The Devil Went Down To Hogsmeade (Aisling)

[Deleted]

Dathan Burke hated going to Hogsmeade. It was filled with children and teenagers from Hogwarts. He despised them for the most part. The only ones he had made himself not loath were Sixth and Seventh Years. That was because they could be potential recruits into the Black Army. A few had joined as of late in fact.

The thing was he shouldn't have had to go to Hogsmeade to begin with, but the hard fact was that a book that was supposed to be delivered to him, a very important and banned book, had yet to arrive and it was time to confront the person responsible for it. With his wolf Eligos by his side, he stepped into the rear entrance of Tomes and Scrolls to meet with a Mr. Rainfeld.

Once Burke was inside, Rainfled tried to run from him, but Eligos cut him off. Burke then pinned the odd old man against the wall and gave him an icy stare. He then looked to make sure no one was listening in. It appeared to Dathan that no one was, so he turned back to Rainfeld.

"Where is it, Rainfeld?" he hissed. "That book was supposed to be on my desk a week ago. I have been very patient and so has she." Burke was of course only assuming this about his mistress. She was after all an enigma.

"The Dark La..." began Rainfeld, but Burke covered his mouth.

"You don't deserve to say her name or her title," he said. "Now where is the book?"

"There's been a delay, Mr. Burke," said Rainfeld. "But I'll have it soon, I promise."

"Three days," said Burke. "It is on my desk at my shop in three days. Otherwise, I'll return here and they'll be little conversation. Am I clear?" Rainfled nodded, shivering like a child. Burke let him go and straightened his own suit.

"Come, Eligos, let us leave these Tartarus pit of a village," he said, stepped back outside with his wolf.

AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV

[AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV]

Sometimes, Aisling wondered what was so tempting about Hogsmead that drew everyone's attention. It appeared that every living individual at Hogwarts looked forward to weekends just so they could go there. Nothing there seemed to be to the Ravenclaw's taste, except a small bookstore, which happened to be a perfectly place for anyone who wanted some peace of mind or simply just to get away from some very annoying experiences, such as seeing Drew Reinhardt and Dahlia Monroe laughing with each other in the hallway. A sigh escaped her lips when she tried to soothe the inexplicable discomforts she was feeling in her bones. She had looked for Xochilt but the redhead was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she was in her common room – the place Aisling had yet to turn up side down. But she decided that she would be fine on her own; plus, she did not want to ruin her best friend's day with a tons of complaints about having to live under the same roof with Dahlia for another.

Sure, hate is too strong a word. And Aisling was not the type of person who threw her hatred arbitrarily at others. But she had never been able to bring herself to like the blonde even just for a moment. And who could say that they had been friends since childhood? Dahlia, she was just too flawless. Aisling did not fail to notice that, although she tended to ignore her for most of the time, for the sake of her own self-esteem. Specialization should be beneficial, yet she still felt like an inferior when it came to the fact that Dahlia had successfully grasped at wandless magic and occulmency wheres she was still staying where she had been three years ago – non-verbal magic. Aside from the same confidence of nearly a decade ago, Dahlia looked as though she had made a prominent transformation – from caterpillar to butterfly (or the Princess butterfly to the Queen butterfly). She had grown into something dazzling. And for several times, Aisling had caught Drew Reinhardt staring at the blonde as though someone had cast a spell on him. Not that she cared of course. She just found it rather too annoying to tolerate.

