Sandy did not use his office very much at Witch Weekly. There was dust on the bookshelves. On the bookshelves were bound copies of the magazine. The volumes went right back to when his father started the magazine. It was Monday morning. Sandy was working at the hospital that afternoon. He was going there after his meeting. He was dressed in one of his dark blue suits. It made him feel more confident. He was anxious about yesterday's interview. Koko had met Miranda Storm face to face. Andy had not owled him. Koko was not in custody. That meant it must have gone ok. He really hoped.

His office door was half open. As he waited for Koko to come in he looked out the window into Diagon Alley. His hands tipped over a snow globe of the Diagon Alley headquarters. The glass glowed with the logo and snow swirled inside. Once it had greeted with a voice but the charm had long worn off. It was a milder day. Spring was coming but the nights were frosty. Sandy still had his 'guest' at home. Josie was with him. He hoped she could befriend him and get him to talk. A noise at the door made Sandy turn round. As he was anxious he looked very strict. He looked like he might snap at his employee.

Tagged M for mature language


Morning. Stupid mornings. Koko preferred waking after noon and taking her time getting in to the offices, where she spent most of her energy in the bullpen of desks working with the magazine's other writers.  Contrary to popular belief her articles weren't always the product of one person's efforts - she had help with sources and phrasing and ideas.

There was a large bulletin board near the mass of tables. Photos were pinned up, drawn on, notes attached or scribbled underneath. Someone was throwing darts at the grinning image of Persepolis Zephyr.

      "Oi, put on some fucking clothes Yukawa."
She tossed her tote bag on her cluttered desk near the entrance, pausing only to take out a roll of parchment and a cigarette before replying. "No. Light me up."

The fair haired wizard who had complained - George - didn't seem to mind her cheek, and used his wand to light the cigarette. "Cheers. I'm off to face the fella," Koko gave him a peck on the lips before she headed straight for Sandy's office, heels clicking hard against the floor. "Someone get me the exact quote from level 2, I'll need it later."


Sandy Misslethorpe was dressed very seriously and had a face to match it. Koko closed the door behind her as she entered, smiling at him in her confident way. "Morning, boss...." she said this without any weight.

He wasn't really a boss anyway. But she thought he was nice, nicer than most shit heads she meets on the job. Lil Snigger took off her hat and placed it on the table. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"You want to hear it ad verbatim or do you want the story?"

Koko was underdressed. She always was. What she was dressed in did not stop her writing stuff that sold. But she did wish she put something smart on when she represented the magazine. His gaze lingered on her hat.
"Good morning." Sandy greeted. He left the snowglobe alone and turned to face her. "You mean there was a story?" Sandy asked. His eyes were narrow. He looked like he was scowling. "I did not have any angry owls last night so I trust you had a pleasant chat?" Hopefully Andy had not been sound wound up and had not gone on a rant. "What angle have you decided on? Then I want to hear what she said." He was glad he was not stuttering this morning. Koko did not make him nervous. He could stop her story from getting printed still. He would read it before it printed. He was more anxious about what he was prepared to print and defend.

She did a mock salute, sitting on the edge of the table and crossing her arms as he spoke. He was worried. Koko wondered if he had stomach ulcers and felt annoyed that someone like Miranda Storm could give their magazine's proprietor a stomach ulcer. She probably made more people sick than she healed them!

"Very pleasant chat. After I took off the recording charm she threatened to," here she had to use air quotes because Merlin knew what the woman had meant, "destroy me. What a bitch."

Lots of people threatened to destroy Lil Snigger. It was never personal. The Head Healer was making it personal because of Sandy - this was a mistake. Koko unrolled the parchment from her tote and gave a glance at the notes she had messily made last night. The boss asked for an angle and here was the angle.

"She's anti-DMLE. I mean, they haven't caught Musgrave and she's obviously biased." The journalist squinted at her own handwriting. "Admits it was a mistake to let the bastard in so we're going to play on her thinking she knows better than the Aurors."

Koko looked up at Sandy with a dry smile. "I got us someone on level 2 who says Carstairs thinks she's trying to butt into their investigation." Anonymous of course but she knew who it was - they protected their sources. "Mental, right? And then maybe end it on her threats to destroy me or whatever but I'll have to write that as my humble word against hers."

Sighing, she rolled up the parchment again and looked at her hat. "Give it a tap and it'll talk."

Her hat had a mouth. Nothing sentient like the famed Sorting Hat - the mouth appeared when you gave it a tap with your wand and repeated everything it had heard, like a Wireless. Koko was never without it.

"It is how she gets her kicks." Sandy told Koko. He shook his head. Much as he and Andy were good friends, he did not enjoy that part of her. "It is mostly bluster. You should see her in the presence of her father." A bit of a smile appeared on Sandy's face. Miranda's father was on the hospital board. Still he liked Koko's angle. He hummed quietly and drew his long lignum vitae wand from his robes. He tapped her hat. As it spoke Sandy rubbed his thumb across his chin.

Other parts of the jigsaw fell into place. He listened carefully. Sandy looked at Koko and shook his head a bit as she poked fun about babies and Andy's new husband. He was a little disapproving but he was not mad. When the recording ended Sandy frowned.
"That was perfectly boring." He sighed. "But exactly what And- Storm wanted. To set her record straight and to look Lil Snigger in the eye." Sandy licked his lips. "Butt into their investigation you say?" Sandy asked. "Take matters into their own hands more like. Her husband nearly killed Lawrence Musgrave." He folded his arms again. Then as an afterthought added "... So my sources in Hogsmeade told me."

