On the Turning Away

No one in town had ever heard of Ignatius Blishwick. They told her that she must have been mistaken, that perhaps he lived in one of the neighboring villages, but Gwen knew that that was the right name. Gwen knew that that was the right village. The Death Eaters wouldn’t have attacked in broad daylight had they not been sure that that was the town where Blishwick made his home. It would’ve been far too risky, even for them, which is why Gwen was convinced that Blishwick had changed his name. That, in hopes of leaving no paper trail, he had adopted a new muggle alias, but the question remained as to what his current name was, as to where he was hidden.

She would have to ask the members of the Order if they were personally acquainted with him, if they could give a detailed description of his appearance. She hoped that one of them would be able to get a picture of him, or to at least point her towards where she might get one. That way she could go to door to door in the village, inquiring as to whether or not they’d seen him. Oh Merlin. She wanted to find him, to question him and find out what it was that he had that was so valuable. She wished that she would’ve asked Rowle where Blishwick lived, but in the moment that hadn’t even crossed her mind. She’d been so relieved that she’d gotten information out of him. That she forgot to further interrogate him, a rooky mistake, one that she would do her absolute best to never repeat.

Gwen was tempted to blow off monitoring the Dolohov brothers, she wanted to start investigating Ignatius, but she knew that that wasn’t something she could afford to do. The Dolohov brothers were the ones looking for Ignatius, it was important to keep an eye on them, and now, she was determined to stop by Adelaide’s place as soon as the sun rose. She couldn’t put off asking her for the surveillance equipment. Not anymore. That equipment would give them insight to the workings of the Death Eaters. It would allow them to listen into conversations, to monitor from the safety of a room, instead of the wilderness. Why she hadn’t asked Adelaide for it sooner, she didn’t know. It should’ve been the first thing that she’d done, but now she had to wait through another long night of monitoring with Bill.

The previous nights monitoring hadn’t been as horrible as she’d imagined it would be. It had been awkward, so very awkward, but Bill had followed her orders, he’d stayed quiet for hours on end and gave her the space she’d demanded. He’d been a decent companion, but she would never say that aloud. She still hated him, still hated that stupid face of his, and that idiotic hair. She’d never be able to give him the respect that he deserved in terms of his Wizarding abilities, because he’d always be a wanker to her. So she went into the night exhausted, hoping that he’d continue the behavior that she’d demanded from him the night before, and when he parted his lips to speak, she told him that unless it had to do with what they were looking at, it could wait. His words didn’t have to do with spying on the Dolohov brothers, it had to do with Blishwick, and although he wanted to let her know what he was thinking, he kept to himself. Because if he remembered correctly, there were few things worse than being on the receiving end of one of Gwen’s hexes or curses.

“What was it that she wanted to say?” she asked as they trekked back to their designated apparating spot. “Or have you forgotten?”

“I’ve not forgotten.” Bill replied, trying to keep up with her. “I think my dad might know a bit about Blishwick. He went to school with one of them, was mates until they graduated, then the war broke out and, well, they went their separate ways. But I think there’s a good chance that he’d know about the squib. Want me to ask?”

“Yes, please ask. Ask your mum as well. Maybe one of them will know something, but tell them to keep it private.”

“Of course,” he promised.

Gwen stopped walking when they reached the clearing. “If you find out anything at all, owl me, wait no. Don’t owl me.”

“Why not?” asked Bill.

“Owl might be intercepted.” Gwen closed her eyes, cursing inwardly at herself for saying what she was to say next. “If you find out anything important, drop by the house.”

He shot her a puzzled look, unsure that he’d heard right. “What?”

“Drop by the house if there’s any important developments,” she reiterated. “I’ll be on my way now.”

Not deeming it necessary to say anything further, she closed her eyes and apparated to her home. She let herself in, walking up the stairs to the bathroom, where she scrubbed her body clean and tended to her injuries the best she could. When she finished getting ready, she stuffed her wand in her back pocket and apparated to Vermont. It was late, nearly three in the morning in Vermont, but she needed to speak to Adelaide. That was the only time that she had free to speak to her, because later on, Adelaide would be at work and Gwen would be catching up on her desperately needed sleep.

