A Meeting in the Ministry
ReducioInteracting with: @Tes Cadell
Word Count: 386
IC Date: 21st February (Exeat Weekend) 2026
“Mum, can we go to Waterstones on the way home?” asked Dido, endlessly bored by the on-going pointless errands that her mother had sent her on in the Ministry of Magic which included:
“Dido, find a stapler in the Muggle Artefacts office.”
“Get us some cups of tea, Honey.”
And, possibly worst of all, “Dido dear, go and pass on my congratulations to Jennifer in the Department of Magical Transport- I heard she’d gotten married!”
Dido had obliged the first two requests with only a minimal amount of grumbling about how she was, “missing out on homework” and Andrea Bleaklane didn’t ask where Dido had gained such an attitude as she, having never gone to Hogwarts, just assumed it was the general sentiment among the student body.
The final request, however, had been met with scorched red cheeks as Dido imagined the mortification and a semi-outraged “No way am I doing that!” before Dido slumped in her chair and pulled out some of her Herbology homework, trying to drown out the Ministry man’s (well-rehearsed by then) 32nd attempt at hurrying Dido’s mother into writing another book. Homework, obviously, hadn’t managed to silence the man’s droning voice and Dido had had to hear all about how a sequel might “douse some of the inflammatory statements” that the previous book had contained about the “familial loyalty” of the gene pool of some well-known pureblood families.
So, eventually, Dido and her mother left the office, and were walking alongside each other before turning into the Atrium, discussing their plans for lunch when something- someone caught Dido’s eye. Tes Cadell. Dido immediately recognised her- How could she not? Before the “reaction”, Dido had been paying attention to the people getting sorted and she would always remember how quickly the Sorting Hat had shouted “Slytherin!” when placed on Tes’ head. On top of that moment, in Hogwarts, Tes seemed to emit a sort of cold, even cold-blooded energy, always seeming to Dido like she was waiting to pounce and stab someone with a pointy needle. (Dido hated needles and so shuddered at this visual.)
So Dido thought many things when she saw Tes Cadell. She was slightly scared, absolutely in awe, somewhat disoriented by seeing someone so constantly composed outside of Hogwarts, but most of all? Most of all, Dido panicked.
Last edited by Dido Bleaklane on 3 Jun 2026, 23:58, edited 1 time in total.
-Dido Bleaklane |
A Meeting in the Ministry
.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.*+:｡.｡ ｡.｡:+*
outfit✧.*
Reducio
speech✧.* Sissy -, Dido - Other
code by ara villa
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S I S S Y |
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C A D E L L |
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"That's crap-puccino" Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 2 | Wis 7 | Arc 9 | Acc 6 |
ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴅ ʜᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ’ꜱ A Meeting in the Ministry
Interacting With: @Tes Cadell
Word Count: 271
Speech: Dido | Tes | Other
Dido blanched. Tes had seen Dido. And, to Dido’s utter mortification, she had noticed Dido’s almost fixated look.
“You’re staring,” Tes mouthed, and Dido said nothing, frozen in horror and worry and shock. Rationally, Dido knew that, if she wanted to keep anything secret from her mother, she should be continuing to walk, casually, having barely glanced at the Hogwarts student. But rational was not Dido’s current thought process. It was more like one of those deer who froze in headlights, aware of the danger hurtling towards them but unable to stop it.
“Dee?” her mother asked, not unreasonably noticing her daughter ceasing to move.
Dido blinked rapidly, caught between her mother and Tes’ mouthed statement. She had no idea what to do. Her usually quick thinking brain, which she had thought would have placed her in Ravenclaw, had gone into shutdown.
“Sorry!… I-uh was...” she stuttered, only sending a fraction of the statement to each person.
Of course, Andrea Bleaklane noticed the girl that Dido was staring at. How could she not? So, smiling somewhat awkwardly, she prompted, “Dido, honey? Who’s this?” while almost dragging her daughter towards Tes.
In Dido’s residual shock, she could only barely force her legs to move and she ended up half-walking, half-falling towards Tes, pulled along by her mother. She rattled out, “Oh? This is Tes! In my year at Hogwarts,” Dido looked at Tes emphatically, praying to whatever gods may have been currently invested in Dido’s life before continuing in a louder, more intentional tone, “I think she’s in Slytherin or something? I’m not really sure about the other houses, to be honest."
