April 1st, 1888 - Crowdy Memorial Library

Being neither a person for holidays, nor for family, Easter was as quiet a time of the year as any for Jude, and this year was no different. He'd taken to the library today to get some work done - he was often too restless at home, and, much as the Augurey was a second home, sometimes the pub just wasn't conducive to getting anything done, either.

He'd drafted a few letters, gone over the past week of the Prophet and some Ministry memos someone had sent him on out of interest, though he had found most of them to be on rather irrelevant administration issues. Finally getting up to stretch his legs, he wandered down the aisles of the reference section, flicking through books here and there to check facts and records. He'd been looking for some past legislation on Veela when a stray footnote caught his eye about werewolves. His heart lurched as it always did these days at the mere word - a reaction he was grateful couldn't be monitored - and then, a few minutes later, found himself on a trail for helpful research on helping werewolves, a phenomenon he wasn't entirely sure existed.

A wild goose chase, then. He was somewhere in the herbology section now, he thought, and presumably not one book in here would tell him how werewolves reacted to anything because no one had bothered to study werewolves, and probably no hope of finding any plant that could be used to ease the transformation or work to calm the creature, let alone to be a remedy.

He shut another book, held it for a moment in consideration, and then placed it atop the pile of reference texts he was carrying to look at later. Shifting the stack back into his arms and adjusting the satchel over his shoulder again, he picked up his pace again until -

A quick succession of events saw a young woman holding a handkerchief colliding with him. It didn't destabilise him completely - not off his feet, at least; he still blinked in something of a daze - but it did send the pile of books thudding to the ground, and a bunch of papers scattering out of his open satchel, in chaos around him. Well.

The woman who had bumped into him seemed alright, at least - the books had been both buffer and casualty. Jude glanced at the other woman, the one who'd sneezed, next; evidently she had been the intended recipient of the handkerchief.

"Bless you," Jude offered finally, and then sneezed, himself.

---

Jude entirely missed the flush on her face, and would have put it down to lingering embarrassment about the sneezing anyway. Instead, he offered the other woman - the brunette's chaperone, companion or maid - a smile to say that really, it had been nothing; he wasn't put out.

He hadn't faced the last of the sneezing, however, and after he'd laughed at her remark and said: "Not to worry, I'm sure I have my own," he burst into another round whilst searching his pockets. In trying to suppress them in the crook of his elbow in the meantime, they started to sound rather more like kitten sneezes - and by the time Jude had recovered, handkerchief in hand, he felt remarkably less dignified.

The girl had collected his scattered papers for him in the meantime, though. "I'd argue that was already more than the least you could do, but thank you all the same," Jude returned gratefully. He added her pile to the few he'd gathered and set his other books and satchel on the edge of the nearest table to fit them back inside. "Is the library more dusty than usual?" he wondered, glancing at the nearest set of shelves curiously. Perhaps this section was a particularly antiquated collection?

---

Tuni couldn't help the amused look that spread over her features at the tiny sneezes he was producing and the way they sounded. It was actually quite cute. Adorable, even, but she doubted he'd be all that appreciative of her pointing that at so she remained silent about it. For someone she had been recommended to avoid, he seemed amiable enough and definitely not as if he'd cause her any harm.

She shrugged slightly at his thanks and then his question. "Perhaps it's just this section," she answered as she picked up one of the books she'd been perusing, "After all, who really needs to know much about plants of South America?" She'd simply been looking up more information on them because of an employer otherwise she'd probably never have wound up in that section of the library.

---

Jude eyed the book warily as the young woman picked it up, assessing whether he was going to succumb to another round of mortifying sneezing; fortunately, it seemed most of the dust must have already settled from the air. Relieved, he returned to re-packing his satchel, though his gaze remained on the girl's book in mild curiosity.

"Just you, apparently," he agreed wryly; though naturally that wasn't true for the world at large, merely, maybe, the wizarding population of London. Jude wondered quietly whether there might be some useful Amazonian herb to aid werewolves - but, not only was that a long shot, it was one he could not safely ask in conversation with a stranger. Instead, he glanced up at the young lady again and inquired: "Just a hobby of yours, or are you looking for something in particular?"

---

Tuni couldn't help the small smile that formed as he pointed out the obvious. She had been looking at the books herself but they certainly hadn't been viewed in some time by the way the dust had gotten to her as well.

"Both?" she answered in a slightly questioning tone with a shrug of her shoulders, "I translate researchers' notes and word them better for papers or to be used for books themselves. Sometimes I come across some research that piques and interest and have to look into it a bit further." It really sounded pretty boring but it was pretty simple. She had an inquisitive sort of mind, one that made her want to look further into things at times.

---

“Oh,” Jude said brightly, quite intrigued in what she had to say about her occupation. “How interesting! You must come across all kinds.” Sincerely, it sounded like a rather absorbing thing to do, though he would say that: he had never minded research and reading up on things himself, and he did share a flat with potentially the biggest nerd in the country.

It might be strange they had not seen each other in the library before, although perhaps that was because Jude’s own research was usually limited to the law and politics shelves. “Do you ever do any writing of your own?” He asked, meaning research into her own interests, or things that she put her name to herself rather than those commissioned from others.

---

Tuni smiled brightly at the man's enthusiasm of her work. At least he wasn't the type to find her boring for her love of research. Most tended to have their eyes glaze over with boredom any time she talked about it. It was certainly refreshing. But his followup question was enough to throw her off some. She hadn't ever really thought of doing her own writing. She could see the potential of it but without actually seeing some things in person she wasn't sure if her writing would be taken all that seriously.

