Won't You Guess My Name? -- Jessavette

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine knew that her close friend Finley was infatuated with a Mudblood girl. He had felt brazen and confident enough to confide this in her. Elaine had laughed it off of course; Fin was a half-blood yes, but he followed the Purifiers beliefs, and therefore it was simply out of the question for him to even consider marriage to this girl. Still, she could tell that he was not over this simple infatuation, and Elaine was beginning to suspect that there was more to this than just attraction. So, naturally, Elaine had to go see this girl for herself, and find out what she could about her. Perhaps she was enchanting Fin with Amortentia or some kind of charm. Either way, Elaine needed answers, answers she knew Fin wouldn’t give her.

She had pondered for some time on which disguise she would use. Anise was around their age, but what reason would she have to be at the Daily Prophet? Shannon was a healer, and therefore was needed at the hospital less things look suspicious. In the end, Elaine chose Isolde, the Ministry worker who had assisted with the Triwizard Tournament organization. Isolde had reported to her that the Prophet was looking to do a piece on the Tournament focusing on the task force behind it, and she had...encouraged the woman to volunteer to be interviewed. So here she was, disguised as Isolde White, ready to be interviewed by a Daily Prophet upstart intern that happened to have captured Finley O’Neills’ heart. She took a deep breath, the gears in her mind churning furiously as she went over the idea in her head. With a slight nod to herself, she let her breath out and stepped into the Prophet office. “Hello there? I’m looking for...Jessica? My name is Isolde White, I’m to be interviewed about the Tournament?” she called, trying to sound nervous.

@jessavette

[Deleted]

Jess was nervous. She was given the assignment to interview a ministry worker about the Triwizard Tournament. Apparently the Daily Prophet wanted an insider's view from the ministry side of things. That should be interesting enough, but Jess never expected them to ask her to do the interview and then write the article. Of course, that's exactly what she wanted: the chance to write, but she didn't expect it to come until she was hired on as something other than an intern. The majority of the last two years was spent running errands, making copies, revising other people's work and so on. Busy work mostly, though she knew it was important to make things work. 

She was standing near the front of the office, waiting for the woman- an Isolde White- to show up for the interview. Jess tried to take deep breaths and make sure she looked calm as she waited, though her pulse was racing and her mind was reviewing all the questions she thought of beforehand for the interview. When a woman came in looking for a Jessica, Jess stepped forward. "I'm Jess. Jessavette actually," Ugh, why did she say her real name? There were very few people who knew her real name was Jessavette. Apparently she was more nervous than she thought. She forced a smile at the woman while inwardly chiding herself. She needed to get some control here. "Uh, just follow me and we'll get your interview started right away," Jess lead the woman through the main bulk of the office until she got to a free room, one she'd requested for this interview. "Can I get you anything?" Jess asked before she started. "Coffee? Tea?" Maybe drinking something would make both of them feel better about this, assuming that the other woman was as nervous as she sounded when she asked for Jess.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine slapped a palm to her forehead; of course she didn’t care in the slightest that this girls’ name was actually Jessavette over Jessica, Jessalyn, what have you. But Isolde cared, because she cared about the impression she left on others. It, and her work with the Triwizard Tournament, had been what had allured Elaine in the first place, and though it had taken a few days, Isolde had broken just like Anise. “Oh my goodness, I am so sorry Jessavette! My name is Isolde White,” she introduced, letting out a nervously shrill laugh. “Can you tell I’m quite nervous?” she wheedled, laughing again. She followed Jess towards the back of the office, taking in the names on the doors and storing them in her memory. A small part of her itinerary while at the Daily Prophet included sneaking a false alias onto the list of reporters for the foreign delegation send off and swiping a press pass for Ursula. That would obviously be easier to do post-interview, so she focused at her task at hand.

“Tea would be lovely, thank you Jessavette,” Elaine purred, sitting down and smoothing her purple robes to remove the creases. As the girl readied her tea, Elaine took in her physical appearance. She supposed she could see why Fin was attracted to her, she was quite pretty in an innocent looking way. She seemed a bit nervous as well, which meant she took her job seriously. What a good little Hufflepuff, hard-working as always, trying to impress their superiors. “So I suppose I’m here to talk about the Triwizard Tournament? Where would you like to start?” Elaine asked, sitting up straight to give the impression she was taking her interviewee position very seriously.


