All Work and No Play... (Augustus)

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona definitely worked too much. She'd been working 19 hours straight on an important study, and she was already beginning to forget what her apartment looked like. She'd only spent a total of 6 hours there all week. It was a lucky thing she didn't have a pet, or it would surely have expired after all the crazy hours she kept.

But her work was important. And she never really felt at home anywhere else but in the lab. She might as well have asked to keep a rollaway bed over in the corner so she could just sleep here. What was the point of having an apartment if she never spent any time there?

She would be coming up for review soon. Her boss, Augustus Rookwood... well, she didn't want to admit to anyone, even herself, how he made her feel. One look into his eyes and she lost all capacity for rational thought. All of her language faculties failed her and her manual dexterity and other motor functions seemed to cease. In short, she became a clumsy, drooling, giggling idiot incapable of making the slightest bit of sense.

So of course this project needed to be finished in time. If it wasn't, she would look like a fool in front of him. Even more than usual.

Sighing to herself, she pushed a dark curl from her forehead and tried to focus on her work.

[Augustus Rookwood]

He watched her from the doorway for a minute, just watching, his arms crossed over his chest in a devil-may-care way. He was carefully observant of everyone around him especially those he was in close contact with. While Fiona seemed clumsy and inattentive, she was really quite the opposite. He noticed this. She payed great attention to detail, worked hard... heck, he wasn't even sure he had seen her go home this week, and she always delivered.

Yes, she had potential in many ways.

He finally stepped into the lab, letting his footsteps make his presence known. "Good evening, Ms. Kinsella," he drawled.

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona felt her heart beating faster in her chest at the sound of his smooth voice. The sound of it, so deep and mellifluous, always reminded her of liquid velvet. It also never failed to make her nervous. Her hand gave a funny jerk, causing her to nearly spill a vial filled with yak saliva. She righted it quickly, managing to avoid losing more than a few drops. Looking up at him, she felt her stomach churn and for a brief, terrifying second, she thought she might throw up all over him.

"Mr. Rookwood!" she gasped, her voice coming out as an embarrassing squeak. "I'm working as hard as I can... I'm sure I'll be finished by tomorrow!"

[Augustus Rookwood]

He smiled and pulled up a chair next to her. "Relax," he said, and the smile faded as the word died on his lips. His eyes cast a quick glance over the project she was working on, and as her boss, he should have asked for a progress report.

He did not.

"I actually came to tell you that I won't be needing that until Friday." His eyes rose back to hers. "So if you wanted to go home... no one would fault you."

[Fiona Kinsella]

Relax? He might as well have told her to spread her wings and fly across the room. Both were equally impossible. Not trusting her shaking hand, she set down the vial of yak saliva and turned to him, clasping her hands tightly together in front of her.

"Go... home?" she repeated, puzzled. "But... if I went home, I'd totally lose my momentum.... I'm really almost finished... is there a problem? I'm not... doing anything wrong, am I?"

[Augustus Rookwood]

He should have smiled to ease her concerns, but he wasn't a man that smiled easily. Or laughed, come to that. He only nodded. "You are, in fact, doing excetionally well." Compliments were few and far between with him as well, so she should know that he was pleased with her. Rookwood wasn't exactly an easy man to work for.

"If you'd rather stay and finish, I won't stop you. I've just noticed you here quite a bit, and I don't want you to get burned out."

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona smiled shyly, her cheeks flushing red. She knew how rare his compliments were, so to receive one from him was a true prize. She hadn't really even thought he noticed her at all, in fact, so the mere fact that he had noticed how hard she'd been working set a shiver of excitement down her spine.

"Thank you, sir," she said, biting her lip. "I just... well, you know, I live alone, and don't really get out much anyway, so... I guess I just sort of live for my work. It's kind of all I have."

Indeed, it was true. She didn't have friends, or family (with the exception of her mother, who was still in long-term care at St. Mungo's), or really anything else in her life. Her work, this place, and her irrational crush on her boss were literally all she had. Even her apartment was sparsely decorated, with little more than a sofa, a table, a bed, and stacks and stacks of books lined up all over the floor.

But of course he didn't care about any of that. Why would he? All he cared about was that she did her job. And she never gave him any reason to complain about her work.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus nodded. He liked when his employees devoted themselves to the job. He always found it distasteful when they had husbands and wives and children they wanted to go home to. What kind of work ethic was that?

"I have another project for you, Ms. Kinsella. Whenever you feel you're up to it. Don't work too hard... you're of no value if you're not getting the time off you need."