-Dido Bleaklane |
A Meeting in the Ministry
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I didn’t interrupt her. Not immediately.
I let the words settle in the air, “I think she’s in Slytherin or something?” turning them over in my mind. My expression didn’t change, but there was a subtle stillness to me after her statement, something sharper beneath the surface,"I'm not really sure about the other houses, to be honest.". Strange.
Either this girl had Alzheimer or she was playing a dangerous game.
My gaze flicked briefly to her mother, offering the faintest, most mannerly incline of my head, perfectly mannered, perfectly composed.
“Cadell,” I corrected smoothly, my voice calm and even. “Tes Cadell.”
Then my eyes returned to Dido.
I stepped just slightly closer, not enough to be improper, but enough to break whatever space she thought she had, “And she’s quite right,” I added, my tone still mild, though something colder threaded through it now. “Slytherin.”
I let my eyes on her for a moment longer than necessary, noticing everything, the rushed words, the forced casualness, the way she was failing miserably to play whatever game she was playing.
Then, tilting my head ever so slightly, I continued,
“Though I suppose not everyone pays attention during sorting.” I faint smile appeared. However, my tone shifted it was slightly more than a polite voice; it felt like a needle pressing down somewhere where it would be felt man i should've shared this PEAK metaphor w u before creative writing smh
Only then did I shift my attention back to her mother, my posture straightening just a fraction, “You must be her mother,” I said, tone back to its perfect politeness.
Action: N/A
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 3
Abilities: Parselmouth
"That's crap-puccino" Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 2 | Wis 7 | Arc 9 | Acc 6 |
A Meeting in the Ministry
OOC note: Reducio1) While everything written is true for Dido, much is intentionally incorrect (eg: Dido is not in Ravenclaw)
2) Dido's mother, Andy Bleaklane, wrote a book which is relatively successful and was very critical towards some pureblood families. I hope i left it ambiguous whether Tes' family would have been in there as that would infringe on your decisions I feel.
Speech: Dido | Tes | Other
From beneath the blanket of fear that was choking her mind, Dido felt a surge of gratitude rise to the surface as Tes seemed to elect to let her speak, to explain. To lie.
The girl hadn’t even really done anything of any real value beyond not immediately blurting out her house and relationship to Dido but, nonetheless, she instantly felt indebted to Tes, though the emotions were likely amplified by her panicked response. Dido watched as Tes mulled her words over, desperately trying to convey her desperation to the Slytherin, who in turn seemed to Dido like a cat, or a tiger, deliberating on whether to pounce or to let the unsuspecting prey walk on by.
Of course, in Dido’s metaphorical understanding of Tes’ character, she herself would have to act as the “unsuspecting prey” but, in that moment, her fear originated from knowing too much rather than too little. Perhaps Dido’s mother would have been a better subject for the allegory.
Andrea Bleaklane herself might have appeared somewhat unnerved by the young girl before them but years of dealing with unsettling ministry employees had long since desensitized her to the way some pureblood wizards seemed to act. So instead, she smiled gently at Tes’ formal response before replying in a saccharine sweet tone, “What a lovely name! Though I have to admit, I haven’t heard the surname before… Does one of your parents work here?”
Dido’s eyes widened, almost imperceptibly, in horror: Of course her mother recognised the Cadell surname! It was one of the pureblood families which had been mentioned in her book, rather disparagingly, and, more recently, had been near the top of the list she had presented Dido with at the beginning of the year.
She was broken from her confusion and worry by Tes’ own movement towards the pair. Strangely, it sent a shiver down her spine. To see such composure and stillness manipulated with such precision… it was far more dignified than Dido had ever dreamed of seeing in real life, let alone embodying herself. Her breath slowed at Tes’ next words, “She’s quite right. Slytherin.”
Then Tes paused, as if watching Dido’s fear with a magnifying glass. What would Tes do? Or say? Dread stifled any words that formed in Dido’s throat, smothering them into stillness as if even one twitch of a muscle would shatter the fragile silence. Dido’s ears burned. Thankfully, it seemed as if her mother was more focused on Miss Cadell than Dido’s crimson face.
