Alicelxngbottom - There Is Thunder In Her Heart

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

@frxnkislong

maybe some things are inevitable

vancexemme​:

alamoody​:

Alastor listened intently, making note of every detail. Maybe it wouldn’t have been flint who was the man, but it would be a lead to follow on just in case, and leads even if they didn’t lead to the answer they want it always could have the potential to reveal other things. He could tell Emmeline was taking it seriously, giving extreme detail while telling it in a way that felt more clinical than emotional. It was always to go through these with that attitude, especially when it was so fresh the emotions still needing to be processed and if exposed risked reliving it a bit too closely. It was all very standard for now, he knew about what Dorcas had done and he couldn’t put any blame on her for wanting to break Emmeline out. If he had the opportunity to have saved her from what she would have to go through, he knew his emotion would hold some sway and he’d wish to do it too. Yet, Emmeline kept a cool head and probably did what was the best thing for everyone, but her. He was proud of the action even if he felt deeply guilty about where it leads her.

He had just been about caught up, adding small notes that he could make connections to later when Emmeline’s voice had stopped and her stare lingered on him. Alastor lifted the quill removing it from the paper, allowing her a break from the sound. In addition, he made a note to write slower and with less pressure, though he knew his control on that might decrease as they got to the more gruesome details.  Alice had taken it upon herself to ask questions, she’d grown so nicely into her role. She was an excellent Auror and she asked questions that he stood behind, though he didn’t know if she was asking for all the same reasons he would. Alastor never shared his thoughts on Dorcas’ involvement with that death, figuring the suspicion then confirmation was better kept quiet. It was safer for Dorcas the fewer people that knew.  It was probably obvious that the order would be thought of in his death, even if he had enemies made on his own, the enemy would be the first one to come to mind.

Although Emmeline’s eyes had been trained on him just moments ago, as she spoke now it seemed she wouldn’t be able to meet his gaze.  It was probably better that she didn’t, his eyes and facial expression could never express the comfort she would need for this. As much as he tried to take a break to ease her, he had to get back to writing it was too important now to miss any details here, and honestly, he didn’t want to spend the evening trying to remember the cruelties done. It’d be something too hard, he would already have to go through this enough, and adding to it just felt so disheartening. Emmeline was practically a daughter and she’d gone through something horrific, she was a brave girl, but it wasn’t anything she deserved.  His grip tightened as she went into what Bellatrix had done, having to remind himself to loosen it to prevent the noises for Emmeline.  At Alice’s question, he nodded in agreement. “ Yes, do you think they have any reason to believe he’d been the one to let you out?” He added, finally speaking up since the beginning. He knew it was technically skipping a big chunk, but it was relevant and would do good to know in case the young boy would need extra protection.

@vancexemme​

-

The questions provided a much needed pause, letting Emmeline take a step back from her memories in order to answer them. Her voice was still clear and precise and Whiskers hid the shaking of her hands easily with his long fur and insistent requests to be pet. She had only gone through the first day of ten so she knew it was no great feat to have not broken down yet, but she had set her jaw and looked up steadily at Alice’s questions. 

“I don’t think she’s sure,” She answered, “It felt like she was throwing it out hoping to get some reaction to see if she was looking in the right direction.” The mind of Bellatrix wasn’t one she’d be confident in picking apart, but she could at least provide this much, to describe the reckless toss of questions instead of out Dorcas for what she had done. 

At the mention of them suspecting Regulus, she shook her head. Emmeline at least felt confident in Regulus. He was smart and quiet, and she had a feeling if his relatives had caught any whiff of the visits they would have put an end to it immediately or come down with him. “No, he was very careful about it, and then he was gone for a few days. I don’t think they even knew he was over at the house the day we left.” It might be smart to ask Regulus more, she couldn’t vouch for his behavior prior to seeing him again and if he was as honest faced as he’d been with her downstairs it might be smart to keep their protection of him a secret. “You should speak with him, if you can do so without frightening him. He’s going through a lot at the moment.” 

Content that they had the answers they needed, she slipped into describing the second day. “The second day was…different. She asked me the same questions, really, and again I didn’t say anything. She would threaten things, tell me she would peel my skin off or make me eat one of my eyes. She didn’t use any spells on the second day, just some knives she seemed pretty partial to. She stabbed my shoulder, my left arm, and my left thigh. Then she would just cut me in smaller places, still asking me the same questions over and over, and if I was quiet, she’d cut me more.” 

@alicelxngbottom​

...

Alice tried to keep her face neutral as Emmeline continued to tell them of her time in the Lestrange basement, desperate to keep the emotions raging within from overpowering her. Alice had been an Auror for nearly ten years now, she should be used to this sort of thing. And in reality, she was. She had sat in on debriefs far worse than this and been able to turn off the emotional part of her to do the work that needed to be done. In fact, she had done it many times. But there was something about this that made it difficult to do that. She felt none of the usual cool, calm, clinical control that she usually felt in these situations. She couldn’t seem to separate her feelings from the work in front of her. 

