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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 21:53:53 GMT -5
It was undeniably winter now. The air had a bite to it that had been gentler only a week or two earlier, and spots of snow clung in shadowy corners where direct sunlight couldn't melt it. Dare held his hood against a gust of wind and glanced back at the cab to see it pull away.
Ahead, the shelter was still wanting for paint, but Dare had been doing what he could; just a zap or two of the wand while Rhys was giving the cabbie his fare, and a shutter snapped into place, or a crack shrank by an inch. It had to be subtle or someone would notice, and he didn't want anyone noticing the mystery repairs.
Inside, he was a little freer. He loved talking to the kids, and yes, he was a storyteller. He shared what he could of the hard times he'd been through, brought out his phone to show off pictures of Michael he'd taken in Hogsmeade or London, and reminded them that sometimes all you could do was hold on, and that was okay.
He'd taken on a job, though. His first visit here, it had been impossible not to notice the condition of things. He'd donated money a couple times, but he'd dug so far into his savings over the summer and autumn that all he could give was enough for a couple new blankets here, or a fresh basketball when the old one couldn't bounce anymore.
Gryffindor Hero Syndrome.
He signed in and didn't look at Rhys as he stepped back. Fifteen minutes with the kids, and he'd be off for the maintenance closet, as usual. Then he'd disappear until it was time to go.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 22:09:15 GMT -5
"They really love you here," Rhys said, not letting Dare run off just yet. "They really love the work you've been doing. I, for one, am impressed by your use of a hammer." He raised an eyebrow up at Dare. He knew how competent Matthew had been with that kind of thing when they'd first met, and it hadn't been pretty.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 22:14:44 GMT -5
Dare grinned, hoping it looked more innocent than guilty. He'd been sure he was getting away with everything, but that eyebrow was a little suspicious. He mentally went through the tool box trying to figure out which one Rhys was talking about, and his eyes lit when he remembered. That was the one that had been in the magazine!
"Yeah, I'm... getting good at hitting things until they work," he said. "Here comes the hammer."
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 22:22:20 GMT -5
Rhys eyed Dare. "Right," he said doubtfully. He didn't have any problem if Dare was using magic and, though Dare brought tools with him everywhere, he didn't believe Dare had been helping out magicless for the past however long. Dare was smart enough to keep himself out of trouble. "You hammer those windows really well."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 22:27:22 GMT -5
Dare's grin broadened with pride. He had paid special attention to windows, though he only ever took a tool out of the box when someone else was in the room. If he had Rhys fooled, even a little, then everyone else had to be fine with what he'd done.
Speaking of which, he pulled a fresh package of chewing gum out of his hoodie pocket. "Want some?" he asked, offering it. He only ever chewed gum here, and he had a fresh pack every week, but he'd found the transfiguration was easier if he had a little extra material. Not all the leaks could be fixed with his limited repertoire of spells.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 22:38:06 GMT -5
Rhys chuckled and shook his head, but took a piece. "Thanks." He glanced around quickly, then lowered his voice anyway. "You know, as long as you don't get yourself in trouble, help these kids any way you can," he said, looking up at Dare again. He didn't care how it happened, the shelter deserved a little extra help, he thought.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 22:49:43 GMT -5
Dammit. He hadn't been as sneaky as he thought. He lowered his voice to match Rhys's. "How'd you know?" he asked. He'd only been asked once or twice about whatever tool he'd randomly grabbed, so it couldn't be that.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 22:51:46 GMT -5
"Because I've seen Matthew try to figure out muggle things and it's usually a complete failure. Better than he used to be, but it's still a struggle," Rhys said. "Considering how well you've been able to fix things without buying materials, I figured you had probably used a little help." Drafty windows required more than just tools to fix most of the time.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 22:56:06 GMT -5
Materials? Dare looked down at his gum, then quickly tucked the pack away. "No one else has noticed, have they?" he asked. He watched his fingers unwrap a piece, then popped it into his mouth. It was so much warmer on the top floor now, and he'd made some of the beds steadier too, while he was at it. Some of the rooms it was just impossible to get to. There were always people near the front of the building, and always people in the common area.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 22:59:46 GMT -5
Rhys shook his head, "No, they just think you're a miracle worker. They're so busy dealing with other things that they won't notice." He'd only known because he already knew Dare was a wizard. As far as everyone else was aware, there was no magic and Dare was just really, really good with the tools he was given.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 23:04:23 GMT -5
Dare finally looked at Rhys. A miracle worker. He flushed and glanced away, off to the doors of the common area, where he could hear the new basketball thud against the floor. "They're good kids," he said. "I see what you do too, you know? Some of them come in real bad, and you know how to talk to them. I just... I don't know, I wish I could do more."
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 23:13:23 GMT -5
Rhys shook his head again. "You do so much. They're saving money on electricity because of the windows being fixed, so they're able to use that other places, and they're putting some of it away. I think they've made a deal with a man about solar panels, they just need to come up with part of the payment, which they would never have been able to do before." Once they had that, things would definitely start looking up for the shelter.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 23:18:12 GMT -5
"All that because I'm fixing the windows?" Dare asked, looking back at Rhys. Solar panels. He'd heard about that more than once now, and it hadn't even occurred to him that fixing the windows would help them save money for it. It had just been getting so cold, and he'd started lagging behind to plug a draft he'd noticed, until he'd finally just asked if he could spend time on it.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Jan 7, 2013 23:20:58 GMT -5
"Yeah. It costs a lot more money to heat a place when the heat's always escaping through the windows, you know? Now, it doesn't cost so much because the heat stays where it's supposed to," Rhys said. It was such a different life being a wizard. If a wizard wanted light, all he had to do was wave his wand. If he was cold, there was a spell for it. He wondered how there were any poor wizards at all.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jan 7, 2013 23:32:39 GMT -5
"Oh," Dare said, his brows furrowing slightly as he thought about that. He knew that things like computers and kitchen things and light bulbs cost money to run, but he hadn't thought about it costing money to make it warm.
"I could do the bigger rooms too, if you could help me get people out for a while." That was something Dare hadn't done, yet. He didn't feel right asking people to leave him alone so he could poke around, no matter that he'd helped out at least twice a month for the better part of a year.
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