Absit Omen RPG

The Lioness and Wolf Patroni belonged to the Cavanaugh Sisters as they joined the fight. Berkeley came to the collection of Aurors staving off the three Dementors at the front. She could see Trevelyan speaking with a woman she didn't recognize and further out she could see the disguised Oblivators and workers from the various catastrophe and muggle departments.

Her own Wolf was trying to bite at the Dementors as they rushed the Aurors. She glanced at Longbottom as he made his exclamation, "they're acting like rabid animals." She spared a moment to see where her sister had made it off to.

---

Briar had broken off from the fighting Aurors to move along the other Ministry workers. She had only been a trainee for a few months now. Had it not been all hands on deck she likely wouldn't have even been called into action. She came to stand next to Figaro and Nick. She knew the former students better than anyone else mixed up with the attack. Her lioness sat next to the pair of them, "You guys feeling the Dementors too?" She hoped her own Patronus would help with that though she wasn't sure what the muggles would see if they even could see it (perhaps just a giant cat?)

"Not everyone survives do they Berkeley?"

Berkeley nodded, a stark contrast to her younger sister. The petite Auror was the very air of Professionalism while Briar was the epitome of recklessness. She had no doubt the girl would make for a good Auror. It was in their blood, as they say. It was hard to find a Cavanaugh that hadn't become an Auror at least at some point in their career. Not all of which were still around today to carry on the tradition. Although she was surprised her sister had applied. She had always thought she wanted something more out of her life than the Cavanaugh legacy.

"Being an Auror isn't for everyone." She attempted a smile but then there was a reason she didn't do it often. The expression simply didn't look natural on her.

"Always the optimist Berk."

She ignored her sister and instead looked to her fellow trainee. While Raine had given a rather standard answer she supposed it held more weight than if it had come from anyone else. After all, she imagined the girl felt there was much that needed to be done to keep the Wizarding World safe when he own flesh and blood had been making it dangerous for so long. She didn't envy the girl having to live up against that sort of legacy for the rest of her career.

Like her former room mate before her Briar had given the standard answer Berkeley had expected of her, "being an Auror's in my blood. Mom was an Auror, Dad was an Auror, Berk here's an Auror. Nearly all of my dad's brothers were Auror's too. Our Grandfather used to say Cavanaugh's made better Aurors than wives." Berkeley frowned slightly as she caught the tone in her sister's voice. The death of their Grandfather was still fresh and Briar had been much closer with him than she had been.

Berkeley stood amoungst the crowd with a soft scowl on her face. She really didn't want to be here. She was busy, there was work to be done. She didn't need to be wasting her time being social and or welcoming to the new recruits. They had other Aurors for that, those with much more practiced social skills than her own. Unfortunately with the latest wave of recruits having graduated from Hogwarts came her younger sister Briar. The ambitious blonde wasted no time in traversing the Ministry itself to find her on Level Two and drag her down. In the end, Berkeley being uncomfortable at a social gathering was far less destructive than allowing Briar to have free reign of the Auror offices.

With a glass of wine in hand (one Briar had placed there) she led her slightly taller sibling to the gathering of female Aurors. If she could pawn the former Gryffindor off to Gamp and Blake, perhaps she could get to doing something actually important.

The petite Auror replaced her scowl with a smile and joined the group of women, "Ladies, this is my little sister Briar, one of the new Auror Trainees." The taller of the two blondes greeted the Red Head Berkeley hadn't recognized. Apparently the pair had been Gryffindors together.

No matter which way you sliced it this was a giant black mark on her record. It didn't matter that Carstairs had been gentle and understanding. The reprimand was still official and it would be going in her permanent record. For the first time in her near decade of being an Auror, Berkeley had done something wrong. This wasn't just a minor slip up either. She had jeopardized one of their biggest cases. If Musgrave got off because of her unprofessionalism, she'd never forgive herself.

She opened her mouth to agree with Andromeda when Eddie finally spoke up. His words cut deep but truth be told it was the sort of reaction she had been expecting all along. Carstairs could be diplomatic and understanding, it was his job as head of the department. Pratt, on the other hand, was allowed to make things more personal, to let her know just how bad she could have made things.

