alt_charlie | (no subject)

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Thank you to everyone who's sent birthday greetings, and to everyone here at the reserve who's gone out of their way to make today such a lovely day!

(And special thanks to Copacati, our Peruvian Vipertooth, who could've bit me today and restrained herself. Don't think she knew it was my birthday, but I appreciate it anyway.)

Now I'm going to go back to pretending I don't know about the birthday cake Emmett's been cooking up for me for dinner, and defending my Mum's shortbread against all comers. If any of you lot of ravenous beasts want some of it, you'll have to ask really nicely.

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Yeah, the whole thing started with Deirdre needling Em over a bundle of stupid little things, and Em sniping back like he couldn't help himself, and then it turned into You Never and You Always and just, ugh, I'm hoping it's just frustrations boiling over and it will all clear up once the holidays pass.

And I took this behind the lock so I can say flat out that one day we're going to be able to get rid of that stinking tinpot dictator and his stinking flock of cronies and when that happens I am going to find Lucius sodding Malfoy's grave and piss on it. Because, ugh. I think about Malfoy sliming all over a perfectly lovely girl like Penny because she's 'only' three-quarters pure, and I think about a witch like Hermione being able to come up with those coins out of nothing but the bits of classes and reading she's been able to do when Marvolo feels like letting her like he's doing her a fucking favour when she's ten times the intellect he'll ever be, and it just infuriates me even more.

Because in a just world, Hermione would already be collecting dozens of offers to go into private research or write her own ticket at the Ministry, and Tonks would be making waves in the Auror Department, and Terry would be curled up in the library devouring whatever book he could get his hands on and worried about upcoming exams, and Lucius sodding Malfoy would be rotting in a cell in Azkaban as the Dementors' midnight snack.

Anyway.

Yeah, I'm going to pin that admission of yours up to admire when I wind up in a mood like this, because I never thought I'd hear it. And it is cheering me up, ta muchly.

Protecting that pawn isn't going to do much, though. Rad1.

(Also, I just had a horrible realisation: if anybody's really on the ball and reading our messages, both the ones in Mum's journal and then our private messages after, they could realise we were playing a chess game that hadn't been started in the journals where they could see, since we started this one under the lock and have been playing it out in a combination of places. We'd better get our stories straight -- worst case scenario, if anybody says anything, we started this one when I stopped by a few weeks ago, and it's just been taking us a while to get back to it.)

We're working toward that happy day, you and I. That's something to hang onto, anyway. There's good in the world we have now, yeah, but I prefer the idea of Malfoy as the Dementors' plaything. Bloody bastard.

I really hope Percy comes to his senses before it's too late.

Good thinking on that last; it hadn't occurred to me. Merlin, and I'm supposed to be in charge of journal security, too. We could also say, if anyone asks, that we've also been trading moves by owl. I think it's highly unlikely that we'll be questioned, but that's also a possible fallback.

Qc8.

Yeah, I don't think it's likely that anyone would notice, but it was one of those horrible realisations that dawns on you suddenly and makes you want to bang your head against the wall.

But yeah. I'll definitely be cornering him over Christmas hols and trying to get him talking to me. If I can do it without getting his back up. Maybe I'll message him now, actually, and get started on it.

(The thought of Malfoy as a Dementor chewtoy is entirely more uplifting than it should be, though. Pretty sure I could power a Patronus off that mental image. Which makes me feel bad, but, ugh.)

Meanwhile, are you sure you haven't given up? Come on, I might be trouncing you, but give me some fight, or else the pawns will get depressed that nobody appreciates that trebuchet they've been working on for so long. Be4.

I don't think that Percy would take it well if he gets the idea that Dad's been talking about their conversation with others. (Although he HAS, at least to me). You know how prickly Perce can get. Judging from what Dad says, he's very prickly in general right now. So if you approach him, try to do it without letting on about that little tidbit.

Maybe your pawns should go into war manufacture. Fu could probably use their talents.

Nf8.

Yeah, good thought. I just want to do something, ugh.

Let me see if I can come up with an approach that isn't "I heard from the family gossip that your boss is a bigoted arse, how does that make you feel?" 'Cause yeah, once he gets sand in his knickers over something, there's no getting it out. And either way, tonight's probably not the best time to start the conversation, not when I'm sulky enough myself. (And it's not like I can start off with, hey, heard you're having relationship problems, so am I! Let's bond over that!)

The pawns are thinking of setting up a fortified encampment and armouring themselves in dragon-hide. Rd3.

Another tip: the topic of Lucius Malfoy can be a touchy one, too, by the way. Apparently Lucius Malfoy does not look kindly on his clerk chattering about his affairs to anyone else, so Percy is scrupulously careful about what he says about the man.

I had one other thought, and you may tell me I'm crazy, but what do you think?

You mentioned that the dragons were getting tetchier than usual, and you think it might have something to do with the wards?

Do you think...could whatever it is be affecting people, too?

a4.

Yeah, if he's idolising Malfoy as much as you say, anything that even hints that the sun doesn't shine out Malfoy's arse would probably make Perce stop listening. I'll be careful not to even hint that Malfoy's anything other than Merlin returned.

...I wonder if I could convince him that I admire Malfoy (and Percy for working for Malfoy) if I try hard enough, or if I'd gag on the words as they came out of my mouth.

And. You know. I've been keeping an eye out for it, and thinking it's just the usual sort of thing where whenever the dragons are in a mood, we all seem to pick it up, too. But you're suggesting that whatever magic they're working with the dragons to keep the wards working isn't just making the dragons cranky, it's spilling over onto us directly? Not just us picking up on the dragon moods?

Merlin. Now my skin's crawling at the thought.

I'll watch and see if it gets better after the Solstice. ...And maybe I'll spend a few nights over at Laszlo's after I get off duty, instead of sticking around here. Just to make myself feel better.

Qg3.

Don't try praising Malfoy if you don't think you can make it convincing.

Although. He admires the man so much he'd probably swallow it. Ugh.

About the dragons, and the wards: I dunno, like I said, it's a crazy idea. I wonder if you might write to Dumbledore and run it past him. I remember, there was some report at an Order meeting that he'd come to see you--and then obliviated you afterwards--so apparently, he's been researching this. Maybe he'd have some ideas, or tests to suggest? It might be another clue that might help something fall into place for him?

Rd8.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Though -- ugh, I'm still a bit creeped out by all that. I was saying to Tonks a little while back, I can definitely think of circumstances where I'd flat out ask him to obliviate me, if only so I couldn't give away secrets by accident, but it's more than a bit disturbing to know that there's someone walking around out there who remembers conversations with you that you don't remember. And not just once, but multiple times.

If you can't trust your own brain...

And I don't know. I think I could be convincing. If I was careful. And if Perce thought that at least one of us wasn't sneering at Malfoy behind his back, it might help a bit -- because he's not an idiot, and no matter how careful you lot are, he knows you too well, and it's harder for you to act like Malfoy isn't against everything we stand for. But he doesn't know me as well as he knows you, so that might work out a little better for us?

I don't know. I'm grasping at straws, here.

At least that message from Ginny left me a bit hopeful, yeah?

Here, have some more trebuchet-building. f5.

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