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+----- Thread: Shadow People | Bae (/showthread.php?tid=1300)
Shadow People | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-16-2026
Eight months.
It was all that was left until Benji left his childhood behind and stepped into the world that awaited him. In June, he'd be free of the school he'd learned to call home. The place that had rescued him from a life on the streets and had thrust him into a world of magic and possibility.
In many ways, Hogwarts had been the very refuge and turning point that Benji had needed. His world had been chaotic. Violent. Dirty. Wrought with addiction and abuse that no young child should have ever bore witness to or endured. Benji saw the first years, and how tiny and young they looked to him now. So innocent and full of wonder and childish excitement.
It...made him angry. Angrier than he even knew he still was. Because he had been that small when his mother beat him so badly he'd had to drink his friend's liquor to stop the pain. He was that small when a psychotic professor groomed him, under the guise of 'care and concern', while abusing him all the same.
Rae was that small when disgusting people had taken advantage of her. Kate was even smaller when a family 'took her in' and psychologically tortured her.
His anger rooted in the knowledge that no one had ever paid for the pain and harm they had caused him, and the people he loved. Justice wasn't abstract. It wasn't something the law could decide for Benji. Who was anyone else to say that some sort of punishment or karma was enough payment for the acts inflicted upon him?
Benji was a good person. He had always been a good person. Some looked down on him, especially when he was younger. Annoying. A shit head. A dumbass kid from the streets. But Benji had never done anything to harm anyone. He had never held anyone purposefully in front a bludger and nearly killed them. He had never subjected anyone to magical torture in the name of 'training'. He'd never shoved a knife through someone's hand or beat them within an inch of their life.
He'd forgiven. He'd loved. Stupidly. Unconditionally. Perhaps pathetically in the want for a place of belonging, for some semblance of a real family. And people - again, and again - had taken advantage of it.
With the life he had in front of him now, shouldn't all that be irrelevant? Shouldn't he find some solace in the idea that he had won in the end, and the others were still pathetic and miserable as they had always been?
Perhaps he should have. But he didn't. And wouldn't. Until he'd had his moment with them.
His mother was written at the top of the list. More for Kate than even for himself. He'd always been able to brush off what she'd done to him, knowing that he was protecting his sister in the process. But all that had changed when he'd been sent to Hogwarts. Kate had become his mother's target, and he hadn't heard her voice since she was six years old.
Eliza Cuddrun would pay for that.
Todd was a bit harder to track down. The old professor had fucked thoroughly off when Halloway and his goons had been apprehended, but Benji remembered his old haunting grounds. A flat in London. A compound in Syria. Some fuckass business at the Ministry until he'd been fired with the old guard. When James had taken over as Minister, Benji had taken advantage of one of his 'bring your kid to work' days, and managed to snoop through some old employee files when he'd been handed paperwork to organize.
He was still around. Lurking between London and any other place he decided to grace with his presence.
A third name with question marks beside it.
A fourth with ideas sketched out of where to start looking.
A fifth - one he knew exactly where to find, but needed to talk to Eira to ensure they were on the same page.
And a sixth. One he'd never thought would be on such a list, but was anyway, written all the way at the bottom. Benji still wasn't sure about that one, and had no real reason to exact revenge. But it was there. He'd have to give it more thought.
Sat at the information desk, the boy scoured over his list and the book on old pureblood families that he'd nicked from the Restricted Section. Every now and then someone popped by the desk, and rather than his usual 'no', he'd grunt and point in the general direction of where they could find what they needed.
Once, he'd even gotten up to help. Julia would be proud.
He didn't hear his girlfriend approaching, or had the mind to quickly cover up what he was doing. He didn't want her to know, exactly. Not yet anyway, but the boy could never be accused of being subtle.
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-18-2026
Monday had come far too soon.
Rae couldn't say where her weekend had gone, but she knew she hated that it was. Friday night had held so much promise. A break from her NEWT-level classes, a little extra time on the wing, and a late night with her boyfriend. Then she blinked, and that freedom was swallowed up by studying and all the duties she'd inexplicably gained over her years within the castle. Walking down the aisles of the library, grabbing what books she could, she found herself wondering if such a menial task could be considered a 'break' or just another form of business that she'd simply gotten used to.
It wasn't cramming potion recipes down her stuffed brain; it wasn't exhausting spellwork to ensure she kept on top of her charms – it certainly wasn't walking up and down the hospital wing ensuring the new first years didn't poison the patients when no one was looking – but at the end of the day, it was work.