She turned to face the Senior Auror. Her porcelain features still emotionless, "Understood." She spoke simply, "if we may be excused Gamp and I do have work we need to catch up on." As she began to leave she turned back to Pratt, "and I promise you Mister Pratt, if this ever happens again, I'll hand you my badge personally."

The past few days had passed in a sort of somber fog. Berkeley had gone home the day of the 7th after the incident had happened. Or rather she had left the office. She had lost control, something so rare she had surprised even herself with her actions. She felt overwhelmed by all of it and instead of returning to her small Diagon Apartment she had traveled to her family home where her father lived. She had made him meals and sat mostly in silence. The former Auror could tell there was something wrong with her but hadn't pressed. Berkeley never had been one to express her feelings. Nor was she one to seek help. The comfort of his presence had been enough. She knew once she returned to work she'd be facing some reprimand or another, another rare occasion. However she wasn't going to run from it, in fact the first thing she had done when she came to work the following day was consult with Andromeda to ensure the report had been filled in and filed properly.

Her porcelain features were devoid of emotion as she entered Carstairs office. Not being on active patrol that day she wasn't wearing her crimson robes and a freshly pressed dressed shirt and pencil line skirt added to her professional appearance. She held her hands over her lap and looked at Pratt for a moment. The Head Auror certainly wasn't pleased with the situation. She didn't blame him. She wasn't exactly the type to give him trouble.

"I know Lawrence Musgrave. I was just a child when I first met him. He worked with my parents, here, in the Auror Corps. I hadn't seen him since the war." She looked at Solomon directly, no attempt at hiding, "When I heard he was apprehended I went to go see him. My choices were personal, emotional and purely unprofessional. When provoked by the prisoner, I reacted. While I didn't cast any spells outright my wand reacted to the emotional outburst and set off a distress signal in close quarters to the prisoner."

Berkeley shook her head again. She wiped furiously at the tears streaming from her eyes. She was sure by now they were bloodshot and it wouldn't be long before they became puffy. She was oddly thankful she wasn't the type of witch to agonize over makeup otherwise she may just look like the Banshee she had sounded like moments before. She turned to her fellow Auror. She wanted to protest. She knew she hadn't actually hurt him but things didn't look good. He was suddenly on the floor clutching his ears. Her own scream and loss of control over her magic wasn't likely to go unnoticed.

"I lost control is all." It was one of the hardest things for her to admit. Thankfully there was only Gamp around to hear it. She was always, always under control. She needed to distance herself from this case and fast. She worked so hard to be taken seriously, to compensate for her size and her fashion model looks. Losing herself to a low life like Musgrave was the last thing she needed.

She looked him over, catching his plea, "I didn't hurt him." Though she wanted nothing more than to flea she came close enough to speak to him once more, "You are nothing to me." The pain evident in her voice as she finally headed for the exit of the holding cells area. Before leaving completely she looked back to Gamp, "You'll need to file a report about my wand discharging. See if he can give you a statement on the matter. I'll sign whatever you'll need me to tomorrow." Berkeley had every intention of leaving the offices for the day. She was no good to anyone in the state she was in.

Lawrence taunted her and something inside her broke. The tears fell freely and her wand hand shook. She couldn't remember ever showing such outward emotion. Perhaps not since she learned of her mother's death. She had always been strong, she had to be, for everyone else's sake. However standing here, in front of him, his words cutting through her had all been too much. She had seen countless criminals before. She had caught them, booked them, even had to give reports to trials before but none of them, not even MacDuff[1] had shaken her the way Lawrence did.

He wanted her to hurt him, he was practically begging for it. Every fibre of her being wanted to do it. She almost needed to do it. Had they not been in the holding cells she likely would have. She could only imagine the kind of damage and pain she could actually inflict on him if she didn't hold back. All of that without having to invoke any of the Unforgivable Curses.

She took a step back as he patted his chest, moving directly in front of her wand. The tip still sparked occasionally. She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing that he was baiting her. If she let loose, if she did attack him, she'd be the one in trouble not him. He was already looking at another lifetime spent in Azkaban what was one more Auror attack to him? But she wanted so badly to hurt him, just as he had hurt her. She felt all of it boiling up in her until she finally screamed at him, like a banshee. It was raw pure emotion, no words just sound. In response her wand tip exploded with red sparks, the warning flare even the youngest of wizarding children were able to send off.

