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Tweak says, "Bow wow chicka wow wow!"

Lucy May Weasley (lucymaybefierce) wrote in 20somethings,
@ 2021-12-25 19:28:00

Entry tags:

c: albus potter, c: dom weasley, c: frank markham, c: lucy weasley, d: 2027 12, Ω: rp

RP: A Very Weasley Christmas
Who: Weasleys/Potters/Grangers and friends
What: The big, crazy, family Christmas
When: 25 December 2027
Where: The (rebuilt) Burrow
Warnings: Tbd, likely none
Completion Status: In progress

Spending Christmas afternoon and evening at the Burrow was a longstanding Weasley extended family tradition. The house and grounds were bustling with seas of red hair and a smattering of others, some of the family having even brought along friends who would have otherwise spent the holiday alone. There was lots of delicious food, Grandma Molly having spent most of the morning in the kitchen, with some help, to ensure there would be plenty to eat throughout the afternoon and evening. Gifts were aplenty, as was the laughter.

But with so many people with strong personalities, it was only a matter of time before dramas arose. Lucy hoped that any fireworks that went off were from WWW.

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2021-12-28 11:30 pm UTC (link)

"I was planning on it originally," they said, "but Molly insisted, and she was right. I'm glad I came." They looked at the cosy chaos and smiled. "It was weird, but good."

The limbs that had been slightly chilled by the jaunt outside had transition through warming and into toasty by the time Dominique reappeared proffering a drink.

"Habit says pretty much the stronger the better, but the beauty of being the research grunt is I don't even make the on call rota, so no need to let it get super bitter," they said with just a touch of smugness. "Are you actually expecting to get called in?" They knew Dom also worked for the Ministry, but they were currently blanking on the specific department. Most departments had at least someone on call if there weren't outright regular working hours.

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2021-12-29 07:47 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, Molly's good like that," Dom agreed. It seemed to Dominique that Molly had changed over the last year, polishing up the maturity that had been under the surface the whole time.

Not for the first time recently, Dominique found herself missing some of the more research-based aspects of her job, the learning and development of her skills. "Unfortunately... maybe." She looked around for a clock that told the actual time. The day was ticking on, which meant people up and down the country were probably well into their Christmas tipples.

"Christmas booze plus gadgets and gizmos means it's probably only a matter of time before someone does something in front of Muggles that they shouldn't. Low-level memory charms can usually be managed by Aurors or hit wizards or whoever. So touch wood there's nothing too serious."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2021-12-30 12:51 am UTC (link)

Frank smiled softly. "She's been great ever since we started becoming closer again," they said.

Never having had a thoroughly magical Christmas since the one time they had stayed at Hogwarts, it wasn't something they had much experience with. "You know that makes a lot of sense. I can only imagine it's worse when people live closer to muggles too. I'll be sure to confine all my magic to inside my flat as usual," they said. In actuality their flat, while thoroughly magical was not so at simple inspection and they kept it that way on purpose, or close enough to be quickly covered up. All the easier for bringing muggle hookups to.

Judging the coffee was probably brewed enough they poured themself a cup, added a fairly small splash of alcohol and proceeded to nurse it close for warmth to not burn their mouth on the liquid. "Maybe if I get one of the slightly more senior and hands-on research jobs I'm working on applications for I'll make my way onto an on-call rota for the next round of holidays."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2021-12-30 07:55 pm UTC (link)

"I'm sure you'll be fine," Dom said with a grin. "It's always good to be cautious." Even with the proliferation of technology into wizarding society, some people still forgot that basically all Muggles carried sophisticated cameras in their pocket these days.

She took the coffee after Frankie, pouring slowly. It smelled amazing. "What are you applying for?" she asked curiously. Ensconced in her little memory modification bubble, it had been a while since Dom had looked at any internal vacancies. Since she didn't much fancy moving into a different type of law enforcement role, there was really only one other department that held much interest for her but it was also the smallest in the Ministry. "Anything interesting?"

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2021-12-30 10:30 pm UTC (link)

"Growing up without magic probably makes it way easier," they said. "I can get by without if I need to, even if I usually use magic for most things these days." They weren't going to mention the various experiments they had been known to perform within their flat with the curtains carefully closed.

