curse-broken

"The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not 'get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same."

[curse-broken-blog]

bartythegrouch

“Oh, really? I think I’ve proved my point.” Barty called back, though the taunt held less of an effect, as he was hit with her jinx a moment later. A deep cut appeared on his leg. Barty winced as he moved it. He didn’t have time to deal with it. Instead he grit his teeth and stepped towards her, all the while waving his wand. Bright red and purple sparks flew towards her, and beneath the mask Barty smirked. She was the perfect person to test the new curse out on. He ducked seconds after casting it. Movement and dodging was key in not getting hit again.

That voice. Again, it struck her as familiar. Something in it carried a tone that she recognized, that hit her deep in her heart and made it constrict with fear. She felt a familiar prickle at the back of her neck, as if someone was breathing on it and she gasped, pulling air in through her lips in deep breaths. Not now. She couldn’t do this now. She was so busy trying to get a hold of herself, to rein in her panic to see that he’d cast another curse. Instead, all she could see were images of masks flashing behind her eyelids and all she could hear was the sound of whooshing, like a waterfall behind her ears.

Too soon, she felt something hit her in her side and couldn’t help but scream out in pain. Blinding, agonizing pain erupted in her side and brought her firmly back to reality, though she was even more shaken than before and her breath still wouldn’t come in normal gasps. Whatever he’d hit her with, she hadn’t seen it before. Nothing was happening on the surface of her skin, but she could feel her muscles twisting and turning underneath. She tried to stand, realizing that she had fallen when she was hit, and found that every movement made the pain worse. “Fuck,” she cursed underneath her breath and looked around desperately for her wand. It was a few feet away. She crawled over and grabbed it, hands wrapping around it desperately as she cast a shield spell. She would be no use in a duel if she didn’t get herself together.

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caradocdickborn

“Well, I guess I can reconsider my no walking rule, but just in this case,” Doc joked, following Maria. In reality, Doc walked everywhere, and if he wasn’t walking, he was running to get there faster. As much as he enjoyed apparating, living in muggle London made that a tricky sort of business, and he wasn’t one to be arrested for doing magic in the presence of a muggle.

“Nice neighborhood,” he said casually, quickly appraising the sort of area that she lived in. It was a habit, these days, to look around and survey the area. Words of warning echoing in his ears.

“Thanks,” she said in response to his comment about the neighborhood. She and Matthew had chosen it purposefully, selecting a safe, small Muggle town to move into. They’d discussed thoroughly how much safer it would be to stay here than in Central London, where she’d lived previously. That and the fact that they both loved seeing the Muggles walk their dogs in the mornings and had immediately fallen in love with their landlord, a tiny old Squib lady named MIss Kensington. She closed her eyes against the memories, hiding her face behind her hair so that Caradoc wouldn’t see her expression.  “I wanted some place quiet. I used to live in central London. Got too crazy for me,” she said with a small smile. She tried to imagine how that would sound to him — that the girl who was offering him drugs had been chased out of the city. It returned a small smirk to her cheeks.

“Here we are,” she said after a few more minutes of walking, stepping up to the small entrance to her building. It was a nice brownstone and she quickly slipped her key in the lock, stepping inside. The entryway was a small hallway, letterboxes lining one side and an elevator at the other end from where they stood. She pressed the button and moved inside, making sure Caradoc got on before letting the doors close. “Lucky it works. Sometimes it’s shoddy.”

The elevator beeped that they had reached the correct floor and Maria stepped out, turning immediately to the left and down the corridor. They passed four doors before she stopped at hers and slid the key into the lock. It clicked pleasantly and she stepped inside, thanking Merlin silently for the relatively clean sight that met her. She must’ve remembered to clean after all, as the only clutter consisted of the table in the corner near the couch — overflowing as usual with books and materials from work — and a pair of slip-on shoes next to the door. Four small rooms, the kitchen, the living room, a bathroom and her bedroom, stuffed with brand new furniture and items that didn’t quite feel like hers yet. It wasn’t like she’d been able to keep any of Matthew’s old things. It hurt to look at them and, besides that, his family had taken a lot of it.

“Well, this is me,” she said with a smile over her shoulder at Caradoc, stepping out of the doorway so that he could follow her inside. She used her right foot to push the heel of her left shoe off and then bent at the waist, taking the heels off with a happy sigh. She loved heels, they were beautiful, but she loved nothing more than taking them off. “Feel free to make yourself comfortable.”

