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Christopher Summers ([info]chrisss) wrote in [info]finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-09-30 10:52:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:character: ben stebbins, character: chris summers, character: ernie macmillan, character: pandora montgomery, character: richard summerby, character: susan bones

RP: A reunion of sorts (backdated - 9/30/04)
Who: Chris, Ernie, Justin, Dora, Susan... Anyone else?
What: Hufflepuffs unite!
Where: The Common Room; Finnigan's
When: 30. September; evening
Rating: Perhaps language?

Chris wasn't the sort to be fashionably late - he showed up on time or not at all, more dramatic that way, you see. And so he took a seat at the bar a little before 6 o'clock, figuring the rest would be along shortly. He introduced himself to the barman and ordered two fingers of scotch to wait for his younger Housemates to join him from whatever it was keeping them all busy during the day lately.

Outwardly, he kept his usually sharp smile on, but privately he was wondering if Dora might show and why she was so hesitant, and if Susan was as fiery and fun and she'd always been, and who the boys were dating, and how Ernie ended up specifically in the Thickey ward and a million other things, but you wouldn't know it from the look on his face.


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[info]erniedtmac
2014-10-02 03:39 am UTC (link)
Ernie had a skip in his step, something that often happened when his life filled with friends both old and new. Furthermore, last week's bad case had been followed by what was shaping up to be a major victory in the treatment of another patient, so he was in an excellent mood. He even might have some time this week to finish his reading - there was a paper written by a Russian wizard that had been particularly fascinating.

He spotted Chris at the bar and went right over, offering the man a grin and a hand on Chris' shoulder to announce his arrival. "Hey there," he said, blushing slightly - he was definitely as fit as he'd been back in Ernie's school days. All right, he'd had a bit of a crush. He was allowed! "Can I buy you a drink, sailor?" he joked.

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[info]chrisss
2014-10-02 03:55 am UTC (link)
"Sailor?" Chris asked with a smile, standing to greet Ernie properly - Merlin, had it really been so long since they'd seen each other last? - "When have you ever known me to get on a boat?" He laughed. "It's good to see you!" Chris was often genuinely enthusiastic about things but his old friends - that was something that could bring real joy out in him.

"You're buying? In that case, of course. But the next round's on me," he accepted, nodding toward the stool next to his.

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[info]erniedtmac
2014-10-02 04:11 am UTC (link)
Ernie took the profferred stool, still a mite dazzled by how well Chris had aged, and chuckled. "Thanks, and of course I'm buying. I'm a healer, we make good galleons, don't you know." Matching actions to words, he waved the bartender over to order.

"And the thing I said was a line I heard from a Muggleborn once, and I thought it was cute. What do you think, did it work?"

Deep inside, he prayed yes.

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[info]chrisss
2014-10-02 05:24 am UTC (link)
Ernie hadn't changed much - still had a bright smile and a genuine happiness about him. Chris could appreciate that, even if it wasn't his nature. "Good galleons? Well at least one of us does," Chris said, tipping his glass up for a toast as the bartender brought drinks.

He considered for a second, "I suppose. Cute, yeah." He said with a chuckle, his years in the States coming out in his speech patterns.

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[info]erniedtmac
2014-10-03 12:39 am UTC (link)
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's good to have friends in the right places?" he teased. He took his drink when it arrived and tapped it against Chris'.

The response surprised Ernie, but pleased him too. He'd actually never in a million years thought he'd have a chance with Chris Summers, but had he really just hinted that the 'line' had worked? His smile turned a little flirty, though dorkishly so, and he did his best to appear like something that wasn't a complete and total idiot. "Well, if that line worked, I've a few more where they came from. Maybe I can show you over dinner one night?"

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[info]chrisss
2014-10-04 09:30 pm UTC (link)
Chris chuckled at Ernie's comment but at the second point his eyebrows raised just a bit before he controlled his features and smiled lightly. "Perhaps I could learn a few things from you when it comes to pick up lines, and I'm always up for dinner with a friend." He put just the smallest emphasis on the word, wanting to make sure the younger wizard was heading in the wrong direction with this particular invitation.

Chris was flattered, to be honest, but 'as straight as an arrow', as his Uncle might say, and he didn't want to embarrass Ernie at all if there was any inclination behind the dinner invite.

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[info]erniedtmac
2014-10-04 11:29 pm UTC (link)
The word friend was like an arrow hitting the bull's eye of Ernie's overinflated ego. He looked sheepish a moment as his cheeks flushed, but then looked somewhat apologetic. All right, he really hadn't expected that to work - but it would have been nice if it had! And one never knew unless they asked.

"One can never have too many friends, and I'm forever grateful for all of mine. Though I may not be the best one to ask about pickup lines - the ones that work for blokes don't always work for birds too." He chuckled. "But knowing that, I'm happy to help you out anytime. I'm an excellent wingman, I've been told."

