Absit Omen RPG

Grace thoughtfully chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated her next course of action. She wasn’t trying to make trouble or stir things up. Truth be told, life would be easier for her if she just kept her head down and out of the way until she had a few more years as an Auror anything- trainee or not. But the thought crossed Grace’s mind yet again how she often failed to take the easiest routes in life. For good or for bad.

Her hand tightened around the strap of the bag she had slung over her shoulder.

“Can I ask…” she started, then paused and tried again, “Hmm…how do I say this?” She reached up and again meant to fidget with strands of hair but with them gone she instead scratched her forehead. “Do you….happen to know if this one was in more distress than you’re used to seeing them during encounters?” She paused again, her brow furrowing before adding, “And not exactly physically distressed either. But maybe….more distress that comes from anxiety or…delusions even?”

Grace was relieved to see a familiar faces in former classmates (or at least contemporaries), Tessa Fenneken and Charlie Harris. Her social life was essentially non-existent to the point where knew that she was probably considered a very bad friend. Her goals for the last year (okay, few) had equated to a singular focus with many other areas of her life taking a back seat. She had even moved out of The Radford House in order to help minimize distraction and give her ease of access to work which had caused her to grow away from many people she had been close with during school.

Before she turned her grateful gaze to Tessa, she first responded to the snark given by Charlie , who she remembered him well from Hogwart's and more specifically, Quidditch. She could understand if he didn't recognize her though, both due to her post-Hogwart's life as a hermit and also her short haircut. She could take a good ribbing, for sure. But she had also been a Gryffindor. And they were notorious for giving as good as they got, something she was more than happy to remind him about.

"You don't say," she responded evenly. "So tell me....just how good are you at using your lasso?" She did her best to maintain a serious and earnest expression. After a beat, she smirked and teased, "Hopefully a lot better than handling a bludger." Sneaking a glance at Tessa, she then held up her hand and added, "But don't worry, I won't ask you to demonstrate."

Her smile widened as she turned her attention back to Tessa who apologized for Harris' comments. "It's all good. I know it's a little odd to see me here. I've been a ghost even on Level 2 so it's understandable." She paused as she tried to find the best approach for her response to Tessa's next question. "No, no reports needed. I actually came on my own curiosity. I heard it was an...eventful...Full Moon. And some of what I heard from office chatter over the weekend made me want to come and ask for clarity on some details of what happened." A long pause ensued. Her first urge was to barrel on forth with all the questions she had, but she considered being more simplistic, hoping they wouldn't immediately clam up. She took a deep breath and then dropped, "I heard there was an unregistered werewolf."

Grace Eddy’s commute to work that morning had been a contemplative one. Some of the water cooler conversations at the office for the last several weeks had centered on the ELF movement, August’s full moon and the state of werewolves in general.

Now that the full moon had come and gone, it left many to deal with the aftermath. To survey the damage. And pick up the pieces.

Even Grace.

She had spent much of her free time that weekend quietly helping the werewolves who knew and reluctantly trusted her from the (now) years she had spent working with Knox and others with the Underground Werewolf Clinic.[1][2]

But she understood their apprehension in seeking out her help or anyone else’s because of their position in society and the dangers it presented. Her own position as an Auror presented unique challenges in navigating her desire to be an ally and an advocate. To this end, Grace never dabbled in anything related to wolfsbane so it wouldn’t conflict with her job (too much). Though she was no stranger to toe-ing the line of troublemaking and rebelliousness when it came to social justice matters, she also recognized the value in doing things by the book whenever possible in case leverage was needed later.

She was well aware that her old Headmaster had been under some fire recently for his own efforts to help. There were times when she didn’t want to know more about what he was doing so that she could always – as much as possible -- claim that she didn’t know anything. But, it wasn’t illegal to help heal someone. Or soothe someone in duress.

So, Grace mostly stuck to lending a mending hand[3] with werewolves in need deal with the after effects of their monthly transformation. Using her medic or healing skills and knowledge to treat some of their self-inflicted wounds or ill health in the days that followed the full moons never felt like it was enough. There were nameless werewolves in need – both registered and unregistered -- with whom she had crossed paths. She never needed any more information once she saw their suffering, knowing that she could help ease their pain or their trouble. And she never needed thanks either. Practically, it all provided valuable field work for her medic training. But it was also the right thing to do.
 