She stumbled back and finally turned to Andromeda, having hardly noticed the other Auror was there, "I was just . . . I," She blinked away as many of the tears as she could, her face drenched. She swallowed hard, "There was no one here when I got here." She swiftly holstered her wand. She hadn't outright attacked the prisoner, the sparks weren't likely to cause any real damage.   

---

1. I've murdered half the town, left you love notes on their headstones

Berkeley quietly observed him as he spoke. Her senses were on high alert, her arctic blue eyes wide behind the tears. Despite allowing her emotions to bubble to the surface she still did her best to maintain control. She was constantly over looked given her size and looks and felt she needed to work extra hard to be taken seriously. Breaking down completely because a man she once idolized made all the wrong choices wasn't going to help her.

She furrowed her brow, narrowing her eyes. He insinuated he hadn't been a death eater, a full blown follower of the Dark Lord. She wasn't so ignorant to think the war had been black and white, one side directly opposing the other, nothing worked that way in real life. She also wasn't about to forgive or excuse him. Whether he directly worked for the Dark Lord or not he had been sent to prison for war crimes and that was all she needed to know about it.

Anger seeped into his voice as he spoke of bad choices and privilege. She stood her ground and tightened her jaw fighting all her instincts to run as he closed the space between them and raised his voice. She flinched the way a child being reprimanded might and the tip of her wand sparked in response to her emotions.

She had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, there was no denying that. It was all part and parcel of being a direct decendant of the Wentworth Family. She was not a criminal, she did not understand the circumstances that led to him believing he had no other choices but she was not free of hardships.

She had lost so much to the war. The lives of so many loved ones. She lost her mother, her rock and her Grandmother, the foundation of the whole clan. Her father was now a ghost, a man cursed. At age fifteen she was left to manage the entire household. Upkeep, bills, her mother's estate and her father's care. Not to mention raising Briar and Kyson. Then she had to bust her butt, fighting against all preconceptions to become the Auror she was today.

Somewhere off in the distance she heard someone call her name. She knew she had very little time left alone with him. She leveled her wand to his chest, the tip still letting off the occasional spark, "I know nothing of you and you know nothing of me. The man I thought I knew died in the war. The girl you once knew grew the fuck up."

A few choice hexes dances on her tongue. She wasn't going to risk her job for the satisfaction of hurting him but she wanted to see fear in his eyes before he figured that out.

When he yelled her name the floodgates opened. She blinked rapidly to get through the useless tears. She was wrong, it was so much worse that he did remember her. She choked softly as he mentioned her parents too. They were good people, her father still was in his own way. The war had all but destroyed her family like it had for so many others. She had lost her Mother - not to mention Grandmother and a few other Cavanaugh Aurors - and her father had been slated with a fate worst than death.

She was trembling slightly now but her wand was still trained on him as he got to his feet and approached the bars. A False Idol indeed. She had been too young at the time to fully comprehend the effects of the war but she still saw them lingering near Thirteen years later. She couldn't bring herself to scoff at him as he claimed he had no choice. It was something said by many who had been on the wrong side of history. She did her best not to believe him. She needed to hold onto her anger lest she dissolve into further tears.

"War does terrible things to people." She wouldn't say more on that subject. She didn't know his full story. She didn't want to know it to be honest but he had done enough to land himself in Azkaban and that was all she needed to know, "But what about now Loz? Dark Lord is gone, you served your time, why keep going?" She managed the ghost of a sneer, "Let me guess, you had no choice, yeah?"

She scoffed at his remarks though her face remained mostly expressionless. She had never been good at expressing herself to begin with. Even the sheer rage she was feeling being in his presence didn't show much beyond her tightened jaw and stiff posture, "you should have tried harder."

Fate be damned he should have died in Azkaban.

For a moment she glanced around his cell at the mention of breakfast. There was no sign that he had been recently fed and she certainly hadn't brought him food. She chalked it up to him being salty with her but that also meant if he was expecting a meal she didn't have a whole lot of alone time with him.

This time she visibly bristled at the irritation in his voice. He had no right to be irritated. From what she heard he turned himself in, he didn't come in fighting, he came in sobbing. What right did he have to be irritated with her?

