PS - Chapter 7

Saturday, November 14th 2009

"It says a third of a cup of cocoa and half a cup of flour," said Tonks, reading off a brownie recipe in a book her mother had given her. She was sitting on the kitchen counter munching on chocolate chips while Lucy did all the work.

Lucy gave her a look as she picked up the cocoa powder. She picked up a measuring cup and threw a third of a cup of cocoa powder into the bowl. "When you suggested we make brownies, I did assume that you would help me do that a little bit more than this."

"I am helping. I'm reading you the directions. How would you know how to make good brownies if it wasn't for me?"

"It's not like I couldn't read the directions myself."

"No. Honestly, Lucy, you would be completely lost without me. I don't know how you possibly survived for as long as you did before I showed up."

Lucy smiled. "I have no idea, Tonks."

"And besides, I'm definitely going to help you clean up afterwards. I would be more than will to clean the bowl for you."

Lucy shook her head. She walked over to the counter and snatched the bag of chocolate chips away from her. "You're eating these and then you're going to lick the bowl and then you're going to eat brownies. That is a lot, Tonks."

Tonks smiled and tried to get the bag back from Lucy but she held them out of her reach. "Let me live, Lucy!"

Lucy laughed. She stepped back and pointed back at the bowl on the other counter. "Mix. Or no brownies for you."

"Fine," Tonks said, pushing herself off the counter and walking over to start mixing the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Lucy pulled herself up on the counter Tonks had been sitting on and started eating chocolate chips too. Tonks looked back at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What? I can't live too?"

Tonks laughed. "So, what else do you want to do today?"

Lucy shrugged. "Eat brownies, lay on the couch, watch movies and get fat?"

"That, my dear girlfriend, sounds like an excellent plan."

Just then a tapping sound came from the living room. Lucy looked over and saw an owl sitting on the window sill. She smiled and hopped off the counter, walking towards the window.

"Looks like a Ministry owl. What's today again?"

Tonks gasped and put down whisk she was using to mix the brownie batter. She hurried over towards Lucy. "The fourteenth! It's the fourteenth!"

Lucy opened the window. "Hello!"

The owl hopped inside and gave a little hoot. Lucy smiled, took the letter from the owl's beak, and gave it a little pat. The owl ruffled its feathers and gave an indignant hoot. Lucy turned the letter over and saw the Ministry and Auror Office insignias on the thick envelope.

"It's your exam results!"

Tonks snatched the letter from her and looked down at it with wide eyes. "My... my results. In this envelope is my future..."

"Dramatic but yes."

Tonks didn't move. She just kept staring at the envelope.

"Are you going to open it?"

Tonks quickly turned the envelope around and pushed it towards her. She looked away and closed her eyes tightly. "You open it. I can't look!"

Lucy shook her head and pushed the envelope back to her. "No, Tonks. You have to do it. It's going to be okay. No matter what's inside there, it's going to be okay."

Tonks looked back and took a deep breath. She pulled the letter back to her and ripped it open. She pulled out the bundle of papers, unfolded it, and read the letter on the first page. The bundle looked satisfyingly thick.

Lucy watched her a little nervously as her eyes scanned the page. Her face was unreadable. Finally Tonks looked up at her with wide eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"I - I..." Tonks couldn't speak yet. She turned the letter over and shoved it in Lucy's face.

Lucy frowned and took it.

Dear Miss Nymphadora Tonks,

The results of your Auror Training Program Entry Exams;

Part One: Written Exam - 1589 out of a possible 1600

Part Two: Combat Dueling - 14 out of a possible 16

Part Three: Physical Exam - 34 out of a possible 35

Part Four: Character and Aptitude Test - Minimal Pass

After careful examination of your results, applications, and references, we are pleased to invite you into the Auror Training Program. You will join two others of your group at the Ministry of Magic on Monday, November Twenty Third.

The program will last three years and if your work is satisfactory you will receive full Auror status. Please find enclosed more information on the Auror Training Program, what will be required of you, and salary and benefits.

Please sign the enclosed copy of this letter and return it to Director Alastor Moody of the Auror Office by the Friday, November Twentieth to indicate your acceptance of this offer. We are confident that you will be able to make significant contributions to our department and look forward to working with you.

Yours Most Sincere,

Amelia S. Bones

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

A huge smile appeared on Lucy's face. "You did it, Tonks! You got the job!"

Lucy pulled Tonks into a hug. Tonks laughed and hugged her back. Happy tears filled her eyes. She had wanted this so much for so long but it never felt this close. It never felt this real. She felt Lucy kiss her cheek but Tonks was having none of that. She pulled her closer and kissed Lucy's lips instead. Lucy smiled into the kiss.

When they finally pulled away, Tonks said, "I - I can't believe I actually did it! I - I'm got in! I'm in the Aurors!"

"Congratulations, my darling," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you! This makes you the youngest Auror to be hired in ten years!"

"Thank you," Tonks said with a laughed. "Oh man, I'm so happy." She pulled away a little and started going through the other papers that came out of the envelope. "I - I have to get this back to them as quickly as possible and go through these papers and call my mum and -"

"Breath. You need to breath."

"Right, right. Okay, I'm going to send this back and then I'm going to Floo my parents and tell them and then you can help me look through these contracts and stuff because I think you'll have an easier time understanding all of this than I will."

Lucy smiled. "I'll help you. Talk to your parents first and I'll finish our brownies."

"Okay, thank you!" Tonks leaned over and kissed her cheek before hurrying towards the bedroom in search of a pen.

Tonks was so happy and it made Lucy very happy too. Tonks had worked so hard and it was great to see that all that hard work had paid off. Lucy was so glad that Tonks had gotten her dream job. Her having a job now meant that Lucy could start dancing again. She had missed ballet when she stopped going to the studio to help Tonks train and prepare for her exams instead. Being able to go back to the studio once her exams were over was nice and Lucy was glad she could continue. Tonks also meant that Lucy would have to wait a little longer to tell Tonks about Enchantress though. She still wasn't sure how Tonks would react to her breaking international law and now that she was an Auror, it made everything more complicated. Lucy would have to wait.

