Susie was relieved to make it to her lunch break without snapping at anyone. Her old injuries were giving her more trouble than usual - she suspected it was the damp in the air - and it made her irritable and grouchy. And more of a perfectionist than usual, according to Hannah, but she wasn't convinced. How could you be more of a perfectionist? You either were or you weren't.
With a sigh, she picked up her bag and stepped out of the office. Justin had been owling her more and more frequently with reminders to actually leave work every once in a while, so she figured she would save him the worry and do as he said, for once. There was a nice little coffee shop on Diagon Alley that did lovely sandwiches, so she headed that way once she left the Ministry.
She placed an order for tea and a toasted brie and bacon panini, and took a seat near the counter to wait for it to be brought over to her. Whilst she waited, she pulled out some paperwork she'd been meaning to go over for a while - personal, for once, rather than work. As the only one of her genration left, she'd been left the bulk of her aunt's estate, but the war had caused probate to be put on hold, and only now was she able to start figuring out what to do with Amelia's assets.
She settled into her chair to read through the paperwork, a faint hiss escaping from between her teeth as she rolled her shoulder back. It really was troubling her more and more - she supposed she had better go back to St. Mungo's and get them to take another look at it, but that would mean taking time off work. She looked more than a little put out at the thought, consternation crossing her delicate features. She didn't like missing work for anything.
Lyle entered the quaint coffee shop. It was lunch time and Lyle was indeed hungry. He had been training new Auror trainees and they weren’t the easiest job. With less and less threats happening to the magical community right now, the competency level of the trainees were a smidge lower than the Aurors who were trained and accepted during the first two Wizarding Wars. It was Lyle’s job to train these new generation of Aurors to have that fire to protect the Magical community in London just as much as if they were in a war.
He fixed the sleeves of his cinnamon wood coloured blazer. His plain white shirt remained pristine under his blazer. His hair in a usual side-swept mess. Lyle’s brunette hair never cooperated with him and he just decided to roll with it. He sat at the bar counter and ordered himself a cup of coffee and a chicken pesto sandwich. As lyle got comfortable his gaze travelled around the coffee shop. Something he always does, observe his surroundings, as a habit he formed from his Auror training. He saw a familiar face. Susie. He saw that she was rather busy with some paperwork, as she usually was. He waved his hand and folded napkin into a small bird having it fly just beside Susie’s papers. The Napkin bird opened itself up with the words “Paperworks even at lunch Sue?” written on it.
There were a lot of papers to go through. Her aunt's estate had been more vast than Susie had realised - the money was one thing, but her assets were quite another. Amelia Bones had been a smart woman, investing much of her money into various causes and start-ups, and now Susan had to decide whether or not she wished to continue with the investments. And that was before she even got to the matter of property. Her aunt's home still hadn't been cleared, and she had no idea what she was going to do with the house - and truly, she had no desire to face going and packing up her things, and she knew that her father didn't either.
It would make it all too real for them both.
A waitress brought over her tea and sandwich, and Susan thanked her with a small smile, putting the Gringotts statements to one side as she added milk and sugar until the tea was to her liking. An origami bird landed on her table then and unfolded itself. She frowned briefly, confused, before looking up in the direction of where it had come from.
Ah, Lyle, an old friend. She raised a hand in greeting and smiled warmly at him, before using her pen to write on the bird's wing "Something like that. Come and join me?" She refolded the bird carefully, before returning it to the Auror with a flick of her wand.
He smelled the his Chicken pesto sandwich as it came to him. Lyle smiled at the waitress who brought him his coffee and sandwich. He looked back at Susie with a smile and watched the origami bird fly back to him. Origami birds and paper planes, passing them on with messages such as this reminded him of the old day in Hogwarts where he and his friends would do that all the time, well until the professor caught it and burnt the paper. As the paper opened up beside him he smiled. It was nice to have a friend from the old days. Susie was one of them. They weren't in the same year but when he was head boy he made sure he knew all the Hufflepuffs. He tucked the napkin in his jacket pocket, sipped his coffee, and made his way to Susie.
