Auror Headquarters [Open to all new Auror-in-training or wandering Ministry People]

"We only take the best," the gruff voice of Gawain Robards said.
"I am the best," said Thomas Selwyn with a confident air.
"We will see in three years time," Robards was second-in-command to the Head Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour, both were grim men, always expecting the worst. Thomas had only been acquainted with Robards for a few hours while the meeting with the Head of his office had been even shorter, Scrimgeour had greeted him with a nod and a salute. Hard people, thought Thomas, even more so to wake me up at the bloody crack of dawn.

Even so, Hex held a certain respect for both men, both being hardened veterans of the first war and experienced dark wizard fighters.
"Three years?" Thomas asked gradually, after thinking this all through.
"Yes, three years," Robards repeated himself. "I thought you knew that."
"I did. Just making sure," Thomas spoke fervently.
"We've taken you through the basics. You did fine at Hogwarts. Most of the people who want to join our ranks do. But half of them fail our tests." Robards proclaimed ominously
Is this how cheerful the bloke can get? Thomas felt a strong urge to say just that but he refrained.

Thomas nodded. He had taken to being called Thomas because no one at the Ministry ever called him Hex; or at least, those who he had met, they were few enough. Imagine the awkwardness when I try to tell them that my name is Hex, so he had decided to let them call him Thomas or Selwyn. Robards made to stand up and Hex did likewise, sensing that their meeting was at an end. For the first time and probably the last, Gawain Robards smiled shortly at Selwyn.
"Just one last afterthought, we don't care about your blood purity. We judge people on their skills," Hex understood that and he nodded again, at least there wouldn't be all that prejudice in this department as they were, after all, against those who did discriminate others harshly; like the Death Eaters. But they were gone now. Or are they? The thought tugged at the back of his head, a frown crossed his face.

Shrugging, he made his farewells at the Ministry and then promptly left to his rented muggle flat. It was cheap and there was not a lot of room, but Thomas liked it well enough, it was comfortable and very near to the Ministry. He had decided to start off like this, not in his family manor, owing to the row he had had with his parents about his future career. (ooc: I just made that argument up :PP) He was still feeling resentful at their ignorance.

O o ch: Done. Apologize for the last bit about the muggle home, I should probably do that in Muggle London as his home but he will be spending more time here. Later perhaps.

Another day; another meeting with Gawain Robards.
"Hello," Thomas said automatically once he reached Robards' cubicle, they were, of course larger then what the muggles called cubicles. The interior of the inside of the Auror was covered with photos of famous criminals, all owing their allegiance to He-who-must-not-be-named, and there were newspaper clippings, one of them which caught his arrest.
Thomas scrutinized it for a moment, not realizing that Robards had given him a brisk greeting back. Sirius Black, killing thirteen people with one goddamn curse. Perhaps it was a warning of the events to come.
Robards cleared his throat impatiently.
"Ah, yes," he turned his attention back to the seasoned Auror.
"Your first phase of training, Mr. Selwyn, is Concealment and Disguise, in which, as the name suggests," Robards waved a hand in a dismissing way, "teaches you how to camouflage yourself, you disguise yourself so perfectly that even the closest person to you does not recognize you."
Boy, I should be good at this.
A grin lit up his features.
Robards raised an eyebrow but did not question him.
"You shall be assigned to Kingsley Shacklebolt, a veteran in our office, damn good Auror, I should say." Said Robards in his brusque voice. "And after that -"
But Robards never said what he was going to say, because at just that moment, a panting member of the Wizengamot came running to the enclosed space, squeezing in.
Thomas was bewildered, the man looked like he was going to explode any second. "Just - got - an - owl - from - Azkaban," The man was clearly struggling for words. "WHERE THE RUDDY HELL IS SCRIMGEOUR?" The person finally ejaculated, much too loudly, receiving panicked and disgruntled looks from other cubicles.
"SIRIUS BLACK - he - he's ... ESCAPED!"
The aftermath that followed this horrific revelation was chaotic.

ooc - Heh heh.

A few days later.

