http://looneyloopy.livejournal.com/ ([identity profile] looneyloopy.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] bait_backup2011-07-21 09:46 pm

Russian roulette is not the same without a gun

*Electricity is a funny thing. It can do so much, and yet it's so very easy to disrupt. Such are the woes of the proprietors of Maurice's, an upscale café that tries to look more edgy than fancy, and fails. It can't quite shake the air of snobbery infecting the area, the taint of We-Have-Too-Much-Money. Maybe it's the silk ascots; maybe it's the disproportionate number of Italian shoes. At any rate, no one thinks to notice the young man slipping out of the alley next to the building, in his new wingtips and old waistcoat, his button-down a bit rumpled and his trousers mended here and there. By the time anyone notices the breaker box on the back wall sparking and smoking, he's vanished into the crowds.

He takes the long way 'round back through some side-streets, timing it so that he walks up to Maurice's - again - about five minutes after he's agreed to meet Amrita there. Perfectly late, perfectly nonchalant, as he strolls up to the café, pretending to be unaware of the frustrated owners and the 'closed for maintenance' sign now hanging on the door.*



[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-09-29 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Nothing particularly. I did find this lovely opal necklace when I stopped in at Borgin's, but of course it's cursed so powerfully that I'm not even sure our cursebreakers could undo it. It's been sitting in the case for fifteen years, looks like, and it's like to sit fifteen more.

He keeps selling out of those wands we've begun importing, of course, thanks to this Registry nonsense. It's not as if there's been a sudden boom in 11 year olds who are getting their wands from him and others, but if they're being sold to adults, it's Borgin who's breaking regulations, not me. Everyone wants a backup wand, even those who aren't doing a thing wrong. After all, who really wants to have someone else see every little spell you cast?

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2011-09-30 01:08 am (UTC)(link)
Honestly.

*And that's about as long as she can make it before returning to the tartare. Oh well.*

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2011-10-01 05:29 am (UTC)(link)
I'm surprised there hasn't been more outcry. But it seems everyone's too frightened--did you see that thing about Vitandus in the Prophet? It's barbaric, is what it is.

*A bit rich, from someone putting away raw meat like it's going out of style. But at least she's using the right fork.*

Have we thought about what we're going to order? They've upgraded their menus to gilt roofing tiles, apparently.

*Dismissively, she hefts the thing.*

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-01 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
New format, same old menu. I'm not even going to look, I know what I want.

*He looks at Lupin, the same old amiable smile affixed to his face like a plaster mask. Only the eyes tell how cruel he knows he's being.*

How about you?

*And good luck finding anything without at least some kind of animal flesh in it.*

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2011-10-05 06:30 pm (UTC)(link)
*Whatever polite and quiche-related power struggle that's going on at the table goes unnoticed by Amrita, who is frowning prettily at her menu.*

Oh, I'm a bit torn. Do I want the entrecôte or the carré d'agneau?

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-05 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, the lamb, certainly.

*He doesn't wait for her to give assent, but glances toward the service station, and the waiter appears almost instantly. He orders for the table, getting the entrecôte thoroughly rare for himself. When the waiter disappears, though, all his attention snaps immediately back to Lupin.*

So, I hear you've gotten married? Congratulations! Married life seems to suit the both of us. I'd love to meet your little woman sometime.

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-05 07:51 pm (UTC)(link)
She must be quite a captivating one to catch your eye. But we cannot be blamed for where the heart leads us.

*His smile goes a bit soft, and almost tender, in the direction of his wife, before he returns to the matter at hand.*

No, muggles are a wonderful sort, and so clever with their electricity and cars and whatnot. Heavens, my father even has ridden on their airplanes. I'd love to meet the one who thought up that and managed to convince people to get on it without a broomstick to save them if it fell out of the sky.

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2011-10-05 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
*It's automatic: she returns Evan's smile and impulsively reaches out to cover his hand with her own. Not that she isn't following the conversation.*

And apparently sometimes they do! Right out of the sky, everyone onboard dead. It's madness.

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 03:37 am (UTC)(link)
Mm, indeed.

*It's a pleasant, noncommittal sort of noise, and then Amrita excuses herself and rises from the table, depositing her napkin elegantly before she goes.*

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
*With his wife gone, his smile only gets a bit wider for Lupin.*

I know you're thinking awful things about me. It's doing terrible things for the lines in your forehead. Spit them out.

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-10 04:01 pm (UTC)(link)
*He holds up a hand.*

I only ordered what she likes. She was raised as a vegetarian, you know. Forgive me if I assumed you might share her appetites.

But why deny yourself? There's no reward in it.

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-27 05:27 pm (UTC)(link)
It's not your diet I'm concerned about. It's what your diet tells me. You're desperate to be seen as anything but a monster, even though the Ministry will never see things that way.

Why must we be enemies, Remus? We want the same things. I don't think you were sad to see Umbridge and her vile cronies go, were you? Think of all the good that could be done with someone better managing the department. Someone like you, perhaps.

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2011-10-27 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
*Evan is laughing too, if only to maintain the facade. They are in public, after all.*

If you intend to take my offer seriously, then we could meet somewhere more private at a later date. But I don't think you'll take me up on that until you trust me at least a little, and I don't think you'll trust me until I do something for you. My wife no longer goes to the Ministry, I bet that particular inconvenience could be dispensed with for you as well--

[identity profile] dapperdeath.livejournal.com 2012-01-03 07:26 pm (UTC)(link)
Do let me know if you reconsider. Your talents are wasted on--what is it you do again?

*Evan leans in, lowering his voice.*

You do understand that it wasn't me, don't you? I assisted, certainly, I made it possible, but the work itself--ah, here she comes now.

*Amrita is approaching and Evan stands to pull out her chair.*

[identity profile] cellarandmoon.livejournal.com 2012-01-03 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
*A few heads turn as Amrita, smiling and perfectly powdered, crosses the restaurant to their table and slips gracefully into her seat. She points the smile at each of them in turn, but there's a little polite crease in her brow at Remus' expression.*
Edited 2012-01-05 00:02 (UTC)