Lucy sighed and shook her head. She walked back towards the kitchen to finish making the brownies, which had now become celebration brownies, and call Minerva and Nina to tell what had just happened.

The twenty third of November came around in a flash. Tonks could barely remember anything that had happened after she had gotten the news. There was something about brownies, celebrations with her and Lucy's families, and a lot of very happy makeout sessions on the couch.

On the morning of the twenty third, Tonks woke up early and got dressed. She apparated with Lucy to Collins Enterprises, Lucy wished her good luck on her first day and she apparated to the Ministry. Walking through the halls now, she felt a lot more confident. Her head was up a little higher and she felt a lot more sure of herself as she walked through crowds of Ministry workers towards the Auror Office. She felt like she belonged here.

Tonks was so happy. She was going to be an Auror. She was going to help people. She was going to use her magic for the greater good!

And she was finally going to be making her own money. She could finally pay for rent and buy Lucy nice things and take her out to nice restaurants all the time. She was finally going to be a real adult! It was very exciting. She felt like she had been stuck on the edge of adulthood for a very long time and now she was finally taking the plunge. Head first.

Tonks made it to the Auror building and walked towards the main office. She wasn't quite sure where she was meant to be going but she saw the familiar faces of Lacey Washington and John Dawlish also waiting there. They must be the other two people accepted into the program. Three people was the most that they had ever taken in one exam period before in years. Lacey looked up and smiled when she saw her. Tonks waved and walked over to her.

"You made it too!" Lacey said with a smile. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, I'm so happy! I'm so glad we both made it," Tonks said excitedly, happy that she wasn't going to be thrown into this all alone. Lacey would probably help her through anything that she didn't really know. "It'll be so much fun to work together."

"Yeah! It'll be great! I'm really excited!"

Dawlish rolled his eyes and ignored them, standing with his arms crossed in front of him and staring straight ahead. He was actually serious about being an Auror. Unlike like these children.

Eventually the door opened and in walked Alastor Moody and Rufus Scrimgeour. Moody looked them over for a moment before saying, "Welcome to the first day of yer training. Before we begin there will be some documents and contracts that yeh will need to sign with Madam Bones. From there you will be given yer locker, yer watch, and yer Auror cloak. We do not have a uniform yeh must wear but yeh are expected to dress in business casual clothing that would blend in if yeh are forced to go out into the Muggle World.

"Yeh will be placed in pairs and will be mentored by Deputy Director Scrimgeour, myself, or another seasoned Auror. Dawlish, yeh will be paired with Phillis Darbie. He is in his second year of the program and his partner has just dropped out of the program. Tonks, Washington, yeh two will be paired together. Deputy Scrimgeour will lead yeh to Madam Bones's office to fill in yer paperwork. I will see yeh all soon."

With that he left the room and Scrimgeour motioned for them to follow him. Lacey looked and Tonks and smiled. "We're partners!"

Tonks smiled too. She was very glad that she had been paired with someone she knew wouldn't underestimate her because of her age.

One by one, they made their ways into Amelia's office to sign their papers. Amelia congratulated Tonks with a smile when it was her turn. Tonks thanked her, signed her contracts, and was led out to the change rooms by an intern. She gave Tonks the key to her locker, number two hundred and three, in the women's change room. Tonks opened the locker to find a cloak sitting inside with the black, hand- and numberless watch sitting on top of it.

Tonks smiled and picked it up, putting it on around her wrist. "Hello, Holly. It's been a while."

Hello, Miss Tonks. Congratulations on your placement into the Auror Training Program.

"Thank you."

She closed her locker and walked out to where Dawlish and Scrimgeour were waiting. Lacey walked out a little while later and they were taken to the fourth floor where all the Auror offices and desks were. The room was large and rectangular with large wooden desk in rows throughout it. Offices lined the perimeter of the room. Moody's was the largest of the offices in the far right corner and Scrimgeour's was next to it. They were given desks and Dawlish met his partner, a tall skinny man with dark hair and lanky arms. He was built in almost the exact opposite as Dawlish. They were given their first files and set to work.

"Miss Tonks, you and Miss Washington will be assigned to the Enchantress case," Scrimgeour said, throwing a stack of blue files on Tonks's desk. He motioned Lacey over and she pulled up her chair. "Your goal is to find out who she is, arrest her and bring her in so she may face the consequences of exposing magic on the level she has. In here -" he motioned to the files - "is all the information we have on this woman. Read it over and try to narrow down her most active areas and come up with a strategy to find her. If I find your strategy satisfactory you will implement it. I expect your strategy on my desk within two weeks."

Tonks and Lacey nodded and said their "yes sir"s before picking up a file each and getting to work. When Scrimgeour was out of earshot, Lacey turned to Tonks with a huge smile on her face.

"Can you believe it! We got one of the biggest profile cases in the whole Auror Office! This case is going to get media coverage and we're going to be the Aurors that brought down the Enchantress!"

"I know!" Tonks said with a smile. "I can't believe they gave us such a huge case just to start off. I guess that it is just a magic in front of muggles case but it's so big and publicized now. I would have thought they would want more seasoned Aurors."

Lacey smiled. "I can't wait to find out who this witch is."

"Me neither. I have so many questions to ask her! I can't wait to get a chance to actually talk to her!"

Lacey agreed and the two of them got to work.

The files contained mostly newspaper clippings from both Muggle and Magical news organizations. There were evening clippings of ridiculous articles from the Quibbler, an absurd magazine that had gone as far as to claim Enchantress may be Amelia Bones herself. Tonks and Lacey's job was to go through all these clippings, even the sensational tabloid ones, and highlight any information that could be useful. Enchantress was a huge story that had been reported everywhere so they had a lot to work with.

