[Shoreditch] Band of Brothers [Darren]

[TW: this'll get dark quick.]

Rain pounded the pavement. Alvin jumped down from the Knight Bus and flicked his hood up, letting the dark grey fabric obscure his features as he made his way down the dilapidated street. It was some time in the early morning and Vin hadn't slept in over 36 hours, but he felt more awake, alive and alert than he had in a long time. Something was pulsing within him that rarely even surfaced during quidditch games. Some kind of primal instinct, fueled by adrenaline, turned his muddy brown eyes into sharp pin points and his hands into tight fists, clenched by his side.

Less than 36 hours ago, he'd been at Hogwarts. He'd been in classes, quidditch practice, preparing for a relaxing weekend of homework avoidance and reading about the latest Falmouth Falcons game. He was back on speaking terms with his mother and they'd planned to meet in Hogsmeade for a chat. He'd actually been looking forward to it, weirdly enough. But late Friday evening, his owl, Bludger, had brought him a letter. She'd been vague. Said she couldn't make it. Something was up, Vin knew that much. He'd sent Bludger back asking her what had happened. He didn't sleep that night.

Saturday morning Bludger was already back with her response. Emma hadn't said much, but Vin was old enough to read between the lines and something in his gut had told him...

Months ago he wouldn't have bothered. Months ago she was nothing to him. It was weird how things changed. He'd tried to shrug it off. Tried to tell himself it could wait... but something in her letter had been so fearful. He was down to go into Hogsmeade that day anyway, and it was easy to slip away and wait for the evening. Signal the bus that he'd heard other students talking about. They didn't even check whether he was of age or not and only hours later he was in Essex.

And the moment that she'd opened the door, untidy hair swept over her face in a pathetic attempt to hide the bruising... something had come over him. It was like a switch in his head. He'd been uncharacteristically silent while she'd talked - made excuses, avoided the subject. Vin already knew in his gut what had happened, and eventually Emma caved in and confirmed his suspicions.

She'd begged him to go back to Hogwarts. To act like nothing had happened. She'd told him that she could deal with this. Now that was a fucking joke. Vin had already made up his mind that he would deal with this. Not by ignoring it. Not by turning his back and walking away. Fuck that bastard. Fuck him. Fuck him.

Vin didn't care that it was past three am by the time he reached his brother's door. He didn't care that Darren would probably skin him alive. This needed taking care of. His mother needed taking care of. And he wasn't going to rest until that bastard paid.

The Grimli fight earlier in the evening had done a number on Darren but he had managed to score some coin, so he was happy, despite the fact that he was pretty sure at least one rib was broken. He had apparated, with some difficulty, back to his lousy little flat in Shoreditch and held his side as he made his way up the back steps. Apparating was strange by itself but with a broken rib it was near torturous. He grimaced as he waved his wand, unlocking the door leading to the apartment and not bothering to lock it back up behind him. He went for the fridge, cracking open a bottle of beer on the novelty bottle opener Jane had gotten him last Christmas. He looked through old pizza boxes to find the freshest of them and took a bite and then he leaned against the counter and performed the spells he knew all to well to get his ribs to heal. It wasn't painless, but at least he was breathing easier now. He stood there for a moment, half eaten, day old pizza in one hand and a bottle of beer, already dripping with condensation in the other.

When there was a knock at his door he frowned and threw the crust of the pizza onto the counter, he'd throw it away later... maybe. Not leaving the beer behind he walked over to the door, his wand sticking out of his back pocket and pulled it open quickly. What he saw on the other side surprised him but his dark features didn't show it. Alvin hadn't been home during any of the holidays this term and Darren wasn't expecting him to show up at 3am while school was still in session. He gave him a foul look and then took a sip of his beer before walking away from the door. He left it opened, but showed no kindness or welcome to his youngest brother as he walked back to the counter to lean up against it. The apartment was tiny. The main room was a kitchen, dining room, and living area all smushed into one and down a narrow hallway were two small bedrooms and a dirty bathroom. He basically lived alone besides Jane and this was the best he could afford, but it was his own. Ryan was rarely there, he was off exploring the world or doing something Darren didn't know and his other siblings were off at school... well they were supposed to be off at school anyway.

