pandoraalcmene

[pandoraalcmene]

regulus-blacked​:

Regulus had never been one to suffer the inattentions of others. Having learned to demand the focus and regard of others from an early age, he was quite accustomed to speaking and expecting it to be heard, if not answered. He couldn’t stop the slow raising of his brow as Pandora’s gaze shifted around the spacfe, as if looking to confirm he had addressed her. There wasn’t exactly anyone else here, he thought as he moved his wheelchair a little more out of the way in case of emergency. Consider it, perhaps, a personal failing, but Regulus did enjoy checking on the ideas and inspirations of family members, even if said family members were barely related.

“I don’t much speak in hypotheticals, Malfoy,” he drawled, crossing his arms for emphasis for a moment before unfolding them to rest on the supports of his chair. “I already know it must be done, after all. That is the extent of a hypothetical I believe I need. “Leaning in as Pandora dropped her voice to hear her better he listened to the options presented to him. “All things come at a price, Malfoy,” he said, leaning back as he chewed lightly on his lip. “Very well,” he began to say before he was cut off. He could only hope that the price would not require a healer or Lynch once it is paid.

By the time the price was named, however, his eyebrows had flown up so high on his face they seemed likely to take up permanent residence at their new elevations. “Dinner? With you and Lovegood?” Regulus paused, thinking about it. “Did they put you up to this? Why…?”

✰

“Yes, well it is hard to tell when coming from you,” Pandora admitted. She didn’t bother to hide the look of disgust that accompanied being referred to as Malfoy. “You are going to have to get into the habit of calling me Pandora or Alcmene.” She added instead of saying anything related to what they were talking about. “Lucius gets a new wrinkle every time someone refers to me by the family name. So that request is more for his sake than anyone else’s.”

Miraculously, Pandora refrained from laughing at Regulus’ reaction. She was feeling polite enough to not offer her amusement as a response. His words were met with a subtle eyebrow raise and Pandora feigning innocence.

“Rest assured, Black, they did not put me up to this,” She admitted and shook her head. “I am a little offended you would presume I need them to put me up to anything when I am perfectly capable of thinking for myself. Xeno’s place has more dining space than mine does is all. Plus, I have mastered the pout to make up for my not having officially run it by them.”

[pandoraalcmene]

zinniaturpin​:

I’m sorry, I have no clue what you are talking about.

Zinnia had spent the past few years feeling utterly and completely mad. There were so many pieces from her life missing and scrambled about in her mind, seemingly lost forever in the depths of a dark and stormy sea of memory. What made it worse, however, were two painfully familiar sentences: Don’t you remember? and I don’t know what you’re talking about. They haunted her like ghosts. They slipped out of the mouths of strangers and friends. They cut deeper than any thorn, and hurt more than any hex.

A lump rose in her throat and her eyes burned from tears that could not and would not come. Zinnia dipped her hand into her pocket, fingers grazing over folded papers- letters, ripped-out journal entries, notes, things she’d poured over a thousand times since her return from hospital… I have no clue what you are talking about…

She snagged the papers up in a fist.

“Don’t lie to me-” The words burbled up hot and angry, despite their quiet volume. “I’m tired of people lying to me, because all anyone has done since I wound up at St. Mungo’s is lie. So please-” Zinnia cut herself off and took a deep breath before pulling the notes out and holding  them towards Pandora.

“I have proof. I know what this place is. I know that I belong here. I belonged here once already.”

A sharp intake of breath served as the unexpected response from Pandora. There was a beat where she struggled to keep her composure. She wasn’t the best liar - that much was evident in the sheepish expression Zinnia’s outburst earned. Words and a realistic sounding excuse would have come all the easier if she had Xenophilius at her side. A few steadying breaths were needed before she could trust herself with speaking and not sounding like the very idea of saying what needed to be said didn’t terrify her.

“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” The words came out weakly. They weren’t a lie since Zinnia had saved her from dancing around the topic. It didn’t save her the discomfort that accompanied not knowing how to navigate the situation though. “And I am not certain I can help you.”

