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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 24, 2008 19:27:20 GMT -5
Roland's jaw clenched. Of course he knew all of that. Why did she feel the need to tell him? She was being patronizing again, or still, and he'd had about enough of it. "Yes, I am aware of the situation and why it's so important. I'm not an idiot, you know. Just because you apparently know everything doesn't mean you need to spell everything out for me."
He sighed. "All right, look. Give me an hour, then we'll head over to the school and start working. I have a few more things I need to finish up here before I go."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 24, 2008 22:48:56 GMT -5
Riley's own jaw clenched. Was he always this defensive and ready to argue? Or was he one of those people who automatically thought the worst of others? If she already knew everything, she wouldn't have a partner on this mission.
The other highly irritating thing about Roland is that she admitted her faults before he felt the need to beat them in. She admitted that checking the crime scene would be a good idea. She admitted that she had no reason to explain some of these things to him... And yet he had to beat the point into the ground. She wondered if she stopped pointing them out, if he would even notice them.
"Come get me when you're ready." her teeth were clenched as she said this.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 3:04:42 GMT -5
Roland smiled tightly. "Fine," he replied, standing up and grabbing an apple from his tray. "I'll see you in about an hour." He'd had about all he could take of the woman and her know-it-all attitude for now. He needed a break from her. How was he going to stand working with her for however long it took to finish this assignment? He didn't think this case was going to be an open-and-shut case, even under the best of circumstances... but working with her was going to make it even harder.
He stormed off again, heading for his desk.
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 25, 2008 15:26:47 GMT -5
Riley remained in the cafeteria for a few more minutes, not particularly interested in following in his sour, unjustified wake. As badly as she wanted to have a talk with Angelique, she thought it better not to. That would only force her boss to babysit the both of them, and nothing would get accomplished.
She finally ate her salad, considering how to deal with Roland in the best way possible. Perhaps if she were just quiet, unless it was absolutely necessary to interfere or interject. The freedom was probably what he valued, and it was her goal to make it seem like she was giving him that.
And it killed her that she had to play these games to do her job. She might begin to resent him for it.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:18:21 GMT -5
Once he left the cafeteria, Roland headed back to his desk and sank down in his chair. He was exhausted and stressed out. He was the first to admit that he could be difficult to deal with at times, and that he had not been at his best just now. And once again, it really had little to do with Riley. Her attitude annoyed him, but he could have got past that if he wasn't still thinking about the note he'd received. He wasn't going to feel better, he realized, unless he checked in with the rest of the family to make sure everyone was OK.
The first thing he did was write up a quick note to Jamie and Amandine. He was about to write up another to his parents, who he assumed were at the school as well, but then he heard a familiar voice nearby. He looked up to see his father walking in, and some of the tension flowed out of his muscles.
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:23:14 GMT -5
Mathieu had just returned from guard duty at the school. He and Cara had spent the morning patrolling and all seemed well. He walked into the auror office and saw Roland sitting at his desk, looking like he was in the middle of a very bad day. When Roland looked up at him, he gave him a smile and walked over to his son's desk.
"You look tense, son," he said lightly. "Everything OK? You haven't been fighting with your new partner, have you?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:27:11 GMT -5
Roland sighed. "She's an insufferable know-it-all," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "But I'll deal with it. Look... is everyone OK? Where's Mum?"
He looked over his father's shoulders, hoping to see his mother walking in. That would leave only Cyrus that he would have to try to contact. He wasn't quite sure how to do that, since Cyrus was supposed to be undercover...
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:29:47 GMT -5
Mathieu shrugged. He didn't quite understand why Roland was so concerned. "Oh, she'll be along. We just finished up our shift over at Hogwarts. I think she wanted to check in with your aunt Suri or something. I don't know. Why? What's going on?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:34:53 GMT -5
Roland relaxed a little more. "Good," he said. "I mean... I was just wondering, that's all. It's fine. You didn't... happen to see Jamie and Ama while you were there, did you?"
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:37:23 GMT -5
Mathieu eyed his son for a minute. There was something about his tone that wasn't right. He knew Roland too well to be fooled by the attempt to sound casual. "No, we didn't," he replied. "But I'm sure they're fine. "Talk to me... what's wrong? I can tell when something is bothering you."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:42:33 GMT -5
Roland shook his head quickly. "No... I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little tense today." He let out a little sigh. "Probably just from working on this murder case. The whole thing is really pretty disturbing."