He shot Alvin another glare and finally spoke. "If you're here to ask for a place to stay because your dumb ass got expelled you had better just turn around and run along." The tone of his voice showed he wasn't playing games. If Alvin got expelled for doing something dumb he'd do a lot more than burn him on the cheek. He set down the bottle on the counter, the glass clinking against the surface loudly before reaching into his pockets and lighting a cigarette. He took a long drag, waiting for his brother to explain why he had come to visit.

The door opened, and there was Darren, beer clutched in one hand, certainly not having been to bed yet. No words, but he didn't slam the door shut in his face or hex him to oblivion which for Darren was about as welcoming as it got. Vin stepped inside, shutting the door behind him and following his brother into the main room of the apartment which was littered with the remnants of takeaways and stubbed out cigarettes. It reeked of smoke. The scent made him balk, but Vin was too riled up for it to strike fear into him like it usually did. Usually the sight of Darren smoking would make him shudder. Usually he'd have some mouthy comeback to Darren's assumption that he'd gotten his ass expelled. Like he'd come here if that ever happened. Asking Darren for help was out of the question. Usually, anyway.

He shook his head, pushing the wet fabric of his hood down. "S'about Mum," he muttered, his fists finally unclenching as he surveyed Darren from a safe distance. "I just saw her.. she's... " he was having trouble getting his words out. Sharp little barks, raw and gruff, twisted by the anger currently ruling him. He didn't really know how to word this. Or whether Darren would even care. "He was there. Yesterday. Knocked her about... and worse." He let his tone tell Darren the details he didn't want to voice. Though his eyes were wide, his pupils were tiny pinpricks, something wild in his expression. Apparently, despite all Emma had put him through, his urge to protect her ran to his core. His eyes were searching Darren's face, trying to catch even the smallest reaction.

Usually, Vin would never dream of asking Darren for help. But he'd made his way here practically on autopilot. Darren was the first person he'd thought of. The only way forward that made any sense in his sleep deprived, anger riddled brain. 

As he watched the younger man enter the room Darren continued to smoke his cigarette. He stared him up and down, he wasn't the little kid he used to be, but that didn't mean Darren didn't still consider him as weak. The way his fists were clenched made him cock his head to the side. Was he here to get revenge for all the terrible, awful things his big bad brother had done to him in the past? Darren nearly laughed at the idea and smirked as he took a sip from his beer. Alvin could try, if he wanted, but it always ended the same. Maybe one day it would end different, but Darren didn't think tonight was the night. When he heard him say it was about their mother her visibly rolled his eyes. He hadn't seen her for a year or two and even before then she hadn't really had much effect on his life. As soon as he was of age he was out of her house and she was out of his life. She had never really took much interest in any of her children's lives anyway.

The noises that came out of his brothers mouth next made Darren frown, was he having a seizure or something. He shook his head, anger always got the best of Alvin. That was his biggest downfall. He let his rage devour him, it swallowed him whole and then he was left vulnerable. Darren tried to teach him that over and over but it always ended the same, usually with Alvin passed out. He looked down at cigarette in his hand for a moment and took another hit from it but when he heard the words 'he was there' his near black eyes shot back at his brother. He stepped forward from the counter, standing at full height now and listened to the rest of the sentence. It made him sick to think about it. There wasn't a person in the world Darren hated more than his muggle father, it was probably the one thing he had in common with Alvin. His eyes focused in on his brother and the look on his face changed slightly, now reflecting Alvin's own anger. Although he didn't particularly think of his mother as the best witch in the world it didn't mean he thought she deserved to get beaten up and taken advantage of. Darren might of been a terrible person but there was still a line, he still had a few morals left, and that was one of them.

Although Darren was clearly upset by what his brother had told him he didn't react violently, at least not at first. Instead he turned his back on Alvin and tore the fridge open. Once more he cracked open a bottle of beer and brought it over to his brother, not caring if he was underage or not. Comparatively speaking that was one of the nicest gestures Darren had ever done for Alvin. He stood in front of him, maybe a foot or two as he held the bottle out for Alvin to take. Of course, he couldn't let Alvin think he had gone soft so as he did he made sure to take a long drag from his cigarette, the burning hot at the end pointed toward Vin's face, and blew the large cloud of smoke directly at him when he was finished. "So what are you planning to do about it then?" He asked, anger subsiding and the more logical part of Darren taking over. It was why he was able to win almost every battle against Alvin. He could set aside his rage and use it to power his next move, not control it. He waited silently for an answer and for Alvin to take the bottle he was handing to him, his own mind starting to come up with a plan. They could find him. Beat him but he'd just do it again.... no this was going to require a more permanent action, silently he wondered if Alvin was ready for that.