Most of the day was spent reading and highlighting news articles. Tonks did get to meet some other Aurors. She got to talk with people around an actual water cooler and learn about office drama and rumours. She did encounter some people who seemed to scoff at her for her age or her pink hair or her clumsiness - she may or may not have knocked over someone's desk plant and picture frame by accident - but for the most part everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Tonks felt like a real Auror already.

When Tonks finally got home after a long day of work, she found Lucy sitting at the kitchen table with dinner ready and the table set. Candles were lit, champagne was out, and Lucy was wearing a very nice dress.

Tonks smiled as she took off her coat and shoes. "What is all this?"

"I'm embracing the 1950s housewife look." Lucy walked over to and modeled her dress a little bit. "How do I look?"

"Like a million bucks," Tonks said with a laugh. She pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

Lucy smiled. When they pulled away, she took Tonk's hand and pulled her towards the table. "Come, I've cooked us a nice dinner to celebrate your first day of work! Come sit, my dear husband. Put your feet up, I'll do everything for you like a good little wife."

Tonks laughed. "Wow, I could get used to this." She gave Lucy another kiss on the cheek before sitting down at the table. "It smells amazing, my dear wife."

Lucy poured Tonks and herself some champagne before sitting down herself. "Hopefully it tastes good too."

They started filling their plates and eating dinner. As they did, Lucy said, "Now, tell me all about your day! First day of being an Auror, how was it?"

"Not an Auror per se. More like an Auror-in-training."

"Basically and Auror. I know you'll get full Auror status soon enough too."

Tonks smiled. "Well, I had a very great day, actually. I was given a partner and my first case and you're not going to believe the case I got! Oh, and my partner is Lacey Washington, as well. I don't know if you remember me telling you about her."

"The one you beat during your duel? She made it too?"

"Yes, she did. She's a good dueler even if she lost to me. She made it quite difficult. I think we were pretty well matched and so the duel was great at highlighting just how good we both are."

"That's good. What is this case then? Dark objects? Drugs? Neo-Death Eaters? All of the above?"

Tonks laughed. "I think those kind of cases go to higher up Aurors. No, technically my case is not that great. It's just a magic in front of Muggles case but it's probably the highest profile case in the Auror Office right now!"

Lucy's eyes widened. "Enchantress? Your first case is Enchantress?"

"Yes! Can you believe it?"

"No! I - I can't believe you're on the Enchantress case." Not good. This was definitely not good.

"I know! This case is huge! Lacey and some of the other Aurors I met today were saying that we could get on the news! On our first case too!"

"That's... that's insane," Lucy said, eyes still wide. Of course Tonks would be given the job of finding and arresting her. It just made sense. Lucy had never had very good luck. This made sense. "So, how are you going to catch her? She's been quite good at avoiding the Aurors so far."

"I know. It will be difficult, I'm sure," Tonks said with a mouthful of potatoes. "We don't know exactly what we're going to do yet. We're just in the research phase so far. We have two weeks to come up with an idea. We have to get a proposal on Scrimgeour's desk in that time. I hope he likes whatever we come up with. He seems like he'd be pretty hard to please."

"I'm sure he'll like your plan," Lucy said, giving her a small smile. "I can't wait to hear what you guys come up with."

"I don't think I'm technically supposed to tell you what we plan to do but I don't think you're going to run off and tell Enchantress."

"Of course not."

"I'll let you know what we come up with. Have you read the articles about her? She's done a lot. It's a little sad that we have to find and stop her. She seems to be saving a lot of people and doing a lot of good."

"She is. Do you have to stop her? I mean, what's the harm in letting her do what she's doing? Especially if it means that people's lives are saved in the process?"

"As much as I would like not to, she is still breaking the law. I think what she's doing is really cool but she should know better than doing magic in front of Muggles. We can't have them finding out about us, you know. It's for our own good." She smiled a little. "We don't want to be burnt at the stake, now do we?"

"Hmm... well, I've already told you I'd like to be burned at the stake after I die. One of my mum's pointy hats and all, of course."

Tonks smiled. "I don't think you'd like it very much if you were alive during the process."

"Maybe not." Lucy sighed. She definitely couldn't tell Tonks that she was Enchantress yet. Tonks didn't understand what Lucy was trying to do. Lucy wasn't sure how Tonks would react. It was best to just keep it hidden for now. "I still like her."

"I know you do. She's your type."

Lucy smiled a little. "Is she?"

"Yes, I think so. You like strong, independent women." She smiled and pointed to herself. "Exhibit A."

Lucy laughed. "Uh huh."

"Anyways, there is something that's not so great about this job though."

"Oh?"

Tonks looked up at her and sighed. "I have to start working nights. Apparently this happens to all new recruits. They get the shifts that the other seasoned Aurors don't want. We all have to work night, starting at eight p.m. and ending at six a.m.."

"That's awful! We'll never see each other. I work from nine to five."

"I know," Tonks said sadly. "I'm sorry. It's just for the first year or two. Then I'll be back to working at normal hours hopefully. All the new Aurors have to work crazy shifts."

Lucy sighed. "Well, at least we'll still have the weekends."

"Yes, we will!" Tonks was glad that Lucy was taking this so well. She reached over and took her hand. "We'll still see each other. I'll see you in the in morning when I get home before you leave for work and when you come back home before I leave."

Lucy nodded. "We can eat breakfast and dinner together. My breakfast will be your dinner and my dinner will be your breakfast though."

Tonks smiled. "But we'll make it work."

Lucy gave her a smile too. "We will. It'll be okay."

"And then we'll have the weekends to do whatever we'd like. I'd probably still sleep in a bit but you could go to the studio and then by the time you get back, I'll probably be awake."