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[info]chrisss
2014-10-04 11:42 pm UTC (link)
"You are?" Chris asked, his gaze sweeping Ernie's blush and moving the conversation forward, hoping to less embarrass his drinking companion.

"Well," his gaze drifted across the room to where Dora sat talking to Richard, "I might have need of a wingman sometime soon. Though I haven't quite decided yet." He nodded his head to indicate Dora to Ernie.

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[info]erniedtmac
2014-10-05 12:08 am UTC (link)
Ernie followed Chris' gaze to the pair at the other table. "He's sort of handsome, though I'm guessing he's not the one you'd like to know better," Ernie said with a chuckle.

He shrugged and gave Chris his best I'm game if you are look. "Give me the word and I'll see if I can distract the bloke. Do you know her, or do you need a convenient excuse to introduce yourself?"

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-02 03:49 am UTC (link)
Rich drifted into Finnigan's a little after six, feeling a bit knackered from shuffling papers all afternoon at the office. You have so got to find yourself an office manager, son, he told himself for the hundredth time that day. Rather than his usual beer or black and tan, he found himself ordering a double bourbon, straight up, again. Returning to London had been good in general, but familiar places had brought back some memories. Some of those memories had him waking up in the middle of the night, sweating, wrapped in the sheets, as he relived parts of the war in his dreams. Nightmares, truth be told. At least they'd been getting better lately, as his subconscious worked out whatever it was that was bothering him.

He took his drink to a table to sit where he could watch the door. That habit of not letting somebody come in behind you had also stayed with him. If anybody had asked, he would have said it was so he could watch for former housemates to arrive, but that wasn't all of it. As he'd told Susan, he knew paranoia from the inside.

A quick nod to Chris as he passed, a mental note to buy the bloke a pint later, and he took his seat with a sigh.

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-02 04:41 am UTC (link)
Pandora had qualms about attending this Hufflepuff thing. To start, she wasn't a Hufflepuff, though Chris hadn't seemed to care. Of course, the dark cynical inner voice told her he certainly would care the moment he found out what she was . Dora shrugged her shoulders, trying to shrug away the thought. It was hard; she really hadn't been treated well.

The lure of actually going out was strong, however. Especially invited by someone who as of yet didn't care about her past overly much. She missed being social to an untold degree. So she'd dressed with a certain degree of care tonight, casual but nice. The shirt had long sleeves, even though it was perhaps a little warm for that, but she wouldn't risk a glamour failing at just the wrong time tonight.

She entered the pub and hesitated for a moment upon seeing people already there. Silently, she put a small Sticking Charm on the end of her sleeve. Uncomfortable, certainly, but it was better than the alternative. She nearly turned around upon seeing Richard, as she knew he knew precisely what she was.shebalso knew, however, that he knew a lot of the truth too. He'd been kind in testifying on her behalf. She put on a game face, a little too neutral but not as flat as it could be, breathed deep, and approached. Sheoffered him a small smile first, since Chris was busy already. "Hello," she said.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-02 04:59 am UTC (link)
"Pandora." Rich spoke quietly, knowing she could read lips. It was a trick he'd learned himself during the war. He'd learned a lot about her, too, before he'd testified at her trial, and then again when her case was reexamined. He'd told how he had seen her at the Battle of Hogwarts taking down Death Eaters even faster than he was. How he'd lost sight of her for a while, and then found her again when he was on cleanup, how she was defending another student and how he'd had to stun her to get them both healing assistance. How there was another Death Eater, fallen to her wand, nearby.

"Saw your mention of runes and things in the journal and thought about dropping by. Just been too busy with work, I'm afraid. Grab a chair. Bit of a Hufflepuff gathering tonight, but you're always welcome at my table. What are you drinking, and how have you been?"

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-02 06:16 am UTC (link)
Her eyes automatically dropped to his lips when his voice wasn't very loud. Though discomfitting on one level that he knew that secret, there was a comfort there too. Her charmed hearing aids helped immensely, but it wasn't always enough. "Richard," she said, leaning her hip against the table, giving him her attention in the noisy room.

She relaxed a bit and went ahead and grabbed a chair and slid into it. "You should. I think it's really going to help at the shop," she said. She tilted her head and looked briefly toward Chris, wiggling her fingers at him. "Yeah, I met Chris the other day and he told me I could come down. I've not been social in ages, so why not?" She shrugged, though a hint of discomfort lingered inger shoulders. Chris, after all, didn't really know her at all. "Butterbeer, and busy, " she told him. "Almost as busy as the apprenticeship, it feels like, since I'm catching up om the shop 's back log."