@jessavette

[Deleted]

Jess smiled at the girl, who was obviously very distressed that she got her name wrong. "No, no. It's really not a problem. I actually don't tell anyone my full name, everyone knows me as Jess. So Jessica is a common assumption. You're fine," she encouraged with a smile. She didn't want to start the interview off like this, with one of them being upset about an honest mistake. "Glad to meet you Isolde." Jess laughed at the comment about being nervous. "No worries. I'm actually a little nervous too. This is my first interview," she admitted, hoping to make the other girl feel more comfortable. If they were both feeling awkward then this probably wouldn't go too well. 

Jess smiled and nodded at the other girl, conjuring two tea cups, and filling them with hot water before summoning a few different kinds of tea bags from the closet right outside the office. "You can take whatever kind you want," she offered, taking chamomile for herself and sitting down. Why was she so nervous about this? She nodded as Isolde asked if they were going to talk about the Triwizard Tournament. "Yes," Jess confirmed, setting down her cup as she glanced down at her notes. "Let's start at the beginning. When did you first start planning for the Tournament? And what were those preparations?" Yes, that should be good to start with. Sure.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine smiled gratefully as she was offered different types of tea. Jess was accommodating that was for certain, perhaps that was alluring to Finley. She selected an Earl Grey tea bag, something she had drank since she was a young girl and stirred it gently into her teacup. She had assumed this would be one of the girls’ first interviews, as she had graduated just last year. She wondered what Jess had done to gain such an important interview for the Daily Prophet. If there was any manipulation or threats of blackmail involved, she would almost feel sorry that the girl was a Mudblood.

“Well that is quite the story isn’t it?” Elaine exclaimed, tapping the side of her nose with what she presumed was a cheerful smile. “We started planning about two months after those….horrible attacks.” She patted her breastbone, clucking her tongue. What would Jess think if she knew who exactly was sitting across from her? “The Minister had been talking with the other schools about it for some time, but everyone thought they couldn’t possibly go through with it after what had happened. But, as one does say, the show must go on!” Elaine cast an appraising eye on Jess. “You look quite young, were you still at Hogwarts last year when the attacks happened?” she asked, sounding curious even though she obviously knew the answer already.

@jessavette

[Deleted]

Jess smiled, nodding when Isolde said that she had quite the story. Jess was excited to get more information about it, to learn as much as she could about the tournament from the side of the ministry. It should be an interesting story and hopefully Jess would be able to put it all together right. Jess nodded, her heart starting to race when the girl mentioned that planning started after the attacks. Just the thought of what happened at Hogwarts last year made her feel sick to her stomach. She nodded, then quirked her head curiously. "Do you know what made them change their minds so they agreed to do the Tournament?" Jess asked, wanting to make sure she got the complete story. Jess shook her head at the girl's question, "No, I graduated the year before the attacks," Jess admitted, a little relieved about that. "When did you graduate?" She asked, forgetting for a moment that they were supposed to be talking about the tournament. She'd get back to that eventually.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine shrugged, pouting a little as if she wished to know the answer. “I suppose they think perhaps that Elaine...whatever her name is,” she started, waving her hand dismissively as if she did not know her own name. “Was not as much of a threat as they originally thought. Nobody’s heard much from her except for the Shacklebolt and Nott murders, but that was personal if you ask me. Other than that…” Elaine shrugged, then made a poof-ing motion with her hands. “It’s as if she’s vanished, so they’re cautiously optimistic without her right hand girl she won’t strike any time soon,” she added, then placed her hand over her mouth. “Oops, I’ve said too much,” she said frantically, her eyes darting back and forth from the door to Jess. “Please don’t write any of that down,” she pleaded, looking worried. “Just...go with that official statement about how the security set in place made them confident, and how the Tournament arrangements were already almost complete by the time the kidnappings happened,” she said hurriedly.

