Abby sat at her desk in almost complete silence, staring at the accursed object in front of her. For three days straight she had been lured into obsession, her intention of solving the diabolical problem her only goal. Lunch had become a thing of distant memory, her workday only broken by sips of cold unremarkable tea and some bland biscuits, real food disdained in her mission. Co workers viewed this as a harmless passing fancy at first, and she missed the increasingly curious and sometimes worried looks as they passed her on the way to lunch, their invitations to join them brushed over politely in her focus on the thing that had become the center of her world.

As if sensing her frustration, the object in question simply stared back, as if daring her to continue her wasted efforts. It seemed to take pleasure in her agony, though that couldn't be possible, could it?

It had started innocently enough. Someone from muggle artifacts passed her by and tossed it to her with a grin. "Here you go, thought you might like a stab at it. Confiscated it the other day, it's completely unsolvable, so don't stress yourself. Just thought you'd like a laugh before it ends up in a vault somewhere."

She smiled back then, and caught it in midair, ready to just use it as a paperweight, or give it a whirl before sending it back. She should have known better. It was so innocent, a child's toy, so harmless and it invited solving. Yet...she should have known better.

So now day three found herself sweating, muttering to herself, poking it from time to time, and becoming completely wrapped up in it with her every spare moment, gaining a respite only when paperwork was due, and even that was quickly becoming a lesser priority. She ignored the battered book in her drawer, a guide to solving this hellish monstrosity. She was going to do it herself, of she'd go insane trying...more insane than she was already. Ignoring the migraine making itself more pronounced, she picked it back up, turning it over and over in her hands, wondering where she went wrong. Finally, as if experiencing a sudden epiphany everything clicked into place. With a grin, suddenly everything was as it was meant to be, and she breathed out loudly, and put the toy in a place of honor, next to her inkwell and desk calendar. Even her headache had dimmed to almost nothing.

Now that her current crisis was solved she finally gave in and decided to find something for that persistent headache that had been nagging her all morning. She dug in her purse, looking for something, potion, pill, it didn't matter. As things tumbled around inside the almost bottomless bag, her compact popped open, giving her a brief view of herself before she set her purse back down uneasily. She didn't recognize herself at all. When had she become this? Her hair was mostly unmanageable, and she didn't always conform to a 'professional' dress code, but she prided herself on her efforts, usually. There was no mistaking it, the woman in the reflection had a ragged, unkempt appearance, her hair flying out behind her, no makeup, her blouse wrinkled in unlikely places due to being hunched over her desk for hours and...

As she looked up, the cube had completely undone itself, greens lined up with yellows, oranges and blues and reds all mixed together, and some of the patterns vaguely resembled a chat wink. With a yell she threw the cursed thing against the wall, taking an obscene pleasure in hearing bits and pieces hit the floor. As people began shuffling back in, she straightened herself up, running her hands down her shirt and the line of her skirt, and pulled her hair into a haphazard ponytail at the base of her neck. She strode over to the cube with purpose, ready to send it to tampered object hell...

It was unharmed, and if it was even possible, even more jumbled than before as if to say, "Do it! Fix me again! You can do it this time!

With a snarl, she snatched it up and shoved it in a cloth bag, the words "do not touch: evidence" stenciled neatly on the side. She sent a note out for someone to collect it, and sat down, determined to ignore it until it was removed. She meant it this time.

And poking it from time to time with her pencil didn't really count...did it?

"Barrister!"

Edwin had been stood in his office doorway, and had seen the cube sail across the room from the intern's desk with puzzlement. Her superior appeared in front of the witch's desk, dressed in a grey waistcoat suit and white shirt, his matching jacket on the back of his office chair. The Daily Prophet was spilled open on his desk, including notions of marriage to werewolves and broom faults that were causing a new model to fly backwards after 200 miles.

"Show me." He extended his hand for the object she had just unceremoniously shoved into her bag, and wiggled his fingers slightly to show he meant no harm. Rather than being angry at first, he'd been more amused at her frustration and the way it had clearly been tampered with by a witch or wizard to infuriate a Muggle, and now, Absinthe.

