"Sakura, with the tail feather of an aosaginohi," says Draco's new partner. "Nice, huh?"
"What with the what now?" Draco mutters sourly.
It's only been two hours, and already Draco considers this auror exchange program to be one of the harshest trials of his after-school existence. And Draco had thought things couldn't get worse after his last partner ran off with a hag.
"So," says Taguchi after reclaiming his wand. "You want to flush out the first row?"
Draco wishes he could blame this assignment on his partner – either the old or the new one would do. But the truth is that he probably shouldn't have given in to the impulse to list the minister's many faults without first checking to see if she was standing right behind him.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" calls Taguchi with obnoxious cheer as Draco sends the spell hurtling along the row of shelves.
Two fraggles jump out of old files stacked on the archive's shelves, chased by small whirls of magic. One of them is still chewing on a mouth full of paper; the other is in suspenders, hastily pulling on a tiny overcoat.
Taguchi flicks his (sakura-whatever) wand with an entirely unnnecessary flourish and the creatures clatter to the floor in two small cages, shaking tiny fists through the bars and complaining with high-pitched voices.
Well, the guy has good aim, at least. And he's not bad with charms. Though…
"Just incinerate them and be done with it," Draco says. "They're complete pests – no useful qualities at all."
"No!" Taguchi is all wide-eyed shock. Great, one of *those*. "We can't do that! They're harmless – and they're really cute, too. Look, this red one has a little hat! Here, fraggle fraggle…"
The cute red fraggle tries to bite Taguchi when he sticks a finger into the cage to pet it. Draco smirks, feeling his mood lighten somewhat.
"I'll just let them go somewhere they won't bother anyone, once we're done here."
Draco lets out a long-suffering gust of air and says nothing as he moves to the next row. What the fuck ever.
"So what exactly did you do to get stuck with this shitty assignment?" he asks idly when they're about halfway through the first cavern. "Fuck up an important case? Trash-talk your superior? Sleep with your boss's wife, or husband?"
Taguchi laughs and twirls his wand. No, seriously – Draco sees it clear as day. The man actually *twirls his wand*. "You're funny! I like you. I think we'll get along like magic!"
Too much cheer can really ruin your day.
"I bet you were a Hufflepuff, or whatever Hufflepuffs are wherever the fuck you come from," Draco tells his new partner later that night, as he swings onto his broomstick. He really needs to get drunk now.
Taguchi, of course, doesn't even realize he's been dealt a lethal insult; he just smiles and levitates the huge pile of fraggle cages with a flamboyant flick of the wand and a galling lack of effort.
To add insult to injury, Taguchi flies like a dragon, even on the lousy ministry-issue broomstick.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-01-27 10:34 pm (UTC)"What with the what now?" Draco mutters sourly.
It's only been two hours, and already Draco considers this auror exchange program to be one of the harshest trials of his after-school existence. And Draco had thought things couldn't get worse after his last partner ran off with a hag.
"So," says Taguchi after reclaiming his wand. "You want to flush out the first row?"
Draco wishes he could blame this assignment on his partner – either the old or the new one would do. But the truth is that he probably shouldn't have given in to the impulse to list the minister's many faults without first checking to see if she was standing right behind him.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" calls Taguchi with obnoxious cheer as Draco sends the spell hurtling along the row of shelves.
Two fraggles jump out of old files stacked on the archive's shelves, chased by small whirls of magic. One of them is still chewing on a mouth full of paper; the other is in suspenders, hastily pulling on a tiny overcoat.
Taguchi flicks his (sakura-whatever) wand with an entirely unnnecessary flourish and the creatures clatter to the floor in two small cages, shaking tiny fists through the bars and complaining with high-pitched voices.
Well, the guy has good aim, at least. And he's not bad with charms. Though…
"Just incinerate them and be done with it," Draco says. "They're complete pests – no useful qualities at all."
"No!" Taguchi is all wide-eyed shock. Great, one of *those*. "We can't do that! They're harmless – and they're really cute, too. Look, this red one has a little hat! Here, fraggle fraggle…"
The cute red fraggle tries to bite Taguchi when he sticks a finger into the cage to pet it. Draco smirks, feeling his mood lighten somewhat.
"I'll just let them go somewhere they won't bother anyone, once we're done here."
Draco lets out a long-suffering gust of air and says nothing as he moves to the next row. What the fuck ever.
"So what exactly did you do to get stuck with this shitty assignment?" he asks idly when they're about halfway through the first cavern. "Fuck up an important case? Trash-talk your superior? Sleep with your boss's wife, or husband?"
Taguchi laughs and twirls his wand. No, seriously – Draco sees it clear as day. The man actually *twirls his wand*. "You're funny! I like you. I think we'll get along like magic!"
Too much cheer can really ruin your day.
"I bet you were a Hufflepuff, or whatever Hufflepuffs are wherever the fuck you come from," Draco tells his new partner later that night, as he swings onto his broomstick. He really needs to get drunk now.
Taguchi, of course, doesn't even realize he's been dealt a lethal insult; he just smiles and levitates the huge pile of fraggle cages with a flamboyant flick of the wand and a galling lack of effort.
To add insult to injury, Taguchi flies like a dragon, even on the lousy ministry-issue broomstick.