to hell with it || [ZEKE]

Turning slightly, Atlanta expected to see Orpheus, but what she saw was much more terrifying. A mask. She had heard rumors about the masked people that were lurking in the shadows...working to do the bidding of someone evil. She felt her eyes narrow at the figure as they raised their wand. Was it Orpheus behind that mask? Was he trying to scare her? In the pit of her stomach, she wanted to laugh at her brother’s cruel joke, but she couldn’t make it come to the surface. This felt like something completely different. Lanta knew she should react, use her fast quidditch reflexes, but she just felt paralyzed. There was thick breathing between them - the man behind the mask almost sounded out of breath. She could see it in his eyes - he was going to kill her. Slowly she felt a wand being pressed into her stomach. Should she call out for someone? Was there even anyone out there...? 

And then, with a flash of green, someone pulled her into their side. Her weight shifted as she leaned into the figure, her apparent savior, as the other figure dropped to the ground. Then her savior turned to her and Atlanta looked up into the eyes of Zeke Maxwell. Funny, she had thought him dead. For a few moments, Atlanta just stood there, her heart thundering in her chest as she stared at Zeke. She could have been dead - if he hadn’t arrived when he did, she would have been dead.

“Shit, Orpheus-” She didn’t even bother to answer his question of her state of being as she pushed Zeke out of the way and leaned down to push the mask off of the Death Eater’s face. Her internal mantra was one of Not Orpehus. Not my brother. Not Orpheus. Cold, dead eyes stared back at her from the ground. It wasn’t Orpheus - it looked like one of his friends that she had known from years ago. Slumping back onto the ground, she pushed herself away from the body and toward the edge of the clearing. Suddenly Atlanta Vaisey didn’t feel so good - she felt like she was going to throw up. She had almost died and she had just watched someone being murdered. Tears started to sting the edges of her eyes - threatening to flow over if she didn’t calm herself.

Turning to her left and propping herself on all fours, she threw up onto the grass until she couldn't throw up any more. There wasn't anything left in her stomach. Lanta couldn’t get the image of those cold, dead eyes out of her head. It was like they were staring straight through her. Murder. This was not something that the seventeen year old was equipped to handle, “Shit.” She breathed again, wiping the side of her mouth as she looked back up at Zeke, “What. Are. You. Doing. Here. Zeke? Aren't you supposed to be buried 6 feet deep somewhere in a graveyard?” She managed, using the tree next to her to help herself stand up. She didn’t want to look weak, especially in front of Maxwell. Her eyes drifted over the body again and she turned immediately to face Zeke so she wouldn't have to look at it, "I'm fine." She lied, knowing that she was far from fine. Why had Orpheus sent her here to be killed? What was going on?

Atlanta was still steadying herself against the tree, her eyes never leaving Zeke’s. She knew what would happen if she looked over at the body again and she couldn’t imagine the taste of bile in her mouth again. Of course he was smiling at her, probably teasing her. Atlanta immediately rolled her eyes, “No, of course not. You’re not the stereotypical Slytherin Graduate, are you, Ace?” She crossed her arms over her chest, shivering slightly. It wasn’t that cold...but there was a certain chill in her heart. Then Zeke went in for the flattery angle and Atlanta almost laughed, “Seriously? You rise from the dead and change your complete opinion of me all in one night? You sure I’m not dead after all?” She reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ears as she spoke. Zeke and Lanta had always been friends, a certain back and forth kind of relationship, that was what happened when you ran in the same circles your entire life, “You look...well, not dead.” She muttered, laughing slightly.

She was just about to ask another question when Zeke launched into what was actually going on tonight. Her brother wasn’t involved - that was the first bit of good news that she had gotten all day. Dammit, she had been secretly hoping that Orpheus wanted to talk...she hadn’t heard from him in a few months. She shook off the thoughts. As happy as she was that he was explaining, she felt a little confused about the whole thing, “My choice in men?” She felt her brow contract as she looked up at Zeke. The wink made her turn her head, but she realized her instant mistake when she saw the body. Oh God, She was going to throw up again and covered her mouth with her hand. What were they going to do with it?!

