When Teresa is Released from Azkaban

## "Where have you been?"

* When Draco questions Teresa, she will be completely honest. She hopes that will be enough for her release.
* I expect she’ll have to make an Unbreakable Vow saying that she’ll never use Dark magic again in order for her to be released. I see two options to explain her disappearance. Either her memory is modified so she thinks she was somewhere other than Azkaban (suggestion: in Poland, fighting off the Darkness that was threatening to take her over) (also the option I’d prefer) or she has to lie and come up with a story about where she’s been. So I wrote out two scenarios to Ferlen’s obvious question: “Where have you been?”
* Ferlen might not accept Teresa back because he won't trust that she'll stay, or that she won't go back to her Dark research. Whether she remembers making the Unbreakable Vow or not, I can see her suggesting that she makes an Unbreakable Vow to never use Dark magic again. She might also suggest making some kind of Vow about not disappearing again, but I'm not sure what the parameters or exact promise would be for something like that.

### Memory Modification

She took a deep breath. Ferlen’s question was inevitable. She was ashamed to admit where she had been… how the Darkness had taken her over after all. She could only hope that her honesty would be enough for him to accept her once more. Tears in her eyes, she met Ferlen’s gaze. “A couple days before I left… I started getting these….” She searched for a word. “Urges. Urges to do… horrible things.” Her eyes grew haunted. “I would have a sudden desire to kill you, like I almost did the first time I tried to destroy the Dark research. I would wake up in the middle of the night and I had to leave the bedroom… go outside until it passed. It wasn’t like the Imperius Curse… it was something even Darker.” Fear woke in her eyes as she remembered those nights on the back porch, and how she had burst into tears of anguish and self-loathing when the urges passed. “I was terrified of myself… horrified that your boggart m-might be coming true. I didn’t know how to control it. T-then….” She took another deep breath, forcing herself to keep looking into Ferlen’s eyes. “I h-had the urge t-t-to hurt Rose. When you were at work and there was n-no one but me. I Apparated away. B-but once I was out of the house, more ur-urges started pouring in. Horrible things….” She shivered. “I went to the most isolated place I could think of, in Poland. I t-trapped myself… I didn’t know how to break free from this Darkness, and I c-couldn’t risk being around people.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, hazy images of the abandoned street burned into her mind. “I lost all sense of time… even the sense of night and day. Everything started blurring together. When I was semi-in the right mind, I scrounged for food and warmth. But those h-horrible urges always came back… until a couple weeks ago.” She took a shaky breath. “It was like waking up from the most horrible nightmare of my life. Looking at the sky was like looking at it for the first time. I don’t really know how I broke free… but I did.” More tears spilled down her cheeks. “When I figured out how much time had passed….” She turned away for a moment, closing her eyes. “Ferlen….” She opened her eyes again and held her husband’s gaze in her own. “I’m so sorry.”

### Unbreakable Vow

She took a deep breath. Ferlen’s question was inevitable. Her words would be a lie- one last lie. In this case, she didn’t have a choice. But she knew how to act… and her emotions were real. It had to be enough. Tears in her eyes, she met Ferlen’s gaze. “A couple days before I left… I started getting these….” She searched for a word. “Urges. Urges to do… horrible things.” Her eyes grew haunted. “I would have a sudden desire to kill you, like I almost did the first time I tried to destroy the Dark research. I would wake up in the middle of the night and I had to leave the bedroom… go outside until it passed. It wasn’t like the Imperius Curse… it was something even Darker.” Fear woke in her eyes. “I was terrified of myself… horrified that your boggart m-might be coming true. I didn’t know how to control it. T-then….” She took another deep breath, forcing herself to keep looking into Ferlen’s eyes. “I h-had the urge t-t-to hurt Rose. When you were at work and there was n-no one but me. I Apparated away. B-but once I was out of the house, more ur-urges started pouring in. Horrible things….” She shivered. “I went to the most isolated place I could think of, in Poland. I t-trapped myself… I didn’t know how to break free from this Darkness, and I c-couldn’t risk being around people.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I lost all sense of time… even the sense of night and day. Everything started blurring together. When I was semi-in the right mind, I scrounged for food and warmth. But those h-horrible urges always came back… until a couple weeks ago.” She took a shaky breath. “It was like waking up from the most horrible nightmare of my life. Looking at the sky was like looking at it for the first time. I don’t really know how I broke free… but I did.” More tears spilled down her cheeks. “When I figured out how much time had passed….” She turned away for a moment, closing her eyes. “Ferlen….” She opened her eyes again and held her husband’s gaze in her own. “I’m so sorry.”

