The Blind Witch

Featuring: Nyle Avery, Audrey Miller

Special Appearances by: Draco Malfoy, Bill Borgin, Elda (the blind witch)

Summary: Nyle and Audrey find the blind witch who's meant to help them solve the mystery of Benedict's alleged owls. Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy appears to be... up to something. (If you didn't hear Severus Snape's voice in your head while you read that, I'm a failure as a writer).

Pumpkin Dust: They departed the Leaky Cauldron after some careful consideration, ultimately deciding the safest way to cross into Knockturn Alley was simply on foot. It had begun to rain (because the Borgin and Burkes scenescape said so), so Audrey drew the hood of her navy coat up over her russet hair, brown boots trudging through the occasional puddle as they passed under the ominous archway of the seedier alleyway. Borgin and Burkes seemed a natural place to begin, because it wasn't far into the alley (and was one of the precious-few places within Knockturn that Audrey had actually been brave enough to venture before now - although, never lightly). There was no pleasant little bell-chime to announce their entry, as with so many of the shoppes in Diagon Alley - just the scraping of a heavy, wooden door that groaned a little bit more loudly than she was comfortable with - announcing their entry a little too easily. -- "We're looking for someone named Elda," she tried, feeling a bit awkward in the process... and the man behind the weathered counter's countenance darkened. His beedy eyes shifted between her and Nyle, something glistening behind them. "You'll want to try the green door," he said, with a sneer. Audrey, looking puzzled, opened her mouth to reply - but he immediately began waving the pair of them off. "Get out if you're not going to buy anything!" She cast a look over at Nyle and then quickly turned on her heel to head back out into the alleyway - back into the rain. "The green door," she murmured, glancing down the alley. At least it was (mostly) dead. ghoulgate: The Hufflepuff in the green coat seemed a touch more...at ease with their current surroundings than his companion. He didn't carry any of the nerves or awkwardness that Audrey did, and when the man behind the counter sent them on their way, he simply rolled his eyes and grumbled. ``Okay, okay, thanks for nothing, Bill.`` When the stepped back out into the rain, he glanced both ways down the alley, pulling on a pair of black leather gloves inadvertantly. He gestured down the way Audrey was looking. ``Yeah. I think there's a green door down this way. I mean, it's off-green, but I don't think Bill's ever been one for details. Coming?`` He was already off down the alley, gloved hands tucked back into the spacious pockets of -his- green coat. Pentacular: The door behind the weathered and dour man behind the counter cracked open, and a head of very pale hair popped out to look at the back of the man and the recently vacated shop. “What’s the hold up, man? I haven’t got all day here.” The upper lip of the young man curled as what appeared to be the older man’s laziness. There wasn’t a single pressing thing going on in this shop. “This parchment is delicate, and I need your eye on it. Otherwise, you’re not getting paid.” The head of Draco Malfoy vanished from the open door, which was left open for the shopkeeper to follow through. With the threat of withholding gold he felt was rightfully his, the old man flicked his wand at the shop door of Borgin & Burkes, sealing it shut and flipping the dingy, half-disintegrated sign to “CLOSED.” -f-

Pumpkin Dust: Audrey allowed him to take the lead, the corners of her mouth up-turning slightly upon the realization that Nyle knew his way around Knockturn Alley. I mean, of course he did. He was an Avery, wasn't he? "Sometimes I forget who your family is." Audrey pressed her hands deep into the pockets of her coat for warmth, keeping pace just at his shoulder. "You don't really seem like..." she trailed off, uncertain how to finish her statement without possibly offending him. The truth was, his brother never really seemed like the type either. Sure enough, there was - indeed - a green door up ahead. It was, just as Nyle had described, an off-green sort of shade. It looked shabby.. and strangely small. There was no sign outside, or any indication that the door belonged to any sort of shop. Audrey felt uncertain this was really what they were looking for. "Should we knock?"

ghoulgate: ``Yeah. I don't really seem like a...whatever. I get that a lot.`` He didn't seem offended. More distracted, looking for the door. Admittedly, in his head, he suddenly heard his mother's voice. 'Nyle, you don't seem like an Avery. You seem like a disappointment. Bring me my cigarettes.' Ah, to be a child again. Upon reaching the small, faded door, he gave a light shrug of his shoulders. ``I...guess? I don't want to be rude and just walk in. That seems weird.`` He took a second to look around them, as though perhaps there was a person to ask about the mechanics of this particular door, before leaning in and rapping at the door three times with his gloved knuckles.