“You mean Erixon?” Atlanta was about to explain that they weren’t even really seeing each other when the memory of the pair in Slughorn’s closet crossed her mind. She felt a familiar tingle in the pit of her stomach, and mixed with the fear that she was currently feeling, made her whole head spin. Shit. She couldn’t believe this was happening - perhaps this had been what her parents were trying to save her from when they forged the whole letter over winter holiday. They had been trying to save her from this danger. Reaching up and pinching the bridge of her nose, Lanta shook her head, “So what you’re saying is that someone - Merlin knows who - is pissed off because I’m dating a half-blood?” This was ridiculous, “Why do they even care?! They're not going to go after him, are they?” She could feel the anger settling in her veins, but as soon as her eyes met Zeke’s it sort of melted away.

He was being sincere in his words, she could tell by the way he looked away, trying to avoid eye-contact. That wasn’t like Zeke when he was lying. Reaching out she put her hand on his shoulder and tried not to think about the fact that they were a few feet away from something dead, “Thanks.” She managed and then shook her head, “Zeke, I mean it. Thank you.” She was glad she wasn’t dead. Honestly, she was glad he wasn’t dead because there would be no way that she would have made it out of this alive, “What am I going to do?” She was asking herself more than Zeke, but secretly hoping that he could offer her some insight.

“American Witches now, eh? I’m sure Black’ll be thrilled to hear about that one,” Atlanta watched Zeke tuck his wand back into his sleeve and then tore her eyes away, trying her best to make laughter come out of her lips. It seemed to get stuck in her throat - a strange feeling for the young Hufflepuff. Normally she was so good about laughing off uncomfortable situations...then again, she had never been in the presence of a dead body and it was beginning to make her feel even more uneasy. Briefly she wondered how upset Zeke would be if she threw up on him.

Dammit, Of course she should have expected something to happen...Atlanta and everyone else had heard the rumors about The Dark Lord. She just never expected it to hit so close to home. She looked up at Zeke and found that he was pursing his lips and nodding along with his explanation. Maybe as a good little pureblood, she should have known that things like that were going to start happening. But she hadn’t exactly been very active in her pureblood community - in fact, she had all but ostracized herself from the lot of them, “He’s not pollution.” Atlanta muttered, feeling slightly put off by the whole conversation. She couldn’t believe that Zeke was being so nonchalant about this whole thing. Someone had just tried to kill her! And now he was talking about cleansing the pureblood lines? “You’re just like the rest of them, Maxwell.” She wound her hands around her shoulders, trying to keep herself from shivering again. Zeke knew nothing about her relationship with Mikael. It was more than just a ‘snog session’ or a hook up to her. It was so much more. She felt like he was the only one that actually understood her. Zeke probably still thought of her as the party animal from a few years ago that he used to get on with.

?Then her pulled the purity card and the sanctity of their blood lines and she shook her head, “It’s not that I devalue them, I just value lo-” She froze herself at the word, “Personal feelings more than preserving the line.” Her talk was going to get her in trouble. Just as she was about to say something else, Zeke slipped his hand into hers and pulled her in another direction, “Seriously, Zeke-” He cut her off by asking if she sincerely thought they wouldn’t go after Mikael. He was right...she had already put him in danger. She was from a prominent pureblood family and now this? She bit down on her lip, “But-” There really was no but, if she continued down this path they would go after Mikael and she wasn’t sure that she could handle that. The thought of him dead sent a chill through her veins.

