RP: a Window into the Past

[shh_cedric]

Date: 9 June, 2005
Characters: Cedric Diggory, Bill Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Su Li, Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Katie Bell, Caradoc Dearborn, Fleur Delacour, Ernie MacMillan, Horace Slughorn, Ollivander, Kenneth Towler .... [come one, come all]
Location: museum
Status: very public!
Summary: The museum is open!

Comments

[shh_bill]

Bill completed his last walk through of the exhibits and returned to the front desk, completely satisfied that everything he and Cedric had worked on had turned out perfectly.

It was utterly satisfying to see something he had been working hard on for a few months turn out so well. All of the exhibits were behaving themselves, almost as if they knew (and some of them probably did) that they would be appreciated again and not locked up in a box for another few decades. At least not until they had ample time to shine.

At the front desk Cedric was pacing around, acting very jittery and Bill didn't blame him. He was feeling a case of nerves too. He knew that their hard work was going to be well received, but there was always that niggling of doubt. "It'll be fine, Cedric," he said walking up to them while favoring his leg. "No worries, you'll see."

[shh_cedric]

Cedric shot Bill a grin. "I keep telling myself that, yeah." He laughed. "Still one part excited to about two parts nervous. The dragon upstairs is looking mischievous. But he fancies the kids and they love him, so I hope he behaves himself."

Cedric shoved his hands in his pockets and bounced on the balls of his feet. "So, now we wait."

[shh_ginny]

Ginny fell out of the floo on her bottom, scrambling to her feet in a heartbeat as she dusted the soot from her hair. "Bloody cocked up..." She turned as she swore and found herself facing an older woman in glasses. Her hand flew to her mouth as she blushed. "Sorry, ma'am. I didn't know anyone was there."

Pulling out a few muggle bills, she held them out to the woman. "I wasn't sure how much it'd be but my brother, Bill, is the... err... curator? so I wanted to come by and take a look-see, you know, be supportive and all. You must be Peggy. I'm Ginny. Obviously." She laughed softly as the older woman peeled two bills from the pile and waved her to put the rest away. Tucking the crumpled bills back in her jeans, Ginny picked up one of the pamphlets and, with a word of thanks, she began making rounds of the exhibits.

[shh_bill]

Bill turned and smiled at Ginny rearranging herself from what looked like a harrowing ride through the Floo. She hadn't noticed him yet, but that was ok.

"Boo," he muttered stepping up behind her as she stopped to look at one of the exhbits near the entrance. "Welcome to the Museum of Wizarding Art and Culture. I am the curator, Bill Weasley, how may I be of service to you today?" He grinned and gave her a small bow.

[shh_ginny]

Ginny was trying to figure out what she was looking at, peering intently at the pamphet and back to the exhibit when Bill came up behind her, making her jump a little in surprise. A big grin lit up her face as she turned, smirking at his playfully formal introduction.

"Hey you! I'm fine, love. Just wanted to stop by and take a look around, see how you were, that sort of thing." She chuckled, giving him a teasing, light poke on the arm. "You are looking pretty sharp there though, lady killer. Better watch out or you'll be bringing home strays."

[shh_bill]

"Oi! I resemble that remark," he said cutting himself of in mid preen. "I wish I could give you a personal tour myself, but I promised I'd stay near the door for at least an hour or so. But if you find something interesting you want to know more about, don't hesitate to get me yeah?"

[shh_hermione]

After getting paperwork caught up and making sure that the shop was open, Hermione Apparated to the museum. She didn't have a lot of time to spend there, but she could always go back later and explore it more thoroughly. For now, she wanted to attend the opening even briefly as a show of support for the project as well as for Cedric, who had attended her shop grand opening

[shh_cedric]

Ginny and Hermione were among the first to arrive, one through the Floo, one through the door. Cedric let Bill greet his sister while he went over to welcome Hermione.

Approaching her, he grinned and held out a hand. "Hey there. Glad you could drop by. Come in and take a look around, although you saw some of this when we went after it."

[shh_hermione]

"Good morning, Cedric," she said, shaking his hand briefly before letting go. "The place looks lovely; much different than the old warehouse you original found. Very good job on the tranfirmation to you and whomever all helped."

"I'll be back some other time to look around more thoroughly, but I wanted to stop by this morning to support the venture," she explained. "How are you? I'll not keep you if you've got business to attend to, of course. I'll just take a quick look around once I pay and then be out of your hair."

[shh_cedric]

"Thanks," he said, "And you are one of those who helped, especially at the beginning. I'd never even have ventured on this without your prodding. I'm grateful."

