RP: A Hands-On Sort of Guy

[rar_rita]

Date: Saturday, October 8, 1998
Characters: Rita Skeeter, Gawain Robards
Location: Prophet, Diagon, some place of eating?
Status: Private
Summary: Rita runs into Guy and cajoles him into luncheon.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[rar_robards]

Guy finished writing his name and the woman behind the desk stamped the time for him. As he turned, he found himself facing the Prophet's prize gossip mongerer, and smiled, slowly. He'd not had a good time over the years with journalists - working as a lower Auror, one had always needed to be careful what one said. As Head of the Aurors, he'd not been surprised to discover that the job meant speaking to the Prophet about matters quite often; to clear up mistakes, provide correct information instead of allowing them to spread hear-say, and to make sure that nothing got out that the Auror Department didn't want to get out. Whether good or bad, the Auror Office had to liase with the Press. The advantages, however, went both ways. If Gawain provided a few choice quotes on one subject or another, the Prophet would print his wanted posters, or pull out a story that he didn't want out there. Gawain also got a number of owls that might contain information that the Auror office could use; most importantly, at the moment, to catch those still

[rar_rita]

Rita smiled at the compliment, then arched a brow, surprised. Of course, she'd known Robards to visit the offices on occasion in the past, but she hadn't seen him at all in the past year, and would have presumed he'd always been on tasks assigned to him by the Department Head. She wouldn't have imagined him to 'make the rounds' now that he was Department Head.

"You're a hands-on Guy, then," she smiled. "I would have imagined you had some trained monkeys, or some such, to make the rounds for you. Though perhaps monkeys aren't your style?"

[rar_robards]

"Running a bit low on trained monkeys right now," he answered, moving out of the way of the desk. "They went on strike - wanted more bananas, you see."

He ran a hand back through his hair. "No, honestly; we're a bit underhanded right now - and besides, there aren't any trained monkeys well enough versed to avoid journalist trickery." He smiled. "You'd rip my trainees into little shreds, I think. I can see the headlines now: Ministry Guarded by Addled Aurors". He lifted his hands up in front of him, as though framing the words.

"Some things need to be done personally," he said, and smiled. "Speaking of, I'm going to lunch," he said. "Might as well, as it's lunch time already."

[rar_rita]

"Ah," Rita replied, nodding with exaggerated understanding. "I see. Are the bananas on strike as well?"

She wasn't at all surprised that the Department was lacking in staff at the moment. It must, after all, have been one of the worst hit during the war. She chuckled at the comment. "Wouldn't that do them good? You have to break them in somehow, unless you want to send out a memo asking all potential Dark Lords of Disturbing Power to please not plan to take over the world again any time soon, because the Aurors are all still training." She smiled. "Or is it more a case of put them in front of a Deatheater and they'll take him apart, but put them in a room with Rita and they won't last five minutes?"

She glanced at her watch. "Actually, that's where I was heading, as well. Would you care to join me? Did we have an unfinished conversation from Narcissa's party?"

[rar_robards]

"Quite," he said, knowing that she understood. "Dear me, Miss Skeeter - I was talking about five minutes alone with regular journalists. With you, they wouldn't stand a chance. Though the memo is a bad idea; I hasten to add that sending out any information that we're a little underhanded, or staffed by numpteys, is not going to discourage any Dark Lords in the making. At least we can pretend, hmm?"

He tilted his head questioningly. "Ah yes - the matter of your book. Well perhaps a little pleasurable company is in order after all." He smiled, and then waved his hand in the direction of the door. "Is there anywhere nearby that you journalists prefer? This isn't exactly my part of town, I admit. Being above ground is something in itself."

[rar_rita]

"Oh, I shan't breathe a word," she replied. "Journalist's honour." Rita wondered if that was an oxymoron.

"And other things," Rita replied. "It seemed everyone got to have a snippet of conversation with everyone else at that dinner, but nothing longer than a few moments. That Avery fellow wasn't very talkative - do you know if that's a regular thing, or do you think sitting beside a reporter stunned him to silence?" She glanced up and down the street once they were on it. "The Phoenix Bar is a lovely little place, quieter than the Leaky, and faster service than Merlin's Garden."

They walked, and she glanced at him, remembering when she'd last seen him before the party. "How have you been since the war ended, anyway? I do trust you had that bump on your head seen to?"

[rar_robards]

"No, I think he was more interested in sticking to Lucius Malfoy like glue. So much so that he took his son's place at the table. Still; young Mr. Malfoy seemed to fit in a little better up that end of the table than Avery would have. Did you sense, perhaps, a little romance in the air; or is that a Malfoy thing?"

"The stress has certainly worn off a little. I had my first real day off, yesterday - that is; one where I didn't get summoned to the office after a few hours to do something." He grinned, following her out into the street. It was busy - but then, everywhere seemed to be busy on Saturdays. "But much better, thank you. I'm at peace now. I imagine there are many comforted by the chance that he might be gone for good. Still - having seen him come back once..." he shrugged a shoulder. "If it isn't him, it'll be someone else. Magic is just too easy to misuse."

