Helping the Next Generation

[Ioan Finch]

For years, Ioan had heard stories that thirty was a terrible age to reach. He'd heard about the random aches and pains that inflicted thirty year olds and the dreaded graying of hair that begun for some when they reached their thirties. None of that had caught up with Ioan. He was still maintaining his four to five days a week at the gym, dueling and lifting weights without the use of magic and running along the asphalt piece that was magicked to keep a person in place no matter how quickly they ran. As he put on his leather jacket and looked into the mirror by the door, Ioan admired his appearance. There was not a gray hair in sight and he knew he looked good in his outfit. Thirty was proving to be a good age for Ioan. His relationship with his family had never been better, though he occasionally was concerned with Lorin's attitude towards certain muggle items. He figured it was a phase that his son had better outgrow.

His standing amongst the death eaters had grown too, or so he liked to think. With age apparently came wisdom and Ioan was no longer being considered part of the young, foolish crowd. He knew much of their opinion of him was based on his stability at home and that he had completed all of the tasks asked of him even when they had put his freedom in jeopardy. Ioan was willing to do anything for the cause and that included taking on a new protege if necessary. Link had been somewhat of a success, proving himself to be crazy enough and willing enough to do anything...even end up in Azkaban and receive the kiss. Ioan shuddered at the thought as he quickly apparated to his old apartment. Opening the door, he saw the layer of dust within. Leah had been an excellent protege, one who was now very much on her own, though he knew she'd be back if she needed serious assistance. Waving his wand, the dust vanished. Ioan settled himself onto the sleek leather armchair that he'd had for forever. He was now awaiting what could possibly end up as his third protege- another girl, this one related to Link.

 

[Dominique Woods]

The morning shine escape through her thick velvet curtains, bothering her eyes irritably till she flip back the covers, and told herself it be no use ignoring to get up. Even if she wanted to sleep an hour more after she pulled closed the curtain, she couldn't do it. It would be a battle lost, cause every one knew Dom, once she was up she stayed up. No matter how many hours of sleep she took in, majority of the time it was less, Dom could never fall back asleep again. She sat at the edge of the bed, pulling her hair away from her face, she wrap it up in a bun to have better view of her room. It was tossed over halfway kept the rest flip upside down. There was bottles of pop collecting right besides her bed, and a pile of dirty clothes indirectly in front of her. With her wand she could clean, if she wanted too, but half the time she would misplace anyways. This morning it was hanging on one of her sets of bra, the strap coiled her door nob. She got up staggering and stretch herself out, it means today she will be having with her, today she could lean her room in less than a second. Dom didn't bother, instead she simply walk right through her mess and grab her wand, she had more important business to do than worry about tidying half her room.

It took no longer than half an hour to get ready, she was dress in some clothes that situated her body well. She had her hair twisted at her side and use a band to keep it still. Dogging questions before her parents ask, her little sister blasted the second floor bathroom again so she could make her escape. She would have to figure out what she would give her when she return home, for now she made her way across town to meet a man about her cousin Link. The disgrace of the family had form some connection with Ioan, leaving clues behind after his death, Dom was clever enough to figure out whom Ioan was and why Link knew him in the past. Arriving at the said flat, she rang the door bell, waiting for a reply outside his steps.

Out of Character:

Sorry for the lame reply it's my first rp with her !

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan was never much for waiting and by the time he heard the doorbell ring, he'd flipped through an old issue of Wizard Weekly, only half paying attention to an article about some quidditch players battle with some disease. Tossing it over the arm of the chair, Ioan got up. He wanted to see what he was going to be dealing with. Opening the door quickly, Ioan pulled it open so that he could be seen but not much else. With his height and stature, he was fairly certain that the young woman could not see anything within. It was a technique he'd picked up over the years, especially since one never knew who could come knocking.

"Yes?" he asked as if he had just been interrupted while in the middle of a very important task. Ioan looked down at the young woman, not overly impressed with what he saw. She looked...young. He knew appearances could be deceiving though so he didn't put too much stock in his initial impression of her. Ioan's reaction went to show how much he had changed. The wedding band on his finger didn't even heat up a bit. It stayed cold and gold, much like it had for the past several years. His blue-green eyes stuck to her face, trying to see if he could detect any signs of his fallen comrade.

