Not so good tidings

[Alana Finch]

Spoiler

The following takes place during the break between semesters 2039

Alana sat on her bed, reading a book on quidditch records that she’d received for Christmas. She’d read it before, having borrowed it from the school library, but it was a favorite and she didn’t mind reading it again. It wasn’t like the teenager had anything else to do. Since they’d already exchanged gifts a few days before, the family had returned to their normal routines of only gathering for dinner time, if that. Alana’s mother was off at St. Mungo’s presumably, and her father was downstairs in the basement. Alana had no idea where her brother was. Turning the page, Alana heard the doorbell ring downstairs. Since she never had visitors, the teenager only briefly acknowledged the disturbance of sound. She cocked her head, waiting to hear the familiar heavy footsteps of her father as he made his way to the door. She had no doubts it was for him. Alana lost herself in the book again, reading about the next entry which was about the most substitutions in a single game.

“Alana!” The sound broke the silence of the house, and Alana jumped up in alarm. “Come downstairs!” Confusion flooded across the teen’s face as she wondered what her father wanted with her. Putting her book down slowly, Alana took her time crossing her bedroom to the door. She still wasn’t speaking to her father much. As the door creaked open, she heard murmurs of conversation coming from downstairs. Her father was speaking with someone, so she really had no idea what he wanted with her. She typically wasn’t allowed downstairs when her father was doing business. Maybe he wants something , she reasoned. It was the only thing that made sense. Her father had once told her that he didn’t trust many people, so he would often send her down to his basement to retrieve a few galleons or an ingredient from his potion stores. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Alana spotted her father disappearing into his basement. That was odd since he’d just called for her. The girl’s red eyes roamed the room until they fell on… “Ugh. What are you doing here?” she spat out, not even bothering to hide her annoyance. Her red eyes narrowed as she took in the intruder in her living room.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos Zhefarovich, dressed in black robes with a hood over his head, stood with none other than Benjamen Zhefarovich. They were supposed to be meeting up with someone, but when they walked down Bleak Street, Chaos had no idea why he was here. Christmas had long since passed, but it went unnoticed in the Zhefarovich Family. It was not uncommon to not celebrate holidays. But Chaos was still wondering why his cousin bothered to bring him along. He remembered what his parents said to him, "Be good. And don't stir up any trouble." His father was rather clear on that one. Chaos would not, but his mother's words were a little more vague. "Mind your manners, and make sure to be pleasant." Chaos heard the doorbell ring, and some man answer it. Who was this man? Chaos looked up at him, before stepping inside, after his uncle. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, purple eyes stared at the man before he shouted for the one name that he was not expecting to hear. Alana. Was this her house then? And that must be her father. Chaos had no idea what to expect, but he was even more displeased when Benjamen decided to leave him there, bidding farewell and good luck before going into the basement. Chaos removed his hood, before he looked toward the man as he too went downstairs. He looked familiar, and Chaos did not know how he did.

The boy did not make the connection between the one that gave him his punishment and the man. Probably Mr. Finch. His purple eyes finally landed on Alana, after she spoke to him. He folded his arms across his chest, before he shrugged, "I don't know. My cousin was the one that brought me here. And my parents said to behave and be pleasant. I guess this is what they meant." Chaos felt very uncomfortable in this environment. He had no idea what to expect, but his eyes wondered from Alana to the various objects in the room. He stood still, not moving except for his head and eyes. How long was he supposed to stay here? Chaos sighed and then looked toward Alana. "I heard you and Scarlet got into a cat fight. Why?" He heard from his brother, and then also from Scarlet. Now, he was curious to hear Alana's side, if she would even share. He almost doubted that she would, but hell, he was very interested.​

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana was pretty happy to see Chaos looking so uncomfortable as she stood with her hands on her hips. Alana was not going to be afraid in her own home. This was her house, so she felt fine and she'd be even more fine once Chaos was gone. Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised that her father would plan something like this. He'd been taking all sorts of liberties with making decisions regarding her life lately. What was one more? "At least you had a warning" she sighed, coming down the steps and into the living room slowly. Alana knew now that Chaos had nothing to do with this arrangement either. Her father had told her that much as she'd argued with him one day. He'd tried to convince her of how good the match was, but Alana knew better. Alana had yelled to her parents how crazy Chaos was and what he'd done. They'd accused her of exaggerating the facts. Alana would just have to try harder to break this marriage before it happened. She was hopeful that something would come up before that happened. The teenager knew that there was a loophole somewhere.