He levitated his sandwich plate and held his coffee as he approached Susie. All while eyes the stack of papers Susie was attending to. He sat down opposite her and set his sandwich and coffee down. He greeted her with his signature smile. "I know you love to work Sue, but those people at the DMLE are working you to death!" He said chuckling. He took the sndwich in his hands and took a bite off it. He always loved Pesto, it was his favorite and the chicken Pesto sandwich here was always so delicious. This was his way of treating himself, well not really because he had this sandwich twice a week.
@susan
open my eyes [open]
Posted Jan 19, 2018 2:32:38 GMT
Edited by Deleted Jan 21, 2018 21:52:01 GMT
Susan picked at her sandwich idly, mulling over the papers in front of her. Honestly, one of the last things she wanted to do was go through them and revisit the grief she was still barely managing to process. She was relieved, then, when Lyle came ot sit with her and she placed the piece of parchment she'd been styding back on top of the pile, gentle pushing the whole stack to one side.
"I wish I could say it was for work," Susie replied dryly, huffing out a sigh. "No, this is personal stuff." She didn't feel much like elaborating on thatif she was honest - not if she could help it, at any rate. "On the subject, though, how's work treating you?" She asked, curious. Since her move into the Registry department she was seeing less of him, and the other Auror's she'd grown to know in the last couple of years. Her new office was tucked down a side corridor, its location deceptively unobtrusive for such a large department, but she'd grown used to her desk in the small corral of interns next to the Aurors' bullpen, as it had been dubbed.
Post by Halvor Apollyon on Jan 22, 2018 4:37:07 GMT
Halvor, still a little sore from the previous nights workout, walked through the door of the little shop. He sat down quietly, and ordered a coffee, quietly. When his drink arrived Hal smiled at the waitress and paid for his coffee. He took a tentative sip and looked around as he did. Hearing a few conversations he couldn't pick out anything of note. However his eyes fell on a pair of people talking, he had no idea the identity of the woman, but she was talking to a fellow auror. Hal supposed that she could be working in the minestry, or at Hogwarts if she was talking to one. Having a faint idea of who the man was Hal approached the two with his drink in hand. As he walked by he sat in the nearest chair, seeing the face of the man Hal smiled, "It's Lyle, right?" Halvor full well knew the mans name, -he'd taken to commiting the names of his fellow aurors to memory- however he wished to be conversational. Hal smiled at the woman and flourished a coin over his knuckle but was mearly trying to draw her attention away while he looked for clues as to who she might be.
Lyle took notice of Susan's unwillingness to share more of the personal stuff that she was pertaining too. He then suddenly remembered that Susan's great Aunt had left her with a huge estate and all her belongings. It was something that some of the Auror trainees were whispering about one time during training. He had always made a mental note to give his condolences to Susie but she was transferred to a different part of the ministry building. Before, Lyle would pass by Susie's desk everyday, maybe give her a cupcake or two when training was finished and maybe have coffee but because her desk was now out of his way he had been spending less time with her.
It was just like him to be so insensitive about these things. He put down what was left, and it was surprise that he did because on a normal day he would scarf the whole thing down without putting it down, of his chicken pesto sandwich. Dusted his hands and touched Susie's gently. "My Condolences to you Sue." He swallowed. "I know it took a while, but your desk got transferred and.. Actually, I didn't even know that you were transferred until the day that they transferred you! That day, I passed by where you used to be and was shocked to find some dude there! I even bought you a cupcake that time!"He laughed he then stopped and coughed. "But, yeah, I mean. Condolences. And I'll try to pass by more often... When I find out where your new desk is because honestly, until now I have no idea where they transferred you. Who else will tolerate my less than tasteful baking skills but you?" He smiled and gave a slight chuckle. It was something he couldn't help; to end a serious statement with a joke. Maybe it was he was afraid of being too serious and he'd mask his serious, emotional side with humor, which he will not let himself believe. He then noticed he was still touching her hand and let go. He smiled at her as he sipped his coffee. "So I hear Ceraphi is back in town, you two were good friend back in school if I remember correctly."
