What the -

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Elspeth Brookes

Well-Known Member
Messages
486
OOC First Name
Ceara (Melissa)
Wand
Willow wand, 14" with Unicorn hair
Plot ID # 7309125

Elspeth was waiting in Brightstone, where she had first met her aunt Emily. Butterflies were swirling in her stomach, and her hands were trembling with apprehension and excitement. She was going to stay with her remaining family for the holidays, and the second year was a little scared to meet her uncle-to-be again. He had scared her a lot last time, and she was understandably nervous. She took a calming breath, before sitting down on the bench. Impatiently, she immediately jumped up again, and began pacing. Spotting a familiar form at the end of the street, she sighed, relieved. "Aunty! It's good to see you." she cried. "Can we go now?" Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed her aunt's arm. "Please? I can't wait to see your house again!" The house her aunt lived in was a beautiful little cottage, with climbing roses and a little garden. The paddock in the back held a few cows, which Elspeth had had a go milking, helped by her aunt. She couldn't wait to see them, and a beautiful country sunset again. No matter that Peter was creepy, the memories of England were some of the fondest she possessed.
 
Emily hastily apparated to Brightstone. She had been held up by Peter, who didn't want her niece to come. Elspeth was Emily's only surviving family, however, and she sure as hell wanted to spend time with her. Saying that to Peter had made him mad. She rubbed the bruises on her arm, wincing slightly. She couldn't understand why Peter didn't want to spend any time with the family he was going to marry into. He was so sweet when they were alone, but lately he'd been getting mad more often. At least he had controlled himself while the young girl was near. Lost in thought, she looked up to see Elspeth pacing the street. "Elspeth, darling!" she called. Smiling, she nodded. "Of course we can go now!" she responded, her British accent contrasting Elspeth's New Zealand accent. When Elspeth grabbed her arm Emily gasped with pain, but quickly disguised it as a laugh. "Off we go!" She apparated outside her home, in the rose garden. "Welcome, Elspeth. Enjoy your stay!" She smiled to herself, thinking of the news she had been keeping to herself for a month now, waiting to tell Elspeth.
 
Peter was looking out over the cottage's garden, waiting in the upstairs bedroom for his fiance to return. He had told her not to go, that that girl was nothing but trouble, but she hadn't listened. She never listened. He had tried to stop her, thinking the pain would make her think twice, but apparently not. Elspeth would have to go. His wife couldn't continually disobey him like this. Hearing a 'pop', he flicked the curtain shut and stalked down the stairs. "Hello Elspeth." He loomed over her, and he could see in her eyes that she was terrified of him. He allowed himself a brief burst of satisfaction at this knowledge, before dismissing her from his mind. "Emily, my love. Come in, make yourself a cup of tea." He opened the front door, and ushered them inside. He could be incredibly sweet when he wanted. Peter ignored Elspeth's luggage, leaving her to heave it into the house.
 
Elspeth loved the sensation of apparation. She knew that was weird, that most people found it incredibly uncomfortable, but she enjoyed it. Looking around, the young girl recognised the garden. Suddenly, Peter was there, standing over her. Elspeth shrank slightly. "Hello Peter." Her voice was strong, even if she was a little freaked out. She watched, relieved, as he turned from her, and attended to Emily. Make yourself a cup of tea? Elspeth thought, incredulous. However, that was just the way Peter was. She grabbed her suitcase and lugged it inside, used to her uncle's treatment of her. Elspeth couldn't understand what Emily saw in him. She hauled the case upstairs to the spare bedroom before collapsing onto the freshly made bed. The walls were covered in pictures of Elspeth and Emily laughing and smiling, waving at the camera. Peter had flatly refused to appear in any, and Elspeth was glad of this. He was creepy enough without being permanently on her wall.
 
Emily smiled at Peter, not noticing Elspeth's discomfort. She followed her fiance into the house, and headed straight to the kitchen. Leaning on the bench while she waited for the water to boil, she watched her boyfriend settle into a seat, picking up the paper. She jumped as the jug made a sharp 'ping', and she laughed at her fright before pouring her tea. Quietly, so as not to disturb Peter, she tiptoed upstairs. "Elspeth?" she called, pushing the girl's door open. She suppressed a smile when she saw her niece collapse onto the bed. Emily sat down and leaned forward. "Elspeth," she paused, suddenly unable to find the words to tell her. "Elspeth, you're going to get a cousin." She smiled, waiting for her reaction. Emily had always wanted to be a mother, and now she would soon have a husband and child! "Don't ... don't tell Peter. I want it to be a surprise." she lied. In truth, she was afraid Peter would make her get an abortion.
 
Peter scanned the Prophet. Nothing was really of interest, though, so he folded it, putting it by the side of his chair and standing up. He faintly heard Emily and Elspeth upstairs and grimaced. That girl was a bad influence on Emily. For a start, she reminded Emily of everything she had left behind in New Zealand, that godforsaken soggy country. He'd been there once, and had found it one of the most uncomfortable experiences of his life. Emily had actually had the nerve to ask him if they could go live there. He stepped outside and walked straight towards his shed. He was an avid gardener, and he was the one who had planted and nurtured the garden surrounding the little cottage. The hobby calmed him, and it provided the couple with fresh vegetables. When he got too angry, he went outside into his garden, unless Emily was near. He couldn't help it. Something about her made it easy for him to feel better while ... hurting her. Afterwards he always felt disgusted with himself, and tried to make it up to her, but after a while, it'd happen again.
 
