A Bloody Mess ((Josephine))

[Ephraim Eades R7]

It came that time of summer holiday in which every Hogwarts student received their list of required purchases for the upcoming fall term. Ephraim never really looked forward to having to make the trip to Diagon Alley to purchase a whole new shelf's worth of books among other odds and ends. Nonetheless, his grandma had given him a handful of galleons and sent him on his way. He'd wanted Sadie to come along, but she had plans elsewhere, leaving him alone for the afternoon. Perhaps he could make it a quick trip, returning in time for dinner. He was never one to enjoy running errands.

Halfway between buying his textbooks and potion's supplies, Ephraim realized that his wand polishing supplies were low. For a Ravenclaw, to have a dull wand with nicks and scratches was unheard of, considering it meant less than perfect spell-casting. Ephraim knew he'd need to buy more polishing oils for the new school year if he wanted to keep his high marks, even if the work came easy for him. You could never be too over-prepared.

Making his way toward Ollivander's Ephraim's wandering eye caught something (or someone, rather) that piqued his interest. There were two people standing just across the path. One was a familiar girl he recognized from Slytherin, and the other was an older man, very thin and dirty looking. The man was wearing a worn set of black robes, carrying a satchel which he gripped very tightly from the looks of it. A swap was made, the passing of a paper wrapped package to the Slytherin girl, Josephine Bowman. In return, she handed the man something, that of which E could not identify. From the looks of things though, it was a highly suspicious exchange. Then, in a hurried manner, the man darted away almost instantly, not bothering to hide the fact that he was headed directly toward Knockturn Alley.

Ephraim's lips turned into a thin smile, the adventurous side of him craving answers about what he had just witnessed. Without hesitation, he began walking toward Josephine. "Hey Bowman!" he shouted. She may not have known him, but he surely knew her. She was the sister of Brianna Bowman, the Ravenclaw who was a year ahead of him and had recently died of a muggle cancer. Ephraim was right at the place where the exchange had been made, and as his eyes scanned for the paper wrapped package, he found nothing. "What are you up to?" Likely, she'd not give him a straight answer, but he wasn't afraid to ask. Ephraim was oddly unafraid to meddle in the business of others. Perhaps he was a bit nosy, but he liked to think of himself as just being friendly.

[Josephine Bowman S7]

“Josephine Faith Bowman get down here right now!” Anne Bowman yelled from the bottom of the staircase up to her daughter. The summer break had not been going well for her or her middle, now oldest, daughter. Josephine seemed to have fallen into a slump after her sister’s death. It was all Anne could do to get the girl out of her room to eat and drink. She seemed intent on just lying in her room staring up at the ceiling. Too many times Anne had gone up there to find her talking to herself or singing a song that her sister had once sang to her. It was heartbreaking and Anne didn’t know what to do. The whole household was up in arms and Anne was working as much as possible to try to keep from thinking about the daughter she had lost the same way as the husband she had loved dearly. It was just too much to take in and now…now she had a daughter that didn’t want to do anything but mourn.

“Jo!” she called once again, still no answer. Anne sighed as she climbed the staircase, moving down the left side of the hall at the top to knock lightly on Josephine’s door. “Jo? Are you going to come out today? The roses have begun to bloom, you love the roses.” There was still no response and Anne tried to keep her patience. “Jo, please answer me.” Once again there was nothing and Anne placed her hand on the knob and turned, peeking inside… “Jo?” Her face dropped as she swung the door open, the room empty. She felt anger rise up, but at the same time it was mixed with relief. “At least she’s gotten out.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile…Josephine Bowman tapped her foot against the cobblestone walk, her back up against a windowless wall as she waited for her guest of honour. She was shaking slightly…almost imperceptible if you weren’t paying attention, but if you were, it was quite obvious. Her features were gaunt, much duller than they had been a year ago. Skin was no longer tan, but almost a ghostly white, black hair was long, but held no shine…and her eyes almost seemed sunken into her skull. It was quite obvious that she was not fairing well, but most people would rather walk on by than dare look at her. She didn’t care anymore. All she cared about was her next fix, anything that could keep her mind from the memories.

