She had been in a sort of stunned shock for the past four hours – ever since that fateful trip to America she had been sitting on the family front porch doing nothing but thinking. Dillan had lied to her. Made a fool out of her. Put her reputation in the gutter. There was no way she was going to be able to face the office now. Even worse she could see the headlines now – none of them flattering, all of them about the scandal behind the newest department head. Might as well turn in her resignation now.

How could he! How could he do this to her?

He knew ho w much, how much – BASTARD! – He knew all along. If word that he was an imposter got out she was doomed, she would have no life. Everything that mattered, her job, would be taken away from her. Which is why no one was ever going to find out about his fraudulent nature, no, she would see to that. Dillan Wentworth would disappear into whatever hole she dug for him and she, she would continue one somehow. She had done it before with Wendell, so how would Dillan, the unknown man she had let into her home, her bed, her… heart?

Ga! She was a fool. A right fool. It was as though Wendell were haunting her, making sure she was cursed with having to fall for men that while charming and appealing, were lying cheating criminal scumbags. At least this incident would provide another laugh and woeful sigh the next time she saw Artemis.

Speaking of time Sofia gave a soft sigh as she picked herself off the ground, dusting the stray bits of foliage off her suit. Even Dillan would be worried if she didn’t come home soon – and would take her lateness as some sort of sign and be on his guard. That she did not want – it was her intention to have the upper hand in this confrontation. She was ready, all those pesky emotions had been aired and folded back away, there would be no scene. Just a calm question and answer session followed by her giving some sort of ultimatum and his leaving England (and consequently her) forever. That at least would be the ideal situation. Then after a respectable amount of time she would fall into the role she was expected to play and join her mother in the perfect world of pureblood snobbery – one her mother was currently creating for Sofia and Dillan, but quite frankly the groom mattered little so long as he was of noble blood and able to produce grandchildren. Sofia would then give up all hope of a career and die a slow and painful death of respectability. See ideal situation for everyone in the end.

With such pleasant thoughts on for the future on mind she apperated back to London, but not to her flat. Not yet. Instead she was now inside her office, where the ‘real’ Dillan Wentworth’s files were still sitting open for the world to see. Moments later they were gone – not destroyed mind since that would be a violation of her power, but in a place that only she could get to. Having done this she made her way home to Dillan.

She opened the door and located him instantly in his chair. It would be his chair no longer… but before she could kick him out of her house and life she needed to get some questions answered first.

“Evening Dillan. Work went well today I trust?” She managed, figuring it would be best to ease into the subject.

Sofia had been acting strange lately, and he couldn’t quite figure out why. It had started about a week ago, that night he came home (strangely he associated her apartment more as home than his own) after a long evening of futile searching for the old apothecary who sold him the polyjuice potion. He had been unapologetically drunk that evening, waking up the next morning with a wicked headache that lasted well into the afternoon. And his memories of the evening before had been patchy at best. He seemed to recall Sofia asking him questions about school or something. At least that was what she had said before forcing him into teaching her the game of Quadpot, a game that he had never played before in his life. She had found it exceptionally amusing when she turned out to be much better at the game than he was.

But more to the point she had been giving him intensely penetrating stares when she though he wasn’t look. She had been dropping increasingly detailed questions to him about his ‘past’ with much more regularity than she ever had. And while normal couples might have just thought that this was a way of beginning to connect on a deeper level he was finding them to be intrusive and dangerous. He could only keep track of so many lies, and she had called him out more than once on inconsistencies in his story. He had stepped up his search for the apothecary in the interim, fearing that his cover id was beginning to crack.

This particular evening was not entirely unlike that evening last week. But mostly in the fact that Wendell was sitting waiting for Sofia who was working late again while having a glass of firewhiskey. Although it was in much more moderation than the last time, in fact he had been working on his current glass in between reading the Daily Prophet for the past forty minutes in his favorite chair. He was in this same position when Sofia finally came in through the front door.