She sat back and let out a long breath. “Sorry, sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain,” she admitted, giggling a little. “I graduated from Hogwarts...oh goodness, almost twenty years ago now,” she said, trying to remember Isolde’s actual age. She was late thirties, thirty seven? And...oh, what house was she in. “I was a Ravenclaw,” she added. “Thank goodness you didn’t have to witness the kidnappings, I heard in the aftermath there was a great need for counseling and therapy for the students,” she added, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. There had been a few casualties on Elaines’ side, but nobody she couldn’t replace. Desirae was a completely different story, as was Fin if anything happened to him. She surveyed the girl in front of her, the one Fin “claimed” he was in love with. “So let’s get another tidbit of gossip out of the way - do you have anyone special in your life you fit in between reporting and writing?” she asked boldly.

@jessavette

[Deleted]

Jess nodded thoughtfully as the girl started to explain. Elaine. The girl who attacked the entire school and kidnapped people and was wreaking havoc. Obviously the ministry didn't take her as the threat she was, but who was Jess to judge? She had no idea what she would've done in their situation. Then Isolde seemed to think she said too much, covering her mouth with her hands and looking quite obviously nervous. Jess smiled at her, "Don't worry, you're fine. I don't want to freak everyone out by talking too much about Elaine in my article," she said, trying to soothe the girl. She nodded, "I'll go with that statement, you have nothing to worry about." she agreed with a nod of her head.

Isolde finally seemed to relax a little bit and Jess was glad. She didn't want this to be a tense interview. Then she might not get the information she was hoping to. Jess nodded as the girl talked about the kidnappings a little more and the therapy most students needed after it. "Yeah. My brothers were in the school during the attack, but neither of them were taken, so I was super grateful about that," she admitted. Her little brothers that meant more than the world to her. She decided to change the subject just a little bit. "So ... how did you go about planning the tournament and the Tasks. Was it something everyone did together or how did you choose them?" Maybe changing the subject would make the girl feel more comfortable about things. 

Then the girl asked Jess a question, saying she wanted to get gossip out of the way and Jess froze. There was gossip about her dating someone? Or was Isolde just curious? "There's gossip about me?" she asked, not quite sure how to answer the question. She just went on a date with Finley O'Neil the other day and was pretty sure that every time she saw him her feelings got stronger, but they weren't official and Jess didn't want to say anything that would possibly upset him. "Uhh ... nothing official. You know, I go on a few dates here and there with guys," she answered, unable to entirely hide her nerves. Why did she feel like she needed to answer the question?

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine pretended to wipe a bead of sweat off her forehead as Jess promised not to use her ‘blubbering’ statement. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pride however when the girl mentioned how she didn’t want to freak everyone out by using her name in the article. It was good to know it still could strike fear into peoples’ hearts, and they didn’t even know what she had planned for later this month. It was difficult, keeping such a fun surprise secret, but she supposed there was that whole bit of what she was planning being highly illegal that kept her from spreading the joyous news. Ursula was excited to see her project in action as well; Elaine had been impressed with her work at Kings Cross Station last June, so she was looking forward to the newest project. “It’s as if she’s still on the brink of everyones’ minds, even if she hasn’t been heard from in awhile,” Elaine said slowly.

She shook her head, intending to change the subject. “Well, we had a lot of help from our spectacular Task team. We pulled a few people from each department in order to gain a full scope of ideas for the Tasks. I think we did a pretty good job if I do say so myself,” she explained, her voice trilling with laughter. That was why Isolde had gotten into Elaines’ crosshairs after all, as one of the organizers from the Tournament. She was not foolish enough to try anything during the actual tasks though. No, that would have been too...expected. Too Barty Crouch Jr for her liking. Elaine didn’t want to be known as the “next Voldemort” or the “next Gellert Grindlewald”; she wanted to make her own name, to make sure she was better than the two fallen Dark Wizards combined. “Oh darling, there’s always gossip about everyone!” Elaine added, winking at Jess. She raised an eyebrow; she wondered how Fin would feel if he knew she was grouping him in so generically. “Come come, there must be ONE boy in particular,” Elaine wheedled, propping her chin on her hand and looking at Jess pointedly.


