NON STOP.

“Right, obviously. I know what that is.” Narcissa’s reply came out rushed, her pretty features marred by a frown. For a moment she wondered whether Lucius or Bella would ever be chased by the woman in front of her, but soon dispelled such thoughts. “Why are you doing so much paperwork and  not catching said wizards?”

Narcissa could hardly imagine it herself, not when the most stressful part of her day was deciding between which cream drapes would look better. ( unless Lucius was called away, she’s always worry then ) “Criminals?” This caught her attention as she raised a brow, “What exactly is it that you do?”

“ pssst, i’m sure it’s not that bad ! ” the ex-slytherin insisted, waving her hand nonchalantly. she couldn’t complain about having to do paperwork, for she loved every bit of her job. besides, when you thought about it, everything was paperwork, wasn’t it ? “ you’re right, it is dreadful ” she exclaimed, in an attempt to to sympathize. it was, after all, one of the keys of persuasion: the public was more likely to agree with a speaker if they saw themselves reflected or related in any way. “ if you don’t mind me sayin’, it looks like you’ve been working very hard – too hard. how about we get ourselves some chamomille tea ? or, if you want something that kicks in quicker, some firewhiskey – ” rita giggled, sending a fake, obviously playful wink – “ i’m pulling your leg. the first offer still stands. ”

“oh, i wouldn’t call it dreadful. ‘tis just less exciting than the rest of work, but it’s not too bad,” said alice, shrugging her shoulders slightly. she didn’t like most journalists; they were sneaky and clever and wanted to know things that they oughtn’t. besides, alice was not too good at the dance they tried to play, with their charm and ways to get quotes out of people. she was blunt and upfront, not made to be clever and charming like them. and so naturally, she felt sceptical of rita’s intentions. refuse her, however, she did not: alice could use a bit of a break and didn’t want to dismiss the other based on her prejudice towards journalists. maybe the other wanted to know things that the public should know -- which alice would gladly share. and if the information the prophet wanted was confidential, it’d be good to know that they were after it. “chamomile tea does sound like a brilliant idea,” she said, her voice a bit warmer than it had been before. starting to put her files in one stack, she gestured at the seat across her. “come, sit.”

‘ Not asking any cases, don’t worry-’ Daniel promised with a nod. ‘ Yeah, ut my part is more on the practical slide and I get a paper that I just need to sign. Paperwork doesn’t really come my way often.’

“Good,” she said, hand still on the files. “That sounds like a lot less hassle. I totally understand why paperwork is needed for Aurors and like I said, I don’t mind it, but it does take up a lot of time that we could use otherwise.”

it probably would help lily to talk about it, maybe cry a little in the comfort of her own home, but she felt it somewhat unfair to unload it all on alice. her own job must be hard enough. what she must she in the field as an auror must be nothing compared to the hospital. “ thank you for the offer, ” she offered the woman a warm smile, “ but it might help me more to get me mind off it. talk about something else. ”

she took a sip of her now lukewarm tea, placing it back down with her nose upturned. in her opinion tea was better served pipping hot. not hot enough to burn her mouth, but enough to warm her throat. “ how are things with you ? good, i hope ! ”

alice was not usually good at talking emotions; she compartmentalised herself, handled her feelings stoically and practically and when others did not and let them out ( which was, admittedly ) healthier, she often found herself at a loss for words. this didn’t keep her from wanting to hear her friends out, though, but when lily said she’d rather talk about something else, she couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. trying to offer comfort often left alice feeling incompetent, and that she hated. “of course.”

“Good, litter would really ruin the ambience of this place.” The sarcasm was obvious as she glanced around the dreary pub, her nose wrinkling ever so slightly. Narcissa simply nodded her head in reply, “What could you possibly be doing that would require you to murder half a forest anyway?”

“i know i am, let’s not lie.” she continued, her expression playful. she was just messing around, happy to do so if it meant making the other smile. “i’m high on everyone’s list, let’s not kid ourselves, i’m just the favourite to everyone.” it was easy to joke with alice, easy for mary to do it. “brilliant, i need more training so i thought i’d come to the best witch i know.”

Narcissa was not a regular to the Leaky Cauldron by any means, but she had promised to meet an old school friend there so they could go to Diagon Alley together. Yet here she still sat, half an hour later and nursing a butterbeer, with no sign of said friend. She’d been on her way out in a huff when someone had called to her, pale eyebrows rising to the ceiling at the question. “Do you often through your rubbish on the floor?” The woman questioned in a cool tone, hesitating before she bent to pick them up, placing them in a neat pile on the others table.

guilt flooded through her at the sound of a familiar voice, not wanting to come across rude to someone she considered a friend. it certainly hadn’t been anything personal. the former gryffindor had been expecting to see a stranger, someone who had maybe had too much to drink and was trying their luck. 

“ merlin, alice, i’m so sorry. ” lily finally glanced up, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. the day had been too draining. “ please, sit. ” the words were accompanied by a dainty hand gesturing towards the empty seat.

hers was definitely a loaded question and lily didn’t want to offload all her troubles onto alice. it wasn’t fair on the woman. “ yeah, i’m fine. i promise. just….a long day at work, that’s all. ”

Alice waved off the apology; she hardly minded at all, understood where Lily was coming from. While she usually thrived of off conversation and interaction, she needed her moments alone, too, and when someone intruded those she could get ( more than ) defensive.

“Don’t even worry about it,” she said, giving the other a reassuring smile and sitting down across of her. Eyes darted around for a moment -- a habit she had picked over the years -- before meeting Lily’s green ones again. 

‘ anything fun?’ Daniel teased as he slid in the seat in front of the other- his eyes falling to the papers he earlier picked up for Alice and handed them to her, a pure almost hurtful smile onto his lips as he placed them on the table. ‘ I mean, paperwork was never my thing but…’

“As far as paperwork goes, this is pretty thrilling. But then, I do kind of like paperwork, so that doesn’t say much. It’s all confidential, though,” said Alice, putting the files back in the folder and patting it slightly. “You work at the Ministry too, right?”

the leaky cauldron was among rita’s favorite places. not because of its impeccable hygiene, nor its remarkable service, but because of the plethora of characters one would come across in the establishment. interesting would be the word to call the mixture of figures, both blood purists and rebels. it wasn’t a place of high importance, but shall any conflict were to be stirred, she wanted to be in the room where it happened, and this could be it. 

   rita hurried towards the desk where the woman sat, actually wanting to lend a hand. “ sure thing, ” she smiled, bending over and incredibly discretely, eyeing the pages and their content as she gathered them ( who knew, perhaps they could be housing a much too JUICY secret. ) however, she was sure that shall she continued to stare, she’d give her goal away. “ there, ” she said in a giggle-like way, placing the pages on the table. “ whatcha workin’ on ? ”

She knew she ought to be more careful. Alice usually placed charms on her paperwork that disallowed strangers to read them when she was working in public, but she was more sloppy than usual that day. She didn’t wonder why; there was a plethora of reasons and she didn’t want to waste time picking one of them. Still, she couldn’t help but be more than annoyed with her own sloppiness, especially when anyone could peek over her shoulder here.