Team Work
Dominique sighed as she sat back in her chair and began to massage her temples. It had been weeks since they found the tip about the wizarding professor and still they had yet to locate him. Despite having tons of his books and manuscripts in the archives, there was next to nothing on the professor himself in the Ministry records. Not even a picture, which they all thought odd. Dominique felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head, she had read so many nearly indecipherable records books.
"Get your things, Dom," Chris said suddenly from across from her. Dominique jumped slightly, forgetting that he was there. Molly and Toby had gone off to lunch about 10 minutes ago, though Dominique said she wanted to finish up the section of the record book she was looking through before she left. She hadn't realized that Chris stayed behind as well.
"Why?" she asked.
"We're getting nowhere with this stuff. I think we should visit human resources at the last university he worked at," he said, pushing his chair back and standing.
"What makes you think we'll find something there? He hasn't worked there in years," Dominique said, looking up at him. Chris sighed.
"They usually have a database with personal records of all employees, both past and present. Even though he's not there anymore, we should be able to find a phone number or address – at the very least where he lived while he was teaching. Then we can go there and speak with the landlord and try to find a forwarding address," he said, looking as though he were explaining this to a child. Dominique sat up and narrowed her eyes.
"You don't have to be so patronizing," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Would you just get your things so we can go? I'm going to start crawling up the walls if I have to spend another minute in these caves," he said with a huff. Dominique didn't say anything as she stood and pulled her wand out. She grabbed her robe off the back of her chair and quickly transfigured it into a smart blazer. Smiling at her work, she pulled it on then reached for her purse and pulled it over her shoulder, sliding her wand into it.
"Ready," she said as she started walking to the door. She then stopped and turned to look at Chris, studying his apparel.
"Like what you see?" he asked with a smirk. Dominique sighed.
"Not particularly. You might want to look a bit more muggle if we're to go exploring a muggle university campus," she said. Chris pulled his wand out and quickly transfigured his auror robes into a normal-looking jacket and stuck his wand back in his pocket.
"Happy?" he asked, holding his arms out. Dominique looked him up and down, seeming unimpressed.
"It'll do," she said before turning and walking out with Chris chuckling as he followed her.
"So, what exactly is the plan?" Dominique asked as they walked across the large campus. She looked around, taking in the large amounts of muggles either rushing off to class or lounging around the large quad they were now traversing. A lot of them looked like they were close to her age – some older. She couldn't imagine having to attend another four years or more of school after Hogwarts. She enjoyed school, but was definitely glad to be finished with it.
"Well, we go into the office and just charm whoever is working the desk into searching for and giving us the information we're seeking," he said nonchalantly. Dominique whipped her head around to look at him.
"But we're not supposed to use magic on muggles," she whispered viciously.
"Says the woman who obliviated a professor a few weeks ago," Chris said, shooting her a smile.
"That was different," she said, looking forward again. "We're allowed to do that. It's part of the job."
"Relax, Dom. We're working for the auror's office. There are some loopholes for us," Chris said with a chuckle. "We won't do anything that isn't necessary and I assure you, it won't hurt them."
"Couldn't we just ask nicely?" Dominique said.
"You can't expect to just waltz in there and they'll give all the personal information about someone to two complete strangers just because they ask nicely," Chris said.
"We could say we're with Scotland Yard again," Dominique suggested.
"No. They'll want to see warrants and paperwork before they hand over the information. Trust me, Dom. It'll be fine. It's not like I'm going to use the Imperius Curse or something," Chris said lightly. He chuckled as Dominique's eyebrows shot up and her cheeks reddened at the mere mention of an Unforgivable Curse.
They continued walking until Chris led them into one of the many stately buildings on the campus. They walked to the lifts and went up to the third floor. Upon disembarking, Chris led her down the hall and into a rather ordinary office. Dominique was slightly disappointed at the mundane appearance compared to the grand architecture of the building itself.
"Can I help you?" a cheerful older woman said from behind a counter, a pair of glasses sliding down her nose. Chris walked over and smiled as he leaned against the counter.
"I certainly hope so," Chris said, looking down at the nameplate on the counter, "Ms. Smith." Dominique stepped up to his side, looking at the woman, though keeping an eye on Chris out of the corner of her eye. "We're hoping to find an old family friend. He was a professor here several years ago."
"Is that so?" the woman asked.
"Yes, my father unfortunately passed on recently and we're trying to track him down to let him know. They were good friends for a very long time, though… we seemed to have lost track of him. It's been years but as one of father's oldest friends, we felt he had a right to know," Chris explained, looking rather forlorn. Dominique wanted to roll her eyes as the older woman seemed to be eating it up. Her brow was furrowed as she stood and leaned over the counter, patting Chris on the arm.