Alana shrugged as she sat on the sofa across from Chaos. It was old and held together by magic. The teen looked around the room with fresh eyes, taking it in as Chaos might. There was only one picture of the family together, an old one above the fireplace mantel. Books lined a sagging bookshelf against one wall right beside a liquor cabinet that her parents kept charmed closed. It wasn't a large room at all, and it was easy to see that the family didn't have a great deal of money. They lived comfortably, but they didn't have any of the luxuries that some older, richer wizarding families did. The girl's red eyes fell on the boy, her expression amused because she knew that he already must know the answer to the question that he was asking. "Oh come on, Chaos. Don't insult me by pretending you don't know" she scoffed. Alana left the room and returned with two cups filled with pumpkin juice. She held one out to Chaos, not wanting to hear anything from her father later about her manners. When she settled into the sofa again, she spoke. "I told your best friend that she's a fool if she thinks you can actually manage being a friend to someone" she stated, her gaze firmly on his. Alana had said the words and would stand by them. Time and being in her own home had made the girl brave again. "And that was after she called me a liar for saying what you did to that...to that Gryffindor boy" she finished with a whisper, looking down at her glass.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos shrugged his shoulders, when she said that he had a warning at least. He did a little bit, but he did not really have a warning. "Not much of one," said Chaos with a roll of his purple eyes. Honestly, he did not know why he was here, or even in an arranged marriage with Alana. He did not know anything about her and he would have preferred to remain on his own, but oh well. Anything to honor his family, which meant he would have to at least try to get along with her. That would be the best thing that he could do with his family, but he would have to really try. Alana seemed to want to flee, whereas he did not even care. She had cool eyes, but that was the only thing he liked about her right now, other than her feisty attitude. He watched as she took a seat on an old sofa. He wondered what Alana would think once she was ripped from this life, and living in a life with the Zhefarovich's. Chaos was used to living in his type of family, which was a little more luxurious than hers. He reached around and scratched the back of his head. He was a little uncomfortable, but he was starting to adjust. Havoc never adjusted as well as Chaos did. He adapted to his surroundings easier.

Chaos raised an eyebrow when she said not to insult her by pretending he didn't know. He knew, but he wanted to hear her side out. So, she thought that he couldn't be a friend to someone? How interesting, not to mention, offensive. As she came through and handed him a cup of pumpkin juice, Chaos sipped it as he chose his words carefully. Chaos smirked slightly, "You think so low of me that no one could possibly be friends with me? How wrong, because I made a couple, including Scarlet. I have another, Yevheniy. Hogwarts just didn't have my type of people." Chaos shrugged his shoulders, before he continued, "Scarlet doesn't know the full details of my actions, or misunderstood. She misunderstands a lot. Besides, she isn't my best friend." Chaos took another sip, before he finally said, "She's my girlfriend." Chaos swirled the pumpkin juice in the cup, as he went over what happened during the last few weeks. His jealousy, that was a spark that revealed he actually felt something, which was strange to him.​

 

[Alana Finch]

"Oh, I think people think they can be friends with you. I don't think that you can be friends with them" she corrected him, not caring that she might have been offending Chaos with what she was saying. That he and Scarlet were friends was laughable, and the other name was entirely unfamiliar to her. The teenager returned the guy's shrug and drank in silence, staring over at him. She didn't trust him enough to take her eyes off of him. He'd told her that he wouldn't hurt her, but Alana knew better than to trust what he was saying. He'd had plenty of time to re-consider that opinion, and even though her father was close, it would take him time to come upstairs and save her. She'd have to be ready to save herself or at least run and hide.