In some ways, she supposed she was used to it. It had been a while since she was the untethered little girl who wandered the castle doing only the things that pleased her. Rae couldn't remember when she'd even made the transition. Sometimes it felt like she simply...woke up, the person she was. Badged, responsible for too many things, expected to acquiesce when it came to many things. Rae had gone so far away from who she knew herself to be that she scarcely recognised herself.
Was it good?
She...didn't know.
No doubt, her nan would prefer to know she wasn't roaming the streets of London, passed from home to home, uneducated and unqualified for most work. She'd have wanted to know that the little girl she'd so painstakingly cared for while alive was no longer starving but loved and cared for and grown. Rae even wondered whether she'd have been impressed by how far she'd come in her healing. What a difference a decade had made. If only she'd been able to hang on a while longer. There were an increasing number of days when the Slytherin thought, just maybe, she could've saved her. If not on her own, then through the help of any of the number of people she'd met along the way.
Her nan had died in a dark and empty room, uncared for by anyone in the world but a terrified 5-year-old who couldn't understand what was happening.
At 17, there were a great many things she wanted to tell that child, but a great many more she wished she could've told her nan.
She was different now. Stronger. More dependable. Andrea Elliot would no doubt have lived a longer, fuller life. There were places she wanted to take her and people she wished she could've known that she'd met. She'd have liked Benji, Rae decided. The woman would've loved how much he loved her.
As it always did, the thought left her with a melancholy that only a night of wandering could ease, and even then, it never really went away.
Rae dropped her stack of books on the front desk when she got there, relying on the sound to anchor her to the room and not the regret that only seemed to grow with her competence. A second after the sudden thud, her eyes fell on the book Benji poured over. Rae leaned against his shoulder, taking a look for herself, but it didn't take long for her nose to wrinkle. "When did you get into history, and reading for that matter?" While her boyfriend was quite literate, she'd never known him to pick up a book on purpose.
She eased away, flopping into the seat by his and reaching for the first book to be sorted.
"James got you reading up on who you'll need to schmooze later?"
"The Art of Animated Paper Folding". There really was a book for everything, wasn't there?
"It all sounds perfectly dreadful. Entertaining idiots." She dropped the book in the 'uncertain' pile, willing to go back to it later. "Who're we playing nice with?"
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-19-2026
"When did you get into history, and reading for that matter?"
The thump of books that preceded his girlfriend's arrival startled the boy, making him jump in his seat and drop the quill he'd been holding. It was rare for Benji to get so deeply lost in anything that wasn't food. Especially a book, and his girlfriend, as usual was ever the perceptive one. "Uh..." he drew the groan out, stalling for a moment as he leaned over his list, blocking the names and notes he'd taken with his arm.
He pulled for a grin, looking her over with appreciation when she finally sat down next to him. A change of subject. No answer. It was the perfect distraction. Moving the book over his list, he reached for the pile she'd already begun working on. "You look tired," he offered instead of an answer, moving a few books to various piles with little more than a glance at the titles. He could be especially helpful and ensure she did double the work, exasperating herself with him before he had to provide an answer.
"You should go on up to bed early. I can handle the shift on my own."
He'd never once offered such, but there was a first time for everything.
"James got you reading up on who you'll need to schmooze later?"
He could have taken the suggestion and run with it, but the boy wasn't exactly on his game today. He stalled, pretending to look extra hard at a book, before he sorted it into the wrong pile, hoping she'd notice and take it upon herself to go back through and fix his carelessness. He just needed a reason to get up and shove the list into his bag. He could say he needed the bathroom. He could say he was done with an assignment. He could say literally anything, but the boy's brain had gone to mush.
"It all sounds perfectly dreadful. Entertaining idiots. Who're we playing nice with?"
"N-no one," he stammered. At least that part was true. Benji had no intention of playing nice with anyone on the list. "Just researching, you know? NEWTs and stuff. No big deal." When he thought she wasn't looking the boy slipped the parchment out from under the pureblood book and shoved it quickly into his pocket. The book he could do without. He'd already written down locations of family homes and associated relatives.
"Do you wanna help me take these back?" He nodded over his shoulder to the cart of arithmancy books that had been piling up. "Or, you know what I can do it." He stood quickly, his grin widening suspiciously as he shrugged, "I know you've had a long day. You sit. I'll take care of this."
Anything to get away and stash the note somewhere she wouldn't find it.
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-20-2026
"You look tired."
She felt tired.
