( cis woman | she/her | natasha liu bordizzo ) — isn’t that HENRIKA ‘ALICE’ CHAO [CROUCH] (ALICE LONGBOTTOM)? yeah that is HER outside the three broomsticks! they used to be in HUFFLEPUFF but apparently they now work as a TRAINEE AUROR in the DMLE. sybill once said that they reminded her of a pressed flowers in history books; smudged eyeliner; last nights mascara; a girl willing to get her hands dirty; a dancers stance; a duelers steady hand; her fathers daughter. anyway i’ve heard they’re still a bit DISCIPLINED, ENEGMATIC and CALCULATING, they’re TWENTY now but some things never change! i wonder how being a PUREBLOOD is affecting them after hogwarts? i guess only time will tell…
CHARACTER INSPOS: general leia organa (star wars), padme amidala (star wars), nyota uhura (star trek), gaby teller (the man from u.n.c.l.e), aveline vallen (dragon age 2) , astrid beck (critical role)
if you can keep your head when all about you
are losing theirs and blaming it on you ,
if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you ,
but make allowance for their doubting too ;
if you can wait and not be tired by waiting ,
or being lied about , don’t deal in lies ,
or being hated , don’t give way to hating ,
and yet don’t look too good , nor talk too wise :
location : hogsmeade
cap : six replies (for now)
tag : @beforedawnstarters
❝ no , no — it’s alright wee barra , no need to greet . we’ll find your mum for you soon . just need to get you away from all this noise first , how’s that sound ? ❞ the care she took around not having much of an accent slipping as all her focus was on the young girl she’d taken in her arms . ❝ tell you what , you be a brave girl and there’s some sugar quills in it for you — ❞ eyes scanning around her making sure she was safe and that there wasn’t anyone else in need before they spied another . ❝ — and one for you too if you keep an eye on her once we get the hell off the street ❞ she’d need to get back out , she needed to do her job .
there had never been a time when the streets of hogsmeade had been so empty of bodies - and even in the madness of it all , rosine finally finds time to take a breath . this had been the day that she’d been dreading for days after a vague warning from her eldest brother but this was far worse than she could have ever imagined . the loud thump of the aurors passing by is signal of another store cleared and it’s her turn once more to clean the mess that continued to unfoil . but hogsmeade ? rodolphus had never mentioned something happening here … and somehow , the uncertainty had her nerved . ❝ i cannot in my good conscience allow you to slip out just yet - ❞ she says with gentle tone as rosine approaches the first person . ❝ the area’s not cleared just yet , so while we wait , why don’t i make sure that scrape there isn’t too deep ? ❞
there was some old poem she could remember her uncle steve maybe reading to her once upon a time ? and the first line or so of it was playing on loop in her head now — if you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs — there was more to it but that one snippet was all she could recall in that moment , all she needed to remember as she stepped up to an occasion she shouldn’t even have been caught up in . but here she was , doubly betrayed now . not just barty chao’s daughter in that moment but local too , the unplanned raid happening right on her doorstep it was all too easy to call her into action . all too easy to get caught up in the fray . all too easy not to realise it was her being spoken too until the silence lingered a little too long . ❝ i’m fine , honest ❞ she had to be , couldn’t wind up injured her first big time in the field , couldn’t let people down either . ❝ it’s a wee thing , didn’t even realise i was hurt till you mentioned it . but i need to get back out there , i need to do my job ❞ she’d got where she was on her own merit , she couldn’t falter now it was a chance to prove herself , couldn’t let herself be just the boss’s daughter .
❝ i think we can both agree that we prefer each other’s company than most alternatives anyway . but is that why mina has been coming to work a bit more cheerful these days ? but shit , alice . i’m happy for you , seriously . at least one of us aren’t stuck at home anymore . ❞
❝ more than near any alternative , you’re not some consolation prize ted . probably ? she helped me get the last of my things out from home the other week if that lines up with anything you saw ? honestly it was a long time coming , just hard to make that leap , harder still with siblings to worry about . what about you ? still no luck finding a place ? ❞
“ there’s no such thing as overcomplicating when it comes to this , alice . ” there was a gentle huff that lily couldn’t quite keep in , hands moving up to rub her face and stifle the groan she felt bubbling up her throat . merlin helped her . " it’s right or wrong , simple as that . "
❝ i think there’d be more than a few muggle , oh what’s the word , philosophers ? that would disagree . it’s life or death , the greater good . i’m not saying it’s the height of morality or anything like that . just sometimes that needs to get put to the side ❞ biting the inside of her cheek as she watched how lily took her words , alice thought a conclusion like hers was the obvious one . ❝ they’re out to kill , they’ve shown they’re more than willing to . it’s reckless to think fighting back with equal strength won’t help , isn’t necessary ❞
❝ because barty scares me — and i made fun of his girlfriend, so its best if i sit out on bothering him for a while. ❞ all rikard could do was shrug. was it worth it ? yeah.
❝ i’d be more scared of his girlfriend than him if i were you , haven’t you heard how mother’s been speaking about her : french and from such a good family . you’ll have another sister before long if she has her way ❞ a little snip at their brother and his newfound love’s expense was rather out of character for alice but her move from the chao family home seemed to have brought a certain looseness to her lips .
