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Respect. It was a hard thing to come by. Sabel's eyes fell to the folded and rather wrinkled paper in front of him. While he had no beef with the employees of his department, he couldn't exactly say that was true for all other departments. Especially those people who he knew were in some way connected to Lord Borr. It was hard to find the respect needed to interact with those people. He would, however, make an effort to mind his tongue. As he always seemed to do. His attention was drastically altered to Evanders admittance. Something inside twisted, and taking a glance around the room it was easy to see he wasn't the only one surprised. Some of the attendees however, held little shock to their expressions, especially Damien. Taking a slow breath, he returned his attention to Evander. No matter what, he knew he trusted these men. He would lay his life down for them if he was ever called to do so. And he had to a deep amount of gratitude and respect towards Evander, for sticking his neck out to be so honest. |
Benjamin kept his face calm and cool, but on the inside was wondering what the heck Evander was talking about. The man wasn't aware of anyone being rude or disrespectful. Well, in his part of the department anyway. It was probably just the Aurors. But then, the meeting took a turn Benjamin didn't expect. Evander was going to tell them about his involvement with the cult. FINALLY!!!!!!! Ben had his suspicions ever since the cult first started appearing. And now they were going to get some useful information. |
Well...well...well A certain, wide smirk glued on his face Ryan was doing what he did best, as he sat there at a random seat, observing and analysing. Of course there was info that had been gathered and he could see much more was going to be loose in the room. Well...when a place was crowded there was always so much loose data for the blond man. And it had always been fun to choose and catch the ones that interested him...a bit. To be honest right now Ryan was more interested in getting his firewhisky in his lovely room however apparently there were some things to be cleared out. They were kind already clean but...there was always the cleaner. Right. There was. Plus it was not completely boring in there at all. People were fun!!! Hahahahahaha... He was not allowed to apparate, right? Ooooooh joy! *smirk* |
In a careful and pointed gesture, Cade set down her quill and parchment and refocused her attention on Mr. Bole. Van. Him. She had no intention of telling tales out of turn, and if what was about to be expressed was a secret, then she would demonstrate her trustworthiness. In spite of her relative serenity of expression, however, Caedwyn Howard was feeling far from serene. She was a woman who tried to believe there was good in everyone and who trusted that better nature would win out 9 times out of 10. Silver-lining-eternal-optimist-glass-3/4-full type of person. And Evander Bole was currently giving her a minor panic attack. He thought he could trust everyone in the room, but he didn't know. Revealing sources and outing one's alliances was a sure way to get someone killed. She knew that first hand. Cade stared hard at the boss's fists on the table and focused on breathing. Calm. Puppies and rainbows. |
Some of their thoughts were painted on their faces, and Van almost smiled but managed to keep a serious air. It was funny though. No. No he was not a cultist, thank you. "Some of you may be aware that my background is in undercover work." He nodded at Damien and Dacs and then after a pause, Isobel. Yeah. "During one of my missions, where the job was to infilitrate and dismantle from the inside an illegal betting ring. Quidditch and the like. The woman in charge of the whole operation had.... relations shall we say? With D'Isigny. So I met him a few times, and his right hand man, Gevrik. Both are particularly talented Legilimens, but neither of them discovered that I was more than I appeared. They did nothing that could possibly link them to the betting ring, or any obvious criminal activity, aside from certain associates being known criminals and wanted dark wizards, so there was nothing I could do other than watch my back. Even then I knew there was more to the two of them than just being a little on the unsettling side." And no, he wasn't going to give away the most top secret details of that mission, or of any of them in particular. "That was the first time I met them. The second time was a little more... hairy." Van's expression grew far away as he recounted the story. "It wasn't long after, and a new mission. By this point I had established myself as a trustworthy sort in the criminal world." His eyes gained focus again and he looked around the room as he added quietly, "Most of you will have no idea what it is to keep a cover for so long, to live amongst the filth of our society and to be considered one of them. To, at times, feel like you were one of them and look at your time as an on-the-books Hit Wizard as a distant memory, or maybe a dream. It was difficult to keep motivated, and to remember myself, especially when I had to do my best not to be caught by some rookie Auror with no knowledge of me or my work. And there were plenty sniffing around." For good reason. "The group I was working with, my mission, they were a dark wizarding family to be sure, but where most such families happen to be old pureblooded families that keep to themselves," And DMLE being ignorant of their activities suited both parties