”Why didn’t you keep you promise? Why did you let me die? You were supposed to save me!” The words that screamed at her were the same voice as her dead sister’s. They weren’t real…they had never been spoken, but to a broken mind they seemed all the more real, and not the latest hallucination brought on by a bad fix. She felt the air chill around her for a second and as she turned her eyes they caught sight of her guest of honour. “You’re late,” she said in a tone that was far more authoritative than she felt.

“What did I tell you little girl, I am never late,” the words were growled at her and she tensed. She knew better than to act that way with a supplier, but this crummy guy was little more than a panhandler to her. He was dirty, raggedy, and smelled horrific. However, none of that mattered. What mattered was the brown bag he pulled out. “You have what we talked about right?” Josephine held up the black bag. The exchange was made quickly, Jo’s fingers wrapped tightly around the brown bag as she watched the supplier dart off, back to Knockturn Alley. She was shaking more visibly now…knowing that the drug was in her hands again it was almost worth it to open the bag right then and take some, but she had to get out of this place…go somewhere less visible.

Just as this thought came to her and she was turning around a voice interrupted her. She didn’t recognize it, but it was enough to make her freeze, her heart pounding in her ears. Could she have been seen? Had they figured her out? Were they about to cart her off to Azkaban with the rest of the bad wizards and witches? Jo slowly turned around, her eyes not falling on an authoritative figure, but rather on a boy she vaguely recognized. She quirked a brow at him in annoyance as she quickly tucked the bag into an inside pocket of her jacket. “What do you want?” she asked in annoyance. This was not what she needed right now. She wanted…no needed a drop…something to tide her over for the next 24 hours, but she was stuck now…no way to get rid of him.

It was obvious that he had seen the exchange, obvious that his curiosity was just as bad as a cat. Her mind was working overtime trying to come up with some sort of a lie, but nothing was coming to her…nothing that would get him to leave her alone, so she just turned on her heel, ignoring him. “What I’m doing is none of your business,” she growled, her voice trying to get that same tone it used to hold, but it failed miserably. It came out as a scared, timid almost question as opposed to a demand. The movement, coupled with the quick onset of symptoms of withdrawal and Josephine found her world turning upside down as her hand shot out to hold on to the wall. The world was spinning, sweat began dripping down her face, and she felt her breath shortening. The drug was quick in its effects and also quick in its addiction. She needed a fix and she needed it now, whether that kid was there or not.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Her motions were erratic, her voice shaken. Ephraim could tell that he had caught Josephine at a bad time. Still, he sensed a fear in her, or maybe it was something a bit more complex. Whatever it was, it was clear that she didn't want him around. Perhaps whatever exchange she had made was not something she wanted anybody to know about. Dark magic items? Stolen goods? Drugs? From the looks of her, Ephraim would have placed his bets on the latter. "If whatever you are doing is out in the public eye, then it's anybody's business," he replied, perhaps a bit more snarky than he would normally respond. His gaze pressed farther into the situation as he refused to take his eyes away from her. Something was awry.

"What did that man give you?" Ephraim should have known better than to meddle, but it usually never stopped him. If Josephine was into something dark or dangerous, it was his cue to step in. Ephraim had never walked away from a chance to intervene on the behalf of someone who appeared to be in trouble. Perhaps that was the tinge of Gryffindor in him. The Sorting Hat did have a hard time sorting him during his first year. After a few minutes of debate, it finally had decided on Ravenclaw despite pointing out at least one or two reasons why E would fit into the other three houses.

At that point, he was half tempted to grab Jo's hand from her pocket, but even he knew that it would have been stepping over the line. He was quite forceful at times, but never was he over the top. Most of his force was in the way he spoke and how he usually managed to convince people that there was a better way to solve their problems. "I'm not a snitch," he reasoned, which was true for the most part. He didn't like trying to get others into trouble if he could help them. "I just thought that I could give you a hand. It seems that you are quite anxious. What's in the bag?" He nodded to the lump in her pocket that she was unable to hide.

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine couldn’t seem to lose him. This boy was intent on getting into her business. She just wished she could place him. Obviously he was probably from Hogwarts and vaguely familiar, not in her year though or her house. It didn’t matter how hard she thought about it though there was no way she could remember where he was from. Her brain was too far-gone to really recognize much. She needed a fix before she got any worse, but with him standing right there it was going to be almost impossible to do anything. If he would just leave her alone for a minute…that’s all she needed, but no he wasn’t about to do that. She glared at him, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms over her body, trying to hide the package from his view. He was meddling in affairs he ought not to meddle in.

