Just because we're criminals, doesn't mean we can't party.

Lorcan nodded to Jack as he and Lysander teamed up to deal with the muggles.

"Don't worry," Lorcan murmured soothingly to the first muggle he approached, "We can explain everything that just happened.

Lorcan looked deep into the muggle's eyes, using his Seer ability to calm the man while Lysander discreetly modified their memories while they were entranced. They moved from person to person, using this technique to make them forget what had just happened, and sent them on their way back out to where they had been sitting before the battle had begun.

----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'll modify their memories," Curtis said, taking charge since James wasn't of his right mind, "Teddy, once their memories are modified, set them at that bench over there. When they come to, they will think that they have been casing the bar, looking for us. They should surmise that it was a false alarm after awhile. I do not think they will attack the muggles. Charles, could you begin repairing what has been broken, and getting the bar to look how it did before?"

Between her unusual gentleness, and the abilities of the twins, they began getting through the crowd quickly. A few people tried to cause a fuss, but the trio were quick and calm with their spells, and soon Jack was working last on the bartender. She glanced out to the dining area to see the others setting up the Death Eaters.

"Why's everyone in here?" the bartender asked.

Jack glanced around. "There was a fight. You didn't see? Oh, they took it outside, eventually, but everyone came in here to watch. By the way, there's some blokes out there that are sleeping at the bar. They gave me money to give you for anything they might order," she handed over some muggle money, figuring it would convince the Death Eaters that there was nothing extraordinary about the bar and keep them pleased with the muggles.

The twins were finishing up with the last of them, so Jack went back into the bar, where Charlie was fixing up the room. She assisted him and told Curtis and Teddy, "We need to get out of here, soon. The muggles will be coming in soon."

"May as well slip out now un-noticed," Teddy said, looking around the bar area, "Looks like everything is pretty much back in order. We gave each of these gents their own wands back, yeah?"

Teddy nudged Oliver in one shoulder, propping him back up into the seat.

"Head back to the manor," James ordered, stumbling a bit now that his adrenaline was wearing down.

"We shouldn't all leave as a group," Curtis warned, "Attracts more attention, and we have no way of knowing whether more are on their way....or already sitting outside waiting for. They could even have a couple of tails posted, ready to try and follow us back to headquarters. It is what I would do. We should split off into pairs, and each take a different route back to headquarters.

"I would normally suggest apparating... "Curtis continued, his eyes falling on Potter, "But under these circumstances....I think it better not to."

Jack looked about the group, her eyes falling on the twins. "Perhaps you should lead the way," she suggested. They were both clear headed and observant - she thought they would lead the way marvelously.

"I'll help James," Charlie suggested, stepping towards him, offering his shoulder. He hesitated. "You're really drunk," he stated. His eyes sought out Teddy. "Perhaps we should both take him. Support him, yeah?"

Jack would have offered her place, but strangely, she felt like the boys needed it. Charlie could do with some time with his cousin and almost-cousin. She hesitated, and the looked back to Curtis. "We'll head up the rear then?"

Curtis gave Jack a short bow, smiling now that the danger was over.

"I would be honored mounting the rear guard with you," Curtis replied, motioning for her to proceed him out the door.

Jack smirked. "So formal, sir." The group continued on like a large caravan and Jack sighed, revealing to Curtis, "We won't be able to risk this for awhile, huh?"

Curtis sighed a bit regretfully and shrugged.

"It is the sad fact that we are all just too recognizable...especially with you keeping such a low profile with that hotdog and hula skirt..." Curtis said with a smirk, "and we should have remembered that those who are after us would be patrolling the muggle world as well. That woman....she was a werewolf, and I believe she is the new leader for that pack of ruffians who once ran under Fenrir Greyback. Gave the ministry quite a bit of trouble a few years back, but we could never quite catch up with her. Much like Fenrir....difficult to track. Guess that means the Death Eaters have the werewolves within their ranks once again..."

Curtis trailed off for a few moments, a worry that had been plaguing him for weeks now running through his head.

"I haven't wanted to bring this up with James because, well..." Curtis offered hesitantly, "but I have been wondering why the Death Eaters have become active again after so many years. Voldemort can't be back. There is no way. My father was at the last battle. He said that the body was physically destroyed. You don't think....well, that they are rallying around 'The Chosen One' do you?"

Jack kicked the pavement as he spoke, so made that he was right. She smiled a bit ruefully and said, "It was a dare. I'd be chicken if I didn't do it." But he was mostly right. Which was terrible. She knew everything was changing, but if they let evil upset their lives, they were letting them win. She thought if they could fight off evil and still enjoy their lives, they won. She supposed they would have to buckle down and just beat the evils in play, and then they could return to their enjoyments.

In truth, she was trying to make up for the past few years so full of turmoil and pain. Now she was free of Vito, she should be in a personal renaissance, not confined to the manor, fighting off bad guys.