completely, "These people were dedicated to a criminal life. It wasn't about the magic they used, but how they used it. It mattered more that they were a crime family than that some of them happened to use illegal magic." Evander, who had been talking a while now, as a rule NEVER discussed any of his past work. Now he was doing so, without giving away any of the classified details, but this was more than he'd said in one go to anyone, even Damien, though the Auror may have pieced parts of these stories together over time. "As part of my cover, I found it would be a good idea to make a bit of money on the side. The usual sort of thing, extortion was the easiest since If I feel like it I can intimidate rather well." Oh so modest. "And of course the Ministry wouldn't furnish much extra in the way of money so I had to pay for my work somehow. So extortion every now and then and when we did a few particularly big jobs... well, some of the money we made never went back into the Ministry coffers. " To catch a criminal, become one. Not that he was trying to justify it. "It was lucky that I did as of course they checked me out. I didn't come up clean and that's what they liked about me. They upper echelons of this family also happened to be heavily involved in the Cult and so, even though it wasn't much to do with my mission, by association, it wasn't long before I began to understand there was more to that organisation than the love of the environment and benefit of wizardkind that they preach these days. I got to see the dirty side." He went silent again. There was a lot to absorb in this story. And no, he wasn't and never had been a cultist. "I like to think at least some of you have done the research and know where the Cult came from?" Yes? Anyone? |
Benjamin listened intently. Learning about Evander's past, which, no offense, the Detective really didn't care about. He just wanted know about the cult. And when Evander finished his story, Ben was dissappointed and fascinated at the same time... But now Evander was just going to ask them questions instead of just telling them. Why must he play these games with us when there's a MUGGLE HATING CULT THAT NEEDS STOPPING!?!!?! However, research, is something Benjamin did a LOT of. Ben spoke up. "'The Cult of the Wulpurgis.' Well, 'Wulpurgis Night' is a holiday that is celebrated with dancing and bonfires. Started by a German Saint, Walburga. It's meant for people, muggles, to meet Witches and Wizards." Ben paused before he added, "Oh! On a friendly bases." As for the cult... "The Cult's 'goal' is to merge the wizard world and muggles. Though, it's clear they want to do more than that." |
Undercover...it explained some things, and left many more to question. But one thing was for sure: Evander was a good man. He had to be to come out of a mission so deep and embedded in secrecy. And especially to tell it to everyone in the room. Which, begged the question of exactly what Evander was doing. While Sabel understood that the man trusted his employees, was he taking that trust for granted? Or was this some sort of draw to pull at the Cult and see where the breaks and kinks lay in the Ministry. Either way, this was how things were going to be, and he paid particular attention to his the man's words. And the topics they brought up. His eyes flicked over to Benjamin with interest. He had not known about the muggle holiday and traditions. He did have an inkling about that part of the Cult's goal however. A goal he was still divided on. "They were the Knights of Walpurgis." Sabel added quietly, picking at the edge of the newspaper. "The original title of the Deatheaters." Beyond that, Tate's DADA lesson was a little fuzzy. Thank you to muggle background and late wizarding history. |
SPOILER!!: BossMan Emily was listening intently, she processed evrything that Van told them, that he trusted them with... and it was heavy stuff. Emily could only begin to imagine the things he'd seen, and done. It must have been hard. But she did conclude, that he wasn't involved with the Cult exactly... wasn't part of it. So that was a bit of a relief. The Cult of Walpurgis... where did it come from? Well... she had an educated guess. "Well... originally there were the Knights of Walpurgis... it has also been suggested that Salazar Slytherin was involved in the establishment of the group after leaving Hogwarts due to conflicting ideologies conerning student admittance... muggleborns and the like." "Later this group was... renamed," for want of a better word really... it was more of a morphing, "... and they became known as the Death Eaters." Which of course they all knew about. "If I was to have it a guess... the Cult of Walpurgis, is just another variation of the original Knights of Walpurgis." She seriously hoped she didn't sound like an idiot. They discussed the topic in her seventh year... but the Curriculum was under the influence of the Cultists, so really she could have been misinformed. |
"The Knights of Walpurgis were purportedly established by Salazar Slytherin as the protectors of Wizardingking in a time when we were being persecuted by a Muggle population that didn't appreciate our differences," Cade said faintly and a bit didactically. She'd heard this lecture before from Uncle Gaellen. "The Death Eaters branched from that group, although their motives and goals were more sinister. The Cult is another branch, separate from the Death Eaters." Her eyes flitted from Van's fists to his face, but the knot didn't unclench in her stomach. Was his undercover work established fact that he could so easily share it with a room full of people, each with their own motives and reactions? What was there to gain by sharing all that? |
