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Tweak says, "Enemies of the heir, beware!"

Hyperion Montgomery (adaurorble) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-11-16 20:39:00

Entry tags:

character: hyperion montgomery, character: zacharias smith

RP: A Cute Meet
Who: Hyperion and Zacharias

What: That one where they meet in a Muggle bookshop

Where: Foyle's Bookshop, Charing Cross Road, Camden

When: Sunday 16th of November, 12 pm

Rating: SFW

Hyperion entered the bookstore with something akin to a sigh of relief. He'd been wandering around Soho for several hours shopping and practicing his ability to blend as a Muggle, so the quietness of the bookshop was a welcome reprieve from the madness outside.

He looked around the slightly cluttered store and then headed for the fiction section. Frowning for himself, he began to follow the alphabetically organised section along, looking for a book one of his colleagues had mentioned to him during the week. Finally, he spotted a copy of Andrea Levy's Small Island and reached out for it, accidentally brushing up against someone as he did so. "Oh, sorry," he said with an apologetic smile. "I didn't see you there."

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unspeakableness
2014-11-21 05:55 am UTC (link)

Zacharias's eyebrows rose a bit, idly wondering what meeting he might have been at that Hyperion had also attended, or if he'd come up at a meeting in which he wasn't in attendance. That worried him, just a bit, at what that could mean. If he'd been brought up at a meeting but wasn't there, did that mean he'd done something wrong? Had someone complained about him? He couldn't recall messing up enough at work to warrant any complaints or disciplinary actions. The most he'd had was his supervisor being a supervisor, and he hadn't reacted poorly to being steered in one direction or another. So why would his name come up? He decided not to ask and to let it go instead. For now.

"I've not heard of that one," he said. But at least this time, he knew what to say and that it likely wouldn't make him look as stupid as he often felt. "What's it about?" Maybe he would investigate it later, see if it caught his attention. "And that's really cool," was that the right word? He wasn't sure, "about the book club." He gave Hyperion another little smile, not at all sure if cool was the right word, though he did find the information interesting. But he knew, from experience, that often times people mistook interesting for boring and bored and not really all that interesting at all.

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adaurorble
2014-11-23 02:30 pm UTC (link)

Hyperion smiled at the momentary flicker of concern on the man's face. "Nothing bad," he added with a sly smile. "One of my colleagues is your head of department, and I remember her rather tartly informing my mother - that is, the head of my department - that 'Smith and Jones are more than capable of the job and they don't need swotty Aurors underfoot' or some such."

He smiled fondly, already liking Zacharias for his interest in books if nothing else. "1984's this amazing book by George Orwell, written in the early twentieth century," he said, still smiling. "It's about a lad called Winston Smith who works for the government, erasing events from the past in newspapers to make it match up with what the government wants now. But Winston hates the party and basically he tries to rebel. That's a really brief summary, as I wouldn't want to ruin the book for you." He smiled back and nodded, amused by the use of the word cool. "It is cool, you could always join if you'd like?"

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unspeakableness
2014-11-23 04:54 pm UTC (link)

Although he couldn't figure out why the Department of Magical Law Enforcement would be nosing about the Department of Mysteries and its goings on -- especially as such things were generally kept a secret per the name of the department -- Zacharias decided not to ask about it. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement -- apparently Hyperion's mother. Huh -- didn't end up bothering him while he was working, nor did any Aurors, so he didn't see any point in pushing it. He might ask around the department tomorrow, though, to see if anyone else knew about this, and, if so, what. For now, he gave a slightly cynical smile and said, "Give it time. Something bad's sure to come up." Or at least something negative about him, if not because of his work then because of himself.

Another thing he refrained from saying was that Hyperion had already mentioned the author of the book when he told him the title. There was just no point in bringing it up, he thought for a second, listening to the description of the book. "That actually sounds like something our own government would do -- and probably has, in its own ways, done," he said. It'd only been about six years since the war itself, and almost ten years since Cedric Diggory had been murdered by You-Know-Who -- by Voldemort. Had he really been just fifteen when that happened? Was he really only twenty-five now? For some reason, both thoughts frightened him in a way he couldn't begin to understand, though he kept that fear and those thoughts burried well beneath his surface.

