Characters: Marlene McKinnon, Nymphadora Tonks/Naledi White Date: March 6, 2000 Location: Auror Department, followed by ? Rating: PG-13 for language Summary: Marlene is so frustrated by a certain noble idiot that she decides she needs to take a break from all the stress, and takes her favorite Auror with her. Status: In Progress
Marlene couldn't keep still. As soon as Caradoc stopped responding to her owls her ability to sleep left her, and she spent a good hour pacing her flat in worry. Finally she went over to his cottage, unsure of what she would do once there, but it didn't matter; he was gone.
After a restless, endless night and a horrifically unproductive day, Marlene stared at her exhausted face in the mirror, frowned, and said, "You know what? Fuck this. I don't need this. What I need is a new dress. And maybe some nice shoes. I deserve a present."
As she changed, however, she realized that simply going out wasn't going to keep her from fretting about that idiotic vampire of hers; she needed a real distraction, one in the form of something that could talk.
Which is how she found herself going through Ministry security for the first time since she had arrived in the UK. How she got out of it the first time she'd never know; that was thanks to the Council, and she didn't question their methods if they got the job done. This time she had to use her ID, but it got her through virtually every door she wanted, a pleasant surprise she hadn't quite expected. Apparently the Ministry was more afraid of saving face than she thought.
Her heart pounded as the elevator made its way down to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and she had to close her eyes to calm herself down. It would be fine. They wouldn't recognize her; they couldn't. It had been 20 years ago, and anyway the name on her ID was not the same one on her passport. She would be fine.
Or so she told herself as she sat in Naledi White's office, taking in the decor and wondering how much of it was chosen by Tonks and how much was Naledi's.