@jessavette

[Deleted]

Jess nodded at Isolde's comment about Elaine. "Exactly. She hasn't done anything note-worthy for a while. I mean, I'm sure she's planning something, but we're all stuck waiting and wondering what it is ... and being nervous about it." At least, Jess figured that the smart people were nervous about it. Elaine proved last year that she was capable of dangerous things and Jess figured that her silence meant she had something big up her sleeve that she didn't want someone to mess up for her. That whole idea made Jess nervous.

Isolde started talking about the Task team. Hmm Jess didn't realize that they had a team to plan the tasks for the tournament, though it definitely made sense. She grinned as the girl said she thought they did a pretty good job. "I have to agree with that. I, for one, definitely enjoyed watching the different Tasks. Which one was your favorite, to plan and to watch?" she asked curiously. Maybe it was the same, but Jess couldn't help but be curious. Besides, that was a good aspect of being a reporter, being curious. It helped writers want to learn more so they could write it. 

She paused as the girl explained that everyone had gossip. Jess didn't necessarily agree with that, since her life was generally pretty boring, but she supposed that at the moment it was true enough. She wasn't sure why anyone would care about what was going on between her and Fin though ... it wasn't like they were officially dating or anything anyway. The girl pushed, saying that there must be one boy Jess was interested in and Jess hesitated. Apparently she wasn't good at staying the one that asked the questions. "Well, uh ... there is this one boy that I like," she admitted, starting to blush a little. "We're not dating or anything though, we've just done a few things together ... as friends." Jess bit her lip, "but I kind of wish we were dating." She hadn't really meant to tell Isolde that, but the last phrase kind of just slipped out. She liked Fin and thought that he liked her back, but she couldn't be sure. Which was why she felt so weird talking about it with a stranger.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine couldn’t help but chuckle a little; boy, if Jess had any idea how right she was about what she was planning, she’d be seeking a dark hole to shelter in by now. “Exactly, the only thing worse than something bad happening is waiting around expecting something bad to happen!” she exclaimed. She had enjoyed the nervous air she had created while she bided her time. The kidnappings and Kings Cross had been so close together, she knew the wizarding world had been on their toes desperately anticipating Elaines’ next move. But...there had not been one, at least not to their knowledge. She had gone big with her premiere, now she had to be careful, meticulous. Losing Desirae had been a devastating blow to her and Finley; the trio had been so close as schoolmates. She wasn’t about to let some pretty little Mudblood girl steal away her last true friend.

Elaine felt her blood pressure rise ever so slightly, so she plastered on a smile and settled back into her seat and nodded at Jess’ next question. “Oh, the Second Task definitely,” she said eagerly. “Planning the randomized terrains and ensuring the Champions creatures families didn’t riot before the Task was over was plenty difficult. But it invoked such a creativity for all of us,” she explained. She had been hoping privately that someone would have been seriously injured, especially the glacier one. Alas, to her disappointment everyone had gotten through relatively unscathed. “May I inquire which one you found the most endearing?” she asked curiously. Of course, Elaine had left the actual planning to Isolde; the woman was quite a creative mind once she came out of her shell. She had been the one to suggest the dangerous sea creatures be placed in the ocean landscape after all.

“Oh? What’s his name?” Elaine asked eagerly. She was chatting just like to bosom buddies would; she wanted Jess to trust her after all. Showing an interest in her well-being while trying to get intel on this girl Fin claimed to be in love with was just a win win for her.

@jessavette

Giving myself a pat on the back, nbd

[Deleted]

Jess nodded as Isolde agreed with her assessment about Elaine Dupree. She didn't like talking about the girl though. Really, the topic did make her nervous. She wasn't particularly worried for herself, because what reason would she ever have to interact with Elaine or even run into her? All Jess was was a lowly intern at the Daily Prophet, there was no need for her to be a target. She was worried about her brothers though. They went to Hogwarts and since Elaine wrought so much devastation on the school the last year, Jess was nervous, terrified even, that something would happen to her little brothers. She didn't say anything else on the subject.

