RP: Two Origins

[rar_roger]

Date: 17 Sept 1999/18 Sept 1999 | Just after Midnight/wee hours
Characters: Roger Davies, Daphne Greengrass, Anyone Else
Location: WWW
Status: Public
Summary: After the fire is put out, the investigation begins.
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[rar_charlie]

Closer - he'd finally got close enough to the building to see the dark smears and shattered black windows. The building looked terrible, but it was only a building... Only a building. He had to tell himself that. If George and Lee had been here when it happened... He stood amongst the bystanders and law enforcement like a rock, his hands closed into fists beside him, his eyes fixed on the building, not sure how to express the feelings that were building up inside of him. He wanted to yell - to make all of these people go home who had just come out here to stare carelessly up at the ruins of George's life. Babbling behind him. He'd spent so long away from people...

And then some gawper threw herself onto his arm and said "I'm so glad you're alright!" and he shook her off, glaring. She seemed to realise her mistake and vanished, but that didn't help to make Charlie any less frustrated.

Damn...he just didn't know what to do with himself. Bill was around here somewhere being useful, but he was just standing here...

[rar_roger]

Roger had spotted a flash of red hair as he'd been putting some of the glass from the window into a bag, and blinked the sooty sting from his eyes as he focused on Charlie Weasley. Depositing the evidence bag into his kit, he walked outside. It was about time for a break.

"Charlie," Roger said quietly when he reached him. He didn't know how much the other man knew. "They're fine. They're both fine. It's -- there isn't much left, but ...""

[rar_charlie]

Roger. Roger. He was so relieved to see a familiar face that he almost -- almost -- went to hug him in public. Almost. So almost that his whole body fell forward and then swung back all at once. He wasn't sure what to say. "I got an owl from Fleur saying much the same thing," he finally choked out, and his eyes swung over Roger's shoulders again, as though drawn to the wreckage.

"Merlin," he said, his head swimming. "What a mess. What do we know? Tell me it wasn't an accident, I want..." he frowned at himself. "Sorry...I just want it to be someone's fault...I shouldn't. I should hope it was an accident so that I don't lose my faith in humankind but I just...urgh..." he punched his hand with his fist. "Damn...sorry, Roger. It's George, you know? He's been through more than any of us."

[rar_roger]

Charlie seemed a bit unsteady on his feet, and Roger reached out to clamp a bracing hand on his shoulder. "Okay," he said, glad that Fleur had sent word around. Of course she had.

"I ..." Roger trailed off, careful not to air any of his suspicions until he was sure. "We don't know much yet. There's so much damage that it's difficult tell what started it." He said nothing as Charlie punched his own hand, not blaming him at all. Sometimes, having to remain professional was hard.

"Don't be," he said when Charlie apologised. "No matter what, this ... never should have happened. It's a lot for anyone to handle, so for George, I -- I can't imagine."

[rar_daphne]

Daphne had known when she signed on with Law Enforcement that middle of the night owls or floo calls would be a possibility, but she hadn't actually expected to be getting one anytime soon. She was still the new girl, despite fervent efforts on her part to prove she was better than that title. Still, a fire? Most of her time so far had been spent in the lab brewing potions for the Senior Researchers' use, so she was more than a little surprised to be involved in something so serious

[rar_roger]

Greengrass arrived shortly after Roger finished talking to Charlie, and he waved her over, walking toward the entrance again.

"Document everything," he told her, glad that she was ready to get down to things rather than stand and gawk. "I've started an evidence kit; and I want you to catalogue what I've collected so far. Then find me -- I want you to help me look around for more."

[rar_daphne]

She nodded when he mentioned his evidence kit, easily finding where everything was stacked nearby. She started meticulously cataloguing each item, noting it mentally as well. Anything that might trigger an association later, if she was going to be helping Davies comb through the building. The prospect of that was exhilarating, but Daphne kept her excitement under wraps. This was someone's business, someone's home above that, and she would be mindful of that, no matter how much she was expecting to enjoy this.

"Merlin, there's so much," she said, more to herself than anything. She would never have really thought of this shop in such a manner--it was full of jokes, after all--but it made sense. It was going to be full of substances to test, and that would make their jobs even harder. "Anything stand out yet?" Daphne asked, looking over her shoulder at her co-worker.

[rar_roger]

Roger only nodded as Daphne commented on how much damage there was. It was a lot to pick through, but it needed to be done.

At her question, he glanced up from the floor. "Do you see these?" he asked quietly, motioning to the shards of glass on the floor below the window. "What does that tell you?"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony awoke from restless sleep to a commotion down the street. He frowned. What bloody time was it? He shoved his glasses on his face and pulled on his dressing gown, then peeked out the window. There was smoke in the air and he could hear the noise of a crowd. What the fuck.

He wasn't sleeping well anyway; he decided he might as well go see what was going on. Solomon rustled on his perch and Anthony stroked his head and gave him an owl treat before throwing on a shirt and jeans and heading downstairs and towards the source of the noise.

The joke shop was in ruins. Anthony took off his specs and rubbed his eyes and looked again. There were people milling about--Aurors and Ministry types, he supposed, and lookers-on.

He spotted Roger Davies in the crowd. "What's happened?" he asked. "I mean--there's been a fire, but--" He stopped himself, sleepy and confused and stumbling over his question.

[rar_roger]

Greengrass was doing alright, for not having worked a scene like this before. He left her to look around briefly as he spotted Anthony Goldstein, remembering that he lived close by.

"Well, you've got it in one," he said. "We don't actually know much more than that. There was a fire, a big one. We're not yet sure what caused it." He looked closely at Anthony; he looked sleepy, but it wouldn't hurt to ask in case no Aurors had approached him. "Listen; did you hear anything, about an hour ago, maybe?"

[rar_anthony]

Anthony rubbed his eyes again as he thought. There had been noises, but he wasn't sure what had been dreams and what had been real.

He shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "I was asleep, but I thought I heard--no. Might've been a dream, and I don't want to send anyone on the wrong track. Not that I heard much. Just a crash. Glass breaking." He stopped. He really wasn't sure whether it had been reality or whether he'd dreamt the noise.

[rar_roger]

Roger frowned and nodded. The glass had blown out of both windows from the heat, but he'd found some shards on the floor inside, as well. If Anthony had heard glass shatter, that was consistent.

"Thanks, mate," he said, flipping out a pad and scrawling out a note. He looked back at the shop. "It hasn't spread to the other buildings. But what's there is pretty bad. It's no wonder it woke you up."