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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 21, 2008 19:32:00 GMT -5
Arthur was prepared to argue with Ted some more about the future and sacrificing their happiness as a way to protect the woman he loved. But the next statement made Arthur stop in his tracks. Andromeda was involved with someone else? This was news to Arthur. As far as he'd understood, Andromeda was completely smitten with Ted, and he hadn't heard a word about another guy. "Wait... what? Who? When did you hear that? Did she tell you that?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 21, 2008 19:39:29 GMT -5
"She didn't have to tell me," Ted said, leaning back in his chair and sliding down a little ways. "But she was with him when everything fell apart. He was holding her, and she let him."
He hoped he was good for Andi. That he'd take care of her and at least try to make her happy. If he couldn't be the one to do that for her, he wanted to know that someone would. And he trusted Andromeda's judgement. If Lestrange was the one she wanted.
"It's some kid she went to school with. Appearantly, they had a relationship before."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 21, 2008 20:45:05 GMT -5
Arthur frowned deeply. This situation was making less sense by the second. Because he was two years older than Andromeda, he hadn't known her very well in school. He certainly didn't know anything about any of her relationships. He'd never followed gossip.
But to think that Andromeda had feelings for someone else... this was something completely unexpected. He had no evidence to the contrary. "Wow... really? I didn't know about that... it doesn't sound like her, though. I would have thought she would have been honest with you if there was someone else. She did say she was leaving her family for you, after all. Who was he? Did you get a name?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 21, 2008 20:58:37 GMT -5
Ted realized that he might not even beieve it. He didn't feel hurt or betrayed, as surely he would if Andromeda really was in love with another.
"It's one of the Lestrange brothers. The younger one. I don't remember his name. I don't want to," he added. He had to stop from comparing himself with the boy... he needed to remember that this was best for Andromeda, and talking himself out of that would only make him want to run back to her.
"He's still in school. A Slytherin."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Sept 21, 2008 21:13:48 GMT -5
Arthur's eyes grew wide. "Rabastan Lestrange?" he gasped. "Ted... you don't remember that kid, do you? He was a lot younger than we were, but... by the time we graduated, he already had a very bad reputation. He had all the younger Gryffindor girls panting after him and he was only in his third year! I heard he was quite a heartbreaker even then... and from what I've heard, he's only gotten worse. You do not want Andromeda to take up with that guy. He'll shatter whatever's left of her!"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 21, 2008 21:25:42 GMT -5
Ted shook his head. He didn't remember the kid, the but he remembered someone with the reputation Arthur was talking about. He really didn't understand it.
"She's been in a relationship with him already, when we were still in school. And if you could have seen the way she was letting him hold her..." this last part of the sentence came out so miserably, and he didn't know what to do. If she had already been with him once, she knew what she was getting into again.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 21, 2008 21:37:04 GMT -5
Before Arthur could answer, the door to the auror office swung open, and in walked Angelique St. Clare. As always, she strode purposely into the room in a pair of stylish 6-inch heels and perfectly tailored robes trimmed in emerald green satin. She stood by the door for a minute, her eyes scanning the room until they fell on Ted. Her eyes narrowed coldly. "Tonks!" she yelled, her voice sounding a bit shrill. "My office. Now!"
Then she strolled past them and into her office without a second look.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 21, 2008 21:47:24 GMT -5
Ted groaned quietly and looked at Arthur as Angelique disappeared into her office. This already did not bode well, and she hadn't even started ripping into him yet.
"Well, Arthur, I might be unemployed when next we meet." He sighed. "Please remember to ask Molly how Andi's doing..."
He stood from his desk and took a deep breath before going into Angelique's office. "Miss St. Claire," he said softly and respectfully.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 21, 2008 22:04:05 GMT -5
Angelique leaned back in her chair and stared at him for a minute. Because she was very pretty, Angelique had spent most of her life being underestimated and disrespected. Now at last she had risen to a position of authority based on her own strengths and merits, and she was determined that her employees would respect her. So she'd been working on her intimidating stare.
Of course she'd read the dreadful article in the Daily Prophet concerning her two young aurors. And although her sympathies, of course, lay with Andromeda, the woman scorned, Angelique was not insensitive to the fact that there were always two sides to every story. So for now, although she was infuriated at the way the article and his alleged actions had dragged her department through the mud, she was willing to give him a chance to explain his side of things.
And then she was going to give him the most unpleasant assignment she could think of as punishment.
"Mr. Tonks," she said slowly. "Why don't you tell me why I called you in here?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 21, 2008 22:09:30 GMT -5
Oh, Merlin, he could only imagine.
Ted remained standing, and he was perfectly still. He did not fidget or in any way show how miserable he really was.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," he said, keeping his voice nuetral, "But I imagine it is something along the lines of severely crippling the Department, at least in the eyes of... well, the rest of the Ministry. You have one Auror who has been painted to be a fool, all too trusting, a bad judge of character, and nearly incompetant. You have another who was painted to be cold hearted, mean spirited, cruel, manipulative... and all of these traits are those that no one would like to see in an auror." He closed his eyes as a new realization hit him. "Which not only makes the department look bad, but you and the Minister as well. Am I right?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 21, 2008 22:18:36 GMT -5
He'd hit the nail on the head. Clearly smarter than he looked. But then, who was she to judge? After all, many people in the past had expected her to be dumb, and she'd proven them wrong.
"Precisely," Angelique replied in a brisk tone. "Tonks, sit down. I won't have you towering over me."
