What a Novel Idea

Khaat did not hesitate to answer Amelia’s question, but the answer was not completely satisfying. It seemed the woman understood the logical and factual nature of the stories, but instead of finding that to be the focus of the books, she enjoyed the dry, British humour of the novels. Although Amelia had noticed this as well, her sense of humour was not always thoroughly intact. She tended to think more about the clues and calculations of Holmes or the case he was trying to solve, instead of the dynamic between the characters or Doyle’s wit.

The woman had mentioned that the stories helped her to be more logical, less emotional. Amelia had never struggled that way, for it seemed that Amelia had only one setting, and that was rational through and through. Amelia was a calculating person herself, which made Holmes relatable to her, and her emotions were kept neatly tucked into boxes stored in the recesses of her mind, careful under wraps and under control.

Most of the time.

Begrudgingly, Amelia was forced to internally admit that her emotions hadn’t been as in control lately as she would have liked them to be. A certain someone was making it a point to make continuous assaults on her defenses, and he was using his charm and good looks to his advantage. Although she hated to admit it, Amelia hadn’t been as logical and reasonable as she prided herself as being. Ever since that fateful morning in the owlery, it seemed like a whirlwind had whipped through her mind, cluttering the previously organized files and dusting all rational thought with fluffy, unreasonable, and unreliable emotion.

Amelia shook her head rather more violently than she had intended upon realizing she was dwelling on these thoughts, grabbing her book off the table and opening it once more in her lap. As if it weren’t enough to be experiencing these emotions when they ought to be locked up in some alcove of her mind, now she was analyzing and contemplating them when he wasn’t even around!

Enough! Amelia’s mind demanded, pushing the thoughts away like she did everything and everyone she didn’t know how to deal with. Instead, Amelia’s eyes fell to her book as she picked up where she had left off, her eyes scanning the lines but not really seeing them. Although her mind was processing the words at a basic level, she didn’t realize until she reached the end of the page that she hadn’t really comprehended any of the sentences. Sighing, Amelia allowed her eyes to dart back up the page to where she had started, already growing frustrated with her inability to control something so frivolous as her emotions.

((Sorry for not adding anything conversation-wise, but Amelia isn’t really a conversational person. Since Khaat gave her a perfect excuse to recede back inside herself, there was really no way I could stay in character and not have Amelia take the offer. If you need me to, I can work on writing something else, but I really think this fits Amelia’s character best.))

Khaat was trying to become engrossed in her book, which for some reason was difficult this morning, when she heard people gasping in utter terror. She glanced behind her to see two Death Eaters, in full robes, hoods, and masks, coming into the teashop. Khaat didn't think twice. She bounced up, drawing her wand. Her uncle had taught her how to be, as he had termed it, a 'quickdraw." She had always thought he's just watched too many American cowboy movies, but she was learning that he had been extremely wise. And this morning, she was grateful for the lessons. A few other witches and wizards also drew their wands, but more thoughtfully and more slyly, to avoid being targets.

"What now?" Khaat asked them, tiredly. She was probably one of the few to not fear standing up to them. But right now, she was tired of them in her life.

"You know what we want, Lupin," A male death eater said to her, "GIve it to us and no one will be hurt."

"Not one chance in Hell, "Khaat replied, in angry utter defiance.

(Decided to give us some NP Deatheaters to play with--LOL.)

Now intent on forgetting about that certain someone and the confusion she felt about him, Amelia had locked her emotions firmly at the back of her mind. Although she could still hear them rattling around back there, attempting to escape and overtake her, Amelia’s mind was a harsh jailer. She had a lot of practice in keeping her emotions at bay, and controlling them via analytical thought processes and a very stubborn nature.

Amelia had read only a few pages more when she was once again interrupted by reality. Hearing a commotion in the real world around her, Amelia was pulled away from Ms. Winter and her story, which was just beginning to reveal a few of its secrets. No matter how many times Amelia read the book, the way the truth was woven into the story never ceased to amaze her. The author had told the story in such a way that the truth was always available to the reader, but he or she did not see it until the light was shed on just the right places, resulting in an “Ah hah!” moment.

Ready to give whoever was gasping a piece of her mind, Amelia snapped the book shut and slapped it down on the table. She lifted her eyes from the book, expecting to see some giggly fourth year who was making a scene of receiving some trinket from some egotistical fifth year boy, but instead she was confronted by a much more intimidating scene. She seemed to have been the last in the teashop to realize the danger that had entered, because every other set of eyes was focused on the two hooded figures who were making a beeline right for their table. Khaat had already pulled her wand, many of the couples were huddling together beneath their tables, and Madame Puddifoot had dropped her dishrag and, soon after, the teacup she was holding, which shattered into a thousand tiny pieces when it hit the hardwood floor.

