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Post by Felicia Campbell on Nov 12, 2010 1:58:35 GMT -5
Felicia looked back and forth between the two of them. "Good, then it's settled," she said, ignoring Victoria's protest. Even if Daniel hadn't said what he did, her response would have been the same. Sure, she could have had the new girl shadow Brady instead, but Daniel was here now and they were already talking. It seemed the perfect solution.
"If you get called to another murder scene with the German aurors, then of course you should bring Sean instead. But for all office work and field investigations, Victoria will go with you. I'm sure you'll be fine. So get to it, and I'll check in on you later."
Without waiting for a response, Felicia turned and walked briskly away once again.
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 12, 2010 2:01:49 GMT -5
Victoria turned to Daniel. "Look, I don't want to be any trouble for you, OK? I don't think she's going to let you back out now, so I think you're stuck with me, but I swear I'll be on my best behavior and I won't babble or run off at the mouth or talk about stupid things or anything like that while we're trying to work. I just want to prove that I can do this job, and that's all I'm here for. So let's just try to make the best of things, even though you clearly want nothing to do with me."
Towards the end of this rather long-winded speech, her tone became a little harder, and it was clear that she was angry. She had thought they were getting along well, and the fact that he clearly was unhappy about the prospect of working with her had wounded her pride just a little.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 12, 2010 11:48:45 GMT -5
Obviously there was no arguing with Felicia. He liked his job and he was going to keep it for however long he could. After she left, he knew that Victoria looked to him and he turned his head to look back at her. Obviously, what he had said earlier ruffled her feathers and little bit. He was going to make the comment that she had a little bit of a back bone, but he kept that comment to himself.
Never had he had anyone shadow him before, and he didn't know how to take it. He was always with his brother and that was it. Working with someone else, Daniel wasn't sure how that was really going to work.
"Look, the only person I've ever worked with has been my brother, so it's not like I have new people shadowing me all the time. I was actually just thrown on my first case, so I don't know how this really works so just take a deep breath and calm down." Daniel liked the idea that she could get angry with him. He might have finally found someone he could argue with. The change of the current topic might be the best idea.
"What else do you think you could tell about the murderer or the symbol," he asked clearing his throat and looking back down to the file. "Do you think that it's a real person doing the killings or something else?"
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 13, 2010 15:07:08 GMT -5
Victoria was still annoyed; maybe not so much at him, but at the situation in general. It sucked being the new girl. She didn't want to be a problem, she just wanted to get to work and to be able to help the rest of the department. And no matter what Daniel or anyone else said, Victoria wouldn't feel like she was being useful until she was able to work on her own cases, and didn't have to "shadow" anyone else, whatever that meant.
But she took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. She certainly wasn't going to be much good to anyone if she had a meltdown whenever anyone talked to her in a slightly unfriendly manner.
"OK," she said, but she gave him a sort of warning look. She didn't want him to talk down to her, like she was some kind of dumb blonde. She might act like one sometimes, but that didn't mean she was one.
Looking around the office, she found herself wondering about Daniel's brother. So far, she had not seen him, or for that matter, anyone else in the department other than Felicia and Daniel. Surely there were others, right? Where there any other women, or would she have to fight that stereotype, too?
Forcing herself to look back down at the file, she studied it for a while, not speaking. "I don't really know," she said at last. "I mean, there is something sort of... animalistic about the killings. But there was clearly a weapon involved, so that rules out werewolves. And I can't see a vampire leaving that much blood behind, unless there was a reason for it. No other creatures would need to use a weapon. It seems more like a ritualistic thing... except there's no pattern."
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 14, 2010 9:05:42 GMT -5
"Exactly," he said agreeing about her last statement. "There's no pattern. The only thing that remains constant is the fact that this thing leaves this mark, the Dark Mark, and all the victims are helping muggleborns or even muggles. There's nothing else. No location patterns, there's no telling where its going to strike next." That was the thing that stressed Daniel out the most. There were so many innocents out there and he didn't know which one was going to be next on the list.
