'CAUSE I'M IN TOO DEEP AND I'M TRYIN TO KEEP
UP ABOVE IN MY HEAD INSTEAD OF GOIN UNDER.
meet the players
[»] aiden lestrange [seventh, seventeen, slytherin]
[»] jada vaisey [sixth, sixteen, ravenclaw]
[»/»] the morte incarnate, all members.
SCENE ONE.
“Filthy scum,” the man’s tone was cold enough to scare anyone, but not him. Aiden had grown up around this, it was his life. Standing amongst a few dozen nameless shadows, he watched Avery circle around his victim, lips up in a snarl. Quentin Avery was not a kind man by any means. Aiden was well aware of that fact. The minister’s son was slowly becoming aware of the same fact, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood, fighting for his own life. The boy -- he was about his age, now that he thought about it -- shuddered, spitting out what appeared to be a tooth drenched in more blood. Some of the younger members flinched. Aiden’s facial expression remained indifferent, if not touched with a bit of boredom. All of this was routine to him. He’d seen it happen before, and he knew very well that he’d felt it before, at the end of his father’s wand. “This,” -- Avery punctuated his words by jabbing Shacklebolt in the ribs with his wand -- “this is what happens to traitors, to scum, those who aren’t worthy.”
The larger man turned on the group of younger men, eyeing them dangerously. Each and every one of them -- except him. Maybe it was that Aiden had always been more mature than all his ‘friends’ ( He preferred the term servants, thanks. ) and that he was already accustomed to this, but Avery skipped over him with a knowing sort of elegance, as if he already trusted Aiden. There was no reason not to, to be honest. Out of everyone in the group of young men, Aiden was probably the most twisted, the one who had already chained himself to their…cause. They knew that. The older members could almost see the boy aging and rising to the status of right hand man to the most powerful dark wizards in the country before he became one himself. Aiden was like them, through and through. He would be one of the great ones, and if they somehow failed, they all knew that Aiden wouldn’t give up. He, along with other loyal and younger members -- Malfoy, Flint -- would continue on. This was already their life.
“Are you worthy?” Avery’s tone was even colder now, and half of the young boys in the group cringed in fear, ducking their heads. Some nodded urgently, nearly faint with terror; the stench of blood filling their nostrils and burning their eyes as Shacklebolt’s whimpers pounded tauntingly in their eardrums. Avery didn’t bother to conceal the amused look on his face, arching a dark eyebrow and stretching a smirk across his shadowed face. He looked like something from a particularly terrifying nightmare, the only light in the room bathing him in a ghostly, unnatural light and only serving to make him look more intimidated. One of the boys toward the back let out what sounded like a strangled cry. Shacklebolt let out a groan and shifted over on his side, convulsing violently when Avery kicked him square in the ribs for the disturbance. Another boy mumbled phrases of disbelief, desperately trying to ignore the victim’s cries and the nausea boiling up in his stomach.
Aiden smirked.
END SCENE.
Aiden Lestrange was the son of a prestigious death eater. He was quite like his father and his friends, cold, ruthless, arrogant and talented in the areas of dark arts. He cared for nothing but his loyalties and, when it began to form, the Morte Incarnate. Slytherins worshipped him along with the Malfoy children. The other houses despised him with a passion, taking note of his cold nature and his lack of heart. Aiden was an important puzzle piece, the Morte Incarnate trusted him easily. He was well on his way to becoming more powerful than Voldemort, standing beside his father and all those who came before him in power. He was intelligent, that was for sure. He could outwit half the other Slytherins in less than five seconds, and he was fearless, ruthless, intimidating. He was genuinely interested in their cause, he believed in it completely. To the older members of Morte Incarnate, Aiden was the perfect member. ( He would’ve been, anyway, but as far as they knew, he was perfect, and he would always be perfect. )
So when the matter of his betrothal to a certain Ms. Vaisey arose, they were not alarmed. In fact, they were thrilled. His father and Vaisey’s father were pat on the back for their unknowing genius. _____ Vaisey was just as brilliant as Aiden, if not more so. Her family was extremely wealthy, pureblooded, and everyone of them had ties to the Morte Incarnate…everyone except her. _____ would be a great asset to them -- Aiden was smart, but she was brilliant, resourceful, she was genius embodied into the female persona. The two of them together would be unstoppable, absolutely indestructible -- the things that the Morte Incarnate could do with those two children on their side. Besides, Vaisey was too brilliant to not be with them…They couldn’t very well let her switch her alliances. If she was with anyone else but the Morte Incarnate, there was sure to be trouble.