Lucy nodded. "We'll make it work. Maybe I don't have to go into the studio every weekend too."

"Really? Are you sure, Lucy? I don't want you to give up on dance just for me."

"I'm not giving it up. I'll just cut back a bit so that we can have more time together. I would much rather spend time with you then be at the studio. Maybe I'll find some time to dance during my lunch break or something. I'm not giving it up, it's just not my top priority. You are."

Tonks smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. "Thank you, Lucy. You're the best."

"I know. Now, how about some dessert?"

Thursday, November 26th 2009

"It's not going to be any fun without you. You know how much I hate these kinds of events."

Tonks smiled. She finished lacing up her boots and straightened up. She looked over at Lucy who was sitting on the stool in front of her vanity finishing her makeup. "I know, my love. I'm sorry. You know that if I could have, I would have come to the party with you but I just couldn't get the night off. Everyone's going to be away because of the election. Moody, Scrimgeour, Amelia. There was no way they were going to give me the night off."

Lucy turned on her stool and made a pouty face at her. "I know. I know. But I still don't have to like it. Look at you, sending your girlfriend into a room full of snooty Ministry higher ups and snobby benefactors all alone with no protection!"

Tonks laughed. "I am so so sorry. Please forgive me."

She turned back to the mirror. "I'll think about it."

Tonks smiled and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around Lucy's shoulders. She leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Please?"

"Fine," Lucy said. She smiled and looked up at Tonks's reflection in the mirror. She put her hand on Tonks's arm. "You know, with this stupid election, I've worn more dresses in the last few months than I probably have in my whole life."

"I know that you hate wearing these things but you do always look very hot in them."

"You're such a flatterer."

Tonks smiled. "Well, at least, your mum and Amelia and Raj will be there too. So, you won't be all alone."

"Yeah... I guess... but I'll miss you."

Tonks kissed her again. "I'll miss you too."

"I wish you could have come. It would have been a good opportunity for you to meet some very important people in the Ministry. I know you'd probably hate playing politics as much as I do but it does help a lot to know these people, you know. I mean the only reason we donate to candidates is so they remember us when we need something."

"What do you need?"

"I don't know yet. I guess we'll see. I just want people to start knowing you too. It'll make it easier to move up in the Auror Office."

"Well, I thought I'd make it up through my own merit. Not by schmoozing a bunch of politicians and rich people."

"Of course but it just helps to know people, you know. I mean, Aunt Amelia is amazing at her job but she wouldn't have gotten her appointment to head of the department if she didn't know the Minister. You can only go so far on your own, you know. Eventually you need a little help getting you the rest of the way. That's okay."

"I suppose. Do you think I could make it to head of the department?"

"Oh definitely," Lucy said with a smile.

"I thought that you didn't want anything to do with politics."

"I didn't but I can't escape it! It's after me!"

Tonks laughed. "I hope you survive."

Lucy sighed. "Me too."

She picked up her makeup brush and continued doing her makeup. Tonks moved back so she wasn't restricting her anymore. She moved over and leaned back on the vanity, watching her.

"Maybe I can come over for a visit after the party. I could bring some food and you could introduce me to your Auror friends."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Tonks said, a little uncertainly. She had still yet to tell Lacey that Lucy Collins was her girlfriend and she wasn't looking forward to the two of them meeting. "We're going to be super swamped today because of the election. I might not be able to just take a break whenever."

"Oh, right. That makes sense. Well, how about I text you when I'm about to leave the party and you can see what you can do. Maybe your supervisor will be nice and let you take a break then."

"Alright, I'll try."

"If not, we don't have any plans this Saturday, right? You can see if your partner and her boyfriend want to come over for dinner. I would like to meet her. She sounds great from what I've heard from you."

"I'll ask."

Lucy smiled. "We'll cook a nice dinner and have an adult dinner party!"

"I'll see if they're free."

Lucy put her brush down and got up. She turned around. "So, how do I look?"

Tonks smiled and pushed herself off the vanity. "Beautiful as always. That dress is amazing."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile, looking down at the shimmery black dress. It looked like a starry night sky, twinkling and everything. There were stars and planets and even the occasional shooting star. "Mum bought it for me last time she was in Edinburgh. Their Gladrags Wizardwear outlet is much better stocked than the one in Hogsmeade."

"Well, Edinburgh is a lot bigger than Hogsmeade." Tonks checked her watch. "Alright, I should head out and you should get going to your party. Have a nice time, darling. I'll see you soon."

Tonks leaned down and kissed her lips. Lucy smiled. When they pulled away, she said, "Have a good day at work, darling. Go kick some ass."

Tonks laughed and said goodbye before pulling out her wand and Apparating away. When she was gone Lucy picked up her own coat and put it on before Apparating as well. She heard the music and the partygoers as she walked up the steps to the hall. She checked her coat and walked through the crowds of very fancily dressed people. All of the candidates biggest donors and all the politicians that gave their endorsements were here. The hall was decorated lavishly with tapestries and floating candles and balloons. There was a stage with a podium and a banner with the Ministry's insignia hanging behind it.

Lucy picked up a glass of champagne from a tray a server who was walking by was holding and walked through the crowds. There were a lot of people here, trying to slip all their accomplishments into every conversation and laughing at very unfunny jokes. She slipped between people who paid her very little attention. Finally she spotted her mother standing off the side near the open bar.

"Of course I'd find you here," Lucy said with a smile, motioning to the bar with her champagne flute.

Minerva gave her a look and shook her head before saying, "And hello to you too, my darling. You look very nice today."

"Thank you. You do as well. I'm actually surprised you came. Last I heard you were trying very hard to get out of it."

"Oh, why wouldn't I come to support the candidate I donated campaign funds too? So much campaign funds..."

Lucy laughed.