Pandora chewed at her lower lip, eyebrows furrowing together in thought while she tried to find something else to say. The word why was on the tip of her tongue but she of all people could understand that wasn’t the best word to ask without thinking it through. Not when the question was usually thrown about in regards to her appearance or the way she did something.

She kept quiet another moment, pondering over what else could be left to say. “I’ll have to send a patronus,” She gave an exasperated sigh. The idea of saying no was another option as well but she hadn’t wanted to see what happened if she tried lying when already caught.

[pandoraalcmene]

lxceandlovegood​:

The small smile she cracks earns one from Xenophilius himself, albeit tired and fractured and barely more than a grimace.

The kiss earns her a small hum of appreciation, too tired to do more than sway forward, tucking her under his chin while she grabbed his hand and her wand.

“Perfectly fine,” he agrees, voice low and a bit sleepy. “Though you may want to do that again, motormouth,” he quips,a teasing edge to his mouth and his words. “Didn’t miss anything but, ah, if they’re as tired as I am neither of then will hear half of what you said, love.”

She could have stayed like that - safely in Xeno’s grasp and nestled against him - and would have too if it weren’t for recognizing his tone of voice. Pandora knew better than to argue but she was sorely tempted to throw in a whine about Fletch or Reggie picking up on the important part of things. Could have even gone as far as muttering about the other two not being concussed if she had wanted.

“Fine, fine,” She sighed then repeated the message a bit slower the second time around. “Off to Reggie then.” Her words were accompanied by an arched brow as the patronus took off. The addition of being able to use the spell for sending messages instead of just fending off dementors was one she would never fail to be amazed by.

“Bath time for us now,” Pandora murmured against Xeno’s chest before properly taking a step backwards, not bothering to try to disguise the way she thoroughly looked him over. She squeezed his hand then went to lead him toward the bathroom. “I didn’t think to grab lavender or bath salts before leaving my place.” The thought was accompanied by her shaking her head. “But I think we can still manage to go for something leisurely.”

~ End ~

[pandoraalcmene]

Pandora raised an eyebrow when Marlene approached, unable to contain the small smile that spread over her lips at the mention of commissioning something. She didn’t want to seem too eager so pausing to think over her answer proved necessary. “I can do that,” She beamed. “Even have the materials for a charmed charm bracelet if that was something you were looking for.”

The mention of moving the conversation elsewhere earned a subtle nod as Pandora shifted to secure her wares. It would mean closing down a little earlier than anticipated but she didn’t mind that. Not when it meant potentially making a deal. “Lead the way,” Pandora murmured once her things were packed up. She could already imagine Xeno teasing her for being too trusting, but the little bit of worrying that would typically accompany her allowing the customer to call the shots had been silenced by acknowledging she and Marlene were both in the Order. “If not, there’s a less active alley two buildings away. I’d go as far as suggesting the estate or my flat but one of those is busy and the other involved getting told off last time I did business from home.”

Marlene and @pandoraalcmene​ 8th July 1984 Pandora’s Jewellery Booth

Marlene wasn’t usually one for jewellery. It was too fiddly, and even when she did find something she liked she was usually in such a rush to get out of the house in the morning she forgot to put any on. That had changed in the last few months. With her brain’s annoying new tendency to engulf her mind in what Marlene internally called ‘disturbing-as-fuck fog’, she’d found ways to cope. Most of them were neither healthy or useful in the long run, but there was one thing that consistently worked - snapping the hair tie around her wrist against her skin. It brought her back to reality, a reminder of where she was. The problem was she needed to have the wherewithal to actually pull on the elastic to make it ping back in the first place. That was where Pandora came in.

“I’d like to commission a charmed bracelet.” Marlene had passed the booth only days before noticing the enchanted jewellery but it’s potential usefulness hadn’t occurred to her until that morning. “I’m not really sure on the design yet, but - well, maybe we can talk somewhere privately?” It wasn’t that Marlene was up to anything dodgy, but she knew her request would be an odd one and she didn’t want to go blurting it out where anyone could hear. 