He wasn't even sure what that meant, exactly, but it sounded like something a caring, concerned boss should say. The sad fact was, he trusted her more than most of the people who worked for him. He could get her delving into things that helped Voldemort just a little, and she wouldn't ask questions.

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona was very lucky she wasn't holding anything at that moment. She surely would have dropped it. To be offered a special project... what an honor! She couldn't think why he would have singled her out for such a thing, unless she really had been doing good work. It was as her father had once told her years ago, good work never goes unnoticed.

"Oh!" she said, surprised. "A... another project? Well... I mean, if it's important... I could start now. I mean, you did say you didn't need this one until Friday, right? Don't worry... I'm good for it. I mean, who needs sleep when you've got caffeine, right?" She let out a nervous giggle.

Of course she'd do whatever he asked. Not only because he was her boss, but also for other reasons. She wondered for a brief second whether he knew about that.

[Augustus Rookwood]

He frowned slightly at her, thinking at first that she didn't want another project. Hadn't she just said she spent all of her time here, working?

The expression eased as she continued, though. He even smiled slightly. "No, finish this project, at your own pace, and then come talk to me. I'm in no rush for the other one." He found that certain people needed strict deadlines to be able to work well, but Fiona was a different case. She almost worked better the more laid back Augustus was. It was like she had something to prove... which, in his eyes, she didn't. Not just yet, anyway.

[Fiona Kinsella]

His smiles, even the partial ones, were so rare that always found she couldn't quite breathe when she saw them. This one was no exception. She let out an embarrassing hiccup, then covered her mouth immediately.

"If you're sure, Mr. Rookwood," she said once she had recovered herself. "I'll finish this one quickly, I promise. I'm almost there... it won't take but a day... maybe less if I don't stop to eat or sleep..."

There were days, in fact when she worked so hard that she literally forgot to eat at all. Her former co-worker, Wesley St. Clare, used to bring her food and make her stop to eat, warning her that if she kept up that pace she was going to get sick. And the truth was, Fiona was sick often. But she always came to work anyway and worked through her illness. She'd never been particularly good at taking care of herself.

And when Augustus Rookwood asked her personally to do something, there wasn't a thing she wouldn't do.

[Augustus Rookwood]

He just gave her a look, assessing her. He had a habit of assessing people a little too much; judging them in a matter of seconds and deciding if he thought they could measure up to the standards he set for them.

"There was something else I wanted to speak with you about, Miss Kinsella," he said, wondering how much work he could lay on her before she would break under the pressure.

[Fiona Kinsella]

Something else? She felt butterflies in her stomach and her knees began to quake. She had to hold on to the edge of the countertop to steady herself. There was something about his steely gaze being focused on her that made her extremely uneasy, even more than was normal for her. It was as if he was assessing her. For what, she couldn't imagine. He'd already pointed out that her work was exceptional. "Oh, well, of course, Mr. Rookwood," she replied in a breathy voice. "Um... what is it?" Again, she was incapable of denying him.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Sometimes, Augustus wasn't sure if he made her nervous, or if he just gave her too much to do. Well... he would begin to find out.

"I've been invited to be a part of the semi- Triwizard Tournament that Dumbledore is hosting within his own school. This means, of course, that I will be spending less time in the office than I would like. I was hoping I could count on you to keep an eye on things for me."

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona was surprised again. Did he trust her that much? Weren't there more senior unspeakables he could turn to? It wasn't that she didn't think herself capable of the job. She knew the Department of Mysteries inside and out. She knew about most of the studies and projects, and she knew everyone. But most everyone thought she was odd. She was used to it; people always thought that. And the idea of "keeping an eye on things" made her palms sweat a little. Did he want her to be in charge? To supervise the other unspeakables? It was a great honor that he'd choose her, but could she do it?

Another thing about his request was the realization that he wouldn't be around as much. This disappointed her greatly. Seeing him, watching how he moved with such easy grace, hoping for one of those rare smiles... she lived for those moments. The little moments in her day when she was not just drab, clumsy oddball Fiona, but when she was in the presence of a god. The days would be empty without him.

But she'd be damned if she'd let him down. "Oh! Of course, Mr. Rookwood!" she said, her voice still breathy and unnaturally high. "I can do that. I will... I'll make a full report for you while you're gone!"