Finally, Tes finished her statement with a tight smile which was not quite believable enough to reassure the roaring thoughts that were soaring through Dido’s head. Instead, the smile felt like another promise of violence, mocking her for her discomfort.
“Well, I guess some people will do anything to avoid paying attention to a professor. Though everyone was pretty quiet on the Ravenclaw table,” Dido chuckled weakly, a slightly less refined but equally as meaningful smile to Tes’ hovering over her face.
As the conversation moved on, Dido stared at Tes, only occasionally glancing up happily to her mother in an attempt to appear as normal as possible. Fortunately, Andy was distracted by Tes’ words and was brightly responding, “Yes. Andy Bleaklane- You may have actually read my book, ‘A History of Unsung Magic’? It’s about muggles and squibs and the way that pureblood supremacists have erased their work in…” Andrea eventually noticed Dido’s apparent uninterest in what she was saying, “Oh, but you girls don’t want to hear about boring old me! I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
And, with that, Dido’s mother walked away in the general direction of the Ministry bathrooms, without even a look over her shoulder to see how the two girls would react.
Dido swallowed nervously. She was on her own.
-Dido Bleaklane |
A Meeting in the Ministry
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"What a lovely name! Though I have to admit, I haven’t heard the surname before... Does one of your parents work here?" the mother replied
Strange, "Yes. My father." I replied simply, standing on my guards
A long silence stretched between us, her mother suddenly felt.. familiar though I couldn't remember when I've seen or heard about her.
Suddenly, the silence broke after my small statement, “Well, I guess some people will do anything to avoid paying attention to a professor. Though everyone was pretty quiet on the Ravenclaw table,”
That made me more confused. What does she mean? I've seen her spent most of her time in the Slytherin Common Room. I couldn't tell what game she was playing but she certainly didn't seem very good at it.
She chuckled, honestly it felt like a trial to make the situation less awkward.
Then it clocked, the attempt to seem comfortable, the failed contained posture, the lack of clear eye contact: her mother didn't know she was a Slytherin.
If my theory was right, I was in for some fun.
“Yes. Andy Bleaklane- You may have actually read my book, ‘A History of Unsung Magic’? It’s about muggles and squibs and the way that pureblood supremacists have erased their work in…” I knew it. Her famous stupid book. I knew she seemed familiar; always thought she was right.
I remembered my family, requesting a complete erasure of her vulgar novel; in vain. It was obvious though; my aunt decided to make it her duty. Not sure why everyone else agreed, she was known in my family for being the little ray of sunshine, she was sweet with everyone whom encountered yet she was such a special person within our family.
My jaw tightened, "Well seems like you already knew who I was" I replied in a dangerous calm tone.
I didn’t move as her mother walked away, “Oh, but you girls don’t want to hear about boring old me! I’ll leave you two to catch up.” I see what she did there. But she's right, her input was unnecessary.
I didn’t look after her either.
I stood with Dido alone now.
For a moment, I said nothing. The noise of the Atrium seemed to fade. My expression didn’t shift, but there was something deeper now, something no longer softened by "politeness".
My eyes flicked briefly to where her mother had disappeared, then back to her, “So,” I say, “what exactly is it you think you know, Dido?” Clearly she has been victim of her mother's pitiful talk about purebloods like me.
I decided to drop the House issue and question her instead, "I strongly suggest you do not decide to become like your mother and write books about families that can ruin yours. If you foolishly decide so, it's not my sweet aunt that'd tell you to burn it but me."
Action: N/A
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 3
Abilities: Parselmouth
"That's crap-puccino" Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 2 | Wis 7 | Arc 9 | Acc 6 |
A Meeting in the Ministry
OOC note: Reducio1) While everything written is true for Dido, much is intentionally incorrect (eg: Dido is not in Ravenclaw)
2) The poor duck is terrified
Speech: Dido | Tes | Other
Had Dido noticed the obvious hostility between her mother and Tes, her cheeks would have burnt as brightly as her ears were. Fortunately, she was too wrapped up in the spirals within her own mind to recognise Tes’ cold responses to her mother’s loaded questions. The conversation washed over her as she stared at Tes, praying that the girl had understood her stressed message within her interjection. Dark eyes filled with longing, longing for Tes to comply, to accept, to just stay quiet. It was more than longing. It was desperation, pure and unbridled.
