Who: Emmeline Vance & Caradoc Dearborn
What: they are a normal?
Where: Amsterdam!
When: today
Status: continuing in comments
Interestingly Caradoc had never been to Amsterdam before. But it only took him an hour in the country to understand why; the Netherlands was boring as
fuck, with nothing to do but visit over-sized windmills. He had announced this observation earlier to Emmeline in their room, which he should have
known would prompt her to want to see them. What better open invitation did she need? So she did. And guess what they were doing now?
A yawn escaped him as he blinked slowly under his sunglasses, eyes dragging across the great wooden structure down to the grass. You would think they would snaz it up a bit, put some tricks on the mills or color it in anything that but paisley. Caradoc kept his opinions to himself, however (no need to give her anymore ideas), simply going along with whatever Emmeline was saying. Despite how boring it truly was here, that didn’t take away from the fact that
this was the place where he got Emmeline back.
Ugh, these sappy thoughts that were taking over him--- for the first few days, it had been fine. But now... he was desperate to put things back to the way they use to be. She knew how he felt about her, and he knew how he felt about her, so this romantic overflow could begin to subside. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop feeling these emotions, it was just that--- well--- he could feel them without having to be plagued by the corny thoughts driving through his mind.
Right. Caradoc turned to Emmeline, taking a moment to look at her before speaking. “We are looking at a windmill turn right now.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice, and his lips pressed together in a funny way.
She had really wanted these windmills to be more impressive. Emmeline stared up at the slowly moving sails, hoping that...oh, she didn’t know. Maybe one would fall off and cause havoc on the meandering crowds around them. That was terrible to think. But it would be the
only thing that could make this interesting, and she really did not want to bore Caradoc. Why had she insisted they leave the hotel? They’d been having
fun there.
“Why did you let me drag you out here?” she said, returning his smile. Emmeline couldn’t get over it; they were
smiling at each other. They used to only smile at each other when someone was making an ass of themselves, or one of them had made a particularly biting comment about their current situation. Well, no, not
only, but the fact that there was constant
fluttering in her stomach whenever she saw Caradoc smiling helped remind her how lucky and happy she really was right now. It also reminded her that they didn’t have to worry about being attacked by death eaters, or random explosions quaking through the streets. They hadn’t even
tried to locate the wizarding area of Amsterdam. They could just be normal, like young couple should be.
Her eyebrows went up at the thought, and she grabbed his hand, “I wonder if we could get inside.” She’d read that many of the windmills weren’t open to the public anymore.
Caradoc responded first with a flow of mumbled noises, providing nothing coherent as to answer why he had let her drag him all the way out here to see the most boring thing he had ever laid eyes on. Aside from that, it had obviously been a rhetorical question anyway. No need to answer and fall into another one of her tricks. Emmeline had gotten
much better with words this time around. He would be proud, if he wasn’t so out of shape.
Her touch immediately redirected Caradoc’s attention, his eyes glancing down at their joined hands. Again, that feeling anxiousness from earlier rose within him. He did not enjoy the feeling, and as always had half a mind to slip his fingers from hers to make it go away. But.... holding hands seemed to be Emmeline’s new favorite thing to do. He supposed... while they were here... he could... deal with it. While taking a deep breath, Caradoc closed his yes again quickly before refocusing.
Right. Apparating into the windmill. He had left his invisibility cloak back in Scotland with the Goldsteins.
His brows rose as he saw the glint in her eye.
That was an open invitation. After all, he had always been talented in sneaking into places he didn’t belong. Not like this would be that difficult anyway, considering the place was desolate and run by muggles. Also known as his two favorite things.
“Let’s see.” Another glance behind them proved no one was in sight, so he felt comfortable apparating in the open. Caradoc shifted closer to her just before they disappeared with a crack to reappear inside the windmill they had just been standing outside of.
Dark and dirty. That’s all Emmeline could think as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Her wand was out immediately, and as soon as it was lit she frowned. Really. There was really nothing interesting about this windmill at all. Just--a lot of spider webs, and probably rats and----
raccoons and quite suddenly Emmeline was regretting leaving the hotel room.
“I don’t really know what I was expecting,” she said, not hesitating in moving closer to him in case one of those little buggers decided to attack them. Caradoc would be able to handle a raccoon, right? With a swish she started spinning away the cobwebs to clear a path, and there were some old candle holders that were instantly lit with another flick of her wand. It had been a long time since she’d used this kind of magic; Emmeline felt like the only spells that have been shot out of her wand in the past two years were hexes and jinxes. Oh, and the random patronus when the Order was bickering or fighting.
“Though really,” Emmeline muttered with a sigh as she shot out her patronus so it could survery the area for any other life forms. The cat immediately shot into the corners, and Emmeline waited for its return. “I shouldn’t be complaining about things being boring.”
Now that Caradoc was back, Emmeline could be bored with every other aspect of her life for as long as she lived.
That would be quite pleasing, actually. Nothing out of the ordinary to mess things up; they’d been powerful magnets for trouble before he’d gone.
His brows rose as a smirk formed on his lips. He didn’t know what she had been expecting either; compared to their lives, this was on the level of watching a snail make its way across a table. Completely unrelated and unrealistically boring. But Caradoc had held his tongue, knowing it really didn’t matter when all things were considered. He too agreed with her that boring was good, boring was
normal.
