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Dominic Chambers ([info]knowhow) wrote in [info]finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-08-29 19:49:00

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Entry tags:character: dominic chambers, character: theodore nott

Books Buddies
Who: Theodore and Dominic
What: Talking about books
Where: The Corner
When: Friday after work
Rating: SFW

As he leaned against the bar waiting for Seamus to fetch him his drink, Dominic rolled his shoulders in an effort to ease the muscles there. 'Ginny wants a dance party,' Seamus had said, so Dominic had set to work experimenting with music, a dance floor and even a charm to replicate light spinning off a muggle disco ball. He still wasn't done, he'd need to go back before Ginny arrived - but the party wasn't due to start until nine and Dominic had been working since lunch. He was due a break.

He took his butterbeer from Seamus (not too alcoholic - he still had work to do) with a nod of thanks. "I'll be in The Corner," he said, having already ordered food. "Hand me those books, would you?" There was a stack of books behind the bar that Dominic had been meaning to distribute to the bookshelf for days. No matter how many books he gave away, he always seemed to have more. He sometimes wondered if there wasn't some kind of magic to being a Ravenclaw that meant you attracted books like a magnet attracted metal, whether you wanted them or not.

Carrying both books and drink resting against his chest, he made his way into the corner - groaning at the sight of the bookcase. Someone had left it in a complete mess and Dominic was going to have to sort it out before he could fit all his own books onto it. With a frown, he dropped down to his knees in front of it, pulling the books that had been piled sideways onto the shelves down and spreading them on the floor to read the titles.


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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-29 09:17 pm UTC (link)
"I know a spell for that."

Theo had been neglecting his therapist's direction to go out and socialise since the rats had died. It had affected him more than he'd been prepared for and he hadn't gone into work for two days. He'd gone in today and had been confronted with a customer who caught his surname and caused a stink, speaking out forthrightly about the fact that he shouldn't be employed and that he should be in Azkaban by all rights. Theo knew that his father had done terrible things to other people during the war; this kind of reaction wasn't unusual and he had done nothing to defend himself. His boss had asked if he'd wanted to go home but he'd declined, finishing off with the animals and cleaning up before leaving. He didn't want to go out but he'd brought a book to return to the Corner with him and he didn't want to face his therapist to say that he'd started resorting to his hermit behaviour again.

He hadn't gone to get a drink this time, wanting to drop the book off and go, but seeing some poor guy kneeling down and clearing up what was clearly someone else's help pulled at the part of him that his dad had tried to first crush and then scour out of him, with no luck.

"Better than kneeling?"

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[info]knowhow
2014-08-29 11:58 pm UTC (link)
At the sound of the voice, Dominic sat back on his heels and looked around. He'd not even noticed there was anyone else in the room when he'd walked in - but now that he looked he recognised the man who'd spoken. Recognised his face, at least. He couldn't call his name to mind, if he'd even known it. He smiled. "A spell sounds great. You'd think, after a decade, I'd stop having moments where I forget I've got a wand..." He huffed and pulled himself up into a chair, gesturing to the bookcase to encourage the customer to go ahead.

There seemed to be more books than usual, even taking their haphazard distribution into account. Maybe Hermione Granger had been by. "You think I'll be able to fit all these on?" he asked, waving at the stack of books he'd brought with him. "I don't want to have to take them home with me, and Seamus will give me his 'how could you?' face if I leave them on the floor."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-30 01:58 pm UTC (link)
Theo had kept his distance so as not to startle the stranger into brandishing a wand at him, a reaction that he wouldn't been surprised to face as it would likely have been his had he let his guard down for long enough to be startled. He gave the guy that same meaningless and polite little smile as he sat back and he had the books stacking themselves and neat with a quick movement of his 6" pine wand and some germanic sounding words.

He had the room to slot his own book back into the shelf, swapping it out for the book that was closest to him to read next when his attention was brought to the extra books. He was a friend of Seamus' then, maybe? "We could try a dimensional spell, make them all fit." he suggested, looking from the books to the shelves and back again. "That's a lot of new books. You know it's 'take one leave one', right?" There was a tone in his voice and a wryness to his expression that showed he was actually teasing.

