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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jun 24, 2017 16:17:39 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2017 16:17:39 GMT -7
Poe was back in the Ministry, and it felt strange. He hadn't been sure when he left that he was ever going to come back, after everything that had happened, but apparently his leaving had been classified as taking a sabbatical instead of quitting. That made it much easier to return, and since he had practically gone insane the past few weeks just sitting and writing poems, Poe had leapt at the chance to return to the Ministry. It was where he belonged, even if he had ignored that for several months. Despite his being gone for so long, stepping through the doors to the Ministry, it was hard to believe that it had been any time at all. There were still a couple of things that he needed to do before he could go out into the field, but Poe was optimistic that his life was going to improve dramatically. He knew he wouldn't have as much time as he had originally wanted to write his poetry, but Poe thought that he might have enough material for a book, and maybe after he published it the writing itch would be gone. Poe stepped into the elevator, trying to remember which floor to go to in order to get the last bits of paperwork that he needed to be reinstated as a full field officer, hardly paying attention to anyone else in his general vicinity.
blaise leo zabini
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jun 24, 2017 23:06:50 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2017 23:06:50 GMT -7
@poet Too many things had happened over the last few months inside the Ministry. Shake ups and changes were made to accommodate the current threat level, and Blaise had been forced to reel his people back in so as to keep a closer watch on all of them. It was happening again, though this time he was one of the useless adults that was forced to twiddle his thumbs until after something revolting happened. Everything was so much easier in school; sides were clearly drawn, and you either joined one or the other, or ran off with your tail between your legs. He had aptly chosen to do the latter, preferring to preserve his own life in order to make an actual change within the legal system. Now it was all coming back again, and those that were there to stop it last time were in charge of the government. For some reason that still didn’t settle with him. That meant they had failed in putting up preventative measures that would ensure safety for the magical community. In the past year they had racked up a handful of dead youngsters and just as many aurors. Someone wasn’t using their head, and it frustrated him beyond belief. The Ministry had brilliant witches and wizards sitting in the Auror and Hit-Wizard departments; Blaise had even gone as far as proposing that some of his stronger willed Obliviators be deputized in the event that they needed more hands during an emergency. Obviously the second this started to spill over into the muggle world he would need them back, and then some.
But that proposal had yet to see any real response, and Blaise was left to sit and watch. Transferring back into the Hit-Wizard department as he had been planning the last few months seemed rather idiotic now, because he had all of his people back in his own department, and the army of Obliviators had to be commanded by someone. That and his wife had finally finished up her latest stint in Hollywood and was back home; that meant he couldn’t secretly change jobs as he had been hoping. Once all of this dark wizard nonsense blew over, he was sure he’d be able to make a convincing argument to go back to being a hit-wizard. Liona would be done with school by that point, and the younger Zabini going into his final year. The stipulation that he needed to be alive to see his children graduate from Hogwarts was almost defunct.
All of this in swirling around in his mind, Blaise entered one of the elevators, hoping for once in a blue moon that it would be empty aside from him and the lift attendant. Looking up from his feet, he was disappointed to see that there was another man in there already. Though this one he knew, somewhat. He was an auror, right? The first name escaped Blaise, but he recalled the last: Dmello. That was right. He was the one that decided to take a little break right in the heat of everything. One of his trainees, the Shacklebolt girl, got killed, and another was turned into a vampire. “Finally decided to work, did you?”
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jun 26, 2017 12:06:41 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2017 12:06:41 GMT -7
Of all of the reactions that he had expected upon his return to work, asking if he finally decided to work at all was not one of them. Poe looked up from his feet, and tried to read the expression on the face of the man in front of him. He recognized the other man – one of the Obliviators, though obviously not his preferred one to work with since Poe was close with Jess. Maybe he misunderstood why Poe had left? Or maybe he hadn’t even realized that Poe had left at all, and thought that this was his first shift after a vacation or something? Honestly, Poe didn’t know what was going on, or why the man looked like Poe was doing something wrong just by standing in an elevator. The door clanged shut, and Poe tried not to wince at the sound. He normally didn’t mind elevator rides, but he felt like the other man – Zabini, that was his name – was being unnecessarily hostile, and the ride would therefore be unpleasant. “There’s nothing about the situation to warrant the use of the word ‘finally’.” Poe said neutrally. That implied that everyone had been waiting for him to come back, and as far as he knew, no one had been waiting on him. If they had been, then they had a poor way of communicating it. If he had been asked to come back to the Ministry earlier, he would have taken the offer. But he wasn’t asked, and it was his decision that he was going to return to work as an Auror, since they desperately needed experienced people in the field when so much was happening. Poe wondered if maybe the other man was trying to guilt him for not being around when Abigail Shacklebolt had died. Why, he didn’t know, but it wasn’t like Poe could have saved the girl. He was still wondering if it was possible to save anyone at all, hence his hesitance ever to return in the first place. This conversation was not how he had wanted to come back to the Ministry.