Minerva looked back. "Where is Albus? I am going to need something much stronger than champaign to get through tonight."

"Have you ever thought you may -"

"Don't." Minerva sighed and shook her head. She looked back at Lucy and gave her a small smile. "So, Tonks didn't come with you?"

"No, couldn't get the night off unfortunately. I told her that I might come down for a visit after the party but she said that she might be busy. Apparently it's super swamped at the Auror Office today."

"I wouldn't be surprised. This election season has been quite ridiculous. I don't know what get into people."

"Don't know but my girlfriend's out there keeping them in line. I told her I'd text her. Hopefully she can get her break at that time and then I can visit. I haven't met her Auror partner yet but Tonks seems to really like her."

"Lacey Washington, correct?"

"Yes, that's her."

"Amelia told me about her. She told me that Tonks is getting along quite well in the Auror Office. All three of the new recruits are."

"I'm glad she thinks so. Tonks will be very happy to hear that."

"Well, hello, my dear!"

Lucy turned and saw Dumbledore walking towards them. She smiled. "Hey, Uncle Albus. How are you?"

"I am good, thank you for asking." He held out a glass towards Minerva. "Here you are, Minerva."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said with a smile, accepting the glass from him. "Took a lot longer than I thought it would."

"A lot of people wanted me to stay and chat. I chose to come back to you, however."

"How generous of you."

"How's your year been, Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked.

"It's been going well."

"No more trolls in dungeons?"

"No, thankfully we have had a lack of trolls in the dungeon since Halloween," he said with a smile. "How are things at Collins Enterprises?"

"Eh, it's okay,"

"Getting better?"

"Potentially. Hopefully. I don't know. It's hard sometimes. There are still a lot of annoying people who don't think that any part of me can do business. I'm trying though. I'll prove them wrong. Uncle Raj says it just takes time."

Dumbledore gave her a smile. "You will prove them wrong. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll excel in this field like you have in all others."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you, Uncle Albus."

"Those idiots may be idiots but they'll be playing a different tune soon, I'm sure," Minerva said with a smile, putting her hand on Lucy's arm. "They'll see just how amazing you are."

"Yeah, hopefully."

Just then Amelia and Raj saw them through the crowd and walked over to them. Minerva, Lucy and Dumbledore noticed them coming over. Minerva saw that Raj was smiling.

"You seem too happy to be here, Raj," she said, giving him a look.

"Hello, everyone," he said. "How are you?"

"We're good, Raj," Albus said. "How are you?"

"Good, good," Raj said, walking over to Lucy and giving her a one armed hug. "Hello, Princess."

"Hey, Uncle Raj," Lucy said with a smile, hugging him back.

"You look lovely today, love," Amelia said with a smile. "That dress is beautiful."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile.

"Her mother bought it for her," Minerva said.

"Her mother has good taste," Amelia said. "Sometimes."

Minerva gave her a look and Amelia just laughed. They all talked for a while, sipping their drinks and waiting for word on the election. Soon Dumbledore was pulled away by a group of governors, wanting to discuss something or another about Hogwarts. Amelia was the second to be pulled away. She was dragged into a conversation about the Wizengamot's latest case by some other members.

"And then there were three," Raj said with a smile as he picked up three new glasses of champagne from a waiter walking by and handed them out to Lucy and Minerva. "Seems it always ends with just the three of us, huh?"

Minerva smiled as she took her glass from him. "Well, if I had to pick two people to be trapped with..." she paused, "I suppose one of you would be in that list."

"I'm flattered, Min, but Lucy's your daughter! I insist you give her my space."

Minerva rolled her eyes and Lucy laughed. "So generous of you, Uncle Raj, but what makes you so sure that I want to be on that list?"

"Neither of you are on my list anymore," Minerva muttered. "You may leave me be. I will be much happier that way anyways."

"Oh, don't be hurt, Minerva," Raj said. "I, of course, cherish every minute I get to spend in your magnificent presence but we mustn't. I love Amelia too much to hurt her in that way. And with you! Her best friend!"

Minerva rolled her eyes and gave him a shove, making him laugh. "You are horrible," she mumbled. "As if I don't find the idea of the two of us absolutely repulsive."

"Ah!" Raj said in mock hurt, putting his free hand over his heart. "Repulsive? Us? Really?"

"You guys really need to get a room," Lucy mumbled, looking around for some sort of escape but finding nothing.

Minerva gave her a look. "You are such a -"

"Ah, Minerva," a sickly sweet voice said from behind her.

Pure hatred filled Minerva immediately. She forced herself to smile before turning around and looking at the short witch standing in front of her. The woman had short brown curly hair with a childish black bow pinned in it. She looked remarkably like a large toad with a large, flabby face and very little neck stuffed in a bright pink dress.

"Dolores," Minerva said diplomatically. "How are you?"

"Oh, I can't complain," she said with a little giggle. She looked at Raj and Lucy. "Mr. Patil. How are you? Where is Amelia tonight?"

"Oh, she's around here somewhere," Raj mumbled, looking around to see if he could spot her in the crowd. He didn't seem too pleased to be talking to this woman either.

There was a pause. Lucy felt very awkward suddenly. She wondered what this woman had done to make both Minerva and Raj dislike her so much. It didn't seem like either of them wanted to talk to her and it didn't really seem like she wanted to talk to them either. Lucy wondered why the woman had walked over in the first place.

The pause became too long and Lucy could not handle it. She quickly stuck out her hand towards the woman and said, "Ah, hi. Lucy Collins. It's nice to meet you."

The woman looked her up and down for a second before finally shaking her hand. "Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic. Are you a friend of Raj here?"

"No," Minerva muttered, frowning now. She knew for a fact that Umbridge knew that her daughter was named Lucy Collins. She had talked about Lucy with Zelda and Fudge in her presence many times before. "Lucy is my daughter."