Darren never gave too much away, but the way that his head snapped up and his eyes focused, Vin could tell he felt at least a little the same as Vin about the situation. The trouble with Darren was that reaction was gone as fast as it appeared, and he was back to being a wall of ice once more. So difficult to read. Impossible to know what was whirring behind those soulless eyes. How many times had Vin been caught out by Darren's poker-face? How many times had he been watched by Darren's expressionless gaze? Feeling more like a science project than his brother. A study in pain. Vin took an instinctive step back as Darren moved... but instead of lunging forwards, or anything else that Vin might expect, he turned around to open the fridge. Confusion was written all over Vin's face until Darren turned around, an additional bottle in hand.

Was Darren actually offering him a beer? Vin stared blankly at the outstretched bottle, so confused by the gesture, that the plume of cigarette smoke caught him off guard and made him cough. Warily he eyed the red-hot tip of the cigarette, his heart quickening as the associated fear returned. Was this some kind of twisted fucking trap? After what Vin had just told him?? No... that sadistic gleam was missing from Darren's eyes. And as Darren spoke, Vin realised that the beer was some kind of peace offering. Cautiously, he reached out to take it with a muttered "thanks."

Darren's words made him pause, bottle half-raised to his lips. What was he planning to do? Honestly, he hadn't thought that far ahead. Planning was Darren's forte. Besides the tactics he'd become increasingly good at in Quidditch, Vin was a spur-of-the-moment kind of guy. He reacted. Darren was the one that played the long game. Darren liked to make people wait. To watch them squirm. All that Vin knew was he wanted blood and he needed Darren's help to get it. What would he do if Darren didn't help? Trash half of Essex searching for him? He'd exchanged Christmas cards with Jack a year or so ago, but the last he'd heard was that the bastard had walked out on yet another woman, leaving three more kids in his wake. Who knew where he was now.

"Make him pay." he responded, "We can track him down, right? I mean he's only a fucking Muggle." The we was assumed. Darren hadn't chucked him out of the apartment or laughed and said Emma deserved what she got which implied he was interested in helping. Somehow Alvin had the feeling that Darren would know exactly how to go about finding their father. It just seemed the kind of thing that Darren would know. Raising the beer to his lips, he took a short swig, the familiar taste a comfort in the uncomfortable situation. "He needs to be taught a fucking lesson."

He didn't take his eyes off his little brother as he asked the question, he wanted to see the reaction on his face just as much as he needed to hear it in his voice. The words made a smirk slowly fade onto Darren's face, make him pay was exactly what he wanted to hear. It was rare that he was actually pleased by something that Alvin did or said, but it was short lived. The next words that reached his ears made him frown again before he finished off his beer and tossed the bottle into the crowded sink. "We?" He said, turning back toward Alvin and then he shook his head. "Its past that Alvin." It was rare that Darren used his brothers real name, instead of the nickname he'd been using to upset him since they were small boys. It meant he was serious. He finished his cigarette and dramatically put it out as he spoke, slamming it into the overflowing ash tray on the side table one word at a time. "He needs to be gone." And Darren meant it. Darren had never killed someone, at least not that he knew of, but he felt he was able to do it. He felt like when it came down to it he'd have the stomach for it. He was confident that he would in fact.

Alvin on the other hand... he wasn't so sure. His brother was emotional, far more emotional than Darren or Ryan were, and that usually kept him from going completely dark side. Darren had left most of his emotions behind him a long time ago and he had never looked back. He wondered if Alvin could do what had to be done. He wondered if he had grown up enough for this. "He needs to be permanently gone." He said standing back up and looking straight into his little brothers eyes. Near black ones searched them, waiting for him to realize exactly what Darren was hinting at. He wasn't going to threaten their father, he wasn't going to knock him around a little, he was planning to kill him, and he needed to know if Vin would be able to live with that. "What if he visits again? What if Kelly is there next time and she gets hurt?" He knew bringing up their sister would instill the kind of rage he needed from his youngest brother. Their sister was one of the few people they all looked out for. She was the good one of the family, a Ravenclaw, kind and smart, she was the only light in the dark room that the Hadditch boys had grown up in and she had to be protected.

"Think your up for that?"

"It's past that, Alvin."

