Boredom Counts as A Sickness

Marcus had been bored to death in his office. There was absolutely nothing to do and he was edging onto the risk of cutting himself for fun and having Khaat heal it. Instead, he decided to bombard Khaat's office, disturbing her work time. "Khaaaaaaaat," he said, stretching her name out. "Give me something to do. Someone to arrest. Something." He was actually thinking of cutting himself and having her look at it.

"Are there any cases that are needed to be worked on? If so, just give them to me NOW. Or I think I'm gonna cast destructive spells to see what they can do to my walls!" Marcus said with his eyes stuck with boredom. The effects were so severe, if felt as if something were weighing him down. It was horrible. But Khaat always saved the day, didn't she?

"Be careful what you wish for," Khaat laughed, a parchment in her hand. "Well, we just got an owl from a wizard who lives only a block or so from here, in muggle London, and he is quite beside himself. Apparently there is a band of polterguists who have taken up residence in his flat. He's quite unhappy about it. They're particularly disruptive and rude. I don't know that you could arrest a band of polterguists but perhaps I could go with you and we can see if we can't make peace between them? Have you any experience with ghosts other than Nearly Headless Nick?"

Khaat just took it for granted that everyone had met Nearly Headless Nick. He was at least friendly. She handed Marcus the report. It really was just a rather frantic letter from the wizard who was looking for anybody who could stop all the racket in his house.

"What do you think? Adventure enough for you?"

Marcus gave a laugh to Khaat when she had told him to be careful what he wished for. "I don't blame them. He shouldn't be in muggle London!" Marcus joked as he finished reading the letter. "But trying to make peace with them sounds hard but do-able. I've met other poltergeists but not many more ghosts than the ones at Hogwarts." Marcus shrugged his shoulders. If someone didn't know Nearly-Headless Nick, they either were muggle or foreign.

"Yep! I can do it! So are we off?" Marcus asked. He was ready. And at least it would kill away his extreme boredom.

"Oh, sure. Why not?" she laughed. "They're more noise usually. Unless they're exceptionally peeved." She stood and picked up her wand off her desk and tucked into the wand pocket of her slacks. "Do I look like a muggle?" She smiled. "Let's go."

She led the way out of her office and handed the owl to her secretary. "If the Minister comes looking, tell him I've gone out for a bit."

"Yes, Ma'am," the secretary replied. "It does look like rain, though."

"Good. It will be a welcome change from all the heat," Khaat said. She headed out of the building and when she got outside, and looked up at the sky, she did see black storm clouds overhead. "She might be right, you know. Um...the address was across the street and a couple blocks down. Its a brownstone flat on the right. 225, I believe."

Marcus and Khaat walked out of her office. "I hate rain," he said to her secretary. They had exited the Ministry Headquarters and were on their way to the wizard's home. "Yeah you look like a muggle. Well as muggle as you can get," he replied to Khaat. Rain clouds started to form in the sky above them. Marcus groaned as he felt the first drop on his arm. "I hate rain," he said again. "Especially when it leaves humidity behind. It's worse than the heat to me."

The brownstone flat was a couple blocks down. When they arrived on the street, Marcus looked for 225. "Ah there it is. Let's go," Marcus pointed. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door firmly.

"Who is it?!" the man barked rudely from behind the door. He had opened it up. The man looked as if he hadn't slept in days. That explained the agitation. "The Wizengamot. You sent her an annoyed letter explaining that a group of poltergeists were invading your home," Marcus told him, beckoning at Khaat.

Before Khaat could reach the top of the steps to the door, something large and glass must have hit the door because there was a bang and a crashing sound against the door that was between them and the inside of the flat.

"That was 200 years old!" the wizard bellowed angrily.

"Not anymore," Khaat said softly looking at Marcus. Then she heard an odd echoing laughter. More than one voice. "I wonder how many he's got," she said.

"Come in!!" the wizard yelled. "They won't let me pass! I"ve been trapped for days!"

"Sounds worse than I thought," she said. She believed that Marcus would most likely want to go in ahead of her but she wasn't entirely sure. "Shall we?" she asked.

Marcus was ready. "Yep," he replied to Khaat and he entered the house. The man had ghastly features. He looked like he hadn't slept in days and the poltergeists had really gotten to him. Marcus accidentally stepped on a piece of the 200 year old china that was just broken. He smiled nervously. They went into the living room and saw the poltergeists. They resembled peeves, as poltergeists in their true form didn't look much different.

"Hello. You seem quite fond of this home," Marcus said to them.