As Chaos continued, declaring that Scarlet often misunderstood things, Alana rolled her eyes. "Yea, I know" she mumbled as she continued to drink. The Slytherin barely kept the juice in her mouth as he made a final statement. She sniggered slightly and then laughed out loud, thinking he was joking. "Oh Merlin! You're serious" she said when he didn't join in laughing. Alana stopped and considered this. The Slytherin didn't feel anything about it. Nothing. "Goody for the two of you" she added finally. "It's going to be kind of hard to see each other since you can't go near the castle" the teenager pointed out. She'd learned of Chaos' punishment only a few days ago when her aunt had mentioned it to her mother. Alana had tried to use it as a point during her argument but it was to no avail. "My Aunt Irene told me your punishment" she smirked, letting that sink in. The teenager had taken some pleasure in the fact that her aunt had been the one to punish Chaos.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

The way Alana spoke to him, it was like she thought that Chaos did not have a heart. Well, perhaps he didn't. Chaos continued to stand, before he sipped his drink. After he lowered the glass, he shrugged, "Perhaps I can't. But you don't really know me enough to say much, now do you." Chaos was full on mocking her, for not bothering to get to know the boy that would end up in the same house one day. It still bothered him to some degree, but he would just have to deal with it. "You see, that's the thing about all of you people at the school. Someone does one thing horrible, but not find out why, all of a sudden he is the next Lord Voldemort. But, no one would bother asking why." Chaos knew that he was doing something that he believed was right, and so did his family. Perhaps he had a better way of acting it out, but he never thought about that. That was Havoc's job. Not his.

She started to laugh, and he raised an eyebrow. Did she think he was joking? His face remained serious, and waited for her to figure it out. Chaos shrugged his shoulders, "Letters are making it happen while I adjust to not having a wand." Chaos thought about it for a moment, before shrugging, "No need to point anything out. It isn't like I haven't thought of it first." Scarlet was able to come see him while he visited relatives in New Zealand. That is, until Vladislav could move to New Zealand. He heard that they were very close to scoring a house. However, she dropped that it was her aunt that punished him, and he looked at her through narrowed eyes. He finally did not find an emotion to feel. "Good for you for having a relative in a high place." Chaos had that a lot, but his purple eyes looked down at his feet once more, before shifting his posture.​

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana shrugged her shoulders at Chaos’ comments. It was true. She didn’t know him very well and it was very much by choice. She didn’t really think there was any reason to reconsider that opinion either. Chaos had hurt her physically when he’d tripped her at the beginning of the semester and he’d scarred her emotionally with what she’d witnessed. She couldn’t see any reason to befriend him after that. It wasn’t like he seemed to really care anyway. He hadn’t reached out to her at all, though he had just admitted to writing letters to Scarlet. She lived in the same place as the Hufflepuff, and if he really wanted to get to know her, he could have reached out to her just as easily as he’d reached out to Scarlet. “See?” she gestured to him but was speaking about the comment he’d just made. It wasn’t bad or wrong outright, but she could sense that he was being snide about it all. “I know all that I need to know about you” she began. “Are you really trying to get me to feel sorry for you for…for what you did?” her red eyes betrayed her annoyance, narrowing as she spoke. They’d widened when Chaos had begun his comment by saying ‘you people.’ The teenager had never heard a good comment follow those words. Alana had since learned that the boy’s name was Logan, but she almost never said it when she was talking about the incident. She also avoided the boy whenever she saw him in the halls almost as if she felt some sort of guilt for having been a witness to the whole thing. “It doesn’t matter why, Chaos!” she exclaimed, her voice raising in pitch as she spoke.