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[info]knowhow
2014-08-30 02:30 pm UTC (link)
Studying the bookshelf as the books stacked themselves more neatly, Dominic nodded and retrieved his own wand. Dimensional spells were something much more in his line of work, after all. The question was, what kind would be best? He frowned as he sorted through options in his brain, only coming back to the present when Theodore spoke again. He laughed. "I know, I know. It was my idea. I've got more books than I know what to do with, I like to share them around." He gestured to the stack as proof of his words.

He noticed the book Theodore had taken and smiled. At least someone was getting something out of it. "What did you pick?"

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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-30 02:38 pm UTC (link)
Theo hid his own wand away again when Dominic drew his, although it was in his sleeve as always and could be in his hand in a moment if the need arose. He was interested to hear that Dominic had a lot of books, studying the pile and wondering why this was.

He looked down at the book in his hand and looked at the cover because he hadn't actually done so before. "Oh, uhm... it's on the history of Kneazles." Hm, that might be helpful for his work. "I just read whatever I pick. You like to read?" he queried hesitantly.

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[info]knowhow
2014-08-30 03:12 pm UTC (link)
Dominic decided that dimensional charms could wait - he'd worked enough for one day - and turned his attention to his companion with a slight grimace. "Not as much as people think I do, or should," he said. "I think people hear 'Ravenclaw' and decide we all want to live in a bookshop." Dominic only minded a little bit, more because it meant people didn't know him than anything else.

"Well, if you ever run out of books here, you're welcome to pick from my supply," he offered. "I'm Dominic, by the way." He leaned over to offer Theodore his hand. "I know I've seen you before, but don't remember your name, I'm afraid."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-30 09:04 pm UTC (link)
Theo had been curious to see what Dominic could do with a dimensional charm, but he understood the reluctance to take on that kind of magic in a relaxed setting; playing with dimensional magic had always given him a headache personally, and while he didn't doubt that his charm-casting prowess wasn't as up to scratch as most people, he couldn't imagine that it was pleasant for anyone else as a rule.

He paid attention when Dominic spoke, in that way of his that unnerved some people, nodding because he too had been guilty of that particular stereotype and feeling worse because of how much he hated the stigma that your Hogwarts House inevitably left.

He was surprised but pleasantly so at Dominic's offer but, to his embarassment, he flinched when the Ravenclaw offered his hand. He'd never really escape that reflexive action, but he suspected that his recent reclusiveness couldn't have helped matters. He tried to act through it, reaching to shake Dominic's hand. "It's Theodore." he offered, sans surname because if anythig made him flinch it was hearing that. "That's very generous of you. I don't tend to get books myself; I was in Slytherin."

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[info]knowhow
2014-08-31 02:08 pm UTC (link)
Dominic noted the flinch but didn't pull back. From what he'd seen of Theodore, he seemed shy and quiet, rarely speaking to anyone. Dominic hoped he wasn't bothering him too much, but it had been Theodore who initiated conversation, after all, so he was going to keep it going unless it became obvious it wasn't wanted. "Glad to formally meet you," Dominic said, somewhat relieved that Theodore hadn't left him hanging. He sat back in his chair.

He shrugged, not sure it was really generous to get rid of things he had no use for. "I'm enough of a Ravenclaw that I can't just throw out books," he explained. "Or maybe I've just spent enough time around the more traditional sort and know they'd feel like it was a personal insult." He smiled. "So if Ravenclaws get books, is there a stereotypical Slytherin gift? I think Hufflepuffs all just give one another food, from what I've seen."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-31 03:41 pm UTC (link)
Theo nodded and withdrew his hand, reassuring himself by making sure his wand was at hand for no other reason than habit. "You too" he said sincerely, that shallow polite smile back, but softened a little with curiosity and sincerity, widening at the Ravenclaw that showed through in Dominic.

That line of discussion was a little sore for Theo though, but he still considered it. "Ravenclaws get books. Hufflepuffs get food. Slytherins..." he pondered and then shrugged. "I'm not sure. I give protection charms, little magic alerts and things. What do you think? What do you think Gryfindors get?" he queried too, curious like he tended to be.