[pandoraalcmene]

reggiecatastrophic​:

Reggie laughed. “I’m very polite,” he promised. He hummed in response to her question as he took another bite, swallowing it before giving her an actual answer. “As far as I know, it lasted the whole mission. Neither of them’s told me if it didn’t, but Vanity came back mostly whole and less worse for wear than a couple of the others on that team, so it seems to have done the job.” He felt another twinge of guilt that he hadn’t thrown one together for Nate. Next time perhaps. But he didn’t share that aloud with Pandora yet. She’d probably make more of it than she needed to.

She was a gem. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll be okay. I have enough junk sitting around. I need to just actually buckle down and take a look at it. Make sure the spells are simple enough to refresh and sell.” Make sure nothing had a family crest as a glaring warning of why he shouldn’t put it out. “I’ll let you know if I need to take you up on it, though.”

He took another bite, chewing thoughtfully as Pandora talked. Do more. He understood completely. Until he’d been sent out into the field as backup, Reggie had felt useless just sitting there. He’d found ways to entertain himself, sure, but that wasn’t the same as being useful during a mission. “Is that something you want to talk to somebody about?” he asked. “I dunno if it’ll do any good, but maybe you can get yourself more specific orders or something.” Several squeaky wheels around here seemed to just keep talking until they got what they wanted. Reggie wasn’t surprised when that meant someone like James Potter, who hadn’t ever seemed to be denied anything in his life. He didn’t know if it would be the same for someone like Pandora.

✰

“I’m relieved to hear that,” Pandora gave Reggie a small smile. “And I would suggest offering them up to the Order as a whole,” She added with a shake of her head. “If it weren’t for acknowledging that the charm related end of things doesn’t want anyone held responsible if things don’t work the way they should and that the jeweler won’t appreciate if people expect something more expensive than the basics.” It all came down to not wanting people to resort to expecting magic to get them out of everything unscathed. It was too unpredictable at times to heavily rely on it for more serious endeavors.

“Sounds good,” Pandora nodded. “I should be easy to find the next week and a half.” If she wasn’t at her place there would be a strong chance of finding her at Xeno’s or the Order. It made for a predictable schedule of sorts but two out of three of the locations truly depended on how she was feeling.

“It’s complicated,” She sighed and pressed her lips together to keep from pouting, chewing on the inside of them a moment. “I don’t mind the behind the scenes stuff.” Pandora took another bite as a reason to keep from immediately saying anything else. It made her feel like a kid in a way — wanting to do more but not wanting to approach the subject with someone in charge out of fear of being dismissed or deemed unimportant enough to have a conversation with. “They gave me specific ones with the spellwork,” She added. “But that’s more of a one and done sort of deal. I think it comes down to not being certain I’d be an asset on the field.”

[pandoraalcmene]

There was the slightest bit of hesitation before Pandora answered Zinnia. It was spent with her head cocked to the side. One eyebrow rose and she kept quiet, needing a moment to think over her answer.

It was one of those things that left her questioning why there wasn’t some sort of password to go along with that sort of question. A riddle would have been acceptable as well.

“I’m sorry,” Pandora relaxed back into her chair. “I have no clue what you are talking about.”

Lying was never a strength when it came to Pandora. She wasn’t in the habit of doing so as it was but she knew better than to openly discuss the Order. Even when it was in one of the safe houses. There was simply the matter of not being able to maintain the poker face in regards to stating she knew nothing.

She had been about to get back to reading and chose to look Zinnia over instead. She could remember her from school. Year below her and in the same house. Insignificant if only because she hadn’t ever seemed interested in speaking to her when the opportunity came about.

Another beat of silence, then Pandora sighed and shut her book. Nothing left to be said but it didn’t stop her from occasionally throwing a sideways glance in Zinnia’s direction.

Date: July 5th, 1984 Location: An Order Safehouse Status: Closed for @pandoraalcmene

Zinnia loved puzzles when she was a little girl.