"Your daughter? Really? Wonderful!" She looked over at Lucy and continued in an all too sugar voice that made Lucy uncomfortable. "You must understand my confusion, my dear. You really do not look a thing like your mother."

"Really? I've always been told - oh." Lucy stopped suddenly when she realized what Umbridge thought made her look so different from her mother. Her polite smile faded away and she wasn't sure what to say. "I - well..."

Minerva furrowed her brows at Umbridge. She was about to say something when Raj cut her off, saving her from saying something very inappropriate for the setting they were in.

"I think," he said quickly, "That Lucy looks a lot like Minerva. They definitely have the same nose."

Lucy reached up and felt her nose with a little smile. She looked at her mother who was still glaring at the toad witch and gave her a reassuring smile. Minerva sighed but didn't say anything, which was probably for the best.

"Hmm, I don't see it," Umbridge mumbled with a shrug. "Anyways, you did donate quite a bit to our campaign, didn't you, Miss Collins? We appreciate it, of course, but I wonder if maybe it would have made more sense for Minerva to just donate her money under her own name."

"I - no, I didn't use Mum's money," Lucy said quickly. "I donated my own money. I work as the CEO for Collins Enterprises, a company my father created when he was twenty. We make electric cars which wouldn't require gas tackle other climate change issues."

"Collins Enterprises, oh yes. This is the company that Raj works for too, correct? I was under the impression that it was a Muggle organization."

"It is, yes. My father was a Muggle."

"Oh, a shame."

Lucy's frown deepened. "I don't think so. My father -"

"No, no, I do not mean that it is a shame that your father was a Muggle. It is a shame you chose to work in the Muggle world. I do recall Minerva going on and on about her daughter's magical prowess. Now you've chosen to leave us and work in the Muggle world. Makes me question how much what Minerva said is true."

"I assure you, Dolores," Minerva said, "Everything I have said about Lucy's magical abilities is true. Lucy's magic has always been very advanced and she can do it without a wand. She was more advanced than most seventh years by the time she was even eleven and she received perfect scores on all her O.W.L.s. There is no doubt in my mind that she could have gotten any job she may have wanted."

Lucy smiled a little. "Thank you, Mum." She looked back at Umbridge. "I chose to work in the Muggle world like my father because I believe I can make a real difference there but that doesn't mean that I've left the Magical world. It will always be my world too and I want to be involved with in it."

"Which is why you're here," Raj said with a smile. "We're here to support our candidate. Lucy was sent her own invitation because of how much she donated to Minister Fudge's campaign."

"Hmm, right," Umbridge muttered. "Well, we shall see, I suppose. I don't know very many Magicals who have chosen to work in the Muggle world so this shall be interesting."

Lucy didn't respond. She looked down at her champagne glass.

Raj was about to say something when Amelia walked back over. She smiled at them before noticing Umbridge. Her smile faltered but then came back full force. "Oh, hello, Dolores."

"Amelia, how are you?" Umbridge said.

"I'm well, thank you. How are you? Excited for campaign season to be over?"

"Oh, no, no. I actually very much enjoy campaign season. It is always a shame when it comes to an end, isn't it?"

Lucy laughed a little and Umbridge looked over at her. She raised an eyebrow. "You don't agree?"

"No, not really," Lucy said with a smile. "I'm not a big fan myself but I suppose campaign season is always more for the politicians than it is for everyone else."

"I agree," Minerva said. "No one enjoys campaign season as much as the politicians do."

"I don't agree," Umbridge muttered. "If there was no campaign season, how would the people learn about our platforms and make the right decisions on election day?"

"We are by no means implying that campaign season is not important," Minerva said. "Just that it is not exactly our cup of tea."

"Well, I would say that -"

Suddenly a voice rang through the hall, cutting Umbridge off. "The polls have now closed and votes are in the process of being counted. Election results shall be available shortly."

"Oh, excellent," Amelia said with a smile. The perfect excuse to abandon this conversation. "The results will be announced soon. Shall we move closer to the stage?"

"Yes, let's," Minerva said quickly, seizing the excuse like a lifeline. "I would like to find Albus again as well. I'm not sure where that man had gotten off to. Coming, darling?"

"Yes, of course. I'm coming. It was nice meeting you, Madam Umbridge. Good luck."

Before Umbridge could say anything else, Lucy hurried after her mother to find Dumbledore, dress billowing behind her as she went.

Raj smiled a little and took Amelia's hand. "We should get going as well, my love. It was nice seeing you again, Dolores. Good luck with the election."

"Oh, I doubt we will need luck, Mr. Patil," Umbridge said with a little giggle. "I should get going as well. Don't want to keep the returning Minister waiting. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow, Amelia."

"Goodbye, Dolores," Amelia said. She waited for Umbridge to walk out of earshot before frowning and rolling her eyes. "Horrible woman. Tried to convince Cornelius not to keep me as Head of Law."

"Did she? Why?"

"Who knows why that woman does anything she does. I have no idea why Cornelius keeps her. He's the only one who seems to actually enjoy talking to her. I don't think Zelda likes her either."

"Well, I doubt she managed to convince Fudge of anything. No one in the world could run the Law Department better than you. I have no idea who Fudge could possibly appoint over you."

Amelia smiled. "I'm glad you think so. I suppose we'll see tomorrow. If he wins."

"I suppose we will. We should go. Don't want to keep Minerva and Lucy waiting."

Amelia nodded.

They walked around the hall a little until they finally found Minerva, Lucy and Dumbledore standing off to one side. Amelia smiled at Lucy as she and Raj walked over. "So you've met our resident toad. What do you think?"

"Resident toad?" Lucy laughed. "She's kind of awful, isn't she?"

"She is," Minerva muttered, grabbing another glass of champagne from the tray of a waiter walking by. "Awful, horrible, infuriating toad."