Evening Dillan. Work went well today I trust?” She greeted him hanging up her coat.

There it was that same strange tone she had been using all week and it instantly set him on guard though he tried not to show it. He took another sip of his drink and turned the page—oh look the gossip column. He always enjoyed Lola Davis’ column…he had enjoyed her person as well. She was always at the best parties.

“Oh you, know the usual. Arrested some drug traffickers down in Knockturn then spent the rest of the day trying to figure out which form I needed to fill out saying I had arrested them.” He rolled his eyes theatrically over the top of his paper. It was a longstanding joke between the two of them that he was utterly hopeless at any sort of paperwork whatsoever. Although in his defense he was infinitely better than when he had started. It had only taken him an hour to locate the proper forms today.

“How about you? I didn’t see you around the office at all today. Out in bureaucratic meetings all day?”

The usual. What was the usual for him? She was slowly bringing the office back together, back to order. Drug traffickers were her usual. What was his? Who was he? Already cracks were forming when she didn’t need them. Not now. She needed her composure. Never had there been a day she loved her mom and all her training more than at that moment.

“How about you? I didn’t see you around the office at all today. Out in bureaucratic meetings all day?”

He was making an opening without even trying. It was a matter of her jumping at it – which in her present state of mind would be for the best. But not instantly. She needed to be sitting down and doing something with her hands other than slowly mangling them with her nails. A sure sign she was upset. Luckily Dillan hadn’t caught sight of them in their current state.

She entered the front room and peaked over Dillan’s shoulder. An article by that Lola woman flashed back at her. Sofia’s face paled at the reminder of battles yet to come. Keeping this away from that… that… creature would a war she didn’t want to wage. She was going to have to come up with a away to keep her well out of Sofia Robards’ past and give her something else. Something that did not involve her already Lola prone brother. She was not going to hold this conversation while looking at an article by Lola.

Sofia slipped away from the back of the chair and chose the more sever and elegant straight back that someone had thoughtfully placed with her in mind. Mother again? Her mother was looking more and more wise by the moment.

“Funny you should ask, I’ve just gotten back from America.” She remarked, hands already sorting through the newspaper for a less degrading section after she sorted herself and a glass of water on the chair and side table. A sly peek upwards told her that Dillan had looked up from his paper and was now starring at her in a rather curious manner. As though he weren’t quite sure whether to fight or flee.

“It was no matter. I just had to go clear you papers. They had almost fallen through the gaps. Imagine! It all went rather well, though I don’t see why you left the American office , so very organized. You superior was quite a lovely man, took me out to lunch. There was only one slight hiccup. But I’m sure you can help sort that out.” She took a sip of water and opened up the international news sectionn of the paper, peaking over it only to give the Dillan imposter a level stare.

“It seems as though you retired ten years ago.”

“Funny you should ask, I’ve just gotten back from America.”

Those ominous words brought him out of his newspaper rather quickly. Considering the source of his cover ID, a trip to that portion of the world seemed unnaturally dangerous to his well-being. Why had she been there? Had she even been at the Wizarding Bureau of Investigations? Was she investigating him? Had she visited his “family”? Was it all a coincidence? Could he cover up whatever she had found? Had she found out anything at all?

“America?”

Of course he didn’t have to wait particularly long for her to divulge the information, and it wouldn’t be very pleasant for the young criminal/auror.

“It was no matter. I just had to go clear you papers. They had almost fallen through the gaps. Imagine! It all went rather well, though I don’t see why you left the American office , so very organized. You superior was quite a lovely man, took me out to lunch. There was only one slight hiccup. But I’m sure you can help sort that out.”

If he wasn’t sweating before he certainly was now. She seemed determined not to stare too accusingly at him, only a spare glance now and then. It was like a tortuous form of interrogation. Her living room had never seemed quite so like a prison: unwelcoming and uncomfortable. He was quite certain that his day of reckoning had finally come.