Aiden himself wasn’t too keen on the idea of marrying her, but in all honesty, he was certain that he’d never fall in something as non-existent as love, so he was willing to carry out their ‘mission’. There was a slight roadblock, although they were sure Aiden could…take care of it. _____ was not aware of her betrothal to the Lestrange boy, and if she was, she would most likely defy it. _____ was the polar opposite of everything they stood for. She’d been sorted into Ravenclaw -- her father had been mildly displeased, but Ravenclaw was better than…Gryffindor -- and she was wise. She was wise, just, clever, creative…innocent. Her father wasn’t like Aiden’s father, he preferred to keep the dark arts to himself, and when his children were of age, he exposed them to it. Aiden had been weaned on it. Vaisey had tried and tried, but _____ had already found her personality by the time he attempted to brainwash her with his cause. She happened to think that her father’s prejudice was ridiculous, she figured that if anyone was scum, it was the people who hurt innocent wizard and witches just because of their blood line. ____ was pure.
Her smile could brighten up a room, her anger was more of a silent hurt, and she believed there was good in nearly everyone. She was shy and she preferred to read a book rather than attend a party. ______ made friends with the type of people her father wanted dead, she smiled brightly in the face of darkness. It would be perfect. She would find out about the betrothal, and Aiden would slowly but surely seduce her into their world. She was naïve, it wouldn’t be too hard. Aiden was a charming guy. He could make her trust him, and then, she would be theirs, and they would have two of the brightest minds of their time with the Morte Incarnate, doing their bidding. They weren’t about to let anyone else have such brilliance. No, it was all a well thought-out plan. Aiden would brainwash her in his own way, through charm and seduction. She would find out of her betrothal to him, and she would accept it because she already trusted the boy. The one thing no one had expected, no one had weaved into their plan…was that Aiden fell in love, for the first time, with her.
SCENE TWO.He was in the library again. Holed up in the darkest corner, isolated from all his fellow students. Skimming across some familiar titles, he sauntered down the aisle, looking more at peace than usual. It had always been that way. Aiden blatantly admitted to liking books more than he did half of the human population. Here, he could bury himself in a classic and not emerge for hours. He’d read anything he could get his hands on -- fiction, non-fiction. Even if they weren’t the best writing, he’d occupy his time by criticizing the author and picking apart the flaws in the work. And if it was a classic, he’d read it over and over and over, until the soft skin on his fingers was raw from turning the pages and he could no longer see straight. Running his hands idly across the shelves, he nearly toppled over at a quiet, bell-like voice. “Do you read?” He whirled around, showing only a slight, fleeting glance of surprised before he smirked calmly at the Ravenclaw standing behind him.
Do you read? She grimaced at her own words. No, he was illiterate._____ knew very little of the boy standing by the shelves. His name was Aiden Lestrange, his family was somewhat connected to her father’s through business and such. Aiden was in Slytherin, and….well, she’d heard a number of bad things about him, but _____ wasn’t one to judge. She believed in giving everyone a chance and she wasn’t stupid -- rumors were not fact, the things she heard from gossips were not always true. In fact, they were more fantasy than fact. Who was to say what Aiden was like? No one could tell her that but Aiden himself…besides, he was kind of standing in front of her favorite book. She came here almost every chance she got, just to find that book, pull it from the shelf and read it, again. Occasionally, she took it back to her dormitory, but ______ was a fast reader, and for the most part she never needed to…besides, whenever she wanted to take it out, it seemed that someone always got there first.
