it gets worse.

It had been a tough month for Tabitha. It all began with some middle-aged witch stumbling upon the body of a halfblood child in Hogsmeade. Since then, people were out for blood and wanted answers - answers Tabitha didn’t seem to have. She had been handed the case after the first Auror couldn’t crack the case and she had been having just as much trouble with it. 

Tabitha was taking it too personally. After all, she was a halfblood as well and she seemed to see herself echoed in the girl’s dark hair and eyes. She had died alone and scared and Tabitha swore to see the person responsible imprisoned, no matter what it cost her. For the last few nights that meant her falling asleep at her desk and only going home to shower and eat in the mornings. Hearing a knock at her door, Tabitha glanced up, sheer focus and determination in her eyes. ❝Alastor…What is it?❞ @alastoring

The auror job tended to suit those with addictive obsessive tendencies, Alastor had concluded throughout the years. There was something insatiable about a mystery, should it be the thrill of being right, a knightly sense of justice, gory truths to satisfy gory needs or even just something to do that would be slightly healthier than the alternative. As he walked down the hall he could see a few offices still occupied and a handful of trainees asleep on their desks - the night crew was always his favourite. Not exactly those on the shift, but those who stayed, much like him, tending to their addictive obsessive needs.

His office had become a trap of which he needed to get out. After pouring his attention over a handful of open cases for hours on end, the auror finally stepped out and directed himself to somewhere he could actually feel useful. "It's 3 in the morning." He announced after knocking. "You're still working on the Hogsmeade girl, right?" His tone was solemn, as if those were words of mourning. They were more like words of rage. "Try not to fall asleep here - that's the shit that gives you night terrors." Alastor walked in then, his eyes immediately drawn to the information on her desk. "Any new luck?"

           nose is scrunched up, and blind curiosity takes over her gaze as papers are put away, hidden away from her reach. she’ll always WANT ( and most importantly, TAKE ), what she can’t have. she throws herself in one of the office’s chairs, and leans back comfortably, as if she owns the place. “ not on the clock right now, “ she responds, a smug smile slipping onto her lips. “ came to see my husband, but then i thought of you. just had to say hello. “ her voice is laced with a venomous sweetness, poisoning the air as she speaks. alert eyes lit up as she notices his state of preparedness, but she doesn’t act. instead, she leans forward, placing her elbows on his desk, infringing on his space. “ let’s save that for another time, huh? make a date of it. wouldn’t that be fun? “ she says, and her smile turns playful. at this point, she’s just fucking with him, seeing what will get a reaction.

alice had always been quick on her feet, which proved useful for her while on missions and attacks. she all but scurries to the side of the building, ducking behind a fallen table for cover as she peers inside the office. her gaze settles on a group of people huddled in the corner, her heart ALMOST breaking at the sight. with that as an incentive, she’s back at alastor’s side within seconds, wand ready to deflect any spell sent their way. ”there are about eight people in there. scared to death, poor things.” she frowns in response, raising her arm to deflect an incoming curse. “is there any WAY we can get them out without getting slaughtered ?” she always looked to him for the plan, mainly because he was the most strategic person she knew and after years of working together, she trusted him with her life. 

sweat dampened his forehead, gluing some curls to it, but nothing in his face showed exhaustion or fear. his expression was focused, as he silently mapped out the possible safer exits and planned ten steps ahead. his eyes, however, didn't turn to her for a second if but to check she was alright; they navigated the room and their attackers. cowards. no brave people would attack somewhere filled with so many innocent ones. they couldn't apparate, there were spells blocking that. no fireplaces in sight. a blast comes his way and he casts yet another defensive spell. they'd have to physically them out of the building. "if we can get inside the office and secure the door, we could get them out through the window. arresto momentum." risky. no day was a good day for someone to accidentally fall a few floors into their deaths or to get hit by a curse from eaters from any other lower floor, but those were risks alastor had silently measured and decided to accept.

“Not when you live at work,” Kingsley said pointedly, gently poking Alastor’s cheek as he shook his head, smiling fondly all the while. Sure, Alastor was a workaholic but that was why they worked so well, frankly. Kingsley spent more time at work then he’d admit when the Order or his sister pushed him about it. As the other man gestured at him, hinting at his appeal, Kingsley didn’t bother trying to stifle the shit-eating grin that came to his lips. “A sentence without innuendos is barely worth being said.” He reasoned, enjoying Alastor’s laugh. It was always an accomplishment when he was gifted with its sound. “Get changed, love and we can go. I know you’re starting your regular productive-acts withdrawl.” Kingsley said, no irritation or sarcasm held in his voice, just a simpleness that came from understanding the way the other man operated.

"If I lived at work, we'd be there right now." It was true though. He was certain that, especially as of late, with the order work pilling up with his regular auror duties, he'd spend more nights at his office's couch or asleep over files on his desk rather than home. Any home really. Kingsley, however, seemed to be trying to beat him at that. "You're exhausting, you know that, right?" He meant it with a full heart. "Coffee helps, but I need my fill. And so do you." With that, he drank some more from his mug before leaving it on the coffee table and getting up, headed towards the bedroom, his mind already far away again. It was too hard being anchored in the moment without Kingsley in view.

the closing of the door should have been her first warning. her eyes closed briefly at his tone. big brother voice- her favorite. “privilege of a five year…” she waved her hand. “doesn’t matter. i know where his apartment is too, if you really want to get going on this.”