And still never enough.

Those nameless patients haunted her thoughts on most days. And even the ones who didn’t come to her for help haunted her thoughts.

Which was partly the reason why Grace did not stop at Level 2 first thing upon arriving to the Ministry that morning. Instead, the newly minted Auror-no-longer-in-Training found herself on Level 4 at the Werewolf Capture Unit. Usually, Grace would’ve planned such a trip better. She liked having all of her ducks in a row. All of her paperwork ready. All of her thoughts and notions rehearsed and laid out in a reasonable, methodical manner.

She could not remember the last time she had stepped foot in these offices or many other Ministry offices for that matter. She happily kept to herself while other colleagues mingled and furthered collaborative relations among their contemporaries.

Something else besides practicality or comfort drove her in this moment as she stood awkwardly in the WCU, keenly aware of curious gazes that begged the question, “Can I help you?”

Instinctively, Grace reached up intending to tuck long strands of auburn hair behind her ear. A nervous tick that had done wonders in helping her cope with challenging situations. Only those lovely locks of flowy hair no longer existed. Instead, Grace’s fingertips darted over the short strands of hair that had been left behind from her recent (some would say extreme) cut from earlier in the summer. She was happy with it, but it still took some getting used to.

Like now, she immediately wondered who was better to suited for this interaction – the old Grace Eddy or the new Grace Eddy?

Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders, certain she was about to find out. Meeting the curious gaze of the nearest person, she hedged, “Uh, yeah. Hi. I was hoping I could check in with someone about the recent full moon….”

1.	Wise beyond your years...
2.	Urgently, Grace
3.	Post title comes from the song Wolf by First Aid Kit

Grace joined in with her uncle's laughter for what he and others had tried to do to Moody.  With much of the business of being an Auror taken up by serious matters, indulging in some pranks was one way to relieve stress. With a smirk, Grace was quick to pick up on something Jonas said. "So you're saying that we shouldn't take the older generation seriously?" It was a cheeky, rhetorical question. Grace already knew that there was a healthy balance of respect vs. joking by her fellow trainees and the veteran Aurors.

The conversation did seem to take a more somber tone. That did not bother her but she hoped it would not bring a heavy heart to her uncle's day. "I think mum probably knew more than she let on, even with all the quiet." Grace ruminated quietly a bit on the dynamic of their family and also what was known about the world of magic. Then she posed, "What if....there were other witches and wizards in the Trevelyan family and nobody ever said anything? What if...." Her eyes went wide and she leaned forward a bit lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "Granny and Grandpa and mum were....squibs?"

"Na, I don't mind at all," Grace said with a shrug, sensing her uncle's relief at her offer. "I'd be happy to do it. I do have some experience in taming unruly early year students. And it gives us time to bond, actually." She paused to chew thoughtfully on her food for a moment, realizing that it had been a while since she had corresponded with her young cousins. Then she added, "I know you and mum had a tough task navigating the Muggle vs. Magical worlds given the circumstances, but sometimes I do wonder what life would be like now had all of us had been closer when we were growing up."

Grace's comment was not meant to make Jonas to feel guilty but more so an innocent observation of "what ifs". In her own early years at Hogwarts, she had experienced moments of isolation, loneliness and homesickness because of her muggleborn status. She imagined that may have been mitigated to some degree if she had known Jonas was also in that realm. She would have asked him so many questions to sooth her curiosities and worries. And surely she would have felt a kinship and sense of belonging that didn't manifest itself immediately.

And yet, those "what ifs" were hard to bank on and Grace knew that. So she made a concerted effort to be thankful for the time she spent with Jonas and his family and the memories she made with them in the present, including being able to work with him and have conversations like this one.

Grace sported a bemused smile as he responded to her question. It was fascinating to her that he had gotten to work with the legends that they read about. She appreciated his depiction of Auror life, her eyes wide with interest. His last comment piqued her interest. "So you were a rebel, huh?"

