June 1st - June 19th
It's almost summer! The last few weeks of school have come, and students will need to study hard for their final exams! Don't let up yet, or your grades won't be what you want them to. Of course, the weather is almost perfect and pristine, in attempts to lure students away from their studies.
The End Has Come [3.14.09 ISO: Pan] Plot Point
It had happened. It had officially happened. Percy had been impeached from Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. People had discussed, rallied, and finally succeeded in voting him out. Was Fudge there to back him up, to pretend that Percy had been apathetic on his orders? No. Fudge didn't care. He didn't give a lick. Percy was replaceable. Fudge could throw some other half wit into position of Headmaster and then continue on in his high old life, living in the lap of luxury. Percy would return to waiting on him. Pretending that he actually admired and looked up to him. It was all bullocks. Percy had been betrayed by everyone. How had he not seen it before? Panthera had placed him in Hogwarts to get him out of the way. He could sit on the position and wait for Panthera and Maleham to gather the armies, to formulate plans, and then they would eventually attack. It was one down, one to go. And getting rid of Maleham wasn't going to be a difficult feat. Even Percy knew that.
His trunk lay open on his desk as he continued to pack his things, making room for the next Head of Hogwarts to come through. He couldn't believe it. He knew that he had been a no-action man, but those were his orders. They weren't supposed to result in his dismissal. Who would want him watching their children though? He had watched several students die since he had gotten in office, and had he done a single thing about it? He certainly hadn't. So he had it coming. He knew it. He was like those dumb, common criminals that ended up getting sentenced to Azkaban for the rest of their lives.
What was going to come of him now? The fury of the Death Eaters would be impossible to overcome. It was highly likely that they would simply eat him for dinner! He couldn't let that happen. Ever since his discovery of Cineris Imperium, Percy had been thinking of nothing but escape. He was never cut out to be a Death Eater. He was never meant to kill. He never had killed. He had been a Death Eater for how long? He had still never claimed the life of another person.
A rap came upon his door, causing Percy to nearly jump out of his skin. Clearing his throat to try and regain his composure, he glanced up toward the door. "Come in," he said gruffly. The door opened, and revealed his sister, glowering at him without making any move to enter the room. He wanted to run over and embrace her in tears, tell her that he was sorry and that he had never meant for any of this to happen. He wanted to tell her that he was a coward and that he loved his parents and everyone in his family. He wanted to apologize for all the years he had shunned them away. Everything came flooding back, but Percy stood tall, his back as straight as a board, watching his sister from behind his glasses. No emotion came across his face.
Ginny finally entered, still glaring at her brother. She had to take a deep breath to force herself to calm down, and finally snapped the door shut. "So. You've made a lot of enemies I see," she told him, trying to sound cool, when really she wanted to jump at his throat and strangle him. How could he have let this happen? How could he be such a git and stand there, packing his trunk, as if nothing had happened at all.
"So do you. Let's not be hypocritical."
"Oh shut up!" Ginny replied, finally losing her cool. "My enemies are because people are afraid to face the truth. Yours are from being a git! How could you have let everything happen here? Why did you do anything when Vaila Rosewood died? Why didn't you do anything when the train crashed? Why are you just packing your trunk like nothing happened?!" His apathy was what infuriated her the most. That and the fact that he was tainting the entire Weasley family because of his insufferable stupidity.
Percy ignored her shouts of fury, and continued to pack his bag, feeling his stomach drop about fifteen more notches. He was the worst person in the world, wasn't he? He had created such a disaster, and now he regretted it! He was a spineless fool. He thought he knew what he wanted, and he had thought that he was pursuing it. But really he had been selling his soul to the devil. He had signed away his life, and now he was looking back and regretting it. He was worth nothing. Ginny, however, kept watching him, grinding her teeth together in fury.
Percy finally took a breath and looked back at Ginny. Why did he need to defend his pride anymore? He had nothing left. "I'm not exactly proud of this, Ginny,"
"Oh, you're not exactly proud of it? I'm sorry," Ginny replied sarcastically. "You sealed your fate a long time ago and now it's coming back to kick you in the ass. Can't take it, can you?" Ginny was panting, fuming, but she was also trying to make herself calm down. Something inside of her told her that Percy wasn't pleased with himself. In fact, he didn't look good at all. There were bags under his eyes that even his glasses couldn't hide. He hadn't slept in a long time, and he looked frail and weak. He had lost weight in the last month or so. She hadn't seen him at meals, or ever really.
