“I Don’t Need Your Help.”

@frxnkislong​

mxrymacs​:

@alicelxngbottom​

She hadn’t been short on visitors in the past few days.  Friends had streamed in and out of her flat, with Greta being a welcome constant.  The visitors were both a comfort and a reminder that something was wrong.  She appreciated the distraction, the people to feed and to make tea for.  She appreciated not being left alone to her thoughts, to not have to dwell on everything that was wrong any more than was absolutely necessary.

When she walked into the living room after taking a shower she was unsurprised to see Alice sitting on the couch, fairly sure that Greta had let her in.  She had changed from one of Emmeline’s sweaters to another.  It was much too long, but it helped her continue to go through the motions, to not dwell on the things she couldn’t control.  She trusted that Mr. Moody was keeping his promise.  She trusted that Dorcas was doing what she could from the inside.  And she had to trust that they would let her know what she could do to help.  And in the end, the best thing that she could do was keep herself from completely falling apart.  Then she’d be of no use to anyone. 

“Hi Alice,” she smiled softly, joining her on the couch.  “Did Greta offer you some tea?  If not I can go put the kettle on?”

...

Alice was well aware of the situation going on with Emmeline; despite the fact that she was supposed to be stepping back from a lot of active work with the Order due to her pregnancy, she was still a leading member, and it wasn’t as if she could just turn off the switch and go on maternity leave from caring about those she had come to consider family. So while she wasn’t involved in any of the plans they were scheming about, she was there to scheme and suggest and plan alongside Moody and Kingsley and Albus. 

She had been so busy with that, in fact, that Alice realized far too late that three days had already passed without going to check in on Mary. Pregnancy brain or not, there was no excuse for not being there for Mary when her young friend needed her the most. So leaving the Auror office early, Alice stopped by one of her favorite bakeries for some pastries and her favorite restaurants for takeout before heading to Mary and Emmeline’s flat. Greta kindly let her in and then made herself scarce, so Alice was just sitting on the couch waiting when Mary got out of the shower and wandered in. Her face broke out into a smile at the sight of Mary, and she took it as a good sign that Mary was able to smile back, however weakly. Of course there was nothing comforting or good about the situation that they were all in, but Alice was glad that Mary was managing to hold herself together. 

“Hi, Mare,” she said softly, her gaze turning sympathetic. At the offer of tea, Alice nodded. “Tea would be lovely.” She knew Mary well enough to know that the younger witch was a caretaker by nature, much like Alice, and she also knew that Mary would find comfort in being able to take care of others, a comfort that Alice would never take away from her now. “I also brought some chinese and pastries.” 

@frxnkislong​

On the day of her due date, Alice sat on the couch in her and Frank’s living room, trying to make herself relax by reading a book. Frank and Moody had put their feet down and insisted that she take some sort of maternity leave both from the Auror department and the Order, so now Alice had an abundance of time where before she had done her best to keep busy. Sitting here in the living room, the house silent around her, her thoughts whirling a mile a minute, Alice remembered why it was that she had tried to distract herself for the last nine months. All of the fears she had been trying to keep at bay were descending upon her. 

Alice’s head popped up at the sound of the front door opening, a feeling of relief spreading through her that she was no longer alone. “I’m in the living room!” She called out, abandoning the barely-read book and watching the doorway expectantly. When Frank appeared, she patted the couch next to her, motioning for him to sit by her. As he obeyed, Alice gave a soft sigh. “How was the office?” 

@frxnkislong​

i love you more than the stars. and that is to say i love you endlessly, infinitely, unconditionally.

Alice had never known love like this. She had thought her life was pretty damn full of love -- Frank, her family, the family she had found in the Order. There were so many people she cared about, so many people she would die for, but nothing could compare to this. The little warm bundle in her arms was fast asleep, content after a long session of nursing, and Alice couldn’t rip her eyes away from him. He was perfect, so perfect. All of the pain and agony of labor was a distant memory, now that he was in her arms. His tiny face was so peaceful, his button nose so kissable, his long eyelashes resting against his cheek. This was her world now. 

