Run the World - 19th of October, 1978

[Amelia Bones]

Arms laden with a heavy stack of files and books, Amelia turned and used her shoulder to nudge open the door from the training classroom and head into the hallway. Level 2, in her experience, was always the most busy of the Ministry floors. Between the MLE office, the Auror department, and training gym and classrooms, and a number of other offices she’d not bothered to familiarize herself with yet, it seemed as though there was always some commotion in the corridors. Today was no exception. No sooner than she had let the classroom door swing shut of its own weight, she was affronted by a rogue warning letter from the Improper Use of Magic office.

“Dear Mr. Moller, We have received intelligence that an Orchideous Charm was used at your place of residence this afternoon, in the presence of muggles.”

Amelia swatted the letter out of her way, flinging it against the wall where it fell to the floor and went silent. “Interns,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head at the evident error of some poor sap who had clearly not been trained well enough. Amy loathed the thought that someone might think of her in the same manner, but then that was why she devoted an inordinate amount of her free time to reviewing case files and her training manual. When she went out with friends, she was fully present and allowed herself to really let loose, but more often than not she was working, determined to be the best. It was her last year of training in the academy, and thus the last year she could afford to make any mistakes, not that she would have admitted to making any in the past few years. Or ever. But she certainly would not give her brother Edgar the satisfaction of pointing out a professional blunder. If she’d ever caught him making a mistake, she would certainly take the Mickey out of him for as long as possible. That was the sort of relationship they had; always competing with each other, even if her brothers weren’t fully aware of the contest. And that was why she planned to spend her lunch break studying.

Dodging passersby in the corridor, Amelia headed toward the lifts, study materials securely in her arms. She waited with a small crowd of people and when the lift cage opened, she stepped inside and was almost immediately shuffled toward the back as others filed in behind her, crowding her on their way to their destinations. She would have complained – she was petite but not invisible for Merlin’s sake! - but stuck in the back corner of the lift was a familiar face and Amelia smiled. “Heading out for lunch, or just coming back?” she asked Dorcas, the younger witch who worked on level one.

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror

[Dorcas Meadowes]

Perhaps she should have set her sights lower, not that she would ever admit it - but Mick's birthday was in a few days, and it was the first one that they'd celebrate as a couple, and she'd gotten it into her mind to put a surprise party together for Saturday. It wouldn't be such a big deal, but as it was also the first such event that Dorcas had tried to put on by herself...she was struggling to keep the secret a secret from her girlfriend. It wasn't as if she could hide party supplies around their place, so thankfully some of their friends had stepped up to help her out. But all of her lists, even as the items got checked off one-by-one, only gave her the illusion of control. Had Lily and James picked up enough food? Would Mary keep true to her promise and not add her own twist to the decorations Dorcas had specified? Remus and Peter wouldn't go rogue with the drinks list, right? Everyone would show up when they were supposed to, while she was taking Mick out to dinner, and transform the place? She just wanted everyone together to celebrate Mick, for her partner to feel as adored as she was, for them all to get out of work-mode for a night, and to pull off a surprise, because she could be fun...

In the wrong line of work if you can't keep a secret, hmm?

    Keeping a secret from her is completely different!

She paused her reading - tricky to manage on the crowded and jangling lift anyway - and folded the Prophet under her arm at the familiar voice. Returning Amy's smile as the lift jerked back to life, she said, "Heading out. Minchum's booked solid for the afternoon, so it's a quick lunch and then off to running errands for me. First stop is the Prophet - swears he was misquoted, so we'll see if the editors take a new statement for tomorrow, or if we've got to issue something ourselves." She raised her brows and gave the paper a pat, not entirely thrilled at the prospect of going to their office, even if it meant the opportunity to give Greta an unexpected hello - the editors liked a story too much, seeing fit to twist circumstances into one if there was none. The Minister wasn't perfect, but faced with the impossible situation their world was in, and their divisive community, he was making the strides that he could. And the community had ousted Jenkins for not being hard enough - so Minchum cracking down on Azkaban's security was a bad thing? The more dementors kept there, the fewer You-Know-Who could recruit, eh?

"And you? Raided the case library for a bit of light reading? Count me jealous - what're you looking into?" Dorcas grinned, half relieved that she could talk to a schoolhood crush without putting her feet in her mouth, and half-wishing she'd taken a position that would have allowed her to keep studying. The academic felt wrong - it was autumn, and autumn meant books and essays and exam prep, didn't it? And Amy got to hit the books as much as the training room, if Dorcas had to guess. 

[Amelia Bones]

Amy listened to the short list of adventures Dorcas had planned for the day and didn't feel the least bit jealous. The Daily Prophet, on the surface, seemed like a dull errand though Amy had noticed a recent decline in what she viewed as unbiased journalism. More and more the Prophet seemed to be leaning in favor of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, though not outright because of course they couldn't do so in an obvious manner. The way to sway the masses to your evil point of view was not to show them your horrible self but to disguise it in something more tolerable; a few more articles than usual of muggles invading magical places that didn't really warrant being called news, reports that the prices of imported goods were going up due to some loosely connected ties to muggle-friendly businesses, and of course the reduction in media coverage of disappearances associated with people who dared to speak publicly against Death Eaters and their like. Truth be told, the only reason Amelia still even read the Prophet was to keep an eye on what the community was being told. Truth, lies, or something in between, if she was going to do her job efficiently she needed to know what was being fed to the masses. Plus her parents still paid for her subscription and it would have been a bother to ring them just to tell them to cancel it.