It had been hell since the news from the Wizarding Fortress, Azkaban had been sent.
All the Auror Department was in disarray. Which was 'unusual' to say the least.
"What a day," Dawlish muttered as he passed by.
Thomas, who had not been allowed to go on the chase for Black as the majority of Aurors sped after him, was feeling disappointed, almost to the point of childishness.
But all that evaporated in an instant once he saw Dawlish, a new emotion rising ...
After bombarding John Dawlish with questions, Hex retired to his study the Ministry had provided for him. Staring blankly at the words of A Guide to Convincing Facades, an extra book which he had bought in his morning round of Diagon Alley yesterday. He didn't really need any additional books but he was preparing the most he had ever prepared.

He was still poring over books one hour later, blinking blearily, at just wishing to shake that all the thoughts out of his had to make space for more, he sighed in grim defeat and his closed the current book he had been studying. He was doing well. He knew that. Shacklebolt had praised his Disillusionment charm yesterday and all of the spells that concerned concealment, he had learned over his years at Hogwarts, there was no use to study further. He piled up his books and slid them into the bag, in a neat order. He took out another book, this one concerned stealth. He had no idea how he was going to learn about Stealth in a book but Robards had recommended it.

The promise that Shacklebolt had made to him was looking more and more inviting. They were to go tomorrow, 8 o'clock sharp to an unplottable forest designed for Ministry needs. They were to practice tracking skills there.
Thomas Selwyn noted this all duly, starting to nod off.

ooc - Posted whatever came to mind. -shrugs-

Life was not easy at the Auror Office.
In fact, it was well to the contrary, but Thomas Selwyn loved it with all his heart.
Moving out and about, not stuck in the Ministry and poring over old books and cracked parchments describing spells of defense. No. You still had to do that (of course), but the best part was that you could actually be practical. The spells could be applied. Any day at the Headquarters that wasn't used to learn new spells, try them out, and train was considered a waste. Even when the trainees weren't using spells, enchantments, jinxes and hexes was interesting. There were various topics to go over that didn't involve wands at all. Muggle fighting. . . At first, Selwyn had been shocked, but then he had began to look at the subject with a more accepting view but he still found it irate sometimes. There were some situations where Aurors would have to use their physical capabilities because their only weapon of use; a wand, had either been rendered obliterated or useless. He saw the advantages in this but that did not mean he liked it.

That was about the only subject he didn't thoroughly enjoy, being bashed up by someone else was certainly not what Thomas defined as fun. But then there were the others. Each day dedicated to another subject. All the trainees had mentors. His mentor was Kingsley Shacklebolt, a very experienced Auror to say the least. Hex respected the man through and through. Most of his subjects were going well, reasonably well, but if he had had any thoughts about himself being the best in the training program, all of those thoughts had evaporated, there were quite a few people better then him but Hex didn't give up. He was rising through the ranks. Spending every free time dedicated to studying, he didn't have much time to get out of the ministry except on week days and he even used those for revising. Even though this was the start of his training year, he felt the weight the NEWTS has put on him. He wasn't lax.

The lessons were basically an advanced version of every subject in Hogwarts. There were a few exceptions, of course, but he was proving just as adept on them. As for the matters of friends here, he had none except perhaps one, Nymphadora Tonks, a metamorphugus; a person being able to change his or her appearance at once. He had met her in Stealth and Tracking. She was dreadful at it. He managed to find her in what - a minute or two? But she was friendly, not a sore loser at all by the way she greeted him. That had been yesterday and he hadn't seen her since. It was a nice change to actually see someone who had a sense of humor which equaled his.

"Selwyn,"
"Yes, sir!" he said, snapping to attention as Shacklebolt strode into Hex's study.
Shacklebolt then proceeded to fill him on the details of the fiasco on the train ride to Hogwarts, all the while with Hex looking on; to generally nowhere as he reflected over this. One year since he had left and this had happened. The dementors were out of control, and it seemed, by his mentor's tone that he thought likewise. It hadn't been ordered by the Ministry yet the foul creatures had searched the train without consent. They were furious; enraged at Black's escape and Hex didn't want to see them in a rage. Luckily, no one had been hurt and everything was mostly well.

ooc - I was planning to make it longer but I'm not very thoughtful at the moment.

Ooc I'm just going to be lazy and not make mine as long :P

The Ministry had been in complete chaos since the news of Sirius Black's escape. Ministry workers were always in a hurry, bumping into one another and speaking frantically. The search the Dementors had done on the Hogwarts train was quite shocking, but Black wasn't found. The Dementors must have been enraged at their most dangerous prisoner's escape, enraged enough to harm a school train full of young students.

