Gina Smythe (glass_onion) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-11-14 12:17:00 |
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Despite demands of peace and quiet, no one in the Auror department truly expected or even hoped for it anymore, least of all Nicholas, who had become so well-adjusted to the high-pressure, fast moving way of life that he could catch a nap during tea breaks on his desk without ever even completely losing consciousness. He had never been a heavy sleeper, and what others blamed on the stress of workload, he accepted as a part of the job. He was currently stationed on a chair in the break room with his feet propped up on the table before him. He was clutching a cup of tea in his left hand, which he had barely drunk out of. The mission was to sleep for seven minutes, the time it took for the hot tea to cool down slightly so that he'd be able to down it in one go and return to his desk. Besides, he knew he'd get no sleep once he initiated contact with Bellatrix Lestrange, so he was making full use of the the few peaceful moments he had.
Nearly all the Aurors were able to tell when Gina was in the building, Walking With Purpose, her heels clicking against the hard floor of the Ministry as she moved steadily toward her endgame. This time -- files on the Lestrange family in one arm, a cup of coffee in the other -- her endgame was finding wherever it was that Nicholas had been spirited away off to within the Ministry. They had discussing to do.
She found him before long, snoozing in a chair in the breakroom, feet up and a full mug of tea in his hand. Gina stood in the breakroom doorway for a few minutes, frowning slightly as she sipped her coffee, watching him sleep. How did he manage to do that without sending his tea toppling to the ground? Deciding to have a bit more fun with this than waking him up would allow, Gina sat down at the table across from him, continuing to quietly sip her coffee as she flicked through the files. She'd give him a few more minutes to wake up on his own to notice that he'd been snuck up on. After that, she was holding his nose.
His intricately timed sabbatical from consciousness ended after exactly seven minutes. He knew he was being watched by Georgina Smythe since she hadn’t done much to muffle the crisp tap of her heels against the floor and he didn’t consider giving his diminutive colleague the satisfaction of a startled gasp when he finally looked up and locked his eyes with hers. "What, no nose pinching today? I thought you’d launch the attack immediately."
"I was feeling charitable. Enjoying the oxygen?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip of her coffee, holding the mug gingerly with both hands. Not particularly waiting for a response from him, she set the cup down on the table, sitting up straight and spreading the documents out in front of her, shifting the papers onto a slight tilt so that Nicholas could still slightly see what she was referring to. "So. Lestrange house. Any ideas as to how to broach this? Perhaps we could knock on the front door."
"It’s a start," he responded with a crooked grin. He afforded a brief glance to the documents at display and then pulled his feet from the table to settle down. "Not that she is the most subtle woman in the world but given the current circumstances of her husband, I don’t think Bellatrix Lestrange would attempt committing twin murder in broad daylight. Or am I underestimating her?"
"Underestimating her, likely," Gina replied with a knowing glance at the documents. While the Ministry had yet to bring Bellatrix in for anything, she knew well enough that the woman was not one who took well to being messed with, and that she wasn't going to make dealing with Rufus's rulings easy on them. "We'd likely be dissolved into ashes under normal circumstances of daring to show up at their house. With Rodolphus Lestrange in jail, and her left alone to tend the fort? I predict liquification."
Bellatrix Lestrange was an indomitable paradox. It was never more than sharp looks exchanged with her, with Rodolphus Lestrange standing before her. He had never truly met her; he had simply seen enough of her to recognize the danger lurking behind the controlled gestures and the clipped manner in which she spoke. The rumors and the implications came later, and whether they were subtle or ridiculous, he’d had to take everything in account. With Georgina’s comment, he gave her a sober nod and pulled his chair closer to hers to have a better look at the files she was carrying. The cup of tea was drained in two extended sips. "I’d hate to be liquefied at such a young age. But let’s get serious, et cetera. Do we have any records about the wards that are already placed on the estate? Not that Lestrange was ever a by-the-book person, but there may be some note from the glory days of the Ministry."
Gina, too, had never gone head to head with Bellatrix Lestrange, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. She'd only just been in her first few years of school when Bella had been in her last, but Gina could remember even then that the woman was someone to be wary of. And considering her husband and the many arrests, guilty verdicts, and murders he had to his name, Gina completely doubted that the woman hadn't at least dipped her toes into the dark arts. "No records, unfortunately, of those at Lestrange manor" she noted as she tapped her wand on the manilla folder, the parchment that she wanted sliding out of its filefold. "Although we do have records of some of those that were on the elder Lestranges home on record from the night they were breached, and Alcander Lestrange and Orion Black were killed. I can only assume that they'd have at least some of the same. Like father like son?"