He shrugged and then managed a weak half-smile. "Well, I'll talk to you later, I guess... I have a few things to finish up before I head over to Hogwarts with Riley to do a little investigating."
He couldn't quite keep the look of distaste from his face as he mentioned Riley's name.
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:46:37 GMT -5
Mathieu nodded quietly. "OK, then. I'll talk to you later."
He started to leave, then thought better of it. Turning around to face him again, he added, "Try to lighten up on Riley, will you? It's not her fault, you know, and she's probably as annoyed by this as you are. Just try and keep a positive attitude and focus on the case. It'll work out, I promise."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 16:57:16 GMT -5
Roland let out a long breath. "Have you ever known me to have a positive attitude?" he cracked. Shaking his head, he continued. "But you're right... I know you're right. I'm probably making it worse. I'll try to just keep my mind on the case and not let it get to me."
He quirked his lip up in an attempt to look positive. "Thanks, Dad. I'll see you."
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Post by Mathieu Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 17:21:45 GMT -5
Mathieu frowned slightly. Something didn't seem right to him, but he wasn't going to push it. Instead he just nodded. "OK, then... good luck. I know you'll do a good job on this case."
He clapped his son on the shoulder once, then walked away to go to his own desk.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 17:43:23 GMT -5
Once his father had gone, Roland let out a sigh, then stared down at the note he had written to Jamie and Ama. Maybe he was just being paranoid. On the other hand, he was actually going to be at the school... maybe he could check in with his younger siblings while he was there. Although, he rather doubted that Riley would allow him to take a little time for a personal errand.
Frustrated, he crumpled the note and threw it away. Then he looked up to see if Riley was ready to go. There wasn't much point in delaying this any further. The more time he had to think, the more he was going to worry. He needed to work.
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 25, 2008 19:27:39 GMT -5
Riley, however, wasn't in the office. It was for her own relief right now that she couldn't see or deal with Roland. She was still sitting in the cafeteria, pouring over what little they had in the file and compiling a list of people they should talk to. Roland was right; they simply didn't have time to talk to everyone, so they had to make their interrogations count.
The point was, she was working, and if Roland was ready, it would still be easy enough for him to find her.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 25, 2008 22:05:09 GMT -5
He didn't see her around, so he figured she was probably still in the cafeteria. But somehow, his pride couldn't quite let him go there to look for her. He sat there for a few minutes, looking back over his reports. He needed to figure out the identities of the death eaters... just because he knew their faces, didn't mean that he knew who they were. This put him at a distinct disadvantage, because they clearly knew exactly who he was. And who his family was.
He sat there for several minutes, continuing to go through the papers and a book of known dark magic sympathizers, but to no avail. He was just wasting time here, and getting himself worked up over something he'd been specifically told to let go.
Finally, he let out a sigh and put the papers aside. Biting down on the inside of his cheek, he got up and headed back to the cafeteria.
As he'd suspected, she was still there, going through the files. He took a deep breath and approached her. "Ready to go?" he asked, his tone neutral.
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 26, 2008 2:10:20 GMT -5
Riley raised an eyebrow, once again biting back a smart alecked remark. It wasn't going to do any good to provoke him.
She gathered a couple pieces of her own parchment and set them in the folder before closing it and getting to her feet. Keeping true to her deal with herself to keep quiet around him, she simply nodded and indicated that he lead the way.
They would have to apparate to just off the grounds, and then walk to the school, thanks to the safety measures set in place by Dumbledore. Or they could floo. Or they could fly... it was really up to Roland. Riley didn't care.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Dec 26, 2008 2:19:51 GMT -5
He would have thought that he would prefer her with her mouth closed, but somehow her silence was more unsettling than hearing her talk. Still, he decided it would be best if the two of them spoke as little as possible. "Let's apparate there," he said, not even looking at her. "We'll start by investigating the scene."
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Post by Riley Neves on Dec 26, 2008 2:26:58 GMT -5
"After you."
It was clear that she intended to meet him there, rather than do a side along apparaition. They were both adults and could both handle something so simple. Then, without another word, there was a pop! and she was gone.
Since they had been in the Ministry, a place with no one but wizards and witches, it was safe to do so. Leaving the school grounds however, especially the forest, she would be much more careful. She didn't want anyone catching their trail.
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