blaise leo zabini
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jun 28, 2017 19:57:54 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 28, 2017 19:57:54 GMT -7
@poet Blaise didn’t break his gaze from the auror as the doors to the elevator rattled shut and it headed off in their direction of their departments. He wasn’t trying to be openly hostile, though guilt tripping may have been part of it. Glancing slightly at the lift attendant situated in the corner, Blaise knew he had come across as coarse. The poor house elf that was controlling the elevator was practically quivering in its boots. He felt slightly guilty of that, but then he dashed the thought. His people knew what he was like, and so did the ones from the other departments that he dealt with. Not his fault that there were offices full of dolts in the Ministry. That was what happened when any common riff-raff was given a desk job. The house elf was more useful than half the Ministry at this current moment. And that was the issue he had taken with Dmello coming and going from the auror office as he pleased. Blaise was unaware of what the man’s current position was, but he was almost positive that at one point he had been the trainer. Sure, dealing with deaths and injuries of newbies added up eventually, but it wasn’t like he was the only one affected by all of it. Families were torn apart because of death. These were deaths that could have been prevented had they been trained better, and that was on the trainer for that.
There were any number of possibilities for how this conversation could go, and each one depended on how Blaise acted next. “Of course there is,” he semi-retorted. “You took a break, and now you’re finally back.” What about that could the auror not understand? Blaise wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly why Dmello had taken off. Or maybe he didn’t and there was more to the story than he knew. At the end of the day, there were more dead aurors now than there had been this time last year, and having one wavering like this was absurd. “The Shacklebolt girl had promise from what I understand. It’s too bad.”
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jun 29, 2017 17:30:01 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2017 17:30:01 GMT -7
Poe couldn’t help but sigh a little when Zabini said that there was a reason for him to be using the word finally. Poe loathed to admit that when he had left, he had never intended to come back, so it hadn’t really been a “break”. Since Zabini seemed to think that him leaving was such a problem, the other man probably wouldn’t have appreciated the knowledge that Poe hadn’t really wanted to come back. Well, he had, but it was a complicated mess of emotions that he was still working on understanding, let alone explaining. “If I had been here, it would have been more of a hindrance than a help.” Poe declared. It was bad to not have him there, but it would have been even worse if he had been in the field without having his heart (and his head) in it. That was how people died – not enough commitment to the cause. And Poe hadn’t wanted that for himself, or for anyone he was working with. The fact that Zabini couldn’t understand that was just a byproduct of his lack of experience in truly dangerous situations. He only came in after the dust had settled to wipe people’s brains – there was nothing life-threatening about that.
“I wasn’t her primary trainer.” Poe said stiffly when Zabini mentioned Abby Shacklebolt having promise. He had heard that her father was an exceptional Auror, but from what he had heard, she had a huge problem with authority, which seemed ironic, considering her father had been the ultimate Authority in Wizarding Britain. Poe wasn’t about to speak ill of the dead, though, so he kept his mouth shut when it came to that particular matter. “But all of them have promise.” Poe was of the firm belief that anyone could be a good Auror if they wanted to be – some were just more predisposed to it than others. He was prepared to hear a lecture about all the reasons that he was wrong, though, and for just a moment, Poe regretted returning at all.
blaise leo zabini
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jul 11, 2017 22:18:08 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2017 22:18:08 GMT -7
@poet Absolutely wonderful. Dmello was one of those people. The ones that used emotions before thinking through situations with a clear head. Sure, they all did that from time to time. That was one of the reasons Blaise stepped down from being a hitwizard once Liona was born, aside from the constant badgering from his wife to take a ‘safer, easier desk job that got him home before midnight.’ Her words, not his. But dilly-dallying with thoughts and emotions was what would eventually lead to people getting killed. Maybe Dmello had made the right choice initially by stepping down and taking a break, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he was still thinking about it in the same light. “Move on. What’s done is done. You’re back, right? Start acting like it then.” Merlin. How many times did he have to say the exact same thing for the auror to get it through his thick head? Blaise knew that aurors could be stubborn and tough to work with, but he couldn’t recall the last time he had met one like this. Usually that was reserved for the hitwizards. Some of those guys were real assholes too. Blaise would know, he was one of them.
He raised an eyebrow as Dmello countered back that he wasn’t Shacklebolt’s trainer. Someone took a little offense to that one apparently. “Doesn’t matter really,” he shrugged. “We all failed her in the end, didn’t we?” Blaise knew that there had almost been a chance for him to hunt down the girl. The Minister had asked him herself at first. Apparently that was too much of a risk, and it ended up with both an auror and an informant dead. What a waste that had been. Blaise nodded his head as Dmello said that they all had promise. Those that didn’t would drop out well before it got to the intense training. That much was true for all aspects of the Ministry. “Sometimes they just end up in the wrong place, is all.” He had, and for the most part, still was.
