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Tweak says, "you are KAY-YOOT!"

Melinda Bobbin (curapersonalis) wrote in pandorarpg,
@ 2012-01-29 19:04:00

Entry tags:

!status: complete, ^date: november 13 2003, character: ernie macmillan, character: melinda bobbin

Who: Melinda and Ernie.
What: Death and destruction, not in that order.
When: Thursday, November 13, around 9:30 am.
Where: Bobbin's Botanicals, Hogsmeade.
Rating: PG-13? Dead bodies herein.

Melinda had been home in Edinburgh, visiting her mother on a rare day off, while all the commotion had been going on yesterday. It was only when her father came home from work unexpectedly that she learned about the supposed living inferi swarming the streets of wizarding London and Hogsmeade. Though she wanted to help in some way, wanted to know if the shops were safe, Melinda knew it would be foolhardy at best and dangerous at worst to go and check on them herself.

After a fitful night of sleep and no word from the clerk who had been filling in for Mr. Leon while he was on holiday, Melinda decided she needed to see for herself, needed to know if their Hogsmeade shop was all right at least. The Prophet said law enforcement had things under control for the most part, so it should be perfectly safe, she told herself as she got dressed. She just needed to know their very first shop, the one she loved the most, was intact.

Apparating before her parents could figure out her intention, Melinda arrived on the rain-drenched High Street. She was soaked in moments, having forgotten to cast and Impervius before leaving, but it was the last thing on her mind now. The High Street was eerily deserted and it wasn't just because of the inclement weather. A pall hung in the air as Melinda trudged the short way towards Bobbin's Botanicals, and she saw the wreckage of storefronts and homes as she went. Yet still she held out hope that somehow the shop had managed to be defended.

She believed until she saw it. The front window was completely shattered and the door was just gone; all that remained was a scrap of wood hanging from a hinge. Her stomach clenched and heart was in her throat as she forced herself to move closer to see inside. One glance and Melinda had to choke back a sob, a hand flying to her mouth to muffle the sound. The place was a completely wreck. Shattered glass, splintered wood, and spilled potions were everywhere. It would take weeks—no, months to repair and restock everything, but it was seeing their very first shop, the one she'd loved since she was a child, that broke her heart.

As she moved deeper into the ruined shop, picked her way carefully over the wreckage, something pale sticking out from some fallen shelves caught her eye. Melinda gasped when her mind processed what she was seeing. She hurried over to check on the women, one of whom she recognized as the clerk filling in for Mr. Leon and the other who was vaguely familiar. She hurried over, calling out to see if they were hurt. But as she got within a few feet of them, she realized something was terrible wrong. Both were far too still, too quiet, too pale. The one of the women stared at her with glassy, unblinking eyes and Melinda knew they were both beyond help.

Melinda wasn't quite sure how she made it back outside without falling or breaking an ankle. Not that she cared much about a twisted ankle when their were two dead woman inside her shop. The thought had her swaying so she had to brace herself against the building. Without warning, Melinda's stomach flipped unpleasantly and she retched into the muddy street, oblivious to the quiet noise behind her.

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ernsthename
2012-01-30 02:29 am UTC (link)

Ern was just about done for the day--or for the week for that matter. Done as in finished, as in exhausted, as in just done. He had gotten in some sleep last night but not the same sort of sleep that one would get in a normal, comfortable bed. Instead more like the sleep with one eye open, and hope that the night would go by without too much incident.

It had been a difficult past few days and what he wanted to do was to just fill in the paperwork, and crawl into bed--a bed, or even a corner where he may not run a risk of being awoken by some living inferi. Since dawn he had left the majority of his team at the Leaky Cauldron to ensure that the magical-muggle border would continue to be secure, assigned a few to jointly meet some other patrol parties in Diagon Alley, and had left with a few others to survey the situation in Hogsmeade and offer relief support.

It was awfully quiet when he had arrived and the team split up to inspect the surrounding area. They had only found one earlier in the morning at the edge of the village and were on the alert for more. He noticed a figure against a building. He had his wand at the ready for anything that may happen and held a position several feet away to give his now slowing reaction time a chance should it be something. He was quite aware of the few living inferi that were dressed in normal clothing--as he found that this element of surprise typically caused quite a bit of trouble for his and other teams. "Are you alright?" he called out loudly as he approached tentatively.

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curapersonalis
2012-01-30 03:40 am UTC (link)

Melinda didn't give any thought to wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her very expensive raincoat after her breakfast had finished making a return. What was a coat compared to the death of two women? She'd have to contact someone, of course, Melinda thought vaguely, and odd haze settling over her. The authorities, she should find—

The sudden voice calling out made Melinda whirl around, completely derailing her thoughts. It was a wizard. She could just make him out through the rain getting in her eyes, and Melinda tried to shield her eyes so she could see him more clearly. "I...I'm fine," she called back, hesitant. "But there's..." The words failed her as she gestured towards the door of the shop. Well, where there used to be a door.

