10 December, 1893 — Flint Institute Mixer

Ezra was here on invitation of a scholar he'd been chatting with for the past few months, allegedly — Ezra had never explicitly said this, but the fellow had certainly assumed — on Department of Mysteries business. Very few of the inquiries Ezra made on any given subject were relevant to his work in the Department of Mysteries, but Ezra had found that letting everyone assume they were tended to grease the wheels considerably. People liked to believe that whatever they were working on was important, and there were few surer signs of something being important than a secretive government bureau taking an interest in it. If he were asking as a private citizen Ezra might have had to jump through hoops proving he was worth a scholar's time and attention, or proving he had a genuine interest in the field, or explaining why he was curious about the work in the first place. Saying he was an Unspeakable short-cut him through all of that, in his experience, and it wasn't as though they could verify whether or not he was telling the truth.

The gentleman Ezra had been talking to (on the subject of a particular breed of magical fungi, and why it might only appear in the cellars of houses owned by witches and wizards and not those inhabited by Muggles) had told him to come tonight to the annual holiday mixer at the Flint Institute so that he could introduce him to a few other experts in the field. Ezra had admittedly not known prior to this conversation that magical mycology included enough people to constitute a field, but was not averse to meeting them. But so far this evening had been nothing but bland socializing, the sort one would find at any of the parties in the off-season. Ezra was a little disappointed that no one had arrived wearing a hat festooned with mushrooms, but was sipping his champagne and getting through things passably when an acquaintance waved him down.

"Mr. Applegate, have you met —" they began, holding the arm of a blond woman.

"Yes," he cut in abruptly, amazed that anyone would have the gall to try and introduce him to Rosalie Hunniford. He didn't think that their break was infamous society-wide, or anything, but generally anyone who knew both him and her well enough to make an introduction ought to be acquainted with their history — at least enough to know they were not keen on being forced to make small talk at parties! But then he realized with absolute mortification that the blond woman wasn't Rosalie. The hair color was right, her build was similar and her eyes were nearly the same color, but there was a difference in the set of her mouth and the arch of her brow, and the dress was a color he couldn't picture Rosalie choosing for herself.

"I mean — ah — I don't believe we've had the pleasure," he amended quickly, though the flush of his cheeks remained in testament to his embarrassment.

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Persephone Broadmoor

  

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

Persephone Broadmoor may not have been a Flint scholar herself, but had garnered enough of a reputation with those who mattered to have merited an invitation. Unlike the affairs her mother was always trying to drag her to, this boasted a more intellectual guest list and Persy had not yet lost the will to remain.

At least, she thought it would be a more intellectual guest list. This gentleman, though, did not seem to know if he knew people or not, which... did not speak wonders for his competence.

"Is it a pleasure, then?" the witch asked archly, Magnus' arm tensing slightly under her hand at this Mr. Applegate's reaction. Persephone herself was rather taken aback, though her face did not show it. "Persephone Broadmoor," she added, seeing as her brother had rather been interrupted mid-interruption.

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

Ezra offered a chagrined glance, still obviously embarrassed. Persephone Broadmoor; the sister of the man who'd been attempting to introduce her, then, probably. He hadn't met her before, and he already felt quite an ass, so this was not a pleasure at all, but of course he couldn't say so. (It was rather bold of her to say so — not the timid sort, then. Not entirely surprising given what he knew of her brother Magnus, who had been a few years ahead of him in the auror training program, before the poor nerves caused by the progression of Ezra's curse had lead him to abandon it).

"I'm sure it will be," he said with a smile that was half grimace. "If you'll allow me to make your acquaintance in spite of my rudeness. I mistook you for someone else," he explained. "What brings you to the Flint Institute?"

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

Had Magnus been their mother, Persy might have expected something nefarious when he swiftly made his excuses, but she had physically seen the wave that drew him away and so would not begrudge him leaving her with this Mr. Applegate.

(Probably—she was still reserving judgement.)

"An invitation," she remarked dryly, wondering who he could have mistaken her for that would have garnered so rude a response. A woman, clearly (she hoped)—love turned sour? Possible, if tedious. Academic rival? More intriguing. "Though I am not a scholar here myself, I am acquainted with some individuals involved in the Institute, who are aware of my interest in academia. Is this an interest you share, Mr. Applegate?"