"That is possible, yes," he commented, skimming through the list that he had selected out of the folders. Most of the wards listed on the page were old and extremely complicated. He tapped a finger on a few names, holding up the list. "These are the most complex and most potent wards this side of the Fidelius Charm. We should assume that these may have been revived. Others we’ll have to find out…well, manually."
"Ugh," Gina groaned, not looking forward to an afternoon of dismantling wards, as she had no reason to believe that the Lestranges would be kind enough in assisting them through it. "I've never even heard of half the spells on here; this is ridiculous. Also, I know Rufus mentioned that we need to replace whatever they've got with the Ministry standard ward spells (because you know that every criminal out there is planning on breaking into the Lestrange manor) so that they're not "at risk," and so we can track people apparating in and out of there. You think they'd have anything on there that would negate that?" she asked, leaning over the list and attempting to pick out spells that rang a bell. Only a very small few were common-place, and she was almost positive that one of the spells on the list would've blocked her from entering the property based on her hair colour.
"We will have to shield ourselves first with some defensive spells," he added thoughtfully as he pursued the list with her. The list was extensive but he was aware of every spell mentioned, and he had a faint inkling of what they might face once they were actually on location in the Lestrange manor. Unlike his young partner on this task, he had a lead in years and schooling, both facts that he didn’t necessarily want to flaunt about for various reasons. "We should start by cataloguing the wards that are currently in use; take them off one by one starting from the most severe and then work down the list. Once that is done, we can put up our wards, starting with Apparition detection. We’ll cover the Floo as well. In any case, I don’t see anyone attacking the place – all of the known attackers are on their side."
"And wouldn't that be a plot-twist now," she smirked, jotting down notes as Nick rattled off ideas as to how they should proceed. "I almost wouldn't put it past them to set something like that up -- have one of their little "friends" attack the house, showing just how much danger they're in (despite escaping mysteriously unscathed!) in attempts to throw us off." It wouldn't be surprising, honestly. In her experience, they'd done seedier things in attempts to gain an allibi. "Do you think we should write first to let her know we're on our way?" Gina asked, a slight grin creeping over her face to alert him that that she was very clearly joking.
A quirked eyebrow. "Why yes, and let’s add some perfume to it too, to mask the acrid smell of ink," he answered with a thumbs up sign. This task was important to both of them, especially since it had the potential of turning out to be the most important thing they did after the conviction of Rodolphus Lestrange and the others, but he was glad Georgina was not intimidated by the challenge it represented. He was calm himself, reminding himself that his dealings with giants would help him deal with Bellatrix Lestrange. "We should add one or two major safety wards to our list as well, in case the family or friends of the incarcerated decide to get creative. The best way to get rid of any sort of evidence is setting fire to it, after all."
"Absolutely," Gina nodded, noting this on her pad of paper -- safety wards both for the house and for themselves. While she was sure that nothing serious would happen to them -- it would look highly suspicious, Georgina was sure, if the two Aurors assigned to look into the Lestrange's house and affairs mysteriously vanished while on assignment -- one never could be too careful these days. A nagging voice in the back of her head reminded her that they were already highly suspected. What could a little bit more guilt do, really? "We should probably Ministry-order a Floo shutoff too, so that Apparation is the only way they can get in and out, and we'll have logs of that."
His immediate response was a smart tap at the table top. "That should be done today. And then we should expect the darling Mrs. Lestrange possibly lash out in one way or another, cornered animal and such," he added. He, like his colleague, believed that Bellatrix would be smart about the entire situation. However, he wanted them to be ready and on-guard to deal with any negative situation. The last thing he wanted at the moment was another death or crippling injury. "Oh, and we should take some food along. It’d be a long day and I’m sure neither of us would be interested in something like a baby quiche from the Lestrange kitchen."
"Their quiche is probably made from babies," Gina muttered under her breath, pulling the page with her scratchings on it out of the notebook and sliding it into the manilla folder. "We should probably grab takeaway on the go. It's looking a bit bare in here today, foodwise." She glanced at the breakroom counter, where three empty boxes that had once been filled with bagels and donuts had been demolished by their co-workers in minutes. Tapping the closed folder on the table a few times, straightening the pages, she rose to her feet and slid the file under one of her arms. "I think we're just about all set. We watch our backs and make sure she doesn't try anything shifty, and this'll be a piece of cake. ... Bugger, you have got me all hungry now, jerk, your talking about food and baby quiche."
"We can very well get a picnic basket, you imp. Shut thy mouth!" he retaliated, ending up with a low laugh as he followed suit and stood up. "It might be our last meal. Let’s make it count."
"If this is my last meal, I bloody want lobster," Gina retorted with a snicker.