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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 4, 2009 9:26:30 GMT -5
Angelique stepped back into the meeting room, having taken an extra couple of moments to steel herself for what she had to do. This was not going to be an easy meeting for anyone, but since she had to do all the talking, she needed to be sure she had the strength to do this.
Taking a mental tally of all the aurors in the room, she determined that everyone was there, except for the Ferreras, as well as Elphias Doge and Alastor Moody. Well, she could continue without them.
She moved to the front of the table and remained standing. "OK, everyone. I guess we'd better get this thing started. You all know why we're here. You may have heard a lot of misinformation, and it's time to set the record straight--at least, as much as possible. As you all know Roland Ferrera was killed in a battle with death eaters on New Year's Eve."
She paused, allowing the weight of the words to sink in.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 4, 2009 9:41:19 GMT -5
Riley's eyes dropped to the coffee in her hands as Angelique said this. She hated hearing it from someone else's lips. Was this how ther Ferrera's felt when she told them? It was a crushing, painful experience.
That, and she didn't want to see the looks everyone would give her or Hayden.
She glanced over at him and smiled weakly, and reached for his hand, giving it a little squeeze. It was just to let him know that she was there and that she understood.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 4, 2009 11:02:37 GMT -5
Ted honestly didn't even consider the possibility that he could lose Andi. It happened to Roland and Riley, and it was tragic, but Ted was still young and invincible. He and Andi would come out of this just fine, and be two old farts laughing together as their bodies fell apart.
So he felt bad, and wished he could take some of the pain away from Riley and the Ferrera family, but he wasn't worried. He would protect her, and he knew what life was like without her... death without her would be just as bad.
He was silent as Angelique delivered the news, and took a deep breath. It was time to move forward now.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 4, 2009 14:15:09 GMT -5
Hayden felt his stomach drop as Angelique stated that Roland was dead. Like Riley, he had imagined that Roland would just stroll in the door like he owned the place. However, the starting of this meeting just ensured that he was gone. He tensed as the words were said aloud again. It still had the effect on him as it did the first time.
He avoided other people's gazes except for Riley's. When she squeezed her hand, Hayden didn't let go. It seemed to help him a little knowing that he had someone else he could talk to other than his family who would burst into tears if he mentioned Roland.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 6, 2009 12:04:12 GMT -5
Angelique looked around, allowing a heavy silence to fill the room before continuing.
"Roland was a great auror, and believed deeply in his job. He came off as being tough or harsh at times, but those who knew him best know that he was actually fiercely loyal and noble and would gladly lay down his life if it could save someone else, especially the people he cared about. It's just unfortunate that this had to happen so soon. He will be deeply missed. I'd like to have a moment of silence in his memory."
Then she bowed her head and waited.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 6, 2009 12:16:16 GMT -5
Riley's head was already bowed, so at Angelique's words, she just closed her eyes.
And he was all she could see. Him and the thousand ways she had thought of that she might have been able to save him. If they fought the Death Eaters together, rather than seperately. If she hadn't screamed, if she'd gone into that building... anything. Why did the night have to go like it did?
She still held tight to Hayden's hand, feeling like, strangely, he was the only anchor keeping her sane right now.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 6, 2009 12:24:43 GMT -5
Holding on to Riley's hand still, Hayden had his head bowed. His eyes were closed and the only thing he could see was his cousin's face and a fight. This was why Hayden didn't attempt to sleep. Everytime his eyes closed, he thought about the fight. It played behind his eyelids and Hayden forced his eyes open even if they wanted to remain heavy and stay closed.
He didn't realize how tight Riley was holding onto his hand, because he was numb. Hayden continued to have his head bowed, but his eyes remained open as he waited for Angelique to speak again.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 6, 2009 12:30:29 GMT -5
Ted bowed his head, but in his restless way, he glanced at the other Aurors in the room. Hayden looked desensatized. Riley was... well, she shouldn't have been here. Andromeda looked so sad and worried that he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms.
Everyone was greiving in their own way, even the people who barely knew Roland. He was a presence that would be missed.
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Post by Kit Cunningham on Apr 6, 2009 12:45:00 GMT -5
Kit felt acutely awkward, like she was intruding on some kind of private moment. She listened to the description of the guy who died and felt almost sorry that she'd never meet him. He sounded like her kind of guy. While everyone else was bowing their heads, Kit dutifully did the same, but kept her eyes open, casting them around the room. Her eyes fell on the girl whom Angelique had previously said was the dead guy's partner.
She looked like she was ravaged and hollow, fighting to keep calm and stay strong. She obviously didn't know anything about their relationship, and even she knew better than to make assumptions at this point. The woman's partner had died, and that was really enough to throw a person out of whack.
I shouldn't be here for this, Kit thought to herself.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Apr 6, 2009 16:15:40 GMT -5
A tear trickled from the corner of Andi's eye as she sat with her head bowed and her eyes closed. She wasn't even sure why she was so affected by this. Of course it was sad that Roland was dead. But she hadn't really known him. And despite her best efforts, she didn't really know Riley, either. But something about the unfinished nature of the relationship between Roland and Riley haunted Andi. How must it be for Riley? Did she love Roland? Was she now left wishing she had told him how she felt? Meanwhile, his words were forever left unspoken, too. It just wasn't fair.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 6, 2009 17:59:29 GMT -5
After a sufficient amount of time had passed, Angelique cleared her throat and began to speak again.