 

[Dominique Woods]

She had to shamelessly admit it, the man standing before her was not what she pictured in mind. She had though Link would associate with those who were mean looking by appearance and spirit. This fellow right here, well he was good looking that’s for sure. She could imagine herself drooling over Ioan like a lost school girl, but she’s not like that. Dominique matter fact stayed away from most males that were either older or younger than her. If they were older they knew how to take advantage of girls, if they were younger, they were stupid to fend for themselves. Dominique stared at him, for a long time she hadn’t the courage to say anything. This is what she meant by older guys, even their looks were deceiving.
---------“Are you going to let me in?” she asked him, she didn’t push by him like some punk teenage girl, she didn’t cop a tude, she simply spoke in her regular tone. “I'm Dominique Woods, Link’s cousin, we arrange to meet here right?” she reminded the older man. Right underneath her arm she carried the brief letter they exchange when she found out about Ioan. Her parents refuse that she went on lurking about Link, she was doing this all behind their back. Growing up, not knowing much about her cousin till he surface the Daily Prophet, she became interested about him. His life, who he knew, and why her father never took him when he was an orphanage, she was both mad and disappointed that Link Black was never mention till now.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan stood at the door, waiting for the girl to finally say something. A smirk threatened to cross his lips as she appeared to be dumbstruck. Ioan wasn't going to be the first to break the silence, however. If this was the girl he was waiting for, she would have to declare her purpose before he would allow her to enter. And, if it wasn't her, he certainly had no intentions of letting some random girl inside.

While she spoke, Ioan listened with no comment. His eyebrow raised slightly as she asked if he was going to let her in. She identified herself next and he smiled briefly. "We did. I'm Ioan" he said simply before taking a step back from the door. It was enough that she would be able to enter. Keeping one hand on the door as he waited for her to walk in, Ioan spoke once more. "I'm really sorry to hear about your cousin. Link and I weren't really in touch anymore, but still..." he shuddered, thinking of the dementors and what they had done to him.

 

[Dominique Woods]

"It's alright we all have to die someday, death is a given promise" she walked in looking around. She's been to guys houses before, guys who still live with 'someone else'. No clue or rather say no portrait of the man gave her an idea if who he was or what he was all about. She was messing with a blank canvas here, a possible threat to her own safety. "I found out about him not to long enough so it really doesn't matter but it's sad. Pity, my parents would not tell me anything about him." which is why she was here. To figure out her cousin, fish out any information she can, actually know the true reason why he landed in Azkaban the first place.
----"Did he really meddle in the dark arts?" she ask flat out. There was no time for small talks, she wanted to get straight to the point in her visit. She stood staring Ioan from right next to the nearest window, if he was dangerous she felt extremely safe near the window, not that it matter. If faith was to say she died today, so be it than. However judging that he was here helping her, she find that she need not to worry about dying today.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan crossed his arms and watched as the young woman took a look around. What she was looking for he didn't know, but he did know that she wasn't going to find it here. Even when he'd lived in the home, Ioan had kept it very minimalist. He was not a good decorator and didn't have the patience or eye for color coordinating items, so all of the furniture in the home was sleek and black. He wasn't a huge fan of art, so there were no pictures hanging on the walls. Leah had kept the apartment very close to what it had been when it was his. Only the bedrooms which were locked tightly had character.

Taking a seat once again in his favorite chair, Ioan allowed the woman to seek safety near the window. He knew that's what she was doing and if it made her feel comfortable, so be it. If he truly wished to harm her, it would do no good. He had no intentions of bringing harm to her though. It wasn't a total surprise that her parents hadn't spoken of Link. For most families, the dark arts were a sordid family secret to be kept hidden from society. Few families proudly claimed to practice the dark arts. "I think you already know the answer to that question or you wouldn't be here" he said calmly. Ioan was curious about one thing though and he was determined to find out before he did or said anything else. "The real question is why do you think I can help you with answers? Link and I weren't friends anymore when he...died" he stated, for lack of a better word. "Surely, he had other, more recent connections you could have gone to." Ioan had been extremely surprised to see Link's name mentioned in the letter he'd received from her. Ioan, of course, knew the links that they shared, namely the death eaters and Irene, but neither one was visible now.