Rainwater was soaking through the thin material of his cheap hoodie, but the shiver that Vin gave was less about the clammy coldness on his skin and more to do with Darren's tone. Past what? Not past them working together, because the only time Vin could ever remember them working together was to steal a broomstick for Ryan and even then he'd been forced into that by his brothers. Darren meant something else and Vin was struggling to keep up. Gone. Like... gone gone? Forever gone? Dead gone?

Vin sucked in a sharp, involuntary breath. Was Darren seriously suggesting they kill their father? Murder someone? Five seconds ago Vin had been all for heading around his place with his beater's bat and knocking the bastard into the seventh circle of hell, but it was one thing knocking a guy around and another thing to fucking kill. I mean, shit, they could end up in Azkaban or something. Alvin frowned, wondering when he'd ever started caring about the law. Was it the law and the fear of consequences that made him hesitate or was it something else? Something Darren would definitely see as a weakness. Did Vin want the blood of someone permanently on his hands? The blood of his father?

He took a half step back, the hand not holding his beer raising slightly as if trying to bring the situation back under control. Surely it didn't have to go that far. Surely they could just scare the crap out of him and be done with it...

But then Darren brought up Kelly. Darren knew his brother's buttons well. Very well. If there was one thing that would make Vin see red, it was the mere thought of his innocent little sister getting hurt. The image of Jack jumped to mind unbidden, Kelly crowded in a corner, dark brown eyes wide with fear, brimming with tears... and that bastard, face contorted like a demon, baring down on him. He'd done more to Emma than just hit her. The outward bruises were just the surface of the iceberg. The real pain and scarring was invisible. It lay in the memories, in the broken way that Emma had spoken, the way she'd been unable to meet his fucking eyes. The shame, the disgust. Vin had realised when talking to her that this probably wasn't the first time it had happened. All those years, he'd been oblivious and she'd been quietly hiding his crimes, dealing with it alone. She'd been a crappy mother, but she didn't deserve that. And Kelly certainly fucking didn't. That girl was a ball of sunshine and rainbows and fucking unicorns and shit. Innocence like that had to be protected. At any cost.

Any cost.

He'd be doing the world a favour.

It was the right thing to do.

There wasn't any other way.

Slowly, he nodded, eyes still burning darkly with the visions of Kelly. "Yeah."

The half step Alvin took quickly registered with Darren and his head tilted to the side a little. He knew Alvin was thinking about it now but the next few moments would be vital. He needed to know if his younger brother was ready for this and his movements and facial expressions would tell him a great deal if he paid close attention. When Kelly's name was brought up it was like a whole new Vin showed up. The version of his brother that Darren actually didn't mind much. All Darren ever wanted was for Alvin to be dedicated to something. Quidditch looked promising, Alvin was quite good at it, but that hadn't paid off. From the outside it might of seemed like Darren only wanted to hurt his brothers but that wasn't always the case. Sure he got a good laugh out of knocking Alvin around from time to time but he wasn't without reason. He wanted Alvin to succeed with the odds stacked against him, even if he was one of the people stacking those odds. Kelly had been one of the few things Darren had ever seen his brothers latch onto. It was one of the very few things they could all agree on.

And she was enough to push Alvin right to the edge, right where Darren was going to need him. He smirked classically as he waited for Alvin to finally give him an answer. It took some time, but Darren approved of that. He wouldn't let his brother rush in half cocked, they had to plan, had to be diligent, and they had to do this right if they didn't want their permanent residence to become Azkaban prison. When he got an answer all he did was nod and move to the couch before sinking into it. The hard question was over and now came the rest. "Ryan will want to know about this." Darren said lightly as he reached for an old napkin and a marker that was on the coffee table. He scratched down a few words, nothing that could give away details if picked up by the wrong people and then with his wand pulled out he muttered an incantation and tapped the tip of his wand to the paper. The edge of the napkin caught fire and as the flames ate the newspaper they carried the message to the middle son, wherever he might be. Darren leaned back into his old sofa and starred at Alvin for a moment before speaking.

"Tell me everything she told you." Darren knew Alvin hadn't told him the full story yet, he knew there were dark secrets and hidden horrors but he had to hear them straight from Alvin's mouth. It would be both informative for him and fuel for Alvin's rage, which they were going to need in the coming days. "And I mean everything."