Van nodded and clarified, "The Knights of Walpurgis were created to protect Wizardkind from Muggles. Not all of the Knights were into blood purity and all that, so when the DeathEaters split off and developed from that group, the Cult splintered off too. Their ideals are inherently different to that of DeathEaters, and I think it is important to note that in order to make their own way they had to be powerful enough not follow the status quo, to be left unchallenged by those who did not join them. The Cult as an organisation became more secretive. Its a hereditary group the D'Isigny's are one of the founding families. Not all of those who are part of the Cult of Walpurgis have ideals as 'noble' as the founding families, above all they want to abolish the statute of secrecy. They believe that Wizard kind ought to stop hiding. Its part of what they stand for but I'm sure you all know they're big on environmental issues." Yes and that was why there was a new department in the Ministry. "You need to keep in mind, that while some of them come across as pro-muggle, they aren't. Anything they do that seems to benefit mugglekind will first be done because it benefits wizardkind. So yes, I'd be the first to admit that there are some good things about the cult but if it were so simple..." He shook his head. "There are individuals in the cult that ARE as bitter and dark as you could imagine. D'Isigny uses them as lackeys. I've had difficulty identifying most of them, those key players." But he had a few suspicions. "They go along with the cult because its the best way for them to achieve their personal goals. So there are some cultists who are against muggles and even muggleborn." As for the name... "The CULT part, it is sort of tongue in cheek so I've heard. People knocked them as a cult and they chose to embrace that title." Anyway, back to the story. "They hate me, D'Isigny and Gevrik, because I fooled them. They had no idea that I was MLE. They don't like being tricked, they're so very confident in their abilities. And so when they showed up around these parts, knowing some of what I'd done while undercover, they tried to hold that over me. When that stopped working, they...." He cleared his throat and looked at Isobel. "I'm dating a cultist too, one who is in it for the good things. The environmental ideals, the grand plans of helping Mugglekind." Yeah. Lilyan Moretti. "They threatened me... if I do anything to get in their way, that they would hurt her, and her son." He did betray some emotion there and when he spoke again it was with difficulty. "Its personal with myself and D'Isigny and Gevrik. The others, like Borr and Recard, well, they're sheep. Though my personal opinion of Recard is possibly fairly well documented." Ahem. "Everything comes down to D'Isigny." Everything. That was who was really in charge. "I'm done with the threats. I'm done with looking the other way. I can't ask you all to stand with me, I don't have the right to expect it, but if you do, and think about it before you choose, we'll make a stand. Together." |
That part came as a surprise. Benjamin had no IDEA that Lilyan was apart of the Cult. But, Ben felt bad. What he didn't understand was why Evander didn't just put her under protection, or something of the sort. He was perfectly capable of doing that if she was in danger. But, Ben was most decidedly against the cult. As much as the statue of secrecy should be abolished, under proper reasons, that was NOT what the cult was up to. But Benjamin had no idea what they specifically wanted to do. "Evander," Ben simply said, "What are, (or do you think), the Cult's 'big plan' is? What do they plan on doing?" The Detective had his guesses, but Van probably knew more. |
SPOILER!!: BossMan Everything became clearer... Van filled the gaps, it made sense. Emily sat there silent, processing the new information. Leaning back in her seat she thought about it... about how personal it was for some, and how... really it wasn't fair for her to judge some people... you couldn't choose who you fell in love with, and everyone had their own reasons for doing things. She of all people should know that. Make a stand? Together? She certainly wanted to, Emily would do anything for the Wizarding Kind, for MLE ... for her family. Because really these people in this room, was all she had. "You can count me in," she said, a serious expression on her face. She would do whatever she could... anything she could. |
Cade straightened up in her seat. "And if we don't, sir? If we find that the things we have to lose outweigh anything else? Are we... fired?" Rock, meet Hard Place. Standing with the team versus being a pariah wasn't the big issue for her, although it was nice getting along with co-workers. But if the Cult was threatening people's children, then Caedwyn needed to decide whether putting her child at risk outweighed having a job that put food on the table. |
