Just a Side Stop

[Deleted]

A majority of the people in Diagon Alley were scurrying about nervously, trying to get their business done as quickly as possible so they could get out and return home safely to their loved ones. The majority, naturally, not including Ted Tonks, who was casually strolling down the main lane as if absolutely nothing had changed from the old days when Diagon Alley was bright and full of people, everyone shopping for their wares with smiles and grins on their faces. Granted, even he had to admit that the alley had changed, but all because everyone else seemed to be acting scared didn’t mean that he had to be.

After all, someone had to be a bright example. He received some odd looks from other harried people, some older women and even some nervous-looking men. Ted made an effort to greet and smile at every person that went past him. But everyone was just so focused on getting what they needed to done and get out of there that his attempts at cheering the place up were going virtually unnoticed.

Ted sighed. The alleyway was indeed pretty grim. Where it had once been sunny and bright and warm despite the cool temperatures, the sunlight now seemed bleak and dull - just the tiniest wisp of cloud seemed to cancel out what little light it was producing. Half the shops here were closed down or boarded up - their owners missing or just too intimidated by the Death Eaters to continue on with their businesses. The sheer cowardice of it made Ted huff in dissatisfaction. He wasn’t a Gryffindor by any means, he was a Hufflepuff through and through, but that still didn’t mean that he didn’t see the value of holding your ground in the face of adversity. Sure, the Death Eaters posed something a little more dangerous than sheer tension, but still. Someone needed to show them the what’s what, even though he knew that someone wasn’t him. The best thing he could do was keep his chin high and protect his family.

The family which, ironically, he was here shopping for today. Or at least a portion of it. Ted ventured on into Flourish and Blott’s, his eyes immediately roaming the shelves for some titles he could take home with him. Today was just one of those days where he felt like going out and getting a little something for ‘Dromeda. He’d had an all-nighter shift again at St. Mungo’s, and as exhausted as he was, he knew that these recent long shifts were taking a toll on his wife just as much as they were taking a toll on him. She didn’t leave the house all that much these days, with everything going on, and Ted didn’t blame her. She was constantly worrying about him and their daughter, little Dora, and Ted figured she could use a little something, like a new book, to help her take her mind off everything that was going on.

He was browsing the shelves when he heard someone else enter the shop, and wasn’t particularly paying attention to where he was going. Ted was pulling down an interesting book that looked like it was an old-fashioned medieval tale that Andromeda might like when he turned and nearly bumped into someone, perhaps the person who’d just come in.

[Deleted]

Tagging @ted!

Sean stood out in the wizarding hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. For one thing, he must've been one of about five people wearing pants. Well, that wasn't fair; a lot of wizards and witches wore pants under robes. Sean was just coming off work, however, and so he was one of a handful of people wearing Muggle clothing. No matter how convenient it was to be able to vanish when you were tailing a person, it didn't change the fact that you did best at tailing when you gave no sign of being any different. Thus, the Auror Sean Devlin ended up walking down the alley in a black Muggle suit.

Aside from a few cross looks from a few stuck-up anti-pants wizards, he made his way through the dismal alley unmolested. He needed another good book to read, so he journeyed here after trading off his tail with another Auror and made his way into Flourish and Blotts. He was just thinking of the name of that series with the private detective assisting the Auror department, something scarcely likely to happen in real life but still possible, when he ran straight into another patron.

The man was holding some medieval fantasy book, probably one of the swords-and-sorcery tales that the Wizarding world did much better than the Muggles on account of having actual sorcery. Sean stopped himself from overreacting; he was off the clock, the person was just buying a book. There was something familiar about his features, though Sean was certain he hadn't seen the man before. The Auror shrugged it off and gave the man a nervous grin. "So sorry about that. I should've been looking where I was going." Sean's embarrassment was clear; all that talk about Aurors remaining vigilant and he'd plowed straight into someone else while trying to remember his favourite fantasy series.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[Deleted]

you know I like to keep my issues drawn

For a rather tall and even a relatively burly bloke, Ted Tonks was normally a pretty graceful person. It was his wife, ironically, the elegant and beautiful pureblooded Andromeda Tonks (he particularly enjoyed teasing her about this particular quirk of hers) that was the clumsier one, and so when someone bumped straight on into him, Ted was immediately embarrassed as he scrambled to get his bearings and look at the person who’d accidently collided with him. ”Not to worry, mate, a little bump never hurt anybody, and you don’t seem the Death Eater type to me,” he responded cheerfully, smiling assuredly at the other man in what he meant as a friendly way.