Dumbledore laughed. "Come now, Minerva. Let's play nice."

Minerva gave him a look. "You are always just conveniently busy with something else whenever she comes around, aren't you, Albus?"

"I am sorry I was not there to protect you from our dear Undersecretary."

"Mum, it's okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "She was rude but it's not like we haven't dealt with people like that before. At least she didn't ask if I was adopted."

"I'm glad that's where we've set the bar."

Lucy sighed but didn't say anything. She looked over at Amelia and Raj instead.

"Well, she may be a horribly infuriating person," Raj said, "But she's gone now. The election results will be announced soon, I'm sure, and then we can leave. I doubt we'll have to stay very long after that. We could go out and get some late night food."

"That would be fun but I told Tonks I would text her after I get off. If she's not able to get a break, I'd be down to go out for food but if she can, I think I'll go down to the Ministry so I can meet some of her co-workers."

Raj nodded. "Well, you're welcome to come if she can't."

They talked for a little while longer until the same loud voice echoed through the hall again. "With all polls reporting we are now prepared to announce the election results. I politely ask all candidates to take their places on the stage."

"Oh finally," Minerva muttered as everyone began walking closer to the stage. "Nights like these always seems to drag on, don't they?"

They moved closer to the stage as every candidate took their place in line behind the podium. Cornelius Fudge stood up with his same luscious blond locks and wide smile among the group. Lucy didn't trust grown men with blond hair.

This election cycle saw only two very serious candidates unfortunately. Fudge and Abraham Lister, a very tall, thin man with an impressive bushy beard, were the only two reasonable choices. A slew of other, far more senseless and idiotic (as if that were possible), stood on either side of Fudge and Lister.

A very short, tiny witch with thick glasses, short brown hair and flowing black robes sweep onto the stage. She was older than old. Her face sagged and her lines had lines. Lucy watched her wobble to the podium and wondered if maybe someone should help her.

The woman made it to the podium where she stepped up on a stool in order to look over it. Her body shook and she gripped the side of the wooden podium tightly to balance herself as she stepped up. Finally she looked at the crowd over her thick glasses and spoke. Despite her frail, tiny body, her voice boomed and rang through the hall.

"The votes have now been counted for the election of Minister for Magic of the British Wizarding Community on this Thursday, the twenty sixth of November twenty, 2009. I, Agornia Strewblink, being the acting returning officer at the election of Minister for Magic, do hereby give notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidates at the said election is as follows..."

Lucy found that this was quite similar to Muggle elections. She looked over at her mother, leaning a little closer, and whispered, "Mum, I just thought of something. Is the Ministry for Magic a branch of the regular Muggle government or its own separate entity?"

Minerva smiled. "It amazes me that this question has not come up sooner and that I neglected to truly teach you how interconnected these two worlds are."

"It seems we both missed that one."

"Yes. Well, the Ministry is a branch of the Muggle government though very few people in the Muggle government have knowledge of it. The Prime Minister would, of course, and I'm sure his deputy and chief of staff as well but other than that I do not know for sure. This information is quite heavily guarded and spells are cast to prevent any government official from revealing our existence whenever they have a bit too much to drink. The Minister for Magic will have one on one meetings with the Prime Minister from time to time but this is very rarely. The Ministry is a very independent branch of the government."

Lucy nodded. She wondered if Fudge had ever discussed Enchantress with the current Muggle Prime Minister. She wondered if the Prime Minister also believed that she needed to be stopped.

Madam Agornia Stewblink listed the candidates by name and party, followed by the number of votes they had received.

"Oh man, there was a warlocks for communism party?" Lucy asked a bit too loudly for Minerva's liking. "I should have voted for them!"

"Hush!" Minerva said, looking around quickly.

Raj laughed. "You're not a communist, Lucy. You're the CEO of a major company. You can't be."

"I am though... I love dad-"

"If you say it, I will kill you," Minerva muttered.

Lucy looked over at her and put her hand over her heart. "Mother, what do you have against Daddy Marx?"

Minerva closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Amelia laughed. "Hush, love. People may overhear and think you're serious. We can't have you ruining your mother's reputation, now do we?"

"Well, if that's all it takes..."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Hush. Listen to the results and then we can go home."

Lucy smiled and looked back at the stage. She listened to the old witch list more names and more votes counts. Finally she reached the end of her list and said, "The total number of ballot papers rejected is as follows; voting for more candidates than the voter was entitled to..."

Lucy sighed. "Must they always do this. We know the winner now. Can she not just declare it and be done with?"

"Hush."

"... the turn out was eighty three point two percent and I do hereby declare that the said Cornelius Oswald Fudge is duly elected to serve another term as Minister for Magic for the British Wizarding Community."

Applause roared through the hall and cameras flashed as Fudge smiled brightly and shook hands with all of the candidates next to him on the stage before coming up to the podium. Madam Stewblink stepped down from her stool and moved off the stage, step stool disappearing as she went. Fudge waved out at the crowd as he approached the podium.

"Thank you! Thank you all," he bellowed happily. "I would first like to Madam Agoria Stewblink as always for the efficient and stress free way this election was run. I would then like to thank my lovely, lovely, wife, Zelda Fudge for standing by my side always and supporting me through every step of this journey. Finally I would like to thank the wonderful British Magical Community for granting me another four years to serve you all. It is an enormous honour to represent such an amazing community as this, best in the world, I always say, and I promise that I will continue to represent the Magical people of Britain to the best of my abilities. I am honoured and humbled by the trust this community has put in me through the years. I am proud of everything this community has done, everything we have accomplished so far and everything we will do in the next coming four years."

The crowd clapped loudly, making Fudge smile even more. Lucy looked back at the others behind him and wondered why they kept such a cruel system of election announcements. Why not let the losers walk off the stage with the announcer? Why make them stand and force smiles while their competition gave their victory speech?