Part of him wanted to go back to all the scenes and try to figure out if he missed something, but he wasn't going to do that just yet. He needed to see all the possible victims. "And if we want to catch this thing we can't just send out a huge message saying that there's a killer coming after everyone who has helped muggleborns and muggles." Running his hand over his face, Daniel sighed. He reached over and closed the file. "Come on, we can go start making a list of every person that could be the next target."
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 17, 2010 1:04:14 GMT -5
Victoria nodded. "The trouble is, that could really be a big list. Everyone's starting to take sides now, aren't they? I mean, you and I could be targets just as easily as anyone else, because we've chosen to work against the Death Eaters. I would think it would need to be people who are fairly prominent. People whose deaths would affect a lot of people. I mean, I don't think my death would really matter to anyone, for example. So we need to think of well-known people... maybe someone who has betrayed.... um, Voldemort."
At saying his name, Victoria unconsciously looked around, as if half-expecting the use of the name to summon Lord Voldemort himself. She didn't really know much about the mysterious figure known as Voldemort, but it somehow felt strange to say the name... as though it were somehow taboo.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 17, 2010 10:13:08 GMT -5
It seemed a little easier going back to the topic at hand. There was no tension while the discussion of work was going on. Again, Daniel's mind went straight back to his parents. It worried him more than anything and he was going to make sure to go by there today just to make sure that they were perfectly fine. Of course there was some news he was going to give his father about the recent events and make sure that they were safe. If anything happened to either one of them, Daniel felt sure that he would break.
"Right," he said. "The more powerful position the person has, the more the Prophet will probably be on it. They want recognition for this, they want people to know that they're there and lurking around every corner, waiting for their next attack. We can't give them that." Sean was a lot better at the whole research thing while Daniel was better at just going after people. They worked perfectly together, and now he was going to have to do this without him.
"Okay new girl, come on. We do have research to do and we can't just sit here. It's going to be a long list, but we start with the people who are more likely to make front page news."
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 18, 2010 1:11:32 GMT -5
Victoria arched her eyebrow at him. "New girl?" she repeated. "Is that some cute attempt at a nickname, or did you forget my name already? It's Victoria, by the way. My friends call me Vicki. You can call me Victoria."
She gave him a sort of smirk, but then quickly grew serious again. The last thing she needed to do was get into an argument with the guy she was supposed to be shadowing on her very first day. She wanted to be good at this, and she wanted to be taken seriously. Somehow she felt that meant she needed to prove herself to Daniel most of all.
"All right, so where do we go to do this research? Is there some kind of records room, or do we have to go to the library or something?"
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 19, 2010 14:47:59 GMT -5
"Mmm, new girl has a better ring to it," Daniel said turning to give her a light smirk. "Besides, I'll think of a better name for you soon sweetheart." Maybe the whole shadowing thing was going to okay. He knew he could ruffle her feathers, and that was what he was more than likely going to do. Daniel also knew that he wasn't going to go easy on her, and she wouldn't go easy on him either. Maybe that was what he needed at the moment. He had something else to think about rather than the doom and gloom of whatever the killer was and where it was going to strike next.
"Both," he replied. "We have quite a few people in the records room but we might also pull up old archives of the Daily Prophet to see who made the news for progress with muggle things or muggles themselves. Since the records room is closest, we'll go there first and see what we can find, then go to the library."
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 20, 2010 1:52:15 GMT -5
Victoria pressed her lips together in a tight line. "Well, then, perhaps I could call you old boy, then," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone. "I mean, it's only fair, right? And don't call me sweetheart. Let's just get this straight right now. Just because I am shadowing you and you know more about the job and I'm still learning, doesn't mean I'll allow you to patronize me, speak condescendingly to me, or just generally act like a superior arrogant toerag. If you respect me, I will respect you. Is that clear?"
After this little speech, she seemed to calm down a little bit, and she even managed a light smile.
"Oh, yeah, that research sounds fascinating," she said, rolling her eyes playfully. "I can't wait to get started with that..."