 

[Dominique Woods]

Dominique drum her fingers on the sill, she wore a silver ring that cover her entire left index finger. She wore this ring all the time, really it had no value to it but she loved the ring a lot. Feeling on the silver surfaced made her calm, it was her instant relaxation control when she touched the ring. She rubbed one the ringlet surfaced, till she was okay to speak again. Except she didn't meet his eyes. She look down avoiding to stare at him, it was easy for her to speak when she was contemplating the answers to his questions. "Well you see, Anthony died? Right? I'm not sure if you knew Anthony but he was the one Link trusted the most, so I found about you. I don't think my cousin death should have happen, I honestly believed he had a reason behind his deeds" she walked over neared him. Not close still near him, she smile at Ioan.

"I want to finish what he started, I want to do it in his honor. My parents made think likely of him, but he was right for doing what he did. Please your the only one that can help me be apart of them. I want you to help me become just like him" she bit down her lip. She was against flirting most time, yet she was doing it right in front of him. Even went on sitting right on the arm of his chair, plus he was very handsome. Dangerously handsome, the young witch like exploring new opportunity when it came about her way. She would most likely be rejected, yet didn't hurt to try. She smirk at Ioan, "He was my cousin and I wish I knew him like you did..." she finished sweetly. She really did.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan cast a suspicious eye on the young woman as he waited for her tom speak. Her answer would determine his actions because above all else Ioan now acted in the best interest of his family and the death eaters. He would not help this woman with a single thing, not answer a single one of her questions if he thought she might somehow bring harm to him, his family or his status as a death eater. He nodded his head as she spoke about the death of Anthony. He'd never really liked that man and couldn't say that he was sad about his death. Ioan didn't allow any emotion to betray his face as she stated that she believed that Link's death had been unfair. He knew none of the details so he could neither agree nor disagree.

As she moved closer to his chair, Ioan made no move to sit up. He remained relaxed as ever as she asked for his assistance. He bristled as she mentioned becoming one of them wondering how in Merlin she'd come to the conclusion that Ioan was tied with the death eaters. Ioan looked up into the young one's face, his blue-green eyes scrutinizing her. "As I stated before, it's been some time since I've spoken with Link. I don't know how you think I can help. If he were alive I'd be one of the last people he'd send you to." Ioan rubbed his chin and continued. "If you want to get to know him better, you'd be better off speaking to my sister. She shared a bed with him for a while. Pillow talk and all that..." he replied, waving his hand as if he had no interest in that. He didn't. He'd hated when his sister and Link had dated. He'd done everything in his power to stop them from dating, and he'd been pleased when they'd broken up. He was also fairly certain that Irene had no idea that Link was a death eater and that was exactly why he'd be happy to have Dominique speak to her. The girl had no idea what she was trying to get herself into.

 

[Dominique Woods]

Dominique fell back disappointed he would not help when she was merely begging him for Christ sakes. She stood up again Dom paced the room casually. She had to find some reasoning for him to want to help her. Anything, she was desperate. She wished if she had that chance to speak to him, to actually had a chance to know Link from her own point of perspective. He was like a puzzle she wanted to solve right away, still the connection with the dark arts made sense since the daily prophet held back no information of him. She remembered the article, the hollering coming from her dad, her own mother trying all her might to silence the old man down. Why was he worked up for it’s just a relative , and when she got the paper later that night she understood why her father never once mention him.


Dominique faced Ioan again, what can she offer him? Nothing, and if she was to ask the sister she probably play the same old tune to Dom. ”I am understanding you guys weren’t close by the time he died, but realistically you’re the only person that I found to even know him at all. If you aren’t going to help me become what he was, who else do I have?” she reached inside her front pocket from her torn denim short jeans. She took out an old photograph, it was him Link and he was smiling waving from inside the frame of the photograph. ”I don’t know if you guys got along ever, but this was him before…I found a crumble letter he left behind his old apartment here” she took out the letter and gave to Ioan. ”This is how I found you because of this letter, it’s not finished but it does mention you…” somewhere it read, …He was like a brother I always wished for… course he didn’t finished his thoughts after that, ”It’s crap but it was his hand writing and in his own word you must’ve been someone at least to him…”

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan could see the girl's frustration as he basically told her that he would not help her. He couldn't see any reason to become involved. He had washed his hand of Link many years ago and becoming involved with his family member seemed like a really bad idea. She didn't seem to be as much of a loose cannon, but he couldn't be sure. As she reached into her pocket and passed him the picture, Ioan tried his best not to give it a good look. He'd tried his best to shut off his emotions and looking at a dead man didn't seem to be a good idea. Still, he found his eyes straying to the picture again and again. Link had certainly been an enigma. As she presented him with a letter, the death eater was really struck by that fact.