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[info]knowhow
2014-08-31 09:10 pm UTC (link)
Dominic thought about that, though he didn't have many Slytherin friends. Certainly, none he'd had to give presents to. "That sounds... appropriate." He wasn't going to say it was because Slytherins gave the impression of only really trusting one another, but it was going through his head. "Gryffindors, though." He thought of Seamus and Dean and Ginny and Logan's brother Oliver. "They all seem a bit Quidditch mad. Maybe they give each other tickets."

It wasn't really a serious sort of conversation, so Dominic smiled. "When did you graduate?" he asked, aware it wasn't always the best question but wondering if they'd overlapped at school.

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[info]nottfinished
2014-08-31 10:02 pm UTC (link)
That had actually been where Theo's mind had been going and hearing it said back to him made him laugh, the sound surprising him as much as it would have anyone who knew him. He made a mental backstep and reined himself in a little. "I, uhm, '98, technically. But I kind of took a break and took my NEWTs a couple of years later. I wasn't in Hogwarts a lot for it though. How about you, when did you graduate?" That was a lot of saying nothing, but he wasn't about to say that he'd been locked up in the loony bin after failing to kill his dad in the Battle.

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-01 06:47 pm UTC (link)
A little surprised to find Theodore was older than him, Dominic nodded. He didn't need to press for details about the 'break' Theodore had taken. A lot of people had, or hadn't returned at all. "I should have been '99, so I guess I was in the year below you." He sipped his drink with a slight frown. It wasn't as hard for him to talk about as some people, but he'd still rather not go into details. He didn't even like to think about the time he'd been imprisoned in the Ministry. "I ended up finishing in 2000."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-01 07:30 pm UTC (link)
Theo nodded, not sure if that was right anymore but mostly because those years were a messy blur to him. He noticed the frown and the tension that seemed to come over Dominic on this topic, that as much a survival instinct that he'd had to pick up as a child as it was a product of his later experiences. He knew he should move the conversation away from that topic but he felt so bad at this, when before it had been as easy as any other game to him. Okay, so he was more honest now, but having social skills had been helpful.

"What do you do now?" It was a bit of a cop out but Theo was genuinely interested, so that actually worked out.

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-01 11:09 pm UTC (link)
Dominic chuckled. He supposed he'd been working here too long, he sort of expected people to know him. "I work here." He gestured to the pub. "Official title is 'handyman' but sometimes I think 'interior decorator' might be more appropriate." He didn't mind what people called him, though handyman seemed more fitting to what he actually did - and to his apprenticeship.

"What about you?" he asked, equally interested in Theodore's life as the Slytherin apparently was in his. Meeting new people was always interesting.

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-01 11:20 pm UTC (link)
Theo quirked his eyebrows when he heard that, because he didn't think he'd seen this guy behind the bar before, but then he elaborated and it made more sense. He had often been impressed by the clear craftmanship and care that went into the decor of the pub and he was pleased that he finally knew who had been behind it all to be able to say as such to their face.

He was about to do so when Dominic brought up his job and it put a bit of a puncture in Theo's good mood. "I work at the Magical Menagerie." he said hesitantly, the memory of seeing the intelligent rats, his responsibility, hanging from their cage that morning hitting him like a breezeblock thrown at a bus stop. "But I'm thinking about a change in career. I don't think I've got the particular skill set for that job after all." He wanted to break away from that line of conversation so gamely tried to pull it back to his original intention. "You do really good work by the way. I've noticed the decor in here before now, it's flawless."

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-02 08:13 pm UTC (link)
"Oh?" Dominic began, but before he could ask what Theodore wanted to do instead, they seemed to have moved on. He went with it, happy to let the conversation take whatever winding path it chose. "Thank you. I wouldn't go quite that far - and Seamus made a lot of the decisions about the permanent stuff. I helped, but he employs me more for temporary fixtures." He frowned in concentration, trying to remember if he'd seen Theodore at any of the clubs upstairs. He usually stayed around for a bit, so knew most of the members by sight.

"Have you been up to The Roost?" he asked. "I set the space up for duelling club and choir and wizarding chess. Or private functions, sometimes."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-02 09:18 pm UTC (link)
Theo understood not wanting to take credit that wasn't due, but the magical work he'd seen had been masterly and deserved credit. He didn't have a chance to voice that though because Dominic was looking at him funny. He was going to ask what was wrong when Dominic asked him a question instead. "Not a lot, but I've been up there yeah. I watched a couple of chess games. You change that too?" It was funny how that gave him the chance to do as he'd wanted to do earlier.

