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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 26, 2008 18:51:47 GMT -5
Veronica had been back in town for only a few days but she missed her friends and wanted to have a night out with Arthur and Ted now that she was back in town. She told Aurthur to meet her there and he'd mentioned bringing another of his friends, Joseph something or other. Veronica had just told him to do whatever he wanted and she'd meet them there and drag Ted with her. Of course that meant she had to lure Ted out of the house. She had heard the news about Ted almost as soon as she'd gotten back to the ministry by her boss. It was known that Veronica was a friend of Ted's and while she'd been out on assignment apparently the man had managed to fall in love and then all this mess... and now he wasn't leaving his apartment. She'd promised to see what she could do to get Ted back to work himself but it was really no big request since she'd been already determined to do it anyways. That's what friends were for after all.
Arthur had already told her some things but it was sketchy. However she knew Ted well enough to know better than to believe the Prophet's lies. So it was with this in mind that she knocked on Ted's door late that evening after work.
"Ted! Open up, it's Veronica! You owe me a drink!" She knocked again until she heard the lock click and the door open.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 26, 2008 19:01:43 GMT -5
Ted tried to pretend to not be home, but she was so damned persistent, and the knocking was going to drive him up a wall.
He had been locked away in his apartment whenever he wasn't researching the missing bodies, and he'd let everything else slide. His apartment was a mess, and he didn't really look much better. He hadn't shaved in nearly a week, and there was a very subtle smell of alcohol about him. He didn't have Andi, and he wasn't going into the Ministry, so there was no need to keep up appearances.
"Veronica," he said, opening the door just enough to stick his head out, blocking her view of inside. "Glad to see you back in town... I'm a bit busy at the moment."
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 26, 2008 19:22:23 GMT -5
"Open the door Tonks you fool, I already know you're just in here hiding away. Arthur told me everything, now let me in you wool-headed idiot. You know I'm not leaving till you do anyways and just for the record I'm on your side, just like always." She sighed as if she should probably not be but he was a friend and she knew him well enough to know better. She also knew his buttons enough. Once upon a time she'd had a crush on Ted but they'd ended up friends and she'd never told him how she felt so many years ago. Not that it mattered now, he was one of her best friends and she wasn't about to let him sit here and mope.
She looked at face though after talking, "Damn you look like hell Ted."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 5:09:33 GMT -5
"Thanks," Ted grumbled sarcastically, but softened and sighed. "You look really nice, as it happens," he told her and took a step back, opening the door wide enough to let her through.
"Just close your eyes to the mess. I haven't had time to clean yet."
He had all the time in the world. He just hadn't had the inclination to do any of it.
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 27, 2008 9:46:40 GMT -5
"Thank you, Ted for noticing." She was joking with him of course, he was likely just saying it out of habit and courtesy so she didnt' take it personally. Veronica went into Ted's apartment and tried not to chuckle at the mess. "You know it would only take a few cleaning charms and it would be good as new. So tell me why you are pushing away this girl that you obviously are in love with. Then I'm going to get you cleaned up and take you out with the boys for one night at least to forget your self-inflicted misery." She included herself in 'the boys', only because she thought of herself as one of them despite the fact she was obviously very female.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 12:06:51 GMT -5
"What? No," Ted said, shaking his head when he heard her idea. He didn't want to go out. He didn't have the energy to get cleaned up and he certainly didn't have the energy to entertain a group of his friends.
"I can't go out... especially with people from the Ministry. I'm supposed to be keeping a lo profile."
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 27, 2008 12:53:07 GMT -5
"I've been gone for over a year, Ted. You owe me at least one night out and I'll take you kicking if I have to. I know all your weaknesses so you might as well just humor me and give in for once. Do you really think sitting here mopeing is going to help anything at all? I found out Andi moved out by the way, she's living at Hogwarts now so you don't have to worry about seeing her. Though seriously I should smack the both of you, if I thought it would help you both come to your senses. But I have faith that time will work things out, and until then you need to remember that there are other people out here who care about you, even if you don't care about yourself right now. Come on lets get you cleaned up."
Like a sister she took Ted's hand to lead him to the bathroom to clean him up herself if he wasn't going to do it himself. She was an optimist, and friendly and she wouldn't take no for an answer, not from one of her best friends at least.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 14:29:16 GMT -5
Ted sighed as he realized how much he had missed her over the last year. He let her lead him to his bathroom, but he wasn't giving in.
