Fabian "no question is too blunt" Prewett (tweedlefab) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-07-11 00:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-07] july, alastor moody, fabian prewett |
Who: Alastor Moody and Fabian Prewett
What: Alastor wants to know what Fabian thinks of Pepper.
Where: Fabian's work - the farm
When: Thursday July 10
Rating: PG
Status: Complete
Getting information about Pepper was proving easier than Moody had anticipated. The hitwizard was popular, which made first impressions very easy to get; right now, though, he needed to talk to Fabian about what it was about Pepper than made him trust him.
The farm where Fabian worked made Moody smile slightly as he headed to the stable; Dotty owned a farm like this, and it brought back good memories. Entering the stable, he cleared his throat.
"Prewett?"
Fabian was not normally a nervous person, but the past few days had been sleepless, and his horses had lulled him into a sort of stupor in which he was disconnected from the rest of the world. Therefore, he was startled at Moody's abrupt - if familiar - voice. He span around, adrenaline making his heart suddenly skip beats, but as soon as he saw Moody, he visibly relaxed. He patted the nearest horse, who seemed perturbed that her usually composed caretaker had been alarmed, and she snorted.
He was oddly self-conscious, being rumpled and dirty before the man he looked up to so much, but he approached Moody, wiping his straw-covered hands on his denim trousers - which didn't help much, as they were also covered in straw. "Moody," he responded in kind, looking expectantly at the Auror.
"Do you have a moment to talk?" Moody asked, cutting right to the chase. He didn't like stupid word-games or pussyfooting around things. "Alice and Frank are willing to consider bringing Pepper into the Order, but I need to get some proper opinions about him first, and make sure he's not the sort to run off and rat us out to the Ministry. You know him best out of any of us."
Fabian threaded roughened fingers through his hair, pursing his lips, then tucked his hands in his generous pockets. His surprise was naked on his face - his dark eyes wide, his mouth slightly open - and then a rather vindicated expression settled upon him. So they were finally considering Pepper. After all this time, after all the accusations, they had realised what Fabian had known all along. Or had hoped he knew.
His eyes met Moody's and he went back to fidgeting, this time pulling at a string that was unraveling along the edge of his shirt. "Pepper's been my mate since school," he told Moody. "Never bosom buddies or anything, obviously. But he was always smart, always knew people. I guess at first I thought he was mostly opportunistic - maybe he still is, I don't know." He looked away. "But I don't think he's out for himself like he used to be. Or at least not as much as he might pretend to be."
"Do you think we can trust him?"
A simple question, but so much rested on its answer.
Fabian's mouth drew itself into a serious line. He raised his eyes again. "Yes," he replied softly. "I'd trust Pepper with my life." And he would. He couldn't quite put his finger on why. It was mostly an unspoken and unexpressed sense about Pepper that, though defying the logical process which as a Ravenclaw he should perhaps bear in mind, was instinctive. Fabian believed in logic, but in the world of the underground and in war, he trusted instinct.
"He's smart, I'll give him that," Moody muttered. "It might take a bit of convincing Frank, Alice and Dumbledore that he's trustworthy, but for what it's worth, I'm certainly not going to hold his House against him."
Fabian leaned against the doorframe of the barn. "I don't know how the rest of the Order will like him," Fabian worried aloud. "But of course liking him as a person doesn't matter. It's trusting him. All of the Gryffindors, especially, they've thought from day one at Hogwarts that Slytherins are scum, losers, and snobs. It's pathetic, really, how we're all so hung up on it." He pulled at the thread on his shirt until it snapped, and he held his hand up to rub his fingers together until the thread floated down into the hay. "I even catch myself thinking of some of them as Gryffindors instead of how I should, which is as people." He shrugged. "I don't know how to fix it."
"Maybe having him there will help kick some sense into you all," Moody said, sounding frustrated. He hated stupid House rivalries. "Either way, we're considering it. We could use someone with his intelligence and cunning. You're all smart, for the most part, but not everyone has the same way of dealing with things, and at the moment we've got too many 'shout at it and hope it goes away' reactors."
A passing frown gathered on Fabian's brow when Moody not-so-subtly grouped him in with the rest of the Order (or, at least, so he thought). Fabian thought that he had been acting with sense - at least, he hadn't been too reckless. Not to mention he had been trying to keep peace between the rest of them, even if sometimes he ended up bickering himself. He said nothing, however - he had too much respect for Moody for that.
"Right," he responded. He looked thoughtful. "You know, I think it would help if there was a sort of protocol - maybe a written protocol - on how we deal with things." He cleared his throat. "A reporting system like Alice has been promoting, for example, but more along the lines of if - well, when a large attack happens."
"Kick some sense into them," Moody amended, seeing Fabian's frown. "Bad wording. You've been one of the better ones. And I'll talk to Alice and Frank about implementing something. Organisation is one of the areas we're lacking in; compared to the other lot, we're about as organised as a herd of cats."
Almost immediately Fabian's displeasure dissolved - a compliment from someone like Moody was enough to appease him. "It's true," he nodded. "But their precision stems from singlemindedness and squashing of opinion, which is not something to aspire to. I'd help, but I'm useless at that sort of thing. If you need me for something else, though ....?" He looked up, almost hopefully. In the wake of the Mary fiasco, he was thirsting to prove himself.
Moody rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'll have to talk to Frank and Alice. We need to be doing more than just patrolling; all that's doing is putting a bandage on wounds that've long since bled out. But I appreciate the offer, ad I'll take you up on it once we've got more concrete plans."
Fabian nodded, unconsciously mimicking Moody's movement as he dug a knuckle between his eyes briefly. "We need to be more proactive. I can't stand just waiting, you know?" He dug his hands into his pockets. "I can scarcely open my journal anymore, I'm too afraid I'm going to see someone else has been attacked." Things were going from bad to worse, and Fabian felt useless and unhelpful. Moody's offer to get him in on something pleased him.
"I appreciate you coming up here."
"Best place to talk about Pepper and not get overheard, short of my place up in Dover," Moody remarked. "And I appreciate the honesty. Too many people are keeping secrets these days."
Fabian couldn't help but smirk, and said with forced sobriety, "Not me. I'm a horse of a different colour."
Moody chuckled softly. "I should report back to Frank and Alice. I'll let you know what we decide, shall I?"
A nod, and then Fabian turned away. "Stay safe, Moody."