There was a sort of logic to them that was comforting. Even when all the pieces of the picture were haphazardly scattered across the living room floor, she knew that the answer was sitting right in front of her, waiting patiently for her to figure it out. Twenty years later, that knowledge still held a little comfort, though the puzzle had transformed itself. She was no longer picking which pieces of a picture fit together… Zinnia was trying to piece back together a life she couldn’t remember.

She had scrapped together little pieces of her life from those two years and ripped apart the little office in her cottage for every letter, note, and journal she could find. All of those pieces led to a list of locations and names, and that brought her to that exact moment. In the heat of a July morning. Staring at a building she hoped would be the answer to over two years of unanswerable questions.

Some piece of her had hoped for a familiar face to walk past. Robyn, maybe… Her name littered her notes- though she couldn’t tell if that was because the wix was involved, or if it was simply a product of their already being close. Or Alastor Moody- another name that popped up constantly throughout her research. Xeno, Alice… Merlin, she could have gone on for hours with her guesses. But sometimes, a puzzle piece came as a surprise.

Pandora Malfoy, a name that only held resonance from Hogwarts and in reference to Xenophilius Lovegood, had not been a player in the mystery of an organization Zinnia had once been involved in.

She stared in wonder from her hiding spot for a heartbeat, two, three, lost in a spiral of thoughts before she snapped herself out of it. Say something. Say something or else you’ll never know.

What’s the worst she can say? You’re crazy???

Zinnia pretended for a moment that she was that other version of herself- the version she did not know, the version who was ten times braver than the one that she’d become. She took a deep breath, and left her hiding spot, walking straight up to the blonde wix with her head held high.

“I’m here to join the Order.”

[pandoraalcmene]

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”

[pandoraalcmene]

[pandoraalcmene]

The question earned a raised brow from Pandora and the briefest flick of her eyes from left to right to make sure she was being spoken to. A decade out of Hogwarts and she was still used to people acting as though she didn’t exist. It didn’t bother her anymore since she preferred the small group of friends she had over being forced to act like she was friendly to everyone.

“Are you speaking hypothetically or being serious?” Pandora tilted her head to the side and took a moment to eye Regulus, allowing her voice to drop down to a whisper when she spoke again. “I can give a listening ear for the hypothetical aspect. As for the serious… I know a wix that knows a wix that should be able to help out. It would come at a price though since I’m not about to serve as your personal owl.”

Her eyebrows furrowed together after that and she shook her head before Regulus could give a proper answer, having minimal shame in interrupting. “Nothing pricey. I was thinking dinner with me and Xenophilius at their place if we were to go the route of having to pull from my more questionable clients.”

where: The Prewett Estate

when: July 28th, 1984

who: open to anybody interested

If Regulus had to stay in this crumbling, decrepit manor for another week, he was either going to lose what remained of his mind or commit a violent act against another person yet again. This place simply wasn’t suited for one like him. Regulus, after all, had expectations, had requirements. This place fit none of them. He could, of course, write back to his family in France, but he had made a promise to himself to keep them as far away from this mess as he could and inviting correspondence seemed a certain way to get them killed.

What he needed was his own space and to have that, he needed to be alive. Legally, of course. He needed access to Gringotts again and the ability to move mostly freely. The alternative would be continuing to live in this horrible limbo and he refused to do that. Perhaps, if Regulus was less proud, he would ask for help, to see if someone perhaps had an extra room. But pride and Regulus had been synonymous words for over a decade now and that wasn’t changing any time soon.

It was a shame his network of contacts had largely fallen apart during his time abroad. It made looking into a quiet and discreet method of legal resurrection difficult. If it wasn’t discreet, Regulus may as well make his own funeral arrangements. Finding these answers meant looking elsewhere, beyond his usual sphere, and the best place for that was perhaps the people he found himself among these days. Sighing and navigating his wheelchair towards one such individual, he stopped a few meters from them. Asking anyone for help was a nightmare, but it had to be done. “Who would you turn to if you were in need of a private resurrection of your own living status?”