She continued to appraise him suspiciously. Merlin knew, a man as attractive as he was could easily break a few hearts. But she wouldn't have expected it of him, based on her prior encounters with him. Still, she supposed everyone had a dark side. "That article by Rita Skeeter severely undermines the integrity of this department. And for that reason alone, I really should fire you, or at the very least, put you on suspension. Can you give me one reason why I shouldn't?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 22, 2008 5:35:10 GMT -5
Ted sat when she told him to, his body moving stiffly, instead of the fluid, gentle movements he usually made.
He studied his hands in his lap, silent for a long time at her question. How was he supposed to answer that?
"No, Miss St. Clare. I cannot. Except to say that Mr. Corrigan trained me, approved me... and I woul trust his judgement on a man more than anyone else. The girl who wrote that article is a 7th year student and put a spin on the story that is entirely wrong. Neither party mentioned in that article is painted in a truthful fashion."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 22, 2008 11:21:46 GMT -5
"Well, I should hope not," Angelique said, arching her eyebrows at him. She studied him another moment, then sighed. "OK, look. I can believe that the article is heavily skewed. The Daily Prophet had been going dramatically down hill, what with the likes of Skeeter and Bambi Ackart spreading lies and misinformation all over the paper. But I assume there is at least some truth to the article? You and Miss Black were seeing each other and now you are not?"
Without waiting for an answer, she continued on. "Now, I am not going to ask you for the details of the breakup, because that is personal and should remain so. I really don't care to hear the personal information about either your relationship with Miss Black, or the breakup. However, if I get any indication that the fallout of this incident is having any effect on Miss Black's ability to do her job, much less your own job performance, I will blame you. Make no mistake, I take her side in this."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 22, 2008 12:27:02 GMT -5
Of course you do, he thought. She didn't even ask him what actually he happened and she chose Andi's side. Andi was in the right, of course, but it still bothered him a little. Still, the fact that Angelique had not fired him yet was a miracle on it's own. He wanted to have a few very choice words with Rita Skeeter.
"Yes, of course," Ted said, nodding. He didn't want to jump ahead of her or anything, but he asked, "Will the Ministry be responding to the article? What I mean is... do I need to write an apology or explaination that puts the Department back in a decent light?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 22, 2008 12:42:00 GMT -5
Angelique frowned deeply. A response from the Ministry would, unfortunately, be necessary. Her department was being maligned over something that should have been a personal matter. But she sincerely doubted that Ted speaking out with his side of the story would help anything at all, and would most likely make things worse for Andromeda.
"No, I think we've heard quite enough from you," she said, a little more harshly than she'd intended. "It's best if you keep a very low profile for a while. I will take care of responding to the article. The fact is, this was a personal matter that should never have been dragged into the public eye in this manner. I'm afraid Miss Black is probably the only reason it was considered newsworthy at all, because of her family. But I'm telling you right now, no matter what the truth is behind this article, the public perception of you is going to be very bad. And you had better not be the cause of any tension in this office, or I will put you on suspension without a second thought, do you hear me?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 22, 2008 13:13:51 GMT -5
Ted looked up and almost laughed. It would have been humorless, and would have gotten him in a lot of trouble, though.
"With all due respect, Ms. St. Clare, I'm already the cause of tension in the department. Half the Aurors out there would see me dead... and that's being optimistic. But if you mean between Andromeda and myself... We will both be fine."
He realized he shouldn't speak for her, but it came too late. He took a deep breath and sighed slowly. "I am sorry for the inconvenience and the hassle this has caused."
He paused again and licked his lips. "Has the Minister read the article yet?"
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 22, 2008 13:26:37 GMT -5
Angelique scowled at him. "Don't take that tone with me," she said. "You're lucky I had time to have some coffee before I came in this morning. If I had come in right after reading that article, I probably would have fired you. But listen, I think it might be best if you were out of the office for a while. I have an assignment for you, which should enable you to do a lot of field work. I'll tell you about that shortly."
"As for Minister Corrigan," she added with a sigh, "I have not spoken with him about it yet. I wanted to talk to you first and set a few things straight. It might be to your benefit to talk to him before he comes to you. As you said, he hired you and trained you. He won't take this lightly."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 22, 2008 15:26:22 GMT -5
Ted's jaw tightened and he looked away for a minute. He knew he was in a lot of trouble, but it was hard to be patient. His relationship problems should not have been publicised. Nor should they threaten his job. He nodded though.
"All right," he said softly. "I'll head his way when I leave you. The... The assignment?" he hated that he was more or less getting kicked out of the office.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Sept 22, 2008 15:42:19 GMT -5
Angelique twisted her lips into a wry grin. "You're not going to like it," she warned. "But someone has to do it, and it may as well be you. Beginning several months ago, and continuing as recently as last week, there's been a rash of bodies being stolen from graves. Most of them in Highgate Memorial Cemetary, but others as well, including muggle cemetaries. We think someone--possibly Lord Voldemort--may be collecting them to build up an army of Inferi. I need you to investigate."
She knew it was an unpleasant job. It was the only reason she hadn't taken it on herself, even though she felt it was connected to her niece's death. After all, Wesley had insisted that Sabrina be cremated for just this very reason.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Sept 22, 2008 17:31:02 GMT -5
Ted just nodded. "Consider it done," he said softly. He was better than this. His last mission had proved it. He was good at what he did, and now they wanted him invesitagting missing bodies. Still, he was lucky, after that article, that he had kept his job at all, so he wasn't going to complain.
He looked back at Angelique, a quiet, honest, hurting look in his eyes that was just accumulating from everything going wrong in his life. And his main thought was Andromeda... what was she having to deal with today because of that article?
He waited patiently to see if she had more to say, or if he was free to go face the wrath of the rest of the office and Vincent.
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