InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You smote my muffin!"

Professor Dennis Creevey (thereheis) wrote in ecorridor_rpg,
@ 2009-04-24 20:49:00

Who: Prof Creevey + Prof DeBura
What: Hears a knock at his office door
When: Late Friday night, after students should be in bed.
What: G. They're professors! Nothing ever goes higher than PG-13

It was late by any standards. The sun had long set, he had done his rounds to make sure all of students were safely in the dormitories, and today's staff meeting had concluded with him being bestowed the lovely position of drafting a plan of action to ensure journal security amongst the student network. On one hand, he was quite glad that his suggestion was being taken into account and he felt proud that he was taking a direct role in ensuring student safety, but on the other hand, it was extra paperwork that he probably was going to wait until the last minute to do. Sometimes, he procrastinated more than his students did.

But he couldn't procrastinate on student safety. Before he went to bed, he wanted to at LEAST come up with some kind of outline. A short one. Maybe a sentence or so. Hopefully. Professor Creevey had been at his mess of a desk for some time now when there was a knock at his door as he was aimlessly levitating a miniature Quaffle around above his head, his parchment quite empty in front of him, and his quill limp on top of it.

Taken aback by the sound, the quaffle dropped with a lazy plop onto the floor beside his books and miniature dragons. Scrambling to put his quill in his hand and feign that he had been working, he mumbled a hasty, "Come in! Come in. I'm here."

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thereheis
2009-04-29 05:41 pm UTC (link)

"Who are we fighting exactly?" He spoke, sudden thunder coming into his voice. Some color came into Dennis' face now as he faced her, the Quaffle and dragon landing with a thump as shocking as his change in mood. "I mean, the Dalia was murdered -- murdered in cold blood -- almost eight months ago and we've come no closer to the search for the killer than we have to finding Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. And in the mean time, the Ministry has been sitting here, twiddling its thumbs while more students die! The other day, a horde of their goons threw me out of my office. And for what? For a quiet place to watch the Puddlemere game!"

"It's as if we're dealing with m..." he trailed off. "...magic." Dennis heaved a sigh. "Sorry. Not the best comparison. But you get what I mean. They've been here all throughout the academic year, and nothing. Not even a profile. I just thank the stars that I had the grave misfortune of finding the bodies of one of the students."

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debura_potions
2009-04-30 12:37 pm UTC (link)

Regarding him warily, Annaliese scooped up the Quaffle and rolled it thoughtfully in her hands. The sudden emotion in his voice had been surprising, but only because of his gentle disposition, she could understand where he was coming from. "The Ministry is a thorn in all of our sides," She spoke softly, "it always has, from our years of schooling until now."

Looking up from the Quaffle, she nudged the dragon and watched it take flight, puffing smoke in aggrivation at the two of them.

"I remember the night Lysander was found. You should have seen them, Dennis. It was Claire and Scorpius who had moved him..." she shook her head and shrugged, not knowing what else to say. The Quaffle thumped to the desk as she dropped it, "Perhaps it is time that someone other than the Ministry attempts to uncover the truth."

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thereheis
2009-05-01 03:02 am UTC (link)

He stooped down onto his desk, placing his chin on the back of his hands. Dennis looked up at her, nodding as she continued her story.

"It must have been tough. Seeing somebody you've watched grow up, somebody you've raised, lay there, lifeless..." He sighed and his eyes wandered over to the framed photo of himself and his late wife, holding their newborn son. Dennis knew the pain of loss all too well.

He straightened up at her last statement. "You mean-" He paused, contemplating her words. "You mean to say that we should launch an investigation?"

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(ooc: I fail at getting it right on the first try XD)

debura_potions
2009-05-01 05:00 pm UTC (link)

It had, in a sense, been very tough. Having witnessed quite a bit of death in her early life, Annaliese was reminded of her childhood and the dark ages Hogwarts had faced in the first two years of her schooling. Watching students she had taught for six and seven years deal with the remnants of the second murder, had done more to her than she would ever bring herself to admit. It had spurred her into holding this conversation, one she would have otherwise not have had.

"Yes. But to see two students, shell-shocked and risking their own lives to move him to the hospital wing, that will stick with me for far longer. We can't protect the dead..." Although, I wish we could. Haltingly, she continue, "They're out of our reach. But, we can try to keep others from dying..."

Rubbing her index finger along her thumb, Annaliese thought deeply. To launch an investigation would mean thwarting the Ministry officials residing at Hogwarts, which would cause a great deal of suspicion. "Not a full one. We won't question students, just keep our eyes open." Steal the Aurors' notes as well, but she'd not mention that. If they were caught in that particular act, suspicion would turn to certainty that they played a part of the murders. "First, we must do our best to secure the safety of the students, and once we have done that, we will peek into the nooks and corners that the Ministry has failed to."

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thereheis
2009-05-04 04:17 pm UTC (link)

"Not a full one? I say we ought to go right to it! Headmistress has gone against the Ministry before, I'm sure she'd turn a blind eye to our investigations!" The conversation was beginning to rouse his Gryffindor fervor as he stood up and began to pace up and down the room.

