Checking in on the pretties

People who wound up in Azkaban were stupid. They obviously didn't know how to handle situations in which they could get away easily. They all could have avoided ending up here if they had only just run in time, or not done that last stupid thing. Of course there were some who were taken by surprise. The ones who thought they were hiding so well in the eye of the public, but the secret investigations were underway, and one little mistake, and they were caught in their sleep in their manor homes, taken away in the dead of the night. Zoe didn't mind those ones as much, they were still stupid, but there wasn't much they could do.

The rest of the dogs however, were stupid. Zoe's eyes roamed over the cages as she walked down the hallway, her patronus, a butterfly, flitted around her, keeping the dementors off. The movement attracted the gaze of a few of the inmates, as well as the momentary absence of the dementors, but once she was past, the dementors seized down upon them even more hungrily, and there were cries of distress at the new onslaught, which only made Zoe's patronus shine brighter.

Zoe slowed when she neared the cell of one Athena Goyle. Zoe had been reading up upon the girl, and she looked interesting, not at all stupid, and that made Zoe wonder. She stopped, her patronus pushing through the cell door, and flitting around the room. Making a protective barrier around Athena that protected her from the Dementors. At the same time, Zoe opened the cell door and slid inside, locking it again once she was through.

Tiberius Bishop was awoken from the fitful slumber he’d been wrapped in with a flash of purple light that bathed the cell block in its glow. The round man rolled onto his back in a rather awkward fashion, kicking his legs to encourage the movement. He sat up; blinking away the sleep to find that the girl he’d sought to look after was on her feet, and...was it really? Tiberius scrambled forward, his hands curling around the bars as he squeezed his face between them, desperate to take a look at the long, thin instrument of magic in the light. His mouth watered at the sight of it, as he drank in the colour of the wood in the dim light, from the rounded tip to the spiralled handle that she held in her delicate grasp. Her eyes were alight with the colour of the magic that had left the wand and Tiberius found himself reaching out, his magic burning at the tips of his fingers as the prospected of channelling his magic once more left him dizzy.

“Where did you get-”

“Be still, Tiberius,” Athena snapped as she lifted the wand into the air in front of her. Her eyes widened ever so slightly and flicked another bout of magic, this time a bright blue burst. Tiberius’ mouth curved up into a smile and Athena looked round at him. “My visitor wasn’t very attentive to his instrument,” Athena answered coolly. Tiberius chuckled but an approaching figure soon caught his eye. He motioned for Athena to dispose of the wand and she did so by tucking it into the deep pocket of her prison uniform. Tiberius shuddered when he saw it was Gould but said nothing, merely retreated back into his cell to return to sleep as the woman entered Athena’s cell.

“Good Morning, Gould.” Athena greeted the woman easily, her new found confidence allowing her to be at least a fraction pompous. “What brings you to cell block D?”

Zoe stepped into the cell, and looked down at the girl who, in all cases SHOULD Have been a bit less... chirpy, then she was. Zoe narrowed her eyes, and glanced around the cell. Flicking her wand, a stool appeared, and Zoe sat down on it, crossing her ankles, she sat up straight and looked at Athena. "Curiosity Ms. Goyle.. curiosity.. I do wonder how your treatment here is at Azkaban... how the dementors are treating you.. and when I was on my way to this cell, I had some questions.. and now I have even more." She said, pointedly looking at the girl.

It was like when she was chasing the monsters of the night, tracking them down, there were signs of their presence that others often didn't see, especially muggles. However, Zoe had learned a lot from chasing them down, and looking at Athena, Zoe was slightly worried. The girl was much to.. pompous to be a prisoner at Azkaban, either the dementors were not doing their jobs.. or something was up. "As you know Ms. Goyle.. I have just gotten this job, and I was going through some records.. looking at what you all did to get in here.. it is to my understanding that you killed your stepmother?" Zoe said lightly, her eyes traveling around the cell, her Patronus fluttering around, until it came to rest lightly on her shoulder, waving it's wings slightly to keep the barrier up. "Of course one wonder why you would do such a thing, but sometimes people just deserve to die don't they.." She said, running her hand along the edge of her wand lightly, her eyes fixing on Athena.

Athena weighed up her options carefully as she eyed the Dementors hovering outside her cell. She knew that if she were to disarm Gould, say, and burst out into the corridor then the Dementors would be all over her. Through the night she’d attempted to get to grips with Kendall’s wand and had been surprisingly successful, the left over trace of his magic that marked the wand easily fusing with her choking core that had been in agony as it had tried to express itself. Athena was not particularly proficient with wandless magic as of yet but she knew it would be something she’d have to invest in once she left Azkaban; which would be happening a lot faster now that she had hold of Kendall’s wand, something that Athena was infinitely grateful for. She’d just have to be careful upon leaving the cell. That is, depending on whether or not she left this evening. It had been a week. She’d waited long enough.

“I wouldn’t know,” Athena responded callously, her temper rising a little. She loathed assumptions being made of her. “I do not concern myself with politics, especially not with the politics of Azkaban. This a mere hotel, one that needs some serious refurbishing. Leaky ceilings. Not a nice touch.” Athena smirked a little and shook her head. Athena raised an eyebrow and licked her lips hesitantly, wondering what Gould wanted to hear. “Perhaps,” She replied, unwilling to give away her true feelings. “What’s it to you?”

Zoe raised an eyebrow at the hotel statement, and then sat back and smirked at the girl. "I see.. a hotel.." She said smiling at her. Zoe was growing fond of the girl already. Her attitude and her spunk made her someone worthy of getting out of this hellhole, and it did make her sad, to see a girl so young, trapped in a place like this, it was no place for anyone, let alone someone who merely killed their step mother who probably deserved it anyway.