Luckily for Gwen, the lights were on at Adelaide’s place. There was even noise coming from the inside, she could hear Adelaide cursing loudly to herself and going off on the random rants that Adelaide was prone on going on. Feeling comfortable enough to knock, she raised her fist to the door and knocked twice. She waited for a response, but received none; the only thing that changed was the fact that Adelaide stopped singing. Gwen knocked louder, thinking that maybe her friend thought she was imagining the knocking, but after several minutes passed, she decided to accompany her knocking with speaking.

“Ada, open the bloody door already!” she shouted. “Honestly, this is no way to treat a guest, especially when all the damn lights are on.”

From inside the house, Adelaide rushed towards the door and threw it open. “What are you doing here?” she inquired. “It’s three in the fucking morning!” her eyes widened when they spotted the bruising that ran along the right side of Gwen’s face. “FUCK! Are you alright? Did something happen? How’s your dad? He, okay? Do I need a coat? I'm probably gonna need my coat. Let me go get it. Only be a –”

“Why would you need a coat?” inquired Gwen, calmly.

“Because something’s wrong?” said Adelaide, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Wrong? Hmm, no, nothing’s wrong, nothing at all.”

“But your face . . . it’s . . . it’s sort of fucked up.”

“Oh. You’re talking about this.” Gwen ran a finger along the bruising. “This is nothing. Just a bruise, is all.”

“That things not a bruise, this is a bruise,” Adelaide lifted up her shirt to reveal a small bruise she’d sustained from running into a doorknob. “That,” she pointed at the bruise. “Is you getting hurt and not by a doorknob or a book, but by a person.”

“Ada, it’s nothing to fuss about.” Gwen repeated. Had she remembered the bruising, she would’ve thrown some makeup on before going over.

Adelaide folded her arms across her chest. “Not coming in until you tell me what happened.”

“Why are you being so difficult?” groaned Gwen.

“Come on, Gwen. We both know this isn’t me being difficult. When I'm being difficult, even I feel like punching myself in the face.”

A laugh escaped Gwen’s lips. “That may be true, but you’re being a right pain.”

“If you just tell me what happened, I’ll drop it. You don’t have mention names or places. All you have to say is, so I was walking and this dude punched me in the face. That’s it.”

“Fine,” Gwen huffed. “But can I at least get in? It’s not all that warm out here.”

Adelaide eyed her before stepping aside to let her in.

“Thanks,” mumbled Gwen as she walked in. She prepared herself for sitting on the couch and drinking hot chocolate. That was the drink of choice that Adelaide offered visitors whenever they weren’t feeling well, but when her eyes landed on the piles of boxes littering the house, she went into shock and eventually, rallied enough to speak. “What are all those boxes for?” she whispered, her voice low, as if she were about to interrogate a criminal.

“Boxes?” her eyes darted around the space, widening in horror at the realization. “Uh . . .”

“Planning on going somewhere? Don’t even have to ask, do I? The teli’s packed up. Both know a teli only gets packed up when someone’s moving homes. So where are ya going, Adelaide? It where I think you are?”

Adelaide nodded.

“Why didn’t ya say anything? Hmm?” she walked around the living room, her fingers lingering atop the boxes. “Because I'm sure you’ve known for awhile. Had to have known for at least a week or so . . . Why keep this a secret? Were you even going to tell me?”

“I was.” Adelaide said. “But I just didn’t want to bother you with this. There’s so much going on in your life; with your mom, your dad, the Order and all that. And I just thought that it’d be better to not put this on you. I know how you feel about me going to London with things the way they are.”

“You should’ve asked them not to reassign you.” Gwen stated. “You see this?” she traced her bruises, which in the light were infinitely larger and more painful looking. “This is what happened when I was called to assist a few Order members to defend a muggle village that was being attacked by Death Eaters. This is what happened when a fanatic Death Eater blew up a wall in hopes that I wouldn’t make it out alive with a muggle infant.”

Adelaide remained silent.

“England isn’t safe. Not for you, not for me, not for anyone.”

“I'm not stupid, Gwen. I know it’s not safe. I’ve seen the newspaper headings. I’ve –”

“The media isn’t as honest about the suffering and violence, as they ought to be.”

“I know it’s not. That’s why I mentally make things worse by about ten times, in my head. That way I have a somewhat better understanding, and even then, I know it’s nowhere near close to the reality. I knew you were in danger, but in my head, the danger wasn’t as real as that,” her voice softened. “In my head, you couldn’t be harmed and now I'm seeing you with bruises. And I know it’s not safe, but I don’t have a choice.”