The bell rang as she entered the old bookstore. To her delight, the place seemed quite deserted. The shopkeeper was checking something in a large notebook and did not bother to look up to see his customer at all. Walking past the counter and to one of the shelves, the Ravenclaw found herself beaming brightly at the books lying neatly in a row, all of which were about the wizarding world and its history. History had the best stories one could ever hope to find in the world of literature. And Aisling fell in love with the mysteries and the epics throughout the flow of time. There were times when she thought she must have been born in the wrong era. The golden age of magic and the reigns of the kings. That was where she should have been. Not here, in a messy world. Leaning on her toes, the brunette tried to reach a book from the top of the shelf, which was way over her head. With great efforts, she managed to grip it and pull if out of the row with two fingers. The moment she thought she had held it in her hands, it slipped out of her fingers and fell off the shelf, landing on the floor, causing a noticable noise. But the noise did not come from the landing of the book. The brunette turned to her left, only to find a long shelf blocking her vision. Something had just moved in the other side of the shelf. The spaces between the books allowed her to caught sight of the faces of two strange men. Suddenly, one of them spoke, perhaps threatened to be exact, while the other breathed heavily in fear. Curiosity brought her feet nearer and nearer to the shelf, and only stopped when she was close enough to hear everything that might be spoken. They talked about a book. And a woman. Her brown eyes widened as soon as a name virtually escaped the mouth of one of them. The Dark Lady – the name her father had constantly reminded her of. What was there for those people to do with that woman? The conversation did not last too long before the person who was adressed as Mr. Burke by the other let go of him and made his way back to the door. The Dolohov did not have enough to think when she found herself rushing to the door, outside the shop as well, trying to catch up with him. 'He was too fast for someone at his age.' The moment the man and his wolf were about to ditch the place, Aisling managed to block their way. The wolf glared at her as it showed the deadly sharp teeth, only to get back half a look from her. “The Dark Lady, you know her?” She said in a low voice, watching behind her to make sure no one was listening.

TAG::  @dathan

NOTE:: sowwy it took so long! i hope it is okay.

CREDIT:: text made by the amazing LOVE LIKE LISA?! @ caution 2.0

[Deleted]

(It's cool, but while normally I wouldn't mind someone speaking for my character's pet, Dathan has animal communication with Eligos, so in this case I'd rather speak for the wolf's actions myself since he's more of a sidekick than a pet. Thankies )

Eligos was already growling at the girl before Dathan turned. This showed the wolf's loyalty. However, this random student mentioned the Dark Lady, and that peaked Burke's interest long enough to keep the wolf from scaring her away.

"Normally I do not find favor with teenagers," said Burke coldly and to the point. "Especially those who have eavesdropped on conversations they had no business listening to."

"She has the scent I picked up in the book store when you were talking with Rainfeld," said Eligos in a tongue that only Dathan could understand. Burke nodded at his wolf, then turned back to the girl.

"However, the very fact that you know of the Dark Lady interests me," he said. "Now to tell me what you do know of her and why you have approached me." Burke already felt he knew the answer to this. The recruitment drive for the Black Army had been at full speed as of late. "Perhaps we should take this conversation to a more private area."


AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV

[AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV]

Aisling's attention was drawn to the man when he spoke. She raised a brow and slightly tilted her head to a side as though what he had just said was as unbelievable as aliens invasion. “Normally I do not appreciate being treated like a child.” She uttered in slightly disrespectful tone as his words and his underestimating her got on her nerves. However, soon enough, she secretly scolded herself for acting on feelings like the majority of teenagers. “Well I am giving you an utterly sincere apology for eavedropping. And it only.” She lowered her voice, showing a little respects. He was right, though, and she should not have stuck her nose in others' business. Nonetheless, Dathan would probably not understand how important his business was to hers. It was all because of one person she had been looking for on her father's command – the Dark Lady. Ethan Dolohov had been telling his daughter no less than a thousand times that that woman was their only way, their escape and their rescue from this cruel life, from all the pain they had been suffering.

Aisling never trusted her father, but she believed him. After all, he was the only family she had ever known of. Who else should she have faith in other than him?

The Ravenclaw's eyes widened as she watched the man actually communicate with his wolf. She doubted she would be able to make a head or tail out of that odd conversation, which caused her anxiety, even though she tried not to show. It was hard to keep calm when you could not keep up with the happenings. The man spoke again and this time Aisling felt each cell of her body get tensed. The look on his face sent a cold shiver to her spine. And a part of her wanted to run, as far as she could from this man. “You are no less interesting, sir.” She said, making efforts to sound tough. With a smile on her pale face, which was getting even paler in the light of the dying sun, she continued. “I just know enough of her.” Enough nearly meant nothing in her case. Not that she entirely had no clue about the Dark Lady. It was just the woman was too much of an unsolved puzzle. She could barely picture her inside her head, though she was quite good at picturing people only by narration. “I know that she can help me get what I want. And I'm sure that she will only gain and not lose when when she has me on her side.” Her voice got very low until her words became even less than a whisper. She was on the verge of telling the man her purpose when he suggested taking their conversationto a “private” place. Aisling could not explain, but she felt like she could trust him. Besides, he was right. It was too dangerous. “What place would you suggest?”