"Thank you for not ruining the book. There are loads of people who aren't as considerate." And he'd had his fair share of stories ruined because of them. He couldn't figure out how people didn't understand a request to not be spoiled about such things. If he wanted to know the ending going into the story, he'd have asked for it.

Zacharias took a moment to study Hyperion after his invitation. Was he mocking him with his amusement? Had he used the word cool wrong? He thought he had a nice smile, but was it a nice smile or a cruel smile? Was the invitation merely politeness or was it kindness? He wasn't used to being invited places, especially not so spontaneously and quickly after meeting someone. He wasn't so arrogant or paranoid as to think it was some nasty joke being played on him, but he was still wary. He couldn't help it. It was just... how he was. However, he nodded slowly, saying, "It could be fun, depending on when the club meets. After all, it wouldn't be fun if it met when I've normally got to be at work late or have a meeting or am otherwise occupied." He snapped his mouth shut, telling himself to stop rambling. It was unseemly, after all. "Just let me know when you're done with your current book and what the next one will be, so I don't come in in the middle of reading a book," he said, a small smile on his face at the thought of the possibilities of what a book club might read.

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adaurorble
2014-11-25 11:42 am UTC (link)

Hyperion chuckled slightly at that and shook his head. "I'm sure nothing bad will come up," he disgareed with a smile. "It's the Department of Mysteries afterall, so apart from my mother sticking her nose in things that aren't her ken, we are totally unaware of what goes on in there." He decided not to mention the various things that Harry had mentioned to him once, knowing that Unspeakables could be slightly finicky about their domain being invaded.

"Oh I can believe it," he replied with a sad shake of his head. "The entire year after Voldemort killed Cedric Diggory and returned the Ministry essentially pretended that nothing was wrong and leant on the Prophet to reflect that are a perfect example of Orwellian government. Still, hopefully things are improving, aye?"

Hyperion grinned and bowed his head slightly. "Don't worry, I understand the joy of reading a book without having it spoilt. I hate it when people do it to me, so I wouldn't do it to someone else." He shook his head with a sad sigh. "I have a friend who loves telling me the end of books, it makes me very sad, and her very sad when I get very sad. So really, best to avoid spoiling, aye?"

"It's very fun," Hyperion rumbled approvingly, unaware of the turmoil he'd caused in his companion. "Technically the book club was organised by the London Library, but as there's a fee for joining the library and some of our members can't afford it, we meet in a café in St James' or sometimes in one of our houses." He bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment and shrugged. "Well we tend to meet on a Saturday afternoon, so work doesn't pose a problem. Even workaholics like me can leave the office and socialise and discuss books and life for an afternoon."

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unspeakableness
2014-11-25 04:48 pm UTC (link)

His comment actually had nothing to do with the Department of Mysterious so much as himself. He figured it'd only be a matter of time before one person or another informed Hyperion of negative things about him, if not because of anything he did at work but because of himself as a person. Zacharias held no delusions about how he wasn't easy to get along with, that he could put his foot in his mouth and say rude or stupid things without thinking. It just wasn't worth mentioning. It wasn't like he had to show up at this book club. And even if he did, to be polite, he didn't have to continue going. They worked on entirely different levels of the Ministry, too, which meant he'd be easy to avoid if Hyperion were the type to question why he only showed up once, if at all.

The mention of Cedric's name out loud brought Zacharias out of his previous thoughts, and he looked down. He hadn't been especially close with Cedric, but he'd given him a chance. And he'd always been genuinely nice to him. Zacharias hadn't had a crush on him, not that he could tell, but he had admired Cedric, at least as much as he could admire anyone at that time. And he'd let... he'd let down some of his defences around him, let himself actually think there were truly decent, truly good people in the world. He didn't know if those people still existed.