"Ginny," Percy said, finally geting an edge on his temper. He looked at Ginny with a sort of painful disgust in his eyes. "There is so much in this entire process that you can't even begin to understand." At this, Ginny exploded. Or more so imploded. Because she didn't say a single word, but kept herself entirely silent. She didn't understand, huh? Then why couldn't he pluck up the courage and bloody tell her? But would she even listen? Would she even care? Would it even matter anymore? All the damage was already done. Everything was finished. Complete.
"I don't know what else you want me to say, so I suggest that you..." Percy said, rolling his sleeves up as he continued to pick stacks of books off of the shelf to place in his trunk. At this unfortunate moment, however, a burning pain seared on his inner forearm, making him drop his books in shock, letting out a loud boom as a particularly large textbook thunked onto the floor. He grabbed his arm in pain before pulling his hand back to look at the jet black dark mark, etched on his skin. Panthera was calling him.
Stuck in his own thoughts, Percy almost forgot that Ginny was in the room. Until his eyes snapped up to see her face ghostly pale, her eyes as round as galleons, her arms pinned to her sides.
Ginny had seen it. It was fleeting, but it was there. On his arm. Burning as clear as day, a dark mark. It was impossible. No. It couldn't be true. Percy would never want to go to the Dark Side. He didn't believe in killing! He wanted power, yes, but would he succumb to the pressure of being a Death Eater? No. He would never. He couldn't. She felt like she was going to puke. She felt like the sky was falling in on her. Percy was a Death Eater. That's why he had sat back to let everything happen. That's why he didn't care when Vaila Rosewood died, or when the train crashed. He was a heartless bastard. Her brother was a Death Eater, and a heartless bastard.
"Ginny...no," Percy said firmly, trying to distract her attention from it, but before he could say another word, Ginny had whipped her wand out of her pocket. She would never hex him. She couldn't. Could she?
He had to be faster than Ginny. With a flash, he whipped his own wand out and cried, "Stupefy!" gasping as Ginny's eyes rolled back into her head before she fell to the floor with a painful thump. He had just hexed his sister. He had let her fall to the ground...he had hurt her. Now it was Percy's turn to feel sick.
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."
Re: The End Has Come [3.14.09 ISO: Pan] Plot Point
Failure. Panthera did not tolerate failure. The Death Eaters did not tolerate failure. It did not matter whether or not a person tried their hardest or not; the only thing that mattered was their success, but if that success was not so, then punishment would soon follow. Every Death Eater knew that well, though not every Death Eater took their punishment well. Some decided to make a run for it, others begged, but nothing would save them. Some Death Eaters were lucky and their life was spared, but all would have encouragement not to fail again or they wouldn’t be so lucky the next time. Next time, it could be much more than pain that came out of the tip of the wand. There could a flash of green light following the Cruciatus Curse, leaving a lifeless corpse where that once begging form kneeled on the floor. There was no forgiveness among the cold-hearted and no failures among the Death Eaters. Failure was not an option and it never had been from their formation. Panthera knew this well and he knew that Percy knew well. So he was sure the Weasley knew what was coming to him. Pan knew that the man already had a very clear idea of what was about to happen to him.
Percy had failed him. Percy had failed all of the Death Eaters. He had been one of the most important aspects of the Death Eaters, having fully infiltrated the Hogwarts castle. And no only infiltrated, but he had been appointed the Headmaster and it had been his duty to keep that position. But instead, after no more than a course of a few months, he was already being removed. And still he did nothing. While Pan knew quite well it was in the Death Eaters’ best interest for the Headmaster of Hogwarts to do nothing, but doing nothing whatsoever would surely blow Percy’s cover or at least get him fired. And the later was exactly what had happened, and it was safe to say Panthera was not happy at all. Sure, he still had a Death Eater stationed in Hogwarts, but it had been Percy that had been the key to the Death Eater victory over the school. But now they would have to find another way to control it and Panthera was never one to enjoy reworking his plans, especially when there was nothing particularly wrong with it. And more than anything, he hated it when it was one person who was the downfall of an entire plan.