## Possible Future Jobs

Obviously a lot of what happens to Teresa afterwards is dependent on Ferlen and Mary's actions. I don't know how long this will take, but my best guess is that eventually, Teresa will become a stay-at-home mom while Ferlen goes to work. Her time in Azkaban would have changed her, whether she remembers it or not. Her main focus will be on her family. As time wears on, she'll feel a bit trapped, missing work and missing friends (I don't know how she and Hope will get on when she returns, plus Ashley committed suicide and Marlene was killed in the line of duty). I expect that at some point, she'll want to take on a job she can do at home, but of course there aren't many of those. So here are some thoughts:

* Translator- I'm not sure how this would work exactly, but it makes the most sense. Teresa knows English and Polish fluently, but she also knows quite a bit of Polish sign language, French, German, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese. I can see her studying those languages while Rose is in her care, and then when Rose is old enough to be left in the house on her own, go to the hospital or the Ministry to translate on an as-needed basis.
* Hogwarts Librarian- Once Rose is at Hogwarts, I can see her taking on the role of librarian. After all, she loves books and was always willing to help people study when she was a student- that wouldn't have changed once she was an adult. Besides, there's plenty of nostalgia waiting for her, since that's where she and Ferlen had a lot of their conversations when they were students.
* Daily Prophet editor/writer- With her old job in Poland she'd be qualified for a position like this, though OOC I'm not sure if that's the best idea. Something to think about, though.
* Social worker- Teresa's not cut out to be a Healer, but something similar to social work is something I can see her getting into. There are many different types of social work, but in Teresa's case it'd be something like hospice or palliative care. It's a support system she wished Mary would have had when she was so sick, because Teresa was mostly taking care of Mary on her own.
* Music- In the British Muggle world, Teresa was actually well-known for her singing and dancing. She keeps it quiet because she left that life behind for a host of reasons. Mary found out just how well-known Teresa is when she searched her bedroom. I can see Mary trying to convince her to try out for a musical, or at least make YouTube videos and make money that way. But Teresa doesn't want to be recognized, and Ferlen knows nothing about just how well-known she is... so while I don't think she would actually pursue that as a career, I can see that bringing on some emotional turmoil as she tries to work that out.
* Historian/History of Magic teacher- Teresa does love to research, and history is a place that knows little boundaries. While it may not have been the most fascinating subject for her in school, it's something she can research without experimenting. She wouldn't be suited for something like Potions or Transfiguration, at least in her mind, because even though she's skillful, too much experimentation could lead her down a dangerous road.

## State of Mind

Again, a lot of this will depend on two things: Ferlen and Mary's reactions, and whether Teresa remembers her stay in Azkaban or not. But I think I can come up with a few general ideas:

* Dedication to family: In either scenario, she lost her family for a period of time. She believed Ferlen when he told her over and over that they were stronger together, and when she was taken away from her family, she realized exactly what she had lost. She knows that nothing she does can make up for the emotional turmoil she put her family through, but that won't stop her from doing little things to make Ferlen's life easier, like cleaning the house or making nice dinners (assuming Ferlen takes her back eventually). She'll be very unsure of herself for awhile, not wanting to say the wrong thing or start an argument. Though she feels awful for what she did, I think she'll actually feel more guilty about Mary than Ferlen. Ferlen seems to be holding himself together pretty well, while Mary is a hurting, lonely mess. She would be willing to work hard to patch up her relationship with her husband and her sister. Seeing Rose will probably cause her great pain for the first few days especially, seeing how she has grown without her- and if what Ferlen told Mary turns out to be truth, she'll probably live with Mary for awhile, since Ferlen wants to protect Rose. But unlike Mary, Teresa would be able to push that kind of pain aside: She's here now, and she's ready to dive back into motherhood, and get to know the child she left behind.
* Relationship with Mary: Since I'm not Ferlen's rper, I can't speak for Ferlen's actions. But since I rp both Mary and Teresa, I can speak for a few things they definitely need to work out.

* Mary's dependence on Teresa stems from how Teresa cared for her while she was sick- not their parents. Teresa often views herself more of a caregiver than a sister, leaving Mary to try and fail at acting like the older sister she should be. Mary has only just opened her eyes to how uncaring her father is, while Teresa has known for years and done her best to keep Mary from seeing that. I'm not sure how exactly that will be worked out- that'll probably require a few self-rps/stories- but I think that's the number one issue.
* However you want to slice and dice it, a lot of what caused Benjamin to break up with Mary is Teresa's actions and how Mary responded to them. Mary recognizes that, and while she is generally a kind-hearted person, there is a resentment there. Again, I'm not sure how that will be resolved... but another issue to think about.