Amelia hastened to pull her wand from where she had stashed it in her jacket, stunned by the entrance of the death eaters, but not entirely unprepared for what was to come. Although she had never seen a death eater in full uniform before, she knew as well as anyone that these individuals were a part of the society at large. Many who counted themselves among the dark lord’s numbers had likely been in her own home at a ball or gala, both she and her parents unknowing of what they did in their free time.

Finally, Amelia freed her wand from her jacket pocket and stood up beside Khaat, who was now arguing with the taller of the pair of death eaters. The other was a thicker man, his bulk showing even beneath his robes. Amelia’s wand was trained on the man who had not spoken, not knowing what exactly she was going to do with her wand, but knowing that this was not the time to be passive aggressive.

“We’re not asking!” the taller man said, raising his wand in preparation for a spell. Thinking only instinctively, Amelia flung a shielding spell in the direction the man was pointing, producing a glowing, semi-transparent sheet in front of a pair of Hufflepuff sixth years she recognized from class. The shot of green the man had sent in their direction rebounded off the shield, colliding with a chandelier in the center of the room which came crashing down on a table that had only seconds before been inhabited by a couple who now looked visibly shaken, but unharmed.

“Mind filling me in on what exactly is going on here?” Amelia whispered urgently in Khaat’s direction, her voice more brusque than would usually have been acceptable, but Amelia was not going to deal with formalities when she was up against two death eaters for Merlin knows what reason.

I am supposed to be invisible! Amelia’s mind was yelling internally, though she retained her stony glare outwardly, Why do I always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"They want to kill my daughter, "Khaat said, not moving her eyes from the deatheaters. "I will never turn her over to them. They'll have to kill me first. They're afraid of her, but right now, they'd better bloody well be afraid of me!" Khaat glared, unafraid of them , her maternal instincts raised towards her adopted daughter.

She gave the death eaters time to consider and then said to them. "'l'll tell you one more time, the prophesy ball is empty and useless. I sent it with the child that Lucius sent to do his job. Get out of here and take your message to your gutless master before I kill you where you stand. "

Elijah was having yet another boring day. He'd spent the late shift in the shop and had a Fire Whisky-induced sleep in the Three Broomsticks that night. Thankfully though, he was given some clothes which he coloured and he sized to fit his tall frame and was sent on his way after a show and some toast.

There was a sense of Deja vu, waking up somewhere and being given something before being sent off into the world. It reminded him of Paris except he wasn't wrapped around any women and he was definitely not eating any pastries. He was also devoid of his guitar but he did have his bag with his sketch book and stuff inside.

Eli was smoking away as he walked down through Hogsmeade with every intent on getting a crepe inside Madam Puddifoots and possibly some coffee to brighten his day just a little bit more. Maybe he would go and see if he could find Mia after a good source of whatever crepes gave him.

Elijah stopped outside the teashop and rubbed the end of his cigarette on the wall with every intention of finishing it later before stepping inside. What Eli didn't expect was to find Death Eaters there. As taken aback as he was he wasn't too shocked though. The Death Eaters hated the Lupin family but ... Amelia?

His brain went into overdrive quicker than he'd thought and Eli carefully moved to put his bag on the floor. He took his wand out of his pocket and sized up the Death Eaters. He could probably take them - maybe? He was pretty skilled but they were fully grown and he was what? Fifteen? Nearly sixteen - or so he liked to think? He could try.

Elijah swallowed and took the slightly larger Death Eater. He aimed his wand before saying, "Incarcerous, Stupefy!"

Jinx, as is customary when you are new to an area, was wondering around Hogsmeade and exploring the village when she noticed a very pink, very couple-ish teashop. It didn't look very familiar, and so, assuming that it wasn't, Jinx decided to set foot in the incredibly gaudy teashop (Madam Puddifoots, she saw it was called) and 'explore' it.

This was a very stupid move on her part.

Unfortunately, it seemed that this -very pink, very couple-ish, incredibly gaudy- teashop's outward (and also mostly inward) appearence was decieving. For as soon as Jinx opened the door and stepped in something extremely strange happened. The grim reaper decided to come for her. At least, that's what it looked like to her. A masked figure suddenly came up to her and grabbed her, twisting her arm behind her back and prodding his wand into her neck before dragging her to a group of even more masked figures (ZOMG GRIM REAPER CONVENTION XDD). It took Jinx a second to realise that the masked figures were in fact death eaters and that she had very unluckily wandered right into a humungously bad situation. She recognised one of the 'normal', or maskless people as Khaat, a sub prof she had met the day before, but the others she assumed were unfamiliar students. She wanted to ask what the bloody heck was going on and who the bloody heck they were but found herself unable to do anything but glare.