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 20, 2010 9:21:39 GMT -5
"Superior arrogant toerag," Daniel repeated to himself. "Haven't heard that one before." Maybe he was going to enjoy messing with her a little too much, but then again he didn't really have anyone to mess with as of late. Sean was off trying to work on the kidnapping case, and well Daniel missed his brother. He had to find some way to help the time pass by, and Victoria seemed to come in at the opportune moment.
"Glad one of us is excited," he said with a sarcastic tone. Maybe researching all the people wasn't going to be too bad. As they reached the Records room, Daniel opened the door and motioned for Victoria to go first. "The main thing you have to remember about the Records room is to make sure that you put the records back in the exact place you got them. If you don't, then Mrs. Boulware will go crazy on you."
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 21, 2010 16:49:58 GMT -5
Victoria frowned. It seemed pretty clear that Daniel was not going to make this easy for her. She had a tendency to be a little too outspoken, which was one of her biggest flaws. It had always got her into trouble back at school, because when she thought a professor was wrong about something, she was simply unable to stop herself from saying something about it. This got her a reputation as being the girl with the big mouth. It was like she had no internal censor to stop her from saying things that might not be appropriate. Over the years, she had tried very hard to control it, but Daniel seemed to bring it out of her again. She just hoped she didn't say anything that would affect her job....
She nodded at his explanation about the records room, then gave him a suspicious look. "You're not going to abandon me in here and make me do all the research while you go off and get coffee or something, are you?"
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 22, 2010 14:37:45 GMT -5
At Victoria's question, Daniel gasped. "I can't believe you think that I would ever do that," he said faking a shocked tone. His expression turned more serious. "I wouldn't do that, actually. Felicia would have my head and I couldn't leave you here completely alone." Sure, Daniel could be sarcastic and give people a really hard time, but when it came down to work, he was going to get it done no matter what he had to do.
"So Blondie, it's probably best if we start with the file cabinet on the far right. If you see any names you recognize or anything like that in top drawer, let me know. We'll make a big list while we're here then go to the library. I'll look over in the next file cabinet. These are the only file cabinets that deal with anything muggle or muggleborns."
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Nov 25, 2010 2:06:38 GMT -5
Victoria gave him a smirk. "How am I supposed to know what you would do? We've only just met and already you have made it quite clear that you aren't interested in babysitting me. Don't deny that's what you thought," she added, narrowing her eyes slightly.
But as they made their way into the records room, she sighed softly. It wouldn't do either of them any good if they spent the time arguing with each other. And he was being perfectly nice now, so if there was any tension between them, it was her fault.
"Sorry," she said quickly. "Let's just get to work."
She turned her attention to the top file drawer and pulled out a handful of files, so that she could begin going through them. Now that she was here and faced with the actual work, she wondered just exactly what it was they were really looking for.
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Nov 27, 2010 11:56:01 GMT -5
This was exactly what Sean would have been doing more than likely. Daniel liked more of the 'let's just go ask questions' thing. He sighed as he opened up one cabinet drawer. There were so many files to go through, so many possiblities. This was going to take days. Daniel did lack a little bit of patience. He liked to figure out things right then but this case was not that easy.
He remained quiet as he flipped through the files. Soon, Daniel's mind started to drift. It wasn't really his fault that sometimes his attention span didn't last too long. He started thinking of ways he could possibly mess with Victoria. She was the type that would fight back and that made it so much better.
After an hour of attempting to flip through file after file, Daniel had to stop. He couldn't look through anymore names. Looking back to Victoria, he waved his wand to return the files he took out to their original places. "Have you found anything?"
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Post by Victoria Bennett on May 18, 2011 22:39:46 GMT -5
Victoria was giving this her best effort, but her mind inevitably started to wander a little. Periodically, she stopped to look over at Daniel. She couldn't quite deny that she rather liked arguing with him. He was cocky, and more than a little full of himself, but she couldn't really say that he was a bad guy. He had spoken to her in the office when no one else had bothered, and he was doing his best to be patient with her, when he had just been saddled with her unexpectedly. She appreciated that.