Charlotte could hardly find her way around the Ministry of Magic, constantly being shoved aside, walking into workers who came from nowhere. Huge, hanging pictures of Black flickered on the Ministry's walls, distracting her for a moment. Shaking out of the daze, Charlotte squeezed through the crowd and out into the outside of the traffic. With the frenzy being in the middle, Charlotte walked peacefully forward in the direction of the Auror Headquarters. Even though dozens were worried with Black's escape, Charlotte had forgotten about it in her excitement. She was today going to be trained or whatever to become an Auror. Of course, it would take a few years for her to become a fully legal one, but the thought excited her nonetheless. It had been two years since her Grandparents death in the States, in which Charlotte had been left with their inheritance, left to fend for herself. After school had ended, and her mourning as well, she made a firm descision to become an Auror. She knew it was dangerous, but Charlotte had always been ambitious and cunning, never afraid to give up. She had managed to succeed in classes, though not at first. School and homeschooling were very different, and she had trouble adjusting at first. But, as time progressed, Charlotte earned high Os and Es, determined to get the needed grades. Now, here she was, walking in the Ministry of Magic, on her way to the Auror Headquarters. 

Charlotte, after much tiring walking and sometimes sprinting, riding dizzying elevators, had landed on Level 2, gratefully alone. All other workers had gotten off at other levels, leaving her by herself. She took in a deep, big gulp of air, and, finding her footing, opened the door to the Headquarters. There were dozens of cubicles, each one for a seperate Auror. There clippings on the wall, mostly of Sirius Black, and papers everywhere. No one heard Charlotte enter as she gaped at the sight. This kind of life wouldn't bother her. But she knew this wasn't all it. Aurors was repeatedly sent out to hunt out whoever, and it kind of thrilled the young adult. Coming back to reality, she walked past the Aurors and cubicles, hardly being glanced at. Charlotte kept her eyes alert, looking for either Gawain Robards or Rufus Scrimgeour.

Thomas Selwyn was impatient, that was true, he had half a mind to leave the Ministry and set off for the elusive, crazed murderer known as Sirius Black. A foolish thought, he reflected once he had settled on staying in the Ministry, safe and secure. Black was not to be underestimated. He could probably kill Hex and a quarter of the Auror department in a few minutes, from what Hex had heard, reports were far-fetched though, most of his fellow trainees thought that Black would be caught at once, Hex didn't think so, if Sirius Black had escaped the supposedly inescapable wizarding prison, still, Black eluded them, moods were getting grim and the chances of capturing the escapee was bleak.

Thomas 'Hex' Selwyn paced the distance to the elevators and back again to Shacklebolt's cubicle - which was at the far end - in an anxious manner, ever since the event, there had been minimal time for training, Hex found it quite aggravating since most days, there was nothing to do, and there replacement instructor was always in an odd mood, behaving strangely and sometimes not even doing as he was supposed to do. It was boring admittedly, and his awe at exploring the Ministry and his department had now turned into indifference. Entertainment here was at a zero. He didn't have any friends here also, oddly enough, he had always thought he was quite likable, maybe that was just him though, all the other students at his level viewed him as a rival for reasons unbeknownst, he was not even one of the top contenders of the Auror status. Well, then again, everyone viewed each other as rivals.

Marching forwards with his head down and not aware of his surroundings, he accidentally bumped into another person, blinking, a confused expression on his face, he shook off the dizzy feeling and looked at the figure he had jostled into. There hadn't been many people on this floor, but still, he should have been more careful. He observed the person, narrowing his eyes slightly as he did so. She was a trainee, definitely, even the newest of the elite group had scars, she didn't. Hex thought he had seen her before, at Hogwarts, most likely, yes, she was the same year as him, yet he didn't take much notice of other people. 


"Er, sorry," He said casually, not awkward at all. "Didn't see where I was going. My fault." He smiled easily and prepared to start off again.