He looked back up and said, "I'm just a low-level employee in a department that doesn't deal directly with the rest of the Ministry and its goings on so far as actual governing goes. I don't really know one way or another about if it's improving or not." He gave a smile, kind of playful in a sarcastic sort of way, pushing away his bad thoughts. He decided not to bother discussing it further. There was no point, in his mind. Instead, he focused back on the book club.

"I understand it, but it always bothers me when libraries charge fees for joining. If I'm to buy the luxury of reading books in my own home, I'd rather buy the books myself. At least that way, there are no late fees." Another joke. He was either on a roll or in a particularly bad mood. He wasn't sure which, and he didn't want to know. He had a pick up game of Quidditch later, and he didn't want it to negatively impact his playing, even if he hadn't explicitly stated he wanted to play initially. "But the book club," he continued, "sounds like a good way for people to participate without having to pay an absurd fee. Just, well, yes, please let me know the details of when you pick a new book and a meeting date, time, and location, and I'll see about coming." He gave another little smile, then shook his head quickly.

"I didn't mean that to sound rude or demanding," he added, an apology to his tone. "I just... well, I don't want to be spoiled when you all discuss the current book, and the rest is always helpful to know where and when to go and what to bring..." He trailed off, a hint of pink tinting his pale cheeks, his blue eyes dropping to glance at the bookcase next to him, scanning the titles without really registering any of them.

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adaurorble
2014-11-28 04:22 pm UTC (link)

"And I'm just an Auror and newly appointed Wizengamot member, but I think you underestimate yourself. You have eyes, and ears, it doesn't take much to form an opinion wouldn't you say?"

He nodded and smiled. "At least with the London Library you never get late fees, I will give it that; plus it provides an excellent cover when I need it. But yes, I see your point," he said, the ghost of a smile still touching his lips. "I have to say, if you're getting late fees for books you've bought it might be time to change where you buy your books." He scratched his chin thoughtfully for several moments. "I could send you an IDM* if you like?"

He lifted his hands in mollifying manner and smiled reassuringly. "You weren't, it's fine lad," he said, feeling his stomach drop pleasantly at the way Zacharias flushed and looked away. "We all take our duties as vanguards against spoiling very seriously."

*Inter-Departmental Memo

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unspeakableness
2014-12-02 12:30 am UTC (link)

He'd thought he was being friendly, but he couldn't tell from Hyperion's response. His attempts at jokes really were pathetic and unfunny. So much for that type of social interaction with others. He pushed all of that, and Hyperion's comment about him having the ability to form an opinion, out of his mind. There was no point noting that of the two of them, Hyperion was not just anything. People respected Aurors, and the Wizengamot made actual decisions, whether or not they were respected. Unspeeakables were just... strange. And daft. And several other things he'd heard whispered before that he didn't want to remember.

"I think a memo would work well," Zacharias said with a nod. "Thank you." He gave him a small smile of gratitude, aware in the back of his mind that he didn't know what else to talk about. He wasn't made for small talk. He wasn't born with that skill, and he hadn't been taught it, either. Maybe at some point his father had plans to transition him from seen and not heard to someone who could easily hold his own in a conversation, but, if so, he hadn't done so yet.

Although he hadn't been taught the finer points of conversation, Zacharias had learned that it was better to not hog the conversation. So he said, "When it isn't for book clubs, what sort of books do you enjoy reading?"

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adaurorble
2014-12-05 01:14 pm UTC (link)

Hyperion felt his smile falter when the other man didn't reply, he'd meant it as a compliment, but it was clear that he'd been misunderstood. He was always being misconstrued - possibly because of his accent. With a shift of his shoulders he pasted the smile back on and vowed to try and do better.