He was then caught off guard, something that rarely happened, by a familiar Face. "Yeah, that's me. And You're.. Hal yeah?" He replied nodding at the guy. He recognized him from Hogwarts. Lyle was, of course, head boy and made it a task to remember each name with the faces he saw but it wasn't as accurate with some as it was for others like Susie.
open my eyes [open]
Posted Jan 22, 2018 8:54:23 GMT
Edited by Deleted Jan 22, 2018 10:18:19 GMT
Susan offered Lyle a small, rare smile, gently resting one tiny, pale hand over his. "It's fine," She said softly, her expression bittersweet. "It was a long time ago now. It's just that the war meant that her will didn't get executed util recently, so it's dragging things up. I'll be fine, though." She meant it, too. She'd be okay, once everything was done and dusted. In the meantime, she had every intention of heading home to her parents' for the weekend so she could curl up on their sofa and be sent home with various dishes of her father's cooking. And hear him whine about that godforsaken plaque outside of her late aunt's office, but she'd long since learned to tune that out - she rather appreciated passing the commemoration of her Aunt's work and her final stand against Voldemort on her way into work every morning. It was as though her aunt was still with the DMLE, watching over it.
Her mood lightened considerably at the image, and she chuckled softly. "Oh dear," She smiled. "Did he appreciate the cupcake, at least?" She teased lightly, relieved to be moving onto less emotionally taxing topics. "We're down one of the side corridors," She informed him, picking up her tea to take a sip. "Don't let appearances decieve you though, the department's far bigger than it looks from the outside. I'm still getting lost every time I go to look for something."
"Yeah, she's finally settled here and has stopped touring," Susie informed him, a ghost of a pleased smile crossing her face. "Now it's just a matter of finding ome free time to catch up with her properly, but it's nice to know I can just drop in unannounced and she won't be out of the country anymore."
A new person approached their table then, and Susie looked up at them. "Auror Apollyon," She nodded respectfully in greeting. Naturally she knew who he was - she'd made it her business to know almost everybody in the department, as much as she was able to. If she was going to live up to her aunt's name - which she fully intended on doing - then she'd need to, after all. She'd never really spoken to him though, having been in different years and houses at school, and their paths rarely crossed at work. "Won't you join us? Lyle and I were just catching up."
Lyle looked at Susie and then at Hal. "Yeah come on sit down man." He patted a seat beside him. He then realized that Hal may not know who Susie was. "Hal, this is Susan Bones. She's part of the DMLE. She's also a good, old friend of mine... Not saying she's old or anything. I'm actually older than her actually" He looks back at Susie who he knows to be knowledgeable of most people in the Ministry. It was just her way, she was a very smart and yet rather quiet person which makes him wonder how she tolerates his rather impulsive and talkative nature.
Lyle takes his chicken pesto sandwich and bites it again, swallows and speaks again. "Ceraphi is a Pureblood right?" He asked. He wasn't all too sure. Ceraphi's muggle tolerating and assimilating talents make him doubt her blood purity. Not that he has anything against half-bloods. It was rather rather odd for him, some who grew up in an all magical household to imagine what makes some wizards so fascinated about muggles. He wasn't, of course, against muggles and living with them, being friends and even marrying them thing. He just was never really imagine himself spending that much time with them, or maybe he just hasn't met a muggle to strike him as interesting. "And to answer you're question before.." It was very like him to forget to answer a question because he blabbed too much "I'm mostly assigned to Auror training right now, especially with nothing bad happening to the community now." He finished his sandwich "Not that I'd want there to be some evil run lose or something, It's good that we're in a good place now."