Maybe it was the pregnancy, which would be the easiest thing to blame. After all, she was a mess of raging hormones and maternal instinct. Very few women in her position would be able to hear of these atrocities while feeling their child move beneath them. It was just a horrible sick reminder that she was bringing an innocent, defenseless child into the world in the middle of a war. But Alice knew that it was more than just the emotions of a pregnant woman. She loved each of her Aurors, but there was something about the Order members that moved her heart in a deeper way. Not only were they family to Alice, but she was keenly aware of how young most of them were. At least her Aurors weren’t sent into the field until they had proved themselves capable through three years of training. These Order members didn’t have that; they were still children. 

And looking at Emmeline now, Alice was struck with how young and vulnerable she looked. Of course Emmeline was incredibly strong and brave after everything she had been through; most would have broken in that situation and given their torturers the information they were looking for. But strong and brave or not, no one that young should have to go through what Emmeline had suffered. Alice didn’t often feel hopeless like this, but she couldn’t help wondering whether this was all worth it. How many more people that she cared about would be hurt or murdered before this was all over? And how could she bear to let any of them leave on mission knowing that this sort of thing was a possibility? 

@alamoody​

mxrymacs​:

…

She constantly felt just a breath from completely falling apart.  From crumbling to the ground without a clear understanding of how to rebuild herself.  But if she did that she would take on someone’s attention – whether it was Greta’s or Marlene’s or Lily’s or any other assortment of friend who passed through her home.  They would look at her and feel badly for her, and all that would do was distract from the fact that Emmeline was still gone.  Three days had passed and she was still gone, and Mary had no idea if she was even still alive.  But she was.  She had to still be alive – she’d know, right?  If Emmeline was gone – if she was gone in a way that was far more permanent than this… she would know.  She had to believe that she would feel it if she lost her like that.  So she held on, not because she was anywhere near okay, not because she didn’t care, but because she refused to take on any more attention than was absolutely necessary.  As broken as she felt – it wasn’t about her.  As long as Emmeline came home she would be okay in the end.

She nodded, heading into the kitchen to put on the kettle before leaning against the bar to look out at the assortment of things that she brought.  “Thank you,” she said softly, trying for another smile.  “I’ll grab some plates.”  She reached for two of the plastic sort.  The glass ones were dirty, but on her mission to deep clean the house she hadn’t yet reached the kitchen.  She also grabbed some napkins and forks.  Taking them out into the living room and handing them to Alice, she returned to the kitchen to for the tea, splashing in the sugar and milk to the way she knew Alice took it.  “Thank you,” she said again, settling onto the couch next to her.  “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

...

Alice waited as Mary made her way back and forth from the kitchen to the living room, getting everything settled. She knew that this was exactly what Mary needed, to keep her hands busy, to serve others, so Alice tamped down on her instinct to want to do it all herself. When Mary was finally seated next to her, Alice gave her a soft smile; not one that was pitying, but rather sympathetic. Mary wouldn’t want her pity, or even her focus; she just needed company and for someone else to tell her that Emmeline would be okay. And though Alice knew she couldn’t completely promise it, she also knew that neither she nor Moody would rest until they figured out a way to get Emmeline out of that hell. “I know I don’t,” she replied softly, taking a sip of her tea. “But I wanted to. I know what if feels like to sit around the house waiting for the love of your life to come home.” 

Alice reached over and touched Mary’s arm gently before reaching forward to grab one of the pastries and put it on a plate. In her and Frank’s time as an Auror, there had been multiple occasions where he had been on a dangerous mission and Alice had been filled with the anxiety that came with not knowing if he would make it back safely. In those times, she hadn’t wanted to be alone even more than she hadn’t wanted to talk about it. Alice knew that Mary was a lot like her, and figured she would be feeling similarly. “It’s a pretty shit question to ask how you’re doing, but how are you?”

evanroseier​:

Evan smiled as she laughed, he was always a fan of making jokes and while he often cared most about amusing himself he also enjoyed amusing others greatly too. It was especially nice to hear Alice’s laugh, it’d been some time since they’d seen each other and that was probably more his fault than hers despite what many would probably guess. He nodded along to her hushed voice, it was crazy how long it’d all been. Ten years seemed to change the world, or maybe he’d just not noticed it all yet, but he viewed it very differently now. “ I don’t know what eleven year old you are talking about, but all I can remember is one just as dashing and delightful as now, just a fair few inches shorter.” He’d said with a laugh, it was a lie her description was probably far closer to the truth. Back then was so different from where he stood now, he was much softer and eager to prove himself, probably a little awkward too often tagging along with Freya and Lise instead of making friends of his own.

“ It is very kind of her to let everyone get a little Evan time, but she’s not selfish she’s always willing to share. I’m shocked more people aren’t trying to get your attention though” He responded as they’d made their way to the table. Once there both were quick to settle into the seats, this proving to be a much more comfortable situation for Cousin Alice as she seemed to relax into her seat. “ I don’t know much about pregnancy, but I think that’s probably pretty common at your stage of things. What are you eight months now?” He asked, tilting his head in thought trying to figure out if he was right or wrong. He could have easily been wrong, he wasn’t really keeping track of it, but eight months felt like it was in the right range of things. Evan’s smile widened at the thought of talking about Greta. “ My date, right, well her name’s Greta Catchlove and we’ve been pretty good friends for a bit. You might know her actually, she seems to have a way of making friends with everyone.. but she’s really sweet, sees the good in just about everything, and really loves her grandma and pet spider Rosie. As for my life…” He trailed off thinking of what exactly he should stay, there were certainly parts he’d need to leave out. “ Well, there’s not too much to say, but I work at the Ministry now, it’s actually where I met Greta. What about you anything new and exciting except the obvious of course?”