Isolde started explaining that she liked the Second Task the most, because the planning was so intricate and required lots of creativity. "I hadn't thought about it like that before," Jess commented, "but it does sound like it would have been a lot of fun to plan." Then the girl turned the question back on her and Jess thought a moment. "I really liked the Second One as well. It was interesting seeing all the different locations and circumstances the Champions had to work through. The First Task was exciting, but I think I liked the Second the most." Jess figured most people would feel the same way. To her knowledge, most people searched for excitement in their Tasks and the Second Task definitely was exciting.

It was easy for Jess to see the other girl's interest when she mentioned liking a boy, but that just made Jess feel more nervous. She didn't understand why Isolde cared so much about her interest in guys when she was supposedly here to talk about the tournament, but maybe the girl was just trying to make a new friend. She certainly seemed friendly enough. Jess just wasn't sure how to read her questions and interest. She gave a hesitant smile, "His name is Fin. Uh, Finley O'Neil, I mean. Do you know him?" Jess asked curiously. She couldn't decide if she wanted the girl to say yes or no to her question.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine noticed Jess’ silence on the topic of herself and put on a look of concern. “You have loved ones at Hogwarts still, don’t you?” she said sympathetically. She reached out and patted her hand gently. “You must have been so worried after those kidnappings, though I do believe she targeted the Purebloods, so if you’re not one of those families, likely you were just left to stay out of the way,” she recited. As if she didn’t know who she had targeted, ha! As long as the Mudbloods stayed out of her way, she personally did not harm them. Of course, she couldn’t speak for her associates; it wasn’t like she could control them or anything. Well...that was also a lie, but in that particular plan she wanted them to feel as if they were free at least. “We’ll say no more on the subject,” Elaine told the girl with a short nod, knowing it was making Jess uncomfortable. Not that she cared, but Isolde would and that was the current mask she was wearing.

Elaine grinned as Jess agreed; the Second Task had been a favorite as well. “Oh I am so pleased to hear that - you know we do value everyones’ feedback on our Tasks, even from a young upstart at the Daily Prophet!” she exclaimed, laughing a little. “The First Task was exciting as well; it was my idea of course to add the jumbotron screen so that everyone could easily see what was going on in the maze. That was the issue with Mr. Potters’ Third Task maze; nobody saw what was going on, so how was that exciting for spectators?” she explained, shrugging as if it was obvious. Of course, it had been a young Mudblood named Eleanor whose idea it ACTUALLY was for the screen, but she was too much of a goody-goody and too in love with her boyfriend to read the Prophet and see that “Isolde” had taken credit for her idea.

Finally, Jess revealed the name. Elaine knew she could be persuasive but she had to hand it to the girl; it had taken quite a bit of wheedling for her to confess. Not that Elaine could really have used all of her tricks; Fin knew a lot of them, so if Jess mentioned anything to him, he would know Elaine had visited her. “What an...interesting name, Finley,” she said with a friendly smile, hiding her inner rage and jealousy. Finn was HER friend, and she wasn’t about to share him with someone like Jessavette. “You know, it does sound familiar, does he work in the Ministry?” Elaine added, looking pensive as if struggling to remember. “So...how’d you meet?” she asked curiously. Fin had of course not gone into details, so Elaine had to find out from the girl.

@jessavette

[Deleted]

Isolde kept on talking about Elaine Dupree and all the things she did, asking if Jess had loved ones at Hogwarts. She didn't want to talk about it, but Jess nodded her head slowly. "Yes, my two younger brothers go to Hogwarts," she told the girl. There wasn't any harm in that, right? Obviously this girl wasn't a part of the group that was attacking muggleborns, and Jess doubted that she would relay this information on to anyone else. "I was nervous for them. At first because of the attack in general, not knowing who might be hurt, but it became common knowledge that the kidnappings were purebloods, so I didn't have to worry for them then." Jess hated thinking about that time. A part of her felt so relieved that she graduated a year earlier, and that she didn't have to deal with the attacks, but her brothers ... Jess would have done almost anything to keep them safe, but she couldn't while she wasn't there. She also felt guilty about that. She nodded when the girl said that they wouldn't talk about it any more. That was probably for the best. 