There was hint of hurt in his voice. He lost alot of friends during and even before the war began. He was friend's with Cedric Diggory and looked up to him like an older brother. Seeing him dead made him angry and sad and distraught. During the battle at Hogwarts he lost alot of companions of his. It was rather unfair that he lived, he always thought. He was ready to die protecting his school and trying to stop Voldemort's army from advancing. He is thankful he got to live, but the memories of his friends dying, it just made him uncomfortable. The sight of anyone of the people close to him dying always knocked him off his rails for a bit ever since her mom died.
He drank his coffee, looked down at his almost empty cup and looked back at Hal and Susie.
Post by Halvor Apollyon on Jan 22, 2018 22:41:44 GMT
@susan // @lyle
Hal was a bit surprised that the woman knew him but he tried not to let it show. He heard Lyle respond that it was in fact him, Hal would have been slightly owrried had he approached a stranger with a mistaken name. When the woman asks him to join he nods and sits in the chair Lyle was motioning to. As Lyle explained how he knew Susan, Hal was quite pleased with himself that he his guess about her job was correct. "It's nice to meet you Susan." He extends his hand for a handshake.
As the two returned to their conversation, not wishing to disturb them Hal remained quiet, instead muttering the incantation for the spell he was still trying to create. All that could be easily heard was "Con... Ips... Contr... Ipsu..." Hal motioned under the table the movement for his wand with a pointed finger. Drawing an imaginary circle in the air and slashing through it.
Apollyon's total lack of recognition amused Susan - she was pleased that he had no apparent idea who she was, but she would have thought the last name would have garnered some kind of response. Her aunt's name was still on the door to the Head's office, even if it was in commemoration of her, rather than because it was hers.
"The pleasure's mine," She took his hand, her grip firm and self-assured, before turning her attention back to Lyle with a light smile. "Need a hand digging that hole any deeper?" She teased, thoroughly entertained. "Yeah, not that she acts like it in the slightest,"The redhead shrugged. She didn't fully understand it herself - she fully appreciated the Muggle world and their innovations, and often wondered why the wizarding world didn't adopt more of them, like pens, but she was more than happy with the world she'd grown up in. Her world.
"That's good though, right? Shows your boss trusts you enough to put you in charge of the newbies,"She pointed out. She didn't miss the hurt in his voice though, and gently knocked her shoulder against his in silent commiseration. They'd all lost so much in the war, more than anyone should ever have had to - and it had begun with Cedric, who'd been the very best of them.
She realised then that Apollyon had stayed quiet and she watched him for a moment, curious. She was surprised that he'd come to join them, and then not integrated himself into the conversation - but she quickly realised why. "Sorry to interrupt, but are you spell-crafting?"She asked, curious. She was fascinated by the practice, but had never had any particular knack for it herself - her talents lay in the law, not in creating spells.
@susan//Halvor Apollyon Lyle sighed a bit. "I guess you can say that.. I just.. They have a different drive y'know?" He paused. He folded his arms together. "I'm doing this 'cause It's the right thing to do, to save lives and keep the peace.. Their doing it for cool points or whatever.." He trailed off. It was true. Despite his sarcastic comments and jokes Lyle was a goody-two shoes. He wasn't doing what he was doing of any sort of glory and praise. That's why he would often get frustrated with the new recruits. "I sound rather high and mighty don't I?" He peered once again into his empty coffee mug. He had those moments he knew it but he'd always attribute it to his passion for his job. This was never for himself, It was always about other people. If being an Auror taught a wizard anything it would be selflessness.
He then noticed, amazingly that he did, Hal's spell casting. He didn't ask about it as Susie had already did but He was rather curious. It was also a good distraction from him that Susie picket up on. So that he did't have to explain himself further. He was just getting used to opening up to Susie, he wasn't about to open up infront of another person. One person at a time. Lyle wasn't one to invent and make spells of his own. He can master spells sure but never was it his goal to make spells. "Y'know Hal that's actually quite cool. We're inside a coffee shop though. I've seen you fight Hal, You might just bring this whole establishment down with whatever you're trying to do under the table." He chuckled crossing his arms once again.That was the perfect moment to sip coffee, after the sentence. Alas, he was out. Lyle knew Hal and it was true that he'd seen him take down large opponents. It wasn't a joke, well the statement was but Hal's ability wasn't.