TAG::  @dathan

NOTE:: sowwy it took so long! and i'm sorry about the inconvenience that i caused. it'll not happen again.

CREDIT:: text made by the amazing LOVE LIKE LISA?! @ caution 2.0

[Deleted]

(No worries)

Dathan was not a polite man. He wasn't going to excuse himself for treating her like the child she was, and he wasn't going to allow her the satisfaction of knowing he had forgiven her for the eavesdropping. He was in Hogsmeade that day for "business", not to make friends. However, now it appeared he was also there for recruitment. Normally, he would have left that to Dominic, but he was sure that his mistress would be happy that he took advantage of the opportunity.

Dathan simply nodded when the woman said he was no less interesting. He agreed as he found himself a man of great interest... especially as of late with the Ministry snooping about his shop. He then listened as she spoke of what the Dark Lady would do for her and how she could be an asset.

"We'll see about that," he said. "You see, my task now is to do one of two things with you. One- I determine that you are eligible for our ranks or two...." Burke looked down at his wolf, then back at her. "I see to it that you do not speak of whatever secrets that you have learned about my mistress. As for the location, one of our ranks owns a house near here. She's not home, but she has given me a pass key. If you'll follow me."

The house belonged to his beloved business partner, Morgaine Deluna, and it would indeed do for the meeting. After all, most people avoided the house if they could help it. Dathan approached and unlocked the door, motioning for Aisling to go in.

AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV

[AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV]

Eligible. Aisling chewed her inner cheek so as not to let any disrespectful words slip out of her mouth again. That word Dathan used to describe her made slightly frustrated. He never said it out loud but the girl kept feeling like he was looking upon her as commodity. Then again, the world she was living in was a material world. People were all merchants. And it appeared that she was trying to make a deal herself – trading her freedom and her conscience for vengeance. Sometimes Aisling wondered if she truly wanted it as much as she thought. But it was not what she wanted that mattered; it was what her father wanted that did. If her mother had still been by her side, she would have told her that she was out of her mind, that she was brainwashed by her own father. However, to be honest, Aisling could barely remember the last time she saw her mother. The one who had chosen to run away from her own children to get her own freedom did not have the right to judge her.

Aisling could hear her heart racing in her chest when Dathan told her that he had something to do with her. The feeling she was having was either fear or hope. She stood listening carefully to every single word he said, trying to make sure that she did not miss anything important. As he suddenly left his saying unfinished after mentioning the second thing in the two things he had to do with her, the Ravenclaw furrowed her brows a little, asking herself what was going on in that head. “Am I supposed to speak of them – the secrets?” She asked quietly, staring at him with a calm yet cold look on her face. On hearing his suggestion about the place to have their conversation, she nodded without saying anything.

She remained quiet all the way to the house. The door was unlocked and she was asked to enter. Looking up at Dathan again, she made efforts to read him, his facial expressions or anything that could tell her whether it was wise or stupid of her to trust him. But she guessed her choice was very limited at the time. After glancing at the wolf one more time, Aisling stepped inside the house without hesitation. “Who do you seek, Burke? Someone who can fight, or someone who is willing to die without questioning?” She asked suspiciously. "I won't die, but I can make sure certain people do, without questioning."

TAG::  @dathan

NOTE::

CREDIT:: text made by the amazing LOVE LIKE LISA?! @ caution 2.0

[Deleted]

Burke turned to Aisling with another cold stare when she asked about the secrets.

"To speak them to the wrong people would destroy everything we have planned so far," he said. "You can be sure that in time, all will be revealed, but it will be at my mistress' discretion and hers only. If anyone else does, even myself, their life will be considered forfeit. It is a pledge we all make... and you will too should you join us."

Dathan smirked as he locked the door and seated himself in the house.

"Someone who can fight? Who is willing to die?" he asked. "We're not looking for heroes, Aisling." Dathan knew what she meant, but he was testing her. Until she was sworn into the army, the two would not be on the same page. However, he did raise an eyebrow when she said she was willing to kill.

"You sound as if you have taken a life before," he said. "But regardless of whether or not that is true, you will be put to the task again. You will be made to kill without hesitation... or regret. If you cannot handle such a task, you are worthless to us. Is that understood?"

AISLING EUGENIE DOLOHOV