The Slytherin wasn’t going to do this any longer. She jumped up from the sofa and headed to the stairs that would lead her to her room. She stomped up the steps and then stopped and stomped back down a few of them, until she could see into the living room and at Chaos again. She leaned over the bannister, gripping it tightly with her hands. “Ivaylo told me to give you a chance. He told me that you could be a decent person, but he…he’s dead wrong about you” she stated angrily. She was mad at Ivaylo at the moment as well. She couldn’t believe he’d made her believe that Chaos had any good qualities, and she really had believed him for a moment. “Have fun writing letters with your stupid girlfriend!” she finished, stomping back up the stairs to her room and slamming the door behind her. Alana threw herself on her bed, tears springing into her eyes at the injustice of all of this. She couldn’t understand how her parents could make her marry someone so horrible.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos never thought for an instant that he should owl Alana, or at least, actually send off what he wrote to her. He knew what she would have done, and thought it was a worthless cause. He knew more than he should have, but at least when it came down to letters, which forced his hand since he hated them, he could actually talk like a normal person. However, his eyebrow raised when she asked if he was trying to get her to feel sorry for what he did. That was definitely not his purpose. He didn't care what she felt about it, but he did feel that people needed to know why. The bigger picture. But, it seemed that wasn't going to be the case. She believed that it didn't matter why, but that might have been because she was suffering from the actual action itself. He simply sighed as he watched her explode once more, and stomp up the stairs, before hearing her come down them. She yelled something about Ivaylo, and about how he was wrong. He raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself, "She's be talking to Ivaylo?" He wondered if that was a good idea. Ivaylo could have been just as bad as he was, before he remembered exactly what sort of person that Ivaylo was going to be. The very next words, though he heard about her saying for him to have fun with his letters, were, "Oh sh*t."

What she didn't know was that Ivaylo was being trained to be the next Viscount, and they were black belts in torturing and killing. It was a little too dangerous for her to speak to Ivaylo any longer. Not wanting to admit he was worried, Chaos made his way up the stairs, and followed them to her room, which he guessed because of the sound of where the door slam came from. After his second try, he found her laying on her bed, and assuming, she was crying. Leaning against the door, unintentionally the only way she could leave, Chaos stated firmly, "Let me get this straight, first. You feeling sorry for me wasn't my goal. Since being expelled, I've never been happier. People ignore the bigger picture, which everyone within my family understands. Probably why Ivaylo told you that I had good qualities. But, in the near future. He isn't a nice guy." Chaos took this time to look around her bedroom, and saw the light purple walls and the white furniture. Girly. No posters or messes. Chaos sipped his drink. He sighed, "Honestly, I don't know what more I can say to you. Sorry doesn't seem to fit it. I must have destroyed a thousand sheets of parchment to write to you, but if you even received one, you'd burn it. I know you are pissed off about having been engaged to me, which I can relate to since I know why. You have a ton of anger against me, which I don't know if I am even responsible for."​

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana didn't bother to look up as opened her door and began to talk. She shouldn't have been so surprised by this since she assumed the boy had no boundaries. It wasn't like she could avoid hearing what he was saying either. She kept her head down, her blonde hair the only part of her head that he could see as he spoke. The Slytherin didn't need to be told by anyone, especially not Chaos, who to befriend. She almost picked up her head to glare at him, but then she figured that he might disappear if she continued to ignore him. She didn't really have much hope of that working but it was really all she could think of to try.

As he continued, Alana knew that he was right. She probably wouldn't have burned the letter though, burning was Chaos' thing. But, she would have enjoyed ripping the parchment into a thousand tiny pieces. He just kept talking though. And that's when Alana picked her head up. She didn't need Chaos trying to figure her out, even if he was right. That didn't matter at the moment. She was tired of people telling her what to do and how to feel. The Slytherin's eyes were red from crying. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Just go away, Chaos. I'm done talking to you right now" Alana whined, the words reminiscent to what she'd told him on the cliffs at the beginning of the semester. She wasn't being bossy about it this time, more begging for him to just leave her alone. The teenager couldn't take having to talk to him any longer.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos was getting tired, and it was the way he was raised which made him more accepting his fate, and didn't understand why Alana seemed to fight so hard against it. If others knew how hard she was fighting, they might see her as more trouble than it is worth. It wouldn't be the first time, but that was just what he was told. Chaos shook his head, and he thought, 'I might as well give up on this. There's no point in wasting my time.' He was not about to get attached to someone who would likely get killed, in his opinion. To him, people never changed. She told him to go away and she was done talking. That was when he started to chuckle. "Talk? Please. That was not talking. That was chastising and judging. Perhaps with the side of mocking." Chaos was pretty much fed up at this point. He took a deep breath, as he thought about how Havoc would have handled this. Not violently.