"I'll take you out. And I'll buy all of your drinks and everything else you want... but we have to wait for this whole thing to blow over," he told her, hiding the hurt in his eyes when she told him that Andromeda moved out. "Angelique was named the new Head Auror, and both she and Vincent have made it very clear that I shouldn't be seen anywhere. Especially out drinking or dancing or anything like that... do you know how bad that will look?"
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 27, 2008 14:39:21 GMT -5
"Yes I talked to Angelique when I got back but she wouldn't really say too much about you so I didn't ask. But really, since when did you ever listen to everything you were told to do? I don't think one night out is going to hurt your reputation at all, and really how much worse could you get it at this point anyways. Everyone already thinks the worst of you.. well.. except for me and Arthur of course. We know you better than that. If I thought I could talk you out of being noble I would, but you're too damn stubborn to even bother trying till someone pummels you in the head with it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit by and let you feel sorry for yourself. You made a choice for whatever your reasons and you need to learn to deal with them if you arent' going to go out there and fix it."
Veronica hoped up on the bathroom counter and grabbed a razor from the nearby shelf. She was going to at least make him look presentable. Maybe if she got him back to his semi-normal self he'd eventually snap out of it and go after Andromeda like he should be doing. But she wasn't here to judge, she was here to be a friend and right now being a friend meant taking care of him if he wasn't going to do it himself.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 15:11:11 GMT -5
"It's not my reputation I'm supposed to be worried about, Roni," Ted told her, trying not to sound as miserable as he felt. "It's the Ministry's. You're right, mine's already shot."
She picked up the razor, and he sighed. He really was not in the mood to go out tonight at all. but he knew Veronica could be just as stubborn as he could be.
He stepped forward, taking the razor from her hand. Some self pitying part of him was willing to just let her do it for him, but he did know that at some point, he had to start taking care of himself. If it started tonight, then so much the better.
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 27, 2008 15:33:14 GMT -5
She'd been about to start shaving him herself, but didn't complain when he took the razor to do it like he should have been doing this whole time. She slid over on the counter but didn't hop down, there was plenty of room for him to see in the mirror over the sink and the thought didn't really even occur to her.
"I'm sure the Ministry can survive whatever comes their way, people are fickle and right now you're little issues have moved to a barely mentioned gossip now. The big news apparently is the death of that student at Hogwarts. Angelique is too busy fighting that fire now that the rest has been generally pushed under the rug. I seriously doubt anyone is going to look at you twice for going out after a breakup with some friends, and even less about what that means for the Ministry. Seriously, the Ministry has bigger fish to fry than your relationships."
Veronica sat and watched while Ted shaved and she talked. He was like a brother to her and she didn't think anything about watching him shave. He'd seen her wearing nothing before in the past and thought nothing of it, even though she'd been almost dead while he carried her to a hospital. To her, he was just Ted. Her good friend and she was going to make sure he was at least taking care of himself for once. She had missed him, she realized. She'd missed home, and apparently home had passed on by without her.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 15:57:13 GMT -5
"I heard about the girl," Ted said, nodding slightly while he began the process of shaving. He was past scruffy and gruff... that was his clue he'd been neglecting himself for too long. When the hair was softer, and not stubble.... he sighed yet again and turned on the water. "And I heard they still haven't caught her killer."
Looking at her through the mirror, he asked, "When did you get back in town, Roni? I haven't even heard from you in months. I was worried."
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 27, 2008 16:05:49 GMT -5
"I got in about three days ago, you're place was my first stop besides my sister's and the Ministry. I'm staying with Joanne for now. And according to the information I got, the girl's killer hasn't even been identified there were no traces left behind. It's really frustrating the ministry when they have to answer to all those parents with out having any answers to give. All those students are in a very real danger if someone is out there using the unforgivables on students. What they can't figure out is why Katie Lawrence. If it could happen to an innocent student... it could happen to anyone. And all right under the nose of several Aurors too."
She shook head thinking about the girl sadly. "It's why I was summoned back early. She needed more hands here with that death, but I'm still waiting for my new assignment."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 27, 2008 16:29:29 GMT -5
"I honestly don't know why they haven;t questioned every teacher at the school. If the Ministry can sneak in Aurors undercover, whose to say there aren't any undercover Death Eaters? I'd be willing to bet there are. It's a prime target, isn't it? What scares people more than the possibility of losing their children? People underestimate Voldemort too much, even within our deparment."
It was easy to talk about things like this, staying away from talking about himself or Andromeda or anything of the sort.
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 29, 2008 9:21:26 GMT -5
When Ted was done shaving she waved her wand over his hair with a trimming spell and his hair soon looked at least kept instead of overgrown like a shaggy dog. As she led him to his room she dissappeared into his closet and pulled out a pair of clean casual but nice clothes for him to put on.
