The Owlery

[Professor Tahiri]

//WILLIAM RADCLIFFE
THIRD YEAR GRYFFINDOR
QUIDDITCH TEAM KEEPER
AND I AM DEFINITELY A KEEPER!

Instinctively, Will bent down and kissed her arm, then looked into her eyes. The fear, panic and anger was gone from them now. He caught her eye and smiled, moving his hand to stroke her cheek. "This is all we need now." He nodded and looked to Tamara. "I'm going to write to father. I think it's time he knows." He smiled to Indala again. "You don't have to worry about us Indi. Tammy can handle herself. She fought dark wizards over the summer and is fine. And Dad's Head Auror. We'll protect you."  

[Professor Tahiri]

❤❤ T A M A R A♛R A D C L I F F E

5TH YEAR, GRYFFINDOR ~ PREFECT
￤￤ if you're going through hell, keep on going
xxxxxxxxxx x x

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Tammy looked at her brother dumbfounded at his sudden calm after the horrifying revelation. Truthfully, a seethed rage had boiled inside her and she was more than ready to trek to Indala's house and dispatch her father. But Will seemed to exude calm. He mentioned writing their father and knew instantly what he meant. Arthur had built up quite a file on Indala's father. What Will was suggesting was that this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Tammy blinked a couple times, then flushed when he mentioned that she had fought dark wizards. The huge scar on her side started to itch and she uneasily rubbed it. "We'd never let him harm you again Indala. If we had known... I mean, me and Will would have come right away... We... I..." She hesitated and drew in a breath to try, unsuccessfully, to calm herself. "We will deal with him. My father will want to know about... this..." she said, indicating Indala's scarred arm.  

[NarwhalTears]

Indala watched through blurry tears as Will gently kissed her arm.
His acceptance of everything she had been through, everything she was still dealing with awed her.
And then there was Tammy. She had always been there, lending aid wherever she could, even through her own ordeals.
Where Tammy had been the one in control of her emotions, it now seemed as though Will was the one who stood steadfast.

Gaining courage from her two closest friends she spoke steadily, "Yes, we must tell Arthur."
She paused taking a breath, still shaking.
"My father must not be allowed to continue as he as; more and more people will be affected by him."
Determination sparked in her tired ocean blue eyes.
" After he did this," she indicated her arm,
"he left me in the care of the house elves and went to take care of some 'business'.
I did not see him for weeks and by the time he returned to fly me back here,
I had regained enough strength to scour the house.
I wasn't sure what I was doing at the time, I just wanted something, anything to get back at him."
She thought for a moment, shifting her stance and wiping a tear from her cheek.

Realization hit her suddenly.

"It may help your father to know about a journal my father never lets out of his sight.
He has had it ever since I can remember. I have no idea what is in it, but whatever it is, it is extremely important to him.
It's not much, but perhaps it is something to go on."
Standing straighter she looked from Will to Tammy. " I want to get that journal from him. I can do it this summer."

 

[Professor Tahiri]

❤❤ T A M A R A♛R A D C L I F F E

5TH YEAR, GRYFFINDOR ~ PREFECT
￤￤ if you're going through hell, keep on going
xxxxxxxxxx x x

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Tamara slammed her fist into her hand and stood up fast, a surge of energy in her face. "Then let's get it! We can lead a midnight raid on the house and get..." She was interrupted when Will turned to glare at her...  

[Professor Tahiri]

//WILLIAM RADCLIFFE
THIRD YEAR GRYFFINDOR
QUIDDITCH TEAM KEEPER
AND I AM DEFINITELY A KEEPER!

"No!" Will shouted at her. He turned and glared at his sister, still holding Indala's arm. "Tamara Elizabeth Radcliffe! You will not. We will tell Father. He's the Auror, not you. Let him handle it." He turned back to Indala. "We have to protect Indala, not go racing into danger. The first day of summer we can smuggle her out. Would you like that Indi?"  

[NarwhalTears]

Surprise overtook the emotions showing on Indala's face as Will shouted at Tammy.
When he turned back to her she couldn't help but feel as if she were in trouble.
"Oh...uh," she bit her lip thinking.
There was still so much they didn't know about her.
Besides all of that, she knew that her staying with them would only put them in danger.

