Mandy had been so excited ever since she had talked to Draco at the reunion. She loved the fact that she would be able to do some research on her new items in a vast collections of books. She wasn't even going to have to buy the books which made it all the better!
Once she had finally had time to make notes on some starting points that she wanted to research she composed and owl and sent it to Draco.
Draco,
I was just wondering if you have had enough time to compile some books for me to look over. You know me, I'm always ready to dive in! Owl back when you are ready for me to come over.
Mandy was bouncing at her desk all day until it was time for her to head over to Malfoys. She had already told her supervisor that she was going to take the afternoon off to go do some research. She didn't tell them exactly where she was going but she figured that wasn't going to matter. They expected this from Mandy by now and didn't really blink an eye at it.
Once she was ready she grabbed her shoulder bag and her notes and headed out. She walked down the road a big past Gringotts before apparating to outside of Malfoy Manor. Once she landed she soon saw flashes of light and spells being cast at her. Thankfully her wand was in her hand and she deflected them but not before getting SUPER angry at Malfoy.
"BLOODY HELL MAFLOY! WHO THE HELL GREETS THEIR GUESTS LIKE THIS?! I SHOULD COME IN THERE AND CURSE YOUR BLOODY ARSE OFF!" she yelled towards the gate. Really he should have prepared better than that.
He heard it in the distance, behind him. It sounded much like a bug zapper; the erratic cracks of magic flying around the finely manicured bushes of Malfoy Manor's front gate.
He was still grinding away at the same desk, his jaw set in a tense clench as his eyes darted over statements, trying to understand a discrepancy in one of his bank accounts. First the owl had come with her message, through the open window at his back.
Now through it, he could hear Mandy's arrival: some security wards went off at the entrance, crossing those manicured bushes around her. She swore loudly.
Draco summoned his house elf.
"Keeley, how rude. Welcome our guest."
He snuck a glance at the small pile of books he'd discarded upon the leather chair opposite him.
"And you forgot to remove the wards... Bad Elf."
He said it disinterestedly; him knowing that she would punish herself the same no matter what amount of passion in his admonishment, opting then to exert none at all.
When Keeley showed up at the gate she smiled at the elf, "I'm here to see Mister Malfoy." She followed the house elf in. She wasn't either pro or anti house elf. She don't see a reason for them but knew that many pure blood families had them and made no comment about the subject.
When she made it to where Draco wa he thanked the elf before wadding her paper up and strolling up and whacking Malfoy over the head. "Thanks for the scare Draco. I feel so welcome!"
She then laughed and kissed the top of his head, "but really thank you for lettin me come over."
As she spoke, he bared his teeth and growled like a werewolf, biting his lip and made a short lunge at her as if to grab at the paper, a quick revenge for the whack. This was simply a taunt. He knew that she was just flirting with him as she often did, and found it hard to be angry.
"You can thank Keeley, thank You very much," he began, sending a look over to Keeley who was banging her head into the floor saying "bad elf! Bad elf!"
"Enough, go land somewhere." He addressed the elf with a wave of his hand, and she looked up from the hard wood floor with her big beautiful watery eyes. They met his hard glare, and she snapped her fingers before *POP*, she was gone.
"Besides, however will I amuse myself if the reporters can come to my door unscathed? Certainly not by talking to them," she reasoned with her, not thinking to fill her in on that topic.
Mandy felt bad as she watched Keeley punish herself. She didn't like that part of the house elf part but it wasn't her place to criticize Draco and she knew that. the elf was his and he could do whatever he wanted. She did feel better once the elf had left the room.
Reporters?! Of course she should have thought of that! /His name was popular and especially with some o the recent events she was sure reporters had stopped by. She was certainly thankful for her quick reflexes because who knew what spells Draco had it fire at her.
She then noticed the books sitting in the chair and smiled at him. She ran her fingers over the cover and bit her lip. She was such a nerd but books, they had so much power, "What are they?"
To be clear, Draco felt complete indifference for the Elf and sooner forgot her than the reporters.
Mandy was right that books held power, and at first Draco doubted she had any true idea of what sort were carved into this selection of reads. Or did she? He was very intrigued by how she.. Merlin, how she revered the things in front of her, stroking it with the tips of her fingers and letting it fill her eyes with clouds... when honestly, she knew exactly what it was
( ... )
When Mandy touched the books something lit up inside of her. It was like the books were calling to her, telling her that so many things could be revealed to her. Little did she know what they all contained and what she would exactly learn. However she was excited to travel down this road with Draco. She trusted him, something others never could understand, but she always had. She felt some sort of connection to him and that feeling grew even now in his presence
( ... )
By the time she had looked again, he had already slipped his own Dragon's hide gloves on, knowing they would be the right material to wear for it and having them prepared in his trouser pockets
( ... )
Mandy nodded at him when he asked for permission. She knew that he had more knowledge than her right now and so she was going to let him do whatever he thought was right.
When he took the knife out of the wrappings she felt her breathing stop. This happened to her all the time. There was so much history in these items and it just wowed her that these things had survived for so long.
She watched him carefully as he held the knife over the books confused at what he was doing. When one snapped open and screamed she jumped a bit, well that was certainly a surprise! She had never seen that happen before.
