| Details for A Young Visitor |
| Summary: | Angelus is invited into Rena's cottage and they talk, and Angelus asks her for a favour. |
| Date: | October 17, 1939 |
| Location: | Lee Cottage, Hogsmeade |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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The quaint cottage on East Crook Road has become the regular weekend sanctuary for the young redheaded Auror whose name recently changed from Lee to Odori. Her residence still bears the name Lee, however. She can't seem to bring herself to change it. Besides, her husband never comes to Hogsmeade, and he can't really bear the disorder of her cottage… so, why not keep it as her own special place?
The cool evening breeze blows a little whirlwind of leaves past her gate as she finishes a little housekeeping before heading in for the night. A pretty rug is hung over a line, and she is wearing an apron over her dress as she beats the dust from the carpet. A little house elf comes up beside her and tugs on the hem of her skirt: "Mistress should allow Mai to do this work! Mai can do it much more easily!"
The youth cannot miss out on a Hogsmeade weekend. While Angelus must stock up on his supply of candy, amongst other things, there is one thing he’s been looking forward to. As soon as he could leave the school grounds Angelus had gone to pick up a package. Yes, the boy is supposed to have eyes on him, be it his brother or his cousin, but blast it if he wanted them to constantly watch over him. While he took his book into the Three Broomsticks to read, Angelus is now, well, not precisely following his mother’s orders. After slipping out of the pub, hopefully sneaking away onto his own, he’s headed towards the cottages. He wears warm robes of dark blue, with a pattern in white giving the appearance of a waterfall over the hem of his robes.
With the book tucked under an arm, as Angelus approaches, he begins to slow as he catches sight of the woman outside. He hesitates in the next few steps as he arches a brow, craning his head a little to one side. He can’t even imagine his mother doing house chores, but the boy only frowns briefly before he steps forward, and is instantly bowing formally to the redhead. “Auror Odori. It looks like I have the pleasure again to meet you.” His warm smile flicks across his face.
"I know, Mai," Rena says, pausing to brush a few windblown curls back from her forehead with her free hand. "But, I ain't used to letting other people do my chores for me, yet. I get restless if I just sit around in the cottage when…"
Rena's discussion with her diminutive house elf falls silent as the young boy approaches. Both woman and elf glance at each other curiously. Setting the rug beater down and brushing her hands over her crisp white apron, Rena's expression slips easily into a friendly smile: "Why, hello there. It's good to see you again." She says, moving quickly to the gate. Lifting the latch, she draws the gate open and asks: "Care to step in for a bit?"
Belatedly realizing her error (at least in her mind) of failing to introduce the boy and elf, Rena hastily adds: "Oh! Mai, this is Angelus Eibon - a student at Hogwarts. Angelus, this is Mai - our house elf. I'm afraid we're still getting used to each other."
The book slips a little as Angelus clasps his hands behind his back, but he squeezes it under his arm to prevent it from falling. He holds himself with a proper stance, and dips his head gratefully to the woman. “Thank you, ma’am,” he says politely, smiling up at her as he steps past the gate. A hum escapes the boy as his royal blue eyes flick towards the house elf with a blink, tilting his head lightly. The smile that he offers out to the elf has only a fraction of the warmth he offers Rena, more arrogant and proud, but that’s all the greeting the servant will receive. Looking back to the witch, his smile fades briefly as a shameful look crosses his face, letting out a hum. “Oh, how poorly mannered of me. I didn’t think to bring flowers or anything. In congratulations of your new position.” His smile spreads again with warmth, staring up at Rena. His hands slip from behind his back when his book slips again, and he simply just takes the book, ‘Peter Pan,’ from under his arm to hold it in front of him.
In the interest of keeping things civil and calm between them, Rena doesn't remark on the boy's mild arrogance toward her house elf. After all, it's just part of his upbringing, and Mai is probably unfortunately quite used to such behavior. For now, she will let it pass.
"Oh, nonsense," Rena waves off the notion that Angelus needed to bring a gift to congratulate her on becoming a full-fledged Auror. "Such a fuss has already been made about that… Honestly, it's nice to have it die down a little bit," she admits with a warm, though slightly abashed smile.
Upon reaching the door, she opens it for them to pass through. It may be a very small cottage, and something many levels below the wealth Angelus is used to seeing, but it is warm, inviting and seems to exude a sense of kindness and friendliness - much like its owner. Doing a half-turn, Rena catches sight of the book, and her brow furrows momentarily before she breaks into a big smile: "Peter Pan? Oh, that's always been one of my favorite stories, it has!"
A slight sense of confusion seems to catch the woman, and she looks at Angelus somewhat nonplussed: "I never thought I'd see a lad like you reading it, though. Is it part of Muggle studies at school, now?"