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trapezingtonks

“Yeah, it’s always nice though, to realize just how similar everyone is.”

“Too true.” Maria smiled at him and paused for a second before lifting her hand for him to shake. “I’m Maria, by the way.”

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caradocdickborn

“Nice of you to think about my ego like that.” Doc nodded, affirming that her place seemed like a well enough idea. If the pixie shit went bad, at least he’d be away from crowds of people, which, as Maria said, would save him some kind of face. As long as she wasn’t about to rip off a mask and reveal a death eater underneath.

“Your place then.”

“Let’s go, then.” Maria walked toward the edge of the dance floor, hoping that he was following. A quick glance over her shoulder told her that he was. “I hope it’s alright with you if we walk. My flat is close by and there are too many wards up at the moment for us to Apparate in.” She didn’t feel the need to expand on why she had so many wards. If he’d been paying attention to the war, he’d know. “I’m not too far away.”

As she made her way toward the door, she slowed so that she could walk beside him. She vaguely wondered if she’d remembered to pick the laundry up from her floor before she’d left in the morning. Though generally a very clean person, she had let it pile up lately.

[trapezingtonks-blog]

curse-broken:

She smiled at him then, thinking him kind. “What brings you in, then? You don’t seem the day drinking type.” 

“Job hunting. Hate to admit it, but we all need money.”

[curse-broken-blog]

“Happens to the best of us, mate.” 

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@caradocdickborn

“People often threaten my life, but that’s neither here or there, especially when you’re going to steal me away.” For Doc that was confirmation that he was willing to go somewhere else, more willing than perhaps even his voice was leading on. He was tired of thinking, and processing, with the ever threatening fear that a happy night out would take a turn for the worst. That was how his brain worked these days. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Where’d you want to go?”

“Back to mine?” The question sounded forward, even more so than she had intended, and suddenly she felt much less bold than she had before. Swallowing down that feeling, refusing to let go of the confidence she’d had all evening, she added, “Some people can react poorly, or so I’ve heard. I wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself.” 

She didn’t allow herself to wonder if she would be one of those people. No, they’d just continue an enjoyable night out, neither one having to worry about whatever it was that made them consider drugs as a viable option for fun. She wouldn’t allow herself to think that more darkness could push its way in.

  �?

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@trapezingtonks

“I think there’s a certain level of peace to drinking alone as well. You’ll find no judgement here.”

She smiled at him then, thinking him kind. “What brings you in, then? You don’t seem the day drinking type.” 

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goldsebastian

“My mum was Egyptian so she spoke both and I just learned them growing up,” he said with a shrug. “It’s useful, I suppose. Mostly, though, I just like being able to speak them. Do you speak anything other than Spanish and English?”

“I dabble in a few other languages, mostly for work, but I am only fluent in the two.” She paused. “Feel free to teach me how to speak French. I’m desperate to learn.” 

“

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goldsebastian

“Had a feeling of what you meant, at least,” he said with a smile. “They’re just different. Don’t want some pervert taking advantage of your words, though.” Sebastian’s eyes grew wide as she spoke in Spanish. “Oh, no. I don’t actually speak Spanish. Just Arabic and French.”

“I appreciate it,” she said with a kind smile, nodding her head in his direction. When he explained that he didn’t actually speak Spanish, Maria deflated a bit. It was always nice to use the language she’d grown up speaking. Still, the end of his sentence grabbed her attention. “Arabic and French? Why?”

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trapezingtonks

“Oh, are you sure? I don’t want to intrude. Sometimes people like the peace and quiet of eating alone.”

Maria shook her drink lightly at him, indicating that she was much more interested in booze than food. “But those who drink alone are just sad.”

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caradocdickborn

“Nice of you to give me the meanest looking bloke around here. He looks like not even Azkaban could take his soul away. I’m not sure he has a soul to begin with.” Doc eyed the man wearily, silently thankful that he was at least mostly adept with a wand, and had fought more than just a few Death Eaters in the past few years.

While Doc didn’t do drugs usually, mostly sticking to alcohol, he was more than willing if it was Maria handing it out. He did stupid things in normal life, but once a fit person started to offer him things he was lost for good. “I’m up for it,” Doc replied, voice full of confidence. “Long as you aren’t trying to kill me.”