And that was why Panthera was sitting in his office, wand in hand. There was an unpleasant look on his face as he touched the tip of his wand to his Dark Mark. The Mark writhed and Pan gritted his teeth as he called Percy to him. Even after all these years the pain was always there, but Pan had learned not to show it. There may have been a clenching of the teeth, but his eyes remained completely stoic as his Mark burned. He knew Percy’s was burning as well and soon, it would all be over. Percy would find out the meaning of failure among the ranks of the Death Eaters and Pan would be rid of one more useless rat. But as he waited, Percy did seemed to be taking his time. The unofficial leader of the Death Eaters was beginning to grow impatient and he wondered whether Percy would be one of those tiresome ones who would try to make a run for it. He should have known that there was no running from the Death Eaters. One way or another, someone would find them and dispose of them. Whether their death was quick or slow was up to the victim. And at the moment, Pan was thinking that Percy was asking for a slow, painful death. Perhaps Pan would allow someone else do the honors; he was never one to carry out torturous deaths. They were often dirty and tiresome and Pan simply did not have the time.
Much like he did not have the time to wait for Percy to get his affairs in order and plan an escape route.
Growling to himself, Panthera turned his chair around to face the fireplace. He watched the flames flickering for a moment before standing up and pulling his hood over his head. He put his wand in the pocket of his robes and grabbed a handful of floo powder. The man took a last look at the flames before extinguishing them with a flick of his hand. He stepped into the fireplace and said, sternly, “Hogwarts, Headmaster’s office,” before throwing the fistful of floo powder down. A burst of green flames flew up and engulfed him and he was gone. Moments later, he appeared in the fireplace of the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts and unlike others who often came out of the floo covered in ashes, Panthera looked strangely clean. There wasn’t a speck of dust on him and he casually stepped out of the fireplace. He glanced around, looking for Percy, half-expecting to see the man vigorously writing a will or something silly like that. Or perhaps he would be writing apologies to his family. He did betray them all, after all.
But as Panthera scanned the room, his eyes finally landed on the redhead. He was standing there looking quite shocked and did not seem as though he were at all ready to face his doom. Well, this was no good. “I don’t appreciate being made to wait, Percy,” Pan’s baritone voice rang out as he stepped toward the man. He couldn’t see the unconscious body lying on the floor from where he was. “My patience is running very thin, with you.” His face was strangely calm as he watched Percy, no sense of anger radiating from his voice or body language, yet the inevitable doom was clear. But as he stepped out from behind the desk, he suddenly saw Ginny’s body and stopped. There was a moment of silent contemplation before the predatory eyes floated up to Percy. “She saw your Mark,” he said softly. “She knows what you are now and when she awakens, she will no doubt turn you in.” A pause. Pan glanced casually down at Ginny before returning his gaze to Percy. There was no pity, no sympathy, no nothing. Just emptiness. “You know what you have to do.”
Re: The End Has Come [3.14.09 ISO: Pan] Plot Point“I don’t appreciate being made to wait, Percy,” Percy froze. Panthera Lupus was there, in Percy's ex-office. His veins ran dry, and all the color drained from his face. Words could not describe the cold, shuddering feeling oozing down his spine. “My patience is running very thin, with you.” This was the end. This was what it looked like. Percy was going to have to turn around, and look the man in the face. He would have to see the cold eyes that would bore into his soul, and the lips that would utter the words that would inevitably end his life.
Yet he did, he looked death in the face by slowly turning on the spot, finally catching the gaze of Panthera Lupus. Right then and there, Percy knew that Panthera was going to be feared. Panthera had the intelligence, the will, and the cold-blooded greed for power. He had everything that it would take to become a Dark Lord, everything that the entire wizarding world would fear. How could Percy have ever thought he would live in the ranks amongst someone like Panthera Lupus? Percy didn't have what it took. He was simply a pawn. A member of a small chessboard to Panthera's master plot of domination. That's all Maleham was as well. And the Death Eaters. It was all a game. A sick, vindictive game.
But the end wasn't coming. No, not yet. Instead, Panthera's gaze had slipped off of Percy, and landed on the limp form of Ginny. How could he have done that? How could he betray his baby sister? How could he have betrayed his entire family for so long and not cared at all? It was such a sinking feeling, realizing that when the end came, you began to think about nothing but the beginning. Percy wasn't proud of his life. There was nothing he could to do make himself proud of what he'd done.
