Alice

As he thought, it was a woman and he could swear she was one of them, the Order. He didn’t want to make a wrong assumption, because he obviously got her mad anyway. It looked like he bumped into her, not her into him. That got him a smile on face.

He kindly turned to her, looking the best as Calum Travers look like and turned on his good side. Better said, whatever stayed from the good side. They were doing so well in the last time on almost every field. He didn’t want to ruin it with anything.

“Well, yeah, you are probably right. I do apologise.”

Originally posted by maurawrites

---

Was she surprised that he had apologised? Yes. She really was actually. She hadn’t been expecting it, and she really was not used to many men she knew thinking that they were wrong. So, she was actually quite surprised. He was also smiling. Which was interesting too. Alice didn’t know enough about him to decide if he meant anything by it though. And she didn’t care too much to really find out. 

“An apology? I wasn’t expecting that.” The auror mused with a little laugh. She didn’t mind saying it either. She had grown up being told not to say what she thought, and it was something that she did not like doing.

“Maybe we should both watch where we are going better.”

Where? Ministry of Magic

Who? Open

Calum liked his job, but he also liked to get done with it some days. Sometimes he was asking himself why he choose improper use of magic. It was a pure irony because he never played by the rules, he was just smart enough to not to show it around the place.

His job was almost done and he couldn’t wait to go for a beer. Besides, Dark Lord had some plans for him, so he might do that tonight as well. Calum never had a problem serving the Dark Lord, especially because he was so many assignments. Probably because he was pretty ruthless himself.

He picked up his things from his desk, and was ready to leave. As he was leaving, somebody’s figure crashed into him. The first thought was to attack the person, but on the other hand it could be a woman and it wouldn’t look well.

“You should watch your steps, my darling.”

Originally posted by maurawrites

---

Alice tried to say out of the ministry as much as possible. Of course, it was kind of hard, since she worked there. But she tried to spend as much time in the field as possible. Sadly she still had to spend time in the ministry though, even more when she fell behind with her paper work. Today was one of those days, and she was already running late. Hence why she was in a little rush to get to the auror office. Because the sooner that she got there, the sooner she would be able to get out and go back home.

Although she hadn’t anticipated nearly crashing into someone. And well, that was not the best thing world. She rolled her eyes at the man’s response. Did they all have to call people darling.

“Or maybe you could not appear out of nowhere so suddenly?”

He trotted lightly, his steps almost silent - unusual for such a large dog. He didn’t miss the surprised looks on nearly all the faces he passed - they hadn’t heard him coming, surely, and he would be willing to bet most people hadn’t ever seen a dog quite as large as he was. And certainly not one wearing a Quidditch jersey; but he couldn’t have anyone reporting him as a stray, after all. His tongue flopped out of his mouth and he wagged his tail as he went, bouncing along after a stray toy quaffle - getting much more enjoyment out of the entire affair than he had any right to.

---

Rolling his eyes, Sirius let a half hearted grin cover his features as he tilted his head sideways to meet her gaze. It was hard to be in a bad mood around Alice. Not impossible, but a challenge. And he was always up for a challenge, wasn’t he? He let the expression slide off his lips as quick as it had appeared, shrugging at her. “Never was one for make believe. That was more Regulus’ thing, the little brat.” He scoffed, scowling slightly. He seemed to only mention his brother when he was in a mood anymore - after all, why ruin a good mood? “It’s not you, it’s…” He sighed in frustration, not exactly sure what it was that had put him in such a lovely mood. “I don’t know.” He finished lamely, sounding like a petulant child. Truth was, he’d come to Alice because he knew even in a foul mood he’d still be just as welcome, and she’d just let him be. Being Sirius Black, life of the party and good time boy had it’s ups for sure - but no one seemed to want to let him be when he was any less than that. And right now, he just needed to pout. “Do you have any chocolate?” He asked suddenly, perking up somewhat. “Remus ate all mine.” He complained.

---

Alice just smiled at him. She adored Sirius. They might have technically not been related, but he was one of her favourite family members. He was one that actually hadn’t disowned her. Of course it helped that he was disowned too. But that was just a technicality. She couldn’t imagine life without him, and she didn’t ever want too. “I remember when you were a little brat.” She teased, a smirk on her face. She would never tire of being able to tease him. It was such a fun past time.

“I understand....” She murmured, a smile on her face, as she squeezed his arm gently. She normally would have just hugged him, but she wasn’t 100 percent sure that he wanted that right now, so she left it for now. “Do you even need to ask?” She mused, shaking her head, as she headed towards the kitchen. “I always have chocolate.....” She added, pulling open a cupboard. “Come look.”