She couldn't decided whether or not she enjoyed the fact that he didn't immeadiately recognize her, "Don't suppose you'd remember, being busy betraying all your friends and all. I'm not exactly the little girl who'd climb up on your knee asking for stories of the glorious Auror Corps, now am I?"

She gripped her wand, her hand beginning to shake with her controlled anger, "You had a chance to make it right! You could have done better, you should have done better! You paid for your crimes, you were free to do right again and you threw it all away! Again!"

There were tears starting to brim her eyes, "how could you?! You were my idol!" She brought her wand up, leveling it at the older wizard without having the strength to cast anything.

Berkeley walked into the holding cells with all the height her tiny frame could afford her. She had come into the offices that morning to be informed of the arrest. She had barely placed her cloak on her desk alongside an untouched coffee before she was heading down to see him. To most he was just a bad wizard behind bars once again, one less threat for the Ministry to worry about. One more notch on the belt of the Aurors' careers. Sure, there were still some there who had been around when Lawrence had been an Auror. The older hardened officers who had survived the Second Wizarding War. They had faced adversity and made it through, Lawrence had not. He had turned, he had become a despicable worm. It could be argued that he had paid for those crimes, given his years in Azkaban but he hadn't changed. His current arrest proved as much.

She came to a stop outside his cell. Her porcelain features masked any emotion. She looked like a doll, perfectly curled golden locks, arctic blue eyes. Had she not been so determined to follow in her parents footsteps she likely could have been a model for Witch Weekly. It was these features that often led to those around her underestimating her. Berkeley didn't mind that though. It gave her an advantage over the small minded.

Her jaw was taut and the tip of her wand was just barely visible under her sleeve. She wasn't supposed to have it with her, or at least not wielded while visiting prisoners but this was worth breaking the rules. She looked to the ghost of a man she had once known. A man who had once been close with her parents. Her mother had only been a year older than him, in the same house. Her father was three years older but they all trained together as Aurors. He had come to their house for holidays, evening meals. She had once idolized him. The war had changed all that. She hadn't seen him in nearly fourteen years. She wondered if he'd even recognize her.

"This is too good for you." Her voice was just as inexpressive as her face.

In the chaos, Berkeley had been able to slink in behind JJ and Grace, which considering her size wasn't all that surprising. She stood still, just near the background, not drawing attention but watching everything with a keen eye. Taking it all in. These were the kids they were looking for, or at least half of them. They were covered in blood, frightened, weakened and on the defensive. Something that didn't seem to be boding well for those that were trying to help as two jinx' were flung at Basir and Carstairs was turned into a Mallard.

Eleor was taking charge and at least one of the students seemed willing to accept his help, giving Basir an opening to check on the one that had fainted. The next few moments would be crucial, before the healers arrived. Hopefully they'd allow Eddy to get in, put her mediwitch training to use. Berkeley decided it was time to seize the moment. After all the five foot nothing porcelain Auror was far less intimidating than her colleagues.

She slipped out from behind the others, her hands raised, palms out, a sign of surrender, of a lack of danger, "Hey," She spoke softly hoping she didn't receive a knee-jerk hex and get turned into a fowl as well, "My name's Berkeley. I'm an Auror." She briefly looked around, "We're all Aurors. I promise we want to help you." She looked to Kemp first, "Indi, you know my sister Briar she's your Dormmate, yeah?" She looked to the older Hufflepuffs, "Ji-Hyun, Micah, you knew my cousin Bridget. I'm not going to hurt you." She hoped connecting with familiarity would help calm them. Her ice blue eyes travelled to the hole they had come from and the oppressive darkness that laid behind it. What was even back there? Did anyone on Level Two know it was back there?

"Grace here," She motioned to Eddy, "She's been doing some Healer training and she wants to make sure you're okay." She thought about the young trainee's age, it hadn't been that long ago that she had been at Hogwarts with them, "Do you remember her?" She felt like she was talking to children much younger than them but they were in shock and a gentle probing approach may just be the thing needed to get through to them.

However there was one more thing she couldn't leave hanging, a question that needed asking, "Now I understand that you're scared, I can't even imagine what you've been through but I have to ask," She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the fresh wave a panic she might be inciting, "Where are the others?"