“I just figured since you were offering, I might as well take you up on it,” she teased, a smile quirking up on side of her mouth as she looked at Doc. “In any case, now that we aren’t spinning around he seems to have calmed down.” The man in question was still shooting them nasty side-eye, but he’d mostly gone back to talking with his friends. She shrugged a little as she danced, hips moving in time to the beat and hands roaming even as she spoke.

“Do people often make attempts on your life?” Maria’s lips twisted in a grin and she stopped dancing, letting her hands drift to his hips where they tugged lightly, positioning them more firmly against each other. She gave a saucy wink, half joking and half remembering the desire she’d felt just a few dances ago. “I promise, I’m just trying to take advantage of you, not hurt you.” With that, she pulled away ever so slightly. “On that note, I probably should add that it’d be to our advantage to take this,” she shook the vial yet again, “in a more private location. Could I convince you to get out of here?”

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trapezingtonks

“Cheers for answering,” Ted said, happy that there were still people willing to give answers, especially to someone like him. “Any chance they mentioned when they’d be back? Not that I mind waiting.”

“They haven’t, but they rarely leave the place empty for too long.” She used her foot to nudge out the chair beside hers. “Feel free to take a seat, I don’t mind waiting with you.”

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“I’ve got my arse kicked plenty of times, Maria. Won’t be the first, won’t be the last. I’ll be sure to take a shots for you though,” Doc grinned in return, not truly caring that there were a few people reaching for their wands in disgust. It was Halloween. He was here to relax, and forget, and to not fucking worry about what other idiots were doing with their lives.

Doc quirked an eyebrow, curious as to what the fuck she was showing him. “What the fuck is that?” He asked, more curious than anything else as his hips kept pace with the music, and his hands started to become greedy.

“I can take care of myself,” she said quickly before realizing that his words weren’t meant as an insult, he wasn’t like everyone else who seemed to think that she was unable to defend herself at all since Matthew’s death. “Though, I do appreciate the offer,” she added in a nicer tone, smiling at him in a way that said she was sorry for snapping. She wrinkled her nose at one of the nastier wizards glaring at them. “If it comes down to it, you can take that one.”

She shook the vial, grinning. “Pixie dust.” She said it in a lower tone, moving even closer as they danced so that he could see it more clearly but the others around them couldn’t. It wasn’t an illegal drug, just a frowned upon one and bloody rare too. She hoped he wouldn’t react badly and wondered if she’d been mistaken in her judgement of him.

[trapezingtonks-blog]

It had been a week since the Magic Market had let Ted go from his job. A solid week and he was still looking for what would come next. This had been happening for over six years. He’d find a job, and three months later he’d be out of one. Ted, however, took it with a grain of salt, deciding that at least he had the opportunity to never grow bored of what he did. He was almost luckier than others in his mind. Not that he’d ever take anything away from other people–but each new job was a new horizon for him to explore.

Today was another hunting day. Going into shops, asking if they needed work, and jumping at any inkling of hope that could lead him to helping his family.

“’Lo? Anyone here?” he asked over the counter, happily looking around at the store, and even more happy to wait if someone was busy in the back.

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Maria was at the Tinworth Tipsy Cow for the third time in as many days. She’d become a regular in the last few months, using delicious food and good drink to keep away whatever dark thoughts might threaten her mind. When the blonde man entered the store, calling out over the counter, she called out to him from her table at the back of the room, “They’ve just popped out to get more ice. I’m the only one here.”

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marymacmudblood

“Okay. Focus. Focus. One more page… One more page until you’ve only got ten more pages to go.”

“Or you could call it quits now...” 

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goldsebastian

“You’ll need to get up to speed then, mate. Wouldn’t want someone to think you’re talking about their pants when you really mean their trousers,” he said with a laugh. “Sebastian. Encantado,” he added, pulling out the only Spanish word he knew, though he wasn’t sure he was using it correctly.

“What’s the difference again? I mean, you had to know what I meant! You were wearing one, not the other!” She laughed good-naturedly, pausing to listen as he introduced himself. When he spoke Spanish, she grinned widely. “Oh! No sabia que hablabas español!”

[goldsebastian]

curse-broken:

“Not wishful, no, just admiring the fact that you call underroos pants.” She nodded at the material. “Lovely fit.” 

“Are you one of those weird Americans that call pants underwear and trousers pants?”

[curse-broken-blog]

“Nope. I’m from Mexico. But, I do call pants underwear, apparently.” She grinned. “I’m Maria, by the way.”