"As much as I'd like to see that help, we'd never be able to figure them out if they are undercover I fear. Unless we can find more traces as to who killed the girl directly. But I would think they'd have more Aurors in the school grounds than they do, even if they aren't undercover. The Dark Lord is getting stronger ever day, at least his touch on the world is.. more things happen all the time it seems. The hospital's growing number of patients and the increasing number of deaths are evidence of that. And we all need to get our heads where they belong. We have a job to do, Ted.. the world needs our help more than ever now."
She left the room so he could change but she waited for him outside his bedroom door.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 30, 2008 22:04:39 GMT -5
Ted sighed, running a hand through his newly trimmed hair and inspecting it. "I know they need us... Roni, I'd be at work if I could."
His breath smelled too much like alcohol, he realized, and he reached for his toothbrush and toothpaste. Maybe he was going out drinking, but he felt disgusting. "Angelique just doesn't want me there for a while. What am I supposed to do?"
He turned the water on and started on his teeth.
"You know, Roni, there's..." He was going to tell her there were things in the fridge for her to eat, but he didn't think there was. "I should really take a shower. You can make yourself at home for ten minutes, right?"
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Post by Veronica Massey on Oct 31, 2008 8:45:14 GMT -5
"You know it," Veronica said in response to making herself at home. She left him alone to finish cleaning up, satisfied that he was finally getting himself taken care of at least on his own. She of course, went to the fridge and frowned looking at the bare emptiness that greeted her. This would never do, and she made a mental note to ensure he bought food for himself by the next day. Hopefully one night of getting out would help him realize that even if he wanted to be a fool about love, that he had to learn to either fix things or move on. Life wasn't going to wait for him to sulk in his apartment, and the world needed him.
Without really thinking about it she took out her wand and began cleaning the kitchen and living room of Ted's apartment. By the time he finally emerged again she'd managed to finish both and was sitting at his kitchen table and drinking a cup of chamomile tea.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Oct 31, 2008 13:38:00 GMT -5
Ted emerged from the bathroom almost exactly ten minutes later, dressed in the clothes Veronica had pulled out. For the first time in a while, he looked pulled together, like the handsome man he was. Veronica was forcing him to reconnect with the world, but even know he sort of knew he would disconnect again when she was gone.
"You cleaned," he said softly. "You didn't have to. I would have gotten to it. Thank you."
He came and stood next to the table she was at. "You sure you don't want to just stay in and watch old muggle movies with me or something?"
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Post by Veronica Massey on Nov 3, 2008 12:30:23 GMT -5
"Ted, as much as I would love to stay here and watch a movie and keep you company we can do that any time.. but I'll take a rain check. Tonight you need to get out of the house, you've been cooped up here for too long apparently and you need to get some fresh air. I'm taking you out, and besides Arthur wants to see you too. We haven't gotten to all go hang out together in almost a year and now that I'm back you owe me at least that much."
Veronica was smiling at him though, he did look nice and he was very handsome. She'd always thought he was a very handsome man, but he was one of her best friends and that's as far as she went. He was like a brother to her in a sense, and although she could appreciate his attributes she didn't have any romantic notions about them. "You look very nice now by the way, almost human again." She winked with a soft laugh, "And you're welcome, I'm sure it won't last long but someone needed to make sure you didnt' live in your own pigsty forever. I always have your back, Ted, and I'm not about to abandon you now. So you ready?"
Veronica stood up from the table and smiled up at him. He had so much to live for, and he was stewing in his own self pitty. A self pitty he'd caused himself all on his own. It was time to man up and live with his choices or face and fix them. If he wasn't going to do the latter, then she'd make sure he did the former. In time, something would work out... either he'd move on or he'd fix things with Andromeda, but whatever he decided to do she would be there to be his friend and make sure he didn't forget that he had a job to do and a life to continue living.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Nov 3, 2008 22:31:45 GMT -5
Ted sighed and gave Veronica a look. He didn't want to go out tonight, and she knew it. He wanted to stay in here. Things were clean. He was clean. She should have been happy with that much of a improvement.
Part of this was to punish himself, too. He had hurt Andromeda, and he didn't deserve to go out and have a good time while she was upset, wherever she was. He would be miserable tonight if he had anything remotely close to a good time.
"Roni... I don't even know if Arthur's talking to me anymore. I kind of made *his* girlfriend break up with him. Forgive me, but this just isn't sounding appealing."
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