She smiled softly and looked up at Will, her eyes puffy and red.
"Will, I want nothing more than to be with you right now,
but I feel like we could do much more if we knew more about what Demetrius was up to.
At home I could siphon information out of his actions; watch what hes up to, and even go through his office."
She looked toward Tammy for support as she spoke.

In truth she was scared to death to return to Grey manor.
There was no way of telling what would occur in the few months of the summer if she did go home.
But she couldn't help but feel like it was necessary.

 

[Professor Tahiri]

//WILLIAM RADCLIFFE
THIRD YEAR GRYFFINDOR
QUIDDITCH TEAM KEEPER
AND I AM DEFINITELY A KEEPER!

Will shook his head slowly. "Honestly, I don't think that's a great idea Indi. If he was willing to do this..." he touched her arm gently, "the who's to stop him if he found out you were spying on him." He turned away from her and looked out the window, sighing as he did. Looking back over his shoulder at her, he smiled. "My father is a competent Auror. He can handle Demetrius. Once he's brought in and no longer a threat, then you're safe. And Arthur can get all the information out of him that he needs to finish his case. He got information out of Aldanis," he said, turning to look at Tammy.  

[Professor Tahiri]

❤❤ T A M A R A♛R A D C L I F F E

5TH YEAR, GRYFFINDOR ~ PREFECT
￤￤ if you're going through hell, keep on going
xxxxxxxxxx x x

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Tamara flushed a little at the mention of that name and her side itched once more. This time, she openly scratched at her side and shifted uncomfortably. Sighing heavily, she weakly nodded. "I guess, Will. Indala, we definitely need to get you out." She looked at the girl's arm and the image of her own side popped into her mind. Shaking her head, she looked at Indala and a sorrowful look came over her face. Sighing finally, she nodded. "Will's right. Indala, I can teach you to defend yourself, but you need to get out of that house."  

[NarwhalTears]

Indala took a deep breath as Tammy agreed with Will. Deep down she knew that would be the consensus.
She looked down at the stone flagged floor of the Owlery and nodded.

What will happen then?

Accepting the plan of action she looked up and smiled through her fatigue.
Had she not been so numb from all of the different emotions she had felt today,
she probably would have realized the incredible passion she had for both of the people standing in front of her.

Slowly she moved toward Will and laid her head against his shoulder again.
"I'll never be able to repay you all for everything you've done for me."

 

[Professor Tahiri]

//WILLIAM RADCLIFFE
THIRD YEAR GRYFFINDOR
QUIDDITCH TEAM KEEPER
AND I AM DEFINITELY A KEEPER!

Will placed his arm around Indala's shoulders and pulled her close to him, leaning down to kiss her head. Slowly, he began to stroke her hair as a smile graced his face. "Indala, don't you understand? You already have paid me back. And continue to do it. This is the least I can do."  

[NarwhalTears]

An unknown emotion flooded Indala as she was taken up into Will's arms. She wasn't sure what he meant, but it didn't really matter just then.
I'll never have to worry about dad ever again. I'll be with Will and Tamara. Could the prospects for her future be any brighter?
Taking his face in her hands she kissed him lightly on the lips.
"Okay Will. I'm with you."

From the corner of her eye she noticed Tammy messing with her side and turned to her.
"Uh, Tammy are you okay? Is something wrong?"she asked worriedly.
She seemed to have been keeping herself from drawing attention to it the entire time they had been in the Owlery.
And now that she thought about it, they had said something about her dueling dark wizards. She felt as if her heart had jumped up into her throat and she swallowed hard.
Indala looked from Tammy to Will, waiting for an answer; not breathing. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had stories to tell.