He also noted with no amount of surprise, but also slight approval, of the man’s attire. Completely Muggle clothing, actually much like Ted himself was wearing. He himself was just off work - the all-nighter shift having taken its toll on the middle-aged wizard. There were shadows under his eyes, though that wasn’t entirely from being up all night. There were things bothering him, things that had been plaguing the muggleborn for quite some time now, like the situation with his daughter, the Order, and the lull in this war that he was positive was coming to an end soon. Whatever end that was, he wasn’t sure, but when it came, he knew that his job, as a healer at least, was going to get twenty times harder and thirty times more hectic.

But those thoughts had no place in his mind at the moment, as he shook them free and instead held his hand out to the man he’d bumped into. ”Ted Tonks, pleasure to meet you,” he said. Ted was honestly pleased to meet just about anyone he came across, he was a friendly sort of fellow that way. The man before him was completely unfamiliar, but nevertheless that didn’t always mean something.

And while Ted Tonks wasn’t usually the intuitive sort of fellow when it came to almost complete strangers, it was a little hard to not pick up on the nervousness behind the other man’s smile. ”You alright there, mate? Not to worry, I don’t have any tricks up my sleeve. Just a few Galleons in my pocket to buy my wife this book, you see.” He held up the said novel, trying to continue to be reassuring. In reality, while he wasn’t entirely sure that Andromeda would enjoy the particular volume he’d bought… there was always the possibility that Ted himself might read it instead.

because it's always darkest before the dawn

Template by Varon

[Deleted]

Tagging @ted!

Sean didn't lose his balance when he ran into the other guy, and said wizard didn't look like he was about to fall, so no harm done. Sean relaxed his stance quickly as the man forgave him for the slip in concentration. Auror or not, Sean was getting too jumpy. The last thing he wanted was to become the next Mad-eye. The man had legends told of his paranoia, and woe unto any muggle mail carrier within fifty meters of his residence. The man didn't seem to get the concept of mail, or maybe in his paranoia he just didn't care. At least, that's what the rumors said. Knowing what he had to deal with every day, Sean believed them.

He was brought forth from his reverie by Ted Tonks introducing himself and holding out a hand. Sean smiled without any of the nerves from earlier and took the man's hand, giving it a firm shake. "Sean Devlin. Likewise." The man went on to say that he had nothing in his pockets, which struck Sean as odd until he remembered how jittery he'd come off. He held up his hands with a little chuckle and said, "Oh, no, it's not so much you making me nervous as leftover nerves from work. Hard day outside today, and then my replacement just vanishes like the cheshire cat..." It occurred to Sean that this man probably wouldn't know the muggle story of Alice in Wonderland, but he didn't want to explain Lewis Carroll of all people to a wizard. Carroll was the craziest author Sean had ever read, topping Poe by a mile. "Just, yeah, nothing I didn't sign up for or anything, but still, some days it seems like they understated how stressful Investigations could be. Say, this is a long shot, but are you related to Auror Tonks? She steadfastly refuses to tell any of us her first name and the curiosity is killing me." Well, the last part was a little lie. While it was common knowledge that Nymphadora Tonks hated her given name, paperwork was paperwork all day long and everyone saw some of everyone else's eventually. The real curiosity was whether this person was related to her, the name being a check on his answer. He didn't mistrust the guy or anything, but habits are hard to break and, in all honesty, this is one Sean doesn't even want to lose.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[Deleted]

you know I like to keep my issues drawn

Meeting new folks had always been one of the simpler joys in life for Ted Tonks, so Sean’s introduction brought a smile to his face as the two men shook hands. Ted was also a friendly fellow in and of himself - until you proved a danger to someone he cared for, you were perfectly acceptable company, or at least a perfectly decent person, even if you looked down on him. After all, Ted knew that he wasn’t the most powerful wizard to ever live, nor was he the smartest or the bravest, and despite the fact that he was perfectly happy with the way he was, he understood that not everyone could be. It was probably one of the many reasons why he wasn’t as worried about the war between purebloods and muggleborns as much as he was upset about the injustice being done to people and the danger his family was in.

Listening to the man’s concerns, or rather, what had been his concerns, made Ted nod in understanding. Not necessarily empathy, as he was sure that the pair of them had extremely different careers, but he could certainly understand being jumpy after a long day’s work at the hospital. Some of the oddest things popped up during his work day, sometimes it was hard to not be jumpy when he came home. ”Replacement? Blimey, I’d be angry as a bull if someone showed up late for a replacement shift. What kind of work do you do?” Ted asked, nodding. Naturally he completely understood the Chesire cat reference, having practically grown up with the Muggle story himself.