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-02 04:41 pm UTC (link)
Richard nodded and waved for a server to take Dora's order. "Picked up a briefcase with an Undetectable Expansion spell in Austria. Been a handy thing for my traveling. Probably ought to see about some luggage to match. A fair number of my trips are muggle style since we have muggle customers. Showing up without a suitcase or two can be a little odd."

"Chris is OK if you don't take him too seriously all the time. And you should get out more, said the Hufflepuff workaholic. I'm only on the road two, three days a week now, so give me a ring if you want an escort. You have my mobile number? Or owl me at work."

He was a skilled negotiator, used to reading small hints of body language and nuances of words not said. "And anybody gives you any problems about your past, let me know. I may have dropped out of the MLE, but they still know me over there. Anything else I can do, too. We war vets need to stick together. Maybe you and I should see about holding the floor at the Dueling Club one night. That would put some twists in some knickers. Kick the idea around."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-02 10:18 pm UTC (link)
"That's true," she said. "Well, we do have luggage, or we can get custom made. We do some charms work for a luggage place on occasion." They had a couple of very nice trunks for sale right now, and could always order more or custom items at will. "If you need something done, feel free to come in some time."

She watched him and then glanced at Chris and nodded. "I don't know him hardly at all, but it was nice of him to invite me out, anyway." She had no idea why the other man wanted her here, really, but it had been nice. She snorted and laughed softly. "Yes, mister workaholic," she said. "And no, but I don't know how to use a mobile yet." The admission was very quiet. She was rather muggle world ignorant, and she knew it, but she was slowly learning.

Pandora pushed her hair back from her face, eyes flitting up from his lips to his eyes. Her snort this time was cynical. "I wish more people thought like you," she said. He was one of the few who had ever called her a war vet and mean it. She daren't step a foot in to Battlescars, even though sometimes she very much wished she could talk about what she could remember. His next suggestion made her visibly perk up a bit. "Ooooh, that would be brilliant," she said. Richard was good; she loved going up against someone who could give her a challenge.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-02 11:33 pm UTC (link)
"I'll pop in when I'm in the neighborhood," he nodded. "Not going to open your own shop now that you've done the whole apprenticeship thing?"

"Chris can be a little pushy sometimes, but I think his heart is OK. Don't let him bother you if he gets to be a nuisance. Nobody ever told him Puffs are supposed to be polite." Richard chuckled. "No worries. I got mine for business and find it more convenient for personal use than sending round an owl. No floo at my flat, either. They're catching on. Just like traveling the muggle way is. I even keep a car over in Calais in case I want to get around that way."

His smile took a wry twist. "Don't know which of us stack up more of He-Who-Pushes-Up-Daisies minions, but it was a close run contest. Not your fault what came before. Lot of people are just stupid. The whole war proves that." Slowly, that smile widened. "Wouldn't it be? Don't doubt you could take me three out of five. You've got the competitions and things, my style is more back alley brawling, two wands or a wand and a blade. Techniques I daren't use in a formal duel. Bet you'll at least know you've been in a fight, though." His smile spread up his face until his eyes were bright with it. "Unless you'd rather go back to back and take on the whole room? Probably get us talked about, though."

"Out of curiosity, have you ever worked with any of the wizarding sword styles?"

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-03 01:53 am UTC (link)
She lifted a shoulder and ducked her head a bit, though many years of paying attention without necessarily listening kept her eyes from dropping much. "Me and my own shop?" Her tone was disbelieving and just a bit scoffing. "Couldn't afford that." Not to mention who would frequent the establishment owned by a former Death Eater.

Her smile was lopsided. "I'll just elbow him and he'll figure it out, right?" she half-joked. It wasn't unknown for her to resort to such things when words failed her. She shifted in her seat, wishing she knew more about all these Muggle things. "I've seen a few mobiles?" she offered. "I haven't ever used one though." Her parents had never let her into the Muggle world, and all she knew was what she'd done herself in the last year or two.

Her smile shifted into a smirk. She shouldn't be proud, or pleased, or anything about the people she'd killed that day. They were the only deaths she'd actually enjoyed, and some days she had a lot of problems with it. Other times, like now, she was proud. "True. You did good work." She remembered some of the Battle these days. She had flashes of him, flashes of them both on the field in different places.

Her smile got absolutely wicked for a moment, and she glanced around almost furtively before she pulled something from her belt. It turned form being disillusioned, a rather large knife with a slightly curved blade. She held the handle and kept it pressed along the length of her forearm, but showed it to him. It was old, but the edge was very sharp, and silver was definitely a portion of it. She leaned in close, not sure how anyone else woudl feel about her having such a weapon. "They're always really surprised," she confided, "that I have no formal training in martial arts or anything. I'm a bit more like you, like that." She'd been known, in actual real fights, to fight as dirty as anything. She'd scratch someone's eyes out if it meant her life. She shifted her arm, letting the light play gently on the edge of the blade for a moment as she thought, before offering it to him to look at. It wasn't the only knife on her, anyway, just the biggest.