"Gosh, remember these from the 80s. They were all the rage. Couldn't help but notice it'd become a bit of a distraction for you this morning... where did it come from?" His keen eyes were steady upon her face.

Aisling had been staring at a particularly stubborn piece of paperwork for several minutes, occasionally breaking her eyes away from it for a sip of tea or just to stare at anything else. The Christmas holidays had left her tired, and her birthday had left her feeling rather old as well.

She wanted merely to return home and sleep. Which would be quite impractical, given that she had taken a little time off while the girls were home and still had some projects to catch up on.

And if she asked Edwin about taking a bit more she rather expected that he'd make something awkward out of it. Accidentally, perhaps, but Aisling was feeling rather worse than she had after her head injury, even.

The noise of, well, something, stirred her from her half-awake musings. Seemed that she might as well go and look-a little bit of a walk might wake her up. At least she'd mastered the art of looking awake, even if she did not feel it.

Intern Barrister-from whose desk the noise seemed to have come, looked rather frazzled once she came into sight. Aisling felt a twinge of worry for the young woman, feeling compelled to throw things was usually a poor sign. "Is something wrong?" She looked between Edwin and Barrister with just a little concern. That the item in question was from a couple of decades back didn't give her much to work with.

Abby's state of mind dulled pretty much everything to background noise, including her boss fairly roaring at her to get her attention. It took several seconds for it to sink in, but when it did, she cringed. Daring a glance up at him, she realized he probably wasn't angry at her, more than frustrated in trying to get her attention. And no doubt amused at her battle with the cursed toy, if the look in his eyes were any indication.

Right. The Toy. Her eyes darted back to it, while Edwin talked. Her fingers twitched noticeably, and it was just so close. All she had to do was unbutton the little cloth bag and tip it into her hand and...


"Show me."

She grinned at him, refocused now on his outstretched hand. It would be such a relief to just pass it on, to just let it go, let someone else have it, just forget it....even though she was soooo close to figuring it out...
His voice had been going on, and she had to concentrate to answer him, and tried to make herself sound as nonchalant as possible, "Oh, you know...one of the boys saw it in the Misuse of Muggle stuffs area, thought I'd have a bit of fun with it, you know..." she gestured vaguely at herself, in reference to her being muggleborn. Why people assumed she'd love to touch every muggle toy that came into the place simple because she was muggleborn was a mystery to her, but she had to admit there had been some pretty funny things that had floated through, most of them harmless so far.

Meanwhile the bag dangled from her fingertips as if it were no more important than a chocolate frog, or rememberall. She wasn't stalling, not at all. She'd pass it to him, of course she would, he was her boss after all and his word was law and...

"Is something wrong?"

For some odd reason, she felt like she had been issued a lifeline. Aisling stood there, lovely and professional and as cool and regal as a cucumber, making Abby even more self conscious than she had been just minutes before. Normally she looked up to her office mates especially titled ones, but Aisling's crisp, pristine appearance was like a personal affront. Even recovering from injuries, raising her children, working full time to boot, the woman still looked utterly flawless. Abby ahemmed and tugged on her shirt tails to try and at least look like she hadn't been on a three day bender, but gave it up almost immediately.

And there was Edwin's hand, still out expectantly. His eyes still trained on her, she felt like a specimen, and an amusing one at that. Between his staring and Aisling's calm queries, her interest -she'd never admit to a near addiction- seemed to fade slightly. With a sigh, she placed the standard ministry issue bag into his hand, and felt a sudden pressure seem to lift from her shoulders.

"No...not exactly wrong" she answered, her eyes drawn back to the bag.

"More like I got caught up in...a project" she hedged, feeling suddenly ridiculous.

Edwin's awaiting hand was answered and he cleared his throat as Aisling joined them - her outfit from the opera was still somewhat fresh in his mind's eye.