Grace Eddy
Radford Estate

Gwenna Trevelyan
Gryffindor House, Hogwarts Castle
Scotland

September 2011

Hey Squirt,
I know we just spent some time recently shopping for your school supplies[1], but I was clearing out a bunch of my storage boxes at the Radford House and I came across this old thing. I thought you might be able to get some use out of it if your dad hasn't bought one already. Maybe perhaps trying out for the quidditch team is in your future?

Anyway, I hope all is well on the lion front!

Your cousin,
Grace

1.	implied and likely to be confirmed in this thread here.

When her uncle mentioned Hogwart's starting soon, Grace's eyes went wide and she gasped, "Oh, that's right!" It had been a while since she had corresponded with Gwenna, but Grace was keenly aware of her cousin's personality and how taxing it could be. She hoped Jonas wasn't tormented too much. Gently chewing on her bottom lip for a moment, Grace offered, "I should have some free time coming up this week. Would you and Aunt Anna like for me to take her shopping for her supplies? I may even still have my own things stashed away in some boxes."

She flashed Jonas a sympathetic smile, hoping that her offer might help bolster his patience for Gwenna's remaining days before the school year started. Her own patience could be tested, but Grace often felt like she was making up for lost time with her cousins.

Growing up, her mother had always spoken so fondly of Jonas and his family, but their interactions had been mostly at larger family get-to-gethers and Grace knew now that they had never been able to be as close as they could be due to the circumstances connected to muggle life vs. life in magic.

Jonas' question about how she was doing pulled her out of her own thoughts and she smirked. "It's not so bad," she hedged. "But then again, maybe I don't notice it so much because I've been too busy for my own good." Grace leaned forward with interest, though, when he spoke of his own time early on in the corps. After chewing thoughtfully on a bite of her food, she queried, "What was it like in your day?" After a beat, she added, "What were you like back then? You know....what kind of trainee were you?"

Grace happily relinquished the Curry to her uncle kept the noodles for herself. "You're very welcome. I'm glad others like to eat this stuff besides just me. Early on I felt bad for buying so much variety knowing full well I might end up eating it all myself. But now I know there's no guilt; It's all gone by the end of the day."

Grace paused for a moment to hunt out some utensils from the take out bag but she also used the time to take in his demeanor. The trainee noticed that he did seem a bit frazzled that day and she wondered if everything was going well away from work. She quirked a brow and silently debated asking him.

His suggestion to sit and eat fit in well with her plan to eventually do so. "Sure! As long as I'm not getting in the way of important work," she hedged, though early on as a trainee Grace had learned that a good deal of important work could be accomplished while shoveling food in one's mouth and ruminating for a while. She and Fauna were the masters of that from their particular trainee group and among the newest trainees, Raine had quickly shown a fondness for such work methods.

Sliding into the empty chair across from him, Grace opened her noodles and started to push them around a bit in sauce pooled at the bottom of the container. After taking a bite, she threw out, "So....fatla genes?"[1]

1.	How are you? in Cornish

Even though Grace had moved back to the Radford Estate to curb her homesickness, one thing that she missed from her brief stint at living in Hireath Gardens was regular visits to Rachawadee, the Thai-Indian restaurant nearby. She managed to return to the restaurant often for dinner and also sometimes would find her way there on lunch breaks as a means of getting out of the office and clearing her head. She always made sure to bring back extra as she never knew who else would be so caught up in work that they wouldn’t be able to get anything.

One person she regularly bought lunch for was her uncle, Jonas Trevelyan. Even after almost two years as a trainee, Grace tried to maintain a professional “distance” between herself and her maternal uncle. Many a conversation was had in the Auror Office about how working together could be hard on friends, let alone family members. Even with that concern ever present, it was nice to have him “around”. She hoped he was proud of her and, more importantly, was confident in the skills she worked so hard to perfect.

Sometimes, just a quick catch up with him over noodles fed into a part of Grace that had been lacking. Until her mother got sick, she had known very little about the Trevelyan side of the family and their connection to magic. A casual conversation over how Gwenna was doing at Hogwart’s sometimes morphed into hearing tidbits here and there.

So, on this day, Grace bustled back into the offices laden down with a variety of Rachawadee takeout. She dumped some of it in the main common area where the trainees tended to congregate, and then took two separate orders and headed towards his workspace.