She watched her mother walk away, anxiously tracking her steps to ensure Andrea couldn’t see her and Tes. When she turned back to the serpentine girl, she inhaled sharply on noticing how Tes was focused on her but she quickly recovered and surged towards the girl, rubbing and pinching the skin of her neck fearfully. She stopped only a couple feet from Tes, close enough so that her high-pitched, sharp breaths could be heard and that her quiet pleads were easily audible. Tes’ dark gaze no longer staked her to the ground, instead piercing through her heart and lifting her into the air.
“Tes…” she began, her usually mellow voice taut and pitchy. She didn’t know what to say, only that she wanted to- no- had to say something. Anything. Anything that could stop the steam train that had been set rolling from smashing itself to pieces against the station.
“So… What exactly is it you think you know, Dido?”
So single-minded, Dido missed the obvious reference to her mother’s inflammatory comments and frowned, confused by Tes’ words. She swallowed and began to stutter out, “Wha- Tes? I-I don’t know anything… I- you…” She paused, shaking her head in perplexity.
It was an unpleasant feeling. It wasn’t just confusion, though Dido was confused. It was this mix of emotions, from fear to resentment at the thought that she had missed out on something, all combined into this painful cocktail which burnt at Didio from the inside-out.
Thankfully, a partial sum of that complex bundle of thought was quickly alleviated. Tes continued, “I strongly suggest you do not decide to become like your mother and write books about families that can ruin yours,” and Dido at last understood that they were still talking about her mother’s book. She deflated in relief that her lie hadn’t been mentioned before stilling again at the implied, or indeed blatant, threat.
“If you foolishly decide so, it's not my sweet aunt that'd tell you to burn it but me."
Dido nodded fiercely. Of course she wouldn’t do anything like that. Smiling nervously, she responded, “No- of course I wouldn’t write anything bad. My mum-”
She bit her tongue before she could elaborate on her mother’s innocence and the accuracy of the statements (which Dido did believe to be true, if a little mean-spirited on her mother’s part). But she held the words in, fear of this snake-like predator overcoming her intrinsic and instinctual loyalty to her mother.
Dido nodded again and waited a moment before adding in a fraught whisper, “And Tes- Please just- Please don’t say anything about… I’ll do anything. Please.”
-Dido Bleaklane |
A Meeting in the Ministry
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I went very still.
Not surprised, never that- but something in my expression shifted.
"I’ll do anything." her words echoed slightly in my head; what was she thinking
For a moment, I said nothing but my stare didn't once drop from her face.
Then, slowly, I exhaled, "Anything?” I say looking down at her fingers fidgeting, “Careful" I paused her mid sentence, taking a step closer, "You shouldn’t say things like that,” I said more quietly, voice soft but edged with something deliberate, "You don't know what you're offering" I finished
The silence stretched between us before I spoke up, "I'm not going to say anything." I said, not in a sot tone in the slightest, “And certainly not because you begged.”
I carried on, "It would be a mess, your mother already writes enough without understanding the consequences. Adding you to that would not be good for us either."
“But don’t misunderstand me we're not friends. Find a way to discontinue her stupid book if you can.” I finished.
Really I wasn't expecting anything from her and even less good results, but since she said she'd do anything, might as well test what she can do.
(OOC: sighh I thought I wrote so much but I need more words so this is a random interaction:)
As I waited for her answer, I noticed a tap on my shoulder, I turn around to meet with a certain middle-aged man, I recognised him immediately. He was one of my old father's colleague, knew me since forever- apparently.
"Tes! Nice to see you there" he exclaimed handing me a cup of coffee, "That was for a colleague but they can wait"
Action: N/A
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 3
Abilities: Parselmouth
"That's crap-puccino" Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 2 | Wis 7 | Arc 9 | Acc 6 |
A Meeting in the Ministry
OOC note: Reducio1) While everything written is true for Dido, much is intentionally incorrect (eg: Dido is not in Ravenclaw)
2) She's just booking it lol- also I love this thread
Speech: Dido | Tes | Other
Only after Dido had finished speaking did she fully understand the enormity of what she had said.