Talking about this relaxed her, or at least took away her worry at being in such a place. She was very passionate about this sort of thing, it spoke to something in her that she didn't always like but she did when she could harness it appropriately. "Level the room, baby," she said with a soft laugh. She'd be disturbed to be compared to her mother's family, but the Lestranges had that wicked grin at times. "Though you'll give me a run for the money." She estimated that his numbers were about right, and in a dirty fight, there was honestly no telling.

"Not swords, yet, though Master Flitwick has offered, but I was in the runic warding thing... but I have trained some with staves." Staff work was more of a Eastern European thing these days, but she found them fun and a different way of thinking. "Do you do swords?"

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-03 02:55 am UTC (link)
"Get me a business plan." Rich spoke quietly but firmly. "If you don't know how to write one up, come by some night with some ideas and figures and I'll show you how. If there are galleons to be made at it, I can find the funds. Probably cost you..." he considered her for a moment, "twenty per cent to take on a partner with startup money. That sort of thing is more or less what I do."

"And if you want to learn your way around the muggle world, I give guided tours. The family has been making money doing business with muggles for a couple of centuries."

He shrugged. "I actually studied martial arts and the wizarding fencing from when I was a youngster. Went with the dance and riding lessons and such my mother insisted I had to learn. Grandfather set me straight on the fact that most of it would actually be useful when I got older so I paid attention. When I said back alley, I meant no rules, no bowing, fight 'til the other bloke is on the dirt or under it." He glanced around to make sure nobody was really watching and took Dora's blade. It was a solid, useful weapon. He spun it lightly in a complicated flourish before offering it back to her hilt first, blade hidden under his arm as he reached up under the back of his jacket with his other hand.

"You've shown me yours, I'll show you mine," he said with a quick smile as he brought his short blade out from where it hung between his shoulder blades. It was almost 16" long, razor-sharp and double-edged with silver runes set the length of the blade. More than one Snatcher and Death Eater had been briefly surprised that he could use and throw it with either hand. "But I start waving this big sticker around in here and somebody will call the law." He held it out to her under the side of the table away from the room.

Rich nodded. "I've mucked about with most of the usual weapons at one time or another just to learn them, but I keep coming back to the sword. Probably born eight or ten centuries too late."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-03 03:34 am UTC (link)
Her eyes widened a little bit at his words, though she schooled her face quickly. "No one is going to buy from a Death Eater," she said, biting the words out in a low whisper. Her enunciation, always defined, sharpened a little more despite her accent. "And I'd be competing with mine own aunt." As much as the woman despised her most of the time, she was the only family left who acknowledged her.at the same time, though, she had a sharp yearning for independence.

She tilted her head. "Maybe?" She said. "I... I've managed just a little, this year." Mostly by being called an idiot, but she'd done it.

"My parents were old fashioned. But fencing is for boys, don't you know." Her eyes rolled a bit. "Only reason I got a broom is mother couldn't stand my whinging any longer, I think. Hyperion had fencing and all those lessons though. I got dance and etiquette and embroidery and music." And how she'd wanted them! She'd been so jealous and he'd never show her how because they were so competitive. Again, her slightly sharp smile flitted over her face, not a happy one but fierce. "Well, no one ever did see Dolohov's little bitch's face again,"she said idly. Woman had crucioed her one time too many, and the fight had been... harsh.

She took back the knife, spun it in a copy of him and slipped it back into her belt. It immediately went DisIllusioned and disappeared from sight.

Her eyes grew round in admiration as he showed her the blade, and she slipped it discreetly into her lap to peer at it. She cooed softly under her breath. "Oh it is so shiny," she breathed, carefully stroking fingers along thr blade for a brief moment. It was, and she wished she had an opportunity to try ut out, though he was right, no way to do that here. "Simply gorgeous," she told him, turning her face back to him with a bright smile. She slipped it back to him carefully. She bit her lip for a briefn moment. "Do you think you could teach me? I saw someone on the circuit who could dance magic along his sword edge, but he wouldn't take on a woman." She'd asked.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-03 04:26 am UTC (link)
"Oh bugger that." Richard mouthed the words silently so no one could overhear, knowing Pandora could read them plainly enough. Then he spoke aloud, "Put my Great Aunt Angelique's name on the place if you want. Tell people it's one of the owner's family's names. Nobody needs to know which pocket most of the galleons go into. Sure you don't want to compete with your aunt if she's treating you right, but ask my father how he and I do business with each other. Buy her out if you think that's the right thing to do. Business is business. And the Death Eater thing? Voldemort is dead. You aren't. Is it time to live again? Your call."