[Arachne Weaver]

Ara walked into the doorway that was left open and watched for a moment as Fiona stood babbling her little lovestruck brains over the boss. Ara was 19 and had been recruited into the Ministry Internship program fresh out of Durmstrang. She was hoping Mr. Rookwood would eventually let her become a full time employee rather than just a full time intern. She was rather bored with the dirty work, and was more than ready for a real assignment. She had always done well and it carried over into her work.

If one so young could be called a work-a-holic it was her. She had two cousins that she had guardianship over but she generally ignored them as much as possible. They were too good even if one was a werewolf. She hated being saddled with them and let them generally take care of themselves when they weren't with her. She had just filled transfer papers to move them from Durmstrang to Hogwarts now that she had decided she was moving here permanently, and she was NOT looking forward to having them even closer to her. But she wasn't about to let that tie her down from her work. Ivan could take care of his little sister just fine on his own and she wouldn't have to do anything but give them a roof during the summers.

She cleared her throat, "Mr. Rookwood, the papers you asked for are on your desk. I came by to find out my next assignment. I was done early and I don't like to stand around with my fingers idle." ..and she also was tired of paperwork... unlike Fiona she wanted to DO something not just sit and do reports and her little 'projects'. But if couldn't find one for her to keep her busy enough she'd keep doing what she always did and get into things she shouldn't. Amazing what information you can find when no one thinks you're capable of looking.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus nodded. "Good. Thank you. I want to know everything that happens while I'm gone, Ms. Kinsella." And why shouldn't he? He was in charge of an entire department run on secrets. You had to be completely sure you could trust every single one of your employees. If any of what they worked on was leaked...

He realized this was rich, coming from a death eater, but what could you do?

He looked over his shoulder at the intern. He was surrounded by a bunch of overacheivers. He honestly was not impressed when they got their assignments finished early. In fact, he expected it.

The girl was still an intern because Augustus wasn't sure what to make of her yet. He was not 100% sure he trusted her, and he wanted to keep an eye on her. Adding that to Fiona's list of things to do was a bit much though, and an idea struck him.

"Thank you. You're finished for the day, then, Ms. Weaver," he said, almost apathetically. "In fact... I think you're finished in the office indefinitely." He stopped her to watch her reaction before he explained what he meant.

[Arachne Weaver]

Arachne wasn't sure what to make of that comment but she wasn't one to show surprise or disappointment. But she also wasn't one to jump to conclusions either. Indefinitely, that meant for an undetermined amount of time.. but he had not said completely. The only emotion she showed was a quirking of one dark shaped eyebrow, her blue eyes unreadable like diamonds which held it's secrets well.

She wondered if he had been able to trace the two employees who'd vanished from the dept of Mysteries to her. But she quickly dismissed the though. She could keep her own secrets when she wanted to. If he meant to let her go, she'd do what she had to get back. It would only be a minor setback, but she would eventually succeed. She was as patient as a spider when she needed to be. It worked to her advantage that she looked young and beautiful. People didn't usually expect to find things where they weren't looking for it.

Arachne gave a slow smile then, her graceful eyebrow still quirked up as if mildly interested in the why. No, he would not be so easy to get rid of her as she seemed. "You're the boss." She didn't care how he took the comment, and quite frankly it likely wouldn't matter. In the end she'd get what she wanted.

[Fiona Kinsella]

Fiona eyed the new intern suspiciously. There was something about the woman that she didn't trust. Maybe it was the way she always seemed to be around, working so quietly and smoothly. She got her work done quickly, yet Fiona never really sensed an enormous amount of effort from her. As if it all came easily to her. Fiona never really trusted people like that, because she had to work so hard for everything she did.

Now she was additionally annoyed that the intern had barged in on her conversation with Augustus... Mr. Rookwood, she quickly corrected herself. He was showing her attention, which he never did, and she was reluctant to share it with some upstart. It had broken the spell she felt around them. Maybe it was a good thing, because with his eyes focused on her like that, she couldn't keep her hands from shaking. Still, it filled her fragile heart with dangerous hope.

So when Augustus said that she was finished in the office indefinitely, the hope bloomed even more in her heart. Was he firing the girl? Fiona certainly wouldn't be glad to see her go. She wouldn't have been able to oversee the girl, who was more secretive than even the average unspeakable. Silently, she stood back as if in suspended motion and listened to the rest of the exchange.

[Augustus Rookwood]

Augustus wasn't sure he liked her answer. No, he was positive... she was brash, and disrespectful, though she tried to appear otherwise, and he still didn't trust her. He gave Fiona a look, wondering if she would understand that what he said next was only coming out of that distrust.

"How would like some field work, Ms. Weaver?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was watching her carefully.