He glanced back at her, the gears in his head ticking away. It was _______, his ‘mission’, so to speak. Now was as good as a time to get started as any, right? Turning back for a second and slipping a book that caught his eye out of the shelves and into his hands, he blinked apathetically at her before thumbing through the book. “Not much.” He’d read the book in his hands about thirty times. In the past two months. _______ brushed off his uncaring nature -- it was too early to judge him. Her bright blue eyes fell down to the book he was flipping through, and she smiled brightly. “That’s one of my favorite books, you know.” The right corner of his lips twitched up in a knowing smirk, one that her bright eyes didn’t catch, too busy glancing down at her favorite book. “Huh.” It was a statement, his own way of saying, ‘well, isn’t that a coincidence?’ She blinked curiously at him, torn between asking if he was going to be taking that or just continuing an attempt at conversation. “It’s great… It’s set all the way back during Merlin’s times, and the begi--” He shut the book suddenly, moving to slide it back on the shelf. “I know.”
______ furrowed a brow, blue eyes swarming with confusion. “I thought you said you didn’t read much.” Instantly, she wanted to slam her head against the shelf. Since when did ‘not much’ mean ‘not at all’ ? Dragging her eyes back up from the floor and to his face, she prayed that he just ignored her and left her to her idiocy. Instead, the right corner of his lips twitched up again, and he shrugged lazily. “Well…what is much?” And he was gone, striding out of the library and down the hall before she could even say anything. ______ stood in the same spot, blinking in a confused manner and wondering how he moved quite so fast. Her shoulders slumped and she frowned slightly at his sudden leave, but she decided not to let it get to her. Now she could read her book in peace and quiet. Looking back to the shelf and reaching out to the spot where she knew the book to be, she found an empty space.
END SCENE.
Aiden didn’t know very much about love. He had certainly never been in love…he’d never experienced any sort of love -- not the platonic kind, nor the romantic. His family…no, they didn’t love him. So Aiden had never experienced love. He’d read about it, thumbed through tales of war and passion and desire and sadness and undying emotion. But he’d never felt it. In fact, he had long since accepted the fact that love didn’t exist. Not the way it was in his books, not the way it did for everyone else. Love wasn’t real. He knew that. Or, at least, he had. Meeting ______ had put all kinds of ideas in his head, theories he knew everyone he was ‘friends’ with would disapprove of heavily. Hell, he disapproved of the things running through his mind. They were impossibly silly and this was not one of his books, this was reality. Now, he found himself putting a book down and pushing it away from him at the first mention of love and feelings, disturbed by the images and thoughts that came to his mind after reading anything like it.
He was in love. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Aiden knew that. But he didn’t want to accept it, so he shied away from some of his favorite books, turned the other way when couples came his way, cut conversations with ______ short and found himself being unnecessarily rude to her, just so he wouldn’t have to face it. Aiden, in general, wasn’t that nice of a person, but he’d never been able to be horribly mean to her. She was different, and when she said something he’d normally make a nasty comment at, he found himself unable to…but he was stubborn, too, so he forced himself to become mostly monosyllabic when he bumped into her, forced himself to avoid and deny and hide and shove it all down. ________ was sweet, and she had this innocence about her that he found awe striking. She loved books, and she didn’t mind silence, and her smile was brighter than the sun. She understood his sarcastic references and she didn’t judge. There was something different about her that made all those qualities -- ones he would normally find a bit irritating -- positive, attractive.
_______ was confused. She’d been spending a lot of time by Aiden’s side, and she had diligently ignored all the issues her friends had with it. They’d arch their eyebrows at her and pull on a concerned face, remarking about Aiden’s reputation, and she’d wave them off. What did it matter, what they said? They only knew the rumors. Aiden was nice to her, and she’d never seen him be as cruel as they said. There was even talk of him being in that…that organization, the Morte Incarnate, but she refused to believe that. It was such a stereotype. He was a Slytherin, so he must be evil, right? They had no idea what they were talking about. Aiden made her feel special, like she was better than she was and she could see underneath all his teasing smirks and little quips. He was the type to be subtle about things, and _____ was observant. She understood his hidden meaning…but even she got confused when he started to live up to his reputation. He’d avoid her and when she cornered him, he was always so…nasty, nothing like the Aiden she knew. ______ didn’t know what had caused the sudden change, but she didn’t like it at all.