He slipped the blade up under the back of his suit jacket and into its sheath. "Anything you can do with a wand I can do with a blade. Well, mostly, anyway. You know what I mean. Nobody is a master of everything. But it's a long hard road to get to that point. I still practice an hour a day, almost every day. You can learn a little of this and that and be better than two-thirds of the people who pick up a blade, or you can go all in. Again, your call."

Richard sighed and sat back in his chair. "I'm being damned preachy tonight, aren't I? Apologies. I have plenty of ghosts of my own. Not withdrawing any of the offers though."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-03 05:07 am UTC (link)
His silent words earned a grin and something that was almost a giggle. Her face sobered though, and grew thoughtful as she gazed at him for a long moment, contemplating. "I don't have much, Richard," she murmured, letting her lips do most of the actual saying rather than her voice. "I barely make rent every week. I spent most of my savings on that apprenticeship." Which would pay for itself eventually. It had been a conscious, long term decision on her part. It was a hard admission to make, because she was proud, and because she came from a monied background. "It is a goal I can work toward, though. Aunty M will never sell to me. I'm just her niece she's dutifully helping along." There was more she could say, so much more, but pride kept those admissions at bay. Pride, and shame. "But I am trying to live as much as I can." It would be easier on the continent, she knew. But her home wasn't there.

Her eyes watched the blade before flitting back to him. That she wanted to learn was very obvious in that minute before she tried to tone it down, having been refused many things these last years. "I would kill to learn," she said, and smirked slightly. "No pun or play on words intended."

She tapped her foot gently on the side of his shoe. "I'm a big girl, I can handle it, " she said. "Or you probably would have been punched by now." She gave him a cheeky grin. "We all have ghosts. I just .. have trouble with mine a lot. People love to dredge them up." She picked up the butterbeer that had just been delivered and sipped it.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-03 05:53 am UTC (link)
Richard shrugged and leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table. Following her example he mostly mouthed rather than said his words. "Helping you, or is dear Auntie M letting you do the work and pocketing most of the take? Being good family, or getting a free ride on your back? Truthfully, is the place making her a decent profit? Not can you get rich doing it, but pay the bills, keep a roof over your head, pay off a 10-year or so loan? Have you ever seen the books? Anything is for sale, but is it worth buying?"

"I could have killed you, you know." It was an apparent non sequitur, but Rich had a point he wanted to make. "One more dead Death Eater, more or less, no real difference to anyone but you and me. But I saw something that night. Didn't know what the crazed little Snake was doing, fighting like she didn't care if she was taken down. Didn't really begin to understand until I'd talked to your Healers before I was willing to testify for you. Still don't really understand half of what they said. Healers are like that. But I did see something that made me willing to look further into what had happened. And maybe I saw... too much death already that night. So if you want a helping hand, I'll hold one out. I've already done some investing in you."

His face lightened a little. "Sometime during your training, it may be me you want to kill for what I'm putting you through. Any time you think you're ready, go for it. Playing by my rules, right now, I'd own you. And I'm not going to stop learning either."

"Yeah, ghosts." He shrugged again. "They come visit me some nights." He tossed back the rest of his drink and waved for another. "People don't bring mine up. I think some wonder where the Hufflepuff went wrong and became a rougherPuff. You and I are killers, luv, as well as war vets. Even more reason to stick together."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-03 08:57 am UTC (link)
Dora slumped back into her seat a little, her changeable eyes shifting color a bit. He'd hit part of it, at least, on the head, and it discomfitted her to a great degree. She spoke of none of it to anyone. She bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to bleed to keep the irrational anger at that at bay. "The shop does well. I've not seen the books in a while but we're not in debt, and there are always custom jobs." More since she'd come on board. "I'd have to go to her house to look again though."

If anyone else spoke to her like that, her hackles would be all sorts of up. But she owed him too much and besides, he wasn't threatening her. "I didn't care, not really." Her voice, if he could hear it, held a brittle edge. She'd utterly lost it, lost it enough that she'd enjoyed to an extent the one thing she hadn't before. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her eyes, shielding them for a moment like others might put a hand over their ears, and gathered her thoughts. "I'm not saying no," she started. "But you know I owe you everything already." Her life, her freedom. He'd managed to give her both when she'd thought they were impossible. "How can I repay that, let alone more?" As it stood, he'd earned her loyalty and that was no easy feat.

She chuckled softly. "Darling, I want to kill most people at some point," she told him, amused. "I know as a beginner you could take me apart. But I'll improve and give you a challenge someday." A promise of sorts, that. She might could take him on the dueling field a portion of the time, but with the sword? Not a chance yet.