Pumpkin Dust: There was a lingering lack of response. Audrey stood, quietly, just about as patiently as was possible while being rained on. Thunder sounded in the distance. A rodent squealed as it darted over the top of her foot. She gasped and started, watching it scramble off in some random direction. The expression on her face when she looked back to Nyle seemed to read something along the lines of 'I think I'm just about done here'. And just as the air thickened with the instinct of giving up, the little green door creaked open. There was no hand on the other side, to indicate it had come open on its own. Audrey could hear the crackling of a fire within. She hesitated, and then called inside. "Hello? We're sorry to be an intrusion. We're looking for someone called Elda?" There was no response, and so she leaned into the space to peer inside. It appeared to be a tiny space, and a little witch with very-straggly gray hair sat, unmoving, at a table near a quietly-crackling fire. The witch's eyes were closed, as though she were very deep in thought - or had possibly dozed off. "Hello?" Audrey repeated, reluctantly. Finally, the witch spoke. 'Come in,' she said, her voice a quiet sort of drone. She did not open her eyes. Audrey leaned back out of the doorway to look at Nyle. She raised her eyebrows at him, then gestured for him to go right ahead. "Ladies first."

ghoulgate: Nyle looked like he was about to respond to that, but instead gave a little shake of his head, ducked down a bit to get through the door, and moved past Ms. Miller. He looked about the little room, then allowed his eyes to settle on the little old witch settled at the table by the fire. He turned to look back to Audrey, covering the side of his mouth with one hand and mouthing the words 'I think she's dead.' Pumpkin Dust: Audrey rolled her eyes at Nyle and pressed into the room behind him, and the little green(ish) door creaked closed behind them in a way that felt .. well.. a bit ominous. Audrey glanced back at the door, her stomach churning. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,' she thought. "Sit," said the witch, unmoving still. Audrey turned back to the table, two other chairs conveniently empty on the opposite side of the table from whence the witch sat - apparently in meditation. Not dead, obviously. Audrey waited to see what Nyle would do, then ultimately take his lead. ghoulgate: The poor Avery boy's eyes had widened when his wrist was taken hostage by what was, apparently, the creepiest witch who ever lived. And that included Dolores Umbridge. He gave a few token attempts to wrench his arm back, but wound up simply sitting and listening to her simultaneously cryptic and insulting words. ``...Okay. But, to be clear, my feet -are- tired, so...not submissive. Just...want to really...make a point of that. Also, my coat.``

Pumpkin Dust: The blind witch sneered. She released hold of his wrist. The fire crackled on as she grew silent. Audrey sat there, almost afraid to move. She glanced over at Nyle, then back at the witch... waiting for the old woman to speak again. The silence continued to linger, and she began to wonder if the old woman had fallen asleep. Audrey parted her lips to speak - and was suddenly cut off again. "Foolish girl!" The witch proclaimed. "Oh good," said Audrey, sardonically. "I was beginning to feel left out," she muttered, as the witch continued on. "No redhead, blonde, or brunette is ever denied fickle access to your affections, eh?" The witch cackled, and Audrey narrowed her eyes. Had she just been called a slag? "You'll be a Weasley yet," the witch concluded, and Audrey glanced over at Nyle. Was this really what they'd come here for? ghoulgate: ``...Wait, did she just call you a whokay, listen.`` Good save, Nyle. ``We didn't come here to be insulted. We came here to find out where my dead brother is, and maybe have you insult -him.- Calling me a beta and her a...whatever...isn't helping, alright? Also, how come you had to grab -my- wrist, but not hers? I sort of assumed it was because you needed to do that to read our fortunes, but you just did her without grabbing her wrist, and I kinda feel like it was a little personal how hard you grabbed me there.`` Maybe not the time to air these grievances, but still. Pumpkin Dust: "He waits for you in a place that is cold." The witch continued, as though she had already been discussing what it was Nyle wanted to hear, completely ignoring his comments. "The messages he sends do not come from him, but they are his messages just the same. You will find him, if you seek him, underneath the place where stars never sleep." Something in Audrey's expression suggested this might have meant something to her, this last bit. She knitted her brow. The witch continued: "You will need to bring something that belonged to him. Something that was his, in the year that he died. And something very old. Something very precious. Something.... green." Something, perhaps, like the heirloom emerald necklace Nyle's mother kept in her jewelry box. Good luck with that one, Nyle. "Only then, and with these items, can you find a way to retrieve him from the darkness."

