Playing for the same team [Dominic]

[Deleted]

Diana had sent word to Elaine a few days ago that the second mirror portal was tested and ready. She'd hidden it in a small, inconspicuous room just off to the side of the kitchen for one reason; no one would question students heading for the corridor. While students weren't necessarily permitted in the kitchen everyone knew where it was and teachers didn't really try to stop them. No one would bat an eye if several students were conning and going. To be trinke sure though Diana had spelled the mirror to look permanently dusty, as if it's been left there by some teacher years ago and no one had bothered to move it since.

Today was...: going to be interesting to say the least. Elaine was meeting with Dominic. In the base. Which meant he had to get into the base. Which meant Diana had to let him in. Diana was the only st Hogwarts that could do it, partially because she was the one that created the portal but also because Elaine didn't trust anyone to have the power to grant or revoke access to the portal. The only reason she trusted Diana was probably because she knew Diana couldn't do anything against her wishes. But this meant Dominic would find out about Diana's involvement with the Purifiers. Not all of it, obviously, and she'd never be able to tell him the true reason she was in the group. But it'd no doubt shock her best friend...

So, obviously she was dreading it. She'd told Ondina where Dominic was to meet her and the time, because the Slytherin's girl seemed to have an interest in Dominic's recruitment (a fact that made her stomach churn uncomfortably with foreign emotions.), so she knew the message would reach him. For now, she just paced the small classroom, absentmindedly bitting one of her thumb nails as she waited for Dominic to arrive. Trying to come up with some sort of explanation for him...

@dominic

[Deleted]

Dominic was finally going to see the place where the Purifiers did their thing. Where they met, plotted and took care of business. To say he was excited was a gross understatement. He was elated. He was finally a part of this. Of something big. Something powerful. Something that could make him a very important person if he played his cards right...

Ondina told him where to go and he got the impression she wouldn't be the one meeting him... Which meant he was about to meey another Purifier. He was excited about that, and nervous, because he didn't know who it was. Either way, he casually made his way toward the kitchens and then ducked into the room he was instructed to find, shutting the door behind him. He spun around to face his guide.

And he stopped breathing. For a solid two minutes.

"Di-Diana?" he questioned, once he remembered what words were.

@diana

[Deleted]

Diana stopped her pacing when the door opened. Stopped and took a slow and deep breath. Well, Dominic was about to find out her role in the Purifiers. It was a nerve wracking feeling. Not just him finding out about her involvement but also about soul magic. That was the only thing she'd kept from him (aside from the purifier part) their entire friendship. She hadn't told anyone about her obsession with African magic. Even when Professor Kamuntu had started to formally teach her. It seemed todsy was going to be one of outed secrets.

She turned to face him, a moment before he turned himself.... and froze. She almost wondered if he'd forgotten how to breath there, the look on his face one of pure shock and surprise. When speech (and oxygen) returned to him he only managed to say her name, as if in disbelief. "Hey Dom." she quietly answered, trying to force herself to smile but it was a small one. "Could you lock the door?" she asked after a small pause, hoping that it'd help him get over his surprise.

@dominic

[Deleted]

She said his name, saying 'hey', a word which seemed so small right now. Her smile was... not convincing. He didn't even bother. She asked him to lock the door and he blinked, then turned and did it, not allowing himself to think just yet. He took a deep breath while his back was turned and then turned back around, an incredibly fake look of confidence on his face. "Should have known you'd be a part of this. You always meddling with things that are considered 'unsafe'," he commented, his tone actually quiet affectionate. He was really, really happy to see her, underneath all the shock.

He took a few steps toward her to close the distance between them. He looked around the room, "so, this is... nice," he mused.

@diana

[Deleted]

Dominic didn't seem to know how to react, if she was being honest. No surprise though. Diana had never given much hints at being in line with the Purifiers after all. Anyone that knew the Bainbridge kids would know they had a muggle father, and actually had a good relationship with him. What reason did any of them have for falling in league with the Purifiers? Thankfully she was spared from answering that, as Dominic came to his own explanation himself. Diana just smiled a little, silent as a mouse. She'd let him think that, especially since it was a pretty good explanation in general. Diana was infamous for dabbling in things she shouldn't. Nor did she believe that anything was inherently good or evil by design. But Dominic was far from the truth this time. A fact she was determined to keep him from finding out.

Dian's smile turned more genuine and she chuckled softly at his next comment. The room in particular hadn't been used in years. The only upkeep it'd had was from the House elves. Still, it was clear that the room in general served little purpose. It must have been used back when Hogwarts' student capacity was double what it currently was. Before the wars. "This-" She started to explain, motioning at the room with her hands. "Is just a safety precaution so no one sees what happens next." She finished. Turning to the large covered mirror in the corner she yanked the sheet off. When the mirror wasn't being used she preferred to keep the sheet over it, just in case anyone did take an interest in the room. It was common to cover furniture in sheets from dust. The mirror itself wasn't extraordinary in anyway, simple and plain."And this is the only important thing in this room." She explained, though it wasn't really much of an explanation of anything. She turned back to her friend. "Are you ready?" Ready for what? Diana had failed to explain that part yet.

@dominic

[Deleted]

Her smile put his confused thoughts at ease, which was a great thing. He looked around the room as she spoke, saying that this was just there so no one saw what happened next. He cocked his head at that and turned toward her, watching her take the sheet off of... a giant mirror. "Pretty," he muttered, not really sure what to say about it. It was nothing special, but she said it was the most important thing in the room.

He stepped up right beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder, his eyes still on the mirror, "I guess. If you're leading then I'll follow," he really was quite, quite relieved that she was there. This would make his life and his career with the Purifers about one hundred and fifty times easier for him. He loved Diana, and having someone you loved right there while you were helping take over the world... could it really get better than that?