Angelus, nonetheless, still scolds himself for not bringing a gift. But his smile flickers softly in response to Rena. “It’s quite the achievement, ma’am,” is his reply even as he nods his head understandably to her desire to let the fuss die down. He politely wipes his polished, high ankle shoes outside. No, the youth is not all that impressed as he steps in, but he also keeps his gracious smile on his face. It would be simply terrible manners to act like a snob when she’s so courteously invited him in. His gaze drops to the book in his hand as it’s mentioned, bringing out an eager smile as he studies the cover of the book. “Has it?” he inquiries, lifting his eyes back up to Rena. He shakes his head in response to the class. “No, I don’t take Muggle studies.” There’s a twitch of his lips, releasing a little, heh. “I can see why it might be a favourite. It’s very interesting. I’ve only read a little, but what I heard from Evans it sounds fantastic.” He draws out a long sigh, dropping his gaze. Brief annoyance twitches against his brow as he frowns, but as he looks up again the boy simply looks concerned. “I had it delivered to Hogsmeade,” he informs, “but beyond that I wasn’t thinking. The Headmaster wouldn’t approve if I brought it into the school.”
Angelus couldn't have found himself in a more Mugglish cottage if he had purposefully gone looking for one. To one side of the room, there is even a grand old, highly polished upright piano. The one that did (until recently) occupy a place of pride in the Three Broomsticks Pub. Apparently, Rena was the lucky soul who managed to rescue it when the pub changed hands.
"Mai, run along to the kitchen and— Oh, would you care for anything?" Rena asks, closing the door behind them. "Honestly, Mai can manage to find anything. Even if we don't have it, she'll find it." She would love to be able to treat the boy like a… well, boy; but these pure-blood kids just don't behave like regular children. Little wonder with the way they're raised.
Moving over to the little living area, Rena smoothes her skirt and takes a seat in one of the comfy chairs. Fixing her gaze on Angelus, she tries not to make any judgements or try to read into his motives for reading the book, and simply remains curious, but sympathetic: "Yes, I know. No Muggle literature in school. Professor Flint wouldn't be any too 'appy about it if one of the Magijugend was nabbed trying to sneak a book… especially /that/ book into Hogwarts. Very subversive stuff, that," she says with a glint of mirth in her eyes. "So, Maddie told you about Peter, did she? Are you on more friendly terms now?"
Angelus shifts quietly on his feet, flicking his blue eyes to the house elf briefly, and shaking his head as he looks up to Rena. “No, thank you, ma’am,” he answers, holding up a hand to the offer. Following the witch, his blue eyes scan the living area, taking in the room. Gel brings his gaze back to Rena respectfully to answer, giving a shake of his head. “Yes, ma’am, there’s to be no Muggle literature taken into the school.” It’s said simply, leaving out how he feels about that. He turns his head, looking away briefly when Professor Flint and the Magijugend is mentioned, finding a wall to look at. As something to watch, he studies the piano curiously with the talk about sneaking the book in and all that. As his gaze strays back, Gel lowers his head in a slight nod. “We were,” he answers. “We had a deal.” A smile flickers over his lips as he remembers the deal. “I’d try to teach her more about our world from our perspective,” by our he clearly means pure-blood, “and she teach me about the Muggle world.” His shoulders roll in a little shrug. “It’s not against any rules to read whatever I’d like outside of the school though. Do you have a copy of the book, ma’am?”
"I think that's a fine idea. We all need to learn about each other's worlds, so that we can live together in better harmony. I've had to learn a great deal about your world. And, I'm glad that I have done," Rena answers kindly. "I married a Pure-blood, you know - even if he is a foreigner, his blood status is still Pure." For whatever that's worth in Britain. If they were in Japan, things might be a little different.
Regardless of whether she is needed or not, the little house elf patters away into the kitchen and out of sight, leaving Rena alone with her guest, seemingly. For her part, the woman tries not to look overly curious as she watched Angelus looking around the room.
"I've got a copy, yes. It's old and quite battered, like most of the books I read to death as a girl. Some people look at it as wear and tear, but in actuality, they're signs of love and appreciation." Pausing, she motions to the bookshelf embedded in the wall where a good many old tomes are packed side by side.
"I can't help feeling something is troubling you, Angelus…" Rena says at length, looking a bit concerned. "Is anything wrong?"