And so, I am very ashamed to say, Jinx did the only thing she could do in a -very scary life threatening situation in a very deceptive looking, very pink, very couple-ish, incredibly gaudy, teashop-. She fake-cursed.

"Oh, shiznits."

((Hope it's okay, I didn't know WHAT EXACTLY to say so I just had myself describe everything from the way Jinxy would have seen it. =DD))

OOC: i love it. lol--probably what a lot of us would do, actually.

“Oh. Well that clears everything up,” Amelia muttered sarcastically under her breath, the full callousness of her personality brought out when the social formalities were stripped away by the situation. True, Khaat had answered her question, but she had only raised several more – why did the death eaters want her daughter? Who was her daughter? Why didn’t they just go get her daughter instead of coming to find Khaat?

But there was little time for questions as the death eater’s moved closer to them, knocking over one the spindly legged tables that stood in their way, sending more tea-filled chinaware crashing to the floor. Khaat’s resolve had not waned, even as the burly men moved closer to them, placing Amelia and the older woman in shadow as their hooded faces blocked out the already wan light coming from the candle-adorned chandelier above them. She was now threatening the death eaters, her voice stern and unflinching.

Amelia wished she could have had the same steadfastness as Khaat, but she had never been in this situation before. From what the woman had said earlier, Amelia guessed that the same could not be said of Ms. Lupin. Amelia was careful to keep her wand arm from shaking, lest she cast a spell she did not intend, but inside she could feel her nervousness rising and she had to swallow hard and remind herself to breathe.

Still love Madame Puddifoot’s? her subconscious questioned, and Amelia had to shake her head to clear away this distracting thought.

The death eaters moved closer to the pair of them, obviously tiring of waiting for what they wanted. Amelia did not know what they intended to do with her, or if they would bother at all. She felted removed from the situation, but the shorter, burlier death eater had his eyes trained on hers, and he hadn’t missed the defensive spell she had cast to protect the other patrons of the tea shop. He was wise now to her spell strength, and Amelia began to wonder if she should regret showing her capability with a wand.

The death eaters were getting close now, only a few meters separating them from Khaat and Amelia. Just as Amelia was attempting to decide whether to fight or run, she heard the tinkle of the bells on the door – the ones she had broken earlier – meaning someone had just entered the tea shop. She couldn’t see who it was because of the two men blocking her view, but the taller one turned around in time to duck a spell that was flung in his direction.

Although Amelia saw the man’s reaction, she had no time to make the same response. By the time she saw the purple light spring from behind the taller death eater, the distance between her and it was too small to make a move to get out of its way or defend against it. The first spell hit her full force, knocking her backward over her chair, and within seconds she felt ropes coiling around her. The second spell hit the wall behind where she had previously been standing, singing the woodwork.

In her fall, her wand had slipped from her fingers and fallen to the floor beside her, but as the ropes continued to tighten her arms were bound to her sides, unable to reach to grab the strip of holly.

Oh God, oh God. Please don’t let them kill me. I didn’t even have a chance to defend myself. I’m not even involved.

Trying to keep her panic at bay, Amelia attempted to reach her wand, but the ropes that were now tightening around her legs had already gotten to her arms, making it utterly impossible to move. She had not yet mastered the art of wandless magic, and thus could not do anything about her current predicament when it came to magic, but that didn’t stop her from searching for other alternatives.

Looking up from the floor, Amelia was unable to see beyond the edge of the table she had slipped underneath, but when she looked through the legs of the chairs and tables she was able to spot a pair of sneakers near the door, a pair of sneakers she recognized. It took her only a moment to determine to whom the shoes belonged, and although she could not see him and know for sure, Amelia would have to be okay with guessing this time.

“Elijah?” she called out from the floor, her voice showing the panic she felt at being entrapped within the ropes of the spell she assumed he had cast, “Elijah is that you?”

The death eaters had spun around to see who had fired at them from behind, and Khaat suspected whoever it was had limited moments to survive. "Finite!" she fired at the ropes the bound Amelia. "Accio!" she summoned Amelia's wand, rapidfire, to return it to her. Then she leveled the wand at the death eaters again. "That's not my daughter, you idiot," Khaat hissed, "You touch one hair on the head of any child in here and I will cut you all in half."

((Guys, if I posted at a bad/wrong time (which I think I did) then I can delete and repost later))