Waiting patiently, he stayed quiet while Emmeline spoke, his interest in the conversation spiking substantially once she produced her patronus. What the--- Caradoc detached himself from her to take a few steps forward into the dim light. That wasn’t
possible, there was no way she could have know---
“Bring your patronus back here would you,” Caradoc spoke lightly despite feeling tense with stunned curiosity. There was no need to alarm her and make her think something was the matter. It was just--- it would be unbelievable if her patronus had turned into his animgaus form. It was possible that it could be another cat, but his eyes rarely fooled him.
Magic on the other hand, never ceased to amaze him.
Emmeline flushed immediately; everyone had made such a fuss when her patronus had changed a few months ago---well, no, it was nearly a year now, wasn’t it? The first time she’d seen it take the cat form was when Antonin Dolohov had attempted to use her as a cover, and she’d sent the message out of his capture. Almost a year, in September. That just made her think about how long Caradoc really had been gone and it reality of how intense the situation they were in right now slowly began to sink in.
“Oh--it changed,” she stated, knowing it was an obvious fact. “I couldn’t produce one for a while after--I read that it happens, sometimes, that wizard’s magic gets all messed up and---” Emmeline nodded her head a bit to avoid having to voice the context of her problems, “--and then when I managed to do it again, it was a cat, look--”
Her wand moved in a slow, careful circle as she led the patronus back toward her, controlling its movements once again. It hopped up onto some old crates, its glow illuminating the poorly lit space. Emmeline involuntarily smiled; being able to make a patronus meant that you were able to appreciate the happiest moments in your life, and she knew she now had memories that she’d never forget.
Oh. Caradoc shifted uncomfortably in his spot, not keen on hearing Emmeline avoid explaining why exactly her patronus had changed. It was obvious, he had gone through similar dark times while abroad, meaning no doubt that his patronus had changed as well. But that didn’t change the fact he had zero desire to find out what it had been like here after he had left. For Emmeline especially. It didn’t--- he didn’t want to relive it, whether it be through memories or stories. So to avoid this awkwardness entirely, he did not comment and continued onward.
“It’s not that,” he started slowly, his eyes locking on the form once it finally appeared. He had only seen himself once in form, the first time he had shifted, but that was all he needed. Without a doubt her patronus was a dead ringer of himself. Down to its larger than natural size and wide eyes. If you could flip it over, most likely you’d find a nice long scar running on the side of its right front leg--- fucking James Potter. Taking a deep breath, Caradoc blinked slowly.
“It’s---” Caradoc began, but abruptly stopped once he realized he had yet to tell her he
was an animgaus now. Somehow there had never been a proper time to bring it up, or they had been doing other more productive things. Well. This would be a better time than ever.
“That’s my animagus form,” he spoke, breaking his gaze away from it finally.
“Oh.” Emmeline blinked at the patronus for another second before she looked Caradoc up and down. “Right. That---actually makes sense.”
She’d had no idea why her patronus had taken on the cat form, the only cat she’d ever owned in her life was much smaller and slinkier than the species her patronus had decided upon. Dedalus had recognized it immediately as a Scottish Wildcat, and as Emmeline was not at all Scottish and had no inkling to be, it had been a strange discussion indeed. Elphias had pointed out that he was not at all interested in elephants, and that patronuses didn’t always need to make sense, but---this made sense.
Her fox patronus had been something natural. Foxes were clever, sly as a fox. That worked perfectly for a Ravenclaw who had joined a secret society at the age of sixteen. That worked! This cat---she had read, when she was trying to relearn the spell, when she had been forcing herself to think of happy thoughts that weren’t happy enough, she had read some interesting things about patronuses. The spells, the animal protectors, they more often than not took the shape of a creature that related to the one you loved, and Emmeline had found great evidence in that. The Longbottom’s matched, the Potters, and when the newer members were discussing theirs when they’d finally managed, she had seen that the Goldsteins were both ducks, and that even Ralph and Miranda had silly raccoons----
Emmeline smiled primly, hoping that Caradoc could not see her blush. There was no way she could relate the information she knew about patronuses to him, because he would for sure have another seizure from another relatively public display of affection. She took a step back and pointed at the ground, “Let me see, then. Go on. I should smack you for not telling me sooner.”
For not the first time in the past few days, Emmeline had effectively pushed Caradoc back into that
uncomfortable kind of place. The hair on the back of his neck bristled, and for a few moments he did not respond. For some reason, showing her here, now, felt almost as if it was an invasion of privacy. Completely untrue, of course, because at this point privacy just wasn’t---
here. But it still--- he continued to stand stock as his mind naturally raced for an excuse that wouldn’t upset her.
Nothing legitimate came to mind, and with a sigh, Caradoc conceded. In the scheme of things, he supposed as he took a few steps back from the light (no need for her to actually see the process, he imagined it wasn’t pleasant looking), this really wasn’t anything important. Emmeline should be able to recognize him at the very least, in case of-- something unexpected occurring. And the more he thought about it, the more a tiny part of him grew louder that wanted to show off to her. Look at what
he could do. Illegally, of course.
The familiar feeling of his center of balance changing from two to four overtook him, and with a quick shake and a blink the transformation was completed. Feeling much more inclined than before, the large cat took a few long steps back into the stream of light coming from Emmeline’s wand.
