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Post by Skatie on May 1, 2018 8:32:33 GMT -5
Improper Use of Magic Officer
There was something so wonderfully elegant about flowers hanging overhead. It was something that should have felt unclean in a patisserie, but the flowers were magically fresh, clean, and lightly floral. The floral mixed with the decadent aroma of baked goods seemed to wrap silky tendrils around Violet as she entered her favorite storefront in the Oracle Mall. This had become an almost daily routine for her, one that she enjoyed immensely and without reservation. "Hello, love," she greeted the pretty ginger behind the pastry case with a smile. She came here so often that they had formed an environmental friendship - much like those friends you made at school but who you tended to forget about as soon as you went home. Poppy was a sweet, delicate little thing - Violet wouldn't have minded forging a stronger friendship with her, but sometimes her own confidence was too overpowering. She'd work on it. Maybe. "Hello, Violet. The usual today?"Hmm," Violet cast her glance over the sweets lining the cases for a moment. "One of whatever's come from the oven most recently and a cup of your berry coffee. Two creams, three sugars." She watched as Poppy plated a miniature rustic blueberry tart before pouring her coffee into a sweet floral-printed mug. "Thank you, Poppy," she smiled, paying for her treats. She took her plate and mug to a small table against the wall and took out a copy of the today's Daily Prophet to peruse while she relaxed.
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 13:42:30 GMT -5
"AhhhCHEW!"
Edouard sneezed for the second time since he'd wandered into the patisserie. He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and blew his nose rather loudly. He was eying a croissant and his hankering for it wasn't going to be outweighed by the overhead, sneeze-inducing, flora. He wasn't overly fond of the decor but you couldn't find a better bakery in England. It certainly wasn't a french croissant, but it was damn close. Edouard had frequented the place at least once or twice a week, it just so happened that in the spring, which they were just entering, the shop switched out there stupid flowers for ones that made his nose all tingly.
"Oi, Poppy," he said while stuffing the hanky back into his pocket. "Can I get a croissant and a cup of Earl Grey, please?" He waited while the clerk bustled about, gathering his requested items. He rummaged in his other pocket, counting out the galleons and knuts to pay the lady. He handed her the proper amount and took the tray that she offered. "Thank you," he muttered as he tilted his head back for another sneeze that he thought was about to come. "I know you like to change the flowers with the season but... Ahhh. Ahhh..." he was about to finish that sentence but instead he sneezed, loudly and violently; sending the contents of his tray barreling forward, flying through the air and landing... yes, in someones lap.
"Oh God, I apologize," Edouard said as he looked at a pretty woman now covered in Earl Grey, her copy of the Daily Prophet similarly soggy. He pulled out his wand to rectify the situation. Just my luck, he though, now I have to talk to her...
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 13:58:59 GMT -5
Violet had glanced up when Edouard had first sneezed his way into the shop, but her gaze had drifted back to her paper. She recognized him, of course, from her own team of officers, but he was such a quiet lad that she'd little chance to ever really know him. That was just fine by her, though. It was a fine change from the way men usually behaved - tripping over themselves to talk to her and get close. That Edouard always kept a respectable distance actually made her consider him a better friend to her than those she actually spoke to out of obligation.
Each time he sneezed, however, Violet startled. She glanced up at the flowers - a touch that she loved - and frowned back at her paper. Poor bloke. Being allergic to beauty was something quite tragic.
"Oh!" she leaped back, chair skidding on the tiled floor as she scrambled to right her own cup, which she'd tipped when Edouard had dropped his tray onto her. "Blast!" she cursed softly, frowning hard as both she and Edouard scrambled to put things back in order. Once her pencil skirt and ruffled blouse were dry and she'd tossed out the soggy newspaper, she finally looked up at the man who had caused such chaos.
"There's one way to get a lady's attention," she smiled a little, seeing how desperately sorry he was to have disturbed her. "Poppy," she cocked her head toward the girl but kept her eyes on Edouard, "can you please replace our purchases? I'll take care of it."
"Nonsense," Poppy laughed, "it's on the house." The girl was already in the process of delivering a tray to the table for them both. "Sorry about the decor, Edouard," she frowned apologetically. Poppy flitted back off to help another customer, leaving Violet to tend to Edouard's pride. And apparent allergies.