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ernsthename
2012-01-30 03:58 am UTC (link)

Ern sighed in relief upon hearing the person's response. The living dead didn't speak after all. And he simply had enough of those sorts. He was fairly sure that there had to be a word for this sort of tired, but he couldn't quite think of it anymore.

When he heard and actually processed what she said, he felt himself just tense up once more...

"I'm sorry, what happened?" he asked as he moved in closer towards the shop where she was pointing. His wand still was at the ready, just in case he was wrong about anything or something was happening then and there.

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curapersonalis
2012-01-30 04:22 am UTC (link)

Melinda blinked owlishly at the wizard as he approached. She got the vague impression of a uniform, but it was really hard to think clearly for some reason. What had he asked? Oh. Right. "They're dead," she got out, voice hoarse as if she'd been crying, but she hadn't, had she? She couldn't tell with all the rain. And shouldn't she be cold? Why wasn't she cold?

Her face ashen, Melinda just...sat, her legs giving out without warning and she couldn't care that her 185 galleon dress was getting ruined.

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ernsthename
2012-01-30 04:47 am UTC (link)

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ern said, almost sighing, as he looked into the store, making note of the extensive damage. He couldn't quite see the bodies from there.

It was in his peripheral vision that, before he could move to respond, the woman who was speaking to him dropped. He had startled forward in an attempt to try to catch her or something like that--but he was too far and gravity was a tricky foe.

He turned and moved towards her, and crouched down to make sure that he had a good look at her face. Just to confirm that she was indeed alright and not in a state of shock, which seemed to be the more likely case. "Ernest Macmillan, Hitwizard Team Leader," he identified himself as standard procedure would have it.

"Would you be alright to wait here for a moment while I check before back-up arrives or should I wait here until back-up arrives?"

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curapersonalis
2012-01-30 05:08 am UTC (link)

It seemed like all Melinda did was blink and suddenly the wizard—ErnestMacmillan, Hitwizard—was at her side. She looked at him without really seeing him and said in a strangely polite, but hollow voice, "I'm fine, Mr. Macmillan. I'll wait right here, thank you." Oh, her lips felt a bit numb now. That couldn't be right. But it could wait until Mr. Macmillan returned. He was a hitwizard and he had a job to do.

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ernsthename
2012-01-30 05:59 am UTC (link)

"I won't be too far away--just yell if you need assistance. I'll be back in a moment," Ern said, pressing down on his knees as he stood up once more, and holding his wand at the ready. He entered the store, navigating over and around the wreckage, his eyes sweeping the floor until he noticed a body part, which was obviously connected to a body.

It was enough that he would contact his colleagues to start heading in this direction as he will check the other parts of the store in case there were any stray living inferi. It took him a few minutes to scan as many corners of the store as accessible before he made his way out.

"Others should be on the way, and someone will be here soon to take you to St. Mungo's, Ms.--," he just remembered that he had forgotten to take her name. "What is your name, by the way? And how long have you been here?"

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curapersonalis
2012-01-31 03:25 am UTC (link)

Melinda nodded. She wasn't really following what the hitwizard was saying, but it seemed the right thing to do. He left her side and Melinda just sat there and waited, mind gone comfortably numb. She was quite fine with that because the alternative she didn't even want to contemplate.

She was just starting to shiver when Ernie returned. some part of her must have been listening to what he'd been saying, but Melinda couldn't have recalled the words if she was asked. Nonetheless, she found herself answering, "Bobbin. Melinda Bobbin. This—" Her breath hitched. "This is my family's shop. I only just got here. A few...a few minutes ago."

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	ernsthename 2012-01-31 03:55 am UTC (link)
	Upon realizing that Melinda was shivering, Ern took his cloak, and muttered a simple warming spell to it before draping it around her shoulders. "This should do for now." "It'll be alright--don't worry Ms. Bobbin," Ern said, crouching down to try to make eye-contact with Melinda once more. "Some folks will be over to help in a moment or two, so hold on." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

curapersonalis
2012-01-31 04:31 am UTC (link)

"Th-thank you." It took the warmth of Ernie's cloak for Melinda to realize how truly cold she was. She began shivering in earnest, her teeth chattering now, and ever-so-slowly the fog began to clear. Yes, there would be more people arriving soon, and she knew the rest of her day was going to be spent in St. Mungo's answering all sorts of questions. But at least she had her life which was more than could be said for the poor souls inside the wreckage of Bobbin's Botanicals.

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