“Would you get out of my face already! I don’t even know you! Don’t you dare judge me or try to interfere!” Josephine was reaching her limit, so close to breaking every bit of control she had and just take the drug that seemed to be burning through her pocket. In a few moments she knew that she wouldn’t be able to hide it any longer and she’d have to take some, but she had to try to get away from this guy. He was far too nosy and yet he claimed he wasn’t a snitch…yeah right, Jo thought to herself. If someone claims they’re not a snitch more than likely they are and if there was one thing Jo didn’t need it was dealings with the law…it was pretty clear-cut on drug use…especially Hogwarts. No…she just needed to get as far away from him as possible.

The minute he mentioned the bag that’s when something else reared up in Jo and one hand flew to the bag and the other…well that one took a swing at the guy. It wasn’t something she would normally do…no she never would have physically tried to hurt anyone, but he was not taking it! He was not going to ruin her life by taking away the only thing that could rid her of the nightmares and memories. Yet that tone of voice…he was determined…and he knew! Oh he knew what she was doing, that was the only explanation. Her mother had sent him…her mother had found out! Oh gawd, she thought to herself as she turned and started to run from him…trying to get as far away from him as possible. She didn’t need this right now…she couldn’t afford to be sent to Azkaban or worse, what if the Ministry started using Dementors again? She’d be all over with.

The panic flared to life the symptoms of withdrawal that had begun to take place…her mind was far fuzzier than it had been earlier and now as she tried to run the world bounced and blurred together in a sea of colours. This was not how it was supposed to happen. She wasn’t supposed to get caught…she wasn’t supposed to have someone tailing her or trying to find out what she was doing. No…this was bad, very bad. Maybe he wasn’t going to chase her; maybe he would just watch her go with some crazed look in his face. That settled it. She turned down the first alleyway she came to and pulled out the bag. She would just have to take it all at once…if they couldn’t find any on her than they wouldn’t be able to say anything right? Her hands ripped the bag open and clasped around the glass vial…it was unnaturally warm. A thrill went through her and her blood seemed to pump faster as if it knew what was about to happen.

The small vial held a thick deep red liquid. Her eyes widened in awe as she swirled it around in the vial for a second. Maybe she wouldn’t have to take it all…maybe he wouldn’t find her. She was quite well hidden now…he couldn’t have seen her take the alleyway…no, of course he didn’t see her; she was too fast for that because of this stuff right here. She was too fast for all of them. Hands steadied for a moment as she slowly took the lid off the vial, the smell making her stomach knot with need. One drop that’s all she would need. Just one, tiny, beautiful drop. It would be enough. She slipped her pinky into the vial and drew it out. The red liquid clung to it…okay so maybe more than one drop. She put it to her lips and the moment it touched her tongue the world seemed to right itself…the cold sweat seemed to stop and she fell into a colourful world as she swallowed and licked clean all of the liquid that had clung to her finger. Her eyes had closed briefly, enjoying the world that had sprung to life in her veins…but as she opened them that world grew to know only paranoia, because there he stood, inches from her it seemed. Hands immediately moved to hide the vial, though she was slow, the movements not nearly as clean as they would have been if she had been sober. A part of her didn’t even want to bother hiding from him…maybe he would join her. It was always so much better when shared. It was the part of her that eventually won out as she stopped trying to hide the vial and instead held it out to him. “Taste it,” she said in a voice that was far too husky for the situation.

[Ephraim Eades R7]

As if she knew better than to risk trusting him, Josephine turned and ran away from Ephraim before he could even get another word in. A bit shocked, he hesitated momentarily before sprinting after her. Lucky for him, it wasn't crowded enough to make the chase a difficult one, and he caught the last glimpse of her retreating form as it turned down a dark and abandoned alleyway where Ephraim followed.

Stepping into the alley, he froze, certain that she couldn't go anywhere since it was a dead end. He didn't see her though, but there were plenty of places she could be hiding. He walked slowly, his heart now racing from the chase. Finally, he stumbled upon Josephine, her eyes closed as she pulled a finger from her lips. Ephraim stared in confusion.