Berkeley had been following the case since it came through the office. Hogwarts students abducted in Hogsmeade, how does that even happen? It had been enough to get her out of the office and out in the field, something she had been avoiding since the MacDuff case. She had enough siblings and cousins at Hogwarts that it had hit a little too close to home. She needed to be at the school, she needed to know that Kyson and Briar were okay. That Peyton, Helena and even Xavier were coping, not to mention Tiberius and Cadance . . . the list went on.

She stepped into the empty classroom, an interview already in progress. She was followed by a notepad and a floating enchanted quill, not the cheap quick quotes that was prone to mistakes but one she had enchanted herself. It was currently scribbling away noting everything that came to mind about the case the setting and anyone involved.

"Ah great! Yer onnit then, are ye? Bollocks, we're all fecked."

Berkeley steeled herself and drew in a deep breath before putting a smile on her porcelain face. The expression was not natural, the petite Auror was not well known for her openness or kindness. She was often perceived as cold and distant. It wasn't that she was heartless or that she lacked any empathy she just didn't like being around people, paperwork was her forte.

"Mind your tongue Xavier." She scolded her younger cousin as easily as she would her own brother. She knew the look and the anger behind it. The Slytherin had visited her over the Holidays at her own request. She thought it might do him some good to spend some time away from their Grandfather's antiquated mansion. Unfortunately she hadn't expected the little snoop to rummage through her case files. He claimed to be looking for something on his uncle (a case she wasn't involved in) and ended up finding information about his father instead (a case she had personally requested)

"Try to be helpful." She did her best to give Andromeda a reassuring look.

Berkeley simply watched the interactions around the office once the initial 'announcement' was made. There was no mistaking the tension between Pratt and Harcroft, or at least the animosity Pratt was throwing in the Senior Aurors' direction. Berkeley didn't have to guess at what it was all about. The whole office had taken it's licks when MacDuff was on the loose, but those that had actually lost someone in the process, like Pratt, were having a harder time dealing with it. Berkeley understood the emotion behind it even if the pint sized Auror couldn't relate. Her father had been targeted but nothing came from it.

She had to admit Brown was a good choice, there definitely were worse choices. At least the older woman wouldn't bug her about being anti social or spending nineteen hour days doing paperwork. Berkeley was looking forward to getting her job done without interruptions. In fact she was about to get right back to it when Brown herself showed up. Her pale grey blue eyes followed the new Head of Department trying to determine if the title had gone to her head yet. She seemed level enough but the talk of holidays had caught Berkeley off guard.

She had apparently completely forgotten the date. Was it really Christmas Eve already? Kyson and Briar would be home with her father and considering the next full moon wasn't until the end of the month their father was probably in rather high spirits. They had gotten used to her not being there most of the time, Berkeley had a habit of getting lost in her work and her family accepted it as much as they had growing up with two Aurors for parents. What she was worried about was the certifiable juvenile delinquent that was currently crashing at her flat. As a way to keep an eye on him and hopefully keep him out of trouble Berkeley had invited her cousin Xavier to spend the Christmas holidays with her instead of staying at Wentworth manor with their grandfather.

"Happy Christmas." Berkeley managed to get out unenthusiastically before turning, slinking down into her cubicle and out of sight. She needed to get through her pile of paperwork faster than normal. She didn't entirely trust the broody Slytherin not to burn down her flat.

The petite porcelain Auror cursed loudly. The morning had been relatively quiet enough that she was able to become engrossed in her paperwork as she always was but Pratt's exclamation had startled her enough to spit out the coffee she had been sipping at the time, all over her morning reports. She huffed and pulled out her wand soundlessly removing the spittle from her report before swiveling in her own chair in the direction of Pratt's words.

She got to her feet which wasn't really tall enough to look over the gathered cubicles and lifted to her toes instead. She hadn't read the paper herself that morning. She had been too busy. She was usually too busy to bother herself with such prattle. The prophet, while well respected, was still just twisted facts and opinions. If she needed to know what was really going on in the world she'd pick up a few reports and read the facts, not the drivel the Prophet passed off as facts. Needless to say she had no idea what Eddie was going on about but he was causing a disturbance and she didn't like that.

"What are you going on about Pratt?" She could have gone as far as to remind him that some of them in the office actually had work to get done but she was trying not to come off as pretentious and prudish as she usually did. It wasn't that she was worried of what the others thought of her, it was simply too early to hear their quips about it.