“It certainly smells nice, but Patroclus keeps trying to eat it.” Seph shrugged, privately thinking it’d be more in Alice’s best interest to worry about incense than certain other things. “The animal healer looked at me like I’d just spoked Greek when I asked if incense was poisonous. It was really quite unprofessional.”
❝ he probably just sees you interested in something that isn’t him and it’s his way of demanding the attention back ? ❞ it seemed logical to alice but then again she didn’t have too much experience with cats , toads ? yes , but next to none with pets of the feline variety . ❝ you think they’d know the answer to something like that , or at the bare minimum expect a question along those lines ❞
❝ that’s not foreboding at all, chao, ❞ she chuckled as she shook her head. but if sloane was allowed to be mysterious in her own ways, so was alice. ❝ you know you can tell me, even if you just need someone to listen and not provide advice. sometimes we just need that. ❞ like an empty figure that couldn’t respond, but instead nod and listen. if anything, sloane could be that. ❝ auror training ! that’s amazing — how is it so far ? everything you’ve imagined just yet ? ❞
❝ can’t we all be a little sinister once in a while ? it’s only fair ❞ laughing along with sloane before deciding she would offer up a few , carefully chosen , words . ❝ its just a lot of the usual mess , same problems just the clocks moved on a bit . just … things at home ❞ home was a better word for it , safer than family was . ❝ my brothers mostly , notice i did say brothers plural this time ❞ sighing as she ran a hand through her hair , and all of that wasn’t even getting onto the fact that home wasn’t home anymore . ❝ it’s been … okay ? nothing like i thought it’d be to be honest but they’ve not got me doing the usual things just now ❞
quirking a brow - she was surprised to say the least to see barty chao’s offspring rounding the corner at this interesting hour, “well, alice chao – that must be an important message if it has you here after sunset or you’re being punished for something” a hint of a smile toying at her lips as she signed off on the last page and closed the folder before tossing it to her done pile before her hands reached for the next one that would drive her mad–
“moody’s stepped out for a bit – something about the second task force being led by an imbecile” a chuckle slipping from her lips, she was just relieved that she hadn’t been looped into the damage control of it all – “feel free to wait for him – gesturing to the chair across from her, i could use some company. i always thought that i would meet my end at the end of someone’s wand - hopefully a worthy prick, not complete and utter boredom”
she was glad the older girl didn’t make a thing of her name , more grateful than she could put into words . only bowing her head a little with a tiny laugh as the other assessed the situation . ❝ no punishments here so i think it must be the first , that or they figure he wouldn’t shoot the messenger if it was me ❞ that and the fact alice and her uncle already had preestablished code words all in thanks to his ever-present paranoia . but then again if they really were out to get you …
❝ he’s forever busy . but that sounds about right for him , nothing ever up to his standard ❞ she smiled before taking up the others offer of a seat . ❝ i’m happy to provide then , they’ve had me in helping out with some auror paperwork already — i know how dire it can be ❞ that and she’d read enough over her father’s shoulder . ❝ hitwix things can’t be too dissimilar , if you’re wanting a helping hand ? ❞
❝ and that right there is my only worry, i mean hell, what has even been going on with you ? ❞ seeing alice after a few months was nostalgic, which was such a weird feeling to have as a new graduate. sloane blamed it on the sudden dismissal of her studies from school after her parents and lack of return. ❝ you must have something to spill. ❞
❝ if i’m being honest ? a lot . and nothing at all all at once . much to think about but not so much to do ❞ she was trying to be vague about it , trying to be kind . truth be told it felt a little callous to alice to be truthful to sloane about just what had been happening with her . she knew what had happened with the others family and to complain about her own … it just felt cruel . ❝ well i’ve started auror training now at least ? ❞
it wasn’t the first time he’d seen alice chao; as the bosses daughter she’d hang out around the department a lot. it wasn’t until she started hanging out with frank that she caught vincent’s eye. there was just.. so much potential. “i’m surprised to see you without my little brother by your side.” the crabbe resisted the urge to snort; calling frank little brother felt too foreign on his lips. but he had to seem as his best affable, kind self. “you guys are practically inseparable.” which is why she made such a good potential target. it was dangerous, with all of her connections - but that only made it more exciting, no? “i’m vincent.” the crabbe extended his hand, offering a handshake.
❝ they do trust me around here , you know ? its not like i needed an escort about the place , i could walk these halls in my sleep . frank’s just being nice , being a good man and looking out for me . but i’m not his shadow , and he’s not mine ❞ she thought she recognised him when he first approached though she did know who’s who in the auror department a little better that she did the hitwixes but the mention of little brother made her sure . there’d only been a year where the two’s paths could’ve crossed at hogwarts but the little alice of those years ago had still heard the rumours , but the alice chao of now still had to play nice . couldn’t go about being the boss’s brat . ❝ alice ❞ she offered back , taking his hand and shaking it . ❝ no matter what might be down on some official form somewhere it’s just alice ❞