@diana

[Deleted]

Diana could understand his confusion. It was, after all, just a mirror. There was nothing extraordinary about it. And yet it was quite extraordinary. Now the next parteilos be just say, if not more confusing to him. But he'd manage.

Turning back to Dominic she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small or ornate knife. Soul magic did like it's symbolism. Holding the small blade in her left hand she held out her right to him. "Your hand." she explained simply, as if he shouldn't be worried at all about ththe knife. But... considering their friendship. "Trust me, Dom." she added quietly. Not that she doubted him ever trusting her. She knew he did.

@dominic

[Deleted]

Woah, woah, was she taking out a knife? He took a step back out of flight or fight response but stopped himself. This was Diana. Diana. His best friend. His only friend, really. He started to hold his hand out to her before she even mentioned the trusting part. "I'm all yours," he said firmly. he was meaning to be sarcastic and teasing with it, but it didn't come out that way. It was more submissive and maybe even a little... desperate. He wanted in on all of this and he was so close. So close. It was right to him, in a way, that Diana was the one leading him into all this. He didn't really think she cared about blood status, though, so he wanted to ask her why she was in all of this... but for now this would have to do. He wasn't in a place to bother her with questions right now.

@diana

[Deleted]

Diana would have understood him being... apprehensive. He had no idea what she was going to do with the knife in question. And yet, after only a small pause he was holding his hand out and answering quite seriously. It brought a small, reassuring smile to her lips. She wouldn't hurt Dominic, given a choice (because her choices never matter now a days when someone could overpower them.).There was still a hint of... almost sadness to that smile that he wanted to get involved in all of this. That he'd sought out the Purifiers of his own accord. It didn't surprise her much, but... IT was still sad. IT just meant that if Elaine wanted to ever use them against each other, she could. DIana had tried so hard to not give Elaine more things to torture her with... But this one was out of her control now. Now all she could hope was that she could help keep Dominic from drawing too much unwanted attention from Elaine. If he could stay on Elaine's good side... things would be fine. But as Elaine had said, she was responsible for him.... Any slip up he made would fall back on her (and by default him, because Diana wouldn't put it above Elaine to make an example of her.).

She gently turned his hand in her own, so his palm was exposed to her. Swiftly, cleanly, (and shallow) she ran the sharp end of the blade across his palm. Breaking the skin and causing the fresh cut to bleed. She'd done this several times before so she was pretty proficient at knowing just how deep to cut to make the cut bleed but not be too difficult to heal. A basic healing spell would mend the cut, not even leaving a scar. She wished she could prevent it from stinging, but that was beyond her control, which was why she tried to get it over with as quickly as possible, so it would only hurt for a moment. "The mirror is a portal. Once I've granted you access, you will be able to come and go as you please." SHe explained as she still held his hand, palm up, in one hand and stashed the knife with her other. Taking a short pause, she looked back up at her friend, away from his now lightly bleeding hand. "Thankfully you don't have to do this everytime... Just once so I can bind you to the mirror. After that... all you'll have to do is rest this same hand on the surface and it will let you pass." Gently she moved his hand in her own towards the mirror and pressed his bleeding palm against the surface. It would feel like any other mirror... Nothing unusual. Until Diana started to whisper under her breath. It wasn't in English, whatever she was reciting. Whether Dominic would recognize it as Swahili... she didn't know. But his palm would begin to feel warmer with each word. ANd when she finished, it would feel as if he was falling through water. The unusued room would disappear and he'd find himself inside a small, but cavernous room. Cold, dark, wet. A dungeon. A few moments passed, and Diana stepped through the portal behind him with a concerned expression. "Are you okay?" She asked softly, holding out a hand in case she needed to support him. Some people were just find going through their first time.. Others could find it quite disorienting.

@dominic

[Deleted]

Dominic let her turn his hand and he took in a deep breath, watching her do it. She cut his hand and he didn't wince, since he saw it coming. She explained the mirror and his brow furrowed as he nodded, looking back over at the mirror. She still had his hand and then he looked back to her as she said he didn't have to do it every time. That was good. Not that he would mind that much, but it was still nice to not have to cut himself, or rather have her cut him, any time he wanted to go through the portal.

She pressed his palm against the mirror and that was when he winced, mostly because he wasn't sure what was going to happen. She started saying fancy words and he raised an eyebrow at her, wanting to make a joke or a comment but then his palm start to feel warm and he lost the words. Then... woah/ He came through the other side and stumbled, reaching for her hand and clutching onto it. "What the hell was that?"

@diana

[Deleted]

Diana immediately caught Dominic's hand when he reached for her own, squeezing tightly, and grabbing his forearm to help keep him steady. It'd obviously been a rough first entry for him, but he'd get used to it. The best she could do is help him keep his balance until he recovered. The question was understandable, but also hard to answer. Because she wasn't actually sure how to explain it. Her delving into Soul Magic was a secret to her friend. Had been for years. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. She hadn't wanted to tell him like this. Though she hadn't ever really considered how she might tell him... But not was probably the best time.

"A portal." She explained again, but that probably hadn't been what he meant. "It's... You can't make them with normal magic. It's called Soul Magic, but some people like to call it Voodoo. I... I've been studying it the past few years." That was a good enough explanation, wasn't it? "It's not that popular in Europe, but that's because most people don't have an affinity for it. Elaine had me set up the portals so we can come and go from the base without being followed."

Once he had recovered, she took a step back, letting go of him and leading him into the rest of the base. "Welcome to the Purifier Headquarters, Dominic."

(Fin)
@dominic