With his blue eyes back on Rena, Angelus dips his head in a nod as he listens. His smile twitches at his lips weakly, letting out a hum. “It was a fine agreement,” he agrees. “It works if both parties are interested in learning.” His eyes drift towards the bookshelf, his head tipping a little to the side as he locks his gaze the books curiously. Without thinking the youth starts to take a few steps in the direction for a better look, only to stop short, shaking his head and turning quickly back to face the woman. “Sorry. You have a decent collection, ma’am.” He shoots another glance over to the shelves and back. “We’ve a library, but as expected there are hardly any fairy tales like Peter Pan in it.” He looks down to his book, idly brushing the pages as he half opens it, considering a question in his head when he lets out a huh and lifts his gaze. “Well-“ He starts, releasing a sigh that’s followed by a short chuckle as he forces a smile. “If you’d like a newer copy, ma’am,” says the boy, waving the book in light gesture in front of him, “you can have this one? I very much would like to read it over the weekend, but I need a place for it in Hogsmeade.”
The boy probably doesn't realize just how concerned Rena has been for his well-being of late. Madeline sends her reports on the activities within the school, and the sometimes scathing things she has read about Angelus should lead her to feel less kindness toward him. However, she can't bring herself to believe that he is all bad. In fact, perhaps he needs rescuing from himself, in some respect… She knows an awful lot about that, personally.
"You needn't apologize all the time, you know." Rena says, flashing a somewhat bemused and subdued smile. "I didn't invite you in to make you uncomfortable. I like to think of my cottage as a safe haven. Not just for me, but for other people, too. Anyone who happens to be in need of one."
Angelus offers his book to her, and Rena rises to her feet. Quietly, she crosses the little distance between them and reaches out to gently take Peter Pan into her hands. A troubled frown touches her features briefly, but it soon softens into an understanding smile: "You know, you could just keep it here. You could keep any book here - or borrow any of mine you like," she offers kindly. "I won't tell a soul."
Angelus watches her speak without interrupting, tilting his head to the side questioningly. Then, shifting, he bows his head as he speaks, “I’m only trying to show proper manners, ma’am.” His blue eyes lock on her as he muses, quiet when she crosses to him, and he holds up the book for her. The youth shifts a little on his feet, tapping the toes of one foot against the floor. “Thank you, ma’am.” Angelus’ gaze slides away to look over the room again, and he bites his lower lip. Has he gotten more uneasy since she spoke about safe havens and invitations? “I, er,” he gestures over his shoulder with a thumb, “should probably start heading back so I don’t miss getting back at the proper time.” The youth hesitates, his eyes moving to the way he came in, and then up to Rena. “Er- You know a lot about the happenings at school. What about others?”
"Others? Oh, a lot of concerned parents and guardians - family members and the like," Rena replies easily. Sliding the book into a safe place on the shelf, she adds: "There, you know where it is, and it will be waiting for you whenever you want to come back and read more - and no one will be the wiser."
Turning again to Angelus, Rena smiles faintly and leads the way to the door: "Upset students write to their parents about how unhappy they are and how unfairly they're being treated. You can't blame them. How would you feel if you were told you weren't good enough to do what you dream of doing, and you knew it was a lie?" She asks, opening the door to the evening air once more. "If Mudbloods are so unequal, it makes you wonder how I passed the NEWT classes with high enough grades to make it to the MLE, go through training and then become an Auror… doesn't it? Or, for that matter, Bannon Bates - he's of that status, too. As is Mister St. Cloud, head of the Department of Mysteries…" She pauses and simply chuckles softly. "Don't mind me. Just do me a favor in return for keeping your book here and think on that."
His eyes watch her slide the book into a place and Angelus lowers his head in another bow. “Thank you, ma’am,” he says again. He looks up to her as she speaks, until his eyes slide away, looking instead at anything else. He shakes his head slowly. “Can’t really blame them,” he murmurs out, a little on the quiet side. When the term ‘Mudblood’ is used his eyes turn back up to Rena with a look of surprise, and his stomach weighs as his face grimaces. He’s gotten frustrated and used that word, what, twice now? It brings a wave of remorse even as the youth tries to shake it off. He silently steps to the door, turning when his feet land in the threshold, looking up to the witch. “Why isn’t there any outside help? Aren’t Aurors supposed to fix things like what’s happening?” The boy bites his lip once the question is out, and he looks quickly down to the ground, bowing his head quickly in respect. “And I apologise.”
Rena looks truly sad, now. Her dark eyes fill with genuine unhappiness, and her shoulders slump: "Aurors can only do anything when dark magic is involved. Our hands are tied against other crimes. It's very hard not being allowed to do anything in the face of so much pain and injustice, believe me. Besides, the M.L.E isn't allowed to touch the school with a ten foot pole without word from the people higher up… Again, only if dark magic is involved." She sighs then, and she hazards laying a hand on Angelus shoulder, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze before he goes.
"Take heart and try to cheer up. I know that someone, somewhere is doing their best to try and make things right." She adds, although frankly, she feels it safer not to mention that the person trying the hardest has been her all along. "Have some faith. You may feel alone right now, but you aren't. I promise."