in my head

Emmeline shifted under his glare, there was always something about Mundungus that unnerved her. He wasn’t a bad person, but he wasn’t exactly a good person either. She couldn’t figure him out and it made her weary. She sighed and leaned against a desk “But with something like this and with someone like her, I’m going to need as many back up plans as possible.”

"Mmm," he hummed, thinking the situation over. It was true that he was putting Emmeline up to the task to save himself from probable possible injury, but he found it difficult to feel much sympathy. He was safe at the moment, so he felt little reason to worry. "Good luck, Vance," he said frankly, starting to step back towards the door, concluding their discussion was done.

#c:emmeline

"You’re word should be enough. This is Bellatrix we’re talking about. Dumbledore knows what she’s like." She paused and thought about what he said. He was right in a way, what if Dumbledore couldn’t do anything and Bellatrix caught wind of what they were doing. It would be too large a risk. "Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut but I’m going to need you to vouch for me if something happens to me. You’re the only other person who knows what is going on."

#c:emmeline #ahaha she seems super impulsive #and Dung doesn't like that lol

"My word hardly means a thing," he said, rather surprised Emmeline would think that, "Everyone knows what she's like, but that doesn't mean much." Mundungus knew things about the students of Hogwarts, but out of all the deep dark secrets he'd come to learn, only the smallest whispers about Bellatrix Black kept him up at night. "Then don't let anything happen. I don't like doing things due to a lack of options, Vance." he said, giving the girl a cautionary glare.

"Why did you not go straight to Dumbledore?" She questioned him fiercely, refraining from shoving him. The anger within her began to bubble and seep it’s way to the surface but she remained calm, breathing slightly heavier. What type of person was Bellatrix if she went round boasting she was planning Unforgivables? It wasn’t even that she and Mundungus were friends. Someone had to stop her and if she had to live with being the one to rat her out, Emmeline would gladly do so. "Screw getting information for you Fletcher. I’m going to Dumbledore."

#c:emmeline #he didn't expect her to explode #lol

Mundungus rolled his eyes, "You really believe I'm a half-wit, don't you," he said, shaking his head slightly, "I don't have proof, Vance. All I know is that she's doing research on the spells. I have no idea why, which is where you come into play," he finished, directing a pointed look at the girl. "You Gryffindors are always so eager to jump headfirst into everything," he stated with a sigh before beginning to explain, "If she realises others are onto her plan then she'll make it all that much harder to prove. So keep your mouth shut."

Emmeline pursed the lips at the words Bellatrix Black. Planning. Unforgivables. If what Mundungus said was true then something had to be done but there had to be evidence. Evidence before it was too late. She grabbed the badger’s arm and dragged him swiftly to an empty classroom. “How sure are you on a scale of 1 to 100, Fletcher?” She said sternly. If she was going to do this, she had to know that jeopardizing her life was worth it.

#c:emmeline #dundunduuuun

As Emmeline tugged him into a classroom, he could barely keep from smirking, the excitement of the girl acting just how he had hoped bubbling to the surface of his demeanor. He had her right where he wanted. He quickly set a stern expression as she turned to ask him the pointed question, "Completely sure,Vance. I heard it straight from the snake's mouth."

Mundungus sat quietly atop the stone ledge in the empty hallway, rifling through his bookbag in search of a few things he had begun to believe he had misplaced. "Fucking hell," he muttered to himself, his head and arms now completely engulfed by the bewitched bag. The advantage of having all this additional space was that he could store most if not all of his goods together, the disadvantage was finding any one item proved extremely difficult.

"Ow," he said as a stray book fell off a pile and collided with his shoulder painfully. He suddenly heard the muffled sound of footfalls and emerged from his bag abruptly, his hair sticking up in various places.

#:veniensstarter

soravu

#mf

betterlestrange-deactivated2015

For what? C’mon don’t leave me hanging.

#c:rodolphus #I don't know how they'll interact #soooooo here's a deadpan mun #also so sorry for the very very late reply :(

Someone that sadly isn't you, Lestrange.

madbearraab

"Oh Mun you’re a man after my own heart. Everyflavor beans are my weakness. How much?"

#c:edgar #so sorry for how long this reply took!!!#I've been away all week :C

"Same as always, Bones," he said, hand reaching into his bag instinctively. He always had a few sacks of the sweets tucked away, ready for customers with an affinity for the treat. "Are you ever going to branch out? Something that won't give you cavities?" he asked, vaguely hoping the fellow Hufflepuff would one day purchase some of this contraband items.