The week had only just begun, but already, Rae was ready to see the tail end of it. Give her the Friday night come-down, the crowded kitchen, and the snack she managed to nab before disappearing. The Slytherin girl was ready for the weekend to cloak her in a false sense of rest before ultimately yanking her into a different kind of work. She'd happily take her bed in the RoR, and Benji's even breathing while she listened to him sleep.
Unfortunately for her, that was still too many days away, and Rae had an ungodly number of things to do before it came.
"You should go on up to bed early. I can handle the shift on my own."
"Wouldn't matter even if you did," she said, adding a second book to the uncertain pile. While the topic seemed less...all over the place to her, it was one she wanted to ask Julia about later. Was it the kind they handed out often? Seemed like it shouldn't have been in circulation to begin with. "When this shift ends, I've got maybe an hour before I gotta head to the hospital wing. I'm on the final shift." As she often was, even when she'd had shifts earlier in the afternoon. "Not enough time to fall asleep and have it make a difference. You'd help, but then..." a book for the Herbology section, "there'd be no one watching the front desk."
Rae hadn't been too fussed about Benji's demeanour, thinking it a little odd but not alarming...until she caught him sneaking. It was subtle enough that someone less...attentive to the shifts within their boyfr—fiancee might not have noticed, but she was Ruth Anaya, and Benji Henry had always been her business.
She let it slide for the moment, wanting to see where he was willing to go with notes she hadn't yet learned the significance of.
"Just researching, you know? NEWTs and stuff. No big deal."
None on the list she'd glimpsed appeared in their NEWT syllabus. He...he knew that, right? Often, Rae got the idea that Benji thought she was stupid. It manifested in the ridiculous things that he sometimes expected her to swallow while he grinned like he'd done good. Sometimes, he made excuses that made no sense, playing in her face like he didn't know that she was prepared to put hands on him at a moment's notice.
She wouldn't that night, still not thinking too much of it, but he'd definitely caught her attention.
"Do you wanna help me take these back? Or, you know what I can do it."
He stood, and her wand was out in a flash. Silently, she accio-ed the parchment he'd done his best to conceal in his pocket. Without wasting a moment, she unfolded it.
"Sure." Her eyes were already scanning the contents, recognising several of the names written in familiar handwriting.
"I know you've had a long day. You sit. I'll take care of this."
Rae waved him off, rising to her feet to continue the night's work. "What's all this?"
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-20-2026
"When this shift ends, I've got maybe an hour before I gotta head to the hospital wing. I'm on the final shift. Not enough time to fall asleep and have it make a difference. You'd help, but then...there'd be no one watching the front desk."
"I can call Julia down. Or Avery. Merlin knows he'd jump at the shot for an extra library shift." He grinned as he gave a quick glance through the arithmancy books, ensuring when Kate had sorted them earlier she hadn't misplaced any. Benji never cared about misplacement when he wasn't the one meant to put all the books back, but when it was his responsibility, he liked to keep the task easy.
Did that make him an inconsiderate co-assistant? He would readily admit it did, but in the case of the fucking library, Benji was out for himself. He'd told his mum for five years now that he hated working the library, and every year she smiled and badged him all over again. He wouldn't reward her with his best efforts.
Much as he loved his mum. Best one he could ask for, really.
"I mean it. You really should go to bed. Blow off the last shift. Someone else can handle the Hospital Wing tonight." If he had to carry her up to bed himself, he'd do it. He'd have a hell of a time arguing with the Slytherin common room door, but he'd make it work. Even if he had to shove her through the door and wave her a quick goodnight.
He was ready. Books ready. His secret was stashed safely in his pocket and he'd avoided the awkward conversation he knew he never wanted to have. All was right in the world of Benji and he could continue his plotting later when he was up in bed with no one to ask him ques -
"What's all this?"
- tions.
How...did she get that? Benji glowered. She was always up in his business. "Don't look at that!" He reached across her, attempting to yank the parchment from her hands. "Come on, give it back!" The last thing he needed was having his fiancée spoil his grand scheme of revenge before it even got off the ground. "It's nothing....really!"
He caught that look her in her eye, his own eyebrows rising to tell her she shouldn't. "Don't!" he said, lunging for the paper again. "Don't do it Rae! She'll come out here!"
The scream that would ruin his entire night.
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Ruth Elliot - 09-21-2026
Rae didn't pay any mind to Benji's suggestion of getting either Julia or Avery involved. For the last few years, the woman had opened up in what she trusted her to do. It wouldn't do to have it all erased in one night by confession that she was that she was practically dead on her feet – and like hell would she give Hale the satisfaction of thinking he was better suited to a role than she was? It was true that, after the previous term, she'd noted a drop in the boy's disdain for her. She didn't know whether she'd call it an 'understanding' per se, but it was certainly less contentious than how they'd begun in the last year. That didn't mean she would open herself up to his judgement. It would only annoy her more and she didn't have that kind of time.
