Alfred was giving him a way out of this. It was what Evander had been hoping for; it was almost what he had been expecting. He and his brother did very few things together – nowadays, he had been going to say, but probably also never – and if one were to choose the one of them better prepared for a rescue mission, it would be Alfred. Only – how much use was Alfred, without a ship? Did his brother even have his wand on him? Did Alfred even use magic anymore?
Not that Evander had much experience facing a catastrophe of this scale – not that he knew where to start, magic or not – but he was resolved to be of some use. The most favoured spell in his personal arsenal had always been finite incantatem, but neatly ending other spells was probably no good in the face of a hurricane. Perhaps a sturdy shield charm would help, once they were out there. And, before they did, there was impervius – “I’m coming,” Evander decided, trying not to glance out-of-doors and immediately scare himself out of it. He tapped his wand to his face first, and then briefly to his clothes. “Here, this should help a little, with the rain,” he suggested, sure that the spell would not spare everything in these conditions (– he was mostly accustomed to using it when caught in an irritating drizzle –) but any visibility and resistance to the water would be helpful. He was determined to be helpful.
(There was another merit to this decision. Evander had been stuck in Britain while Caroline had nearly drowned on that cruise, and the stress of all the unknowns, the waiting and the fretting, was almost worse than the thought of anyone’s great bodily injury, or indeed, certain death. So at least this way he could avoid that.)
Not that Evander had much experience facing a catastrophe of this scale – not that he knew where to start, magic or not – but he was resolved to be of some use. The most favoured spell in his personal arsenal had always been finite incantatem, but neatly ending other spells was probably no good in the face of a hurricane. Perhaps a sturdy shield charm would help, once they were out there. And, before they did, there was impervius – “I’m coming,” Evander decided, trying not to glance out-of-doors and immediately scare himself out of it. He tapped his wand to his face first, and then briefly to his clothes. “Here, this should help a little, with the rain,” he suggested, sure that the spell would not spare everything in these conditions (– he was mostly accustomed to using it when caught in an irritating drizzle –) but any visibility and resistance to the water would be helpful. He was determined to be helpful.
(There was another merit to this decision. Evander had been stuck in Britain while Caroline had nearly drowned on that cruise, and the stress of all the unknowns, the waiting and the fretting, was almost worse than the thought of anyone’s great bodily injury, or indeed, certain death. So at least this way he could avoid that.)
