Percyweasley-arc​:

location: ministry elevator 

status: open

Penelope fought another yawn, her eyes tearing at the strain and blurring the words on the page in front of her. It was far past the time when any normal employee would have (and should have) gone home, but Penelope had become utterly sidetracked by a translation of a journal from a Hogwarts student who had attended just after its founding. It was a fascinating if confusing read, the Old English translation a learned taste. Rubbing a hand against her forehead, Penelope knew she wouldn’t be making anymore progress tonight. 

She packed up her office quietly, carefully placing the journal into a locked preservation box. Locking her office behind her, Penelope sleepily made her way to the elevators, making the journey on autopilot. This sleep-deprived walk was so familiar to her that when the elevator door opened, Penelope walked straight inside, never expecting that she’d run right into someone. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Penelope said, wide awake now with a hand pressed against her rapidly beating heart. “No one else is usually in here...” 

aterryboot·:

Terry had somehow managed to escape Anthony’s plan to lock him up inside of his house forever, rubbing one of his temples with his hand. He was taking the elevator down from Anthony’s office after checking in with his friend and letting him know it was safe. Now that he was alone he could finally digest everything that was happening. Michael and Padma, snatched up at the festival and now who knows where they were being kept. Terry sighed, the heavy weight of two friends being gone finally resting on his shoulders. No matter how much that he and Michael argued, Terry still cared about him and Padma was too nice of a person to deserve something like this.

He felt exhausted, and not to mention out of the loop since he wasn’t a part of the New Order. His parent’s words of warning were fresh in his mind from the amount fo times he’d gone over them, their warning to not ruin his father’s political career. 

It was then that Penelope came through the open elevator doors, the movement causing Terry to slowly look up. “It’s no problem,” he told her, shuffling to make plenty of room for her in the small space. In normal circumstances he might have tried to be friendlier, or given her a polite smile but now he couldn’t help the feeling of helplessness.

-----

Terry was one of the last people Pen would have expected to run into in a Ministry elevator, but she hadn’t seen him in ages, and if it took running into him in the middle of the night Penelope wouldn’t complain. Terry’s age group of Ravenclaws had a special place in her heart, her first group of first years when she was made a prefect in her fifth year. It was good to see him, even if frankly, he looked terrible. 

“Terry! What are you doing here, is everything okay?” she asked concernedly, knowing that no sane person should be in the Ministry at this hour. And he really did look out of sorts. But while she had him, “Have you seen Padma recently? She missed our lunch date earlier, but usually she sends a note when she’s caught up in a project.” 

thoughtnott·:

“It has been lately with the current climate.” Small talk with strangers wasn’t something that came easy to Theodore but with the counter separating him and the customer, words came much easier. His lips turned into a force smile at the terrible joke he had heard day in and day out. “This is Obscurus.” 

Stepping outside the counter, Theo listened before nodding. “Give me one moment and I can get you some options.” Locking your friend somewhere to question them didn’t seem like a marker of a good friendship but his job wasn’t to judge, it was to sell books. He returned with a stack of three options and placed them on the counter in front of the brunette. “We have A Broken Lock Will Always Work: One Thousand Charms and One Jinx, Gilderoy Lockhart’s Guide to Home Security though I wouldn’t recommend this unless you are truly desperate, and Password Journal: Parents Be Gone.”

-----

Penelope watched Theodore’s face twist at her accidental pun and she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sorry,” she said earnestly, a smile tugging at her lips. “I really didn’t mean to say it, I’m sure you hear it all the time.” She would have used ‘rare’, but often times that resulted in particularly expensive books and that wasn’t in her budget for the day. 

She grimaced when he mentioned Lockhart’s book, remembering her sixth year DADA professor less than fondly. “I agree wholeheartedly,” Pen said. “After his year teaching I don’t have a particularly high opinion of his works.” Lockhart’s books, often filled with misinformation and questionable scenarios, were one of the things she was hoping to improve about the magical world. It was lucky no one had gotten hurt from acting on the garbage in his books. “I’m sure I can find one spell among a thousand that will work though, thank you. Have you read it?” 

location: obscurus’ books 

status: closed starter for @thoughtnott

Penelope walked out of the Ministry, pulling her hair out of the tight bun it had been in and shaking it out, a sign that she was considering herself off the clock. Casting a quick glance at her watch, Pen was pretty sure she would have time to run to the bookstore before she was meant to have her weekly call with her parents. 