He began to talk with more hesitation and she listened, causally inspecting her arms and shoulders for wounds. She had a good share of bruises, but she did not see any cuts or gashes. She looked up at his conclusion and sighed. "I don't know what else it could be. Harry Potter pulls a stunt so Death Eater-like and then they suddenly rally? I can't imagine it being unconnected. Unless they were taking advantage of the situation. It still doesn't explain Harry's sudden turn, though."

"A dark past and the turmoil someone like Harry Potter has seen could turn even the most unlikely person to detestable acts," Curtis sighed sadly, "It is odd that he would wait so long to act, however. If he was going to turn to murder and follow in the footsteps of Voldemort, I would have expected it to happen long before now. I have entertained the thought that Potter could be under a powerful Imperius curse, though it seems highly unlikely. The history books state that he had an affinity for fighting against the Imperius curse, and the higher the act being forced upon such a person goes against their personal values, the harder the curse is to maintain. I would like to think he was under an Imperius curse, but I think that chance is slim. Whatever happened that night, it was an act of free will. Tom Riddle was well-thought of for many years before he rose under the feared guise of Lord Voldemort. In fact, many did not realize that Tom and Voldemort were one in the same until after his defeat and Harry Potter revealed all. We must accept the possibility that he may have been planning this for years."

Jack grimaced. "It's hard for me to believe that. I've been through some pretty dark shit in the past few years, but it makes me want to fight harder. And I can't believe I'm stronger than Harry Potter. Why build a family to destroy it? The harm is internal. It's like building a nation and then detonating it. Passionate violence may arise from someone who had had it done unto them, but senseless murder is something that is born into you." Like with Vito. "I have to believe its some outside influence."

"Well, you would know him better than me," Curtis admitted with a small shrug.

"...and you are probably a better judge of character than myself," he added with a side-long glance, "I am told that I can be overly suspicious."

((lol....weak.))

((No worries. I'm attempting to listen to lectures AND write, so mine are pretty scanty too))

Jack shrugged. She had never exactly been close with Harry, but she had seen the sorts of people who would happily kill their loved ones, and Harry had none of the signs. Maybe she was an idealist here. Maybe Jack needed one untainted hero.

She needed to change the subject before she felt too upset. "Speaking of suspicious, when will we begin working on extra-fortifying the Manor?"

"Seeing as we have now attracted quite a bit of attention to our area," Curtis replied, "I was going to set up a few more defenses tonight, but I intend to completely revamp the system tomorrow. I want to sit down and break everything down to the most basic of protective spells and build from there....make sure that every possible angle is covered. You are more than welcome to head for bed as soon as we get back, though. Your help will be much appreciated in the morning, but I should be able to get things straightened out for the night, unless you'd like to stay up with me."

Jack would always choose helping the Order to sleep. There was nothing remotely appealing about sleep nowadays - when she closed her eyes, she relived the night that she lost her true innocence and Vito lost his life. She would do whatever it took to grant herself a reprieve from the nightmares. And she was feeling a bit guilty about this whole ordeal. "I'll stay up with you. Make myself useful."

"Ah, good," Curtis replied, relieved, "I was hoping you would join me. I could use the company."

Curtis climbed the steps up to the manor, following James and the rest inside. He began to bid everyone goodnight, eager to get started on the Manor's defenses, but James seemed to be waiting for something.

He stood in front of the stairs, apparently awaiting for everyone's attention.

"Sure thing," Jack responded casually, stepping into the manor, already imagining how tired she would be and deciding it was better than attempting to sleep past the nightmares.

She began to walk towards the stairs and looked up, close to running into James. She reeled back and stumbled backwards. "On with it, Potter."

James stood unsteadily on the stairs, breathing heavily at the exertion. Enough time had passed for his head to clear slightly, but he was still clearly intoxicated.

"No, I will not move, Jack," James growled in a low voice, "I need to talk to you lot, and it is not going to wait. It's time we recognize the fact that most of us are not wanted criminals, and we can't just decide to strut outside for some fun on any given night. I am just as guilty of bowing to the temptation of going out, but now I intend to fix it. We put the entire Order in danger tonight, and if we die.....the Death Eaters win."

((lol.....weak! Good thing he's drunk, my writing can suffer a bit.))

Jack sighed, setting her hands on her hips and glancing back at their small gaggle of people, as though excited to see what the Potter boy had in store for them all. The happy mood quickly dissipated, however, when they realized that James was attempting to be serious. She knew what he meant to say, but it pissed her off, the whole idea of putting one's life off for... for the sake of Death Eaters. They were trying to ruin their lives - they succeeded if they hid away forever. Jack sighed and shifted her weight from one hip to the other, before ascending the stairs and putting a hand on James' shoulder. "Go home, Potter, you're drunk."

James slapped Jack's hand angrily away, too drunk to care that getting physical with Jack wasn't normally a good thing.

"Drunk or not, this is serious!" James snarled, leaning forward and getting nose to nose with Jack, "We could have been killed....and for what?!  A few drinks to celebrate a birthday which may not even matter a year from now!"