[[Content Warning: discussions of violence and abuse. I've purposefully kept it vague, but if it's too much we can have this moved to nc17]]

Vin watched as Darren crossed the room to sit down. He wondered whether he was meant to do the same, but as Darren didn't explicitly ask or tell him to have a seat, he remained standing, loitering awkwardly the other side of the coffee table, watching in silence as Darren scribbled out a quick note to their brother and sent it on its way. Alvin wasn't sure what Ryan's feelings were on their mother, but he certainly had a soft spot for Kelly. Perhaps more than anyone. Vin squirmed visibly under Darren's silent gaze. He hated when Darren did that. Looked at him. And there was no way of knowing what was going on behind those eyes, what Darren was planning. He felt a huge sense of relief when Darren spoke again, the eventual break in silence making him happy to simply obey Darren's order without hesitation.

"She didn't tell me anything at first... didn't want us knowing. I had to talk it out of her. She said he turned up drunk, being loud out in the street and and she didn't want him to make a scene, so she let him in." Vin shook his head lightly at this. He knew for a fact that if any of the Hadditch boys had been there, Jack wouldn't have tried anything. He was a coward, attacking her when she was unprotected. Taking advantage of her need to see the good in people and forgive. "He wanted to.. y'know... hookup. Apparently he's been by before. Did you know that?" A dark frown crossed Vin's face. He hated the idea that this had been going on behind his back without him knowing. Especially when Kelly was living there.

"Anyway, she asked him to leave, he refused and started getting angry." Vin was playing it in his mind as he spoke, anger creeping out across his features. "and then he started getting violent and... trying to take what he wanted... and she gave up and let him. She didn't really go into details, Darren, but her face is a fucking mess. Black eye, bruised from here to here," he gestured from the hairline down to the side of his chin. "Handprint on her shoulder... I didn't see anything else but she was moving like she'd done four rounds with a dragon." He paused, glancing up at the ceiling. He knew that he wasn't exactly the model image of a man, and he'd dealt out his fair share of bruises and injuries... but somewhere in Alvin's twisted sense of morality, he drew a line. Preying on Hufflepuff girls, for example, had always been out of the question. They were weak and innocent. He might say something to make them embarrassed, or even if he was really pissed off, hurl verbal abuse that would reduce them to tears, but he would never, ever lay a hand on one of them unprovoked. Emma was just a grown-up Hufflepuff girl. And Jack was a bastard. A fucking evil bastard.

As his brother spoke words Darren had never wanted to hear he slowly leaned his head back against the couch. The sofa was worn, it was old and breaking down just like most everything in Darren's apartment but he didn't mind. It was comfortable and most importantly it was his. He was a possessive man by nature and that trait crossed into all aspects of his life, including his family. He didn't know how to love them properly and he probably never would but controlling them with fear was his way of showing that he cared. Vin continued with the story as Darren lit another cigarette, the one from before still half lit and burning down to nothing but filter on the edge of the ashtray. He was distracted and the chain smoking was about to begin. He took deep breaths off the cancer riddled stick and blew out hefty clouds of smoke. Near black eyes watched as the smoke filled up the space between him and the cracked ceiling and he just stared at it. How could she let him do that to her? Why did she never fight back? Darren sometimes felt pity for his mother and sometimes her submissiveness made him sick.

As his youngest brother finished the story Darren finished his cigarette, promptly lighting another, but never turned to look at Alvin. He spent more time than was probably socially acceptable sitting silently. He had to process all of this information. Hearing that it happened once would be bad enough, but this wasn't the first time, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. He knew this wasn't something they could put a stop to without taking drastic measures. Darren's mind slowly moved away from his tiny little apartment and his furious little brother as the wheels began to turn. Planning was one thing he had always been good at. He was strategic and he knew how to use that skill. He took another long drag of his cigarette before he finally spoke but his eyes remained focused on the nicotine tinted ceiling as he did. "Do you know where he lives?" He asked quietly, his voice a bit raspier then before from the constant smoking he'd been doing since his brother had shown up. For as long as he could Darren had made it a point to stay away from his father. Not that his father had ever really come looking for him, which was fine with the eldest Hadditch boy. He had no idea where he was and that had to change. He sat forward quickly and smashed the nearly spent cigarette into the over flowing ash tray before turning to Alvin. Resting his elbows on his knees with his arms hanging freely he looked at the other boy.