"Really, it's very neat magic. You should join up with the guy who spelled the journals that they were giving away here, that was really clever magic too. You could go into business together." he said with a smile.

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-03 01:29 pm UTC (link)
Dominic laughed. "That could be tricky," he said, running a hand across his short, dark hair. "We're sort of already joined. In that he's me, too." He grinned, accepting the compliment to his spell work. "Charms and transfiguration were always my thing at school. My only thing, really. Can't brew a potion or draw a star chart to save my life. I only just scraped an A in Muggle Studies - and I'm muggleborn!" Proud as he was of his work, he didn't like to seem like he was bragging. A little honest truth about the limits of his abilities seemed to balance it out.

"Have you got one of the journals, then? I know Seamus has been pressing them on everybody." Not that everybody had accepted, of course, but it seemed like a lot of people had and that could only be good for business.

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-06 08:29 pm UTC (link)
Theo didn't understand what Dominic was talking about until he said it straight out and then he looked deeply impressed. He didn't think there was anything wrong in being poor in anything else when you could do spellwork like Dominic had done. Why crawl on the ground when you could soar?

"I took one, yes. I was impressed by the craft it took to make it, I should have guessed from your work here that you had a hand in creating them. Really, I haven't seen magic like that before, how did you come up with the concept? Where did you even start? The spells to change the privacy readings for different text in the same entry alone had to be difficult, especially on that scale." Theo was closer to the person he should have been without his mental health problems or neuroses at that point - his curiosity always brought out something in him that had been long suppressed by force by his father and it was coming out now.

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-07 04:46 pm UTC (link)
Seeing Theodore's expression, Dominic couldn't help but smile. "The concept was Seamus, really. He said he'd seen something similar before. I got the fun of trying to work out how to make it work." For some people that would have been sarcastic, but Dominic really meant it. He'd enjoyed the challenge, which had taken him the better part of a year to completely solve.

"Privacy spells pretty much depend on the individual caster, though getting them to interact properly with all the magic in the journals themselves took me quite some time." He was getting involved in his topic, his face settling into concentration while he made small hand gestured to demonstrate his point. "Actually, the hardest bit was making sure everything would display in chronological order, and I'm still not sure our Cursebreakers aren't going to undo all my effort on that score."

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-09 12:50 am UTC (link)
If he'd been in the Muggle world, Theo might have been considered something of a geek. In the Wizarding World he was a complete geek for spellcasting and his Ravenclaw sympathies alone meant that he completely understood what Dominic meant by making it work 'fun'.

He was absorbed in Dominic's tales of how the journals worked, intrigued as to where the problems had been. "The Cursebreakers are trying to break the journals system?" he queried, unsure what that was all about but feeling defensive on both his journal and Dominic's behalf.

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[info]knowhow
2014-09-09 04:12 pm UTC (link)
Dominic laughed and waved a hand to quiet Theodore's fears. "No! Or at least, I hope not. No, it's more that they spend so much time abroad, in different time zones, and I'm worried entries from their journals while they're away aren't going to play nicely with entries from England." It was something he hadn't really been able to test yet, and he supposed if a few things showed up out of order it wouldn't be the worst that could happen.

He wondered, privately, if the cursebreakers would be able to break into people's privacy wards. Possibly, but it was hard to see how that would benefit them much. And if they could, it wouldn't be his responsibility - would it? He hadn't made any claims about the journals being any more secure than the wards placed on them by their users. Still, he could tell the thought was going to niggle at him.

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[info]nottfinished
2014-09-28 09:34 pm UTC (link)
Dominic's lack of concern eased Theo's hackles as well and he settled down when he heard the real issue. He could see how that might be a problem with the different timezones alone, and he wasn't as much of a Ravenclaw as he would like to be able to posit any theories.

"Considering how new they are I'd be surprised if there weren't a couple of bugs." Theo tried to reassure. "But they work remarkably well given that they're so new. You should take more credit for the spellwork, really." he said sincerely.

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