“It seems as though you retired ten years ago.”

Fight or Flight?

He had spent his entire life perfecting his ability to make such decisions under the most dangerous of circumstances. In spite of this he didn’t believe he had ever been forced to choose under a more terrifying situation. In the end he didn’t believe he made a conscious decision either way, his mind just went desolately blank, his uncertain expression slid off his face and he pulled the newspaper back up over his face.

“That’s clearly quite impossible love.” He finally said in an amused tone shuffling is newspaper a bit. “I’d have to be about eighty. There must be some mistake.”

Dismiss everything as a joke, but be on the lookout for hexes.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(OOC: Yays! A post from me! I might have a sore wrist but I was determined!)

There was a dead silence in the room. Her question hanging in the air as Dillan looked on the verge of a panic attack. He could try to hide it but it was there, in the twitch of his hand and the ways his eyes almost reflexively sought the door before he attempted to nonchalantly hide behind the paper, small beads of sweat rapidly forming on his brow.

He was a rather terrible liar when caught it seemed. His body was giving him away with his every move. Wendell at least had had some modicum of control... or at least his lying reflexes were tied to his flirting ones.

“That’s clearly quite impossible love. I’d have to be about eighty. There must be some mistake.”

It came a bit muffled from behind the newspaper but she had heard right. He was denying it. Typical. He couldn't even live up to his own falsehood. Even when caught in a lie he was going to try to slither on out

She smiled, playing along with him, body rising out of the chair only to drape herself around the back of his. The both were falling into roles that would suit one of them rather well. He had played with her for long enough, it was only natural she should do the same - that and it could be said that Sofia tended to exhibit feline tendencies when agitated, relying part on patience, part on intimidation, and largely part on what others would dub a sadistic habit of playing with her victims to get what she wanted.

Her hand slipped down to idly play with a strand of his hair, while the other went back into its clutched position, her nails easily finding the groves they had created earlier. "Impossible indeed love. That's what I said. But then..." Her hand paused, fingers tightening around a chuck of stands, before abruptly pulling his head upwards from his paper, causing their eyes to meet. "But then I remembered - you don't even like the same things Dillan Wenthworth is reputed to like, you don't even know where you were born. Things like that do add up love."

She let go of his hair, allowing his head to fall back down, but continued talking, her tone still as unaccusing and sickly sweet as possible as she made her way back to the front of his chair. "This paired with my seemingly insubstantial attraction to liars leads me to believe that things aren't as impossible as they seem."

There was a mumbled response, but it was not matter to Sofia was he said, what lie his came up with this time. No for what Dillan couldn't see from behind his paper was that her wand was now out and she in an attack stance.

With a quick flick of her wand said paper was gone and Dillan was facing a venomous looking Sofia. "Who are you really?" She hissed as ropes materialized out of the chair, binding themselves around the impostor's hands and feet.

Without further ado she draped herself around the back of his chair and began to run her fingers through his hair. It was not the reaction that he had been expecting. Further arguments and demands for proper explanations would have seemed much more in character for Sofia.

"But then I remembered - you don't even like the same things Dillan Wenthworth is reputed to like, you don't even know where you were born. Things like that do add up love."

So she wasn’t acting entirely out of character, he noted as her grip tightened uncomfortably jerking his head back. He tried to interrupt her angry tirade on her habit of falling for worthless liars (something that he found rather offensive), but she was in no mood to listen to anything that he had to say at present. She removed herself from the back of his chair and with no small amount of disgust she retook her position in front of him.

”Who are you really?

The newspaper he was hiding behind ripped itself from his grasp and in another instant thick chords bound him leaving him to helplessly face a furious looking Sofia. He supposed he oughtn’t be surprised that she was suspicious. She hadn’t become the youngest head of the Auror department because she was hot.

“Please, I’ll explain everything just give me a moment.”

