vanityxburke :
It was an inevitably she’d braced herself for ever since their talk at the festival. Death Eaters didn’t negotiate. They tortured. They killed. Their lot dealt in the carnage of blood, not the subtleties of bargaining, and lulling herself into believing this would’ve been as easy as simply talking a pureblood into seeing the error of their ways would’ve been a costly mistake on her end. She’d expected things to take a violent turn, yes – but it didn’t help to cushion the blow.
Emma’s eyes bore into Amycus’, flashing accusingly. Had he known where this would go from the start? If so, why had he kept it to himself only to spring it on her at the last possible minute? Was he trying to psyche her out? Test her? He was on his feet and pacing over to the house before she could get a word in that wouldn’t land her in any hot water. This was meant to be an honor, she reminded herself. Being called on by the Dark Lord to carry out his orders should’ve had her beside herself with pride and joy; that was the act she was supposed to be putting on tonight.
But it was clear that this wasn’t a script Emma was familiar with. Though she kept her movements casual in following Amycus’ lead, there was a tension coiling around her arms and shoulders that she couldn’t quite shake off. Now, scrupulous wasn’t a word anyone who knew her well enough would ever use to describe Emma. Where some claimed service to the greater good to justify their flimsy moral codes, the only “greater good” she’d ever cared to serve was herself. If people were dropping like flies around her, it was less a cause of concern than it was an inconvenience. She was rather the type to stand back and observe from the shadows of Borgin and Burkes, impassively learning all she could from the grisly tomes and wicked spell books she’d grown up around, yet never caring enough to cross over that line and openly engage in the darkness. She might’ve respected the Dark Arts to the point of careful fascination, but Emma had never developed a sadistic streak. She didn’t relish in the prospect of taking another person’s life.
She slipped in through the door after Amycus, finding strange reassurance inside the house itself. All she had to focus on now was what she’d been tasked with – speaking with Mary-Elizabeth. Whatever came next… she’d worry about it then.
It was late enough that it could be presumed the couple were sleeping. Light trailed from the tip of Emma’s wand as she padded slowly through the dim entryway, sharp eyes keeping watch for any signs of disturbance. It was when they’d turned the corner into a hall where she suspected the bedrooms might be that the light from their wands caught on a small shadowy figure lurking about. There came a tiny yelp of surprise as she shone her light to reveal a little girl, no more than six, who was staring at the intruders, wide-eyed and clutching at a teddy bear. Emma stiffened.
K i d s had never been mentioned as part of the deal.
Shooting another accusatory look at Amycus, Emma tentatively knelt down to the girl’s level. She was trembling something awful, rooted to the spot out of fear. A quick glance behind her confirmed that she’d been headed back to her bedroom when they’d appeared. “Hey, it’s okay, love,” she murmured soothingly, smiling softly through the dim lighting. “We’re friends of your mum and dad. Just here to talk to them is all. Can you tell us where their room is?” There was a moment’s beat before the little girl raised a quivering finger to point over at a door at the end of the hall. Emma smiled encouragingly, patting her small shoulder before straightening up and gesturing over at Amycus. “My friend’s going to go wake them up. You keep close to me, yeah?”
She gave a nod, still shaking, and crowded Emma’s leg. Emma clenched her jaw, following slowly in Amycus’ direction and inconspicuously aiming her wand at the back of the little girl’s head as they moved forward to her parent’s bedroom. She was a bargaining tool now.
Amycus followed Emma down the hall, looking over pictures lining the halls and other such things. He nearly run into her when she’d stopped moving, looking past and then down towards a little girl in the hall. He stared back at Emma when she looked at him, face rather blank. A child...?
He’d suspected, but he hadn’t been sure. But one so old? This girl looked at least five, if not older. To hide a child so old. Amycus wondered how the woman could be so careless with her safety with a child like this. The man kept behind Emma, watching the woman’s exchange with the small girl. When the girl looked to him with her terrified little face, Amycus stared back with no expression crossing his own.
Watching the little girl huddle close to Emma, Amycus looked to the door the girl had pointed out. Going to the door and pushing it open quietly with his wand raised, he looked over the sleeping couple. Only a few steps into the room Amycus pointed his to the husband, muttering a spell; ropes appeared from thin air and ensnared the man, startling him awake as he was caught in his bindings and the bedsheets. Amycus did the same thing to the wife as she began to wake up, both of the couple now startled awake and writhing around in their bed.
“Miss Duponte.” Amycus spoke quietly, waiting for the woman’s attention to actually turn to him. He scowled as he watched the husband attempt to reach his wand on the bedside table, waving his own to make it fly into his free hand. At the couple’s protesting words, Amycus sighed, “Miss Duponte. I, would hope. You know, why we’re here.”