"We need to learn his schedule, every where he goes, his routines, then we can pick the best place to ambush him." It was their best bet. They couldn't do it some where that might link back to them so at their mother's was out of the question. He continued to ponder over the possible outcomes of their plan. It was too early to see the whole thing but it was slowly becoming more real in Darren's head. "And most importantly..." He stood up and crossed the room, this was more serious than everything else he had said and he moved closer to his brother to show that. Looking down at the young man Darren felt like he barely recognized him. It had been a while since they had seen one another and it appeared the younger of the two had done some growing since then. Even his expressions at changed, Darren knew what Alvin's face looked like under all sorts of circumstances but tonight's anger was different than the unguided fury that Darren was used to. "Kelly can never know about this." It was his number one goal of the mission. He wanted to save his mother from ever having to go through this again. And a big part of him, a black part he had let come to light less and less since he began dating Jane, really did want to murder his father. Most of all however he needed to protect his baby sister. She couldn't turn out like them, she was destined for something better than this life, he wanted the peace to remain in her eyes forever. "Swear it Alvin." He said, holding his arm out for them to shake on it, a gesture he rarely offered to his youngest brother.

Darren did more of the silent staring thing. Vin took the opportunity to finish his beer and leaned against the arm of the sofa, still feeling too on edge to sit down. Darren's place was not somewhere that Vin had ever considered a home or felt welcome in. It had technically been his 'home' for the previous summer, but Vin had spent hardly any time there at all, preferring to crash at Sarah's or other friends. This was Darren's home. Everything about it reflected the eldest Hadditch boy. Darren's habits and mannerisms were written all over the room and Alvin felt awkward just being there, like he fitted about as much as a council inspector or taxman would.

Why did Darren need to think so much? He supposed it was Darren's 'thing', but seriously, the guy smoked a whole cigarette before he opened his mouth to speak again. Alvin shook his head at the question. "Not anymore, he left... or maybe his girlfriend kicked him out... either way the place he was stayin' at he ain't been back there for a couple months now." He wondered if he should tell Darren about Jack's other children. He was almost certain that Darren didn't know, and probably didn't want to know. "He watches West Ham games, though that might be lookin' for a needle in a haystack. There's a bettin' shop near his girlfriend's place he used to go to... dunno if 'e still does, but bettin' shops are probably a good place to start looking anyhow." It was strangely nice to feel useful while imparting this information. Like he was actually a part of Darren's plan, rather than Darren being a part of his.

His body flinched automatically as Darren stood, old habits didn't die... they just got smothered over time. Most people wouldn't notice the slight movement, but Darren's gaze was fixed on Alvin and he was the type who would pick up on the subtle tensing of Vin's muscles, the way his face set like he expected to catch a punch at any moment. He hated how much taller than him Darren was. Physically, Vin was just as strong, maybe even stronger than his elder brother, but height was something that Vin would never have.

He nodded sharply at Darren's insistence that Kelly remain in the dark. That would have been his plan too. Kelly didn't need her innocence robbed. She wasn't in touch with their father anyway. With any luck she wouldn't even hear that he was dead... he'd just never resurface in her life. That's how it should be. "I swear," he said, with an unusual solemness. "It'd be good if Emma didn't find out either. He just has to disappear, right? No-one but us needs to know he's... y'know... " Fuck. He was struggling to make himself to say the word and he knew that Darren would see that as a weakness. "Dead." He finally managed, knowing that Darren wouldn't let it slip otherwise.

As he stood up he noted the way Vin seemed to shift and it made him smirk just a little. Having control over his younger brother was something he'd been working at his whole life and he was quite proud of it. He licked his lips, mouth dry from chain smoking, and listened to what Alvin had to say. They'd have to be smart about this they couldn't just ambush him in an alley. There would be too many possibilities of getting caught. He could scream, attract attention, people might notice them leaving and tell the Aurors. No it would have to be somewhere private. Somewhere controllable. "We could check that place out, see if we can at least find him. Then we can follow him." Darren's mind was starting to turn with a plan, this could work, it had to work. He nodded when Alvin agreed to keep this a secret from their sister and to keep it from their mother. Darren didn't much care about Emma's well being but he agreed simply because less people who knew less chance someone would talk. His mother had never done anything for him, he doubted she'd hold up against questioning if she knew the truth, so that was settled.