...

Alice laughed, shaking her head as she thought of the young boy Evan had once been. Time had been kind to him in some respects and not in others. He had grown into his looks, for sure, but he had also grown into the burden of familial expectations and obligations. Alice was fairly certain that he had followed in her uncle’s and Freya’s footsteps when it came to the Death Eaters (not that she ever brought the topic up around him, because really it was better if she didn’t know for sure), but she was also pretty certain that his heart wasn’t in it. Evan had always been far more like his mother than the Rosier side, and Alice found herself wishing that her ex-aunt had stuck around in England instead of gallivanting off to America, or that she had been a little younger, able to be there more for him during those formative years at Hogwarts. Maybe if things had been different, he wouldn’t have felt obligated to follow the path laid out for him by his father. Alice sighed, knowing that it was useless to play the what if game. What had happened couldn’t be changed, and all she could do now was try to show him that there was another option out there for him, in whatever way she could.

Alice nodded as the topic turned back to her pregnancy. “Yes, eight months. So really, anytime in the next six weeks I could have a baby!” She shook her head in disbelief, still hardly able to wrap her mind around the reality that after all these years, she and Frank were finally going to have a child. Despite the bowling-ball sized bump she was sporting, none of it felt real to Alice. As Evan mentioned his date’s name, Alice broke out into a wide smile. “Yes, yes, of course I know Greta!” She exclaimed delightedly, feeling even more confident that Evan was on his way to a better path. “She’s quite a delight to be around. I forgot that you two would have worked in the same office. We met at a cafe near the Ministry once when we were both taking a lunch break and bonded over tea and books. I’m so glad you two know each other!” Alice looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Greta, but after giving the room a quick scan and seeing no sign of her, she turned her attention back to her younger cousin. At his question, Alice shrugged. “Not much, really. I’ve taken a step back from my typical Auror duties so now I’m just helping train the newbies and pushing papers.” She made a face to indicate how she felt about the amount of paperwork that now comprised her days. “And Frank’s been out of the country on a mission, so that’s been a bit of a bummer. But other than that, we’ve just been preparing for the baby and doing ordinary life.” As ordinary as life could be in the middle of a war. “How about you? Are you enjoying your work at the Ministry?”

evanroseier​:

“Oh, don’t sell Aunt Dru short, she’d at least be passive aggressive about it for double that, might even go to her grave giving you grief about it” He joked, though they both knew the truth that laid within it. Aunt Druella was just like many of the older mothers of pureblood society, and he’d take a guess any rich society, knew how to use proper manners and how to hold a proper grudge. “ It’s weird to think Cousin Bella was getting married and I was just starting Hogwarts.” Evan laughed with a shake of his head. “ Weird to think It was ten years ago I started Hogwarts, Time flies doesn’t it?” Part of him

“ Thank you, a good fashion must run in the family because you’re easily one of the best-dressed ladies I’ve encountered tonight.” He grinned at her compliment and easily threw one back. He’d liked cousin Alice despite the distance in beliefs from her and the other Rosier’s, and the age gap between the two it was always enjoyable to see her. She’d reminded him of his sisters, the side of them that he’d always been allowed to see. Alice was kind and cared for him, something that couldn’t be said of all Rosiers. “ You’re in luck! I came with a friend, but I’m under direct orders to mingle with family, and keeping you company fits the description. Let’s find us a table” Evan said offering his arm to Alice, waiting to walk until she’d taken it.  

...

Alice laughed, thinking that Evan was exactly right. No one had perfected the art of passive aggression quite like their Aunt Druella or her cohort of perfect pureblood society mothers. Though she might take the cake, and Alice felt a rush of gratitude (not for the first time this evening) that her parents were so very different. Her upbringing had been the polar opposite of her cousins’, and though she felt a twinge of guilt that she had gotten off so easily, mostly she just felt pretty bloody lucky. “Wow, ten years, that is mental,” she said in a hushed voice, shaking her head. “Ah, yes, ickle Evan starting Hogwarts. I’m glad I was able to be there to see you in all your adorable awkward eleven year old glory.”

“Well, I’m quite grateful to your friend, because I would love some company.” Taking his arm, Alice let him steer her to one of the empty tables, and they sat down next to one another, Alice sighing in relief to be off her feet. Resting her hands on her round belly, Alice leaned back in her chair. “Merlin, I feel like a whale,” she said with a chuckle, patting the bump. She turned her attention back on her younger cousin, a smile breaking out on her face at the opportunity to catch up with him. “So, tell me about your date. Tell me about your life. It’s been ages since we properly caught up.”