"No, I haven't," she responded with a slight shrug, "I've done plenty of research of my own but without actually seeing things for myself anything I write would already have been written about. Not likely to be the next best seller that way." Not that being a best seller was something she'd strive for. It was all about the learning for her.

---

"Perhaps you're right," Jude said mildly. "I'd say there might always be value in new voices and new perspectives, even on topics that have been discussed before - I don't know, I'm sure you see things your own way -" and had her own thoughts, since she clearly had a critical, inquisitive mind, if not the firsthand experience, and there had to be intellectual worth in that - "but then I would say that," he admitted quickly, with a sheepish smile to say that he hadn't meant to be presumptive. It was what all he lived and believed and breathed was founded on, that everything ought to be questioned, that the status quo was more transient than it sounded, was there to be challenged. Progress was halted and founded on convictions in equal measure.

"And I don't pretend to know anything about your fields of research," he added with another smile and a slight echo of her shrug, "though the work sounds absorbing, either way."

---

"You do have a point," Tuni responded thoughtfully. She had come to the library after all to dig a little deeper into one of the reports she'd just finished doing for a client. It hadn't proven to do any good but it had been rather interesting to read up on things she otherwise might not have. Perhaps it wasn't too far fetched for her to do her own analysis and reports on the reports she was deciphering.

"I honestly don't know much about them until I'm going through the researcher's notes," she answered with a small laugh, "And the research varies depending on who I'm doing the work for. Like I mentioned, this one focused primarily on herbology aspects. Though, I've seen research on Greek mythology finds and then on animals of India." Another small shrug was given as she glanced down to the books she'd looked through, one of which that caused the dust storm. "It's interesting regardless if it's something I've had an interest in before."

---

She hadn’t sounded offended, at any rate, for his being interested. He didn’t expect he had much to offer in polite conversation with strangers besides sincerity, particularly when the conversation was beyond the usual bounds of his usual spheres.

Herbology; mythology; animals of India - Jude would attest to being firmly out of his depths on all three. “Well, no one can say you’re not broadening your horizons,” he appraised, impressed both at her intellectual pursuits and that she had determined to making a living out of them. “Perhaps I should be getting out from the social politics shelves once in a while.” He gave a wry smile, though suspected that was yet more of a joke than he had meant it to be, because - when passions and interests were as all-consuming as that - it was probably much too late to turn back now.

---

"Now that is a topic I have yet to delve into," Tuni answered with a nod. Though, it could surely be an interesting topic to look into. Her father likely wouldn't appreciate it. But, then again, she was determined to make her own mark on the world.

"Perhaps we could teach each other something sometime," she said thoughtfully, pondering the idea of looking into more political types of thinking. She doubted anyone would request her to dissect such information as it was mostly personal thoughts and beliefs, or at least that's what she'd always thought it to be. Perhaps working as a scribe of sorts for someone in politics would help her to see into such things.

---

He raised an eyebrow at her response, pleasantly surprised. She seemed intelligent, someone to put her time to good use, a young women who would be able to see and dissect social problems in a logical, thoughtful way, so Jude did not foresee a venture into discussion of political topics blowing up into aggravated argument, anyway. Perhaps he was being optimistic and would be swiftly proven wrong, but... he could hope!

"That's not a bad idea at all," Jude agreed sincerely, supposing if she was in London or at the library as often as it sounded for her work that he'd probably bump into her again sooner or later regardless. And he had never yet turned down an open mind or listening ear. He realised, somewhat belatedly, that although he had discovered a little about this woman's life, the usual recourse to introductions had been swept away in amongst all the sneezing, probably, because he didn't even know her name, and presumably she his. "Jude Wright, by the way, I should say," he said with a brief nod. "Pleased to meet you."

---

Tuni smiled in agreement, her own train of thought similar to his own. She spent enough time at the library as it was and was actually quite surprised she hadn't run into him before. But should they run into one another again, she didn't see why they couldn't sit and talk. Discuss whatever it was they were working on and perhaps learn something from each other in the process. It seemed simple enough.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Wright," she said with a small smirk, "Though I'l admit I already recognized you." She wasn't sure if he was aware he'd been on the front page of Witch Weekly or not or if he'd even appreciate such a thing so she left that out. She'd give him an answer though, if he were to ask. "Fortuna Lockhart," she added, even going so far as to dip a small curtsy as if it were some formal greeting.

---

Fortuna Lockhart was not a name he knew, but that didn't change anything, and didn't surprise him. What did surprise him - besides her curtsy, a little, a formality that felt fussy and out of place in the circles he was used to these days - was that she seemed to know him. "You did?" Jude said belatedly, brow creasing in confusion at the way she said recognised him, which did not tend to mean 'read your name in angry letters to the Prophet editor' and so forth. Perhaps she'd passed him by at a rally, or handing out leaflets somewhere, he considered, glancing back over at her, or - but there was the hint of a smirk on her face.

"Not from that magazine article, I hope?" He asked despairingly, with a frown and a slight huff of dread. Not that he'd have known about it, if he had not already been treated to his friends' amusement over it earlier in the week. And not that he cared in the slightest about what sort of 'bachelor' society deemed him, but if it were what he was to be known for for the foreseeable future, Jude was much less amused. But surely seemingly sensible, working women had neither time nor inclination to read that rubbish?

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