The way Vin seemed to hesitate at the word send up red flags in Darren. Was he ready for this? Could he stomach it? Darren wasn't entirely sure but he knew their other brother could. They had to find Ryan before they could go any further. And they'd need a good plan for disposing of the body. He was pretty sure there would be some kind of tracking magic that would flag them if they tried to aparate a dead body, he wasn't certain, but it sounded like something the Ministry would do. Being a wizard made things easier and harder all at the same time. "Not just dead Alvin, murdered." He repeated, stepping forward to invade his brother's space and stare down at him. "You sure you can handle that because if you can't even say it out loud how am I supposed to trust in the fact that you can actually pull the trigger?" Darren had no plan in actually letting Alvin be the one to send the killing curse. Alvin actually had things going in his life and although Darren might not of seemed like it, he was proud. Alvin was the Quidditch captain for his House Team, he was wicked good on the pitch, and maybe he even had a shot to go pro. It was a lot more than Ryan or him ever had in their future. No he would be the one to kill their father, that was just the way it was supposed to go right?

"Maybe you should just sit on the sidelines for this one baby brother?" He said, toying with Alvin's emotions was something he was particularly fond of. "Let the big boys take care of it." If Alvin wanted in, he was in, but Darren was going to watch him like a hawk. He had to make sure there were no screw ups. He didn't really fancy the idea of spending time in Azkaban but if it came down to it he'd take the wrap for his brothers, that was how he was wired. Besides, maybe he'd meet some contacts in prison... or maybe he'd be locked in solitary and slowly lose his marbles... yeah he had no plans on getting locked up. "We have to find Ryan before we do anything else. I'll work on a plan for disposing of the body, I think I might have an idea. You poke around Emma's house see if she's had any other contact with our father recently, we can check out the bar tomorrow night." Darren barked orders out quickly as the plan got kicked into motion. "You should probably go now, I've got a girl waiting for me." He smirked at the thought of Jane, he said he'd stop by later that night and he wasn't about to keep her waiting. They had a lot to prepare but he was committed to the project now. There was no turning back, even if one of them changed their minds, this was going to happen.

They were going to kill their father.


[[out]]

Alvin tried not to wince as Darren towered over him, stepping forwards into his space. He hated the scent of him, the way that Darren's presence seemed to permeate every inch of the air surrounding him so that he felt completely enclosed. For a moment he thought that it had probably been a bad idea to come here. He should have handled this himself. But he'd have made a mess of his alone. Gone in without a plan and a ton of pent up emotions, gotten carried away... maybe even accidentally done what they were planning to do. And then what? He'd have been left there with a dead body and no fucking clue what to do about it. Darren taking the lead was a far better idea. Darren would think everything through.

"I told you I can handle it," he said gruffly, feeling frustrated that Darren was questioning his nerve again. Darren thought that he was incapable and although Vin had his own doubts, he was always determined to prove Darren wrong. Darren's probing just made him want to follow this through, just to show Darren that he could. That was probably the wrong attitude to have, but Vin had always been wired that way; impress Darren, show Darren, spite Darren... it always revolved around the one twisted male role model that had been a constant in Alvin's life. Darren was a shitty role model, but he was all that Vin had had.

He nodded as Darren started to relay the plan. His part was fairly simple to start with - investigate Emma's house. He could do that. Checking out the bar would mean sneaking out of Hogwarts again.. maybe he just shouldn't go back? He didn't mention this to Darren at all. He'd figure something out. Maybe if he went back to Emma's he could get her to write him a note saying there had been a death in the family and he needed a few days out, he was pretty sure that he could manipulate his mother into writing him the note... or even use the Imperius curse. He'd gotten pretty good at it during the year that the Carrows taught Dark Arts. A death in the family. That was almost the truth.

"Right, I'll go back to Emma's and.. uh.. wait for you to contact me." Darren was already waiting for him to leave, so he dropped the empty bottle into the overflowing trash, vaguely raising a hand as an unspoken 'bye' as he left.

Back into the rain. He flicked his saturated hood back up over his head and headed away from Darren's flat and the pizza shop. His feet started down the glistening pavement, eyes fixed on the ground in front of him as his formidable figure encouraged any oncoming muggles to step into the gutter or cross to the opposite side of the road. He barely noticed them. He could find somewhere quiet to apparate back to Emma's, but for now he wanted to walk. Let the stench of Darren's cigarette air out of his clothes and get his head straight... because tomorrow it started properly, and he really needed to be prepared.

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