the devil came knocking [elaine]

[Deleted]

Zytka disliked the mirror that sat in the back corner of her office, covered in a drape. Having it there made her slightly uneasy, but she knew it was necessary. The professor sighed, and pulled the cover back from the mirror. Its surface was reflective, as normal, but that was just deception, a clever mirroring charm that she had layered on top of the otherwise opaque surface. She was lucky that she could do most of her business in her classroom; Zytka was sure that the mirror in the corner would draw more than a few odd looks if it was regularly on display. Zytka cast a quick spell to check the time; she was past due to check on the base. Zytka wasn't entirely sure if she would qualify checking in on the base as her job, but considering she had supervised the creation of the portals that led to it, she felt a sort of obligation to make sure all was running smoothly. Most of the time when she went to the base, Zytka went as Diana's shadow, a silent but supportive figure to ensure that no harm came to her student. Zytka hated being complicit in anything that the Purifiers did, but Diana... she was just a child. So many of them were just children, and it burned Zytka open inside that she couldn't save them from the path they were walking. At least she was better-equipped to deal with it than most of them. Zytka knew where her heart was, and it certainly wasn't with Elaine. She made herself useful, because that was the only way to keep the beady-eyed bitch off her back, but otherwise, Zytka tried to be silent and scarce.

The professor stepped through the mirror portal in one decisive swoop, and stepped out on the other side just the same as if she had gone through a door. She shivered slightly - it was cooler in the lair than it was in her classroom. She turned around immediately to inspect the mirror that she had just come through. Everything was in working order. It was only when she began to inspect the second mirror that Zytka realized that she wasn't alone. She didn't turn around, focusing instead on the mirror in front of her, and the reflection therein. Elaine was a basilisk, not to be looked dead in the eyes. "My lady." Zytka said quietly, continuing her inspection.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine was never the type of person to just sit around and wait while things passed her by. She had been doing a lot of waiting around lately, and it was beginning to terribly bore her. She was not stupid enough of course to try anything too reckless; that was all she needed before the plan she had come up with came to fruition was to be arrested by those do-gooders at the Ministry, under that Mudblood Minister, Hermione Granger. Elaine scoffed at the image of the womans triumphant face as she was brought forward in chains - Elaine didn’t know if they even used chains for prisoners anymore, but her imagination did tend to run wild when she was by herself for periods of time. Zytka had assisted in setting up portals for the entrances through mirrors, an idea Elaine was strangely struck by. It could be from one of her earliest childhood memories of her mother reading ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by some Mudblood author. The idea of going from one world through to the next did stick with Elaine however, and she couldn’t help smirking a bit as she stepped through her mirror and arrived in the Purifiers base.

As if she had an animalistic instinct, Elaine realized she wasn’t alone. Her posture stiffened and she strained to listen to the soft footfalls of whoever else was in the lair. She was glad of her months of practicing wandless magic; if it was an unwelcome visitor, Elaine didn’t need to waste precious seconds by reaching for her wand to make quick work of them. A few moments passed, and Elaine recognized the Ancient Runes professor, and she relaxed ever so slightly. She certainly hadn’t been Zytka’s favorite student at school, especially after Diana’s ritual had gone “wrong” (to their knowledge). She had the feeling that Zytka was mostly there to protect Diana, but as long as Diana was bloodsworn to Elaine, there was nothing to worry about. Still, she felt it was best to not let Zytka in on that detail. “Zytka.” she responded with a curt nod, noticing how the woman didn’t look her directly in the eyes. She crossed over towards the center of the room and looked around. “How many portals do you have set up now. I want my followers to be made aware soon of the safe place we’ve created for them, and I want it done before the surprise we have planned for our visitors,” Elaine asked, turning suddenly to face Zykta dead on.

