Chapter Text
"Charles Rookwood wouldn't have wanted you near it." Your voice comes out firm, with no small amount of venom. You raise your wand even higher, adjust your stance slightly, adding emphasis to your rejection. Why Rookwood would have even thought to propose an alliance with you of all people is beyond you. He chuckles. The sound permeates your very bones and makes the little hairs at the back of your neck stand to attention. Months ago, the tremble that you feel in the pit of your stomach would have reached your hand easily and visibly. Not anymore. You're battle-hardened now. You've stared into the faces of enemies and of death, and even into all eight eyes of an acromantula. You'll be damned if you show any fear in front of this man. This undeniably powerful and now very angry man.
"The arrogance." He turns away from you, taking a few steps. "Should have known better than to reason with a child." His piercing gaze is back on you now, and you can't help but think that this must be a very intentional thought. You are of age, after all, and you are the one he'd come to with a request in the first place.
"I've always said", he continues, "children should be seen and not heard."
The phrase freezes you to the core. Your confidence falters noticeably, your wand arm sinks lower on its own accord, as you can only stare in shock for a moment. You only realize your mistake when it is already too late. An opening, blatant and irreversible. Arms grab you from behind and the sensation that follows feels like being squeezed through a garden hose. Not that you know what that feels like, but it is certainly what comes to mind. When your feet hit ground again you stumble, still reeling from the involuntary apparition. There are no more hands on you, but you see that you are circled by poachers and wooshing noises announce the arrival of many more. Clearly, your refusal was an option that Rookwood was well prepared for. In the split second that you have left to think before all hell breaks loose, you consider going all out. As outnumbered as you are, the ancient power under your skin prickles in anticipation. You could take them, you think. Not without some serious damage to your own person, but you could.
"Wait." This time it comes out breathy and quiet. Rookwood hears you nevertheless. He raises a hand and his bloodthirsty hounds recoil immediately. There are whispers and mumbles, both in frustration and disappointment, and there are wands still trained on you from every direction, but you can no longer feel the electric tension that proceeds an attack.
“Wait?”, he repeats mockingly, but he steps closer. The fact that he actually entertains the thought rather than attempting to incinerate you on the spot tells you how badly he wants this deal and makes you feel a little less small. Your thoughts race through every single thing you could possibly say to explain your sudden change of mind and somehow you settle on stroking the ego.
“You’re right. I may not like it, but you are.” You slowly raise both of your hands in a defensive gesture, holding your wand loosely between the thumb and index of your dominant hand. If you cannot talk your way through this… well. “I need you if I am to stand any chance against Ranrok.” Rookwood tilts his head to the side, studying you with a raised eyebrow. You can see the gears turning in his head as he weighs your words and decides whether or not to believe you. You hold your breath, waiting for his response. Finally, he nods. "Smart girl," he says with a smirk. "But don't forget, I hold all the cards here.” You resist the urge to roll your eyes at his arrogance. “I haven’t forgotten”, you reply evenly. Rookwood leans in closer to you, his smirk growing wider. "Good," he says, his voice low and menacing. "Because if you betray me, you won't live long enough to regret it.” You meet his gaze without flinching. "I have no intention of betraying you," you say firmly. “But I have conditions.”
Rookwood raises and eyebrow, still smirking. “Conditions, hmm? Let’s hear them then.”
“My friend Anne. Her curse. I want you to lift it.” You stumble over your words a little. The more he smirks at you, the more he prowls around you, your composure crumbles and uneasiness creeps into your bones. You had been quite proud of what you feel was a rather Slytherin-like grab for the man’s attention - but you are not a Slytherin, and you are not a negotiator. Nor are you good at plotting on the spot.
“Who the hell is Anne?”, he asks, his voice dripping with irritation. Anger bubbles in the pit of your stomach. It really shouldn’t have surprised you, and maybe it wasn’t quite surprise but rather righteous fury on behalf of your friend, at the ignorance adding insult to quite literal injury.
“Children should be seen and not heard”, you quote, your voice shaking with anger.
It does seem to connect some dots for him. “Ah. That one”, he says dismissively. “What makes you think I’d be willing or even able to lift the curse? Do you have any idea what kind of power it takes to cast a curse like that?”
You clench your fists at your sides, struggling to control the urge to hex him. "I'm not asking for a favor," you say, your voice cold and measured. "I'm demanding that you undo the damage you've caused. If you want my help, that's the price you'll have to pay.” Rookwood looks at you for a moment, considering your proposal. Finally, he nods slowly. "Fine," he says. "I'll lift the curse on Anne. But know this, I won't just give you the cure. You'll owe me a favor for every step of the way.” You feel a surge of outrage at his words. You had already agreed to ally with him against Ranrok, wasn't that enough? But Rookwood makes it clear that those are two separate deals. You have to pay up if you want the cure.
"That's not fair!" you protest. "We already had a deal to work together against Ranrok. I shouldn't have to pay extra for the cure!” Rookwood shrugs. "Life isn't fair, my dear. And I'm not in the business of doing favors for free.” You dig your finger nails into your palms, feeling the anger boiling inside you. But you know that you don't have much of a choice. Anne's life is at stake, and so is Sebastian’s, and you'll do whatever it takes to save them. "Fine," you say through gritted teeth. "What do you want me to do first?”
Rookwood smirks, clearly pleased with the power he holds over you. "First, I need a sample of the girl's hair. And not just any hair, mind you. It needs to be a strand that's been recently plucked from her head. No substitutes or tricks. Bring me the real deal and we'll move onto the next step.” You grit your teeth, already dreading what other favors he'll demand from you. But you push the thought aside and focus on the task at hand. "Alright," you say, determined to see this through. "I'll get you the hair sample. What's the next step?”
“Now, now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” He leans in and only now you realize just how close he has gotten to you. His breath brushes against your ear and you feel a shiver run down your spine. You try to tell yourself that it is fear, anger or even revulsion. You elect to ignore the tiny voice that calls you a liar for it. You take a deep breath and try to compose yourself, forcing the thoughts from your mind. “When you have completed this step, you will seek me out at my castle. Alone.” He draws back, meeting your eyes. His lips curl into a dangerous smile. “And don’t keep me waiting.”
As he steps back from you he raises his hand in another simple gesture. The sounds of people apparating reach you like through water. You blink, slightly dazed, as the rest of the world comes back into focus. When had you forgotten where you were? That you were surrounded?
They leave you behind in one piece, just like that. You lock eyes with Rookwood for another sliver of a moment before he disappears too. As you begin to make your way out of the ruin - seriously, where the fuck did they take you? -, you can’t help but feel a pang of regret at the direction this deal has taken. It dawns on you that you have been utterly outsmarted. You nearly feel sick at how easily you gave Rookwood the leverage he needed to extort you. You laid bare the one thing he now knows you would do anything for. You were a fool thinking that he would believe you - he knows that you don’t need him, he know that you don’t think he is right (about anything. ever.) And now he knows that this is so important to you that you would trod over your own values. You played yourself right into his hands.
You take a deep breath, trying to calm your racing heart. You try to tell yourself that this is a good thing. You got your hands on the one lead that might actually yield salvation for Anne. You needed to see this through. No matter what he would ask of you. Stealing strands of hair, slaying dragons, stalking unicorns. Anything.
But no matter how much you try to steel yourself, you can’t quiet the little voice that tells you that his demands won’t quite be as simple or as savory as that. You can’t shake the feeling that you are the prey in a twisted game.