SCENE THREE.“What is wrong with you, Aiden?” She sounded hurt, and for a moment, his head hung downward and to the side with the slightest bit of visible shame and guilt before it snapped up and he attempted to push past her. His tone was clipped and dripping with sarcasm. “There’s a number of things, really -- like, I’ve got this strange little itch in my throat and I think I might actually be getting sick and --” He bright eyes darkened and he thought he saw them well up slightly before she shook her head and shifted, cornering him between the shelf, the table and her. He glared. “Don’t be a jerk.” Aiden shrugged, avoiding her gaze and choosing to lean up on the tips of his toes and glance over her head. “S’what I’m good at it.” Now _____ cast her gaze down at the floor, biting down hard on her lip and trying not to cry in front of him. She didn’t understand what this was all about. Aiden glanced down at her slightly hunched form, and she looked up in that moment, bright blue eyes wide and tear-filled. “Did I do something…..wrong?” His mouth hung open slightly in surprise, and she felt so very small under his disbelieving gaze.
It was strange. Aiden had seen people bleed, seen them die and scream and burn. None of that had affected him in the slightest. ( Well, in the back of his mind he knew there was a reason for him being as quirky as he was, but that wasn’t the type of effect he meant. ) It’d never really hurt him to see them like that…but this had him falling apart at the seams. She just stood there, her question hanging in the air and tears threatening to slide down her cheeks. It was enough to constrict his lungs and make him shudder with guilt. ______ began to cry quietly, making to turn away, and Aiden lost his last shred of self-control, grabbing her arm as she turned and forcing her to stay. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t be like this with her. “You didn’t do anything wrong -- I just…” He sighed, not knowing what to tell her without telling her too much. “I shouldn’t have been so…I don’t know, I ca-” She silenced him, impulsively stepping forward and leaning up on her feet to press her lips against his, and he responded without a thought to the consequences of what was going on.
His arms encircled her waist and she tangled a hand in his horribly unruly hair, both of them dying to get closer, closer, closer. But nothing that perfect could last, could live on without being tainted, and suddenly Aiden remembered who he was and who she was, what he had been told to do and what he didn’t want to do. He pulled away quickly, backing up against the shelves with darkened eyes. “Aiden, I…” _____ trailed off, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t….” He shook his head abruptly, taking quick, shallow breaths. “No, don’t…I just, I’m so sorry….I just can’t, _____.” He couldn’t -- his task was to turn her over to their side. One of the things he loved ( it was now impossible to deny his feelings for her, even though he was the most stubborn person alive. ) most about ______ was her innocence, and if he went through with it, that would die out. He wouldn’t be the one to taint her that way. He had to stay away from her, task be damned. She was too perfect to fall into their trap, and he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he let it happen. “I can’t.” She opened her mouth, looking upset again and started, “Wha-” but he was already pushing past her and striding out of the library.
END SCENE.
When the Morte Incarnate -- Avery, to be specific -- wanted an update on the boy’s progress, Aiden subtly slipped in the idea that maybe, just maybe, they didn’t really need Vaisey as much as they thought. He remarked on how this was probably more trouble than it was worth, and that maybe they should just drop the idea, and Avery laughed at him. He scoffed and told Aiden that he was certain about the task, and that Aiden was to continue. Vaisey was an asset that they didn’t want in the hands of anyone else, and he was going to do this for them, because it was for the best. And for the first time, Aiden couldn’t look him in the eye and smirk. He nodded meekly, staring at the floor, and that was the first clue. It was then Avery began to notice the things around him. Aiden didn’t seem so invincible now, he winced with the rest of them during meetings, and it was rare that he made eye-contact. When he did, it was uncertain and…scared. Something was going horribly wrong.
He tried, really, he did. Aiden found her in the library one afternoon, reading that same book to herself in the corner, and…he walked right up, talking to her as if nothing had ever happened. _____ was visibly confused and at first, she avoided talking to him, hurt by his actions. But she was too nice of a girl to be angry with him, and soon after he sat down and spilled all his charming little words out to her, she gave in. He forced himself to press on, and sometimes, if he pushed the end result out of his mind, he could just enjoy the time he spent with her. Neither of them breathed a word about the kiss, ______ still confused as to where they stood in each other’s lives, and Aiden still holding back on his task. He was still spending time with her, and she was beginning to trust him completely despite his mysterious nature about everything, but he refused to say anything to her that breached a platonic level, the subconscious of his mind keeping him from going all the way with the task he was assigned, knowing that he didn’t want to do it.