Unwrapping it from the bag he chuckled at the thing.
"Could have sworn you'd finished it earlier when I saw you - ahh... Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. They're infuriating enough without the ability to rework themselves." Grinning, he rotated the cube a few times, daring it to reshuffle after he let go.

"You any good at these?" He asked Aisling brightly, trying to catch her eye so he could toss it over to her to look at.

"Perhaps you better return it to Artefacts by the end of today. Wouldn't want you getting too distracted, Barrister." He waggled a finger, teasing her but no worse at this point. He wouldn't have taken the witch on in the Department if she hadn't shown some promise after all, Rubik cubes aside.

"What are you working on, at the moment?" He tapped her desktop with the same finger, raising an eyebrow in question.

A Rubik's cube. Well, that explained a great deal. "My sister showed me the trick to them once. After I had struggled with it for several hours, of course." Teagan did like to throw in a little teasing on occasion. " I should be able to remember it." Aisling looked over to Edwin, then extended her hand to take the affronting puzzle. "Assuming whatever was done didn't make such impossible."

Barrister still seemed a bit flustered, and Aisling sent a small, encouraging smile in her direction. "Can I bring either of you some tea? It seems I accidentally made a bit too much and I'd rather not drink all of it." It'd be easier to solve the cube at her desk, as well. "And after Christmas I think we could all use a moment to relax."

She smiled ruefully, glad for a little ribbing if it mean that that thing was out of her reach. The tingling in her fingers had faded to almost nothing, and the urge to just reach out and touch had lessened the more she kept her eyes off of it. She shrugged, a little embarrassed at how a request to just take a look at something had become her focus, now that she was a step removed and could look at it more objectively.

She looked over at Aisling's hands again. "It's not technically impossible, you know...it's just there seems to be some kind of impulse to keep solving it...As if you have a need to keep it ordered..." she ended, flustered. The other woman seemed perfectly matter of fact about it, and it made Abby wonder if perhaps she was simply easily preoccupied with things that others could pass up. At the offer of tea, her face lit up, and she accepted enthusiastically.  Tea could save the world! She was practically hopping with cheer at the idea of her hands being occupied with a cup rather than the cube from hell.
 
She reached over to a folder near her elbow and offered it to Edwin, grateful for something to show.
"Well, I was working on that," she nodded at the toy, ignoring a little voice in her head that told her to one more try, just one turn, just for a minute or two, it's so easy. "It seems to have a bit more than a charm to make it revert back to an unsolved puzzle," she added defensively, before changing the subject to the files in her hand.

"It seems someone sold some "suicidal desk lamps" to a few Muggles by "accident".  The minute the room is empty, they simply jump off the side of the table...Up till now they've been blamed on house pets or running children, except for that one fellow who walked in on his in mid fall...What these muggles think they're seeing..." her voice trailed off a bit in sympathy, "It's a bit like kicking a puppy, isn't it? Anyway, we've got the rest of the rogue lamps, the seller is in custody being questioned right now, and a team has been sent out to interview 'customers' as well as obliviate anyone who thinks they've seen anything shady. A few reports have come back already, the rest should be on the desk by the end of the work day", she finally finished, relieved she had something productive to contribute.

"Well, I was working on that, it seems to have a bit more than a charm to make it revert back to an unsolved puzzle,"

Barrister was gesticulating towards the cube in question.

"It seems someone sold some "suicidal desk lamps" to a few Muggles by "accident".  The minute the room is empty, they simply jump off the side of the table...Up till now they've been blamed on house pets or running children, except for that one fellow who walked in on his in mid fall...What these muggles think they're seeing... It's a bit like kicking a puppy, isn't it? Anyway, we've got the rest of the rogue lamps, the seller is in custody being questioned right now, and a team has been sent out to interview 'customers' as well as obliviate anyone who thinks they've seen anything shady. A few reports have come back already, the rest should be on the desk by the end of the work day"

"Good, glad to see that our work with Misuse of Muggle Artefacts office is still going smoothly," Edwin replied promptly to the explanation. "What would we do day to day without desk lamps that throw themselves to the floor, hmm?"