Frankie couldn't help but laugh. "Eh, depends on what you count as interesting. There's a more senior post in Transport coming up in a Knight Bus improvement project fixed-term, since I still think anything in Apparition is really a no-go for me," they said, thinking of their first Apparition test, which they had failed. "There's a place in the Patents Office, and I think Maternity cover in Games, but I'm so not the person for that." They had also heard tell that there might be a place in the Department of Mysteries coming up, but those were so rare that they were absolutely not sharing the info around since it was absolutely the sort of place they wanted. "There are places in DMLE, but not really ones I'm qualified for, or want."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2022-01-01 04:35 pm UTC (link)

Dom sipped her fresh coffee, shaking her head in amusement. "I always thought there's no point in even thinking about Games unless you're a Quidditch nut." Sure, there were other magical games and sports, but Quidditch was the dominant one.

"DMLE isn't the right place to be for research," she agreed. "I kind of wish I could do more research. The mind is just so fascinating and there's so much we still don't know." Saying it aloud reminded her that other people saw Obliviators as one of the shadier aspects of the Ministry, literally manipulating people's memories for a living.

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2022-01-01 11:38 pm UTC (link)

"You've definitely got be obsessed with your chosen thing, and I am not that about any games or sports," they said with a slow shake of their head. There were some good people in the department, they were sure of it, but all of the ones they had met were very single minded.

Frankie's mouth moved into a moue of sympathy before taking a sip of coffee. "Transport isn't bad but the research we do is so damn dry most of the time. That or it involves far more talking to the public than my introvert self can deal with," they explained with a sigh. "The mind is interesting, I think if I had money I'd be in experimental charms research, but there's not really much money in it. Low-level Ministry isn't outstanding, but at least it's steady and reliable."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2022-01-02 04:20 pm UTC (link)

Dom had mixed feelings about working with the public since most of the people she dealt with on the job had either broken the law or were Muggles having their memories modified. Not really people who were ever happy to see her or her team; some people could be downright unpleasant.

"Steady, reliable, respectable, yeah." There were a lot of good reasons to stick with the Ministry. "I really hope you find something you enjoy doing," she said genuinely. "And I'm good at Ministry-speak if you need another pair of eyes to look at applications?" Dom offered.

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2022-01-02 09:43 pm UTC (link)

"Ah, fuck, when you put it like that I am doing something far too much like my mother would want," they said, keeping the swear word just loud enough for Dom to hear. They groaned and flopped their head back against the chair they'd been leaning against. "I guess being myself in other ways is plenty of rebellion."

It took a few moments for them to compose themself. "Sorry, the day has me a bit all over the place. I really wouldn't say no to a second set of eyes on applications," they said. "Ministry speak is about the only language I do speak, but applications always make me nervous."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2022-01-02 11:21 pm UTC (link)

"Sorry, didn't mean to," Dom apologised, a laugh escaping her when Frankie groaned. "A government job isn't exactly subversive," she teased over her coffee. "Your rebellion suits you, by the way." Dom, someone who sometimes felt uneasy over that tiny trace of Veela in herself, could appreciate when someone was at home in their own skin.

Dom smiled reassuringly. "That's okay." She'd noticed that Frankie wasn't the only stray that her cousin had brought home today either. "And yeah, of course, any time. Anything to avoid my own paperwork."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2022-01-03 12:08 am UTC (link)

Frankie waved a negligent hand, not really bothered by the comment. "Yeah I'm actually okay with being personally rebellious, but having a secure job. It appeals to my Ravenclaw, introvert, academic side." They grinned at Dominique when she complimented them, blushing slightly. "Thanks, it took plenty of time to get to the place where everything aligned pretty well."

The snort that came out of Frankie was undignified but heartfelt. "Oh, wow, don't I know that feeling! I'm still having the debate between working on them a lot over the break to get them done and taking the time to ignore everything work related that I can get away with."

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

domweasley
2022-01-03 04:11 pm UTC (link)

Dominique hummed softly as she considered what she might do in that situation. Both options had their merits. "I vote for taking a clean break from everything to do with work. Go into it with fresh eyes in the new year." She felt fortunate to be able to leave work at work and not think about it too much when she was off the clock.

Sipping her coffee, she came to the decision that she had room for something sweet. "I'm going to hunt down some chocolate," she announced. "Do you want anything?"

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Re: Dominique and Frankie

_markham
2022-01-03 04:54 pm UTC (link)

"Probably sensible," Frankie agreed, surprised by a yawn they had to stifle which cut off their words. "And I'm definitely not against ignoring things I don't want to do until at least new year." Maybe a bit of a head start before going back to work, there wasn't too much of a space beyond that for the deadline, but a clear brain would probably help with actual writing.

Their nose wrinkled slightly, still feeling rather full. "Maybe not yet. Maybe...dammit now I want chocolate, or maybe fudge," they said with a groan. They levered themself up. "C'mon I'll help you search," they said. "Your family is ridiculously good at food." It was somewhere between admiration and complaint.

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