“Hey,” she called as she got close. She held up her packages of food and grinned. “Hope you’re hungry because I brought sustenance.” She set them down and started to pull out some specific containers of food. “Bunch of noodles….Curry….” She glanced up and quirked a brow. “Whatcha want?”

---

Title reference: Stay Gold by First Aid Kit

A party where everything involved 'p'?

Grace had pretty much forgotten all about it with her busy week even if she had mentioned that she might end up showing up late due to her "double duty" work schedule to accommodate auror training and extra field medic skill practice. She had assured them that she would be there, and would bring a special surprise with her.

At least Grace had gone ahead and come up with an idea for an appropriate costume for it when Theta and Fauna had shared the initial plans for it. In fact, she ended up buying two costumes just in case she changed her mind.

On a day trip to London where she stopped off to spend time with her muggle family (father and brother), she managed to find two plush pajama onesies - a pig and a penguin - that were all the rage. Or so she was told. Initially she didn't understand the enthusiasm for them but when she changed into one just before leaving St. Mungos, she was won over. She could instantly see why anyone would wear nothing else. Grace Eddy was determined to find a whole closet full of them and could easily envision herself existing outside of work in nothing else. Who needed to aspire to more?

She didn't even mind stopping into a bakery to pick up peach, pear, and plum pies dressed as the penguin. She ignored the sidelong glances and decided to order a pineapple upside down cake and some perfectly pretty petit fours as well. Why shouldn't Penny have all the perfect 'p' deliciousness?

Grace managed to arrive back at the Radford Estate just before the birthday girl did and happily blended in with the others to surprise her.

She heaved a sigh of relief at having made it back in time and resolved to try to forget any nagging thoughts of work or other responsibilities.

You need to have some fun,she silently scolded herself as she grabbed a glass of punch and started to make her rounds of greeting some of the other guests.

In her best penguin impression, she padded by a Prince and a princess and raised her glass in a toast. "Your majesties...."

She made the effort to bow, but immediately realized her penguin suit was so big on her that she could have pulled some of the fabric away and curtsied with it.

Laughing and shrugging, she said to them, "You both look perfect."

I will participate!

Then how about either Camden or Venora MacGregor? They're a tragic sort of family so whatever fate you choose for one of them fits.

Quote from: Nicholas Bevans on January 03, 2016, 05:33:08 PM

Just a thought, but to reflect the kind of biases found in the real world what if the outrage and the focus is more on the pure-blood students being kidnapped and experimented on and the pure-blood npcs who die?  The muggle-born npcs and students (and/or the ones without Ministry connections) are kinda left in the dust, and not that no one cares about them but the focus isn't on them.  Names left out of coverage, interrogations and such.

I like this idea!

Some bias could probably be conveyed in any articles/posts following the kidnapping? I will work something into Solomon's stuff, he'll have a personal stake in it as well (a Carstairs kidnapped!).

I have some NPC Whitmans (Pure) and NPC MacGregors (Half) you can kill, especially if you need siblings.

Medic Training Bucket List

• Focus on field healing: "Preservation of life, crush, curse, severed limbs, blood loss, plenty on unconscious patients."
• "A heavy focus on defensive magic, particularly on protecting an incapacitated casualty."
• "Wards you can place and release your wand to cast within. Possibly even cover casting at distance if you cannot get close for whatever reason."
• Be physically harmed to ensure you can "heal yourself and not fall apart"

Advice from It Seems Like Only Yesterday

Along with the other Aurors in the office, Grace had not been immune the catastrophe that was unfolding on Level 2. She was less in a rush to attend to it, however, as she had seen JJ and Adon move in. She didn't want to overcrowd the scene and cause more chaos as that could be more problematic.

Still, when she heard the call for a medic, her healing instincts surged. Grace withdrew her wand, one she had always been told was exceptional for healing purposes, and now quickly moved in behind where her fellow aurors had entered Minister Carstairs' office.

Even the best healer's mind never got used to seeing so much blood, she thought, eyes wide and scanning the room to size up the situation. Would even one medic or healer be enough for this?

Those words she did not verbalize but instead she tried steel herself and give the air that she was confident and that she was going to have the air of expertise. Looking from the bloodied students to Adon and JJ to the Minister, she asked,  "How many are hurt and who needs the most urgent care?"