Kingsley "Too Soon" Shacklebolt (shackalack) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-10-25 23:35:00 |
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Eight o'clock had rolled around and Hestia still wasn't home. He normally wasn't too concerned when Hestia was out late, since she was a grown woman who could take care of herself, but on this specific day she had left him a tear-stained note, and so he wanted to make sure she ate. He'd telephoned his mum for her curry recipe as soon as work had finished and spent the next hour and a half hoping that it turned out all right. Luckily it had, or at least Kingsley thought it was rather delicious. So when the clock on the wall chimed at 8 and the miniature phoenix popped out to burst into flames eight times, he packed up the curry into a tupperware container and put on his jacket. He hated Apparating to St. Mungos because he could never exactly remember what the Apparation point looked like, but the Floo network wasn't an option at this point, so he just did his best and somehow didn't get splinched. He probably shouldn't have pulled the Auror card, but he wanted to see Hestia and was afraid they would just try to deliver the soup for him. It was likely just a bit susupcious, but he didn't care too much. They directed him to some floor and down a few corridors that he was about positive he wouldn't be able to remember, but he took the lift anyway and figured he could just ask for directions. Stepping off the lift, he made his way down two corridors and when he couldn't remember the rest of the directions anymore he decided to stop and ask someone. A witch with a pink bow sat at a desk. "S'cuse me," he started when he saw another figure out of the corner of his eye. A familiar figure. "McKinnon?" he asked, turning to face her. Marlene was, at least, glad that she'd stopped crying finally. She hated crying in front of people, and she'd been spending far too much time doing that exact thing lately. At the present she was curled up in a chair, flipping through brocures ("Visualising Vanishing Sickness," "When Engorgio Goes Wrong" "Scrofungulus and You") and trying to keep herself busy. James seemed to have temporarily called dibs on Remus clinging, and Marlene had needed to get away from everything, just for a few minutes. Those few minutes didn't last long. "Kingsley?" she asked, even though she could tell immediately that it definitely was Kingsley. She was not quite sure exactly what he was doing there, though. Perhaps it would be smart to ask. "What are you doing here?" "Came to bring Hestia's dinner," he replied, still surprised to see her at St. Mungo's. "She said she'd be 'ome late an' she 'asn't eaten yet." He glanced around the lobby, seeing no one but the pink-bowed receptionist who had gone back to her own business. So why was she here? "Whatta'you doin' here?" he asked, figuring he wouldn't ever find out by just being silent. "You can cook?" she asked, a little bit surprised that Kingsley was apparently able to do so. It always surprised Marlene a little when guys were able to cook. Which... didn't entirely make sense, because nearly all the guys she was friends with were able to cook better than she was. She held off on saying anything about the real reason that she was there, figuring that wasn't her story to tell. "One of my friends is in here. He got hurt really bad." "M'all right," he muttered as she was talking. He was slightly bashful about it, since he didn't feel he was that good and - wait, what was she saying? "Blimey, that sure is rotten," he said, starting to feel bad for her. Was it her boyfriend or...? "'Ow's 'e doin? The 'ealers here are real good, at least," he said. "S'it anyone I know?" "Yeah. He hasn't woken up yet, but... well, here's hoping, yeah?" she said with a slightly doubtful laugh, pushing her hair back out of her face. "And no, not my -- not Remus," she explained further, then paused before going on. Kingsley was an Auror, and she wasn't sure how much James would've filled the Ministry in on why Sirius had been brought in in that condition, if at all. Then again, it was Kingsley. He wasn't too much older than them, and he was Hestia's roommate. Hopefully he wouldn't ask her to go into detail. "You know Sirius, right? Black? It's him." Sirius Black - of course Kingsley knew him. He'd just gone on a date with Hestia not too long before. "Yeah, yeah I know 'im," Kingsley replied. "He's a brick." He didn't quite know what floor they were on, so Kingsley had no clue what even might have happened to Sirius. Huh. He opened up his mouth to ask, then shut it again real fast. Wait, this was Sirius Black and no the Auror wasn't going to ask what he was in for. Things were a little too suspicious with Hestia's sudden decision to not go to the Ministry when Sirius seemed to be the only other person she was talking to about this and he was near dead certain she'd helped a vigilante after the attack on Hogwarts. Not to mention that it fairly common knowledge that Black had been disowned by his family. Kingsley did Not Want to Know. "I'm sure 'e'll be fine. They've got some real good Healers 'ere, an' Black doesn't seem to be the type who'll lay down without a fight, hm?" Well, he didn't want to stretch this conversation on much longer. "I've gotta go though, but it was real good to see you again, McKinnon. 'Ope 'e's feeling better soon." "They'll take care of him," she nodded, attempting to reassure herself more than anything. It didn't look good. What if they couldn't fix him? Marlene couldn't think about that. Not anymore. "Yeah, that's fine. It was good to see you too," Marlene agreed, giving him a weak smile. Under normal circumstances she likely would have been much more personable, would have meant that a bit more (because it WAS good to see Kingsley, just... not a the hospital, not when Sirius was in another room on death's doorstep). "I should probably run home and check on the puppies. Have a nice night." |