An Unexpected Visit

"I didn't sign up for this," Selwyn replied darkly.

He still hadn't moved, but the death-grip he'd had on his wand had loosened a little.  Someone might even be able to snatch it from him, if they were so inclined.

"I didn't join the Order to be a hero, Oliver.  I don't want to die," his eyes moved from Rookwood to meet the other man's.  "I don't.  I'm terrified all the time.  I've been fighting since I was fifteen.  All I want is for this to end."

He wiped away tears he hadn't even noticed were trickling down his cheek with the back of a hand.

"I know, it's a sad, pathetic little wish, but I just want there to be peace. You're right about the Order taking action, but it wasn't because heroism is the greatest of virtues, it was because in the middle of a war, people get desperate. I'm desperate and I'm begging you not to do something stupid."

Oliver blinked at Selwyn warily, entirely unsure where his reaction had come from. Something seemed off about the man entirely, after the violent reaction upon entering and now this, too. But he wouldn't have looked like a fair man if he outright said how confused he was. And Oliver wanted to be able to see himself that way, which started with others agreeing.

"Perhaps," he mused aloud after a moment, "I should clarify. Being a hero doesn't always come from fighting. I'm trying to say that, those of you who feel that it really is the best way... I want to join you. For those of you who want to plan or bring in information, you have to be open to discussions instead of arguments, which is all we get. However," he added, holding up a hand in a sort of apologetic gesture, "if none of us are brave enough to fight when we have no other choice, we won't be the good guys. We won't help anybody. I want peace as much as you do, but when Death Eaters are clearly after us, we have to prepare for the worst. So anyone who doesn't want to fight, I'm sorry for whatever may have happened in your past, but eventually you'll be in a situation where you have to protect yourself. If that means we hold practices or training of some sort, I'll do it. But I need to know if anyone wants that. So get in touch with me by owl at some point, or grab me after the meeting."

Jack's suggestion wasn't a bad one, but Oliver was more interested in why he had tried to take Grimmauld Place on his own, and why he chose to attack Alice without preamble. So he took a moment but nodded. "If you've got your hands on it, go ahead. Or get people to watch him in there instead while we talk. Whatever."

Jack glanced to Selwyn and found herself feeling for him a bit, even if she was irked that the progress they were starting to gather was stopped. She could understand the sentiment. There were few people in the Order who preferred the fighting to the times of peace. Jack liked when things were going so well that she could forget that the faction existed. Those times rarely happened, and never remained for long. Peace didn't just happen. Some people had to sacrifice their personal peace so that everyone else could live a somewhat peaceful lifestyle.

She wanted to tell him that he could bow out, and no one would think less. But that wasn't her place. She'd leave that to Oliver if it came to that. She could, however, say "No one will die tonight."

She would do everything she could to prevent that.

She glanced at Oliver. "I can pop home and get it here in five minutes, tops."

Gabby grumbled. "Me and the boy can take Rookwood into the kitchen. We'll watch, right?" He glanced at the Zabini boy, who he vaguely knew from pureblood functions. Seemed competent enough.

Tears. Augustus gawped a little bit, trying to imagine a point in time when a Death Eater would be so utterly unwound. Well, a Death Eater wouldn’t. The best show of emotion they could muster was the tight seizure of their body language and a shake to their hand as they tried to blunt their fear with Firewhisky. That was his family all over – barring his son who inspired a little bit of pride in Augustus insofar as he never actually seemed worried about the meetings. That said, after losing your hand, you would become a little bit more realistic about the peril against you, surely. Augustus had yet to catch up on that and he sat, rather contently next to the redhead, absorbing Oliver’s hero speech with interest.

Augustus wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to go and sit in the kitchen. He had no idea if the old house elf was alive, though he wouldn’t put it past the strange creature. It had never occurred to him to question how long they lived. That may have been because the Rookwoods hadn’t really elected to use house elves as much as many of their other counterparts. No, they much preferred human, wizarding servants – although Augustus’ father had long made sure that the wizarding element of their servants had been suppressed. In the little village of Rook Wood down the narrow lane form the manor house the eponymous family lorded in, Augustus doubted there was even half a dozen who knew magic now.