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

Oh, good, she had a sense of humor, Ezra thought dryly at her answer to his question. But fortunately she hadn't left him with just that — he had been worried for a second when he saw her brother move away that he would end up trapped in a conversation with a woman who only wanted to give him two or three words at a time, as penance for his earlier rudeness. She would have been within her rights, he supposed, but it probably would have been more pleasant for both of them if they ended the conversation early and went their separate ways. Magical mycology might not have been the most exciting topic of discussion, but at least Ezra could (probably) avoid making any of the scholars he was supposed to chat with cross with him.

"I imagine you could ask that same question to anyone here and be hard pressed to find a no," he pointed out. "Academia is too broad a descriptor. But yes, I do. A large part of my work is research," he explained. "In the Department of Mysteries."

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

Department of Mysteries was, rather, the magic word. Well, phrase. Persephone couldn't help but brighten slightly at the mention; had she had her way, she would have joined the department herself instead of Society, and the yearning for whatever secret knoweldge it held had not dissipated in the intervening years.

"I confess, Mr. Applegate, that is far more intriguing than the young lady who spent a quarter of an hour on her studies of ant species," Persy said, her tone not friendly, for that would be presumptuous (and contrary to her nature), but certainly more amiable than it had been before. "Alas, I fear as though that puts me at rather a disadvantage, given the secrecy of your line of work. Even the most gregarious Unspeakable I have encountered to date has remained altogether mum—much to my eternal dismay."

Her brother had long refused to teach her any interrogation techniques that might be of aid.

Ezra Applegate

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   Ezra Applegate

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

"Oh, but you don't know that I'm not deeply devoted to studies of ant species," he countered. "Only that I wouldn't discuss it with you if I were." He was not at all interested in ant species, but he had been in this type of conversation often enough that he had standard deflections built up for when people expressed an interest in his career — and he had taken the slightly warmer tone as an indication of interest. One of his favorites was to pretend that the Department of Mysteries was interested in all sorts of random and nonsensical things, like the study of ant species — without actually stating anything outright, of course. He didn't think anyone ever believed him, but some people found it charming, which was better than the response he got if he responded with a tight-lipped smile and something bland like ah, yes, but I can't say much about it.

"Sorry to prolong your eternal dismay," he added. "But I'm afraid I won't be the one to break the mold. Perhaps instead you could tell me what you're interested in — more specifically than all of academia? As we seem to have excluded the ants."

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

"Nothing more or less than the secrets of the world, both those known by your sort, and those yet to be uncovered. I am afriad," Persephone added, though she sound not in the least bit apologetic, "that this does not narrow things down quite so much as you intended. I am, at the moment, working on my animagus studies, though."

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

As she said, 'the secrets of the world' did not much narrow it down. But he thought he understood why she was being broad, though admittedly he may have been projecting. He could hardly narrow it down much more than that without getting into things that were classified — and even if they weren't, it would have been hard to discuss them with anyone who wasn't equally interested in the minutiae. Many of the things Ezra did on a day to day basis would sound crazy, he imagined, if he shared them with someone outside the department. Most people did not bother to wonder why — why thoughts occurred in the order they did, why some sensations triggered memories and others didn't, why the communication patterns of humans were more complex than those of most animals.

He quirked a smile at the animagus reference. He had never wanted to pursue it — and he couldn't devote that much unbroken attention to something, anyway, with the distractions of his curse to contend with — but it was something oft-cited by would-be academics. He wasn't sure if there was something particularly alluring about becoming an animal that he had never understood, or whether it was only that it was the most sensational type of advanced magic the average citizen could hope to achieve. No special permits required to try it, no access to forbidden books or rare artifacts, no Ministry clearance. "Is that because you believe running about as a fox or a ferret or somesuch will help you unlock the secrets of the world?" he asked. "Or do you have unrelated reasons for it?"

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

She gave a non-committal shrug.