@zytka

[Deleted]

None of the tension in Zytka’s shoulders unwound when she heard Elaine’s return to her greeting. She had almost been hoping that the vision in the mirror was an illusion, a ghost meant to guard the base, but that was wishful thinking. The leader of Purifiers wasted no time in beginning the conversation, asking Zytka how many portals had been created. The Ancient Runes professor was thankful for her even keel and ability to hold a neutral expression easily. All of the portals had pairs, and all of the pairs led to the lair, so it would therefore follow that the amount of mirrors in the antechamber was equal to the amount of the portals that had been created. Elaine had never pretended to be an Arithmancer, but Zytka had expected that anyone who tried to take over the Wizarding world would at least have the skills to be able to count to three. All of those whirling thoughts amounted in a triplet of words. “Three, my lady.” She and Diana had gone about creating the mirrors, with Diana locking them using her own brand of soul magic, and they were ready for use at any time. “They are in the places you appointed.” It wasn’t Zytka’s job to disseminate the information. In fact, quite the opposite – she was to remain unknown to the other Purifiers, with the exception of Diana and Elaine, so that her position within Hogwarts wouldn’t be jeopardized. When Elaine whirled around, Zytka held her eyes for a fraction of a second, before casting her gaze downwards. Let Elaine pick her brain, Zytka thought with an inward laugh. There wasn’t anything particularly nice to harvest, except for Zytka’s own contempt for the little girl. That was all she was – a child playing at grandeur and believing she could get there by leaving a trail of blood behind her. Elaine could have Zytka’s knowledge and her power, but she would never have her loyalty.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaines’ eyes glimmered in the dark lighting; she was silent after Zytka confirmed the three mirror portals scattered for her followers to use. One was in Zytka’s office, for obvious reasons, and Elaine wanted a second one placed in one of the bathrooms of Hogwarts - any except Moaning Myrtle's. Honestly, the miserable girl ghost would probably blab if she happened to look up from her endless moaning and sobbing and see Zytka place the mirror there. There was no proven way to kill a ghost, though Elaine had pondered it many, many times if she ever had to use that particular toilet, or worse when she couldn’t due to Myrtle’s tantrums rendering it out of order. She supposed if she had a basilisk it could sort of do the job, as Myrtles ghost would be rendered useless, but that was remedied by a Mandrake Restorative Draught. Regardless, it didn’t matter. She she would need any entrance in bathrooms to be less used by the main body of students, but not so abandoned it would attract attention if her followers went into one. “I shall assign two of my most loyal followers to ensure everyone knows how to enter,” she mused allowed, not bothering to name them out loud. Zytka didn’t need to know exactly who was in better standing with her than others. She mused for a moment; both Theodosia and Ondina had proven themselves impressively loyal this past year, while Theodosia’s betrothed Zaire would make a good choice for the male. She settled on the engaged pair; it would make more sense for people to see them wandering about together, as from her understanding they were perfectly amicable. Plus, Ondina would be graduating next month, and would need access to a different portal shortly.

Elaine slowly made her way back towards Zytka. She could see from the look on her face what Zytka thought of her, and her lips curled into an unfriendly smile. Let the Deputy Headmistress think what she wanted; when what she had in store would come to play, she’d see the Dark Lady for what she truly was. “I know you don’t like me Zytka,” Elaine started, her words careful, soft and deliberate, like a dull knife prodding into one's’ side. “You don’t have to like me, for all I care you can hate me all you like. But you do have to obey me. You know what’s at stake if you do not,” she trailed off, pulling out a bag of tricks she wanted to present to her loyal followers. Presents for those sadistic at heart. “You can see what I have brought for gifts if you like. Of course if you tell anyone I’ll have to kill you,” Elaine offered, her voice venomously sweet.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Zytka didn’t respond when Elaine said that she was going to assign two of her most loyal followers to the task of disseminating the information of the mirrors. It was better for her if she didn’t know who they were, because the professor wasn’t sure she could keep the knowledge from influencing her teaching. Showing blatant disdain for some of her students wouldn’t reflect well on her or the school, and the particularly astute students would wonder what the offending students had done, and that would lead to a whole trove of questions she chose not to answer. Zytka was lucky that her position as a Hogwarts professor kept her from having to attend many of the Purifier meetings for risk of exposing herself. If she knew the identities of the other Purifiers… things would not end well for anyone.