"Before I go and let you all return to enjoying the party, I would like to make an promise. I did make this promise on the campaign trail but I would like to remind you all of it. For the past three months, our community has been plagued by a certain witch, hellbent on destroying our way of life and expose our world to the Muggles."

"Well, that seems a little harsh," Lucy whispered. "Destroying our way of life?"

"Our Aurors have been working hard to find this witch and bring her to justice and I shall do everything in my power to assist them. I promise you by my inauguration in January, this Enchantress will be caught, tried and brought to justice."

More applause sounded throughout the room and Lucy looked around nervously. It seemed everyone was on board with this. Everyone seemed to hate her.

Fudge was saying more things about Enchantress and everyone clapped and cheered him on. Lucy didn't like it. She moved closer to her mother and whispered, "I - I'm going to the restroom."

Minerva nodded a little before turning her attention back to the stage.

Lucy hurried out of the crowd and handed her champagne glass to a waiter. She moved quickly towards the end of the hall and turned the corner quickly, colliding into another person.

"Ouf!"

Lucy looked up and saw the woman she had bumped into was very pretty. She was tall and thin with hair so blond it was almost silver. Her face was thin, almost severe, and her eyes were very light blue.

"I'm so sorry, Ma'am. I wasn't -"

"It's all right," the woman muttered, straightening up and fixing her dress. She looked down her nose at Lucy. "You are McGonagall's daughter, yes?"

"I am, yes."

"Hmm..."

Lucy waited for her to saw something else and when she didn't, she spoke. "Um, well, sorry again. I'll just -"

"Narcissa? You've missed the whole speech now."

Lucy turned around to see a man walking towards them. He looked almost bored. His hair matched his wife's. It was long and came down to his shoulders. He held a black lacquered walking stick with an ornate silver snake head handle.

"I'm sorry, Lucius, darling," Narcissa said. "There was a little..." She looked Lucy up and down again, "Hold up."

Lucius Malfoy saw Lucy and stopped. A small smile that didn't reach his eyes appeared on his face. "Ah, Lucy Collins, yes? Minerva McGonagall's daughter."

"Yes, yes, I'm Lucy Collins, sir," Lucy said quickly. She wasn't sure what exactly made her call this man 'sir' but it had felt like the right thing to do.

"Lucius Malfoy. I am one of the directors on the Hogwarts board of directors. I work quite closely with your mother."

"Oh, right, yes. I have heard of you, Mr. Malfoy," Lucy said. Nothing very good ever but she had heard some very loud complaining about Lucius Malfoy. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Yes. Well, shall we get going, Narcissa? The speech is over and Cornelius and Zelda will be returning shortly. I wish to speak with him before we leave."

"Yes, Lucius," Narcissa said, walking around Lucy and taking his outstretched arm. "Let's go."

Lucy watched them walk away and frowned. She took a deep breath and looked back out towards the stage. Everyone had moved away now, the stage was empty. People were drinking champagne, laughing and talking and celebrating with one another.

She walked away from the restrooms and found her family off to the side. She grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her away a little. Minerva looked at her questioningly but followed.

"Mum, does everyone hate me?"

Minerva frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... well, I knew that Fudge doesn't like me and that the Prophet doesn't like me either but does everyone else in the Wizarding World hate me too? I thought maybe, you know, they would come around when they saw the good I was doing. I'm - I'm saving people, aren't I?"

Minerva sighed. She looked around quickly and spotted someone standing close by. "We shall discuss this elsewhere."

Lucy looked around and saw Narcissa Malfoy again, standing nearby and probably listening in. She took a deep breath and nodded. "I want to go home. I'm going home now."

"Yes, we should go. I'll come with you."

Lucy nodded again.

They walked back over to Raj, Amelia, and Dumbledore. They said goodbye, Minerva claiming that she wasn't feeling very well and would not be able to come out for a late night snack. Lucy text Tonks to let her know she was tired and would just head home. She apologized but Tonks messaged back that it was no problem at all.

Minerva and Lucy apparated back to Lucy and Tonks's apartment. Lucy changed out of her dress and put on a kettle. They took their tea to the living room and sat down on the couches.

"I suppose I just thought that most people would think what I was doing was pretty cool, I guess," Lucy mumbled quietly as she leaned back on the couch and took a sip of her tea. "I knew that there were people who wouldn't like it but I thought most of the general public would be okay with it. I'm doing good things, aren't I? I'm using my magic for good."

"You are. You're doing a lot of great things. You must understand, my love, that the Magical community still have some antiquated ideas about Muggles and the Muggle World. I think a lot of them are still scared of what may happen if we are revealed to the Muggles and, of course, Cornelius is a politician. He is going to find those fears and pray on them. He thinks that catching Enchantress would be an easy way to start off his second term as Minister on the right foot. He thinks it would be an easy way to increase his favorability quickly."

"He underestimates how difficult it will be to catch me, then. It's been three months and they've come nowhere close and now I have an in at the Auror Office to let me know exactly what they're planning."

Minerva sighed. "Be careful, Lucy. Overconfidence can lead to stupid mistakes that could lead to your arrest and I would not expect Cornelius to do anything less than through the book at you. He will want to send a message, not only to the rest of the British Magical community but to the international one as well. He wants the rest of the world to see that he can control his own population."

"I'm not overconfidence. I know how to take care of myself, don't worry, Mum." Lucy smiled at her mother. "Minister Fudge is going to regret promising that he would catch Enchantress by his inauguration in January."

Minerva closed her eyes tightly. "Oh no."

Author's Note:

Okay so I know that I promised more regular updates but then school and exams and just writers block got in the way... I am very sorry. I hope that there are still people wanting to read this story. Next chapter coming very soon! I have some time off so I'm hoping to get a lot done during it. Thank you for reading and please leave me a comment letting me know what you think and if you are still here reading my work.