"Oh, you poor dears," the woman said, looking back and forth between the two. "Well, we're not supposed to give out personal information of our staff, but… just give me his name and I'll see what I can find." Chris smiled.
"Thank you so much. It's Nikos Aliefantis. He taught history," Chris said, leaning on the counter. Dominique managed to look downcast as the woman glanced at her. She just tssked and looked back at the computer.
"My heart goes out to you. You both look too young to have lost a father," she said as she typed.
"We were very close," Dominique said softly, earning a warning glance from Chris. He didn't want her to say too much or make the story murkier.
"Well… let's see here. Yes, we do still have Nikos Aliefantis on record," the woman said, adjusting her glasses as she peered down at the screen. She reached for a pad of paper and a pen. "I'm not sure if he's still there, but here is the address and phone number we have listed for him." She quickly scribbled it down and then tore it off and handed it to Chris. "Now, this is just between me and you."
Chris smiled and took a deep breath.
"Thank you. This means so much to us," he said dramatically, as he took Dominique's hand and his eyes started to tear up slightly.
"Oh, you dears. If there's anything else I can do to help, you just come right back, understood?" the woman said, her own eyes starting to tear up. Chris nodded.
"Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day, Ms. Smith," he said before turning and guiding Dominique out of the office. He didn't say anything until they had exited the lift on the first floor and quickly walked out back into the quad. He then pulled the paper out of his pocket and looked it over.
"So what charm did you end up using?" Dominique asked. She hadn't seen or heard him do anything, but figure he must have done it while she was busy looking around the office as they walked in.
"Just good, old fashioned Chris Abbott charm," he said, grinning down at her. Dominique frowned slightly.
"You mean… you didn't use any magic on her?" she asked. Chris shook his head.
"You'd be surprised how much information you can get from someone by playing off their sympathy," he said, turning his attention back to the paper. Dominique looked over, seeing an address and phone number written down in neat, loopy handwriting.
"What are the chances that he's still there?" she asked, glancing up at him.
"Slim considering he seems to have dropped off the planet since he last taught here. But, maybe we can speak to the neighbors or landlord. Figure out if they know where he went next," he said. He led her over to a deserted alley in between buildings and held his arm out. "Ready?" Dominique nodded as she looped her arm through his and closed her eyes.
When she opened them after a loud pop, they were standing in an older neighborhood. It looked a bit rundown, but was still clean and respectable. Chris looked down at the paper and then at the building numbers. He started walking towards one that bore the same number as the paper.
They walked in and started towards the second floor, which was where the flat in question was located.
"This is it," Dominique said, stopping in front of No. 203. She glanced at Chris and then took a deep breath before knocking. Excitement started to bubble inside her. She knew there was a low chance the professor was actually here, but at least they were out doing something. She felt as though they were accomplishing something, even if it was just determining where he was not.
"Yes, can I help you?" a young woman said as she answered the door, seeming confused as to why two strangers would be knocking on her door in the middle of the day.
"We're looking for a Nikos Aliefantis and were wondering if perhaps he still lived here?" Dominique asked, smiling warmly at the woman in order to appear friendly and non-threatening. The woman opened the door a bit more, balancing a baby on her hip.
"I'm sorry, but no. He may have let the flat before me and my husband. We moved in about six years ago," she said. "Mrs. Weathers down the hall might be able to help you. She's lived here since the bloody place was built. Just a moment." The woman shut the door for a minute and then opened it again, re-emerging in a pair of slip-on loafers. She shut the door behind her and led the way down the hall. "Why are you looking for this man?" she asked, looking back at the couple. Dominique glanced at Chris.
"He's an old family friend that we unfortunately lost track of when we moved abroad," she said smoothly. "Now that we're back, we thought we'd track him down and get in touch." The woman nodded and then stopped in front of No. 204. She knocked and then shifted the baby to her other hip. It looked back at Chris and smiled, reaching for him. Chris frowned slightly and took a step back. Dominique had to cover her mouth to keep the giggles from pouring out.
"Alecia! What can I help you with?" a pleasant old woman said as she opened the door.
"Hello, Mrs. Weathers. These two just knocked on my door, askin' about the man who lived there before me. Thought you could help them," she said, stepping aside to show Chris and Dominique.
"Yes, we're looking to locate Nikos Aliefantis," Dominique said.
"Ah, yes! The professor! A very charming man," the old woman said, smiling. "Come in, come in." She motioned the two in as they smiled their thanks at the young woman. She started back down the hall as Mrs. Weathers shut the door behind them.
"I believe I have his new address somewhere around here. He sent me Christmas cards for a time though I haven't received one in a couple years or so," she said, walking through the room to a large desk that set in front of window. "Have a seat, please. It might take me some time. Can't see like I used to."