Zoe smiled at the girl and leaned forward. "How would you feel if you just.. vanished?" She asked, smiling at the girl in a slightly twisted way. "You take that pretty little wand you have, and you walk out of here with me, and no one at the ministry is the wiser? I can even get you where you need to go.." she smiled at her and lifted her chin slightly, tilting her head back. "No battling.. of course you can say you did if you like.. in fact I'd rather you did say that.. but you and me.. we can just walk out of here right now.. and you can go along your way." Zoe sat up straight again, and placed both feet firmly on the ground, her butterfly patronus fluttering slightly with her movement.

It was difficult to determine what exactly motivated Gould in this instance. Athena was hesitant to go with her, believing the woman would backstab her the moment they were off the island. The Trace had long since left Athena and so once she was free from Azkaban they could no longer track her whereabouts. It would suit Athena better to just vanish. She could become the first inmate to simply ‘vanish’ and appear again as if she’d Apparated at will from the supposedly impenetrable fortress that was Azkaban prison. Athena wanted to know what was in it for Gould, though, so she brought her wand up a little higher and narrowed her eyes curiously at the woman who seemed to know exactly what she was doing and exactly what she’d gain from it. Athena was not so confident.

“What do you get from it?” She questioned her, desiring a direct answer. She decided quickly it was probably best not to question it, to merely accept it “Fine. Take me to the mainland then leave me from there. I know where I need to go.”

Zoe smiled at the girl when she questioned her motives. "Smart girl.." Some in her place would have gone without uttering more then a 'okay go' but she had questioned her, which made Zoe know she was correct in getting her out of here.

"Call it a motherly instinct Athena... You do not deserve to be in these cells with inmates who have done worse then you.. and I trust you will go off and do far worse, so I do wish to see you succeed.. you got caught too quickly, and I do hope you learn how to stay away from the law easier after this. I must ask one thing though.. that I may have that wand until we are safe of this island.."

She smiled at Athena with a small satisfied look on her face. "I merely ask this for my own protection.. I do not need you thinking I shall turn on you and try to off me before that happens.. I would rather help you there, give it back, and then be all well and done.. I will promise with blood that I shall give it back to you if you so wish.." Zoe stood up from her stool and waved her wand once so it vanished, before she held her hand out to the girl, waiting for the wand to be placed in her grip.

Motherly instinct. Athena blinked at Gould in disbelief, her hand tightening on the wand slightly. She narrowed her eyes in Gould’s direction and took a step back, the chains around her ankles clanging against each other as she moved. She swallowed tightly and listened to Gould carefully, determined to make no mistake; she did not, after all, want to walk into a trap. Gould’s terms were as fair, Athena realised, as they were ever going to be and though she was eager to escape, she would have rather found her own way out if it meant keeping the wand. Athena brought the piece of wood close to her chest and narrowed her eyes further so her dark orbs were sparkling from behind long, coal coloured eyelashes.

“Personally,” Athena replied hesitantly. “I’d rather promise with blood that I will not bring any harm to you as you take me from this isle to the mainland; unless of course you attempt to bring harm to me. I have no intentions, after all, to harm my rescuer but I refuse to be completely vulnerable to you should you choose attack. I am far from naive, Ms. Gould.”

Zoe smirked and looked at Athena as she refused to give up the wand she had. "Smart girl.. but still.." Zoe smiled at her and kept her hand held out. "I understand your fear.. but Athena I have nothing to gain from hurting you.. in fact, what I'm doing could very well lose me my job.. why would I hurt you, and risk exposing myself?" She kept her hand held out, waiting for the wand. "Unless of course you'd rather I not help you.. and watch you much more carefully so that you cannot escape at all.. Take the wand by force I mean.. and let you rot here... I have simple conditions Athena.. you will get the wand back when we reach where you want to go.. until then.. I must request that I have the wand."

Zoe looked at Athena sternly. Athena had much more to gain by attacking Zoe then Zoe had to gain by attacking Athena, and she didn't want to risk being taken out this early in the game. Zoe's patronus fluttered off over her shoulder and slid down her arm, gently resting on the crook of her elbow, before fluttering to her wrist, and then to her finger. Zoe watched it with curiosity as it nudged itself closer to Athena, bathing her in it's warm glow of protection from the Dementors, giving happy thoughts of escape and bringing to mind any good times Athena may have had. Zoe couldn't help it, while she controlled the little creature, it sometimes seemed like it had a mind of it's own. "How about it?"

Life was a precious thing; this was something that Athena knew. She was well aware of the waste of pure blood that had happened that day in St. Mungo’s but she maintained that it had been worth it, that it had been just to kill her step-mother. Perhaps that was what made her brief trial so interesting. Her admission had made the juror eager to end the trial but the way she’d spoken about how it had been a necessary evil had left everyone rather cold. Athena had merely observed them all with wide, misinterpreting eyes. She’d looked better then – healthier; now there was a lot left to be desired. She needed to get out. She needed to be free of the death that hung around Azkaban heavy and stifling.

But there was no way she was getting out with the wand still in her hand. Gould had a right to be afraid, Athena supposed, but the latter had no intention of harming the former – there wouldn’t be as much to gain as Gould thought. It would do Athena very little good. So, begrudgingly the girl handed over the wand.

“Get these shackles off me,” Athena instructed tersely. “I trust you to keep your word, Gould. I want it back as soon as we’re on the mainland.”