When they stopped Atlanta felt like she could breathe again. For the time being, she forgot about the body that lay somewhere in the woods beginning its descent into decomposition. Zeke made a valid point. What were they supposed to do? What was she going to do... “This is completely ridiculous. Seriously, what does he want me to do...” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact. Atlanta had very little choices here. She could risk it and continue on her way, or she could opt to protect and cover her tracks. Dammit...sometimes she wished that she wasn't right. That was exactly what she was going to have to do. Zeke had saved her...maybe he could offer Mikael protection, "Is there any way to keep him safe?" He was all she cared about...his life or hers, she would pick his. Over the past six months she had grown so attached.

“Eh, eh!” Atlanta raised both of her hands in defense and shrugged her shoulders. Who was she to tell Zeke what had been going on lately - the rumors hadn’t exactly been a secret...Then again, she supposed that Hogwarts gossip didn’t exactly extend to the grave very well, now did they? She had never had a very strained relationship with Zeke - for them, it had all been about honesty and fun. Which could have been the reason that she had been so attracted to him in their younger years. He had been the guy her parents had always approved of. Zeke Maxwell, such a nice boy, Atlanta nearly snorted - if only her parents could see him now. For a moment, she almost forgot about the fact that she was supposed to be thrown for a loop by the death that she had just witnessed.

When he turned and glared at her, Atlanta knew that she had crossed a line. But she wasn’t about to back down - she felt too strongly. This wasn’t about blood purity any more, this was about her happiness. Surely Z should understand that. She had spent years with him - he knew her better than almost anyone. And, although he hadn’t been around to see her changed for very long, she believed that where she was now was a better place for her. And where she was now was with Mikael. Half-blood or not, he was what her heart pined for. She wanted to slap him - sure he had saved her life and she probably owed him more than she could ever give him - but in that moment, she wanted to slap the crap out of him. She slammed her mouth closed, knowing that he obviously had her beat. No other death eater would have done that for her...except maybe Desdemona or Orpheus, and even they were a little iffy sometimes, “Well I didn’t ask you to murder him! You’re always so rash, Maxwell!” Lanta found that her palms were sweaty when she held them together to stop herself from shaking, “You could’ve just...I don’t know, stunned him! Or tackled him! I don’t know...Did you learn nothing in Quidditch?”

He seemed softened when she took a different approach and even found that he smiled at her as they spoke now, “Clearly.” She muttered, Altanta wasn’t exactly the kind of girl that was ready to settle down and pop out thousands of pureblood babies just for the sake of the blood line...there was so much more than that. Zeke had to understand. He had been willing to go the extra mile for Bells at some point or another, “What kind of woman wants to pop out tons of carbon copies of herself just for the sake of it, eh?” Lanta rolled her eyes - but this was serious and she knew it. That was what was expected of her and now that she had challenged the notion, she had endangered Zeke, Mikael, and herself. Dammit.

Her eyes clouded over as she saw the mark on Zeke’s pale skin. Slowly she grabbed his wrist and took a closer look at it. Honestly, it was like a living and breathing animal and it was terrifying. She wanted to look away, but the way that it twisted around his forearm was mesmerizing to her. He had sold his soul to the devil and now she would have to do the same....at least, that was what it seemed like. He pulled away and began to pace and Lanta shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. They had screwed up...both of them had screwed up big time. Maybe they could ask Des for help...then again, she had never been the brightest. Or Orpheus...no, he was idiotic too. Lanta got all the brains in the family. Zeke said he would keep him safe and she already knew what her answer would be, “Anything,” She would do anything to keep Mikael Erixon safe.

And then the words came out of his mouth. End it. Immediately. Lanta felt like the air was being sucked out of her lungs by a vacuum. End it? How could she possibly do that? After everything that she had felt, every word that he had said to her, every feeling that had passed through her subconscious and Zeke expected her to just give it all up? “What...” She was in a state of disbelief, “There has to be another way.” Her eyes were now pleading for him to understand. Grabbing his marked wrist, Atlanta looked up at him. He had to get it - he had to understand the depths of the pain that this would call her. Wasn’t there something else they could do?