Again, there was no response when Elaine said that Zytka didn’t like her. There was no point in denying the truth but there was also no point in confirming it, and giving Elaine a reason to dislike the professor even more than she probably did. And Zytka did know what was at stake if she displeased Elaine. First and foremost, Diana. While Zytka would like to believe that Elaine wouldn’t do anything to the Ravenclaw due to Diana’s unwavering loyalty, the fact of the matter was that Diana was a bargaining chip to her, a way to gain power. “Some might argue that I am a better follower because I do not adore you.” Zytka said smoothly. “You know how the zealots have a tendency to muck things up.” It was all too easy for a particularly enthusiastic follower to accidentally undo their master’s plan by acting without direction of their overlord, and therefore disrupting cogs in a machine they had not been aware existed. “If you wish to show me the gifts, I will not object.” Zytka added, her voice still level as she peered at her feet. She wasn’t sure what sort of things Elaine had in store, but Zytka couldn’t help but wonder if ignorance would be her bliss.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine gracefully arched an eyebrow at Zytka as the woman finally spoke, commenting on how perhaps she was the better follower due to her lack of adoration towards her. “Better at doing your job, yes. You don’t get your undying thirst to prove how faithful you are get in the way because you have none.” She paused, then smiled in an unfriendly sort of way. “But...you seem to underestimate how much I value loyalty. Especially after that filthy sneak Theodorus threw his loyalty out the window, all for some girl.” She paused, then laughed softly. “Not that it mattered, in the end the two of them got what was coming to them, and her dear twin sister had to watch.” Elaine had had to modify Addison’s memory slightly on that evening, as she had been disguised as Shannon the Healer at first; she didn’t want to have to dispose of the woman so quickly after her hard brainwashing work. So she made her forget that bit, but every part of her sister and her lovers demise? That would be branded into her brain forever. “I reward my loyal followers better than you can imagine. Perhaps you’d do well to remember that,” she added with a tiny shrug.

Elaine pretended to contemplate showing Zykta something, even though she was dying to. She was proud of the collection she had amassed over the past year, venturing all over the world to find some of them. There was...one in particular she had an urge to show the professor, but she’d start off slow. “Well, let’s see here,” she mused, looking into her bag after setting it down on the stone table. “We have this lovely bracelet, the Phoenix Eye,” she started, producing the silver cuff with the amber jewel in the middle. “The wearer is sapped of their physical energy while wearing it, but they have the urge to keep it on at all times. Eventually, unless they take it off, they’ll pass out, or even die,” she explained, sounding rather gleeful. Then it was time for the real treat Elaine wanted to show her. She produced a jar and opened the top; a chorus of hissing started as a multi head snake poked its way out. “This beauty is called a Fomorrah. You chop off one of its heads and it can worm its way to embedding itself in a persons neck, rendering them under the complete control of the Fomorrah’s owner. Namely, me,” she began to explain, gently stroking the top of one of the snake heads. The creature hissed but it would not harm Elaine. “Of course, being magical the snakes head grows back after its predecessor is dismantled or recalled. One whisper from me and whoever is being possessed by the Fomorrah will stop at nothing to complete their mission.” She held the jar out so Zytka could see; there were only four of the five snake heads currently hissing at the Professor. “Isn’t it simply wonderful?” she breathed, her eyes glowing greedily.

@zytka

[Deleted]

Elaine admitted that Zytka was better at doing her job because of her lack of adoration, but didn’t seem content to leave it at a victory for the Runes professor. Of course not – the girl always had to be the one who won. That was why she was on this entire insane crusade – because she wanted to win all the time. The former Ravenclaw went on to say that she valued loyalty in her followers, especially after one of her people whom she had previously put her trust in threw away his loyalty for a girl. If Elaine expected Zytka to be swayed by the image of someone dying while their twin had to watch, then she was sadly mistaken. Zytka had seen death. She had seen sorrow, and she had seen pain. Her familiarity with the subjects made it easier to swallow. Elaine finished by saying that she rewarded her loyal followers better than Zytka could imagine, and the Runes professor shrugged. Maybe that was true, but since she couldn’t imagine it, she couldn’t envy it. The professor felt a response was expected, and as always, she chose her words carefully. “I picked who my heart belongs to long ago. My affections are not so easily swayed.” Elaine could guess that the object of Zytka’s affections was Diana, but that… was not the entire truth, and she was not so willing as to give away who she loved, even to herself. “I should think that would be a boon to you. Anyone who will follow you quickly will leave just as quickly, no?” Making a decision like following someone wasn’t easy, and the people who made it quickly were impulsive at best, and dangerous at worst.

