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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Oct 8, 2010 16:59:27 GMT -5
"Right this way sir." Knobb bowed, indicating the human forward. The human was dressed fashionably, his robes the exact cut that was 'in' this season. He held a certain presence, seemed to command.
Jack nodded politely to the goblin, smiling warmly as he turned to show the way to Jack's vault, though it wasn't as if this was their first time opening it. Jack had been doing business with Mr Knobb Wiffle for decades now, they were comfortable in their relationship, a warm regard without being friends. It was strictly business, though very definitely good business.
They approached the Harkness family vault, number 819. with great care the goblin deactivated the trap spells, unlocked the door. He opened it and stood back with a bow. More curtly now, Jack nodded and strode past in a whirl of robes.
Some time later, he had just taken his leave of Mr Wiffle, and was now striding from the bank, a package about the size of a large book tucked under his arm protectively. He paused outside the door before descending the steps, looking around.
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Post by sam on Oct 9, 2010 1:49:46 GMT -5
"Good morning, Minister." Vladek spoke directly to the official as he bounded up the steps to the entrance of Gringotts Bank. The Divination Professor kept his focus on the ground and did not immediately make eye contact with Jack Harkness until he reached the top level of the stairs and suddenly stopped. He turned and stared behind him to where the Minister stood, looking momentarily concerned for the man he knew well.
"Sir, I advise you to relieve yourself of that immediately. Keep it safe but do not take it with you to your office. Do you understand?"
Vladek levelled his deep aqua gaze at Harkness so as to reaffirm his point before he disappeared like a shadow amidst the traffic of witches and wizards.
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Oct 9, 2010 17:39:06 GMT -5
"Good morning, Minister."
“Good morning, Professor.” Jack replied amicably, straightening out a crease in his robes. He knew the man well, his family, as well as the man himself, was quite prominent in the social circles and political rings the Minister himself moved in.
Satisfied as to his appearance, Jack gripped the package more firmly and started to descend the stairs. It was a very important and rather prone to fragileness, and he must immediately get it to-- where?
"Sir, I advise you to relieve yourself of that immediately. Keep it safe but do not take it with you to your office. Do you understand?"
Startled, the minister swung around, finding himself locked in Vladek’s gaze. It lasted a mere moment, and the professor was turning away into the bank. Jack turned away, puzzled, and continued on his descent. He turned after a few steps, looking back up at the bank, as if for answers.
go back after him.
Something nudged him, and he found himself climbing swiftly, entering Gringott’s, looking around for the seer. He needed to flag the man down, to ask him what he meant. How could he know?
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Post by sam on Oct 9, 2010 18:09:24 GMT -5
Vladek was kneeling on the ground before Knobb Wiffle when Jack Harkness re-entered Gringotts Bank, package in hand. The Professor and the finely-dressed goblin spoke in hushed tones but their conversation was already ending and the goblin appeared far more concerned than he had been minutes earlier. The banker motioned quickly to a number of colleagues, who appeared ready on standby. Vladek motioned for the Minister to join them.
"Sir, if you excuse me, I must take your package." Tor waited for the Minister to hand him the parcel, all the while keeping tabs of their surroundings: 10 wizards, 4 witches, a hitwizard and 15 goblins. The hitwizard began to approach the small group but Vladek shook his head to ward the man away.
"Mr. Wiffle, if you could please ensure that it remains in 815 with the rest of the Minister's possessions until you have heard from him?"
Knobb Wiffle acknowledged the order silently.
"Very good. Thank you." He continued to address the Minister. "Please excuse my precautions, Minister. If I felt you would not have followed, I would have asked for the item while we were in the Alley. Diagon is far more public than I wish it at this moment. Mr. Wiffle and his staff are temporarily moving your belongings to a holding vault. Yours will be robbed this evening, but they will not find what they are looking for. Next they will try your office. It's a rather special artifact, isn't it? It would be unfortunate if it fell in to the wrong hands."
The hitwizard tried to approach the pair again, this time his sense of duty overriding the seer's caution. He spoke with a thick Liverpudlian accent.
"Everything alright, Minister Harkness?"
Tor's calm voice penetrated the ranking official's mind: Everything is fine. Say nothing to him of this.
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Post by Maebh Breandan on Oct 10, 2010 0:44:27 GMT -5
It wasn't everyday that a gypsy stepped into a bank and didn't melt, or try to steal anything. V was not casing the place. No she was actually a patron. Keeping all of ones gold in a family wagon, no matter how many locks it was buried under, was not the most productive means of safety. While she was in London her a good part of her money resided in the bank. Maevh jingled as she walked, her gauzy skirts lined with old coins. It had been her grandmothers before her, and the old woman had actually sewed several kunts, and even gallons into the linings, although only a few coins remained in the outfit, it still sung.
V glided through the bank, her blue eyes dancing around, checking the exits and where people stood. It was a bad habit. She did not like to be surprised. Her blue eyes wondered over two smartly dressed men, several times. Surrounded by goblins, they would have drawn attention wearing hand me downs. Was that the minister? That man sure had gall to show himself in public. Maebh's ID card that branded her as an outside, a halfblood burned in her pocket. No one had the right to know such intimate details of her on spot. It was ridiculous. Without think of the consequences, V headed over towards the minister and his hunchmen, whipping out the hated parchment. She'd been about to pull out her wand when she noticed the approaching hitwizard. A pulled wand on the minister was stupid, even if she was incensed. Her fingers twitched, it was very tempting to transfigure the man's clothes into a monkey suite and put a strange jingling hat on his head. But she would refrain.