 

[Professor Tahiri]

❤❤ T A M A R A♛R A D C L I F F E

5TH YEAR, GRYFFINDOR ~ PREFECT
￤￤ if you're going through hell, keep on going
xxxxxxxxxx x x

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Tamara stopped the instant Indala commented on her fidgeting with her side and, after exchanging glances with her brother let out a heavy sigh. She sunk down to the window and pulled the necklace from her shirt. Twirling the bear paw print amulet in her hand, she sighed again. "You should probably sit down. This is a long story." Once they were both sitting, Tammy drew in a deep breath. Einar, give me the strength... She blinked a couple times and then looked up. "Over the summer, me and Einar... you remember him? My Norwegian boyfriend. Anyways, over the summer me and Einar were killing some time and I decided to show him this abandoned factory that me and Will used to play in. After we had snuck in, we overheard talking in the building so we moved closer to hear what was going on. We overheard a plot to assassinate the Minister of Magic and the heads of departments, including my father. Then we were discovered by the dark wizards and attacked. Me and Einar fought to defend ourselves." She paused here and breathed a few deep breaths to calm her heart rate. "As we were fleeing, a sectumsempra spell grazed my side, gashing it open." She lifted up her shirt to show the thick, pale scar that wrapped around her right side. Lowering her shirt, she resumed the story. "Thankfully, it only grazed me. I was losing blood fast. Einar carried me to safety and then treated my wound. He got the bleeding to stop temporarily. Then..." She flushed a deep red color as the memory of her first time came back to her mind. The heat of the moment, the feelings it generated... she shook a little and smirked. "Well, me and Einar... after it was over, I felt different. We were laying together after when we heard explosions. The dark wizards were bringing down the warehouses around us. As we fled... we were pinned down. Before we knew what happened, an explosion sounded above us. A beam fell. It would have hit me but Einar pushed me out of the way. The beam..."

Tears came to her eyes as the memory played back in her head. She remembered watching in slow motion as the beam hit Einar and penetrated his chest, remembered as the blood poured out. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "The beam hit Einar and penetrated his abdomen. There was nothing I could do. Before he died, he gave me this and told me to never forget that I was special." She held up the necklace. "Enraged, I attacked the dark wizards responsible for his death. I killed one in my animagus form and dueled several more before Lucy and Oz, then Will and Tyler showed up. My father and Professors Swan and Watkins showed up. Eleri... she brought me to St. Mungo's. Anya brought the rest of the gang to the hospital right after but none of them suffered any major injuries. I lost Einar that day... but I regained myself." She wiped her eyes again and looked to Will, who was nodding in agreement. Tammy looked to Indala and wiped her eyes again. "Something was wrong. Last year. This year... no."  

[NarwhalTears]

Shocked by the tone in Tammy's voice and sadness in her eyes,
she quickly sat down to listen to her, taking Tammy's hands in her own.
As she spoke Indala stared at her, unable to believe what she had been saying.
They had been in danger, all of them, and she hadn't known; had had no way to help them even if she had.
Was anyone else hurt?
Her eyes flicked to Will who was seated next to her, but she didn't interrupt to ask.

When Tammy spoke of Einar, and the passion of the moment Indala's face flushed red.
Unconsciously she stole another glance at Will, and then looked down at her hands trying to hid her embarrassment.

"Oh Tammy..." she whispered when she had finished her tale.
Tears filled her eyes as the feeling of helplessness overtook her again.
So many horrible things in the world, and somehow they all seemed to happen to people she cared for.

Jumping from her seat on the ground she rushed to Tammy and embraced her.
" I had no idea, I..." She looked her friend in the eye, a sad smile on her face.
"No wonder you've grown up."

 

[Professor Tahiri]

❤❤ T A M A R A♛R A D C L I F F E

5TH YEAR, GRYFFINDOR ~ PREFECT
￤￤ if you're going through hell, keep on going
xxxxxxxxxx x x

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Tamara smiled when Indala hugged her and said that she'd grown up. "Every experience one has changes them in some way. I did grow up, I guess." She sighed and then smiled again. "I don't regret killing the dark wizard either. My father said sometimes you have to kill. In the heat of the moment, it can be acceptable." She hugged her friend and nodded her head towards Will. "Ask him about how he made a dark wizard's legs dance. And about his hand."  

[Professor Tahiri]

//WILLIAM RADCLIFFE
THIRD YEAR GRYFFINDOR
QUIDDITCH TEAM KEEPER
AND I AM DEFINITELY A KEEPER!

Will was silent throughout Tamara's story, holding her hand throughout. When Tamara mentioned Will's use of the tarantellegra spell, he smirked. She also mentioned Will's hand. Not a major injury, the spell didn't even leave a scar. But he was injured in the fray. He held up both his hands for Indala to inspect.