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧, 𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝. Smile on her face she nodded at Alice’s words, agreeing with the other. “That would be great. Perhaps I’ll even get a chance to come along. We don’t technically know if a cursebreaker will be needed and I’d like to be there to back you up.” The witch let out a sigh. Of course she wasn’t an auror but she could handle herself just fine out in the field if need be. Auror just wasn’t ever a choice of hers.

Then she turned. “Perhaps this can give you some more time away from the office. This case has been nagging everyone for quite a while, hasn’t it?” It was a hopeful thought, especially knowing what had happened with Frank. Emmeline had a feeling that home was where Alice would feel the most comfortable at the moment. There was a chuckle at her words. It almost made her sound useful and there was something nice about that.

Her eyes moved, scanning the room around her. Such a typical auror’s office but warmer than most. The air now filled with a hint of triumph; it all seemed too nice. “There are a few other things that have piled up. I’ll have to take a look at them tomorrow but I just couldn’t rest until this one was done. It’s definitely taken up more time than I’d like to admit.” Shrugging she leaned back against the desk once more. “Tell me, how’ve you been doing, though?” It had been a while.

---

Alice was glad that they’d finally got a break with this case. Going home with cases open was not something she liked, and it had been one of the reasons why she’d previously ended up spending so much time in the office. She’d had to get over that more recently though. She didn’t want to spend so much time at work, not when her husband was at home. So, getting a break in a case was a good thing. Mostly because it would mean she could go home and not have to worry about a open case.

“I mean I’d say you deserve to come.” Alice mused with a smile. It wasn’t her decision though. She wasn’t head auror. But that was her goal. She wanted more women to be in leadership and she was determined to prove she could do it. it wasn’t her goal right now though, since she didn’t want to take on more hours when Frank wasn’t feeling great. “And yes. I hope so. I don’t like leaving cases open....” She murmured with a nod. And so this was going to make things a lot easier.

“i’ve been okay....” Okay was the word. She supposed she had been good. But she didn’t know if that was totally true. She always worried about Frank when she was at work, and felt guilty for leaving him. “Things aren’t the best right now.... but they’ll get better.”

Alexia was meeting Narcissa later today and so she figured that she should stop by Diagon Alley and get a few things, maybe some sweets for Draco, not to many of course but still a few things. Thankfully it wasn’t as crowded as it had been the other day, honestly had it been she would have left this time around. maybe just send one of her house elves instead. That said the shop was actually full and there was a line, she sighed, she was questioning if she should stay at all. “hmm…oh hello Alice.” she said when she saw who was talking to her., she couldn’t really remember when was the last time she talked to her cousin. “How are you?”

---

Despite having no regrets at having left the Rosier’s, Alice did miss her cousins. They might not have agreed on anything at all, but they’d been the people that she had grown up with. Cousins had a special bond, and she missed it. Of course, she had no regrets about her decision. She know she’d made the right one, even if she had left her cousins behind. But she just hadn’t been able to live the way her parents had wanted her too. It didn’t mean it was not hard though, and a lot of people didn’t realise that. Alice had been lucky that she’d had Frank, otherwise she really didn’t know how she’d have survived. The Longbottoms had welcomed her in, and she would be forever grateful.

“I’m good....” She murmured with a smile. She was good. She tried to be positive as much as possible. But she was good. “How about you? It’s been so long....”

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭. The witch moved over to Alice, placing the orb on her desk. “In that case maybe this is just the news you need. Well, it can’t sort your paper work; nothing can. But at the very least I have hope it will shorten at the very least one of your cases.” She leaned back against the desk. “Do you recall the Rowle manor case?”

It had been weeks of working on it, mixed with an array of other cases and objects that needed tending to. There even had been an odd visit or two to one of the more daunting mansions she’d seen up to date. Yet the cracking of this meant more. Perhaps it was the fact that Emmeline had no ties to any Rowles that would disturb her sleep should she be messing with them. Her hand moved, pointing at the little object. “That is the answer to it all. Or so I believe. It was heavily guarded and up until a few minutes ago you couldn’t even have touched it.” There was hope there that such a case off of the desks of aurors would help Alice gain some more room to make up for lost time. “If I am not mistaken, from everything I have seen, this could finally open that darn basement without any risk of danger to anyone involved. I’ve already taken care of most other wards apart from this and now this orb is cleared as well.” A shrug. Worth the time invested, surely.

---

“Makes the over time worth it.” Alice mused with a laugh. “I try not to work too much overtime since Frank’s been off work.” She wanted to be with him as much as possible. And she knew that it worried him with her being here. Alice was more careful now, but the job was always dangerous. So if she could limit that danger by not working so much over time than she would. And it meant she could be at home more with her favourite person and so that was worth it too.