His eyes slid to the cube.
"I rather get the feeling you're fond of our sister office on level 2. Should I be worried they'll poach you?"

Yes, tea sounded good, but he couldn't have them slacking off for long. Always work to be done!

"That's quite useful to know, thank you." Aisling smiled at the intern. "I could try solving it and then utilize a sticking charm to hold it that way. These things can be easier to resist if you know their intent, but it'd rather be best to hand it over in a docile state if we can."

She gave Edwin a slightly pointed look, and indicated the cube. "I have some training in Occlumency, it should not be too hard to manage." It was more than some, in truth, but the nature of that was hardly appropriate for work. And Edwin knew enough of it to remember.

Barrister's case sounded rather...well, pleasantly small. Aisling found herself feeling a touch surprised that they had sent out Obliviators for it. "It sounds as if you two are quite atop that case, but let me know if there is any trouble. It seems that sort that might be amenable to an excuse or two." It was a process she had a certain experience with, after all.

"But I should attend to that tea. I will be right back. Do make sure that Mr. Glass doesn't run off with that cube." She gave Edwin a bit of a smile, then turned and headed back to her desk. If this took too long she rather expected that he'd start fussing.

And now folks, this is where Absinthe remembers why she never discusses her cases. Ever.

Why did she get the feeling that Aisling kind of...thought of her work as trifling? Simple? Unimportant?
Nothing in the other woman's tone or expression gave it away, but there was something.
Like it was all so easy and beneath her, or just...the word she was looking for hovered just out of reach, and words were never Absinthe's forte anyway. She smiled and nodded, and bit her tongue, and didn't add her own thoughts about the toy, mostly for her own benefit. The less she thought about it the better. Even now, she rubbed her damp palms on her skirt, as if straightening wrinkles, when in reality it just kept her from snatching it back and running off into the night cackling like a madwoman.

She had also considered a sticking charm the first time it scrambled itself...but that didn't really solve the problem, did it? The real issue wasn't even the fact that it kept rearranging itself, but what made her so obsessed with solving it, handling it, not letting it out of her sight, touching it, twisting it...

Her attention was full when Aisling mentioned Occlumency. Could you perform that on an inanimate object? She filed that question away for later, so she wouldn't look like an even bigger idiot than she did already. Finding herself alone with her boss, she grinned awkwardly and moved her hands as she talked.

"Poach me? Nah, they just like to throw stuff at me and laugh at the explosions. I'm afraid you're stuck with me boss"

"Stuck?" Edwin asked, as if mightily offended, but it was clear by the glint in his eye he wasn't. "Where would I be without my faithful Barrister?" He splayed his hands to shrug and looked over towards Aisling collecting the tea, trying not to be obvious about admiring her from behind.

"Overrun with suicidal lamps, for one thing." He gave her a nod and lowered his voice. "We all have to start somewhere Absinthe, I spent my first few years becoming somewhat used to writing up report after report on the same family who consistently missed the back doorstep and apparated into the Muggle neighbour's living room - frequently during their dinnertime. I think we were in double figures of obliviations until the apparatition office revoked their license entirely."

Aisling was back with the tea, he'd been watching her out of the corner of his eye since shed left.

"So if not lamps, what are we to do with you Barrister?" Edwin asked, and inclined slightly towards Aisling, "Obliviator? Or do you think we've potential for a Muggle worthy excuser?"

"Excuser, I'd say." Aisling set the tea tray down on a relatively empty spot of the desk when she returned, then peered at Barrister with a bit of a smile. "I could put in a good word or two, if you're interested." An Obliviator's work required, in her opinion, something a certain harshness that she could not see in the young intern.

She'd tucked a small package-one which she'd finally remembered to pull out from a desk drawer-under her arm, and now offered it to Edwin. Couldn't have his birthday present prove too late, in the end.

At this rate she'd start to think the cube was glued to his hand, however. But, if he wanted to manage it himself, so be it.

"I hope the tea is well. I'd best head back to my reports soon." There was always a stack of them, never too large, but never quite gone, either. Rather the way of things, in the end.