It was going to be difficult.
It came to her as more feeling than thought. Or maybe both. Alexis couldn't tell. But she knew her instincts were in great shape, and she knew, before she even walked into Fudge's office, that whatever he would ask of her would be very difficult indeed.
Alexis entered Fudge's office at her usual brisk pace and plopped down in the first seat in the back row. She swung her long legs on the chair in front of her, to discourage anyone sitting there. She knew Fudge would give her disproving looks for this, probably hold her back afte the meeting to chew her out, but she didn't care. She needed her space, and she was in no mood for small talk this morning.
Fudge was seated at the desk. True to form, he frowned and gestured for her to put her feet down as her co-workers filed in. She hid her smile behind a yawn, and kept her feet where they were.
Fudge frowned deeper, but let it slide. Alexis smiled again, relishing getting her own way over the Boss.
"Alright folks," Fudge began, "this one's pretty simple. We have only one objective this time."
"Only one?" an agent snorted sarcastically from the middle row. The rest of the department laughed, Alexis included. Fudge frowned at them again, and adjusted his reading glasses.
"Yes. Only one." He replied sharply. The whole room suddenly became quiet. Fudge rarely snapped, not to the "elite" crew -- them -- at least. "I don't care how you do it," he continued, "but your number one objective right now is to find and contain the Red Carnelian."
Alexis's feet jerked, knocking the chair over with a loud crash. Fudge really glared at her this time, as the whole room turned around to stare. "Sorry!" she said sheepishly, righting the chair and sitting back down.
"What is the Red Carnelian?" someone from the front row asked. Fudge simply stared at him for a long time, without answering. The whole room began shifting in their seats uncomfortably. Alexis knew that whatever it was, had to be bad enough for Fudge to act so out of character at the office.
"That is not your concern," Fudge finally snapped at the agent. "Your objective is to find it! You'll be given necessary pictures of the item, so you can retrieve it. Buses leave in approximately one hour. I suggest you memorize and destroy those photos in that time period. That's it. See you in an hour."
Alexis got up shakily from her seat. The Red Carnelian? Had Fudge finally lost it? Judging from the way the rest of the agents left the room, murmuring, Alexis guessed that they felt the same way.
"Hey, Fudge!" Alexis called, approaching his desk. He looked up from his papers and gave her an odd stare--like he was X-raying her or something. It made her shiver. "Yes, Alexis?" he replied.
Alex shook herself. "What's the deal with this case? The Red Carnelian? Don't you know that it's--"
"Cursed, Agent De Meara?" Fudge said frostily. Alexis was taken aback by his tone. "Yes, I know it's cursed," he said drily, "isn't that the Ministry's job? To deal with cursed objects?"
"Yes, sir. But--"
"No 'buts', Agent De Meara," Fudge interrupted. "My job is to assign the tasks. Your job is to follow orders. Is that clear?"
Alexis was shocked. "Yes, sir," she finally replied.
"Good." Fudge said, and went back to his papers. Alexis stood looking at him for a moment, not quite believing what had just transpired. Fudge looked up again."That will be all, Agent De Meara," Fudge said tightly.
"What? Oh - yes, sir," Alexis said, turning her heel sharply and stalking out the door.
Outside, the whole office was bedlam. Agents swarmed all over the place, talking to both themselves and each other...
"Can you believe the size of this thing?" "Look at how RED it is...." "HOW are we going to explain this to the Headmaster?!? Doesn't he hate us, or something??" "The grounds of this place are huge. How are we ever going to find it?" "What crawled up Fudge's bottom and died?!" "Did he seem uber-stressed to you too?" "How could he seem anything else? He looked like someone left the hanger in his shirt when he put it on this morning!"
Alexis let the turmoil swirl over and around her. As soon as she got back to her desk, she took out the manilla envelope and reached in for its contents. Her hands shook a bit when the first thing she pulled out was a photo of the Red Carnelian itself.