"OK, everyone. Now, I think you all know as well as I do, that Roland wouldn't want us to dwell on his death, but move on and continue with the job. So I want all of you to continue on your previously set missions. The only difference is that I would like Riley to help me work on Roland's old case, so that we can find and catch the guys that killed him."
She shot a look at Riley. "If you don't mind talking to me in my office after the meeting, Riley?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 6, 2009 18:21:55 GMT -5
Riley looked up, hearing that bit of news from Angelique, and nodded.
Roland wanted so badly to be put back on that mission, and it just seemed so unfair that she got it. But she wanted revenge. She wanted to make them hurt as badly as she did, as his family did.
"And the murder case?" She asked, feeling obligated. "Roland and I were really close to solving it..."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 6, 2009 20:16:41 GMT -5
"We'll talk about that," Angelique said.
She wasn't actually decided on what she should do about the murder case. She didn't really want to shift that on to someone else after all the progress Roland and Riley had made on it. But Riley was the only witness to Roland's death, and Angelique knew that his killers needed to be punished. His family deserved that much. Plus there was the case of the Hogsmeade attack...
"Ted and Veronica," she said, making a sudden decision. "You two were assigned to work as guards in Hogsmeade, and you both did a great job bringing in reinforcements during the attack. I would like for you two to begin an investigation into the Hogsmeade attack. I was going to do it, but I think it's important for me to concentrate on catching Roland's killers with Riley's help. Please be aware, however, that you will need to report directly to Minister Corrigan with any findings. Riley, do you want to continue working on Katie's murder as well? Or would you rather focus on Roland's case. I do have an auror in need of an assignment..." She nodded discreetly towards Kit.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 6, 2009 20:26:14 GMT -5
Riley caught that discreet nod and her eyes hardened. She couldn't help it. if she'd had a good night's sleep and Roland was still alive, she would have been polite. But she didn't like the new girl. The comment she made made her enemies with Riley immidiately, and Angelique was not going to give her assignment to the girl.
"It was my case with Roland," she said softly. "I'd like to see it through to the end."
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 6, 2009 20:39:27 GMT -5
Angelique certainly could understand Riley's reaction. She nodded slowly. "OK. If that's your choice, then I'll allow it. However, I don't want you to push yourself. You've been through a lot. If it gets to be too much, let me know and I'll figure something out."
Then she took a breath. "And on that note... I want to introduce you to a new addition to our group. I know what you're all thinking.... that I'm replacing Roland with someone new, and I want to assure you that this is not the case. I applied for assistance from various other countries just after the Hogsmeade attack, and arrangements were made to send in an auror from America. It's just unfortunate timing that she should arrive today when we're all still reeling from Roland's death. Nevertheless, I do hope you will welcome our new addition, Kit Cunningham."
She nodded toward Kit again and waited for a reaction.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 6, 2009 21:05:55 GMT -5
Ted glanced around. No one was responding well to Kit, and it wasn't fair to her. She didn't know what she had walked in on.
He glanced at Riley, who was looking determinedly at her hands, and he pulled his arm from around Andi and began to clap. They always applauded a new Auror, so this was no different. He nudged Andi to get her to join him, hoping the rest of the Aurors in the room would as well. Roland gone or not, they still had a comraderie to keep up.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 6, 2009 21:13:08 GMT -5
Hayden looked up as Angelique started talking. He thought about asking her to allow him to help with Katie's death, but he was just going to see how things played out before he asked about anything.
He looked at Kit. He knew that Angelique wouldn't just replace Roland like that, and as Ted started to clap Hayden looked to him. Giving a slight nod to Ted, Hayden knew that Riley was not crazy about having a new auror here already, but Roland's death wasn't planned and they couldn't have just gotten an Auror overnight. Looking back to Kit, he would have clapped for her but he felt that his arms were to heavy. He managed to give her a smile, and he hoped that she realized that he was trying to smile, he was just having a hard time.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Apr 6, 2009 21:23:46 GMT -5
Andi was staring at the new girl and trying to decide how to react. On the one hand, she felt badly for everyone connected with Roland, who must surely see her as his replacement. But she also felt sorry for the girl, who certainly hadn't asked to come into this situation. She heard Ted clapping beside her and glanced over at him with a slight smile. He was right. They needed to give the new girl a chance.
She began to clap as well.
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Post by Kit Cunningham on Apr 6, 2009 21:40:47 GMT -5
Kit wasn't surprised at the lukewarm response she was receiving. She was apparently intruding on the funeral of a saint. That's the way it sounded to Kit. He was probably a totally upstanding guy that everyone loved and never did anything stupid. Or maybe he was just a screwup like her, but in death, everyone looks better.
At any rate, Kit felt like she should say something. She glanced to Angelique before standing up uncertainly.
"Uh.. hi. If you don't mind, I'd just like to say a word or two. I know my timing... well, it pretty much sucks. That's kinda the story of my life. I'm just here to do my job, and I certainly am not trying to replace this Roland guy... he sounds like he was a helluva guy. So I'm really sorry for your loss. I just... I hope I can do a good job and help you out. Um, that's it."
She sat down again, feeling extremely awkward.
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 7, 2009 0:10:25 GMT -5
Angelique smiled tightly. She wasn't sure Kit had done herself any favors with that speech. But at least she was trying.
"OK, well, I think that concludes our business for today. Kit, I'd like to see you in my office. And later, Riley, if you get a chance, I'd like to talk to you, as well. Thanks, everyone."
She let out a breath. Finally that meeting was over....
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