“Of course, you have a choice.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Agnew doesn’t like me. Can’t stand the fucking sight of me, and that’s alright cuz I fantasize about punching him in the face. And since he hates me, and wants to get rid of me, he figured that sending me off to London was a good idea. And just to make sure that I’d fuck off, he said that he’d find a way to fire me if I didn’t. So I'm stuck.”

“That oversized goblin!” bellowed Gwen. “How can he send anyone to England with things the way they are? Doesn’t he worry about you lot? As Office head, the safety of his staff should be his priority.”

“Agnew doesn’t give a fuck about any of us.”

“This is going too far, much too far. Oh. How are we going to get you out of this? Something will come to me. Something must come to me!”

“See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. You worry.”

“It’s not worrying. It’s a desire to ensure safety.”

Adelaide sighed. “That’s still worrying, even if you try to make it sound fancy.”

“Well, I can’t help it. Can I?”

“Suppose not, but you’ve got enough on your plate as it is. I’ll be alright. My brother’s going to drop by the place in London and put some of his protective spells and it’s already guarded 24 hours, so it’ll be okay. And if anyone tries to do anything to me, I’ll just start screaming that I'm an employee of the American government. That’ll definitely make them think twice.”

“That’s not made me feel any better.”

“I know, just thought it was still worth a try.”

Gwen ran a hand through her hair. “Do ya know where you’re living, already?”

“Not yet. Find out in the morning.”

“Well, when ya do, you should tell me so I can put my own enchantments. And I’ll get some books on defensive spells for you, and this time you’re not getting off with not learning them. Understood?”

“Defensive spells aren’t my thing though.”

“If you’re to live in England, they’re going to become ‘your thing’. Once you’re settled in and working, we’ll try to see where we can squeeze an hour of practice.”

“An hour?” exclaimed Adelaide. “A bit excessive, don’t you think?”

“You can’t even conjure a Patronus charm.”

Adelaide shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve ever run into a dementor. Those things don’t live in America.”

“But they’re used by the Ministry and now that the Ministry is in the process of falling, they’ll be employed more frequently than before. And those things won’t run away just by knowing you’re American.”

“Oh. Alright then, you can teach me.”

Gwen smiled victoriously. “Have you finished packing up?”

“Nearly, all I’ve got to do is shrink these and put them inside my bag. Then I’ll be done.”

“Want to do it now?” asked Gwen.

“I guess, yeah.” Adelaide rubbed her tired eyes. “So what are you doing here anyway? Just want to see this lovely face?”

“Of course, we both know I can’t function without seeing that face of yours.” Gwen chuckled lightly. “But uh, I was coming to ask a favor, but that favor can’t be asked for anymore.”

“Why not?” asked Adelaide.

“Needed you to get me some equipment from the Auror office, to get some listening devices from their supplies, but you won’t work there anymore so . . . time for Plan B.”

“And what’s Plan B?”

“Not sure yet, still in the planning process for that future plan, but I'm sure Remus will help me come up with something. Might not talk much, but he’s rather brilliant. Prefer him to Bill. Merlin,” she sighed. “I’ve never wanted to punch anyone in the face as much as Bill Weasley. Been working with him these last two days, on account of it being a full moon and all, and even though he’s not been a git, I just know he’s a git so I want to hurt him.”

“Wait – what?”

“Hmm?” she turned to her.

“Why’d ya have to work with Bill? Why couldn’t Remus be there?”

“Because it was a full moon,” replied Gwen, nonchalantly.

“Full moon?” she repeated softly. “Oh shit . . . He’s a werewolf! Right?” she looked to Gwen for confirmation, and when Gwen nodded, she continued speaking. “That’s why he’s got all those scars. Was wondering why he has so many scars, but I figured they were from playing Quidditch or something. Whoa. I’ve never met a werewolf before him. I mean, I read about them and their struggle for equal rights, but never actually met one in person.”

“You’re not going to treat him differently, are you?”

“Why would I? He’s been nothing but nice to me. I'm not gonna be a bitch just because he has a . . . a furry problem.”

“That sounds so wrong.”