The first part of Evander's speech was a good recap on what the man had told him when he had been hired. It was god to hear it again, to be reminded of what the situation was. Too often in his day-to-day life he forgot about it, put it on the backburner of his mind and only delt with it in the fatigue of late hours of the night. Now however, it was hard and sharp in their faces. They couldn't ignore it. Especially not with what Evander was saying. With what he was facing, and choosing to do. Sabel's heart went out to the man. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if someone threatened his family, or Arya. Even starting to try and comprehend that situation made the hairs on the back of his neck rise and a cold chill to run through him with no hope of warmth. At least, there was some hope in knowing that not all Cultists were as despicable as Borr. If Evander trusted this woman he spoke of, then Sabel would place his trust in the hope that there was some good intention behind all the blackness. "I will stand with you, Evander." There was no question in his mind of his choice. He didn't need time to think. In some ways, he knew this was exactly why he had come to the ministry. He wouldn't begrudge those that chose to stand down, but there was no way he was going to sit back while someone's family was being threatened. "They made the worst mistake when they dragged our loved ones into this." Because he was fairly certain that Evander's family wasn't the only ones that were threatened. |
SPOILER!!: Evander Dacs after listening carefully and processing all the outpouring of information from Evander, she spoke,"You know what I stand for Evander and you know what I'm about. I've hidden and I don't intend to start now. I'm in. We all have something to lose which means we all have something to fight for and to stand for." she said as she cut a meaningful glance at Ben before continuing, "Besides, I really hate them all. I'm just saying." Her voice was steady and icy as it slid across each word and her face stoic not betraying any sign of weakness as she meant business. Dacs' stomach turned at everything Evander had said. He was right, it was time to stop all this madness. |
Damien had been quietly contemplating an uprising. Heh. Really and truly he had. Funny thing about is that now that he was married and talking about having a child it unnerved him a tad. But this was Evander. And Damien trusted him with his life. He had stood with Damien at the altar when he said "I do" ... he was the one person he knew he could count on besides Gem. "I reckon I don't even need to speak up..." Damien said with a smirk and a small snortle. He was in. All the way. He had been from the moment it all started. "Can we start now?" he asked as an aside. Heh. |
Evander's undercover work was still some what of a touchy Subject for Isobel, but she still did a small nod as he look at her. She didn't blame him anymore, she was over it. Nearly. She continued to listen as he spoke. Wait...he was dating someone in the cult too. So that didn't make them too different really. But he'd been threatened. Woah. Poor bloke. Izzy had met Lily, and she was a very nice woman. Izzy hoped that she wouldn't get hurt in this, especially when Lily had positive reasons for being in the cult. It kind of sucked. They were going to take a stand? It didn't even really take Isobel a second to make her decision. Sure she was dating Armen, who was in the cult. But she had, and would always be loyal to MLE. It was her career....and she was easily able to keep her personal and work life separate. "I'll stand with you Evander..." She glanced around, especially at Emily, and Blaise. She figured that probably thought she wouldn't, because of Armen. "I might be dating Armen, but I will always side with MLE. It's been in my life much longer than Armen has..." She nodded at Evander. MLE...always. |
Mmm, late post. worked til half past midnight, but I want to catch up. Evander's revelation that he'd had dealings with the cult barely got any reaction from Dorian, as with everything else, he couldn't say he'd been surprised. The best law enforcement types had reason to understand the other side, but that never made them actually on the criminals' side. And he really did keep thinking of the cult as criminals, in a way. Evander's explanation, however, had slowly gotten a bit of a raised eyebrow. At least now they knew who the real players were, and thankfully Borr wasn't really one of them. He would have questioned the cult's real power if that man was running things. He'd mentally filed away the information that had been given regarding Evander dating a cultist, though. Just by way of feeling he needed to keep an eye out, as he really didn't want anyone else going through what he did. Even if it wasn't entirely the same. "I'm in," he finally said, simply. If Evander knew all their backgrounds, and he was fairly certain the man did, more explanation wouldn't be necessary. |
What Evander was telling them all was a lot to take in. Then again Skander was always good at taking in information quickly and storing it for later use if necessary. The fact that the bossman was dating a cultist when he seemed so against them was a surprise, not that Skander let that show on his face. It was also unimportant when it came to the big picture. The important thing was that she had been threatened, along with her child. Make a stand? That didn't sound too bad in theory, but it could cause problems. Problems Skander wasn't sure he wanted to necessarily get involved with. In truth he liked some of the ideas of the Cult. He also wasn't from the UK to begin with. He had the choice to walk away from Britain and hightail it back to Australia, and he could make that choice. But at the same time he liked it here. He liked his job and his life and he didn't want to go back to his family and have to try to get another job. "What will be involved in making a stand?" Skander finally asked. Some people were throwing their support in seemingly without thought, and while Skander would like to do that it just wasn't in his nature. He wanted to know what would be expected before he promised to do something that in the end may conflict with his own morals and ethics. |