But they weren’t lies. She would do anything to stop Tes from telling anyone: either doing something for Tes or doing anything, no matter what, to prevent the Slytherin. Though, obviously, Dido did not vocalise that second realisation.
Tes’ cold stare scorched into Dido as she repeated the quivering girl’s words. The Slytherin took a step nearer, closing the gap between the girls until she was unsettlingly close, scarily close. Dangerously close. Her quiet voice, sharp as a knife, almost softened as she continued, “You shouldn’t say things like that,” but it was laced with something cold and intentional. Dido raised her chin, both to match the slightly taller girl’s height and to force herself to fight the desperation to lower her head and bend to Tes’ words. Tes finished, “You don't know what you're offering,” and Dido’s dark eyes finally met Tes’ grey, staring at her intently in an attempt to tease out the the girl’s genuine intentions.
When Tes finally broke the silence, Dido visibly deflated; her shoulders fell, she let out a deep sigh, and the tiny pinpricks of held-back tears began to well in her eyes. The most noticeable difference was the huge, unstoppable, almost-hysterical smile which pulled at her lips, encouraged by Tes’ apparent agreement not to tell anyone. Tes continued to explain as words of thankfulness fell from Dido’s mouth, filling the air with the sweet stench of desperate gratitude.
“Thank you, Tes. Thank you so so much. I-”
“But don’t misunderstand me,” Tes interrupted, “We’re not friends.”
Dido straightened up, the tension immediately back in the line of jaw and the slight crease of her brow. As Tes finished her apparent request, Dido clenched her fists and bit down, hard, on her tongue; she didn’t say anything in response.
Dido’s somewhat impassive reaction did not settle for long as, almost as soon as Tes stopped speaking, a tall Ministry official interrupted the girls and began to talk to the snake-like girl. Dido glanced back to where her mother had supposedly gone to the bathroom and, predictably enough, the tell-tale crimson bag was just about visible round the corner of one of the corridors. She looked again at Tes’ back, narrowed her eyes briefly before beginning to walk away briskly and determinedly. They were done for the day.
And, with any luck, that would be last time Dido spoke to Tes Cadell.
Leaving thread unless stopped!
-Dido Bleaklane |
A Meeting in the Ministry
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I didn’t turn when she started to leave.
The Ministry worker was still speaking something about delegations, timing, a minor delay in translation charms but his voice had already begun to blur into background noise. I don't know why he was chatting like I was an employee but I listened carefully, answering him automatically.
A nod. A smile. A shake of hand
But my eyes had already shifted.
Just enough to catch the movement of her retreating figure.
For a moment, I said nothing. Let her go a few paces further, let her think and hope that the interaction had ended cleanly, that distance meant she was safe.
Then I spoke, “Bleaklane”
I didn’t raise my voice.
It didnt need to be loud, my voice carried anyway. Cutting cleanly through the buzz of the Atrium without ever sounding like it tried to.
My gaze stayed on her, “Whatever this is” I say gesturing with my finger between the 2 of us, "Isn't over" I finished, looking back at the worker. Whatever she thought was finished- she could be wrong. I was going to make sure we'd meet again.
Now I was done.
“Now" I continued smoothly, as though uninterrupted, “you were saying about the Bulgarian correspondence?”
And just like that, I had just met Dido Bleaklane.
Action: N/A
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 3
Abilities: ParselmouthOOC NOTE:
Reducio
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—{RP ENDED}—
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@Dido Bleaklane
@ Tes Cadell
Start: 1st April
End: 3rd July
In the Atrium, Tes meets with Dido for the first time. Tes' confidence and Dido's quietness creates a loud crash. Their discussion reveals important detaisl and information concerning both families. What will their relationship turn out to be?
No part 2 plannes but there's loads of rps with Dids!!!
Has to be one of my top tier RP, loved it!
"That's crap-puccino" Sta 5 | Eva 6 | Str 2 | Wis 7 | Arc 9 | Acc 6 |