Koko cackled delightedly at the idea of Healer Storm mouthing off at her father - he must have been just as bad! One monster to raise another. Better than that image, though, was something like a smile replacing Sandy's scowl. Good. She was getting worried they'd have to start sending him milk of magnesia at work.

As the hat started reeling off the short interview, she smoked the rest of her cigarette.

It tasted like cloves. A lot of people hated the taste but the smell was nice and inoffensive, unlike Lil Snigger herself. She shrugged at the bit about babies; it had been a failed attempt find a reaction. When the wizard was done listening she put out the cigarette because it was time to properly talk shop. Miranda had been SO dull in the interview but there were quotes Koko could use to lead in to her other sources.

"Nearly killed him?" she reached into the pocket of her pink joggers, taking out a quill and turning over to the blank side of her notes parchment; they didn't record conversations in the offices as a precaution. Koko was grinning at Sandy using the word 'sources'.

Maybe there was a real reporter in him after all! Oh she hoped so. That would be bloody brilliant. "My source says she wanted to start poking around in people's heads. Asked Carstairs to let her interview a convicted criminal." Koko glanced up at her superior, pointedly. "Your sources quotable? Or is it down to paraphrasing?"

Sandy bristled. He did not like the thought of Andy poking around in heads. He knew Andy was a very good legilimens.
"Audacious of her. I am surprised Sol did not have her escorted from the building." Andy was getting too big for her boots. There was an example of bluster. "My sources are strictly anonymous, as am I as a conductor." He narrowed his eyes and tightened his arms folded over his chest. "But there was a lot of blood in their garden. She lures him in the house for her capable husband to finish off. They had a better chance than Magical Law Enforcement. But he still got away. Have there been any demenetor attacks since? Not any worth reporting. Maybe Musgrave is dead." Sandy put his hands on the table and leaned. "We can only state observations. Speculation. She admitted luring him in. He is a scary bugger. He has a past. See what you can dig up."

Mind-readers always scared the shite out of Koko so she could understand why Sandy reacted the way he did. She trusted people like Miranda Storm to be principled and not go round peeking into people's private thoughts but if the witch was getting a bit mad and trying to play Auror then who was to say she didn't already do this?

"Of course." Lil Snigger zipped her lips with a quick nod when she was told that neither the wizard nor his sources would be named; she didn't have to know who it was to use it.

Her quill scratched away, noting everything Sandy was telling her.... she looked up with wide and genuinely surprised eyes. Was he suggesting that the Storms were a murder couple?! Or, well, vigilante couple. Koko stood up and paced a bit, holding the quill unconsciously to her chin. This was unexpected.

She had come in thinking she'd have to convince their proprietor that Miranda couldn't expect special treatment from the free press just because she was his boss. Snigger wasn't expecting this.

But god she loved it. "Lots of question marks as usual then," Koko muttered - Witch Weekly specialised in question marks - and stopped pacing to look at him. "Is Lawrence Musgrave dead? Does Miranda Storm want to interview ol' Shufflebottom so that she can stop him from spilling the beans on them? Who's to say dear reader, although maybe our beloved Head Healer is up to more than just healing the sick."

This was all rambling in a newspaper voice, the dramatic one with which she always read the final proof for the other reporters. Koko grinned at Sandy. "This sounds an awful lot like real journalism. I'll see what I can find on Musgrave to support the angle," she gave a more serious salute now. "Anything else?"

"And on Ignan Storm." Sandy said. "I-I meant him. I was thinking out loud. Apologies." Koko was experienced enough to do digging on everyone. He hoped not himself too. "Too busy playing auror to spot the catastrophe last year?" Sandy shrugged. That was too far a link. Andy would definitely sack him. "No." He said quietly.

He lifted his hands and turned to face Koko. "You know we all went to school together? Me, Storm, Shufflebottom and Musgrave?" Perhaps she did. "Shufflebottom is thick as. The whole family are. His wife is Miranda's cousin. Miranda is an old friend of mine. I would not ask you to oblige an interview if she were not. I am happy with the angle. Just let our readers draw the conclusion. Include a dot to dot puzzle if it helps." Sandy was being sarcastic. He knew a lot of their readers were the same intelligence as Shufflebottom. "Owl me your draft."

Koko nodded, making another quick note on the parchment that was quickly running out of space. Ignan Storm was sort of a pet favourite for the magazine - ever since he was named number one bachelor. All Defences professors had secret backgrounds. She knew this because she studied at Hogwarts in a time when they was always a new one every year.

McGonagall was in charge now, though, and Koko didn't think the Deputy Headmaster could possibly be that bad if she trusted him.

They were opting out of the hospital angle, which was fine. If articles were too complicated people didn't like to read them: nobody wanted to do homework to understand gossip. Lil Snigger finally returned quill and parchment back to her pocket.

"Can't imagine all of you young and sprightly," she laughed even though this was the truth. They never looked into Misslethorpe's past - they wouldn't be able to run anything scandalous if they found something anyway. Still, she kept that fact to speculate on later.

It might be handy some day. "I'll send someone over, not an owl. Healer Storm threatened me... what, three times? I'm not trusting the birds even. If I go missing you know who to look for."

A lie. There was a long list of people to look at if she ever went missing, much longer than just Miranda Storm or her husband. The witch gave Sandy a perky little wave as she headed out, back to the bullpen. "Take it easy at the hospital, fearless leader."