She took the knife and gave him a little smirk, of course he would feel proud, but still she was appreciative. She started reading and became confused. Was this really what they were doing? And why did Draco have books on this.
"It says that the Aztec priests and prophets were wizards and used the knifes for human sacrifices," She kept reading and paused when she saw the next part. "No, this can't be!"
Neither of them noticed the ceremonial blade as it turned silver in Mandy's hands.
"Oh wot can't be?" He stood up, turning his neck as much as he possibly could to skim quickly with her:
...to lift life's energy from the crop fields... livestock... other Sorcerer's... use them as fuel for sorcery... absorbed and converted into Sorcerer's energy... thereby, salting the Earth everymore... damning it to barrenness..
He noticed the sketches and photos depicted in the margins, one or two of them subtitled along the lines of Banished to the Underworld, the Lord of Mictlan, Mictlantecuhtli; and holding that same dagger in some of them.
He flicked his eyes back to the words, which got worse and worse as he skimmed,
...Sorcerer must consume 3 mouthfuls of its victim in order to obtain its magic... the soul being given to Mictlantecuhtli in the Underworld... sacrifice as a heroic death... the carcass becomes unable to reintegrate into the soil... must be buried deeply to evade the foul odor... lasts
( ... )
The more Mandy read the more intrigued she became. This sounded so foreign unlike anything she had ever heard happening before. Certainly nothing like this was ever taught to her at school. And how did Draco and his family come across these books? Clearly they knew some people
( ... )
He saw the now silver dagger. Black, the dagger had lay dormant and appeared otherwise harmless. Now, it was as though it had awoken from a sleep, glowing and intriguing. He felt himself drawn to it, the magic in his body responding to that low thrum even as he still technically heard nothing with his physical ear.
"And I see no reason to believe this isn't the Lord of Mictlan's dagger, he is pictured here with it," he pointed to the page with his gloved finger,
"Besides... This book chose this page."
An eerie breeze came in through that open window; rustling the leaves of a pruned and potted Silver Lime tree which sat just behind him.
Wow. She certainly wasn't expecting Malfoy to say that. She figured he would say that it was impossible and that was something only done a long time ago.
Mandy studied the pictures and the symbols on the dagger to see if all the symbols matched up. She couldn't believe it. They were all the same. If this was really the dagger in these pictures that belonged to a 'god' of the Aztec, it could be a great find for Gringotts.
"If this is really his knife that he used to somehow absorb energy from other things, shouldn't it have been more protected," she looked at him. "I'm pretty sure there weren't many protection spells surrounding it. It was just deep in the gound."
When the wind blew through his window she felt a shiver and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling chilled. She found herself staring at the knife and her hand reached out and ran a gloved finger back and forth over the knife, not even realizing she was doing it.
"Have you ever heard of anyone doing this before?"
"Heard of worse things than that, my darling," he drawled with his trademark sarcasm, watching her finger at the knife's edge.
"Honestly, would it have needed protecting if it were left deep in the ground? These are archaic people. That treatment probably seemed fine enough," He realized he had reached his hand out and enclosed his left fist around the hilt, taking it in his grasp.
Another chill breeze through the window, as he turned the shining item around in his gaze again.
He could hardly believe this strange feeling that had bubbled up.
"Shall we try it on something?" He glanced about as if looking for something to slash, still standing and with both fists balled up, one on the blade and one at his side.
Once she had finally had time to make notes on some starting points that she wanted to research she composed and owl and sent it to Draco.
Draco,
I was just wondering if you have had enough time to compile some books for me to look over. You know me, I'm always ready to dive in! Owl back when you are ready for me to come over.
Mandy
Reply
Thankfully, I have already pulled some choice tomes from my private collection. You're welcome to come by this afternoon? We can have a late lunch.
DM
Reply
Sounds perfect see you then!
Mandy
Mandy was bouncing at her desk all day until it was time for her to head over to Malfoys. She had already told her supervisor that she was going to take the afternoon off to go do some research. She didn't tell them exactly where she was going but she figured that wasn't going to matter. They expected this from Mandy by now and didn't really blink an eye at it.
Once she was ready she grabbed her shoulder bag and her notes and headed out. She walked down the road a big past Gringotts before apparating to outside of Malfoy Manor. Once she landed she soon saw flashes of light and spells being cast at her. Thankfully her wand was in her hand and she deflected them but not before getting SUPER angry at Malfoy.
"BLOODY HELL MAFLOY! WHO THE HELL GREETS THEIR GUESTS LIKE THIS?! I SHOULD COME IN THERE AND CURSE YOUR BLOODY ARSE OFF!" she yelled towards the gate. Really he should have prepared better than that.
Reply
It sounded much like a bug zapper; the erratic cracks of magic flying around the finely manicured bushes of Malfoy Manor's front gate.
He was still grinding away at the same desk, his jaw set in a tense clench as his eyes darted over statements, trying to understand a discrepancy in one of his bank accounts.
First the owl had come with her message, through the open window at his back.
Now through it, he could hear Mandy's arrival: some security wards went off at the entrance, crossing those manicured bushes around her. She swore loudly.