He read through it quickly, surprised to read his name and the words that followed. Ioan cleared his throat. He'd never known that Link thought of him as family even though he had at point thought that of Link. That was before their big falling out, which Ioan could barely recall the reason for now that he thought about it. He had the feeling it might have been over Irene. The words had choked him up a bit, but showing any weakness in front of this young girl who he barely knew was not Ioan's style. He wasn't ready to just show her his tattoo and vow to help her become a death eater, but he figured he might be able to give her some answers. Sighing, Ioan looked down at the letter once more before looking up. "You do realize that asking questions about someone like Link is a very dangerous thing, right?" he asked before adding,"especially if you ask the wrong one." He needed her to be aware that asking questions of the wrong person could result in her death. It was a very serious matter. The man felt older than his thirty years at the moment. "What do you think you know about your cousin?" He'd read the articles about Link, seen the very real and accurate depictions of the man that had been presented in those articles, but he also knew that Link wasn't all bad or he hadn't always been as bad as those articles tried to present him.

 

[Dominique Woods]

Relief washed over her face. She wanted to flat out kiss the man for helping her at least with her questions. A part of her wanted too, part of her held back from committing the action. She only knew Ioan no more than twenty minutes ago; crossing boundaries wasn’t her intention here unless it had something to do with Link. ”Well just the article and that he used to live here. That’s about it really...” she slink into the chair besides him, all her attention was on Ioan. ”My dad went crazy when he read that article about him, call him the black sheep of the family. Which is weird because we never really talk about him till now?” she shook her head, casting her bluish almost greyish eyes away from Ioan. ”I think my dad just didn’t understand him like I want to now” every person have a purpose in this world and she was intended to find out what her cousin tension were as far as meddling in the dark arts.

She recline back into her seat, she wanted to hear everything he had to offer. The main focus was to find out why he step foot to the unknown. Or why the Ministry went as far as executing him with a dementor’s kiss. Really she saw the punishment unfair; there have been darker wizards besides Link in the past. Why would they kill him so quickly rather him just suffer in Azkaban? So many questions and so very little connection she had with her cousin’s past. Ioan’s was the only one here to help if he was willing to help her through all the way. If he was willing to help, she could only hope for him to assist her. It’s hard to say at this point, Ioan was a hard man to read.

 

[Ioan Finch]

From what Dominique said, it seemed that she really knew nothing about her cousin. It sort of made Ioan's job a little bit easier because it meant that she probably didn't know the right questions to ask. He figured that he could answer the few questions that she threw at him and then call it a day, knowing that he had helped out Link's cousin. His questionable conscience would be able to rest easy. At the mention that Link was the black sheep of his family, Ioan smirked. That was an understatement, he was sure. Link didn't seem like he'd ever fit in to anything that could resemble a family. He was too independent, too dark, too troubled.

"Link never really spoke about his past. A lot of the stuff that I read in the article...about him growing up in an orphanage? I found that out when I read it" he began, wanting the young woman to know that his cousin had a great many secrets. "And, about Anthony Warlock...I don't know what kind of business they did together, but it obviously wasn't anything good" he added, a look of displeasure crossing his face. He only knew of Anthony Warlock, but he'd never been terribly impressed by the man. "Link was the kind of guy that you never really knew what he was going to do until after he'd done it" Ioan said, a smirk crossing his face as he sat forward a little in his chair. It'd been a long time since he had thought about Link. "And, sometimes even then you couldn't be sure."

 

[Dominique Woods]

She was expecting a full blown novel to come out of the man, well half expected. If Link was such a mystery she would think Ioan may had promise not to say anything. With him being dead, she wasn't sure how much of Ioan would really hold back. But by the looks of his expression, and the way he was so discreet about Link, she ended up being a tad disappointed. "Is that all you have about him? That he wasn't that predictable" she glared at Ioan, frustrated there has to be more about that. "What about this Kiera Potter? He spoke about her some other letter, like an old friend but I couldn't figure what she meant to him" it was hard to figure Link out, he left her dumbfounded with so many questions, so many answers needed to make the connection.