Iggy was somewhat confused. He got all the knight/cult stuff. He had read some history books in his time. It was one of his favourite subjects at school. He hadn't realised, though, that the cult was one of them. He knew they were bad, but they were worse than he had expected. Listening to it all though, made him think that they did have good ideas. Who didn't want to live openly with the muggles? They obviously were going about things the wrong ways, otherwise everyone would be joining up. Anyway...he was slightly confused by Van's story of undercoverness. It probably wasn't a good idea to linger on it though, it was just a backstory to the case. Should he stand by Van though? He didn't have anything to lose. Well that anyone knew about. He nodded though, "I'll stand. With you." |
Blaise listened closely to what Evander had to say. His story... was, well, long in areas. But that didn't matter at all because everyone needed to know. He made mental notes, especially who the head of the Cult was. So that was a surprise to him, but he didn't let much show across his face except other than that he was intent on listening. Quote:
"Count me in as well, Van," Blaise said. |
It was alot of information to take in, but Gabriel was sat, very still in his chair, doing just that. The undercover stuff made a whole lot of sense. He couldn't see Van being a part of the Cult for his own reasons, work was more likely. Although the fact that Lily was a Cultist of sorts was something he didn't know either. Considering how willing they were to threaten the woman though, just to get to Van, showed they had no morals. And that sent a chill right down Gabe's spine. Bowing his head he thought about the people who he might need to protect if anything in the plan went wrong, and the Cult overcame them all. His parents and siblings....Emilie. He still cared for her, but she probably wouldn't take kindly if he tried to 'save' her from anything. After weighing things up for what seemed like forever, Gabe finally spoke. "You can count on me." Because sometimes you just HAD to do something. |
I think everyone who was gonna post HAS posted? Yes? *posts* Quote:
"They're already doing it." Evander answered. "They're in charge. The ministry is theirs. The next step is anyone's guess but knowing how their organisation works, it'll be efforts towards gradual change of the laws. They come across pretty patient wouldn't you say? Its already been a fair few years since the first whispers of activity started, and in that time, look at what they've accomplished, look at how subtle they are." Or D'Isigny at least. "But we've got to find out for sure." Quote:
"Actually," Van answered wryly, "You're probably more at risk of getting fired if you help me." He eyed Cade. "I'm not the kind of man to force loyalty or manipulate people into doing my will by holding threats over them. You're all free to make your own choice." Quote:
"We'll talk about the details of that, those of us who choose to do so. But the short answer is, whatever it takes." Van wasn't gonna go and start blabbing all his plans when not everyone had committed to the cause. And he wasn't gonna do it in the Ministry either, despite his confidence that level 2 was secure. "So we'll move on now, to the regular order of business." He continued as if the last few minutes hadn't happened at all. Next to him a quill and roll of parchment hovered to take minutes. "In regard to the revocation of Apparition licenses, I have arranged new brooms for those of you who need them and for those of you who want to know, they're the latest, yet-to-be released Vannacutt brooms, Made for speed over short and long distance, and manoeuvrability." He grinned and it was almost boyish, "I tested them, they're pretty awesome." Mmmhmm. "In addition to that, the International Confederation of Wizards has released some special emergency portkey licenses, which will be availably to those of you her prefer it, though you'll have to show evidence of proficiency with the portus spell to be signed off for one." Yeah Evander was a man with connections. Suck on that, Recard! "Of course, Armen Recard has been nice enough to supply us with extra floo powder. Do be sure to thank him." |
Quote:
Emily seriously hoped she wasn't the only one who was getting excited over a broom... she didn't want to be lame. Her gaze moved around the room, surveying everyones response, she lingered a little on Blaise, but made a conscious effort not to stare. Sigh. Thank Recard?... she wouldn't be using Floo... so she had no need to. And after the comments he made at lunch she wouldn't be saying anything to him until he appologised. Spineless git. But anyway... less to be angry about now. 1. They were going to be doing something, getting proactive which is always good, and 2... well NEW BROOM!! hello! |
Iggy raised his hand, "Can I have a portkey license please?" He didn't want to fly, because, well he was afraid of heights. And he definitely didn't want to floo, because he would get dirty that way. So the only way for him to travel was portkey. He would show Van he was efficient at portkey magic, if he had to of course. He wasn't that excited by the fact of not being able to apparate. But portkey seemed the next best option. |
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