[pandoraalcmene]

Pandora & @edgeofnicky​ July 3, 1984 - The Quibbler

“Xenooo,” The blonde cooed without so much as bothering to glance around the main office upon setting foot inside it. Her hair was down to her waist with a crown of wildflowers serving as a way to keep the strands out of her face. With minimal plans on her list for the day, it seemed fitting to give convincing him to do lunch with her a chance. Not that it took much convincing as it was, but bothering Xeno had reached the top her priorities. At least, it had been part of her plan for the day up until the wide grin that had once been on her lips faltered to the point of no longer existing.

“Well you aren’t Xenophilius,” Pandora huffed and set her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing at the back of Nicky’s head. She let the disappointed look remain despite being perfectly capable of offering a halfhearted smile and an attempt at pleasant conversation. “Please tell me you’re at least being offered food or something in exchange of trying to sort through... whatever you’re up to. Otherwise I can take over. He’s pretty adamant about keeping the chaos organized to his liking.”

[pandoraalcmene]

[pandoraalcmene]

reggiecatastrophic​:

Reggie rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “That’s enough for breakfast, but lunch is here now. Eat a little more, please?” Reggie knew he wasn’t responsible for feeding her by any means, but he liked to take care of the people important to him. Pandora definitely fit the bill.

He waved away her apology. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I’m here now. You don’t have to apologize for it.” He took a bite from his takeout box and hummed in appreciation for the taste. “Speaking of pendants, that pretty pearl one I bought from you? I ended up making a protection charm with it for Emma Vanity on Alice Longbottom’s behalf. It seemed like the right one for the job. Have you made any more? I hate to make more work for you, but if you have anything like that left after the next market, I’d definitely love to cut a deal, maybe an exchange if you need anything?”

When she asked about his, Reggie shrugged. “I’m not quite as ready as I’d like to be, so we’ll see. I have enough to make a decent showing in the booth, even if I don’t get anything else finished between now and then. I started a little side project for Weasley, so that’s been my focus the last few days.” He looked over at her again. “Speaking of the last few days… I know you didn’t go out in the field, but are you feeling all right about it all?”

✰

Pandora could have said no or argued but there was something in the way he said it that left her appreciating his concern. She was too used to fretting about everyone and everything but herself. It wasn’t anything unusual past having a low number of people she was close to and not wanting to risk losing the few connections she had. “Okay,” She offered a short-lived put that shifted into a smile. “But it’s only because you said please.”

She pulled the takeout box toward herself and gave a hum of appreciation, promptly taking a bite before shifting her attention back to Reggie. “How long did the charm last?” Pandora quirked a brow. She was decent at charming things but her personal endeavor of trying to prolong some of the spells for longer than a few spells or hours was proving to be a challenge. “I have a few,” She nodded. “I hid some of the nicer pieces since I wasn’t about to lose all of them to one customer. Pearls and a few crystals this time around.”

Her expression faltered when Reggie mentioned not feeling ready.  She couldn’t relate this time around but there had been a few times where she felt overwhelmed or underprepared. There was the unfortunate luck of not being able to fully hide the expressions that accompanied those feelings. “I can help out if you think an additional hand may be of use,” Pandora shrugged. “No cut of things needed.” 

She gave another shrug of her shoulders at his question. It would involve a complicated answer and wasn’t something she had mentioned to Xenophilius yet past knowing they knew she hadn’t been ready to dive right into the field when she first joined. “Sort of,” She offered a half smile in response. “Had more worrying than I was used to. I suppose that came with the territory of hanging back. Truly relieved everyone ended up okay for the most part, but I...” Pandora let her voice drop to an almost whisper when she went to continue. “I feel like I could have done more.”

[pandoraalcmene]

[pandoraalcmene]

Floating roses ~ Polina Kovaleva

[pandoraalcmene]

[pandoraalcmene]

At an underwhelming 5 feet 2 inches (157.48 cm), Pandora can often be found standing on her toes or climbing people/furniture to get something that is out of her reach. Although a witch, she is of the belief that scaling things is more fun than summoning the item.

Pandora is also prone to running then jumping into people’s arms. If asked what happens if someone isn’t prepared, her usual answer is “I’ve done it enough times to trust they won’t let me fall… That and I’ll whine if they do.”