There was something startlingly effective about Raghnall Rookwood, to say the least.

“I’d rather like a tour, if it’s all the same to you,” Augustus chipped in, deciding to emerge from his thoughts. “I abhor Veritaserum. I always come out in a dreadful rash. So, if we could skip that, I would love to see the upper apartments.”

Augustus sincerely doubted he’d get his wish but, certainly, it was worth a shot.

He had given them more credit than they deserved.  Selwyn cursed himself.  He was always doing that.

For some reason, he assumed the Order would behave like mature adults.  Mature!  What kind of a word was that?  Nobody was ever mature about anything.
 
Now they were sitting here, silently writing him off as a coward.  Oliver had a hide saying that everyone wouldn't need to fight right after Selwyn had said he'd been doing just that since before he left school.  And Jack... he didn't know why she infuriated him so.  Every. Single. Thing that came out of her mouth was just so intolerable, it made Selwyn want to scream.

Everything was intolerable this evening.  Rookwood was practically a delight; at least he was witty.  Why should he be near people who treated him like scum?

"Wow," was his reaction when it finally came.  "You're all a bunch of ¢unts, you know that?"

"You want to talk about courage Oliver?  I just put myself out there and the best you can do is tell me I might not have to fight?  Way to miss the point, mate," Selwyn's voice had risen, partly in anger but also because he'd left the room.

"I'm leaving. Don't call me!"

Oliver was nodding at Jack when Selwyn spoke again, making him frown. There was that language again. Not quite conducive to a pleasant evening, was it? Selwyn was just lucky that he hadn't been called out on it yet. Oliver really should've done, but the man had left. He lifted his arm from Alice's chair to cross his arms, entirely unsure how sympathy and offers of other roles in the Order were unhelpful or rude. So his brow furrowed and he turned over his shoulder to watch the other man leave, shaking his head slightly. A part of him was disappointed to see someone he had agreed with in the past go storming out over what was apparently a misunderstanding. But the other just wanted to move on.

Oliver turned again at Rookwood's comments, almost grateful for them. "Again, snake, you're hilarious," he deadpanned. To Jack, he added, "go ahead, it'll be fine."

Oliver's elbow fell to the top of Alice's tall-back chair, and he rubbed at his temple with a few fingers. "If anyone else took what I said the wrong way, you're welcome to join him outside. If not, thank you for listening. Or ignoring. Either way," he lifted a hand in a sort of shrug.

"We need to move Rookwood and wait for Jack to return, so let's hit pause for a few minutes and we can regroup. Might help temper things a bit.."

A couple people gave a nod and Tobias stood first, moving into the kitchen to make tea, while Christian looked over at Gabby, wondering if that was their cue to start doing something about Augustus.

Jack was amazed at what was happening with Selwyn. She had no idea where it had ever come from, but she could not say she wasn't a little relieved to see him go. They needed to focus on what was ahead, and all of this added tension and distraction was not going to help the group, nor their efforts. She rolled her lips inward, holding back all of the little comedic quips her instincts were demanding she utter as he exited. She had a bad feeling that, hysterical as she was, Oliver was not going to appreciate it. And she wanted to get this going.

Jack turned to look at Rookwood, smiling, "I'll put a cherry in it for you." She strode towards the door, pausing to clap a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "I'll be right back." She gave him another nod, wanting to regain their rhythm again.

Gabby let out a long groan as the youngster glanced over at him. "Oookay, okay. Let's deal with this guy." Gabby walked over to Rookwood and jerked a finger upwards. "Uppity, up. B-T-dubs, I am sooo sorry I missed the last pureblood soiree. I was watching re-runs." Gabby smirked. "Come on!"