"When something is impressed upon one as being 'incredibly difficult' and 'beyond the capabilities of most young ladies', I see that as a challenge. It is not, I am told," Persy noted wryly, "my most flattering quality."

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

Just the sensational aspect of it then. Ezra would have been inclined to be dismissive of this, but the way she'd phrased her response was respectable. It was a sentiment he could see Miss Scamander or Mrs. Moony expressing just as easily, and he respected both of them and the work they did.

"I think whoever said so did you a disservice," he remarked. "It probably isn't your least flattering quality, either."

Had that come out wrong? He'd meant to say he didn't think it was a bad thing, but perhaps he had offered her a backhanded criticism instead, with the implication that she probably had dozens of worse traits just waiting to be unearthed. But then, perhaps this wasn't the worst conversation to find himself putting his foot in his mouth. It had started with him interrupting the introduction — perhaps it had already been a lost cause.

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   Aldous Crouch

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

There were three types of women in society, in Persy's estimation. A flirt would take the opening and insist upon knowing what he thought her best quality to be. A less secure young lady might fret about what was her least flattering quality. And then, of course, there was Percy herself, who filed the interaction away as relatively insubstantial.

"It was my mother," she supplied, with a short, soft, but genuine laugh. "She would, I think, prefer if my ambitions were more conventional, but were that the case, I expect I would have even less to discuss with you, Mr. Applegate, than the ant woman."

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

Ezra made a face, but didn't comment on her mother's attitude. He knew something about mothers who were perpetually out of sync with the people their children had grown up to become. He was cordial with his own mother, but little more than that. She had largely given up on him, Ezra thought, when he did not bounce back from the ordeal with Rosalie and go off courting the very next year — and of course she had already given up on Byron. The saving grace for both of them was that as adult men they didn't have to defer to their mother very often; he could understand that this was more of an issue for Hanna — or, apparently, for Miss Broadmoor.

"Which side of the divide is your brother on?" he wondered, meaning: did Magnus Broadmoor introduce Persephone to him because Ezra was an Unspeakable, an intellectual, someone with potentially interesting things to say on academic topics or at least a keen interest in hearing about them — or because he was technically an eligible bachelor?

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   Aldous Crouch

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

Though amiable and not yet a bore, Mr. Applegate was still an unknown entity; Persephone was not about to divulge the entierity of the inner-workings of her family. Hell, she scarely did that with the likes of Zelda, and they had been friends for years.

So she replied, with a bit more care than she typically wrangled, "My brother was good enough to escort me this evening and has not once remarked upon the endowments of anyone present, which are both marks in his favour." A beat and then, "He did introduce me to you, however, so I have not ruled out altogether that he is an agent for my mother. If there is something woefully lacking in your character of which he might be aware, though, I shall be reassured of his good intent."

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —

Ezra laughed, slightly surprised by her frankness. She had done nothing so far to imply that she was overly concerned with being polite, but it still caught him off guard as a remarkable departure from the norms of most society conversations. "Oh, yes, I have numerous flaws. I daresay your brother is familiar with at least half a dozen," he replied, tone light. This may have been slightly hyperbolic, since he and Magnus Broadmoor had never been especially close, but it also wasn't entirely fabricated. Anyone who had been in the auror department when Ezra had left the training programme had to have heard at least a few offhand remarks about things that might have been wrong with him. He had tried to exit as gracefully as he could, but even under the best of circumstances certainly some people wouldn't have been inclined to be kind... and he had failed one of his practical examinations just before leaving.

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~~~ but I'm stuck trying not to come off crazy ~~~

Ezra

"In that case," she declared wryly, "my faith in my brother is well-founded."

No doubt her mother, if present, would have had Persephone laced into something decidedly less practical (and less comfortable) and seen her introduced only to the most notable men in the room (though given that the ersatz debutante was not exactly young, might have relented on the latter. For all she knew, Magnus may have been given directions to the same and simply chosen to ignore them.

"Though I suppose my faith in you must now begin to waver. Perhaps," she added, knowing full well he would likely do no such thing, "you might distract me with tales of your work, that I might forget your shortcomings."

Ezra Applegate

  

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do you know what happened that night?

— mj makes glorious sets! —