Elspeth rolled over when Emily sat down so that she could see Emily's face. "What?" she exclaimed, sure she had misheard her aunt. "Congratulations!" She sat up and hugged Emily. "How far along are you?" she asked. Emily's stomach looked flat as a board under her long sleeved top, and she couldn't be too far along. She hoped she would be allowed to leave Hogwarts to visit Emily after the birth. "Emily, can I ask you a question?" This particular issue had been bugging her for a while, and her mother had never answered her questions.
 
"About two months." Emily answered. "So, do you want to go shopping soon? There's a muggle village nearby with some really neat stuff. Or, if you want, we could visit Diagon Alley or Brightstone. You need to get your third year stuff. What subjects are you doing? If we go to Brightstone you might see some of your friends." She sat back and waited for Elspeth's response to her suggestions. When the young girl tentatively asked if she could ask Emily a question, she nodded earnestly. "Elspeth, honey, you can ask me anything." she said, puzzlement creasing her brow. Elspeth was usually very perky and joked about everything, but this seemed to be more serious. A sneaking suspicion crept into her mind.
 
“Shopping sounds fun. Lets go to Diagon Alley; I've never been there before.” Elspeth listened as Emily continued with her questions. “I'm taking Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures.” Then she knew it was time for her to ask about her question. “Well, I never – I can't remember Dad. He died way before I was born. What was he like? Mum would never tell me. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, though.” She didn't want to make Emily dwell on painful memories, but she knew nothing about him.
 
Emily raised her eyebrows in surprise as Elspeth told her what electives she was doing. “Muggle studies? Really? But you grew up in a giant Muggle city! You already know all that stuff!” She said, laughing. When her niece asked her question, however, she sobered. “He was … my older brother. Annoying as hell most of the time, and then occasionally he'd do the sweetest things. You should have seen him around bullies. I introduced him and Justine, you know. Justine was my best friend, and I invited her around one holiday. After that, they could never get enough of each other.”
 
Elspeth listened to Emily's description of Patrick and tried to picture him in her mind. “Thank you.” The girl smiled faintly, before laughing. “Let's go shopping now. We can talk more in Diagon Alley, or Brightstone!” She stood up, pulling Emily to her feet.
Several weeks later​

Emily and Elspeth were sitting outside, beside one of the beautifully tended rosebushes in Emily's spacious garden. Well, it was more Peter's domain, but Elspeth liked to think of the whole house as Emily's, and she barely saw Peter anyway. Elspeth was telling Emily about her time at Hogwarts, but one of her gestures knocked Emily's cup of tea over onto Emily. “Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?” she said, barely able to restrain her laughter. “Sorry, I'm a complete klutz.”
 
Emily gasped with shock as her tea spilt all over her shirt. She rolled her eyes and laughed at Elspeth's apologies. “I'm fine, it's okay. I'll just take it off and scourgify it. I'm wearing a T-shirt underneath, don't worry.” She had lifted the shirt over her head before she remembered the bruises. Maybe if I act as normal she won't notice! It was a slim chance, she knew, but if Elspeth saw them Emily would be so ashamed. And the young girl had gone through enough, she didn't need to worry about her aunt. “Scourgify.” she muttered, before hurriedly pulling the shirt back on. She risked a glance at her niece's face, knowing this would betray whether or not she had seen the spreading yellow and purple bruises.
 
Elspeth's laughter stopped as if someone had hit the mute button when she saw her aunt's arms. First there were the scars from the car accident that had claimed her father, but newer, fresher, than those, were the bruises. “What the hell?” She bit out, too angry and scared and confused to temper her voice. “Emily, why... what the hell?” she repeated, unable to tear her eyes away. “Was it Peter? Did – does – he hit you?” She finally managed to look away from the evidence of Peter's cruelty, and caught her aunt's eye. Elspeth felt like she was about to cry. How could she have hidden something like this from her? And why had she put up with it? If anyone tried that with Elspeth, she would leave immediately.
 
Emily sighed as Elspeth spoke. “Yes, he – he does. When he gets mad.” She smoothed her sleeves down again, making sure the multicoloured splotches weren't visible any more. “But the rest of the time he's so sweet!” She tried to explain, but she knew it was wrong. Tears pricked her eyes, and she knew she was making excuses for his behaviour. She looked away from Elspeth, unable to hold her gaze any longer, and the hot tears spilled down her cheeks, and she began to sob.
 
Elspeth felt herself crumble inside. She had convinced herself that now that she had a family again, everything was fine. Her hand reached out, and she laid it on Emily's shoulder. “Why did you stay with him? Never mind. You should leave, or he'll just keep doing it! You're pregnant! What happens if he hurts your baby?” she pleaded, desperately trying to get her to see sense. The sky was beginning to darken, a sure sign that Peter would be home soon.
 
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