"I’ve been busy with actual school work, Fletcher." She said beginning to get annoyed at him. Did he even know how much of a dangerous task he had set her? It was Bellatrix Black, even Edgar was scared of her. "Listen, I’ll try to find more out but you’ve really got to give me some idea of what I’m supposed to be looking for?" She didn’t want to go risking it all just for some eclairs.

#c:emmeline #I'm soooo sorry for how long this reply took D:#been away from home the past week

"Mmm," he hummed, unimpressed. He pressed his lips together and thought over his words. How much can he let her know? "She's planning something," he said, casting away a look down the hall. They were alone. A small smirk curved his mouth as a plan formed and he turned back to the girl, flat expression firmly in place again. "It involves the Unforgivables," he said, "but you didn't hear that from me, Vance."

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

The next round was a bit smoother still, and by the time Dung repelled his final curse, Sirius was pleased. “Good, very good,” he said, finally sliding his wand back into his pocket. “I do believe we’re off to an excellent start”

He was a bit flushed after all the back-and-forth, feeling alive and far more productive than he had… well, in too long. This was one session, in one night, but it was something. It was important. “Meet again a week from tonight? Same place?” They still had so much to do - and he was looking forward to it.

#p:sirius #sirius1 #woo! :d #dung is too. it went better than he thought it would xd

Dung nodded, leaning against a wall to gather himself. The adrenaline was still pumping through him, but he was ready to finish for the day, content with what they had done. It didn’t sound like much when he thought it over, but performing the spells took much more out of him than one would expect.

He nodded, a small smile flashing across his face, “Sounds alright to me,” he agreed easily, stealing a glance at the books stacked next to Sirius’ bag, feeling an unfamiliar bloom of excitement for when they would get the chance to learn what was contained in those pages.

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

That gleeful grin spurred him on, eyes narrowing knowingly as Dung backed himself up against the wall. When the curse hit home he let out a bark of laughter, pleased by both Dung’s reaction and performance. ”Good show,” he said appreciatively, crossing the room to remove the curse and help Dung to his feet. “You held off for awhile there.”

He held his wand out, grin still playing on his lips. “Ready for another round?”

#p:sirius #sirius1 #want to wrap this one up soon? I dont have any more ideas do you? lol xD #this is the most learning that doesnt involve secrets Dung has done like ever.

"Ta," he said, rising to his feet with the helping hand. He dusted himself off, visibly pleased. Dung was quite proud of himself, he never knew how satisfying spellcasting was since he always pawned off his homework to others. He wondered briefly what he would be like now if he had paid attention in classes. "Yeah," he said shortly, wand at the ready, focussed and concentrating.

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

"Yes," Sirius agreed, sounding just the slightest bit grateful. This was a much better - much worthier - cause to focus on. He held his wand up properly once more, giving Dung an actual heads up before the dove into their next round. “Back to the Leg-Locker Curse. It’s another easier one, but it’s good practise. I’m going to throw a few easier ones, then I’m going to put more effort into it. Match me with your shielding.”

Locomotor Mortis. True to his word, he cast the curse aloud, throwing a number of half-hearted attempts Dung’s way. Then he switched tactics, putting more effort, more feeling into it, wanting to break through the shield and hit his target. The first few he also spoke aloud, before he turned to nonverbal curses.

Dung nodded, readjusting his stance before he began defending the spells again. With his jaw set, he stepped around the room, never looking away from Sirius and his wand. He matched the direction of the curses best he could, sidestepping away when he risked being hit by a curse.

Sweat was beading on his forehead now, and he could feel the force of the blows coming at him, the passion in Sirius’ cursing. He edged backwards, sensing the wall coming up behind him. When Sirius switched to nonverbal shots, Dung shielded the first few, a gleeful grin on his face from succeeding. Then the next curse landed and he slumped against the wall and slid to the floor, legs bound together but laughing.

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

Sirius thought about all the fights, his mother’s horrific words, his father’s punishments; the suffocating sensation of Grimmauld Place; their manic pureblood stance. Blood traitor. Disgusting disappointment. No son of ours.

"To put it mildly," he agreed. It was telling, really, that he fantasised as much about hurting his parents as he did about fooling around with girls. Telling, and troublesome. "But what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, no?" Though he was quite sure his mother had tried on one occasion. At least.