She watched the way he tossed back another drink, very familiar with that method of self medication. She motioned to the server for one herself, though she hoped to limit herself to just the one. "I have your back," she told him seriously, though her lips were still quirked from the rougherPuff comment. His killer comment was met only with complacency, though anyone else would have pissed her off the edge. He wasn't criticizing the part of her everyone reviled. She was much like her mother; in her, at least, the Lestrange blood did run. "You think bringing yours up might help?" She ventured quietly. She'd be willing to listen, at least. Gods knew she couldn't judge.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-03 02:58 pm UTC (link)
"Thought so." Rich nodded slowly, suspicions confirmed. Custom charmed luggage and barely able to pay the rent didn't go together at all if everything with Dora's job was on the up and up. "Walk out tomorrow if you like. You're not that big; I could afford to feed you. At least give moving on some thought. If you didn't have to worry about a place to live or food and such, what would you do?"

"Figured as much. Got there myself for a while when I saw my girlfriend's body. If I'd saved your life, some'd say you owed me a wizard's life debt. Since I just didn't take it, you owe me nothing. I do what I do of my own free will."

He laughed softly. "Don't we all? Can't help thinking, when I get a really obnoxious customer or a difficult supplier or someone like that, how good they'd look with six feet of dirt over their face. That's part of the omerta, the secret people like us take to the grave. The not giving in to temptation to put a permanent end to a problem. Because we both know that after the first one, the rest are free. They can only hang you once. And it would be so easy..."

"My ghosts are usually quieter. Moving back to London, visiting Anna's grave, has them riled up. Stirred up a lot of old memories. I'll have them laid back to rest sooner or later. I can tell you that the worst ghosts are the ones you couldn't save because you weren't good enough, or strong enough, or fast enough, or even there at all when someone needed you."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-03 11:49 pm UTC (link)
Her eyes narrowed and she hated that she was transparent, at least to him. But on the other hand, he was uncanny with reading people. So she supposed she couldn't feel too bad. Of course, if one had any idea what kind of salary a fully fledged master of a subject could earn, the fact that she paid weekly rent in a crap place and had trouble making it was a big giveaway. She took a long drink of her butterbeer and sighed. "Honestly? I'm doing it, at least in part," she said. "All my other plans are gone to hell in a handbasket. There's no way I'll never be an Auror like I planned, or anything like that." She had nearly killed herself before finding a set of goals to follow, thanks to Filius. She owed him as much as she owed Richard here.

Her lips twisted a little. She figured it wouldn't do to tell him that she probably did owe him a life debt; she'd just see that she tried to do what she could about it. "So you say. How about this... let me get the books and review them, and you show me where to learn more about business things. Then I can see if it would be viable to take you up on the offer," she told him. Her wheels were turning now, and her planning goal-oriented brain was taking notes she hoped she'd remember.

She shouldn't be amused, but she was. Because he was just saying what she felt at times. It was wrong, but it was how she felt. It wasn't like she was completely gone -- unlike some Death Eaters she'd known, she and he both had feelings and compassion outside of the darkness that lurked. "So tempting sometimes, though," she murmured, grinning over at him.

"I've not visited my brother's grave since he was buried," she said in a measure of understanding. She hadn't been sure if she could handle it, even now, though she wanted to at some point. Her face was full of understanding, especially her eyes. "I know how that goes," she said softly. "You know if you ever need help with them.." She lifted a shoulder and gave him a small smile. She might not be the most stable choice, but she knew more than most people about how it all felt.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-04 12:42 am UTC (link)
"Really?" One eyebrow went up. "You fought against Voldmort at the Battle of Hogwarts, that should be an automatic in. They actually told you they wouldn't accept you?"

"You do that. We will see what we will see. In the mean time, I saw in the journals you were looking to move. You need an apartment? My father and I own most of a block in Southwark where I live and I've got other properties all over."

He chuckled. "So tempting and so easy, and so not allowed any more. Sometimes I think I should have gone for hit wizard. Only adrenaline high I can get any more is broom racing. Get right up and push against that edge again."

"It was so peaceful there. The grass has grown up around her grave, and there are always flowers. I see to that, at least; none of her family survived the war." Rich nodded and sighed. "I appreciate the offer. Not that I'm likely to take you up on it. Tried counselors and that stuff. Even listened in on one of the Battlescars things. No real help. I just have to put things right in my own head again and they will all go back to... wherever in my head they rest."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-04 03:38 am UTC (link)
She snorted, cynical and ultimately a little weary. She ran her left hand up into her hair, feeling her Mark even though she couldn't see it. "Yes. I have a Mark. That's all that they needed to know. Plus you know my mum is the head of the MLE with ambitions for more." She rolled her eyes faintly. "All the bad doesn't seem to outweigh that for the Ministry. I can't even get a owl room job there."

Her fingers rubbed down her forearm, unconsciously, but at least the sticking charm held. "I'm considering seeing if I can move in with Theo, since I can probably afford that. The room I'm renting now is... yeah." Not very nice, not in a good part of town, and she'd warded it to the fucking nines in order to keep her few things safe.