Alice looked up as she heard Frank approach the doorway, letting her know that Fabian was there to see them. Beaming widely, she waved to her husband to lead Fabian into the room, not worried that he would be scandalized by seeing her so soon after childbirth. He had a whole brood of nephews, after all, so he was familiar with this part of life. 

Alice beamed at the shy look on Fabian’s face, patting the edge of the bed next to her. “Come here, come meet your godson!” Alice didn’t want to relinquish her hold on little Neville, but for Fabian, she would hand him over. Besides, no matter who held him, he would always come back to her arms. That was the perk of being his mom. She handed him over to Fabian, her eyes alight with joy. “What do you think? Not a redhead, but still handsome, yes?”

@fxprewettx​

vancexemme​:

alamoody​:

Mary was lingering for a moment, just really to say her goodbyes and after what she’d been put through it was something he wouldn’t interrupt. A caring moment might be what Emmeline needs to get through the rough day ahead of them. It also gave him time to set up paper and quill, it was always best to make sure you accounted for everything. Some people would use enchanted muggle recorders, that’d dictate what it all heard, but he wasn’t much of a fan of that method. It felt like there was too big a margin for error, and keeping a focus on the recording would offer him a place to focus and he could keep himself at a distance as the story unfolded. It’d be emotional for Emmeline, he didn’t need to offer his own feelings for her.

Emmeline was quick to get down to business as soon as Mary left, starting from the beginning they all had some idea of. It did shed some light on the murder of poor Daisy Hookum, even gave them a murderer not that they would be able to go after him. The ministry seemed to have darkness brewing within them and it was obviously connected to the Death eaters. No one else would have the reason to go after the Order in the way that was done. Once the words were written, he spared a glance towards Alice to check on her. Her personal connections have just been added to the story and he knew she was perfectly capable of handling it, they were all looking out for each other through this.

The story was now paused, but with the way Emmeline was shaking and his knowledge of Bellatrix, he had a feeling they would surely be entering into the bad parts shortly. Bellatrix was rather vicious and he doubted that she’d wait long to dive into the nasty parts. He nodded in agreement with Alice, letting her take the lead on the emotional part. With his quill, he waited patiently for Emmeline to return to her story.  

@vancexemme​

-

Emmeline didn’t believe this would be healing for her. What she really wanted was to stuff it all in the back of her mind and forget about it, especially the gritty details they’d be getting into. But instead of voicing that, she nodded with Alice, putting her shaking hands to work petting Whiskers. Alice was an empathetic person, but she wasn’t one to say things for the sake of saying them, and Emmeline had to do the debriefing whether it was healing or not so it was better to try to let it make her feel better than to try and prove her wrong. 

“Bellatrix brought some man with her, I think his name was Flint but honestly it was just another man in a mask and a dark suit so I could be wrong,” She shrugged one shoulder, “He hauled me up and took me some back way down the stairs to the basement. There’s a cell with three walls made of stone and one of bars. They tossed me in and chained one hand to the wall with a manacle. Locked the door and left without saying anything. I think an hour later Dorcas came downstairs and talked with me, the party was ending. She offered to try and get me out then and there but it would have blown her cover, so I said no. She gave me some potions for emergency - a numbing potion and a knockout- and said she’d find the two of you, and tell you what had happened. No one else came down that night, but at some point I could hear Bellatrix screaming her head off.” 

Moody’s silence and the scratching of the quill was making her tick in an uneasy way and for a moment she paused and looked at him, waiting for it to stop before she continued, knowing it would just start up again as her story continued but just needing a moment of it not fiddling so she could breathe. 