Without another word, Panthera's accusing eyes landed on Percy once again. “She saw your Mark,” he said softly. “She knows what you are now and when she awakens, she will no doubt turn you in.” But Percy would explain to her! She would calm down in time! She would see that it was all a mistake and that he was sorry! Or would she? No...no. She wouldn't. Ginny was never the most forgiving member of the family. It was too much to ask for. Simply allowing her to hold the knowledge of Percy's position was too much to ask for. “You know what you have to do.”
Percy's eyes flickered away from Ginny and back to Panthera. Suddenly they were no longer stoic, but panicked and pained. He knew what he had to do? Kill Ginny. Kill Ginny? KILL GINNY?! Percy's heart was thumping so hard he thought it would break right through his ribcage. He couldn't move a muscle. The words kept ringing through his head. You know what you have to do. Again, the beginning came flooding back to him. His family, growing up with seven children in one small house. His mother always nagging, but they all knew she loved them. Ginny, his only sister. Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, the fear in her eyes as she was sorted. Ginny being taken into the Chamber of Secrets, everyone signing her off as dead. The horror he had felt that day, and the relief when Harry had brought her out alive.
That's what he had to do. He had to kill Ginny. He had to kill Ginny to prove his own worth. If he killed Ginny, there was a chance that he would spare his own life. But for what purpose? To go on being a pawn? A pawn that was watched closely for treachery, a pawn that would never be trusted. A pawn that would never have the love of his family, a pawn that would forever livek knowing that he was only breathing because he had sacrificed his baby sister. Ginny wasn't a baby anymore. She was a beautiful women. There were people in the world that cared about her. She had more than Percy could ever ask for.
The excuses started flooding in. "She doesn't need to die," he sputtered, sounding frantic and terrified. "I can obliterate her. Just erase her memory. There will be no damage done...she doesn't need to die!"
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."
Re: The End Has Come [3.14.09 ISO: Pan] Plot Point
Though the eyes were stoic, Pan could practically feel the fear dripping off of Percy Weasley. He did not deem the man a coward or a fool for it though. Yes, he still thought Percy a coward and a fool, but the fear that was there gave Pan reason to think he hadn't been completely stupid to give the man the position he had. While Percy may have been a fool, at least he had fear. While some idiots like Maleham may have believed fear to be a weakness, Pan knew better. Fear was what kept people in line and alive. Without fear, the human race would be extinguished. And fear was also a useful tool for those like Pan who desired to control those humans, for fear was a far greater way to keep someone in line than any rules or trying to gain someone's respect. With fear came power and with power came respect. It was all quite simple.
But the stoic expression soon changed as Pan's indirect order reached his ears. While fear wasn't a weakness, love was. Despite having betrayed his family, it was clear that Percy still loved them dearly, or he wouldn't have hesitated as he did. The panicked expression should have been exchanged for quiet acceptance. Perhaps Pan may have even given Percy another chance if he'd just turned around and pointed his wand at the unconcious form of his sister. But he didn't. He hesitated. Any loyal Death Eater would have done what he or she was told, but Percy was hesitating. He was thinking. He was being subversive, which could not be tolerated in any army, not just the ranks of the Death Eaters. Leaders had no use for subversive soldiers and thus Pan had no use for Percy. But still, the girl had to be disposed of and Panthera wanted to have the pleasure of watching Percy do it. Perhaps then he would give the redhead a good, clean death. Quick. Painless.
"She doesn't need to die," Percy said instead of doing as he was told. It was almost pitiful to see him like that. It was a shame Pan did not have any pity for useless worms like Percy Weasley. "I can obliterate her. Just erase her memory. There will be no damage done...she doesn't need to die!"
Pathetic. Simply pathetic.
Panthera gave a sigh as he looked at Percy, face still frighteningly calm. But it was easy to see that he was disappointed. "Memory charms are not without faults. You should know that, Percy," he said, his cold, indifferent voice soft. But despite the fact that he hardly ever raised his voice, it was almost surprising how forceful he could be. "They can be broken." Pan turned his back to Percy as he ran his fingers along the side of the headmaster's desk. He glanced at the things that were sitting atop it, running his hands over the very few things that had yet to be packed. Pan felt a twinge of annoyance as he looked at that empty desk, being reminded of Percy's failure. His hand was itching to just pull out his wand and kill Percy right then and there and make him an example to all the other Death Eaters about what happens to failures.