She simply stared at it. She was too shocked to do anything else. It seemed to glow on paper, a big ugly oozing crimson. A lot like blood, she thought sadly. She plopped down in her desk chair and sighed. A wave of nostalgia washed over her and, putting aside the picture of the stone for a moment, she took out a couple framed photos she kept locked in her desk drawer at all times.
Hard to believe she'd be going back there. It had been, what? Fifty years? How time flies, she thought wryly. She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with all the memories that would surely come up once she was there. She'd tried to avoid the place for so long. Her fingers gently brushed over the more recent photo of a young boy -- a young man, really -- standing with 3 other magic students. His faded-red scar zipped down the middle of his forehead, and his glasses looked like they needed cleaning. Alexis smiled at this.
Will he remember me at all? The thought came unbidden to her mind. Shocked, she quickly turned the photo face-down on her desk and stared at her cubicle wall in front of her. Oh gawd! He was going to meet her! Why didn't I think of this before? she thought frantically, wondering what to do.
"HEY ALEX! GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR! LOADING'S IN FIVE MINUTES!"
Jumping, Alexis swept her arm over the photos, dumping them back into the drawer and locking it. "I'M COMING!" she shouted back, grabbing her file, making doubly sure the drawer was locked on her way out.
She'd handle that bridge when she crossed it. For now, she had other business to attend to.
********************************************* ***********************************************
Had the lights been on, and someone left working at their desks, they would've seen the silent apparition. But no one was there, and thus, no one noticed the dark figure sliding down the empty department an hour after everyone had left.
It glided smoothly, softly, making no noise. It stopped abruptly at Alexis's desk, head turning sharply, as if it suddenly smelled what it was looking for. Swooping down, the figure pointed its finger at the drawer. It popped open, and the figure withdrew the two framed photos.
If the place had been lit, and if anyone had been there, they would've seen a very strange, cold smile light up the stranger's face. Its eyes glowed red for a moment, almost in esctasy, as it held the photos to its bosom.
Then the photos disappeared inside the cape, as the creature slided back down the hallway as quickly and silently as it came, leaving her drawer open in her cubicle.
It came to her as more feeling than thought. Or maybe both. Alexis couldn't tell. But she knew her instincts were in great shape, and she knew, before she even walked into Fudge's office, that whatever he would ask of her would be very difficult indeed.
Alexis entered Fudge's office at her usual brisk pace and plopped down in the first seat in the back row. She swung her long legs on the chair in front of her, to discourage anyone sitting there. She knew Fudge would give her disproving looks for this, probably hold her back afte the meeting to chew her out, but she didn't care. She needed her space, and she was in no mood for small talk this morning.
Fudge was seated at the desk. True to form, he frowned and gestured for her to put her feet down as her co-workers filed in. She hid her smile behind a yawn, and kept her feet where they were.
Fudge frowned deeper, but let it slide. Alexis smiled again, relishing getting her own way over the Boss.
"Alright folks," Fudge began, "this one's pretty simple. We have only one objective this time."
"Only one?" an agent snorted sarcastically from the middle row. The rest of the department laughed, Alexis included. Fudge frowned at them again, and adjusted his reading glasses.
"Yes. Only one." He replied sharply. The whole room suddenly became quiet. Fudge rarely snapped, not to the "elite" crew -- them -- at least. "I don't care how you do it," he continued, "but your number one objective right now is to find and contain the Red Carnelian."
Alexis's feet jerked, knocking the chair over with a loud crash. Fudge really glared at her this time, as the whole room turned around to stare. "Sorry!" she said sheepishly, righting the chair and sitting back down.
"What is the Red Carnelian?" someone from the front row asked. Fudge simply stared at him for a long time, without answering. The whole room began shifting in their seats uncomfortably. Alexis knew that whatever it was, had to be bad enough for Fudge to act so out of character at the office.
"That is not your concern," Fudge finally snapped at the agent. "Your objective is to find it! You'll be given necessary pictures of the item, so you can retrieve it. Buses leave in approximately one hour. I suggest you memorize and destroy those photos in that time period. That's it. See you in an hour."