She had at last reached the last few of the cubicles. Charlotte peered at the nameplates, not recognizing any names. Charlotte sigh, brushing loose strands of hair from her bun out of her face. A name briefly caught her eye, and she whipped around to see a cubicle which had Gawain Robards plate on it. Excitedly, she moved forward in that direction, not seeing the boy who was walking in the her direction. She was suddenly jostled, surprised as she fumbled backwards. Charlotte rubbed her head, blinking. Glancing up at the boy, she immediately recognized him. Perhaps Hogwarts, even in the short two yeas she had been there."No, no , I didn't see you coming, my apologies. You okay?" Charlotte thought he might have been an old Gryffindor, but she couldn't place his name."Not to be rude, but have we met before?"

He was stopped yet again, by a voice this time, he turned around and peered at her. "Yes, yes, I'm quite alright, what about you?" He didn't even bother to apologize again, it was a waste of time. He mulled over her words, gazing into her, he strode closer. "Yes, I think I might know you." The sentence was said more to himself than her. He realized that he was acting a bit odd and he straightened up, smiling falsely. "I'm not sure, but I think you were in my year," Selwyn paused, unsure of whether to tell her, he shrugged, "I was known as Head Boy back in my seventh year," he said the words proudly, it made him sound as if he was boasting, he didn't really care, being Head Boy was an impressive title and he wouldn't pass down the opportunity to brag about it.
"I realize that I haven't formally introduced myself," he smiled again, this time, it was real, "they call me Thomas - Thomas Selwyn," he said coolly, proffering his hand. He didn't really recall her, in fact, he had been very unsocial in his last year, that was true, he hadn't preferred talking to people, there were a lot of idiots in his year and he preferred not to interact with them.

She nodded, slightly frowning at him."Fine, thank you." Charlotte studied the boy's face as he came closer, trying not to be rude, but taking in his features all at once. Head Boy. Once he said the words, she immediately knew who he was--just still could not pinpoint a name."Of course, you were Head Boy at Hogwarts." She noticed the impressive air he brought about and slightly chuckled at it."Yes, I definitely remember you, Gryffindor, right?" Not that it mattered. Out here in the real world, what house you happened to be in at school didn't matter. But still, it was nice to know exactly who he was."Thomas Selwyn. Of course. Nice to see you again, I gues." It made her laugh lightly to herself that, though they had barely known each other, they both ended up here. She stuck her hand out, grasping and shaking his lightly."I'm Charlotte Solo. Trainee, I guess. And you?..."

"Same as you, a recent addition to the department, of course - it will be years before I become an official Auror," he tapped the side of his nose, looking slightly melancholic as he did so, what was time? He would wait for it, but the deadline would creep closer and closer, until he didn't realize it was that day. Time was confusing and frustrating. He didn't know what to think of it. It had seemed only like yesterday, when he was still a student, strutting around like a peacock around every corridor, ... it had been fun, but than he had to leave. He still couldn't really accept this - that he was where he was. He withdrew his hand and held it by his side. "Finding this place interesting?" he smiled grimly, "looking at the clippings, nice place, but the effect'll wear off in a few days." It'll even turn, somewhat horrid, in the end, he added silently. Looking at how people died, the profiles of killers and their modus operandi, wasn't exactly cheering, in fact, it was a bit depressing.

Charlotte smiled at him."Well it's nice to know someone who is new as well. Are you..." She hesitated for a moment before saying," enjoying your training?" Charlotte didn't really think one could 'enjoy' auror training; it was difficult and complex, and took three full years of training. Of course, the two years she had been at Hogwarts flew by in an instant, leaving her without a family and pretty much nowhere to go. But becoming an Auror fascinated her, so she, determined as always, had chose to stay in England. By now, she had gotten use to the weather and accents, but her lip still curled a little when the Englishers spoke, just as it was doing now as she carefully listened to Thomas."Enjoying it? Well, The Ministry is amazing and," Charlotte stopped in mid-sentence, almost bringing up Black but deciding against it."I've haven't even begun training, which reminds me, do you know where a Gawain Robards or Rufus Scrimgeiur is?" She seemed to have lost track of the cubicle with his nameplate, and didn't know what any of the men looked like.