"You know what? I'm done too. I've tried. If you want to keep being a brat and fighting the inevitable, have right at it. Your funeral," Chaos finally breathed out as he turned to open the door. He shut it behind him, and descended the stairs. He rolled his purple eyes as he said, "And they say I'm the bad guy." Chaos arrived to the living room, only to find it empty. He felt his anger growing, before he managed to shatter the glass in his hand. Helping himself to the restroom to clean off his now bloody hand, he cleaned up his hand, and the mess, feeling slightly better now that he managed to squeeze something to death, even if it was just a glass.​

 

[Alana Finch]

Alana shrugged her shoulders as Chaos tried to tell her that what they’d been doing wasn’t talking. She didn’t care if he thought she was chastising him or judging him. Perhaps she was. The teenaged girl was tired of everyone pretending like she was wrong for being upset about this whole situation. As Chaos continued, Alana crossed her arms against her chest and looked down at her bedspread. She wasn’t going to make eye contact with him even when he called her a brat again. The Slytherin wasn’t going to be goaded into conversing with him any longer. Finally, Alana found herself alone. She took a deep breath and then another, and then the dam really broke and she found herself crying into her bedspread until her father yelled up the stairs for her some time later. The teenager ignored the man, rubbing at her eyes as she heard him yell for her again, this time with anger in his voice. With a sigh, Alana rubbed at her face again as she trudged for the door. She opened it to hear conversation going on downstairs, though what they were talking about wasn’t apparent to her at first.

Heading down the steps, Alana was glad to see the door open. It meant that they were leaving! The teenager moved down the steps cautiously, still not sure if her father had any idea what had happened between her and Chaos while he’d been downstairs. As she finally reached the bottom step, her father pulled her along, urging her to say goodbye to her guest. The teenager stayed staring at the ground for a moment longer, but then realized how silly that was. Chaos had finally joined her side and had given up on this whole farce. She looked up, her eyes even more red than usual from all of the crying she’d just done, her face slightly swollen from the tears. “Goodbye Chaos. I enjoyed our conversation this afternoon” she stated in a sing song voice, meeting his gaze with a defiant one of her own. The teenager stole a glance at her father who looked pleased with her words. He hadn’t even looked at her yet, so he didn’t see that she looked like she’d been crying. The man was hearing and seeing what he wanted to. Alana listened as her father spoke to the man who’d accompanied Chaos as he suggested that the next time the two met should be at Chaos’ home. The teenaged girl’s eyes widened and she looked up sharply at her father and then the other man to see what he said. Please say no, please say no, please say no, she urged as she dropped her gaze to the frayed floor mat outside her door.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos looked down at his hand, and he tore a of his shirt to bandage it, before he covered himself with his robes. He sat down in the living room, and before long, he saw her father and his relative come up from the dungeon. Or basement. Chaos looked at the two of them before Benjamen asked if everything went okay, and gestured toward the hand. Chaos shook his head and stood up. He was at Benjamen's side once more, and heard Ioan say Alana's name twice. Benjamen opened the front door, and they stood near it. He approached Chaos when Benjamen told him to say goodbye, just as Ioan did to Alana. He looked at her through his purple eyes, trying to hide his irritation. It was not working so well though. Her voice was too sickly sweet, it made his lips twitch into a sneer before Benjamen nudged him to say something. "See you later, princess." Ioan suggested that next time, they meet at his house. Chaos' face twisted into a look of pure amusement. Of course, Benjamen said that it would be a great idea since Chaos would be moving to New Zealand to make the meetings easier for the two of them. Chaos snickered before he ducked out with Benjamen, and apparating back home.

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Fin​

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