The very mention of Ted’s daughter immediately brought a brightness to his features that did not really adorn his face until he was home amongst his family. ”Not such a long shot, mate, when she’s my daughter, actually,” he said, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the man’s question. ”Dora’s always been pretty embarrassed ‘bout the name her mother gave her, wouldn’t surprise me. If it spreads that her first name is Nymphadora, you didn’t hear it from me. But Investigations, you said. Got to be a tough line of work with the way things are looking, I’d bet.”

because it's always darkest before the dawn

Template by Varon

[Deleted]

Tagging @ted!

"I'd be angry as a bull if someone showed up late for a replacement shift."

Sean shook his head as Ted made that comment. "I'm an Auror in Investigations, so following people and not being seen is part my job. The replacement was right on time. He's just a showoff. It always irritates me when they disappear like that and they know it." He chuckled. "I track dark wizards and my coworkers make me more nervous than the criminals. I think that says something about my job..."

Like maybe the fact that hidden factions were pulling this way and that on the Ministry, one trying to choke the Aurors away from any real Death Eaters and the other trying to force them in the right direction. Still, he couldn't talk about his so-called "baseless suspicion" with a stranger. Sean feigned a grin as Ted told him Tonks' first name. His response held a little of the joking demeanor his job so rarely let him use. "Nymphadora? I wonder how I found that out. I can't seem to remember." Just the feeling of innocent mischief was relaxing, really.

"Tough line of work? Check for owls, one might be bringing you the 'Understatement of the Year' award soon." Sean's grin vanished and he pinched the bridge of his nose, casting his eyes up to the ceiling. "Can't seem to catch anyone important. That, and the same problem they teach you about in history; if the suspects are to be believed, everyone is Imperiused. There's just not enough Veritaserum to test them all, and no real reason to with most of 'em."

The Auror returned his gaze to Ted, curiosity on his face. "But, you don't want to hear the rantings of a gumshoe wizard. If you don't mind my asking, what do you do?" He hadn't actually talked with Tonks much, so he had no idea what her family was like. Probably a little stranger than Sean's, but that was part of why he was curious.

CODED BY ELECTRIC OF GANGNAM STYLE

[Deleted]

you know I like to keep my issues drawn

”Ah, the showoff types. Luckily where I work, being a showoff’s likely to get you fired,” he replied. In so many ways, the war had taken away so many opportunities for socialization and actually just living, so Ted was more than happy, relieved actually, to have the chance to actually talk to someone, even if it was all a bunch of small talk. Ted couldn’t help but laugh a little, and for once it was actually that genuine, barking laugh of his rather than something tight and fake. ”Not necessarily the job, just the coworkers, I think.”

He winked at the slightly younger man. ”That’s the spirit, mate. She’d have me and her mum’s head if she knew we told. Dora’s a spitfire, you’ve got to give her that,” he said, a cheerful grin on his face. Considering he didn’t see her so often anymore, any word about his daughter was not only welcomed, it was appreciated. ”She doin’ alright, though, Dora? I know she’s not Investigations, but I’m sure you see her around a bit.”

”Oh, good. S’been a long time since I’ve gotten an award,” Ted joked. But the joking expression faded as he heard how things were going, and there was no denying the sigh that escaped him shortly afterwards. Things were getting darker - anyone who denied that was a complete fool, and from what he could remember, this was the exact same way things had been going. And he knew, more than anyone perhaps at this point, that it wasn’t necessarily the fault of the Aurors. The Ministry was infiltrated, there was no doubt in his mind about that, and it was having massive ramifications on the progress, or the non-progress, of the work of the good witches and wizards who dedicated their lives to catching the crooks. ”S’pose you’re right. All you can do is keep trying, even though it feels useless. Wish I could help, mate, really I do.” (But he knew very well if he even made any assertion whatsoever that he’d actually fight that Andromeda would likely have his head.)

At the question of what he personally did, Ted shrugged good-naturedly. He honestly didn’t mind hearing the Auror talk - stuff like that was more interesting than reading the Prophet, which seemed to block out half the stuff these days. ”It’s no problem, mate, it’s not rambling if it’s interesting.” He rubbed the back of his neck. ”Work at St. Mungo’s, I do,” he answered cheerfully. ”One of the Healers up on the Charms floor. Even though it’s the Defense wing that’s starting to see more action these days, you’d be surprised. Your neck of the woods isn’t the only one starting to act up with all this Dark activity. I wouldn’t be surprised if the hospital had to build another building elsewhere just to make room for more patients.”

because it's always darkest before the dawn

Template by Varon