"Enjoying it? ..." His voice faltered as he contained the urge to shout out that he loved it, "It's pretty good, really, I mean, for some people, it might be considered extreme, but it prepares us for what's out there," Hex jabbed a finger, pointing in the direction of a small, luminescent window, artificial light spilling in, remembering the weather was a masquerade, he pointed his hand upwards, dropping it almost instantly. "You get the point. Even though the bad times have gone past, there will always be people like You-Know-Who; people posing a threat to our Wizarding community as a whole ... and we - we must always be there to fight them, and that's why we have to train, if we're deemed inefficient, it makes our links weaker, the protection of out world weaker, that's why they make it so hard, they have to make it hard." Hex stopped for a moment, blinking, a humiliating silence lingered in the air as he coughed awkwardly. "Sorry. I get passionate about such things." He muttered shortly.

Then he noticed Charlotte's expression changed a bit when listening to him, that's when it clicked. "Oh." He looked at her inquiringly. "I thought that you weren't from around here ..." He bowed his head in thought, jolting up again, "No offence though, America is a fascinating country, as every civilization has it's unique aspects, I wonder what the schools would be like there." Raising his eyebrows in a questioning manner, he folded his arms together and waited for an answer, grinning at the thought of enrolling at another institution or working elsewhere.

"Scrimgeour and Robards? Oh, sorry to say, they're not here. It must've been a serious matter if our head of office was sent to capture him." Hex mused out loud, thoughtfully. "Robards assembled a task force to relocate Sirius Black and capture him, dead or alive. Scrimgeour's leading another team. Seems to pretty serious." He said, almost wistfully. "I wish I could've gone." He added. "But, Mad Eye was left in charge, very serious if they've done that, normally, they never trust him with anything, I reckon the man's going to resign sooner or later, too paranoid, a great man though, of course, if rank here at the Aurors depended on the number of scars, he would be the top dog."

ooc: My efficiency at roleplaying has gone a bit stale, I apologize. :P I'll get better later on.

Ooc It's great, don't worry. Mine night be a bit rushed as
I'm on my iPod.


His expression was quite passionate and amazed."I know it's a difficult job, the training extreme, and your life will always be in danger, but ,"she shrugged,"I'm up to the task. I think. . ." She put a small grin on her face, despite the seriousness of the job. Charlotte completely agreed with Thomas when he spoke of their always being danger about, always being someone to fight. There was always something new to fight, some great adversary to capture. There had been Grindewald years before, and Voldemort had been destroyed after many a horrible time. Of course, there would always small cases to deal with, petty crimes that had no meaning. But of course, Sirius Black was the main priority now. With such a dangerous man on the loose, anyone and everyone was in danger. She kept her eyebrows raised in an amused manner throughout his speech, though it was all true."No worries, you're fine," she psaid quietly.

Charlotte watched as his face registered understanding and fascination all at once."Yes, I am from America, born and raised." There was an obvious falter in her voice as she spoke these words, though it was almost painful to say it. And for  Charlottr, it was. She had grown up there her whole life, abandoned by her parents as an extremely young child, raised by Grandparents. Since they were dead, she had nothing in left in Arizona, nothing left in America. She missed it terribly, the heat, the desert, the house. But Charlotte still enjoyed it here, but was just still a bit unfamiliar with country."Oh, I, um, never really went to school. I mean, I was schooled, but homeschooled. At home." Charlotte scowled down at her feet, scolding her wordiness.

"They're not here?" She tried not to let out a groan and appear disappointed. What had she expected, for the heads of the Auror department to be sitting merrily at their desk daydreaming of Veelas?"Okay, right, Mad Eye Moody." She had heard the rumors about him; his gruffness, dozens of scars, his almost destroyed nose , and of course his spinning eye. It freaked her out a little, but she would have to confront the man."Know where he is?" She asked hopefully, feeling a bit silly asking a trainee as well.

