma'am and sirs even teachers, and sometimes older students. When she had come to Taunt Marie she hadn't though she had been rude and obnoxious, Marie had taught her that two wrongs didn't make a right and rage was the worst emotion you could keep in yourself because that always created problems.

OOC Note) witch-blog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/62.jpg
Not the deck I have but I saw it used once

[falguerra]

"Odd timing..." Erzebet thought outloud, examining the card that apparently was a queen of swords. Her eyes narrowed, taking in the fine details. She wondered if these things were expensive, she didn't recall seeing cheap spellbooks with painted pictures in them. Erzebet had spent enough time at her job to know that they were not to take these things lightly. Predictions were often documented, and Prophesies were painstakingly studied. She didn't like feeling uninformed about things, she was not about to take a position of vulnerability. "What do they do?" She asked, her tone could almost seem interrogative.

It might have been seen as insentive, to have this girl relive the memory of her dead relative. Erzebet knew that death was not some lunch break where you could go back to your life before once you felt like it. She said it before, but people die, there was little point to forgetting them just to make acknowledging that easier.

Erzebet turned the chair around, and sat in it on her own volition, resting her forearms on the top of the chair's backing. "What is it that I do? What' a presumptuous question that is."

Why did Roxanna want to know? She was always prepared to defend what she did. Usually, when discussing her job, she encountered a negative response. It appeared that people idolized Aurors, and thought the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts was amusing. But few had love for the people who raided homes, arresting law breakers whether they knew what they did or not. But then that was why they hired people like her, people who thought a surly reputation was a fair trade for safety. She then sighed...her mental soapbox was exhausting. She let her eyes dart about the room once more, looking for anyone listening into her conversation. One could never be too careful.

"I work for the Ministry, like I said. I'm the law, and I carry out the law. Simple as that."

[hzp5050]

She again, worked backwards that seemed to be the best here. She did well with adults and she would get to giving the woman a proper response, it was only polite. She knew that already, something about the law her Taunt had mentioned but she didn't want to be rude nor badger plus, she knew now was not the place to talk openly few people liked the ministry these days after their denial fiasco. She shook her head and went back to the woman's question.

"They tell me...I mean, I can read them...and see into the future, it's more complex then having visions, they are always fluid of course so nothing is completely one hundred percent but...they can let me prepare for things, like I was going to meet someone today, the cards wouldn't say who it won't do that...but I could tell that I was meeting someone...the cards can also point the past, what happened there..." she didn't even want to go about her vision so she stuck to what she knew best Tarot cards.

"my Taunt made them so it cost nothing...she drew in her spare time as well as teaching me, the year that I was with her I learned more then I ever had before..." she then found herself going back to this woman's job. "I...I ask the question not to pry but...I needed help, I want to find my father and make sure he never does to anyone else what he did to my Taunt...he came in the house and...well the property, they had some words, my parents thought I was being taught things I should not be so they wanted to drag me back to the United States which is where I am from...and...my Taunt wouldn't let them...so he tortured her and killed her...I saw it, I would have done something if I could have but I was too young and she told me to stay inside anyway..." she was rambling now and stammering she had no idea why. She just hoped she hadn't said too much, would her Taunt like this woman to know? but surely Marie Lewis would want justice.

[falguerra]

Listening to Roxanna talk about these cards would give a lesser woman a migraine. There was a lot of things she really felt unprepared to evaluate, cards that can help someone see into the future? Visions? Fluid? She understood why Divination was never her strong suit growing up. Fluid predictions meant that there was a possibility of change, of altering one's situation...it made her mind drift back a bit.

She expected the girl to stammer, shrink back, maybe apologize and look down at her feet. She didn't expect her to actually explain why she would ask her about her job. So the girl...wanted help? Listening to her story made Erzebet feel a mix of disgust and something else a bit more violent. It seemed too familiar, another life uprooted because someone couldn't think beyond their own situation. It always bothered her to watch people be punished because some killer got to sneak away with their tail between their legs. The man sounded right at home with the scum she usually tried to put out of their misery.

"I'm surprised no one went after the man. I tell you, if we got to do our jobs, people like that would really have something to fear, none of that trial ridiculousness. Straight to the demetors." Erzebet felt the venom begin to drip from every word. "Let me guess. You want me to wave my wand and get the Ministry to actually act like they're competent?" Erzebet scoffed to herself at the idea. If someone said the sky was blue, they'd deny that. "Tell you what. I don't like hearing about people like that walking away. I will do what I can."

[hzp5050]

She looked up and brightened. "You...you'll help me?" she asked as she looked towards her left and right unfortunately, she couldn't see anything. She closed her eyes thinking about what happened in the past she shook her head starting to get shaken up but here and now was not the time to lose her mind nor stability. She was in front of people after all. She nodded. "Thank You...I'd do it myself but I lost my sight after that night and...I can't see anymore not to mention I'm still in school among everything else I've got going" she shook her head, she was getting a headache. Getting into her pocket she took out a small bottle that read ASPRIN. Witches and wizards were never known for taking pills but she found them helpful. She took two, not to overdose, she was upset but she was not suicidal. She ran her hands over the bump of the bottle to make sure it said asprin and nothing else satisfied that it was what it was she ordered another mug of butterbeer. As she popped the pills into her mouth she drank it down with butterbeer to help the medicine go down.

She took several deep breaths finally calming down, she stayed quiet just taking it all in, so finally she might be able to do something and if she couldn't someone actually now could. That was really good maybe after he was gone, and put away she'd stop having either visions or nightmares she firmly believed it was visions because nightmares didn't have you screaming half the night and reliving the details or maybe it did, she really couldn't tell the difference. As she shook her head again she finally brought herself back to reality.

"and....I would love to learn to defend myself...I...I mean...from someone that actually knows how to do their jobs, I love school but..." she actually didn't even want to go into why she was not willing to ask Snape and not even Harry at this point for help.