“The next morning, Bellatrix came downstairs and asked me questions, she wanted names of our leaders, our meeting locations, any spies we had, she thought I knew something about Rabastan’s death,” She resolutely didn’t look at Moody while she said all of it. When Bellatrix had asked her, she had genuinely no idea who had killed her brother in law but sitting there now she knew - Dorcas had told her herself. “I said nothing, so she began to-to use some spells. She had notes with her, like she was trying something new-” Her thoughts went to Regulus and his tears, his rapid apologies the first day he’d come down the stairs, “One of them made me feel like my insides were on fire. The other reminded me of the cruciatus curse, but more…primal…I can’t think of another way to describe it. She rotated between those for a while, and kept asking me questions. After that I think she got bored or had some plans, because she left the house after that. I can’t…I don’t know how long things happened, but a little while later Regulus came downstairs. He was…emotional, kept apologizing for what was happening and gave me an apple to eat. I wasn’t very kind to him. Told him he was stupid and where he could shove his apple. Ate it eventually, though, kind of figured it would be the only meal I’d be getting for a while.”

@alicelxngbottom​

...

Alice braced herself as Emmeline really began to dive into the details, knowing that it wasn’t going to be pleasant, especially having to hear of how her cousin had tortured someone she cared about. As much as she didn’t want to, Alice did feel lingering affection towards her cousins. After all, they were her family, and she had seen firsthand how indoctrinated they all were into the blood purity nonsense. Bellatrix had been raised to be this way, and Alice had always had empathy for that. But she knew that after today, she would never be able to think of her family in the same light. She couldn’t unsee the monster. 

Alice was glad that Dorcas was able to sneak down to offer Emmeline some comfort, not that it made up for anything she had been through. There was relief that Dorcas hadn’t blown her cover, not when the information she was able to give them was so helpful, but Alice understood the offer. If she had been in Dorcas’ shoes, she would have had the same thought. Alice leaned forward, her face serious. She had a feeling that Emmeline didn’t want nor need her comfort, so she kept her game face on, listening to Moody scratching away beside her and knowing that it would likely be up to her to ask the follow up questions. “So did it seem that she believed the Order was responsible for Rabastan’s death?” Alice had heard about it, of course, but she had assumed that it was someone on their side, that maybe Voldemort had gotten angry and retaliated. It wouldn’t be the first time. To her knowledge, it wasn’t anyone in the Order. She would need to ask Dorcas if she knew abything about it.

Alice felt ill as Emmeline described the spells Bellatrix had used on her, but she kept her face neutral. It was frightening to know some of the ways the Death Eaters were beginning to get creative, and Alice had no doubt that soon her Aurors would begin experiencing some of the things that Emmeline was describing. She made a mental note to speak to Regulus about it -- maybe he would have some idea of where Bellatrix had discovered these spells; knowing that would be useful for discovering a way to protect against them. When Emmeline finished speaking, Alice gave her a moment to rest, giving Moody a chance to catch up as well. “Did you get any sense that they knew about Regulus’ visits?” They needed to know whether the Death Eaters suspected Regulus’ defection or whether they thought he had been kidnapped.

@alamoody​

@vancexemme​

Alice knew that she really should give herself more time to recover and be at home with Neville, but after everything went down at the Ministry’s Halloween Ball, Alice was antsy to get back to work. She loved being a mum, and being with Neville lit up a part of her that she hadn’t even realized there was, but she couldn’t get her mind off the thought of what was going on outside the walls of their cozy house. Maybe in another world she would be content staying home with her babe, but she couldn’t close her eyes and blind herself to the reality that they were living in a war, and she was too much of an asset to the Aurors to walk away when they needed her. She had wrestled with the decision for weeks, but Alice knew that she needed to return to work. Even if it meant that there was a chance Neville might lose her, it was a choice she had to make. Whatever it cost, Alice needed to make a safer, better world for her son. 

So after a difficult conversation with Frank, Alice sought out the person she was most nervous to talk to this about -- she knew that Moody would probably be delighted to have her back, but she also knew that he would likely try to talk her out of it. He knew the stakes better than anyone else, and she had gotten the sense that there were a few people within the Auror department and the Order who thought she should step back now that she had a child.

Still, nervous as she was, Alice was no coward, so she held her head high and her shoulders back as she marched through the Auror office, nodding to the people she passed who looked up from their work or called out her name. Reaching Moody’s office, she knocked firmly on the door, waiting a moment and then turning the handle to push open the door when she heard his voice from within. “Hey, boss,” she said, her tone confident, as she stepped into the office and shut the door behind her.

@alamoody​