When she opened her eyes, all sense of escape seemed to be gone from her. She wasn't trying to get away anymore. Perhaps she had admitted defeat? Either that or she decided that whatever she had to hide wasn't all that important anymore. Ephraim doubted this though. And it was then that she shoved the secret item in his face, ordering him to taste it.

"Taste it? What is it?" he asked with an uncertain glance. He took the vile in his hands, somewhat surprised that she gave it so willingly. Maybe this really wasn't anything that he should be concerned about, and maybe he was just poking his nose into business that didn't concern him. Either way, he was wickedly curious to know what it was.

Popping the cork, Ephraim dipped the tip of his index finger into the small opening at the top of the vile. His finger barely fit, but enough that he could feel the warm (that was odd) liquid against it. Then, he retracted his finger, pulling it close to his eyes as he examined the blood-red shimmer of the viscous liquid. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have assumed that it really was just a vile of blood. How peculiar.

Being a rather active young boy, Ephraim had tasted blood before. It wasn't uncommon to get a bloody lip while playing Quidditch or doing many of the activities that he loved to do. And so, when he stuck out his tongue to taste just the slightest bit of the liquid, he wasn't surprised to recognize the coppery taste that he half expected. What he didn't expect though was the results that the liquid could cause. Whatever this was, it was unlike any potion that he had ever studied. Almost instantly his senses went into sensory overload. Every sight, smell, and sound that he experienced was magnified almost one-hundred times. It was overwhelming, yet unexplainable all at the same time.

He starred back at Josephine, the image of her swirling in front of him. "What in bloody hell is this stuff?" A tinge of fear lined his voice, though he felt in that moment that there was nothing at all he should possibly be afraid of.

[Josephine Bowman S7]

The world swirled with all sorts of colours and as Ephraim popped the cork on the bottle Josephine couldn’t help the warmth that spread through her veins. He was going to join her on this journey. He was going to find the joy that she found in this little red liquid…this warm red liquid. The music was already filling her ears…reminding her of the fanciful world that this drug opened up to her. How she had needed it so badly…it was her life right now and it was a good life. There was nothing she cared about anymore and that saved her a lot of pain. It had taken away the pain of her sister’s death and her own failure…it was all that mattered. She was on her seat now though…watching Ephraim look at the blood, waiting for him to join her. Why was it taking this silly boy so long to taste it…it was magnificent, couldn’t he see that? All he had to do was look at her and he would be able to see just how great the drug was. So why was he taking so long?

Josephine’s head fell back to the wall too heavy for her to really lift as the world burst into colours of deep purple and blue, stars moving around her and great waves of colour bounced off the alley walls swirling around Ephraim as he finally tasted the liquid. Josephine smiled wide as he slowly, but quickly, warmed to the drug…his voice tinting with fear as he demanded to know what it was he had just tasted. A hand slowly came up to his cheek, thumb caressing the warm flesh as she smirked. “Isn’t it the best stuff you’ve ever tasted? There is nothing else like it…” Josephine mused as her flesh seemed to overheat. She was getting warm and rather quickly. If only she could take off her clothes and run nude through the streets of Diagon Alley…however that was probably a very bad idea. Even in her drug induced state she knew better than to run through the streets in the buff. Still, it was an appealing thought. She didn’t care to be clothed or warm.

Her hand slid down his cheek and across his chest…a nice strong chest. That was right…that was where Josephine knew this kid. He was on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team. She’d played against him before. She smiled… “Do you like it? Do you want more?” Josephine asked as she took the bottle from his hands and dipped her finger into the liquid. The deep red liquid clung to her skin, trying to seep into her very pores. The colours swirled around them, closing the space around them. Her tongue slid out over her lips before she brought her pinky up to them, rubbing the liquid across her own lips before running her tongue back across them and then across her finger, before she popped it between her lips and sucked every drop of red liquid from it. Crazily addicted to this drug Josephine didn’t care about the scene she was making…she wouldn’t even be able to tell anyone exactly what she was doing. Her mind was already too far-gone and all that seemed to matter was staying at the highest point possible. It was always so much better to be high than to find yourself amongst the ditches and gutters of the world.