Where Were You When...?

There should be no attempts to break into the Banque de L'or. It was impossible and yet there was always someone who thought impossible only meant no-one had found a way around the wards and other deterrents. Curses which would leave you incapable of moving and worse effects. The difference between this and the last attempt long before Marie-Laure had been born was the unsuccessful culprit hadn't been found. They were, however, here. Marie-Laure knew that because there was no getting out for anyone the moment the ward had been triggered.

She had, however, been able to enter. That did make her job easier than if she'd been stuck outside whilst the goblins tried to find the guilty party. The wizard or witch responsible for this would find things a little easier if caught by an auror than a goblin in Marie-Laure's opinion. The would-be thief was lucky it was only the door locking ward which was triggered.

After a quick talk with a goblin and one of the human employees Marie-Laure searched the faces of the people trapped on the main floor. Her colleague was down to the vaults with one of the goblins. She did not envy them that task.

Marie-Laure pointed her wand at her throat and amplified her voice. "Everyone is to keep quiet and I will speak with each of you one by one," she stated. "Who'd like to come over here first? This does not necessarily mean I suspect you. Just merely checking to see if you witnessed anything which will help us catch the guilty party." And from the little she'd observed of those there very few were suspicious. Obvious students here to withdraw or exchange money for purchases for the coming year for example were mentally crossed of her list of potential suspects.

Sophie had mixed feelings about the bank. She adored money, but hated the long lines. It used to be more joyous for her when she was younger. How easily impressed she was by the sight of shiny gold Galleons. Now she just wanted to get her money and leave. Unfortunately, her first time alone at the bank had the unpleasant surprise of coinciding with a robbery.

Sophie crossed her arms as the Auror lady talked. She groaned at the "one by one" part. That would be a horrible waste of time. A lot of the students were completely clueless, anyway. "I'll go," she volunteered quickly, stepping forward. Might as well get it over with. Or maybe, it could be fun.

She tossed her hair and walked towards the Auror. "I know, you probably want me to swear by the law for the full truth."

Marie-Laure raised her eyebrows at the self-assured young witch. "Ah no. Not necessary outside a court of law. All I need you to do is answer my questions." That did make her wonder though what this girl's reading material consisted of or if she had access to a television and watched a lot of crime shows. Things like that did tend to give people the wrong impression of what was involved in things like this.

She held up her pad of parchment and self-inking quill. "First questions, what was your purpose for being here today and approximately how long were you in the bank before the doors locked?" Neither question, in this case or any other investigation, would bring her closer to finding the culprit but they were routine. Completely unnecessary, in Marie-Laure' opinion, unless she'd already established the witness actually witnessed something of import. Bloody protocol could do with some serious reform.

"Kay kay. Easy enough," Sophie remarked as she stood up straighter. She smiled slightly as she awaited inquiry. She was slightly disappointed but not too much. It just allowed her to have more fun with the truth. Of course, she wouldn't really lie.

She inwardly rolled her eyes at the first question. Rolling her eyes at authority would probably be too far. "For the candy," she retorted sarcastically. "No. I was getting money for school." How long had she been waiting? Way too long. "Um, like an hour, sadly. Maybe more. Can you tell the bank people to please speed it up?" she quipped. Sophie didn't see how this stuff was relevant. It was rather obvious she wasn't the culprit.

"No need for rudeness," Marie-Laure snapped. "Stick to answering the questions and we'll get this finished quicker." Bloody teenagers and their need to give joke answers before giving her the right answer. Even if she already did know the reason she still expected a straight answer from whomever she was questioning. Again she was annoyed at the format of questioning which she wasn't allowed to question.

"Would you like to tell a bunch of human hating goblins to speed it up?" Marie-Laure asked. Not to mention it wasn't her or anyone in the MLE to tell a business to speed it up. "Never mind. Did you see any suspicious behaviour whilst you were here? Someone who looked like they weren't here for legitimate reasons?" She didn't expect much from a sass-mouthed teenager but without a description of who they were looking for Marie-Laure had to start somewhere.

Sophie had expected just as much. Authority never had a sense of humor. She swore all the prefects who had caught her in the hallways after curfew were chosen for their stuffiness. "And then what? Get back to standing in that long line? Lovely," she retorted sarcastically. "You're wasting your time here, anyway. It's not like those clueless little first years are going to know what the hell's going on."

"No. I wouldn't. But you're the one in power," she pointed out. But she didn't press further. It wasn't entirely the lady's fault she had to do her job. Now came the fun part. "Yes. Several, actually." She stood up straighter with a look of absolute seriousness. "There was this old guy in a flaming chartreuse robe trying to cut people in line. I mean, who even wears chartreuse. It's so out of style. His whole outfit screamed robber." Sophie's brow furrowed. "Then there was this other guy. In his thirties I'd guess. He was right behind me. He was actually really nice. He had quite a lot of interesting information to share about flesh eating plants. Nothing they ever taught us in Herbology. But his suspicious mustache was a different shade from his hair. Then there was this girl-oh my stars-she was super pretty. Naturally tan skin and dark brown hair and grey eyes. She looked like a model. I think I saw her in Veela magazine. Anyway, she kept her wand out and kept looking around suspiciously. Her wand was really pretty too," Sophie remarked with a sigh. "I asked her about it and I think she said it was rosewood. But she just wouldn't stop looking around and fidgeting." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure there's more, if you want."