But that didn't mean she was going to let him get away with being patronizing or condescending to her, either. If he messed with her, well, she was going to fight back. It was a matter of principle.
She was sure a few hours had passed by the time he spoke to her. Looking up, she caught a glimpse of the clock and was dismayed to see that it had only been about an hour. "Yeah, here are a few possibilities," she said, reaching over and taking out a few files that she had set aside. "Ugh... Do you have to spend a lot of time doing research? I feel like we've been down here for hours."
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Post by Daniel Leviner on May 19, 2011 17:09:25 GMT -5
Daniel nearly laughed at her comment, but he contained his laughter. She liked research about as much as he did and in a way that amused him. Keeping a straight face, he looked over to her with a raised eyebrow. "Sometimes," he said with a shrug. "However, this whole research thing is not usually my thing. It's my brother's." Maybe the only reason Sean did the research was because Daniel wasn't big on it. He wasn't for sure the reason, but he did like to tease his brother about being 'nerdy' sometimes.
He knew that her attention span wasn't going to last too much longer, but she had been doing good so far. "What are the possibilities you have?"
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Jun 21, 2011 17:54:41 GMT -5
Victoria stretched and rubbed her eyes for a minute. She felt as thought she'd been in a fog, and it reminded her of the days back at Hogwarts when she'd had to study for a big exam or work on an important essay for class, and she'd spent hours in the library studying. As a Gryffindor, she simply wasn't built for long study or research sessions. She needed to move around a little, and talk a lot.
Handing over the files she had set aside, she explained, "There are a few possibilities. Did you know that the Minister's wife used to be a Death Eater? I imagine that you-know-who might be angry enough to want her killed. Also, there are two professors at Hogwarts--a married couple with a child--who used to be Death Eaters. He tried to kidnap the kid once before... Seems like they'd be a good target, if he wasn't afraid to have the killer go into Hogwarts. Also, a few werewolves who used to be Death Eaters, a professor who was targeted for 'knowing too much' and who was thought to be dead, but came back."
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Post by Daniel Leviner on Sept 6, 2011 10:17:01 GMT -5
Daniel looked down at the table as Victoria started talking. He didn't think that Voldemort would go after the Minister yet. After all, if he were Voldemort, he would want to scare people a little more before attempting to take over. "Hogwarts is a very likely target. It would be a great place to scare people, but then I don't know."
He ran a hand over his face again and then looked up at her. With a wave of his wand, the files were placed back into the cabinets neatly. "I'll have to present the idea to the German and see what he thinks about it. I'm not exactly sure were he is at the moment however."
Daniel stood up from the table, knowing that she was not going to last long in the research area. Victoria had far too much energy for that. "Would you like to go for coffee?"
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Post by Victoria Bennett on Sept 15, 2011 10:07:19 GMT -5
Victoria just nodded and listened as he gave his thoughts on each of the potential candidates she had mentioned. While there were probably plenty of other possibilities, she had to admit, the Hogwarts idea seemed to make the most sense. It seemed like the kind of thing Voldemort would do... he really was just brazen enough to send a killer into Hogwarts just to show that he could.
"That's what I was thinking, too, but then I don't have as much experience as he does in this case. Or any case, for that matter."
She hated feeling so green, like the dumb newbie that wandered in off the street and needed people to guide her on her way. Back at Hogwarts, she had always been the popular girl, the one everyone always looked to for advice or guidance or style tips. This was a whole different environment for her, and while she was excited for the new challenge, she hoped it wouldn't take too long to find her footing.
She watched as Daniel stood up, fully expecting him to leave her there to do more research. But she was pleasantly surprised when he asked if she wanted to go for coffee. "Oh, Godric, yes," she said, breaking into a relieved smile. She quickly straightened the files she had laid out in front of her into two files--one for the files she had already checked, and one for the ones she still had to go through.
"I promise we'll be back in a little while and clean up our mess," she assured a grumpy-looking Mrs. Boulware.
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