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 14:38:46 GMT -5
Of course, Edouard knew Violet from work. She was on his own team afterall. But he wasn’t ever one for small talk, much less small talk with a beautiful young lady. He liked to keep things professional, for one, and secondly he wasn’t very good at talking to women anyway. In true L’attrayant fashion, he simply steered clear of things he wasn’t good at. Why make a complete ass of oneself when he could keep his nose down and his lips closed and be seen as a hard worker who kept to business in the workplace?
“I am terribly sorry Miss Brixton,” he sputtered out once they’d managed to right themselves. He had splattered his recently shined shoes, he noticed. With a quick wave of his wand, the errant tea leaves were washed away. “I’ve made quite the entrance.”
“Ahhchew” He sneezed again. Shaking his head in dismay, Edouard waved his wand again and muttered a simple sneezing charm under his breath. “I should’ve done that when I walked in the door. Poor planning on my part.”
“Oh no, surely I should pay for...” he was about to finish before Poppy said their replacements were on the house. “I hope I haven’t completely ruined your morning, ma’am.”
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 14:44:34 GMT -5
Violet settled back into her chair as Poppy retreated, pulling her warm mug close again. "Join me," she gestured to the chair across from her. "You haven't ruined anything at all. I'm surprised Poppy hasn't charmed the decor to alleviate this issue. I'm sure you're not the only one who suffers from allergies. She's young, though. I'll see if she needs help finding the right charm."
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 14:53:29 GMT -5
Edouard was about to walk away, relieved that the entire ordeal was over. When she offered him the seat opposite her, he suddenly felt another fresh round of anxiety bubble up inside of him. He quickly went through the rules of social interactions (from a book his brother had given him for Christmas). It would be rude to refuse a ladies company, especially after you’ve just drenched her in a cuppa.
He sat down and said, “Thank you, Miss Brixton,” while righting the newly delivered tray in front of him. There was a fresh cut lemon next to his teacup. He smiled to himself. Poppy always got it right, he thought as he squeezed the lemon juice into his tea and gave it a quick swirl around. He broke a piece off of his croissant, then remembered his social interaction rules and offered it to her. “It isn’t exactly French but it’s pretty close. Almost as good as the way my mother bakes it.”
He wasn’t very good at small-talk and having such limited interactions, he wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to say. He felt very anxious and worried about saying the wrong thing to a colleague. There was every chance he could say the wrong thing or break an obscure rule that he hasn’t yet got to in his book. Damn, he should have read it the whole way through.
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 15:01:44 GMT -5
"Oh, no. Thank you," Violet declined. She found it wholly unnecessary for him to offer her his croissant. She had fine manners, but it seemed a bit ridiculous to order something for yourself only to feel obligated to share it with someone you hadn't intended to join.
"Please, don't continue calling me Miss Brixton," she said with an amused smile. "Violet will be fine. We're colleagues, after all. I know we've rarely had occasion to speak but let's not pretend to be strangers, yes?"
Violet took a sip of her coffee, watching Edouard over the rim of her mug. She studied the lines of his face, the restless shifting of his eyes. He seemed nervous, which she found to be endearing more than anything else.
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 15:15:57 GMT -5
Edouard smiled at her offer of a more casual tone. “Sure, I’m sorry,” he replied. “I don’t often socialize at work.” He popped the bit of croissant in his mouth. “With colleagues, I mean,” he added.
In reality, he didn’t often socialize at all. In fact, he often avoided the prospect all together. It seemed like more work, work that he wasn’t good at and had little hope of doing well. Social activities were his brother’s niche. Noel was nothing if not a charmer where Edouard was completely bookish and socially stupid. Their sister, Babette, had gotten the best of both worlds.
One thing he excelled at was Charms though. He waved his wand above his head. Green sparks shot out and covered all of the flora overhead. “No need to worry Poppy with finding the charm,” he said. “Poppy, I’ve made your flowers anti-allergen, hope you don’t mind,” he shouted toward the counter.
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 15:25:17 GMT -5
Violet had noticed Edouard's social habits. He worked well and spoke when it pertained to casework and matters of professional interest, but otherwise, you might always find him bent over his desk. Violet, too, tended to keep pleasantries at a minimum in the workplace. She was serious about her work and had to toil twice as hard to be taken seriously half the time. She also had absolutely no tolerance for co-workers flirting with her and didn't appreciate the office gossip - mostly because the women tended to run their mouths about her, speculating on her worth and what she had to offer in her relationship aside from her looks.