The other girl's attitude was contagious and Jess found herself smiling, "Well feel free to tell your colleagues that I enjoyed them." Her eyes widened slightly when Isolde mentioned that she came up with the jumbotron idea. "Wow, so it seems like you had a lot of input on all the tasks then," she commented, obviously impressed. "I do think it made the event more exciting for spectators, as well as putting a new appreciation out there for those Triwizard Champions themselves. I didn't realize how difficult some of the obstacles were until I watched it." She thought a moment before adding another question. "So do you feel like the Tournament has helped with international affairs by bettering the relationships between our countries?" she asked, glancing down at her list of questions. She wasn't taking notes anymore, but that was partly because she was positive she'd be able to remember this conversation. It was definitely interesting enough.

When Jess revealed Fin's name, she was relieved that Isolde didn't know him. That could have been somewhat awkward, since the girl might decide to approach him about her, which would be weird because they technically weren't in a relationship. She hoped they would soon though. Jess nodded when Isolde asked if he worked in the ministry. "He does. He's an ... obliviator, I think." Actually, she knew, but she didn't want it to seem like she was stalking the boy or anything. She didn't want to betray how strongly she was starting to feel for him after just a short while. At the last question, Jess paused. "Umm ... well, it's a little strange. The other week I was in Diagon Alley shopping and one of my bags ripped and everything spilled into the street. He helped me pick it up and offered to assist me home. I kind of recognized him from school so I said yes and ... yeah. That's where it started." She wasn't going to mention letting him- a stranger- into her house and allowing him to cook for her. Isolde didn't need to know all the details.

Elaine Lyra Dupree

[Elaine Lyra Dupree]

Elaine nodded sympathetically, though the gears in her brain where whirring insanely fast. Two kids that were still at Hogwarts, well this was certainly information she could use. Her mind immediately went to her dear Theodosia, always ready and willing to prove herself. Perhaps, she could pull a few strings to get the girl a Prefectship for the next school year. She was certain she could; Diana would be out of Professor Kamuntu’s immediate protection. Perhaps the Deputy Headmistress needed to be...reminded of that. Yes, Elaine made a mental note, that would be the best way to secure a position of power for one of her followers since Ondina was graduating. “I could not blame you for being nervous, it sounded like it was quite a terrifying day,” she said sympathetically, tucking a stray hair that had fallen out of her pristine bun behind her ear. She reached out and patted her hand. “Let’s put the subject to rest,” she declared, sitting back in her chair.

“Oh I do think so,” Elaine said airily, at Jess’s inquiry on International Relations. That was Isolde’s department after all, so she had made sure to do research before she came over. “Currently we’re all fighting off the threats of different terrorist groups through the countries of Europe, so there’s a bit of solidarity. The other two Ministries involved with the Tournament were determined to see it through however even if…” Elaine trailed off, gasping as if she had said too much. She really didn’t care if it was leaked to the press that all three ministries had been threatened by outlier terrorist groups; Elaine had to just snap her fingers and they’d be dealt with if they tried to invade her territory. She wasn’t about to give the Wizarding World a complete sense of calm though, so as long as they stayed out of her way, they lived. “In the end it comes down to this; we’re stronger together, and if we let the little things tear us apart, we’ll be that much easier to dismantle.” It was the truth; Elaine knew it. Which is why the sowing of discord had started with her agents within the Ministry to prevent complete solidarity from ever happening.

Elaine appeared to look interested in Jess’ story of how she met Fin but in all honesty she was trying not to gag. Where did she get this story from, a bad romance novel? “That’s pretty convenient, how he was right there when you needed a knight in shining armor when you needed him most, don’t you think?” she said casually, resting her temple against her finger. Let Jess come to the conclusion she wanted from that statement; Fin had told Elaine he was in love with this girl, and clearly he had been keeping a...rather close eye on her as of late. Elaine was not pleased to hear this, not pleased at all.

@jessavette