"Thank you very much for helping us, Mrs. Weathers," Dominique said as she and Chris settled on the sofa.
"Oh, it's no problem at all," the old woman said as she sat and opened one of the lower drawers and shuffled some papers around. "I quite enjoyed our chats. He's a very knowledgeable man. Wrote lots of books, you know."
"How long was he your neighbor?" Dominique asked.
"Oh, about 10… 15 years, I should think," the woman said, stopping her search momentarily. She then set back to searching through envelopes. "He has the loveliest accent. From Greece, as I recall. Though being an old family friend, I'm sure you know that." She glanced over at Dominique who smiled and nodded.
Chris took the opportunity to look around the old woman's home, noting the overabundance of knick knacks and photos. He secretly hoped the woman would hurry up. The longer she made small talk with them and asked about their relationship to the professor, the higher the chance one of them could screw up the story and make her suspicious.
"Ah, here we are!" Mrs. Weathers exclaimed, pulling an envelope out of the group. Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "He always sent me a Christmas card every year," she said, standing and walking over with it. "I don't like to throw things out because you never know when it might come in handy. Good thing I did." Dominique took the envelope and noted the address in the top left corner.
Paris, France.
She smiled and looked up at the elderly woman.
"Thank you so much," she said, pulled a notebook and pen out of her purse. She quickly copied the address down and handed the envelope back to Mrs. Weathers. She and Chris stood.
"It's no problem at all. I hope you're able to get in touch with him. Tell him Mrs. Weathers says hello," the woman said as she walked them back to the door. "If there's anything else you need, feel free to come back or contact me."
"We will. Have a good day, Mrs. Weathers," Chris said. The woman smiled and waved as they stepped out into the hallway and quickly walked down the hall. Dominique looked down at the notebook in her hand with the address on it. After discovering that he was no longer in Britain, she was hesitant to get excited about the new address. There was no telling if he would be in France either.
"Do you suppose he might be here?" she asked, glancing up at Chris. He shrugged.
"The records on him here seem to stop about six years ago, so it makes sense that he would move there. Whether he's still there, I suppose we'll have to find out," Chris said. Dominique nodded as she slid it in her purse. They were walking down the stairs to the first floor when Dominique stopped. She grabbed Chris' arm and yanked him over to a stop.
"We need to go to Paris," she said, when he turned to look at her, questioning her actions.
"I doubt Teddy is going to let us go running off to France," he said, turning to keep walking down the stairs.
"I'm serious, Chris," Dominique said, pulling on his arm again. "Look, my brother lives there now – we can stay with him. And we have a cousin on our mum's side who works in the French Ministry of Magic. Not to mention, I do speak fluent French, if that's what you're worried about."
Chris narrowed his eyes at her.
"I can speak French. That's not what I'm worried about," he said.
"Then what?" she asked. "Look, let's just go for a couple days, poke around and see what we can find. Worst case, we don't find anything and we can cross it off our list, come back and keep at it here. Best case, we find another lead or we find him. And don't worry about Teddy. I can talk him into anything." Chris studied Dominique a moment, then nodded, turned and continued walking down the stairs. Dominique huffed slightly, irritated that he didn't say anything to her.
"Really? You're not even going to say anything?" she said.
"You want me to say something? Fine. We leave tomorrow afternoon. Can you get word to your brother on when we'll arrive?" he asked. Dominique froze as she stepped on to the first floor landing.
"You agree? We're going to Paris?" she asked, starting to smile. Chris turned to face her and shrugged.
"Would be faster for us to go and investigate ourselves. We seem to make a good team. I think you're right. We should go to Paris," he said, smiling slightly at her. Dominique stopped herself from squealing in joy and instead settled for a triumphant grin.
"Wait, but what about Teddy?" she asked.
"Let me take care of him," Chris said, glancing over his shoulder. He stepped over to a quiet corner on the first floor of the building and looked down at Dominique. "Ready?" She nodded and stepped close to him, grabbing hold of his arm.
"Let's go," she said with a smile just before they disappeared with a pop.
For someone who watches a lot of crime/cop dramas and reads a lot of mystery/spy novels, it's surprisingly hard to write all the investigation stuff. Still not completely happy with some of it, but it's the best I can do. I hope it's enjoyable to you guys!
Aleenabean: I'm glad you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! And yea, you gotta have your support group around you in tough times.
sunrisekisses: I thought it was a fun way to get out what's going on in the various facets of the family. Man, so many people in this family to keep up with. I still haven't completely decided what to do with Chris-Dominique. In the original plotline, Chris and Dominique getting together was supposed to be one of the main storylines, but with the new plotline, I'm not completely sure where I want it to go. Definitely don't think it'll be resolved by the end of this book at least.
As always, thanks for reading, following and reviewing!