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jul 14, 2017 13:59:53 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2017 13:59:53 GMT -7
Move on? Was Zabini just full of canned advice that wasn’t actually any help? It was ridiculous and insulting that the older man somehow thought that he knew more about moving on than Poe did. He had lost more friends than Zabini had ever had in his lifetime to Dark witches and wizards. He knew about moving on. It had just gotten to be too much for a little bit. Poe couldn’t wait for the elevator to stop so that he could get on with his life without being lectured by someone who didn’t know anything about what he was going through. Poe didn’t say anything to Zabini’s treating him like a child. His mother had raised him well, and he knew better than to snap at someone who would just snap back and escalate the argument while still acting horribly holier than thou and as if Poe had been the one to start it. Poe got along with people well even in the best of times, but it seemed as if Zabini was determined to say all of the wrong things. He wasn’t going to let that ruin his first day back, Poe thought, deciding to stare at the door of the lift instead of looking at the other man.
“We did.” Poe said, his voice flat. He wasn’t really sure if that was true. Abby had to have known the risks involved in going after her sister, and no one could teach recklessness out of anyone else. That didn’t make the death any better, but at least with this Poe couldn’t blame himself. He could have stopped Rai and the vampire, but he doubted that Merlin himself could stop Abby Shacklebolt when she had her mind up. “Wrong place, or in the right place at the wrong time.” He said. Poe was trying desperately to push away the feelings that he had come back at the wrong time. Any time would have been better than this one, when he was subjected to a lecture that didn’t teach him anything but infuriated him more than it ought to.
blaise leo zabini
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jul 22, 2017 19:20:38 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2017 19:20:38 GMT -7
@poet The lack of response and silence that followed was welcome. Blaise hadn’t expected the auror to counter back, because he knew he wasn’t wrong to begin with. Doing so would just prove his point. He said and did what he knew was correct, by his own moral standards of course, and following in his footsteps was a perfect way to success. Not everyone was capable of that. Dmello didn’t seem like it, though he was smart enough not to counter back once again. Then they would really have an issue. The best thing that could happen now was for the elevator to reach the first stop. Then they could both go on their way and never see each other again until duty called. Chances were that Blaise would never be paired up on a case with Dmello, considering his seniority in the Obliviator office, though anything was possible these days. Resources were starting to be spread thin, and time off was scarce. No wonder the Ministry begged the auror to come back to work. They would need someone to fill Shacklebolt’s shoes until new recruits joined at the end of the school year. Speaking of, at least Dmello had half a brain to acknowledge that Blaise was right about Shacklebolt. Having the other twin working under him and having dealt with their father before them meant that he somewhat understood their dynamic. He knew he would never get the bond that they had, not having a sibling of his own, though he could only imagine what losing a loved one would feel like. “Have you seen the file on it?” Blaise inquired. “Once you do, you’ll understand.” Blaise could care less whether Dmello had actually read the file, or did for that matter, but he was sure it would be brought up eventually. The aftermath of that was ugly. And that was being nice.
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last online Apr 23, 2024 13:56:22 GMT -7
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Jul 29, 2017 18:09:24 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 18:09:24 GMT -7
Poe shook his head when Zabini asked if he had seen the file on the Shacklebolt incident. This was literally his first day back at the Ministry, and he had much more to catch up with than just the events of the end of January. If anything, it was the less splashy, headline-grabbing information that he needed to be kept up to date with, since it was information he wouldn’t otherwise know. Zabini seemed to think that seeing the file would somehow shine a ray of sunlight into Poe’s obviously inferior brain and make him understand something the older man already did, and the Auror had to bite his tongue to keep from snapping at the Obliviator. Poe had to keep reminding himself that it wasn’t like him to snap, no matter how bad he chafed. Normally, when Poe yelled, it wasn’t because he was angry – it was because he was scared, and when he yelled, people really seemed to listen, since it didn’t happen as often. Somehow Poe doubted that Zabini would think him intelligent or worth listening to no matter what he said or what volume he said it at. Thankfully, the silence of the elevator was broken by the doors opening, announcing Poe’s stop. He stepped off the elevator in a fluid motion, raising a hand in goodbye before walking down to his office. Despite the foul mood he was in, Poe couldn’t help but smile when he opened the door and was presented with a cake welcoming him back to the department. There were some things that could be annoying about the Ministry, Poe thought as he bit into the cake thoughtfully, but nothing could keep him from feeling like he was being welcomed home.
blaise leo zabini (le end)
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