“Gwyneth!” shrieked Adelaide, her cheeks flooding with color. “I didn’t mean it like that. I was . . . MERLIN! I was just talking about how werewolves have fur so it’d be his furry problem, I wasn’t trying to talk about his . . . well, you know.”

“Hah. I know, I know, it’s just funny to see ya freak out.”

“Not that funny,” she muttered. “But what happened with Bill? Are you gonna have to work with him again?”

“Don’t know. Hope not. I mean. I’ll work with him if I have to. I'm not going to be unprofessional. Though I’d rather have Tonks or someone else – anyone else.” She said.

“Which one’s Tonks?”

“The one with the bubblegum pink hair at the funeral,” replied Gwen.

“Oh! She seemed really rad.”

Gwen nodded in agreement. “She is. She’s brilliant. I’ve got an idea. Since you’re moving to London, I’ll properly introduce you to her. That way you’ll have more friends in the country.”

“Thanks, I’d like that. She seems like a laugh.”

“She truly is. Honestly, my time at Hogwarts wouldn’t have been as good as it was, had she not been there. She was just always so sure of herself. There was nothing she did that she didn’t believe in. And she was always just so loud and unapologetic. Come to think of it, I think I might have liked her because we were – are – so alike. Hah.”

“In that case, I don’t think I should meet her. Have enough trouble with just you, wouldn’t know what to do with you and her.” Adelaide joked.

“Oh. Hush up, you slag.”

“Well that’s just not true. I don’t have enough sex to be a slag. Scratch that, I just don’t have sex.”

“What about that bloke? That muggle, you know the one with the piercings.”

“Dylan,” Adelaide said knowingly. “He’s not recent though. I think that happened like two or three years ago. And it wasn’t even serious.”

“I beg to differ. You two went out for like a week.”

Adelaide smiled mischievously.

“Alright, ya stayed at his flat for a week, but that still counts.”

“It does, but like I said, that was years ago.”

“So you’re telling me that you’ve not had a go with anyone since then?”

“I haven’t.”

“Well then ya know what’s, gonna happen. Your vagina’s gonna close up on you. One day, when you finally want to shag, you won’t be able to.”

“GROSS!” exclaimed Adelaide, wrinkling her nose at the thought. “That’s one mental image that’s never going to leave. Ugh. So nasty,” she shuddered. “Hey, you’re supposed to be helping me shrink my crap, not sitting on the couch and traumatizing me.”

Gwen smirked. “I can help you shrink and traumatize you from the comfort of this couch, look.”

She wasn’t exaggerating. From her seat, she easily shrunk all of the boxes in the living room and a few that were lingering in a nearby hallway. Adelaide reacted in a childish, yet incredibly suiting manner, she flipped Gwen off and told her to get her ass off the couch so that they could finish packing everything up. It wasn’t long before all the boxes were packed up. The only things left out were a change of clothes that Adelaide had lain out on her couch upstairs and the bedspread in her room. Other than that, everything was gone.

“Don’t think I’ve ever seen your house so empty.” Gwen commented.

“I can’t remember the last time it was like this.” Adelaide let out a sigh. “It’s strange to think that I’ll be in London soon, setting up an apartment over there.”

“It’s strange to think, because you don’t belong over there.”

“Already told you, I don’t have a choice,” she reminded. “That’s where I’ve been stationed. It’s where I have to go.”

“Still don’t like the thought of it.”

“Don’t be so worried. I’ll be fine, really.”

“I'm still going to go place those enchantments.” Gwen muttered.

Adelaide smiled. “Nate’s already putting some up, so I don’t know if – oh! Why didn’t I think of that sooner? YES! Oh. It’s perfect! Absolutely perfect!” her smile stretched even further. “I know where you can get the surveillance equipment. I’ll ask Nate for it! He’s got access to the supplies at the Auror department in Los Angeles.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to get him in trouble.”

“He won’t get in trouble for it. He’s a Captain! And what point is there in having connections if you can’t use them every once in awhile?” she grinned mischievously. “It’ll be great, Gwen. I’ll write him a note and send it out in the morning. It’ll probably take him a few days to get it to me, but once he does, I’ll take it to you.”

“Sometimes, I think you’re some sort of angel!” she took Adelaide into a strong embrace. “Now come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

“Not something to eat, something to clean up your face with. I’ve got some cream that’ll bring down the swelling and help with the bruising.”