He stepped back to let her pay Peggy, then ushered her in. "My only business today is meeting people, so no you're not keeping me. And it's not even too busy yet." He winked at her, knowing her dislike of crowds. "Then again, I doubt a museum is going to get quite the traffic that other places might.

"And as for me, I'm fine. A bit on edge, hoping everything goes well, but fine, really. It's been a lovely, quiet few weeks, even if busy getting this ready. There's good busy and bad busy, you know? What about you?" he asked as they moseyed among the ground floor displays. It was good to talk to her again for more than few minutes.

[shh_luna]

Luna Apparated to the newly-opened museum, studying the building curiously as she went to open the door. She was endeavouring to take advantage of having Saturdays off, and have some wort of plan each weekend. It was like Wayne said, wasn't it? If you couldn't take time out to enjoy life, then all the work you did just wasn't worth doing.

She'd not been here since the public painting day in February, and a lot had changed since then. Taking a look around, it was really impressive, though she'd have found some sort of display for the antechamber. The one painting, though she admired the skill, looked a bit lonely on the white wall. Perhaps this section wasn't quite finished. She entered the museum proper and moved to study display featuring an enormous black sphinx.

[shh_su]

Su arrived at the museum soon after it opened, both to support Cedric and to have ample opportunity to see everything before it got crowded. She had been by the museum several times while it was in various stages of organization, and it would be lovely to see it completed. Su was especially looking forward to seeing what theme Cedric had chosen for the first painting display.

As she entered, Su smiled to see a familiar blond head near the sphinx. She approached her friend with a smile. "Luna, it's good to see you. How have you been?"

[shh_cedric]

Coming back towards the front after leaving Hermione to explore, Cedric spotted two people he liked quite a bit but didn't get to see nearly enough of -- Luna and Su.

Strolling over to them, grinning, he said, "Welcome ladies. I'm really glad to see you both. Su, I was delighted to hear the arts fest announcement last night, and Luna -- how are you? What have you been up to of late?"

[shh_luna]

Luna looked up and grinned when Su came over and greeted her. "Hello Su," she said. "It's lovely to see you, and I'm alright. You know, I didn't get a chance to speak with you after the town hall meeting last night, but I thought you did a great job presenting about the arts festival."

Cedric came over then, greeting them with a friendly grin. "Hello," Luna said with a smile. "I'm really well, thanks. I don't have to ask how you are, though; your face is really quite expressive. Congratulations."

[shh_lucius]

It was a pleasant surprise to encounter the museum on his walk, particularly given that it was only newly opened. He had stepped inside with a little trepidation, wondering what the Philistines might be doing with the concept--perhaps a glorified shrine to the Boy Who Lived or something equally tacky--but it was, well, tasteful. The female stationed by the entrance, Peggy, had thrust a pamphlet into his hand after relieving him of the entrance fee, and informed him that this was the work of Mr Diggory, among others; clearly Lucy Diggory's son had inherited her eye for style and detail.

He opened the pamphlet and consulted the map: British collection, first floor. It was fate, or something like it: a perfect opportunity for reconnaissance. If Stoatshead Hill could manage a decent museum--he'd always liked strolling through the Manor, which was a kind of museum, admiring the various works--well, perhaps things weren't so bleak after all.

[shh_draco]

There weren't many things in life that Draco approached with high expectations, and this certainly wasn't one of them. He certainly had his doubts that this museum would be anywhere near to impressive -- at least, not by his standards. However, it was sure to be an interesting novelty for a town that was striving for some semblance of normalcy. And, well, his life had been startlingly bereft of any culture of late. It was probably time he did something to remedy that before all of his time got sucked into the coffee business

[shh_lucius]

"Draco," Lucius nodded, hoping that his expression didn't betray his surprise and uncertainty. His relationship with Draco hadn't been on the best of terms, but disappearing for months without a word probably wasn't the best way to have gone about repairing the rift. While he was away, he'd spent many a night sitting around--usually inebriated--pondering his only son. He had, of course, intended to make overtures of reconciliation at some point now that he'd returned, but he'd expected to have more than a day to prepare. Oh well. He could hardly run away, at least without looking the fool, so he was going to have to do what most fathers apparently did with ease: have a conversation with his son.

"I'm glad to see that, despite being without my fatherly guidance for many of your formative years, you are not entirely bereft of culture," he smiled. "I trust you are well, or as well as can one be in these trying circumstances?"

[shh_draco]

"Once a Malfoy, always a Malfoy," he said dryly, only just able to restrain the edge of bitterness in his tone. "I'd not have missed it."

He moved a shoulder and studied the exhibit. Closely. "I get by," he said simply, not returning his father's smile. "And how are you faring in your circumstances, whatever they are?" Draco had no idea. For all he'd known, Lucius had joined the Muggle circus.