But the girl had to be dealt with as well. Memory charms were not an option. The Death Eaters didn't use memory charms unless completely necessary and this was not one of those situations. The Weasley girl's death could be covered up quite easily, with all the Death Eaters that Pan had gathered to him. It could be made to look like an accident or it could be framed on someone else. There were plenty of ways this death could be explained. Or, of course, it could be left how it was and be yet another reminder to the wizarding world that the Death Eaters were still at large. It wouldn't be that surprising, after all. This Ginny Weasley was quite close to Harry Potter and everyone knew his story and the Death Eaters would make sure that Potter paid for the fall of their Lord with his blood as well as everyone around him. And what better way to smoke that boy out than to kill his one true love?
"Death, on the other hand," Pan said, back still turned to Percy. "is infallible."
Re: The End Has Come [3.14.09 ISO: Pan] Plot Point[ooc: Some language. ]
"Memory charms are not without faults. You should know that, Percy," Panthera said, his voice still maintaining that cold, cool sound. How could he sit there and be so indifferent? The only thing Pan cared about was whether Ginny died or not. That's the way all of the Death Eaters were. Stoic, and indifferent when peoples lives were concerned. Percy was an idiot, and he knew it. He knew that he wanted the power, he knew that he wanted the control He knew that there were thousands of things that he had somehow found appealing in being a Death Eater. But now they seemed so trivial. Now that he himself was personally related. He hadn't killed a single person since his join with the Death Eaters, and apparently, he was going to have to start now. Starting with his younger sister. Starting with Ginny. He couldn't do it. He coudn't do it, and he knew it. "They can be broken."
"Death, on the other hand," Pan said, back still turned to Percy. "is infallible."
Percy's mind started to whirl so quickly that he thought he was going to die, or retch or...something. He was going to die. Whether it was in thirty seconds or thirty days, he didn't know. Even if he killed Ginny, Panthera would probably kill him. No matter what Percy did, Pan was going to kill him. And once Pan did, he would use the ashes of Voldemort, become the most powerful wizard in the entire world, overpower Maleham, and become the sole ruler of the Death Eaters. It was almost as if Fate had signed the contract.
They were all doomed.
Unless... There WAS something Percy could do. Not much for himself. Well, actually nothing for himself. But he could try to at least hinder Panthera, make things more difficult. If Percy wasn't going to die, why would it matter what he did? He could save Ginny, steal the ashes and hide them. Then, Pan could kill him. And the secrets would die with him. That was it. That's what Percy had to do. He had already sealed his fate. This would make no difference to his ending.
Pulling his wand out, Percy took aim at Panthera, rather than Ginny. "Stupefy!" He called quickly, and in a flash, Panthera collapsed on the floor, unconscious. Percy's eyes were wide, and his heart pounded in his throat. There was no way he had just done that. Merlin...MERLIN. "Fucking hell..." Percy hissed in a low voice. But he couldn't sit around and wait. He had to move, and he had to move fast. "Levilicorpus!" he called quickly, levitating Ginny's limp body. He needed to get her somewhere safe, somewhere where she couldn't be harmed no matter what. Someone would have to protect her.
There was only one person that Percy could think of that would protect Ginny with his life. Harry. From what Percy had heard through the grapevine, Ginny and Harry had reconciled recently, and from what Percy could deduce, Harry was still in love with Ginny. But Percy had to move fast. Panthera wouldn't be out for very long. Before setting out, Percy quickly snatched a small book out of his trunk. His journal. The only way he could ever, EVER attempt to explain anything to his family after he was dead. It wouldn't be enough. He knew it. They would be ashamed for life. He knew it. But they deserved to know. It was their right.
----
[ooc cut: For the sake of time, I'm gonna talk through what happens and where everyone is left off. Percy runs his ass down to Godric's Hollow and forces entry into Harry's house, since he's not home, leaving Ginny knocked out on the couch in Harry's living room. From there, he apparates to the Riddle Manor, and busts up the floor boards of the kitchen, removing the ashes of Lord Voldemort. He transfigures the ashes into a pendant, and places the pendant on the chain that he's worn around his neck since his 17th birthday, a present to him from his parents. He apparates back to Godric's Hollow and writes an extremely hasty letter to Ginny, leaving her with his journal as well as the necklace. From there, he goes to Arcadia and waits for Pan, ready to look death in the face.]
"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."
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