'Cause you, you are the only one left, and you've got to clean up this mess

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

*The Order presence in the Auror office has lost three strong members in less than a week. That, coupled with the grief, hatred, and revenge that's settled on the office, has completely undercut the few things Alice still loves about her work. All tolled, it suddenly it feels like there's no one to talk to anymore.

And much as she hates to admit it, Alice needs to talk. Frank won't listen or speak, and sometimes it feels like he doesn't even hear her anymore. More than anything else, that's what Alice is unknowingly grieving - the loss of her husband. It's never been him falling apart or going into quiet spells, it's never been him to lock her out, and now there's no Gideon or Fabian to ask advice.

Alice has no cases that would bring her to this bookshop, but she has to pretend. So that's what she does, as she opens the door and hopes no one but Dorcas is inside.*

Hello? Dorcas?

Comments

[curiosandfolios.livejournal.com]

*Closing won't be for another half hour or so, but the last actual customer exited Craven & Stone over twenty minutes ago, after a bout of prolonged browsing. Dorcas is well-accustomed to the slow days at the shop. She makes an effort to give the owners a bit of time off whenever she's in London for more than a week in a row.

Not one to put her energy to waste, Dorcas has buried herself in the stacks, dedicated to putting them in some semblance of order. The organization of most of the shop is hardly intuitive--and that's being kind. Though she has a feeling it's futile, she's been doggedly attacking the 15th Century for the better half of the afternoon. Dorcas is in the process of levitating a stack of manuscripts onto an empty shelf, when the bell above the door gives a chime and she hears a voice call her name.*

Back here, if you can find me!

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

*Winding through the stacks almost feels useless. The annoying voice of Alice's self-containment is practically yelling for to just deal with this all on her own. After about a minute of half-hearted searching, Alice almost gives into it, until she rounds a corner and finds Dorcas.*

...evening.

[curiosandfolios.livejournal.com]

*The manuscripts land on the shelf with a dull thud, upsetting a large cloud of dust. It's only years of exposure and experience that prevents Dorcas from launching into a full-on sneezing fit. Instead, it's a brief spell of coughing and then onto the next stack. She can hear whoever the voice belongs to heading vaguely in her direction. She doesn't pay it too much notice until the steps are almost upon her--Alastor would rap her on the knuckles if he could see this--and then finally turns around, almost upsetting a pile of tomes to her left in the process.*

Alice! What brings you here?

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

A case, actually. Someone I've arrested is claiming they never murdered, but a cursed book called The Beast of Bodmin did. Swears that there's a hallmark to this book - something like one hundred made, all with the same curse, author by the name of Demesne. Have you heard of it?

[curiosandfolios.livejournal.com]

*The absence of pleasantries does not go unnoticed. Not that she's particularly bothered, mind. Dorcas gives Alice a calculating once-over. The poor girl looks exhausted, and a bit like she might bolt.

She tucks the most recent stack of levitating manuscripts into a corner, out of the way. The organization project will have to be abandoned for now. She scratches her head absent-mindedly with her wand, unknowingly sending up another cloud of dust into the air.*

Hmm. Well. I've never heard of it. But there are a few references we can check, if you've the time.

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

Please.

*Alice tries to backtrack the conversation so that it can be steered towards questions about herself. It's a hideous manipulation, but there doesn't seem to be much else for it...*

How was the Azores?

[curiosandfolios.livejournal.com]

Positively dreadful. I hate Portuguese. And you'll never imagine what I had to put up with on the aeroplane back. Still, I imagine it's a vacation compared to what you all have just been through.

*Dorcas matter-of-factly points her wand in the direction of the storefront and, in the distance, hears the lock turn and the "closed" sign flip over. No harm in shutting down a little early. Without much preamble, she turns on her heel and sets off through the stacks in the direction of a particularly dark and musty corner. She barely glances over her shoulder to see if Alice is keeping up.*

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

*The opening Dorcas's last sentence gives her comes much faster than Alice had anticipated. She turns it over in her mind, a little slower than most would, as she follows Dorcas.*

...well. You saw the meeting.

[curiosandfolios.livejournal.com]

Mmm.

*Dorcas nods absent-mindedly, having reached their destination: a dust-covered bookcase near the back of the shop, with books shoved haphazardly onto the shelves, all looking old, moldy, and vaguely dangerous. She grabs a few of the larger leather-bound tomes and, after a moment of contemplation, one small, slim book bound in a glimmering purple cloth. She shoves two of them in Alice's direction--* Take these, will you? *--before giving the shelf one last cursory glance. No, she can't imagine they'll be needing A Comprehensive Study of 10th Century Broom-making for this particular project.*

One of these might have what you're looking for. Darwall's Guide to Mutinous Artefacts may be your best bet. If your suspect mentioned a publication date, A History of Anathema might be a good lead--but it's about 17 volumes, so you'll really need an era to go on.

[gummymummy.livejournal.com]

*Alice winces as she takes the tomes, she was hoping Dorcas might just know off the top of her head. She moves over to a desk on the wall, thinking of how to expand on the meeting.*

These should do, thanks.

*Flipping through the pages, she half turns to Dorcas to try to force the subject.*

What did you think about the meeting?