Alexis got up shakily from her seat. The Red Carnelian? Had Fudge finally lost it? Judging from the way the rest of the agents left the room, murmuring, Alexis guessed that they felt the same way.
"Hey, Fudge!" Alexis called, approaching his desk. He looked up from his papers and gave her an odd stare--like he was X-raying her or something. It made her shiver. "Yes, Alexis?" he replied.
Alex shook herself. "What's the deal with this case? The Red Carnelian? Don't you know that it's--"
"Cursed, Agent De Meara?" Fudge said frostily. Alexis was taken aback by his tone. "Yes, I know it's cursed," he said drily, "isn't that the Ministry's job? To deal with cursed objects?"
"Yes, sir. But--"
"No 'buts', Agent De Meara," Fudge interrupted. "My job is to assign the tasks. Your job is to follow orders. Is that clear?"
Alexis was shocked. "Yes, sir," she finally replied.
"Good." Fudge said, and went back to his papers. Alexis stood looking at him for a moment, not quite believing what had just transpired. Fudge looked up again."That will be all, Agent De Meara," Fudge said tightly.
"What? Oh - yes, sir," Alexis said, turning her heel sharply and stalking out the door.
Outside, the whole office was bedlam. Agents swarmed all over the place, talking to both themselves and each other...
"Can you believe the size of this thing?" "Look at how RED it is...." "HOW are we going to explain this to the Headmaster?!? Doesn't he hate us, or something??" "The grounds of this place are huge. How are we ever going to find it?" "What crawled up Fudge's bottom and died?!" "Did he seem uber-stressed to you too?" "How could he seem anything else? He looked like someone left the hanger in his shirt when he put it on this morning!"
Alexis let the turmoil swirl over and around her. As soon as she got back to her desk, she took out the manilla envelope and reached in for its contents. Her hands shook a bit when the first thing she pulled out was a photo of the Red Carnelian itself.
She simply stared at it. She was too shocked to do anything else. It seemed to glow on paper, a big ugly oozing crimson. A lot like blood, she thought sadly. She plopped down in her desk chair and sighed. A wave of nostalgia washed over her and, putting aside the picture of the stone for a moment, she took out a couple framed photos she kept locked in her desk drawer at all times.
Hard to believe she'd be going back there. It had been, what? Fifty years? How time flies, she thought wryly. She wasn't sure how she was going to deal with all the memories that would surely come up once she was there. She'd tried to avoid the place for so long. Her fingers gently brushed over the more recent photo of a young boy -- a young man, really -- standing with 3 other magic students. His faded-red scar zipped down the middle of his forehead, and his glasses looked like they needed cleaning. Alexis smiled at this.
Will he remember me at all? The thought came unbidden to her mind. Shocked, she quickly turned the photo face-down on her desk and stared at her cubicle wall in front of her. Oh gawd! He was going to meet her! Why didn't I think of this before? she thought frantically, wondering what to do.
"HEY ALEX! GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR! LOADING'S IN FIVE MINUTES!"
Jumping, Alexis swept her arm over the photos, dumping them back into the drawer and locking it. "I'M COMING!" she shouted back, grabbing her file, making doubly sure the drawer was locked on her way out.
She'd handle that bridge when she crossed it. For now, she had other business to attend to.
********************************************* ***********************************************
Had the lights been on, and someone left working at their desks, they would've seen the silent apparition. But no one was there, and thus, no one noticed the dark figure sliding down the empty department an hour after everyone had left.
It glided smoothly, softly, making no noise. It stopped abruptly at Alexis's desk, head turning sharply, as if it suddenly smelled what it was looking for. Swooping down, the figure pointed its finger at the drawer. It popped open, and the figure withdrew the two framed photos.
If the place had been lit, and if anyone had been there, they would've seen a very strange, cold smile light up the stranger's face. Its eyes glowed red for a moment, almost in esctasy, as it held the photos to its bosom.
Then the photos disappeared inside the cape, as the creature slided back down the hallway as quickly and silently as it came, leaving her drawer open in her cubicle.