But _____ was the kind of girl who needed to understand everything, and eventually, she tried to bring it up…and he bolted on her. She mentioned the kiss and everything that had happened, and he shut himself off that very second, knowing that he could never really do this. So he threw up his stone walls and walked away from her, making up some stupid, flimsy excuse and brushing her off. He began avoiding her again, for the second time and he left her even more confused than before. At this point, Aiden didn’t give a damn what Avery thought. He was long gone, already affected by her, and he couldn’t go back to being who he was. _____ had made him different, and though he’d resisted at first, it had been useless. He was different now, she had changed him, and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt by them. Aiden was in way over his head, and now was the worst possible time to decide that he wasn’t in this for the long run, but he couldn’t pretend that he was. There was no way -- he wasn’t that strong.
SCENE FOUR.“I won’t do it.” Aiden ground his teeth together, eyeing the wall behind Avery as he spoke. The older man towered over him, eyes darkening as the boy’s statement reached his ears. “Don’t be ridiculous, Aiden.” Aiden forced himself to look Avery in his soulless eyes, and he shook his head curtly. “No, I won’t.” Avery glared, stepping closer to him. They were alone in the room -- no one knew of Aiden’s ‘reluctance’ to do as he was told, no one but Avery himself. All everyone else saw was the longing glances _____ sent to Aiden between meals, and they blissfully ignored the same glances he sent back to her when he thought no one was looking. As far as they knew, Aiden was doing his job, and he was doing it well. _____ couldn’t keep her eyes off him. But Avery knew better. Snarling, the older man tilted his head to the side. “Why?” The seventh year bit down hard on his lip and broke eye contact again, forcing a shrug out of his shoulders. “It’s not worth it. _____’s insufferable, we don’t need her -- I can’t. stand. Her.” Lies. Avery could see the lies swarming through the boys darkened, stormy eyes, and once again, he was smacked with reality. It was something in the way he said ‘her’, and the way he said her name. He could feel it.
“You’re in love with her.” His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and the older man saw before his face became indifferent. “Excuse me?” Avery scoffed, turning away from him and walking toward the center of the room. “You heard me. You’ve fallen in love with the girl, haven’t you? That’s ridiculous, Aiden. It’s pathetic.” The slytherin boy visibly stiffened, nostrils flaring in barely concealed rage. “You’ve lost your fucking mind,” Aiden shot back, the knot in his stomach bursting into flames and eating away at his organs. Avery whirled back around, inches away from the younger boy’s face. “No, that’s you, Lestrange. You fucking moron. What, you think you’re going to say ‘no’ and then skip off into the fucking sunset with the girl? Did she fill your head with her stupid ideals and her little fantasies?” He shook his head disgustedly. “You were suppose to change her, not let her brainwash you. You’re supposed to be smart, Aiden.” The boy in question said nothing, knowing he was caught.
“You will do this.” Aiden clenched a fist, scoffing. “No, I won’t.” Avery stepped even closer, both fists clenched. “YOU IDIOT! It wasn’t a fucking question. You can’t worm out of this. I’m not letting you quit because you’ve turned into a pansy. We’ll fix that.” He paused, letting out a slow hiss of breath. “Any feelings you had with the girl are obsolete. You will go through with this, you will convince her, and the both of you will be a part of the Morte Incarnate. No negotiation.” Avery spoke slowly, as if the seventeen year old standing before him was a child who didn’t understand the concept of the English language. His voice rang out inside the silence of the room, and a spark of the stubborn, fearless Aiden he knew reared it’s ugly head. Aiden was anything but fearless at the moment, but his anger overrode any fear swimming in his veins. “Fuck you. I’m not doing a damn thing.” The moment the words left his mouth, Avery’s fist connected with the younger boy’s jaw.
END SCENE.
Avery still didn’t tell anyone of Aiden’s disobedience. If he had, he knew what their reaction would be. They’d want to dispose of him quickly and before things got worse, but Avery was adamant. Aiden Lestrange was a highly important asset to their cause, as was _______. He was not letting them go, no matter how much Aiden wanted to change things. No, instead, Avery pretended things were going along well, and when meetings dispersed ( meeting that he made sure Aiden attended every damn time ) he’d pull the boy to the side, asking if he’d come to his senses. He had yet to give in, but that didn’t bother him. It wasn’t hurting him -- if it was hurting anyone, the blood on the floor of the torture rooms indicated that it was Aiden being hurt by his own rebellion. Every time he denied Avery of his alliance, it was him who felt the consequences. It was Aiden who was thrown against the wall and left in a crumpled heap against the floor. No, the only person Aiden was hurting was himself. Avery wasn’t worried. He’d come around.