"I suppose it does," he said, rubbing his thumb against the wooden handle of his wand. Dung would much rather not be placed in any lines of fire, he would most likely be the one to slink off before anything got too serious, setting up a shielding charm to protect himself in his dormitory. Some may call that cowardly, but for Dung that would be his most effective method of survival. But now, with training, he may even be able to hold his own against attackers if worse comes to worst. He gave Sirius a brief smile, “Shall we get back to it then?”

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

"Practise makes perfect," Sirius agreed, tapping his wand idly against his thigh. There was no quick way to learn, and even if you were as brilliant as, say, James, theory still only took you so far. You had to perform the magic over and over and over again, until you could feel it pulsing in your veins, feel it becoming a part of you. It occured to Sirius that this was probably the most romantic he’d ever wax.

He arched a brow at Dung’s question, but he wasn’t all that surprised. Volunteering to teach private lessons, requesting books of questionable origin, making comments about all that hands-on practise - it would be strange for someone as keen as Dung not to ask. There were many things he wouldn’t talk about, but his blatant hatred for his parents - and some of their more-questionable doings - weren’t necessarily on that list. If he could make their madness known, well, it was a service to others.

"The Blacks are… particularly focused on power and control," he said carefully. "Pay off the right folks at the Ministry, cast the proper wards, and you can start dueling with dear old dad long before you’re sent to Ollivander’s for your first wand." Truth be told, it had benefitted him. Greatly. But the thought made him feel rather sick, and it was easier for him to look at it in anger rather than really think about it. Yes, he could hold his own in a duel, but grooming a seven year old… too many dark questions.

"So they say," he muttered, rolling his eyes slightly. He was no stranger to working to achieve his goals… the difference was now he couldn’t coax someone into learning the magic for him. Pity.

Mundungus hummed quietly. How interesting. “I see,” he said with a small nod, “that’s one way to do it, I suppose.” He wondered if the other boy’s cousins had similar upbringings in the Black household. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least. That along with various banned books being in their possession meant even the youngest members of their family had the capability of being very dangerous. Even more so than he had previously thought. Worrying.

He could see a darkness wash over Sirius’ face, the disgust quite apparent, at least to Dung’s eyes, “You really hate your folks, huh?”

Emmeline was rushing back to the her dorm hoping to avoid Sirius after their rendezvous. Her head was still pounding like hell and the thought of her bed was looking ever so appealing. She was so focussed on getting back to it that she didn’t even notice Mundungus slide slyly next to her.

She jumped at his voice and dropped some of her books. “Jesus, Mundungus. You scared the beejeezus out of me.” She groaned bending down to pick them up, she thought she was going throw up from the motion. She lent against the wall as she held her books. “No, no I haven’t.” She said with a sigh.

He dismissed the girl’s first statement. It was hardly his fault she wasn’t aware of her surroundings. “And why’s that?” he asked flatly, “it’s been over a week, Vance.” He knew the task would not be the simplest to complete, but even second years he’d had business with had gotten him something within a few days. Granted, he may have threatened telling a few of their parents about their illegal dealings, but regardless, it was possible.

Protego || Sirius + Mundungus

"Indeed," Sirius agreed. He cast the counter-curse and let Dung free, holding his wand out for when he was ready to stand up and retrieve it. "The repetetive spell-casting is good for practise, and it can be good for keeping your guard up. If you do so. This is as much about mindset as skill.” He’d learned it from an early age - his father had been particularly keen on hands-on magic, to put it lighty.

When the spell was lifted from his legs, he slowly pulled himself to his feet, taking back his wand. He nodded and released a short sigh, turning back up to look at Sirius. "I don't suppose there's an easy way to learn all this-" he gestured with his fingers, "hands-on magic," he said, for the most part, jokingly. He walked across the room and took a glance out the window, seeing that most students had cleared off the fields, probably heading in to prepare for supper.

He turned to look at the other boy for a moment, a question forming in his mind, "How did you learn about all this, anyhow, Sirius?" he asked. Mundungus had a habit of asking questions with a light air about them, seeming conversational to most, but often, they had a distinct reason behind them. Anything he could discover about someone, the smallest detail about family or a recollection of a past event could be of some use to him. That was why he asked questions, for the most part, to collect his weapon of choice: information. Though, he'd recently been spending more and more time with Sirius, and now, if he were pressed to say, he'd have to admit there was some curiosity in his question.