Feeble excuses flitted through his head: I’m an American spy sent to report back on England’s deteriorating government; I was used to experiment a new anti-aging potion. Each defense sounded more preposterous than the last as it whirled around his head. And he eventually came to the realization that there comes a time when lying becomes a completely futile exercise and the only option that remains is to tell the truth. And judging by the level glare that Sofia currently had directed at him that time had come.

He stretched around and pulled his wand out of his pocket. Sofia’s wand pointed ever more directly at his nose. But he ignored it and slashed the ropes that bound his hands and feet.

“Really, that is entirely unnecessary Sofia! I’ve given you no reason to believe me dangerous.” He said pointedly re-pocketing his wand in order to set her more at ease. “I will admit that I’ve not been entirely truthful about my past.” He said seemingly bowing down under the vindictive glare of Sofia Robards.

“Things weren’t going very well for me and I was looking for an opportunity to start my life over. So I became Dillan Wentworth and applied for a position at the ministry. And I’ve been living this completely new life for the past few months, lying to everyone I’ve ever known.” He was sounding more and more depressed as he continued on.

“Sorry about that, for the record.”

Her wand remained trained on him, a stunning curse at the tip of her tongue, several other hexs already slowly forming into what would be a lethal chain once unleashed, as Dillan untied himself and began to explain. Or try to. It wasn't at all satisfying. Sorry I lied to you but it was necessary and for the good of all sort of crap. As if everyone didn't have a crummy life. She had one and was she trying to escape it by tramping about lying to everyone? Sort of...

Sofia backtracked amending her own thoughts - she wasn't lying to everyone about who she was. There. That made matters completely different. There was one established degree of difference between then. No two! She was still going under her established identity and not running away from her problems unlike the scum who couldn't take whatever life had dealt him.

Worse yet he likely wasn't even a pure blood.

Her mother was going to be pissed. Sofia was quite sure she had seen S & D designs on her desk the other day. Yet another wedding plot foiled. Well there was her silver lining in this disaster.

Sofia's attention snapped back to Dillan as he confessed to lying to everyone he'd ever known. Did she know the bastard in another form? He hadn't even answered her simple question - just gave her some useless back story. Now she need to know who, in the form of a name, he was.

"Sorry about that for the record."

"Things weren't going well for you. You're sorry. Sorry." She repeated, flabbergasted, her wand lowering slightly as her mind reeled. Oh god he had known her in his other form! That had to be why he was sorry, men were never sorry for breaking hearts, it had to be that.

Sofia's face paled and glare intensified as her mind raced over people that had disappeared recently. It was rather lengthy come to think of it.

"Who are you - or rather who were you? I have the right to know. You've ruined me after all." She gave a bitter laugh her wand waving about, yet still trained somewhere on Dillan's person at all times. "Ruined! I'll have to do something drastic now, after I resign that is." Jasper Christie came as a drastic step, people would only focus on pureblood love and not whatever colossal mistake she had made. It was going to be hell.

"If you thought your life wasn't going well before, you hadn't considered the addition of me." She glowered at him.

"Who are you - or rather who were you? I have the right to know. You've ruined me after all. Ruined! I'll have to do something drastic now, after I resign that is."

"W-what? No, that's not what I meant to-" His sentance died out as he began to start feeling odd. Sofia started talking again but he found himself unable to pay attention.

There was a feeling like a sieve and a warm tingly stream flowing out of him in the most unpleasant manner, leaving him feeling cold and empty. He looked down at himself to see if he could discern exactly what was the matter with him, but he seemed perfectly all right. But then he suddenly felt an unpleasant jerk in his stomach, like a knife slicing through his abdomen. His skin began to burn and crawl unpleasantly, and he heaved a great shuddering breath as his lungs contracted painfully. He knew in an instant what was happening to him, he had only ever felt this sort of pain one time before—his polyjuice potion was wearing off. And if these preliminary signs were any indication, it would happen just as quickly and painfully as it had the last time. He looked around in a panic, knowing he had only a few minutes, nay seconds to hide himself.