"Of course, of course, we'd secure their safety first. Tracking journals, increasing rounds, all of that, but what good would security do if we don't know what or who we are securing them from? All we know is that students were murdered, and one had his life attempted upon. We need more details." As he paced, he put his finger to his chin, pondering a course of action. This was more of his forte, not the whole mundane sense of protocol that the Ministry and Headmistress McGonagall asked him to go through. He needed more information about the murders. He needed reports, testimonies, and -- although it'd be hard for him to stomach -- pictures. Through them he could at least rule out (or begin to suspect) creatures.

Suddenly, Dennis looked straight at Annaliese, as if struck by lightening. He had a moment of clarity, if it could be called such. "We need to steal Auror notes."

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debura_potions
2009-05-04 05:02 pm UTC (link)

Nearly amused by his sudden liking to her idea (yet simultaneously grateful and a serious spectator of his pacing), Annaliese had to stop herself from grinning at his final exclamation. So, he had come to the idea of stealing the Aurors' notes without her goading, Gryffindor he was, but clueless he was not.

Crossing her legs and leaning sideways on her left arm against the side of her chair, Annaliese answered his first question. "A full investigation will draw attention that we would normally not want or particularly need. Also, if we were to successfully steal the Auror notes without being caught, a sudden investigation conducted by ourselves will clearly tell the Ministry that we partook in the theft."

She briefly considered what they might tell Minerva if she ever inquired about their suspicious activities, not that she would. The Headmistress might have a fair head (one that often called for following rules down to the periods) on her shoulders, but she knew when to turn a blind eye to reckless law-breaking when such acts were being performed to save the lives of students. Still, if she were to ask, Annaliese was certain the two would have to tell the truth, or create and incredibly extravagant lie, one that would cue the older witch into their plans but not the Ministry. She would still rather not outwardly involve Minerva, as Hogwarts could not afford to lose such a great leader due to the whims of two professors.

"Security will still need to come first, despite our lack of knowledge of what we're guarding these children from. Ministry will begin looking towards that staff if actions aren't taken to reduce the possibility of attacks. We'll have an easier time investigating if the Aurors aren't slipping Veritaserum into our drinks. On the subject of truth, if we are to follow through with the investigation, we will have to create...oh, what do the students call it...a cover story?"

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thereheis
2009-05-06 05:09 pm UTC (link)

"Let them arrest me if they find out we've stolen the notes!" he proclaimed. "Then the world could see that I've been sacked for attempting to protect our students!"

It wasn't the most tactful thing to do, but Dennis never was a tactful kind of person. In fact, this idea of his was completely stupid. It'd be quite easy for the Ministry to arrest him if he were caught and put him under suspicion for the murders, having stolen the Auror's notes. The action could easily have been spun the other way.

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debura_potions
2009-05-07 08:13 am UTC (link)

"No, the world would be fed the lie that you stole the notes to prevent the Aurors' from discovering the truth," Annaliese stressed. Reaching out she placed a steadying hand on his arm, hoping to calm him, "It is much easier protecting the students at Hogwarts than it is from Azkaban."

After a moment, she added, "Besides, of the two of us, I believe I'm the better candidate for taking the notes, as you aren't the most...graceful...of wizards."

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thereheis
2009-05-07 06:42 pm UTC (link)

As much as he would have liked to protest, she was right. Between the two of them, he would have gotten caught in an instant, by tripping over some statue or accidentally making some odd noise. But if Annaliese was going to do this, Dennis was willing to do whatever it took to support her in achieving this goal.

He felt the steady hand on his arm, looking at her with unwavering eyes. "I need to know: you and me. We're in this. Together?"

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debura_potions
2009-05-07 09:25 pm UTC (link)

Relieved that he had chosen not to argue with her (as she knew many men who would let their pride get in the way of their reasoning), Annaliese gave his arm a gentle squeeze before releasing it and nodding. There was more to the investigation than stealing the notes, and she very well couldn't do it alone. He could be trusted.

"We're stuck with each other until the end," the slightest of smiles gave her words a kinder delivery. "I know you well enough to say it can't be done without you."

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thereheis
2009-05-08 06:20 pm UTC (link)

Dennis was pleased with her gentle answer. "Great," a soft smile appeared on his lips. He almost blushed at her kind words, but the fatigue of the day's events had taken a toll on him and he was beginning to wear out.

He looked at his clock. It was well past midnight. "Annaliese, it's getting quite late," he turned to her. "Should we talk this over in detail over lunch?"

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	debura_potions 2009-05-12 09:42 am UTC (link)
	Checking the time herself, Annaliese suppressed the quirk of an eyebrow, she had not realized that it was this late. Giving him a slight nod, she began to stand, "It is late indeed. I'll give the topic some more thought later in the morning, and we'll continue this at lunch." Before she walked to the door, Annaliese added, "I think we've come off to a good start." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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