All she did was stop as close as she could to the minister, spit at his feet and threw her identification card there and spun away, her heels rapping angrily on the marble floor.
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Oct 10, 2010 13:51:47 GMT -5
"Sir, if you excuse me, I must take your package."
The minister raised a brow, a questioning look on his face. He maintained possession of the artefact. He had somewhere to take the thing to, and handing it over to Professor Tor was not on his list.
listen. where? tell me.
"Mr. Wiffle, if you could please ensure that it remains in 815 with the rest of the Minister's possessions until you have heard from him?"
“Professor Tor.” Jack said somewhat icily. “What is this all about?”
"Very good. Thank you." He continued to address the Minister. "Please excuse my precautions, Minister. If I felt you would not have followed, I would have asked for the item while we were in the Alley. Diagon is far more public than I wish it at this moment. Mr. Wiffle and his staff are temporarily moving your belongings to a holding vault. Yours will be robbed this evening, but they will not find what they are looking for. Next they will try your office. It's a rather special artifact, isn't it? It would be unfortunate if it fell in to the wrong hands."
Jack stood straighter, his eyes narrowing as he focused on the seer. “And you saw this, I presume? And decided to take matters into your own hands, is it?” Knobb was rather anxious, a fact that was only betrayed by his shifting feet. The goblin’s face was impassive, as usual.
“Mr Minister…” He began.
"Everything alright, Minister Harkness?"
Everything is fine. Say nothing to him of this.
The minister threw an irritated look in Tor’s direction. “Fine, fine.” He said, adjusting his grip on the heavy package. “Just some business. Hitwizard Jameson, isn’t it?” The man nodded.
“Yes sir.”
“Nothing to worry about, Professor Tor and I are merely discussing a, transaction.” Jack smiled genuinely.
Something floated down, landing near his feet, followed by a wad of spit. The minister’s gaze was drawn to a gaudily dressed gypsy, stalking away. He held out a hand to restrain the hitwizard, bending to retrieve the paper.
“Now, that’s sad.” He remarked, examining the heavy-weight card. “I intend for these to be freeing, to show the world that we’re not biased on blood type any more.” He smiled at Jameson and Tor. “After all, the minister’s a Muggleborn. Isn’t it time we put that behind us?”
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Post by sam on Oct 10, 2010 18:02:11 GMT -5
"Well," said Tor somewhat matter-of-factly, "I suppose not everyone's ready to come out of the blood status closet. If it were that behind us, we would have no reason to require it on any form of official identification and yet here it is. People love secrets, my Lord. Just not their own."
Tor's eyes narrowed as he read the identification card over the Minister's shoulder. He recognized the gypsy as belonging to the caravan in Hogsmeade and wondered the extent of disservice caused by the label "halfblood." We wagered that gypsies were acquainted with being treated as different, but such a display suggested the damage was more. Seeing no retaliation by the Minister -
"If you are not going to pursue this incident, I can return the card to Miss Breandan on my way back to the school. Her family is performing in Hogsmeade, at least for the next few weeks. I imagine this is the extent of her public protest."
Below the three gentlemen, a number of slighter goblins grew anxious, not the least of which was Knobb Wiffle, who had learned his prestigious facility was about to be targeted in a robbery. A set of enchanted keys chimed in his grip and before long the wait became too great.
"Minister Harkness, the vault. Your order, sir?"
"I apologize if I've overestimated the importance of the matter, Minister. Clearly I have overstepped my bounds. I will leave you to discuss your options with Mr. Wiffle and Officer Jameson. You know where to find me should you require assistance. Sirs." Vladek gave a curt nod and walked purposefully towards the nearest goblin teller. A diffused golden sunshine cut across his face, creating a curtain of light and shadow.
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Oct 11, 2010 22:08:41 GMT -5
"Well," said Tor somewhat matter-of-factly, "I suppose not everyone's ready to come out of the blood status closet. If it were that behind us, we would have no reason to require it on any form of official identification and yet here it is. People love secrets, my Lord. Just not their own."
This was an unavoidable truth, unfortunately. The minister sighed, glancing over the card again. How could things go so other-than-planned?
"If you are not going to pursue this incident, I can return the card to Miss Breandan on my way back to the school. Her family is performing in Hogsmeade, at least for the next few weeks. I imagine this is the extent of her public protest."
“Of course not.” Jack waved the matter away. He didn’t see the point in terrorizing the poor woman over a simple misunderstanding. It just wasn’t done.
"Minister Harkness, the vault. Your order, sir?"
“Oh, yes.” Jack forgot about the card he still held, crouching to speak privately with the goblin for a moment. The whispered conversation went on, and at the end the two shook hands, the Minister straightened, turning to Jameson. “Mr Jameson, it seems I require a guard. Are you up for the task?”
"I apologize if I've overestimated the importance of the matter, Minister. Clearly I have overstepped my bounds. I will leave you to discuss your options with Mr. Wiffle and Officer Jameson. You know where to find me should you require assistance. Sirs."
“Professor!” Jack called out. He held out the card. “Don’t forget to give Miss Breandan back her I.D.”
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