It was fine, really. The night would pass as all the others did, then she would sleep her way through breakfast and meet Tuesday with a grudgingness that was all her own.
It was also hardly the most pressing thing she could think of in the moment. Someone was adamant about keeping secrets.
"I mean it. You really should go to bed. Blow off the last shift. Someone else can handle the Hospital Wing tonight."
Rae wrinkled her nose, though Benji was too busy checking the pile to see. Name after name, addresses... Her brows scrunched together, the girl not understanding exactly what she was looking at but knowing enough to maintain her stance that he wasn't studying shit for their exams.
"There's no one on duty tonight that I trust to run the wing. Besides, the healer already told me she was making a run to Mungo's and would need me keeping an eye on things until she got back." While Healer Graham hadn't said it, Rae got the idea that the woman was prepping her. For what? She couldn't say yet, but it couldn't have been a coincidence how often the woman left her in charge and how she sometimes pulled her aside for a few extra tips. She watched her more than she watched the others – chastised her more, too. Rae took it all in stride, genuinely wanting to soak in every ounce of wisdom before she entered the big world.
"Don't look at that!"
The sudden order caused her to jump. The Seventh Year startled at Benji's sudden panic. She glanced up in time to see him lunge, skipping back to avoid him. He reached; she recoiled. Benji grabbed; she withdrew.
"Come on, give it back!" It's nothing....really!"
"Doesn't seem like nothing," she countered, moving even further away when it became clear that he was prepared to turn the interaction physical. 'Nothing' would have him suddenly so hot and bothered. "These names don't seem like nothing, either." A real idiot; that's what he took her for. When Benji reached again, Rae felt a swelling in her chest, but it deflated at his warning.
Don't?
She will come down here?
Ah, so it was a secret after all. At least from his mother. Not from her. If Benji developed a new mole, she needed to know about it. "Swear to Merlin, Benji, I'll scream so loud that she'll appear in the flesh. Don't play with me. What's this list for? What the fuck do you plan to do with Al-Tajir of all people?" That man leaving had to be one of the best things that could've ever happened for her fiancée. There was no need to dig him back up. "And your mother?"
RE: Shadow People | Bae - Benji Laurence - 09-22-2026
"There's no one on duty tonight that I trust to run the wing. Besides, the healer already told me she was making a run to Mungo's and would need me keeping an eye on things until she got back."
Benji refrained from rolling his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't know his fiancé was perfectly capable of handling the Hospital Wing on her own, but he'd bitten his tongue for awhile now around Healer Graham. The woman knew what a full load Rae had this year, and still took advantage of her willingness to assist every time she had the opportunity. Anyone with eyes could see Rae needed a break, and how exhausted she was, but Benji knew better than to try and say anything about it.
He'd just end up the bad guy.
Which it seemed he was about to be anyway.
"Doesn't seem like nothing. These names don't seem like nothing, either."
Well, they weren't, but that was beside the point! Benji really didn't feel like explaining the list or what he intended to do with it once he had everything compiled. He was happy to leave Rae in the dark completely if he could manage to. Not because he didn't trust her, but because he knew she'd try to talk him out of it and he really didn't want her seeing him in a sort of light.
"Just give it back," he said gruffly as she backed away. Already people were looking, and the last thing he needed was his mum coming down and asking questions. He'd be sent right back to therapy or worse. He had every intention of never stepping foot in that office again.
"Swear to Merlin, Benji, I'll scream so loud that she'll appear in the flesh. Don't play with me. What's this list for? What the fuck do you plan to do with Al-Tajir of all people? And your mother?"
Ugggh. The groan that left Benji's mouth was borderline obnoxious, but he knew it wasn't an empty threat. "Look," he said, finally snatching the parchment from her and crumpling it into a ball in his hand. He'd straighten it out and hide it from her later. "I can't tell you now," he drug out the word as he backed away towards the cart again, "but I swear, I'll tell you soon, okay? I just need to get a few more...ducks in a row." Yep. That was it. He just needed to organize his thoughts.
He totally wouldn't tell her later, but she'd probably have forgotten by the end of the week. He just needed to avoid her until then.
He forced a grin, as he took hold of the cart. "Blow of the Hospital Wing. Graham can reschedule her appointment." As all adults could. "I'll see you in the morning."