"do you have any idea the shit we believe he's guilty of? nevermind what the order has on him?" in any given day, this would have warranted a worried response, but due to how on edge he already was, there was a bite to his words. anger. eleanor should know better. "ronan fucking avery."

the war and their lives felt like different things, different worlds that did not connect and yet they did far more than she would have liked to realize if it weren’t for the kids molly knew she would be far more involved with the order, a lot more willing to help but the babies had always been her main concern. she could say it wasn’t the place or the time to have this kind of conversation but when was there ever a time for it? there was never a time where something happening to arthur or the kids or all of their friends that had become basically family was not on her mind. it terrified molly to think that at this point she was expecting bad news, dreading the day where the order’s work would follow arthur home or worse. “every day. every single moment i worry that something is going to go wrong, that something is going to happen to my kids or arthur or my brothers or you. i don’t want to spend all my time dreading what’s to come,”

adrenaline was pumping through alice’s VEINS, fingers tightly clasped around her wand as she crouched behind a fallen desk. though the scene would seem frightening to most, it was one of many she had experienced since becoming an auror. the curses, the screaming, the death  ––– she hated that she was so used to it. “we need to get these people out.” she muttered through grit teeth as she raised her wand to deflect an incoming spell before sending her own out. that was often the thought that crossed her mind when they were caught in battle. “there could be some people still TRAPPED inside some of the rooms.” she barely dodged a curse as the words left her mouth, hardly missing a beat. her voice rang low, disguised by the chaos that surrounded them. “we need to go. now.”

he listened to her words carefully, but never looking at her, his eyes much more focused on updating the enemy count and searching for potential escape routes for the victims. "they barricaded the 3rd office door, so let's start with the others." he'd caught a glimpse of the piled up chairs through a small window, and his mind couldn't help but make a priority list. who deserved safety first. as she spoke, he too kept on fighting of their targets, until alastor flinched as a spell hit the desk behind him, breaking a hole in it. shit, that could have been him. his fingers gripped his wand even tighter.  "i'll cover you." he followed her order quickly, wand ready, heart racing. as curses came in, he deflected, getting only a couple of offensive moves in but making sure she was safe to search for people in hiding.

“Needy and demanding,” Kingsley teased though he immediately moved to do as the other man insisted, now both of their mugs in his hands. The man moved through the space with a familiarity of someone who had been there more than a handful of times and he easily filled up their cups and doctored them to their individual liking. “I think we might as well just both opt out of paying for our places and move in there. I already have a bloody go-bag under my desk.” He said, shaking his head as he returned to the living area. He handed over Alastor’s own mug before sitting and taking a sip of his coffee, humming out a noise of agreement as he did. “May as well if we’re wanting it to go right. I can think of a few things I’d rather give a better look though.” Kingsley playfully teased, not being able to pass on the opening to do so.

"And gorgeous." Kingsley's words, after all. His mind, however, quickly traveled far away from that house and back into all the work he could be doing at the office. Missions seemed to pile up, mainly because Alastor took on far too many, and the newest one being somewhat out of his control just made him the more interested in checking every step of it. In his head, he listed all the details he could remember and the things he'd like to add, only breaking away from the thought a bit as Kingsley returned. He took the mug with a muttered thank you and began sipping before replying. "Nothing wrong with a go-bag." Of course, he'd say that. "Didn't you get one good enough?" He shook his head in disapproval, as if he hadn't chuckled. "Look, trading this," he pointed at Kingsley's general direction, "for work? I'm not excited about it, but my head won't stay here for too long if I don't." Another sip. "And, I mean this without innuendos." His accusatory tone was corrupted by some more laughter. “Although I’m not sure if you’d understand a sentence without one.”

“thanks,” she breathed, relief coloring her tone. having carefully ignored alastor’s initial reception- wasn’t the first time seeing the man on edge and the last wouldn’t be any time soon. at his continued acknowledgment of her presence she waltzed right in. perching on the older man’s desk without invitation. the price of one’s best friend having a younger sister. “merlin he has all the luck. got stuck in a tattoo parlor, but at least i know where ronan keeps his liquor… wait-” cocked her head in question, “wouldn’t the missing people be causalities?”

her words were thrown around carelessly, barely giving him any time to catch up to them. "i like to remain hopeful." his reply was slow, dragging on the words as he let go of his work to turn his eyes towards her. alastor moved to the office door, making sure to properly close it before speaking. "ronan. as in ronan avery?" at a tattoo parlour? of course it was avery. "why the hell do you know where ronan avery's liquor is?" his tone was serious, and the possible answers so so hated.

alastor sighed, muttering what would be his fifth for fuck's sake in the span of ten minutes as yet another healer tried to reasonably tell the bleeding man to take a seat and get it checked out. "when will you lot - lily." the red hair walked into his field of vision and he quickly saw in her a way out, saying her name loudly. "i'm with her. i'm sure she knows enough to do whatever it is you wanted to do." and with that he left the healer, walking hastily towards the near woman. "i hate hospitals."

“i’ll just take your constant PRAISE and affection for the rest of eternity, please and thanks.” he teases, beginning to unwrap a sandwich. things had always been easy between the two, the result of a strong friendship that had developed over years of quidditch practice and late night studying in the hufflepuff common room. he’d always been thankful for alastor’s companionship, especially now in the midst of the war. “i got caught up doing some research. figured i’d better finish it tonight rather than tomorrow.” edgar shrugs, sighing as he rubs his face with his hand. there was so much left unsaid  ––– i didn’t want to lie to my kids tonight. “ever thought about dumping some of this on some of the other aurors you got running around ? i swear, there’s about a million of them here. unless you’re overworking them too.” he teases his friend, leaning back in his chair with an amused grin. edgar had always considered himself a workaholic, but alastor was truly something else.