She put on a pout. "Pity it isn't allowed," she said a trifle over-dramatically, and she winked at him over the top of her glass that had just arrived before taking a swallow of the stronger alcohol with the ease of someone who had drunk a lot of it at some time or another. In fact it was still far too easy for her to fall into. She sighed slightly though. "Yeah, I don't get much. I don't have Beating anymore, or Dueling. It's like... a void." And a lack of a high, like he said.

She listened and nodded. She reached over and touched his hand lightly. "Well, I am here, and I don't mind. Might understand more than some." She shrugged but wasn't pushy. "Yeah. I thought about Battlescars. Then I looked at my mark and figured that would be a Very Bad Idea." There were times she desperately yearned for someone to talk to about it, the bad things she did remember happening, and even having to do, but somehow that would fall very poorly, she knew.

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-04 04:20 am UTC (link)
"Oh! That is so... typical of those self-righteous assholes." Rich made no real attempt to keep his voice down. "Half of them toed the party line when Voldemort was in charge. Most of the rest went into hiding. And still playing petty politics? Some days I'm really glad I didn't go back and finish my Auror training. I mean, I do the Ministry the occasional favor here and there, but I don't think I could tolerate being around those people all the time now. There'd be some sudden vacancies in certain positions."

"Right then." Rich nodded firmly. "I'm pissed. They'll fuck with a war veteran, prisoner of war, they'll fuck with anybody now. I'm a freaking Sword Master with two other black belts; I'm taking you on as an Apprentice in the Martial Arts. I also went through all of Auror training but the last bits of field work and still have my books in storage. We'll throw that in as well."

"And as far as a flat goes? I've got one in the other half of the building where I live. You're taking it so I can train you in the morning before work and in the evening when I get home. I was thinking of renting you one of my small flats further away, but screw that, screw them. I'll work out a budget for you for the rest of what you'll need when I've had a while to think on it. Equipment, living expenses, although I expect you to keep up with your charms and runes, all that."

He chuckled softly, but there was a wicked edge to it. "Do me some good to poke a stick in the stodgy bastards' eyes. You'll get all the excitement you need if I push you as hard as I think you want."

"Talking?" Rich shrugged again. "Probably not so much. You'll learn moving meditation. You'll need to anyway to do the more advanced sword magic. Come to think of it, I've been pretty stupid lately to not have been doing it myself. Maybe I lost my way a little and you can help me find it."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-04 05:12 am UTC (link)
The rant didn't surprise her. She made ones like it very often. Her resentment of the Ministry and its denial of everything she'd ever worked for -- she'd even gotten a good Potions mark, damn it, she'd worked her entire life to get in! Even now, potions aside, she could get into Auror program without trouble. She even kept fit enough for it that none of that would be an issue. Muscles were defined along her arms and shoulders, though not sharply, under her shirt.

Her eyes widened a bit in surprise, however, when he pretty much laid out exactly what he was going to do for her. "I could.. ace most of the Auror stuff even now, except potions," she admitted, still trying to process what he was saying even as he kept talking. She should be upset to be ordered about, but she was stuck somewhere in the land of surprise and logic, because he was surprisingly logical with what he was planning even in a temper. She had to admire that. "I would," she said in response to things about her charms and wards. "I have to keep up with my job. And I'll pay you rent as best I can." She was sure she had a gobsmacked sort of expression on her face, though she wasn't usually that transparent.

She grinned to match him, an equally wicked expression. There was definitely appeal in that. Though she felt a more vengeful streak toward her mother. Learning a new physical skill would definitely sate that need in her, at least for a bit, though.

"Whatever works best," she murmured. She did desire to help, but she also knew it might be impossible. "I do meditation sometimes down at that class." She didn't show up reliably, though. It only helped so much with her anger issues, though. "Might be able to help a little, then, if only to remind you of some things."

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-04 05:40 am UTC (link)
"You work at it hard enough, you won't need to think about the Ministry again. There are positions for private Aurors and Hit Wizards. Well paid, and with your background in charms... don't know where you might end up. My company employs a few in some of the rougher locations we do business."

Rich leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "You'll keep your job as long as you want to so you can keep in practice. And rent? Screw that too." His voice grew a little colder. "You said you wiped out your savings for your last apprenticeship. If you're good, that isn't how it should work. And you are good. I've seen you in action. You agree to become my student, your apprenticeship pays 75 galleons a week, plus room and board. Wardrobe included when I start taking you out with me. Places where an executive like me might bring a bodyguard. They'll be watching you for trouble, not suspecting it could come from either of us."

"Vee's style is good for him." Rich uncrossed his arms and leaned forward again. "I respect him for his convictions. His style is not mine, not at all. His is not the Way of the Warrior."