“I do indeed.” She murmured, before she began digging through her file draw. She had filed the file away on this particular case since she’d hit a standstill on it. Or well, she had until now anyway. Finding the file she sat back up, and placed it onto her desk before she turned her attention back to Emmeline. “Oooh. You’re so clever....” She murmured with a big smile. She had been waiting for something to happen that would crack the case, and now she was excited. Nothing thrilled her more than cracking a case. 

“Ugh. You’re such a babe. What would we do without you.” Alice murmured, a content smile on her face. “We need to get into that basement as soon as possible then.” But probably not tonight. “I’ll talk to Moody about it tomorrow. See if we can organise a team.” 

“Not too worried,” Frank murmured and brushed his lips against her ear, content just to sit with her. He was far too lucky to have found her. The relationship worked in a way he couldn’t quite describe (he certainly wouldn’t complain about that) and it left him all too relieved to be with her. She was a steadfast reminder he wasn’t alone and that things weren’t nearly as terrifying as they seemed nowadays.

“Hardly,” He chuckled, beaming despite trying to seem serious. “Although I do admit I miss being able to nick a few from your desk.” That was the most he would say about work though since he was barely confident enough to go to familiar spaces without her.

“Truly,” Frank admitted and shook his head. “She restocked the cupboards and accused me of not taking good enough care of you. Likely would have prepped enough meals to last the week if it wasn’t bingo night.”

---

“Good. I don’t like worrying you.” Alice murmured quietly, just enjoying being close to him. She really did hate worrying him, and she tried to make sure she didn’t put herself in situations where it happened too much. Of course her job didn’t help. But at least he understood that being an auror himself. That had changed recently with the death of his partner. She knew he would worry regardless, and so she just tried to be a little less reckless at work. If it made thing easier for Frank then she would do anything.

“Good thing I brought lots for you to snack on at home then.” She mused, a little smile on her lips. She knew how much he liked to nick her sweets, so she had made sure that there was a good stock at home, and of course it was a good thing for her too. They were a pair with such a sweet tooth, but Alice would never say that was a bad thing.

“Like you could ever not take care of me.” Alice shook her head, and then just laughed. He took better care of her than anyone had ever. She really didn’t know what she would do without him. “All this dinner prepping, she makes me look like a bad wife.”

Who: Alice and Narcissa (    @beautyispoison​  )

Alice was briefly starting to regret inviting Narcissa around. It wasn’t that she thought that Narcissa was dangerous, or that she couldn’t handle her. It was more because she was worried about inviting her into her shared home with Frank. Home with Frank had been her safe place since she had left the Rosier’s, and she didn’t want it to ever feel unsafe. And so, inviting someone from her past into the cottage, it was a big step. But, this was Narcissa, and she was sure it would be okay. They’d seemed to connect a little at the Harvest festival, and so, she hoped that maybe things would be okay. 

“Narcissa. Hi.” She murmured, a smile on her lips as she opened the door to the cottage. “It’s so lovely to see you”

Who: Alice and Andromeda (   @andrmedatonks​  ) 

One of Alice’s favourite things to do was having her favourite people come hang out at her house. She was such a home body, and she enjoyed being at home. So, having people over really was one of her favourite things. They were being careful of who they had over lately, with Alice wanting to make sure Frank was okay. But, she was looking forward to Andy coming over. They spent a lot of time together, and she was looking forward to catching up with her. Andy was one of her favourite cousins, and she was so glad to still have her in her life.

“I’m so glad you could come round.” Alice murmured, a beam on her face as she pulled the door open. “Nana Longbottom cooked some tea last night and we have some left overs if you want some.”

Who: Alice and Alexia (   @cor-auream​   )

It was a rare day off for Alice. There had been one time where she’d work overtime on her days off, just loving her job so much. But she was not doing that so much anymore. It was a welcome break really, despite it being for not so nice reasons. Alice liked to be home more so she could support Frank. Today though she needed to go grab some things from Diagon Alley. The last thing they needed was for Nana to come round again and moan that they had nothing in the cupboard. 

Hence she was currently walking down the Alley, list clutched in her hand. She was hoping to not to be too long. Although she did intend on getting some sweet treats for them. Although, someone was stood in front of the sweet shop so that might not work. “Excuse me... oh....” Just as she spoke Alice realised who it was, and she sighed. “Alexia. Hi.” She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a proper conversation with her cousin, and she wasn’t sure if she really wanted too.