The professor watched with interest that could be described as polite, but nothing more or less. She wasn’t sure whether knowing more about Elaine’s plans would actually be beneficial to her, especially since Zytka would be powerless to stop anything with Diana’s life on the line. The bracelet – the Phoenix’s Eye – was oddly reminiscent of the amulets that Zytka often created or wore herself, just with negative effects instead of positive ones. She wouldn’t be surprised if bastardized soul magic had been the origin of the bracelet, though she kept that theory to herself. “Is the energy stored anywhere?” Zytka asked musingly. Soul magic had the ability to harness energy for later use, so perhaps the bracelet mimicked that ability. It would probably be better for the side of the Light if the answer was no, but knowing the full extent of the bracelet’s powers would at least allow Zytka to confirm or refine her theory on the source of the bracelet. The next thing that Elaine produced was not an object, but a creature called a Fomorrah. The girl explained how the creature worked, and Zytka nodded, absorbing the details. “Are there protective spells to keep it from being detected if the victim were to visit a Healer?” She questioned. She was keenly aware of the fact that her questioning could help Elaine find any flaws in her plans, but questioning kept Zytka from having to agree, since silence was unacceptable.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine sized up the professor, looking her up from the top of her head to the sweeping hem of her robes. “Good,” was all she said when Zytka said her loyalties were not swayed so easily. She had surmised as much; soul magic was something very deep and complicated, and Diana had come to the woman for help in the utmost secrecy. “It depends on the person,” she added to Zytka’s next comment. The fact of the matter was she did not wholly trust any of her followers, as every one of them in her mind could find a reason to betray her. That was why she made sure that no two followers knew the exact same amount of information - just enough to keep them enticed and make them believe in their importance.

“The bracelet itself of course,” Elaine said, as if the answer was obvious. The Phoenix Eye stone was known to store magical energy for as long as the person wore it, but if taken off it would go into the closest living soul. Typically it was the person who had been wearing the bracelet, but Elaine only would use it to slow someone down anyway. She didn’t care to go into more detail with Zykta however, instead turning her attention back to the Fomorrah. “Oh no, even if a Healer did find it it doesn’t really matter,” Elaine said, giving a girlish giggle. “They can cut out the Fomorrah as many times as they please, but there’s only one way to keep it from regenerating in the person overnight and that secret will remain safely with me.” The Fomorrah hissed as Elaine cooed at it before settling it back down in its jar. “If there’s nothing else, you are dismissed. I have matters to attend to down here,” she said in a tone of finality that Zytka needed to leave now.


@zytka

end on your next post

[Deleted]

Zytka nodded when Elaine said that a person’s loyalty and how quick they were to follow or abandon was dependent on the person. She wasn’t sure she agreed with that, but disagreeing with Elaine didn’t seem like an option among the Purifiers, and Zytka existed only to blend in with the group – even though she was doing a poor job of it. Elaine admitted that the person’s energy was stored within the bracelet, confirming Zytka’s original suspicions that it might have been a form of warped soul magic. She was going to need to do more research on it. Even if she couldn’t create an antithesis to the Phoenix’s Eye (and doing so seemed like a poor choice, given the punishment that would be meted out if Zytka’s project was discovered), knowing how it worked, rather than just why it worked, would be a boon.

Elaine said that the Fomorrah had no secrecy spells, but that those spells wouldn’t be necessary, because the Fomorrah would return to their victim overnight. The secret as to how would remain with Elaine, but Zytka suspected it had something to do with either killing the snake or killing its master. There was no shortage of people who wanted to kill Elaine, though Zytka doubted any of them would succeed in the near future – not when Elaine had the base to hide in. It would be impossible for anyone but other Purifiers to follow her there. “You know where I am.” Zytka said in lieu of a goodbye, retreating from the chamber into her study to begin some research.

Elaine Lyra Dupree
(le end)