[rar_rita]

"I noticed that. I didn't sit there because I knew the seat would be Draco's. Surely Avery must have realised that as well." She rolled a shoulder. "I suspect Draco did enjoy the conversation at the other end of the table more. He seems to blame his father in some ways for what happened during the war. Not his mother, though, if the gift he gave her was any indication. Romance? Between whom?"

Rita chuckled. "Oh, I know that feeling. Sometimes, I wish the world could just stop for 24 hours when I'm supposed to have a day off. Of course, my days are usually fairly flexible, so I can take a few hours out for myself during a normal day, if I want to." She nodded, surprised and pleased by the use of the phrase 'at peace'. She didn't know quite what that meant, unless it had something do with the death of his wife and the death of Voldemort. Either way, it was nice to hear someone describe themselves in such a way

[rar_robards]

"Wouldn't you, if you were him?" he asked. "Lucius Malfoy dragged his family solidly through the mud for almost twenty years. Rowena only knows what happened to that boy in that house. I suppose that kind of inheritance engages a different kind of loyalty within a family, however..." He paused, then went on. "Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy, perhaps? A woman's first dance, after all, is nothing to be taken lightly. If the interest was not from her quarters, then perhaps it was from his. Why? Did your expert journalist eye see something that I did not

[rar_rita]

"I probably would," Rita said, "If I were eighteen and disillusioned with the world I grew up in. Lucius probably is responsible for a lot of things, but Draco excuses himself from guilt for certain reasons, and doesn't consider that his father has been under the same pressures for twenty years. Hopefully, he'll understand and forgive eventually." She arched a brow at the mention of possible romance between Draco and Hermione. "Mm, perhaps, though I suspect he may have done it as much to drag Hermione away from Cormac as anything else. Potter wasn't impressed." She intended for that last sentence to hint at an answer to his last question

[rar_robards]

Gawain snorted, loudly. "I blamed my father for a lot of things in my life too - you see, fathers in pureblood families bear a lot of responsibility; but in the end, it's always the son that pays. If your father gets into debts, it's you that has to pay back for them; and that's just what the young Malfoy ended up doing, paying for his father's mistakes

[rar_rita]

Rita wondered what Gawain had blamed his father for, but didn't ask. Perhaps it was a pureblood thing. Or a man thing. "He did, yes," she agreed, "But blaming one's parents for all of one's own failings is a bit rich. Forgiveable, though - we all have to live with ourselves somehow

[rar_robards]

"I don't actually like martini," he said, with a laugh. "There's a funny story about that, actually; involving a sordid fantasy, and an adverse reaction to edible gold paint - but that's not a story I tend to relate in polite society." He grinned, and winked at Rita.

"Oh, I know. Goblins are tough little blighters to deal with, though. That's why there's a whole office devoted to working with them, when we have no office devoted to working with Muggles. Of course, since then, I've put an Auror into New Scotland Yard - which finally means that we can start working a lot more closely with them. Or rather, use information we might not have otherwise been able to get hold of."

He'd soon have access to that damned photograph, for a start, and that meant that they'd have an easier time locating the wolf pack. When they could do that, he'd be able to get some proper peace.

"Never. I'm rarely in London over lunchtime, and if I am, there are some places in Muggle London I visit instead. It's easier when you're alone, really."

[rar_rita]

Rita arched a brow and smirked, amused that he'd said 'polite society' and not 'polite company'. "You'll have to tell me some day when we're not surrounded by innocent bystanders, then."

She was intrigued to learn that the Aurors had stationed someone in Scotland Yard, and very nearly asked him about the missing werewolf girl, Annabelle. She wasn't sure Hermione Granger would appreciate Rita telling the head of Magical Law Enforcement that she'd spoken to Rita behind their backs, though, so she refrained (it was the same reason she'd not mentioned it as one of her 'current projects', when Gawain had asked her at Narcissa's dinner). "It must be a challenge," she ventured, "when you have to work with muggle law enforcement to solve cases, but you can't tell them anything." It was, of course, the biggest challenge she faced in trying to get the muggle pressed interested in Annabelle. She couldn't tell them why they should be interested, months or maybe even a year on

[rar_robards]

"And I shall indeed," he answered. "You might enjoy the tale

[rar_rita]

"I don't think that's anything new. There were suggestions in some of the history books I read when I was researching my book that Grindelwald and Hitler might have been allied in some way - they were both interested in superiority, social control and extermination. It wouldn't surprise me at all if concentration camps were filled with Dementors to keep any magical prisoners at bay. I suppose you're talking more about robbery and the like, though. It would be very easy for wizards to do things like that to muggles." As simple as alohamora or a quick Confundus charm.

Seating herself opposite him, she listened to him descrive his days, or his eating habits. When he hastily added 'lunch, lunch' to the end of Italian, she laughed, lifting her eyebrows and tried to look the picture of innocence. "Really, Guy, whatever did you think I might have suggested you were talking about?" Better to know you keep your conquests closer to home, added her mind, but she really didn't know why