”Dillan? What’s the matter with you, are you alright?”

“I…I’m f—“ he choked out. He took a few desperate steps towards a door, any door but as the pain intensified he knew that he’d never make it. It was too late. Doubled over, he gave a strangled sounding cry of pain as the transformation kicked in full force, rearranging his muscles, shrinking his bones, every inch of him burning and twisting. His knees gave out again, sending him sprawling ungracefully to the floor but the impact was hardly noticeable. His limbs shook, spasmed and twitched uncontrollably as he shrunk down in on himself. There was someone shouting his name in a terrified voice, but they were distant and muffled sounding. His vision grew hazy and floor tiles swam before his eyes. He brought his arms up to shield his face from view, for what good it would do him. It wasn't as though she hadn't stopped to stare at him anxiously as he writhed in pain.

Don’t pass out! Don’t pass out! Don’t pass out! His mind shouted through the otherwise paralyzing pain.

Eventually the violent shuddering stopped, and he fell limp against the floor, except that his arms were still curled protectively around his face. His clothes felt loose, with now unnecessary excess fabric. He took a couple great shuddering breaths, and slowly his brain became aware of the sounds around him, there was a hand placed tentatively on his shoulder shaking him gently. The dizziness and nausea he felt began to subside though his head still ached brutally; there was no hiding now of course. He was caught well and good in the middle of his own carefully constructed web of lies. He used one hand to slowly push himself up to a sitting position the other one still shielding his face, but this time to protect eyes from the light that his vision had yet to readjust to. He brought it down, blinking furiously as the bright glow receded to reveal the astonished face staring at him in horror.

“Erm…surprise?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(OOC: Sorry I stuck some words in her mouth...but i figured she would probably say something. Feel free to change it to something more appropriate given her current mental state and I'll fix it!)

"W-what? No, that's not what I meant to-"

Her eyes narrowed as she prepared for another attack, this one involving more magic less passive questioning. Really that's not what he had meant to do? Then what had he intended to... Sofia's thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Something was not right. Dillan had not managed to finish his thought and his face had gone as white as a sheet. Then he began a spasm as panic etched itself across his face.... and she was not the cause of it. Definitely not right.

"Dillan? What's the matter with you, are you alright?" She asked, unsure as of what to do. She was upset with Dillan but that didn't mean she didn't still love him on some level, and only she was allowed to cause him pain.

"I...I'm f-"

That was helpful and why the hell was he making a run for the door? Pushing her personal feelings aside Sofia ran to the man that was now doubled over in pain in her atrium barely managing to catch him before he hit the floor. Unprepared for his weight she instead was sent butt first onto the tiled floors as she did her best to keep Dillan from flailing. Nothing in all her training had prepared her for this. It was not curse work nor was there a noticeable wound, she should be calling Mungo's for help but she couldn't. Her arms were otherwise occupied with keeping Dillan from stabbing himself in the face or breaking an arm on a side table.

He wrenched himself from her arms rolling closer to the door, arms over his face, body still shaking uncontrollably, looking almost as though it were shrinking. "Dillan!" She heard herself shout as she began to watch in a sort of numb terror as Dillan's body began to transform. Bones looked like they were shrinking and molding themselves in a much smaller frame, as his hair began to take on a familiar hue. "Merlin no!" She cried, realizing that she had cracked. Only a perverse nutter would think that Dillan was taking on the form of... No! It couldn't be true. There look the crook of the neck was wrong and the face... the face was still morphing from the looks of it and behind closed arms. No she was imagining things now surely. The product of to much work, not enough sleep, and finding out that the man she had trusted was a lying bastard.