"Exactly," Thomas Selwyn remarked, nodding his head in exuberant agreement, "that's why I chose this job, right. We're the elite. Even in the most tranquil of times; we're needed," Hex suddenly realized that his interest in where this conversation was headed dropped, no more words about this matter needed to be said, it eventually got weary talking about on subject. He was glad when Charlotte - the name sounded very familiar to him, even though he was sure he hadn't met her before, he didn't know why, he would have to try on where he had heard that name later, everything in the past seemed sort of fuzzy now, like a blurred patch in his life - changed the subject, though she seemed a bit reluctant to discuss it. "I wonder what it must feel like to be home schooled," a ghost of a smile flickered across his face, "quite a different experience, methinks," He was almost certainly oblivious to her Charlotte's feeling on this matter until now when he saw her lower her head. "Uh - yes - Mad Eye - Mad Eye Moody," He was relieved again, this time and started walking backwards. "Come on, Charlotte, it's just a short walk, his cubicle - conveniently - is located just at the end of the last row," he paused thoughtfully and stopped, "just a word of advice - some reckon old Moody's mad - so - I'm not really sure if talking to him will do you any good - but's it worth a while right? Waiting for the others'll take far too long," and he started striding backwards again again, his gait haughty and almost resembling that of a horse's. "You know-" and just as he was going to recall one of the legendary fables of Alastor Moody, he was cut short by bumping into another person, again. "S***," he cursed in what he took to be a whisper, it was apparently not so because a rough voice - a rough voice he recognized - replied to him. Hex almost groaned because of his ill luck. "Constant Vigilance, Selwyn! Wasn't the lesson last week enough for you?" Hex grit his teeth, swiveled around so fast that he nearly knocked into the Moody again, he straightened up and saluted, all soldier-like. He had to admit it. He was not scared of Moody. He was terrified of him. Even though he was usually a bold person, all of the courageousness evaporated the instant that Hex set his eyes on the comical sight, except it would have been comical if not for the ... facial features of Moody. His nose looked like a bear had mangled it. Half a chunk was left. And his peg leg... Only a parrot remained for him to complete his pirate-like appearance, Hex mused bitterly. "And was that profanity I heard from your lips?" Hex stared. "Speak, you-!" "Yes-yes, it was, never-never again. Sorry." Selwyn didn't usually stutter but that eye. That electric blue eye. It bore right into him. Dug beneath the surface.

Charlotte shrugged dismissively."I'll always like it better then going to school. No," she paused grinning,"homework at night." She frowned to herself when he said her name, almost like he was struggling to remember her, who she was. But Charlotte hardly recognized the boy except for the two years she had lived at the school of witchcraft and wizardly. She had hardly even known him then, just his title at Hogwarts. Now that she thought hard about it, Charlottr could hardly recall even meeting him. Suddenly, a dim memory came flooding into her; she was at the school, walking in a corridor past two second year boys. She had briefly heard them saying, insulting more like it, the Head Boy. "Hex" they had called him. Charlotte chuckled slightly. Of course. That was his nickname at Hogwarts, how could she have forgotten? Well, probably for the fact that she had never really spoken to him. . .Anyways, she would have to just call him his given name, Thomas. After all, they were both 'grown ups' now, living in the real world. Charlotte shuddered silently to herself upon thinking if herself of an adult. She kept her head up, posture straight, and followed Thomas from behind, trying to look at least a little 'grown up'. Charlotte laughed, a light and hearty sound."Yes, I've heard of his reputation, believe me." She was completely aware of Mad-eye Moody's rather grumpy and stern personality. Charlotte had to admit, she was not a very brave person, more so ambitious. However, the two seemed quite similiar to her, though no one had ever really made the connection at school, most LikeT because Slytherins and Gryffindors wanted to have no association with each other. So, Charlotte would just have to face up to her fears of the gruff Auror. Lost in her thoughts, Charlotte suddenly came to a complete hault, narrowly avoiding stumbling into Thomas, as the boy apparently walked into a great, large figure. She barely heard him swear on his breathe, chuckling a bit at it, and realized she wasn't the only person who had; Charlotte heard a gruff voice reprimanding him for cursing, the voice of Alastor Moody. Charlotte stood up straight, going rather stiff as he talked to Thomas. Well, he was--was just as the rumors had described him; very big, a scared face, disfigured nose, and the famous moving eye. She kept her position, not daring to shudder or shrink away in disrespect. Clearing her throat after the Auror's little chat with her fellow trainee, she spoke up rather timidly, which actually was rather brave."Erm--excuse me Sir, are you Mad-Eye--Alastor Moody?" Of course he was, but it still was polite to ask. He turned his head in her direction, frowning at her."I reckon you already know the answer to that,"he said gruffly."Who are you?" He glanced at Thomas, as though expecting an answer from him.