It wasn’t often that Sirius started to feel lonely - there was a reason he kept so many friends, after all. But every now and then, they were all busy. He’d worked on his bike for a while that morning after saying goodbye to the girl he’d brought home the night before, unable to convince her to go out for breakfast, and then tried to firecall Moony and Wormtail, but they weren’t home. James was working late, Lily was having a girl’s night, and the prospect of going to a bar and chatting up someone he didn’t know was less appealing than usual. That’s not to say Alice was a last resort - far from it. Their schedules just unfortunately didn’t always line up as conveniently as they happened to today.

He strolled in, a heavy sigh the only way he announced himself. Not that he would have felt bad coming in with no notice (he never did) but he had firecalled her only a few moments prior. “Hey.” Sirius sighed again, sitting heavily on the couch and propping his feet up, a slight pout on his face.

@ofalicex

---

Alice was spending most of her spare time at home lately. She had always been a home body, but now that Frank was struggling more, she wanted to be at home more than ever. She just wanted to make sure he was okay. He was the most important person in her life, and so she needed to make sure he was okay. So that was why she’d been actually in when Sirius’ firecall had come. Sirius was one of her favourite cousins, and he wasn’t even her actual cousin. But he’d always been like a brother to her, so she was excited to see him.

“You seem so excited to see me.” Alice teased, from her spot where she’d been curled up on the couch. “You could pretend to put a smile on your face.” She added, a little smirk on her face. “Hi Siri.” 

where;; Ministry of Magic, Auror Office who;;  @ofalicex​

𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟. By the time the protections on the object finally cracked, the curses slithering away it was way past working hours. It was as though a shadow had disappeared from around her. Without a second glance she reached for the orb, stopping herself for a moment only to reach out again. This would be fine, it was taken care of. Emmeline wasn’t doing this for the first time and yet every time that she cracked the code; broke the curse, it felt as good as it did the very first time. A sigh of relief as she stood and hurried down the hall toward the one auror office she’d been looking for.

“Oh, good. You’re still here.” Emmeline poked her head through the open door to look over at Alice, holding the orb in hand. It was the first time she was able to actually touch the object that mere hours ago had still been sizzling with dark magic. “I finally cracked it.” There was something proud in her look as she glanced away from the witch in front of her and instead stared at the small object that held such power. With a fumbling hand she wrapped the back the item back into the cloth they’d been using in order to remain protected. “This is going to help.” Emmeline, for the first time in days, felt useful again.

---

Alice had been trying to keep to her contracted hours lately. It wasn’t that she didn’t mind working over time. She just wanted to be at home to be with Frank as much as she could. She’d even started taking work home so that she could do it there. But today she’d ended up staying late. She just needed to get this report done. It really could not wait until tomorrow. So she’d sent Frank a patronous, and so she was still at work when Emmeline poked her head through the door. 

She put her quill down and smiled. “You’re lucky.” She mused with a laugh. “I’ve done be staying late recently.” This was the first day in at least two weeks. She had been getting better at it and she was glad. She wanted to have a better relationship with not staying late. “ooh. Emm! Yay!” She beamed, happy for her friend. She knew how frustrating it could be when one was stuck on something that they knew was going to be helpful. 

“That’s so good!” Well done!” 

where;; Ministry of Magic who;; @ofalicex​

𝐎𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. And when it finally did, the witch was almost sprinting out of her little lab like corner office and dashing through the halls until she’d reached the elevator. Only then did she allow herself to slow down, take a breath and return to the behavior of a normal ministry employee rather than someone dying to catch up with a friend. Through the labyrinth like hallways until she finally reached the auror office. A hand lifting to knock.

“Little birdie told me there is a chance you’re still working. Little birdie also told me it is way past time to go for lunch.” Zixia glanced around the corner at Alice, not at all surprised. “I may or may not have prepared some lunch for today.” The witch was holding up a basket, allowing a shrug to indicate that the other would have to come and find out just what had been prepared. Or perhaps it was simply just an empty basket after all. The thought let the tiniest hint of mischief slip across her face. Of course it was going to be food.

---

Alice hated days when she was stuck in the office. Of course, she mostly ended up with them because she put off her paper work. She had previously worked some over time to get it done. But she wasn’t doing that at the moment, and so her paper work had piled up. It meant that she was now trying to get it all done. Alice was just not a very academic or paper work kind of person. She was an in action person, liking to be out in the field. She was sure that Moody hated her for it, and so she supposed it was good that she was just so good at her job. 

She looked up as she heard a voice, and the brunette laughed. “You know me too well...” She teased with a little grin. Mostly because of her knowing she was still working, but also because she clearly knew Alice wouldn’t have brought her lunch. “You’re too good to me dear.” She murmured with a smile.