"You're welcome," he replied with a roguish grin. It was becoming apparent that Zacharias was less than adept at the art of making conversation - whereas Hyperion had been trained from birth to do so, and he shifted into that role without a second thought. "So is it presumptuous to ask where you're from originally, I find English accents interesting."

Hyperion grinned at the question. "Oddly I have a really eclectic taste in books actually. I really love Muggle science-fiction and fantasy, but I also love their spy and action books too. How about yourself?"

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unspeakableness
2014-12-09 07:11 am UTC (link)

Was it presumptuous to ask? Zacharias wasn't entirely certain one way or another. He supposed it could be, given they weren't having a conversation that Zacharias thought called for such information, but he could be wrong. He was wrong a lot, after all. But regardless, that didn't mean he had to divulge the exact location of the house he'd grown up in, especially since he couldn't tell if Hyperion meant interesting to mean interesting or if he meant interesting in a less than sincere way.

"West Country," he replied with a bit of a shrug. He actually grew up outside of any towns or villages, but Hyperion didn't need to know that. The general region was hopefully enough to satiate his potential curiosity. And if it weren't, well, Zacharias would leave and wonder if he were actually being investigated by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for some reason.

He nodded as Hyperion mentioned a few genres, glancing down at the book in his hands when he was asked about his own preferences. He passed the book back and forth a little, giving another shrug. "I've not read a lot of them, but I've liked some fantasy and science-fiction books." Even if he still wasn't sure about the details of what science was. "Read some contemporary? I think that's what it's called. And some horror." He thought for him at least that it was more about finding books that fell into genres than hunting out genres and picking books from within them. He'd always been that way with his reading material, though he decided it wasn't worth mentioning. "I tried to read some of those classical books, but I got bored." That, though, he admitted, reasoning it wasn't that embarrassing. They were boring.

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adaurorble
2014-12-17 01:42 pm UTC (link)

"Interesting," Hyperion replied with an amused quirk of his lips. "You don't have that particularly country bumpkin sound about you, so I'm guessing you're from the nice part of the West Country then. I'm from An t-Eilean Sgitheanach - the Isle of Skye - in the Scottish Highlands." He tilted his head and grinned again. "Although my accent does quite give that away, aye?"

"Ahh fair enough then," he said with a wise nod. He'd found that many purebloods had not been exposed to Muggle writings until at least Hogwarts - when even the most radical and restrictive of parents were no longer able to police the reading materials of their progeny with any real vigilance. "I agree that science fiction and fantasy and modern literature are all great genres, though I must confess I don't mind some of the classics. 1984 being an obvious one. Fair call to you though for being upfront about it, far too many pretend they like certain genres to impress."

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unspeakableness
2014-12-18 03:26 pm UTC (link)

Zacharias couldn't completely tell how Hyperion meant interesting. Was it meant as a polite dismissal or actual interest? He didn't know, especially with the comment about how he didn't sound like a country bumpkin. But he didn't feel he needed to explain that his parents had ensured both he and his sister had had several tutors that had at least influenced him to one extent or another, or any other reason why he might not sound like a 'country bumpkin.' And it wasn't like he was going to make a comment about how Hyperion did sound like a heathen or something. He just nodded and said, "I had thought I detected a hint of a Scottish brogue to some of your words and sentences," his tone light. He gave a small smile to add to the tone to show he wasn't trying to be rude or insulting.

"If you don't like something, it'll eventually show itself, especially when you're trying to impress someone," he said with a shrug. For the most part, Zacharias was not a man who tried to impress anyone. And if he were, it was often for the sake of his work, and then he usually stuck to letting his work speak for itself. After all, if his work didn't impress the way it was meant to, it might mean his job. But other things? No. He didn't really aim to impress with other things. "Although I'm told it's generally acceptable to pretend to enjoy presents from family even when you dislike the present or family member, such as an ugly jumper from a grandmum or great aunt who thinks, for some reason, that everyone looks good in chartreuse." Thankfully that had never happened to him, but he had taken a bit of pleasure in watching it happen to his sister once.

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