March 26th, 1891 — Malfoy Residence, Wellingtonshire, Hogsmeade
Reuben was going to duel Elmer, that's what he'd meant by he'd take care of it. It was terribly romantic but it turned out that it was a little bit more terrible than it was romantic compared to the novels she'd read. Her brother might die or else be seriously injured and she couldn't have that on her conscience.
Then there was Elmer. She was hurt that he had said something to her brother in the first place to bring about this horrid situation but he'd willingly returned her letters and her resolute belief that she was doing the right thing had cracked and almost shattered when she'd received his response. She'd had to stop herself from replying at all or she'd never have been able to keep her resolve.
Nova didn't want either of them to die or be grievously injured on her account. If she was the cause of two crippled brothers she'd never be able to live with herself. Novels rarely made cripples particularly glamorous and so it was definitely not a desirable state in Nova's opinion. Roman would probably avoid her like the plague if he suddenly were to become the last physically unencumbered Crouch, nor would she blame him.
So what to do? She'd written a letter to Elmer's mother in the hope that Mrs. Macmillan would be able to exert some authority over him. She'd then written to her brother in an awfully deceptive manner which had made her feel dishonest and unclean. If Elmer failed to turn up then there could be no duel but Reuben had given her every reason to believe he'd turn up no matter what which - while exceedingly heartwarming - was incredibly distressing and she didn't feel confident enough that one of them would fail to turn up. What more could she do?
Thankfully the current predicament had occurred to her much earlier in the day and so she'd had her maid procure a Draught of Living Death. She'd gotten the idea from Romeo and Juliet of course, although the situation was quite different and hopefully would have a very different outcome (although if it didn't she could accept the romance of it all and die peacefully). There was no way of knowing for sure if Reuben would be contacted in time, nor any guarantee that he'd ditch the duel. Still there wasn't much else she could do and it wasn't as though the potion would actually kill her, it'd just seem like it for a little while.
Nova didn't know the time nor place of the duel but it seemed a safe enough bet to assume the tradition dawn time. So for her plan to work she would have to take the potion and make sure she was found at once, it would have to be close enough to dawn that it would prevent Reuben from attending the duel, but not so close that he'd miss any letters before he set off.
Somewhere between three and four in the morning, Nova removed the stopper from the potion vial and drank the contents. Her lady's maid was in on her scheme and so was ready to raise the alarm once she'd been rendered unconscious. She was also to see to it that Reuben was informed as soon as possible.
Then there was Elmer. She was hurt that he had said something to her brother in the first place to bring about this horrid situation but he'd willingly returned her letters and her resolute belief that she was doing the right thing had cracked and almost shattered when she'd received his response. She'd had to stop herself from replying at all or she'd never have been able to keep her resolve.
Nova didn't want either of them to die or be grievously injured on her account. If she was the cause of two crippled brothers she'd never be able to live with herself. Novels rarely made cripples particularly glamorous and so it was definitely not a desirable state in Nova's opinion. Roman would probably avoid her like the plague if he suddenly were to become the last physically unencumbered Crouch, nor would she blame him.
So what to do? She'd written a letter to Elmer's mother in the hope that Mrs. Macmillan would be able to exert some authority over him. She'd then written to her brother in an awfully deceptive manner which had made her feel dishonest and unclean. If Elmer failed to turn up then there could be no duel but Reuben had given her every reason to believe he'd turn up no matter what which - while exceedingly heartwarming - was incredibly distressing and she didn't feel confident enough that one of them would fail to turn up. What more could she do?
Thankfully the current predicament had occurred to her much earlier in the day and so she'd had her maid procure a Draught of Living Death. She'd gotten the idea from Romeo and Juliet of course, although the situation was quite different and hopefully would have a very different outcome (although if it didn't she could accept the romance of it all and die peacefully). There was no way of knowing for sure if Reuben would be contacted in time, nor any guarantee that he'd ditch the duel. Still there wasn't much else she could do and it wasn't as though the potion would actually kill her, it'd just seem like it for a little while.
Nova didn't know the time nor place of the duel but it seemed a safe enough bet to assume the tradition dawn time. So for her plan to work she would have to take the potion and make sure she was found at once, it would have to be close enough to dawn that it would prevent Reuben from attending the duel, but not so close that he'd miss any letters before he set off.
Somewhere between three and four in the morning, Nova removed the stopper from the potion vial and drank the contents. Her lady's maid was in on her scheme and so was ready to raise the alarm once she'd been rendered unconscious. She was also to see to it that Reuben was informed as soon as possible.
Where did that weird title come from?