"James," Teddy murmured in a low voice, gently reaching out to squeeze James on the shoulder....

"No!" James cried, wrenching free from Teddy's grip, "I will not be mollified this time!  It is always you and Jack putting us into danger!  What with your dares...and her actually doing them!  It was supposed to be low profile tonight.  I should have followed my instincts....I should have known that if I allowed you two out into public, you would muck it all up.  You two stand out more than the twins do!"

Teddy backed away, shock registering on his face before being replaced with a grudging acceptance. Nothing to do now but ride it out....

James shoved her hand away and Jack's mood immediately rose to Danger Level, Code Red. Her lips wrangled into a thin line, her eyes sharpened, her heart hardened, and her fists clenched. "Fuck you, then," Jack said, as he burst into his tirade. She backed down a step and glared up at him. She knew they were all under stress, but she was also not about put her life off. She was already risking her life, she wasn't going to surrender it now.

There was a tense silence. Teddy seemed unable to speak. Jack's eyes shone with indignation and her fists shook. "Listen here, you dingbat," she hissed. "They want us to suffer. I'm not going to, okay? We're fine. We were safe. Nothing went wrong. And it wasn't luck - it was because we know what the fuck we're doing, okay?"

((Is the chat box working for you?))

"Nothing went wrong?!" James echoed, his voice rising in pitch, "Everything went wrong! Had to perform memory charms on over a dozen muggles, a few of us are bleeding from the scratches or bites of a werewolf....thank heaven it wasn't a full moon tonight, and a bar nearly got demolished! Face it....nothing will ever be the same. Steps need to be taken to ensure everyone's safety....we cannot be this careless again!"

Curtis stepped forward, placing himself in between Jack and James, a hand thrust out on either side of him.....not to hold back, but more imploring the patience of each.

"I think we could all do with some rest....get our heads together," Curtis offered in his most appeasing voice, "All of us are a tad tipsy, and tongues fly with too little restraint when alcohol is present. Perhaps we should all go our separate ways tonight, and we can speak of this tomorrow afternoon....when we have all sobered up, and have our heads about us."

((Btw...I also just now realized that the Devil has Red Hair was supposed to take place after this fight, so we're good on the meeting thread. Jack and James don't necessarily have to fight. ))

((The last message I see is from James))

"That's what usually fucking happens when we go out!" Jack shouted back. Curtis slipped between the two of them and Jack glared heavily at James over Curtis' shoulders. She slowly closed her arms over her chest, staring at James, refusing to make the first move of concession.

((Sounds good))

"I am NOT too tipsy!" James argued, though he took a step back from Curtis, "This is an issue that needs to be addressed NOW, not later. Lately, each and everyone of us come and go from the manor as we please...many times without letting everyone else know where they are going to be."

James glared accusingly at Jack as he said this, dead certain that she has come and gone from the manor before without giving a word to the wise to any of the residents.

"Someone could get captured or killed, and we wouldn't have a clue!" he continued, "Our forces are far too weak to be taking risks....like the one we stupidly took tonight."

James staggered a bit, his head spinning from the mix of alcohol and adrenaline.

"Curtis is right, though," James admitted, his voice quite suddenly taking on an air of reason...though still authoritative, "We will discuss this tomorrow, and I want EVERYONE there. Until then, no one leaves the manor alone. I want to implement a buddy system....which will be discussed tomorrow. Now let's go to bed."

James began to climb the steps, trying to avoid any outbursts from the others until tomorrow when he could deal with it.

Teddy chanced a sidelong glance at Jack, wondering if she would pursue the subject. James was getting awful bossy, and he knew how much Jack loved being told what and what not to do. "Please leave it for tomorrow...." Teddy thought to himself, silently pleading for Jack to leave it alone.

"Think I'll go brew up a sobering potion for everyone!" Lysander said suddenly, clapping his hands with two sharp snaps, "Get the muddle out of everyone's brains! Pop by the room at about half past if you want a draught."

"Think I'll grab one for James and just take it up to his room later...." Teddy thought a bit grimly to himself.

Yes, Jack often had cranky looks on her face, but she had some especially terrifying faces she saved for certain occasions. Danger Level 1 was her basic you-crossed-a-line look. Danger Level 2 meant you were getting your ass kicked. Danger Level 3 meant you had managed to hurt Jack, a feat quite impressive. Danger Level 4... well, no one wanted to know what happened at Danger Level 4.

The death glare on her face reeked of the midway point between levels 2 and 3. Her eyes bore heavily into James, but her lips were so tight that they seemed to be unable to move and let sound out. He turned his back on her and stalked upstairs. Jack turned her own back and stalked downstairs, muttering, "I need another drink," as she headed to the kitchen.

Curtis turned and followed Jack into the kitchen.

"Would you like some company?" Curtis asked.

"Sure she would!" Teddy cried in and attempted, yet failed cheery voice.

He passed the both of them and sat at the kitchen table, "Pour me a shot, Jackles!"