ghoulgate: ``See? That's more helpful. Thank you.`` He nodded confidently, before turning to look at Audrey. ``Any idea what -any- of that meant?`` Sherlock Holmes he was not. Pumpkin Dust: Audrey sighed. "Thank you very much for speaking with us, Elda. I think it's about time we were going." She moved to rise, and Elda held a gnarled hand out in Nyle's direction...palm upturned. She was clearly waiting for payment. ghoulgate: ``Cheap!?`` Nyle started, before becoming distracted by the sound of an explosion in the alley. He acquiesced to Audrey's tugging, reluctantly standing to his feet and moving to the door. He was just about to step through it when he stopped midstride, thought for a moment, then turned to face Elda once more. ``Okay, you know what? No. Two can play at this game. You're old. Your breath is rancid. Your little...`` He waved his hands around at their surroundings. ``...hut here? It's the pits. Your skin feels like old leather left out in the sun for months at a time, and I can only assume you're single for a reason. SEE you later. That one's because you're blind.`` He marched triumphantly out the door after Audrey, slamming it behind him. A second later, it cracked open again, his face appearing in the opening. ``Sorry about that last one. It was kind of out of line to make fun of a handicap. I'm sure life is really difficult for you. You still suck in every concievable way, but still...too far.`` The door closed again. Pumpkin Dust: Audrey was choking on the smoke that was slowly seeping out into the Alley... transfixed with the image of a strange figure disapparating in the distance. She wasn't really able to make sense of what she was seeing, and the sound of Nyle going off on the blind witch was distracting enough to steal her attention again. When he stepped back out into the alley, he'd find the girl staring at him, rather deadpan, and very, very judgmentally. ghoulgate: ``...I apologized, okay? And, be fair, she sort of deserved most of it.`` Seeing no change to his companion's deadpan, he pulled a classic Nyle Avery manuever. ``Hey, what's going on over there? We should probably check that out, right? Let's go.`` He was off towards the source of the smoke, because changing the subject and walking away was how his mother showed love.

Pumpkin Dust: Audrey raised her eyebrows at him and watched him attempt to distract her with the explosion. Which was, admittedly, very distracting. She followed him toward Borgin and Burkes. As they grew closer, the smoke grew thicker, and Audrey found herself coughing a bit. She also found herself hoping there wasn't anyone still inside ... but the event had begun to attract more than just their attention, witches and wizards (of all manner of questionable demeanor) began to creep out of their respective holes to come and see what had caused the commotion. Audrey thought the better of sticking around, considering the company. It was clear there were already some folk making their way inside to check for any injured (presumably; they might have just been going to try and steal some things from the shop). It didn't really don on her, otherwise. "Come on," she muttered, starting toward the end of the alley, with a mind for the Leaky Cauldron. "I could use a drink." Boy could she ever. "You wouldn't happen to have something old lying around at home, right? Something green?" It seemed a natural sort of thing for an Avery to have. Lucky for them, Victoria Avery was having one of her exclusive formal parties the very next night - which would make for an excellent distraction if one were to go up into her bedroom and steal a piece of old jewelry from her jewelry box. Just sayin'.