Post by Halvor Apollyon on Feb 4, 2018 2:35:17 GMT
Seeing the amusement on Susan's face mad Hal slightly annoyed but he didn't really care. She took his hand with a firm grip and shook it. Hal smiled back at her. He sort of zoned out as they continued their conversation, only really picking up on a few things. His head snapped to attention when Susan's voice cut across his thoughts. She asked if he was spell-crafting. Quickly and not quite gracefully hiding his wand under the table Hal says "Uh, not- Well... Sort of." Hal looked down and twiddled his wand between his fingers as he answered.
Hal smiled at Lyle's comment, responding "It's not really an offensive spell, I think. It's not- Well it shouldn't really do anything, I'm just trying to get the wand motion right. I haven't exactly done this before. Spell-crafting I mean." Halvor leaned back and drew his wand from underneath the table, wanting to show them the spell he was trying to get, but at the same time not exactly sure if they wanted to see it.
"No, you don't," Susie told Lyle gently. "You sound like someone who fought in a war educating kids that didn't."She paused to flag down one of the waitresses, gesturing to the empty mugs on the table for a refill. "They might have watched it, and some of them might have signed up for the program because of it, but they're too young to have experienced it like we did. It's okay to feel the way you do."Her words of comfort felt clumsy in her mouth - but she was sure she was right. There were new kids coming into the department every day, and less and less of them looked like they had the world on their shoulders and ghosts in their eyes. Not the way she and her friends did.
Susan rolled her eyes at Lyle's comment, eyeing Lyle up for a moment. He was nervous about it - unsure of himself. That wouldn't do, not in an Auror.
Merlin, she sounded like her aunt.
"Go on, show us,"She prompted him, eyes alight with curiosity. "My dad and my aunt used to have competitions to see who could invent the most pointless spell, and I picked up a couple of tricks from watching them, maybe I could help?" She'd almost forgotten about those silly competitions until now. She made a mental note to try and find the records - because of course there were records, mostly so they knew who'd won the most, but also because sometimes they stumbled on something quite brilliant. It might be nice to go through them again with her dad, revisit old memories that weren't tainted with blood and destruction.
@susan//Halvor Apollyon The waitress came back with a pot of hot coffee; she levitated the mugs on the table, poured in some coffee, set them back down and walked off with a smile. Lyle smiled back and nodded at the waitress as he picked up his cup of coffee and sipped it. Black coffee, just the way he liked it. Susan was right of course, you can't really blame the younger kids being less driven It wasn't like there was any major threats like Voldemorts or Grindlewald in the community right now. Susan put it rather nicely when she said they were only spectators and were probably encouraged to enlist as an Auror because of it but they didn't experience the war. Thinking on it, Lyle realized it was rather unfair to expect them to have the same drive as he did. Times now were totally different from times then and he certainly needed to grasp that. Then again, seeing your friends and family die in front of you eyes was something that everyone who fought in the war, either for or against the dark lord, as something haunting and not easily forgotten. Lyle himself has had several reoccurring nightmares from back then.
He smiled at Susie as he put down his cup showing her that her words of comfort reached him, as they always did. He squeezed his knees shaking his nervous out. He always had trouble when he remembered things from before, it was harder for him to actually talk about the ghosts that haunt him to other people even if they were there beside him during those times. It wasn't as if he wasn't sure that he was doing the right thing. He knew he was. Lyle was just never the sharing type, he was more of a listening type who people open up to and he'd try to make them laugh. "As always Susie, you're right. I need to loosen up" He stated shaking off his memories for a bit.
He turned his attention back to Hal waiting for him to whip his wand out and show them what he was working on. "Spell creating was never for me. So it's cool that you're trying it out." He paused. "I remember my first charms class. My wand flew out of my hand because i swished too hard." He laughed. It was those good memories from before that he liked going back too. His first ride on the broomstick, his try-outs for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, those were the days indeed.