Almost as soon as it had started the body that she had once recognized as Dillan Wentworth went still. Good god was he dead? Sofia crawled over to him and began to shake him all the while trying to figure out where her life had gone wrong, what she had done to deserve having a complete stranger die in front of her. The man shrugged her off, slowly sitting up, his face still blocked. Then with a sigh worthy of someone about to receive a kiss from a squad of death eaters he slowly lowered him arm.

Sofia blinked.

Blinked again.

Nope still there. Wendell Darrow seemed to be sitting where Dillan Wentworth once was. It took to much effort to even work up the ability to care that she was loosing control of her usually controlled expressions, rather she gaped at the man with a mixture of horror and fascination.

“Erm…surprise?”

With a sob she threw her arms around him. "You're alive. Really alive." She whispered before her lips somehow found his, throwing all her confusion and frustration into a kiss, only caring about the fact that he was there, all other cognitive functions suspended in that moment. He tasted just she had remembered, felt the way she had remembered, flicked his tongue in that way, and even was wrapping his arms around her the way he had that night - that fateful night. The night before he died.

He hadn't died. He had lied. To her. Would keep doing it too.

The magic of the moment fled just as quickly as it had come. No longer was he the man she had been mourning for, been heartbroken over - no he was a bloody bastard that obviously didn't care a wilt about what he did to her, put her through. He had even had the gal to use her as a cover without so much a a by your leave. No man tread a Robards that way. This needed to come to an end. They needed to end their acquaintance once and for all.

Sofia pulled back as, moving herself a safe distance from Wendell, wrapping herself in the overwhelming feeling of hurt, her wand out and aimed at his chest. "No. Not again. Why can't you leave me alone Wendell?" She managed, ignoring the tears that were building up, she couldn't cry in front of him. Couldn't let him know how much he had hurt her. She still had some modicum of pride. "You know what, I don't care anymore. Its not like I'll get the truth this time. Just leave, your work here is done. Congratulations." A bitter laugh escaped as Sofia steadily glared at the newly reborn Wendell, her left hand already in its customary first, nails slowly digging into the neat row of crescent moon scabs.

He couldn’t quite say exactly how he would have expected Sofia to react if the Polyjuice Potion had suddenly worn off while he was in her presence. Probably that she’d react in a way that would cause him a tremendous amount of pain, or at the very least by giving him a glare that was cold enough to freeze the blood in his veins. However, he would never have expected her to throw herself at him with a cry of joy. For a few glorious moments his world shrunk to only include himself and Sofia. And though he would never be able to explain why, it was far more exhilarating to kiss her in his own skin than it had ever been as Dillan Wentworth.

Too quickly she pulled away and her expression had darkened considerably. Not into the usual expression of fury or disgust that she normally wore around him but something that much more closely resembled hurt. And he was surprised to discover that he was more disturbed by this pained expression than the venomous one she sported before she broke several of his bones.

"No. Not again. Why can't you leave me alone Wendell?"

His mouth open and closed several times, as he tried to think of a proper response to her disillusioned statement. But his mind remained steadfastly blank. No words of comfort or excuse came to him, or even one of his nearly unlimited streams of sappy poetry. He knew there was nothing he could say or do to wipe that expression from her face.

"You know what, I don't care anymore. Its not like I'll get the truth this time. Just leave, your work here is done. Congratulations."

And it was like this he was dismissed not just from her house, but from her life completely. He supposed if he should ever happen upon him again she would ignore his presence or throw him in Azkaban without a second thought. It was a terribly demoralizing thought. There were very few people that had actually bothered to care about him; Merlin knows his family was never concerned. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t ever learned to check his behavior to spare others pain, he hadn’t ever had to. And his punishment for the thoughtlessness with which he had treated her was to lose her forever.

He hung his head looking more than a little dejected as he rose to his feet to depart.

“I didn’t mean for things to end up like this. I’m sorry.” They weren’t particularly poetic parting words but it was probably the most honest thing he had said in years. And with that he opened her front door and disappeared into the London night.