Of course, this was somewhat of an error in judgement, since the moment Penelope opened to door to Obscurus’ all she wanted to do was spend hours browsing, tracing her fingers along the spines and breathing in the aging pages. She mentally shook herself; she was on a mission. Figuring it was safer to ask for what she wanted than to search for it herself and become distracted, she turned to the man she’d seen by the counter. “Hello, sorry to bother you,” Penelope said, always leery of imposing, “But do you have a copy of ‘Stay Out! A Compendium of Locking Spells and Wards’, by Edith Fowler?” 

thoughtnott·:

With orders coming in at an alarming rate and people turning to protection guides, the shop was busier than ever. Theo was thrilled by the time closing came around. It had calmed down somewhat, giving him time to read through the book clubs latest novel. When the shop door opened, he stood from his seat and placed his bookmark in the novel. “Welcome to Obscurus Books and publishing. How can I assist you?” The woman who entered seemed determined and Theo’s mutterings seemed lost to her.

“Stay Out. A Compendium of Locking Spells and Wards by Edith Fowler.” Theodore repeated, mostly to himself to make sure the title stayed in his mind. He turned to the book that housed a list of all the titles currently in the shop and muttered the title once more, waving his wand over the tomb until the pages flipped to display the book information. “It seems we’re out of that title. A lot of people have been coming in for it. We should get a new shipment in tomorrow. Would you like us to owl it to you?”

-----

“I didn’t realize it was that popular,” Pen told the wizard across from her, squinting slightly as she tried to recall his name. Unless she’d had disciplinary issues with them during her time as a prefect, and later Head Girl, Penelope wasn’t always tuned in to the students of other houses. She glances around quickly, eyes finally lighting on a small nameplate. Theodore Nott, yes, a Slytherin five years behind her at Hogwarts. Just knowing who she was speaking to made Penelope feel more at ease. 

“Actually, do you have anything more, well, obscure?” Penelope asked. “My friend is keeping secrets and I need some locking spells that’ll stall her until I can get it out of her.” Normally she wouldn’t explain herself like that to more-or-less strangers, but Pen didn’t want him to think she needed anything dangerous or illegal. 

So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality.

Jim Carrey (via quotemadness)

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

percyweasley-arc·:

There had been times that Percy wanted to walk by Penelope’s department and fall into a conversation that they had so easily done so before. The battle at the school had been a lot especially with the after effect that came with a toll. Percy had an unfortunate fallout with her and he had been filled with guilt since. He had liked what they had even with the romantic bits aside, she made for lovely company. She was only a few levels down from where he worked and the thought usually drifted into his mind.

It could have been years since they had a proper conversation and Percy fell into the same energy as they once had. Despite him being incredibly tired and overwhelmed, Percy’s attention was fully alert to Penelope and her assignment. “That is so fascinating,” he emitted honestly. “You must tell me your findings as I would love to hear about anything that has to do with the subject. I’m sure the proposal will go well.” He was already keen to what she was saying, thinking she could talk about anything and she could hold his interest. 

It was the most subtle touch, but it was from Penelope and before his arms could come around her after the initial shock, she was already stepping away. He wanted so much to chase her touch and he couldn’t understand his thoughts now. For years he hadn’t seen her and now it felt like nothing had changed. “Yes, we could probably see somewhere other than our offices. Maybe a stiff drink or two. There’s a place by my flat that we could go to. Doesn’t close until 2 a.m. Would you like that?” Percy had yet to been alone with Penelope like this and he wanted it to be right. He wanted to continue this conversation and couldn’t hide the smile that she was agreeing to go out with him somewhere. Subconsciously he was standing closer to her now as the lift descended. The floo network was still going surprisingly and Percy turned to Penelope. “Um. Three Broomsticks, alright? My place is in Hogsmeade Village…if you remember.”

-----

Penelope couldn’t stop the bright smile she shot at Percy if she tried, excitement from her research and his vote of confidence in her work sending warmth through her. It was a little unexpected, how viscerally she responded to him despite the years of absence. Pen hadn’t realized just how much she had missed him until he was right in front of her, and suddenly the minor heartache she’d nursed all these years caught fire. “That means a lot, thank you,” she told him. Penelope tugged on a loose hair that had fallen from her bun. “If my proposal makes it through the first set of approvals I have to present it. If you ever have a minute, maybe you could give me your feedback? It would be good to get an outside perspective,” she trailed off, feeling awkward and like she might have pushed the boundaries of this uncertain friendship. 

There was a light tingling sensation all along Pen’s arms from where she had hugged Percy, and she had the distant thought that alcohol would probably only make it worse. But it only took another look at Percy and she realized that even if this was a mistake, it was a mistake she was committed to making. “That would be great,” Pen said. It was a chance for the two of them to reconnect, a little break from reality. Penelope thought they could both use one. “Three Broomsticks,” she nodded, before blushing at the memories that sprung to the front of her mind of Percy’s apartment. “I remember,” Pen said, flustered. She realized how close she was standing next to him as they made it to the fireplaces and took a quick step away towards the nearest hearth. “Meet you there!” she called over to him, as she grabbed a pinch of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. 

hope — my writing