He snorted a small laugh, picked up his freshened drink, and downed it in a few swallows. "I've gone off on you again, haven't I? Still, there it is. Want some time to think about it, get your affairs in order?"

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-04 06:55 am UTC (link)
"Mercenaries?" she asked, tilting her head. It was a curious and non-judgmental question. She knew they existed, in a manner of speaking, from the dueling circuit; there dwelt some questionable characters of all sorts. She couldn't say she was morally against the concept these days, though in her youth she would have been. But then, back then she'd been much more like her mother than she was now. "Or private investigation?" She'd recently read a really good Muggle books with a magical PI, so she was curious.

Her face did harden at the mention of her payment. "She wouldn't take me over the other person despite my experience without a payment," she said shortly, anger flaring at the matter all over again. The woman had not been nice or kind, but she had been thorough, and she was the foremost expert in the UK when it came to Runic Warding. She unconsciously mirrored his pose with her arms crossed over her chest, fingertips at each shoulder. She was able to dissipate that anger by forcing her mind away from the thoughts that had all too often swam in her head, instead wondering exactly what his business interests were, that he'd need a bodyguard. "Your business sounds like it could be very interesting," she told him.

She nodded. She hadn't really known there was one, but it was good to know. If she'd been her brother, she probably would have, but her father had had Ideas on what was good for girls and boys.

She smirked faintly, reaching for her drink as well. She deserved it, making life-changing decisions on the fly. She downed the second half in one big drink, setting it down with a firm clink. "Not gone off, precisely," she said with a grin. "Saying a lot of things I already think, to be honest." Though she'd get jumped for saying it all in public. She twisted her glass back and forth for a moment, thinking. "I'll take it," she said, and almost immediately ordered another drink. Not because it was a bad thing but it was a big thing, and potentially risky. "I'll keep up in the shop and with your stuff, I've done it before." She would be perpetually tired, but she could handle it. "I will have to get some things together and all, but I don't have much outside of a job, so."

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[info]the_richard
2014-10-04 02:52 pm UTC (link)
"Either. Neither. Both."

Rich made a quick gesture with one hand, as if throwing something small away. "So she was just another mercenary. And what does it tell you about the state of the wizarding world that it isn't the best gets the training, but the one that can pay?"

"I make money in an amount unbecoming to a gentleman with a couple of parlour tricks and a quick mind. All in a legal fashion too. Just not all of it in countries where the rule of law stretches very far."

Reaching into his jacket inside pocket, Rich brought out a DayTimer and a felt-tip pen. He'd rather have used his Blackberry, but around as much magic as there was in Monument Alley it would burn out if he even turned it on. Right then his service was answering his calls. "Here's my card - the one I give out in the wizarding world because it has owl addresses as well as the usual numbers. Get in touch when you're ready to move and I'll send some of the office boys around to pack and tote. Give you directions to Clink Street and meet you there with keys for the flat. Need to key you to my wards, too. No rush, but the sooner you get started, the better. At least take tonight to think on it, though."

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[info]pandacharms
2014-10-05 12:46 am UTC (link)
Her fingers flicked in an unconsciously dismissive manner, a habit she'd learned from her mother growing up. "Never will claim our slice of the wizarding world is doing great."

Her eyebrows raised slightly, a small smile playing on her lips. She rather thought he could have been a Slytherin, to word that sentence so. She would figure it out if she spent any amount of time as a bodyguard though.

Dora looked over the card he handed her, nodding as she looked it over. "I don't really have enough to pack and tote, not unless I was moving the stuff in my aunt's workshop," she said with a casual wave of the fingers. "And not all that's mine, either." She'd lived out of a dimensional trunk she'd made herself for a long time. "I'll owl you though, soon. Just got to get my brain together about it all." It would be overwhelming, a little, when she actually had time to think about it, but it wouldn't be the first split second decision she'd ever made -- and honestly, you couldn't make a much worse one, or better one, than becoming a Death Eater to save your little sister.

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[info]susanamybones
2014-10-02 07:47 am UTC (link)
Susan was annoyingly, and rather uncharacteristically late. She'd spent most of the day supervising the questioning of a woman who had attempted three times to murder her daughter-in-law using a cursed tea set, and had thus run out of time.

Spotting a number of her friends already at the bar, she smiled and walked over to her friends. "Hello darlings, sorry I'm late!"

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[info]zenben
2014-10-03 02:48 am UTC (link)
Days when Ben wasn't working, he tended to disregard things like time, and getting to places promptly. He either got wrapped up in music, or long naps, or a hundred other things that caught his attention when he wasn't on a schedule. It was rather later than he'd wanted by the time he remembered about the little reunion, and made his way over to Finnigan's.

He arrived just after Susan, but in time to hear her greeting. "You're not the only one, I guess this means next round's on us!" He grinned, and slid into a free seat. "How's everyone, and what's everyone drinking?"

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