Ford was pretty good at burglary, at this point. It wasn't the sort of thing he had ever expected to be good at, but then, there were many things in his current life he had never expected. By this point he'd been doing it for a year, and enough practice could make someone good at anything.
He had to pause for a moment as he sifted through the bag of ill-gotten goods in his bedroom: he had been doing it for a year. When he'd started he hadn't really had much thought for how long it would continue. He'd been mostly expecting to get arrested after the first one. But nothing about their circumstances had changed in the past year. Grace was still suitorless, Clementine still obstinate, his mother still insensible to reason when it came to budgets. If anything, the situation was worse now, because they had live-in cousins now. The first theft had paid down a few of their debts, but so long as their spending outpaced Ford and Noble's salaries the debts just resurged a few weeks later. Maybe this was just what Ford did now, as certainly as he worked at the Ministry. Maybe burglar was becoming part of his intrinsic self.
He stored the invisibility cloak in the usual place under the back corner of his bed (his invisibility cloak had an established place), and completed the cursory survey of the things he'd stolen. The initial pass wasn't to check for value; it was just to check for tracking spells or other charms that might prove problematic for him. He had practiced a spell that identified applied magic, and if anything alarmed he generally tossed it in the Forbidden Forest for a few days until he could decide how best to handle it (generally; he had an established procedure to get around anti-theft charms). Then he checked himself over in the mirror, tidying anything that seemed awry, and headed back through the floo to establish his alibi. He'd been at this ball earlier tonight and Noble was there now, covering for him if anyone asked; he just had to slip back into it. People rarely missed him at parties, fortunately — if anything his sisters were probably much happier when he disappeared for long stretches in the middle of balls, and not inclined to ask many questions.
The firepace roared green and Ford stepped through, just adjusting a cufflink that had come half-undone. The room wasn't well lit, but it was immediately obvious that he wasn't alone in it. Ford froze just on the edge of the fireplace ledge, unable to prevent his panicked expression as he looked over to the room's other occupant. He hadn't even realized who it was, or what she was (not) wearing yet — but people were not supposed to see him come back through the floo, people were not supposed to know that he had left and returned.
Maybe he wasn't a very good burglar after all — or maybe he wouldn't end up being one for much longer.
"Um," he said, and came up with nothing else.
He had to pause for a moment as he sifted through the bag of ill-gotten goods in his bedroom: he had been doing it for a year. When he'd started he hadn't really had much thought for how long it would continue. He'd been mostly expecting to get arrested after the first one. But nothing about their circumstances had changed in the past year. Grace was still suitorless, Clementine still obstinate, his mother still insensible to reason when it came to budgets. If anything, the situation was worse now, because they had live-in cousins now. The first theft had paid down a few of their debts, but so long as their spending outpaced Ford and Noble's salaries the debts just resurged a few weeks later. Maybe this was just what Ford did now, as certainly as he worked at the Ministry. Maybe burglar was becoming part of his intrinsic self.
He stored the invisibility cloak in the usual place under the back corner of his bed (his invisibility cloak had an established place), and completed the cursory survey of the things he'd stolen. The initial pass wasn't to check for value; it was just to check for tracking spells or other charms that might prove problematic for him. He had practiced a spell that identified applied magic, and if anything alarmed he generally tossed it in the Forbidden Forest for a few days until he could decide how best to handle it (generally; he had an established procedure to get around anti-theft charms). Then he checked himself over in the mirror, tidying anything that seemed awry, and headed back through the floo to establish his alibi. He'd been at this ball earlier tonight and Noble was there now, covering for him if anyone asked; he just had to slip back into it. People rarely missed him at parties, fortunately — if anything his sisters were probably much happier when he disappeared for long stretches in the middle of balls, and not inclined to ask many questions.
The firepace roared green and Ford stepped through, just adjusting a cufflink that had come half-undone. The room wasn't well lit, but it was immediately obvious that he wasn't alone in it. Ford froze just on the edge of the fireplace ledge, unable to prevent his panicked expression as he looked over to the room's other occupant. He hadn't even realized who it was, or what she was (not) wearing yet — but people were not supposed to see him come back through the floo, people were not supposed to know that he had left and returned.
Maybe he wasn't a very good burglar after all — or maybe he wouldn't end up being one for much longer.
"Um," he said, and came up with nothing else.
Set by Lady!