She contemplated if this whole search would make any difference into things she wanted to learn. She look at Ioan her eyes soften this time. "And your business, you know is any good now?" she went on. Course he wouldn't admit to her, no one foolish enough would plain out say what kind business they did. "Was it the same like him? Like the things he did, were you both in the same kinda game?" she asked.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan raised an eyebrow as she ranted at him. He had warned her that he knew little more than she did and he had told her that there were others she could have gone to for information, but she had chosen to stay and ask him. Ioan shrugged his shoulders and took his wand out, waving it and wordlessly summoning a glass of firewhiskey that had poured itself in the kitchen. He took it in hand and took a sip before replying. "Even you ought to know who Kiera Potter is" he said with an eyeroll. "She's famous" he added dryly, "and I think Link dated her or slept with her or something...before he dated Irene." Ioan did not care to know details of Link's love life, especially once he'd taken Ioan's sister for a bedmate. That would have been beyond awkward to discuss.

Ioan continued to slowly sip his firewhiskey as he watched Dominique. Her emotions ran the gamut in a short span of time and before he knew it she was back to being nice to him. Was it a family trait? Ioan thought it might be. "My business is my own" he said with some harshness to his voice. She was asking a little too much from him for someone whom he had just met. He was not going to tell her that he and Link had shared business sometimes or that Link had been one of the few people who he trusted enough to go on missions together. That was not a conversation he was going to have with the young woman. "What else do you want to know?" he asked with a glance at the time. He was surprised to discover that not much time had passed at all.

 

[Dominique Woods]

"Actually I don't care to what the hell my youth follows, so sorry I don't know her at all" she shrug empathizing the word youth. She had always been disconnected to the world around her, and it's clarity anyone would pick that right up from Dominique. She was in a strange man's home, a man who could kill her if he wanted too. A man who could take life away at an instant. It's guts like that prove she didn't care about living normal and seek for much greater purpose, while other girls her age were busy getting screwed and married. Disgusting. Dom let out a sighed frustrated. She crossed her legs, wrapping her long lanky arms about her.

"I guess were done here then? But please do let me know if you find about anything new" she pulled her sweater over her arms, it's been dragging down her arms since she got here. Now it was time to go. She had to go to the shop and reward her little sister with chocolate. "Nice meeting you Ioan" she stood on her toes, she acknowledge him the last time before leaving his apartment. What now? This figuring your cousin ordeal was giving her a massive headache. Part of her wanted quit, her older half was just as bipolar as him she was not going to give in so easily.

 

[Ioan Finch]

Ioan didn't think a person had to be connected to the youth to know who Kiera Potter was, but he remained quiet and simply shrugged his shoulders. The Potters were from one of the more famous wizarding families and Kiera and her husband seemed to make the Daily Prophet fairly often. It made him sick every time he had come across an article about their lives. Ioan listened to the young woman speak and nodded once curtly. There was plenty more that he knew about Link, but whether he would ever share that information with Dominique remained to be seen. Link had never given Ioan the impression that he had family with whom he wanted his life shared, and Ioan had to find out if Dominique was worthy of any information about her cousin's life before he would reveal it. Still, Ioan could practically taste her desperation to find out more about her cousin and to enter the 'world' she thought he was a part of. He would likely reach out to her when he was in need of something. Ioan would not turn down the chance at using someone to get his dirty work done, if necessary. "Sure" he replied as he stood to his full height.

"I'll be in touch" Ioan stated as Dominique was exiting. When she'd gone, Ioan wandlessly locked the door and sighed. It seemed that even though Link was dead, his ties to the man would not be gone any time soon. Ioan thought over the words that he'd read in that letter and couldn't help but wonder to himself if he wanted that tie to be gone. Ioan didn't really know the answer yet. The man sat in a chair facing the window and mulled over many things until the sun began to set. When he left the apartment to head to his home, Ioan was no closer to any answers. Instead, he had more questions about the man he'd once worked with and called a friend.