Draco summoned his house elf.
"Keeley, how rude. Welcome our guest."
He snuck a glance at the small pile of books he'd discarded upon the leather chair opposite him.
"And you forgot to remove the wards... Bad Elf."
He said it disinterestedly; him knowing that she would punish herself the same no matter what amount of passion in his admonishment, opting then to exert none at all.
Reply
When she made it to where Draco wa he thanked the elf before wadding her paper up and strolling up and whacking Malfoy over the head. "Thanks for the scare Draco. I feel so welcome!"
She then laughed and kissed the top of his head, "but really thank you for lettin me come over."
Reply
"You can thank Keeley, thank You very much," he began, sending a look over to Keeley who was banging her head into the floor saying "bad elf! Bad elf!"
"Enough, go land somewhere." He addressed the elf with a wave of his hand, and she looked up from the hard wood floor with her big beautiful watery eyes. They met his hard glare, and she snapped her fingers before *POP*, she was gone.
"Besides, however will I amuse myself if the reporters can come to my door unscathed? Certainly not by talking to them," she reasoned with her, not thinking to fill her in on that topic.
"But you made it!"
Reply
Reporters?! Of course she should have thought of that! /His name was popular and especially with some o the recent events she was sure reporters had stopped by. She was certainly thankful for her quick reflexes because who knew what spells Draco had it fire at her.
She then noticed the books sitting in the chair and smiled at him. She ran her fingers over the cover and bit her lip. She was such a nerd but books, they had so much power, "What are they?"
Reply
Mandy was right that books held power, and at first Draco doubted she had any true idea of what sort were carved into this selection of reads.
Or did she?
He was very intrigued by how she.. Merlin, how she revered the things in front of her, stroking it with the tips of her fingers and letting it fill her eyes with clouds... when honestly, she knew exactly what it was ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
When he took the knife out of the wrappings she felt her breathing stop. This happened to her all the time. There was so much history in these items and it just wowed her that these things had survived for so long.
She watched him carefully as he held the knife over the books confused at what he was doing. When one snapped open and screamed she jumped a bit, well that was certainly a surprise! She had never seen that happen before.
She took the knife and gave him a little smirk, of course he would feel proud, but still she was appreciative. She started reading and became confused. Was this really what they were doing? And why did Draco have books on this.
"It says that the Aztec priests and prophets were wizards and used the knifes for human sacrifices," She kept reading and paused when she saw the next part. "No, this can't be!"
Reply
Neither of them noticed the ceremonial blade as it turned silver in Mandy's hands.
"Oh wot can't be?" He stood up, turning his neck as much as he possibly could to skim quickly with her:
...to lift life's energy from the crop fields... livestock... other Sorcerer's... use them as fuel for sorcery... absorbed and converted into Sorcerer's energy... thereby, salting the Earth everymore... damning it to barrenness..
He noticed the sketches and photos depicted in the margins, one or two of them subtitled along the lines of Banished to the Underworld, the Lord of Mictlan, Mictlantecuhtli; and holding that same dagger in some of them.
He flicked his eyes back to the words, which got worse and worse as he skimmed,
...Sorcerer must consume 3 mouthfuls of its victim in order to obtain its magic... the soul being given to Mictlantecuhtli in the Underworld... sacrifice as a heroic death... the carcass becomes unable to reintegrate into the soil... must be buried deeply to evade the foul odor... lasts ( ... )
Reply
Reply
"This could certainly be done."
He saw the now silver dagger. Black, the dagger had lay dormant and appeared otherwise harmless. Now, it was as though it had awoken from a sleep, glowing and intriguing. He felt himself drawn to it, the magic in his body responding to that low thrum even as he still technically heard nothing with his physical ear.
"And I see no reason to believe this isn't the Lord of Mictlan's dagger, he is pictured here with it," he pointed to the page with his gloved finger,
"Besides... This book chose this page."
An eerie breeze came in through that open window; rustling the leaves of a pruned and potted Silver Lime tree which sat just behind him.
Reply
Mandy studied the pictures and the symbols on the dagger to see if all the symbols matched up. She couldn't believe it. They were all the same. If this was really the dagger in these pictures that belonged to a 'god' of the Aztec, it could be a great find for Gringotts.
"If this is really his knife that he used to somehow absorb energy from other things, shouldn't it have been more protected," she looked at him. "I'm pretty sure there weren't many protection spells surrounding it. It was just deep in the gound."
When the wind blew through his window she felt a shiver and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling chilled. She found herself staring at the knife and her hand reached out and ran a gloved finger back and forth over the knife, not even realizing she was doing it.
"Have you ever heard of anyone doing this before?"
Reply
"Honestly, would it have needed protecting if it were left deep in the ground? These are archaic people. That treatment probably seemed fine enough," He realized he had reached his hand out and enclosed his left fist around the hilt, taking it in his grasp.
Another chill breeze through the window, as he turned the shining item around in his gaze again.
He could hardly believe this strange feeling that had bubbled up.
"Shall we try it on something?" He glanced about as if looking for something to slash, still standing and with both fists balled up, one on the blade and one at his side.
Reply
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