"Oh, I completely understand," she said. "I've appreciated your professionality since you joined the department, believe me. But I think sometimes it's quite alright to be less formal." Violet chose to be informal with Edouard because she had determined he was harmless. Were he another male from her department, she probably wouldn't have extended an invitation to her table.
Poppy looked up when Edouard called to her. "You might have done that ages ago, Edouard," she said, her cheeks flushing. "Thank you," she added quietly. She was a timid little thing and quite embarrassed not to have thought to charm the flowers at the outset of choosing them as decor. Her face aflame, she found some excuse to slip into the back and out of sight.
"Tsk," Violet smiled her soft chastisement, "you've embarrassed her."
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 17:08:35 GMT -5
Just my luck, he thought. He’d found the one person more timid than himself in poor Poppy. “Oh dear,” he said. “I will have to apologize to her later. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Edouard wished he could sink into the earth and disappear. Well, technically he could with a wave of his wand but his coworker probably wouldn’t appreciate such an abrupt exit. Not that he’d done much better by way of an entrance, mind you.
“I am grateful to have someone else in the department that takes the job seriously,” he said, latching on to a conversation about work. He was eager to talk about something he knew as opposed to the weather or whatever else people spoke about outside of the office. “We had quite the case in Ipswich with that muggle who’d bought a charmed purse off a wizard on the street. Poor dear couldn’t find her keys in a bottomless bag.”
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 17:13:40 GMT -5
Violet smiled at his mention of the case. The sure way to make her light up was to discuss their cases. "That sounds...moderately amusing, really," she laughed softly. "Better a confounded muggle than an endangered one. I had a case today where a muggle was bitten by a charmed stapler. We had to pair with an obliviator."
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Post by Fawkes on May 2, 2018 17:21:36 GMT -5
“Really? An enchanted stapler?” Edouard perked right up at the mention of such a find.
“You’ll never believe what we found in the bottomless purse when we got it back to the office and emptied it out,” he started to laugh before he’d even gotten to the punchline. “An entire litter of Kneazles, along with their mother.” He laughed again, “That muggle couldn’t figure out what was swatting her hand away.”
“How did you deal with the muggle injury over the stapler?” he asked.
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Post by Skatie on May 2, 2018 19:24:54 GMT -5
"No! Violet gasped, amusement dancing in her eyes at his story. "Aw, I wish I'd caught that case. I love Kneazles! What did you end up doing with them?"
"The Obliviator replaced their memory with another," she waved away the concern. Obliviators were essential and almost always got dispatched with pretty much every other team in the Ministry. They were highly imaginative about replacing muggle memories with less magical ones.
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Post by Fawkes on May 3, 2018 13:35:20 GMT -5
Edouard was finding himself more and more at ease with Violet. Talking shop was far easier than trying to think of interesting things to say. Maybe he was wrong about socializing with colleagues. It was perfectly fine as long as they were socializing about the right topics.
“Oh, well I gave one to my sister, Babette, who took him with her to Hogwarts. I kept one and we found good homes for the remainder,” he informed her. The L’attrayant’s were all animal lovers. If Madame L’attrayant would have allowed it, her husband and children would’ve turned their stately home into a petting zoo. She had limited them all to one owl and one pet each. Noel had secretly taken in multiple strays over the years that Edouard helped him hide. “I call him Taylor because his markings look as if he’s wearing a tailored suit. Babette called hers Baron, she thought he had a stately look about him,” Edouard laughed. “Dead smart though, the lot of them.”
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Post by Skatie on May 3, 2018 14:09:44 GMT -5
"That's wonderful," Violet smiled. She had always been fond of animals, herself, and that was why she had asked. She would have taken issue with any mistreatment of the Kneazles. She wasn't above going straight to their head of department with a formal complaint. "I wish you'd given one to me. Though I'm not sure how Sebastian would take to me bringing home strays," she referred to her boyfriend, an Auror. "I'm sure he'd...forgive me," she smirked a little. Sebastian likely wouldn't care if she brought home a pet. In fact, now she probably would.
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