It was a good thing that Aiden was as talented with concealment as he was. Otherwise, the population of Hogwarts might have been a bit perturbed by his appearance -- bruises, gashes, broken bones. He healed what he could, and Aiden was decent with healing spells, but some of the injuries were more extensive than a simple spell could fix. Still, he wasn’t going to do what Avery wanted. He concealed the injuries, he grounded his teeth together and he stuck it out. He’d been beaten before -- torture had been his father’s discipline method. It wasn’t…too bad, he told himself, ignoring the strike of pain every time he shifted a certain way. He could deal with it. Eventually, Avery had to give up, right? They could kill him for all he cared ( He didn’t want to die… ) as long as _____ was still uninvolved with the organization, then things were okay. He couldn’t let someone like her be ruined by the brutality of it all, and if it meant his death ( Fuck, he really didn’t want to die. ) than….it meant his death. It was that simple. Aiden didn’t know much about love, but he was certain that he’d fallen in love with her, and he was certain that he’d do anything to keep her safe.
SCENE FIVE.Turning a corner, Aiden scanned the empty hallway before pushing the nearest door in and practically throwing himself into the room. He was oblivious to the doe-eyed girl following him down the same deserted hallway, her suspicions causing her to do something she’d never pictured herself actually doing. Aiden ventured further into the empty classroom and propped himself up against one of the desks, releasing the concealment charms. He had long since decided that there was almost nothing more complicated than holding a concealment charm for an entire day, especially when his attention was being forced onto other things…like classes. He was exhausted from the strain of it all, and now that no one was around, he could drop the spell for a bit and relax. He just needed a few minutes, nothing more, nothing less. If he was going to be able to function properly, he needed a small break in between. Sighing, he ran a finger across one of his recent scars, a strange zigzag shape on his lower arm. Avery hadn’t given up yet.
“….Aiden, I…” Dark eyes shot up toward the doorway and widened in horror at the girl standing there. How had she found him here -- had she followed him? Why in the hell hadn’t he heard her footsteps? Her wide eyes blinked, glazed over with what looked to be concern, worry, and befuddlement. He looked away. “Get out.” ____ flinched but shook her head, stepping into the classroom and shutting the door quietly behind her. “No.” Aiden continued to stare at the floor with a silent fury, as if it was the building’s fault that she’d followed him, that he had scars and cuts and bruises all over. He could feel her ocean eyes burning holes all over him, examining every injury. “Aiden….what happened to you?” Her voice was shaky, and Aiden shut his eyes tightly before attempting a weak shrug. “Temperamental owl,” he began sarcastically. “…never got on with her very well, and she didn’t particularly care for the time I was taking to write my letter, you see, so she --”
She huffed, already familiar with his sarcastic and defensive tendencies. “Aiden.” He winced, and he couldn’t decide whether it was because of the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes when he finally forced himself to look at her or the way he shifted his leg at that moment. “______.” His voice was small, more innocent than ______ had ever heard it. He sounded hurt, lost. She was still hurt by his strange behavior, but her concern trumped her own pain. Walking over to him in silence, she eyed his injuries, feeling her own heart shatter. She had no idea what was going on….but seeing him like this was killing her. For all his mixed signals and his rude comments, _____ still considered him to be the Aiden she had gotten to know, and that was the person that she’d fallen in love with. It was nearly impossible to see the person you loved in such a state. Standing directly in front of him, she cupped his cheek in her hand, lungs tightening as she saw his black eye up close. “…what happened?” Her voice was quiet, but she was close enough, and he heard her clearly. He swallowed, looking away. He had to tell her.
END SCENE.
NOTE;; the subplot begins directly before _____ Vaisey finds Aiden in the abandoned classroom. It doesn’t have to go exactly like the scene above, that's just to give you an idea. :]