"It's nothing near as fascinating as calling out a reporter for failing to listen properly," she said with a twinge of sarcasm. Dorcas was the sort who liked to study, she liked exams and answering trivia on subject matter most others would find tedious. It was dreadfully obvious to Amelia that Dorcas was indeed sincere about her jealousy of Amy's lunch plans. "Dreadfully boring stuff, really. Just a bit of dark arts trade and black market sales legislature." She tilted her stack of files and books in Dorcas' direction enticingly. "Shame you've got to scurry off so quickly, I'd have loved your opinion on some of these more historic cases." Dorcas was in a relationship and Amy would respect that as long as Dorcas wanted her to, but she did enjoy the witch's company and studying was always more enthralling with a good study partner.

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror

[Dorcas Meadowes]

Dorcas quickly hid a laugh as the witch spoke, feeling it was far too early to completely regret her decision to take this position...but not too early to poke some fun at it here and there. She wanted to be useful to the Order, and using her family connections to secure a position close to the Minister made sense. On parchment. In reality, as she was still building trust with the man himself, and as the senior undersecretary was the one who actually attended meetings with Minchum, she felt like a slightly glorified errand girl. But it would be worth it - in time, surely, she would witness something of importance that she could share with Dumbledore. It was only a matter of time. Or so she told herself on days like these, when she was headed to the Prophet to argue over a trivial matter when she found herself face-to-face with someone on an irrefutable path towards making a difference.

"Just a bit of - you're killing me, Amelia, truly. I'd love to sink my teeth into that," Dorcas lamented honestly. Perhaps she could make regular time with the other witch to study, to keep herself sharp in such matters that mattered. There was nothing wrong with forging more of a friendship with Amelia, was there? She and Mick were getting to know Edgar these days through the Order, and they'd borne witness to the Shakespearean tragedy of Roderick and Mary (or so their friend told it). It was a lovely family, really, and while Dorcas didn't know how in the know Amelia was about the Order, she couldn't imagine the operation was a secret to her. Amelia joining the fight as an Auror, outside of the Order, on top of their shared interests - it just made sense to stay connected! And Mick knows you're for her, and just her.

"Well, if that's so, then I really have no choice but to join you," she grinned as the lift propelled them towards Level Eight, tucking the Prophet fully away into her bag. "I couldn't possibly keep my opinions to myself, not if they might help an Auror. I've always found a working lunch is the best kind anyway."

[Amelia Bones]

The lift gave a shudder as it skidded to a halt, thrusting Amelia against the back wall. She’d have fallen to her knees in the earlier days of navigating the Ministry lifts but these days she was much steadier on these little interdepartmental rollercoasters. The cage doors opened, and the crowd began to filter out, brushing past another lot who were waiting to board. Amelia straightened herself and the contents of her arms before following the traffic out of the lift, glancing in Dorcas’ direction as their conversation continued uninterrupted. Amelia liked being called an Auror, even if she technically was still in training, and she grinned as she replied, “Personally, I think the best sort of lunch is one with a bit of liquor, but there’s no rule about having it both ways.”

The crowd dispersed once they all moved into the atrium, giving Amy more elbow room. “Honestly, I had been hoping there would be more activity in my training, but at least half the time we’re reading. Or listening to the instructor lecture. I know we’ve got to know all the laws and procedures and whatnot, but I thought I was signing up for dueling matches and uncover work, not years reliving my Hogwarts exams.” Amy chuckled. “Tell me your training was more adventurous than chatting up journalists and correcting the Minister’s speeches.” Amelia wanted action. She was ready to be a full-fledged Auror, even if that did mean she would be studying harder for this last year than her any previous time in her academic career. She knew there would be plenty of parchment work ahead of her in this career, but to be out in the field really making a difference instead of in the training room pretending was what she’d wanted. At least she was scheduled for some hopefully exciting shadowing cases in the upcoming weeks. Amy was ready to get into the field with a more seasoned Auror – hopefully not her brother – and experience the real action she was so keen on.

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror

[Dorcas Meadowes]

This was one of, perhaps the, most prestigious and professional arenas that the British wizarding world had to offer. And yet, the lifts were horrendous, abhorrent, and must have made more than a dignitary or two lose their footing. From the abrupt changes of velocity and direction to the ever-changing maze of owl droppings, it was an experience, and Dorcas had to wonder just how differently the other ministries operated. Surely they had other methods of dealing with the same issues, and perhaps she'd get to visit a few someday, if she kept in the office longterm. That was a big if, though. But for now - for now, Dorcas caught herself against the back wall as the lift slammed to a stop, and headed out with Amelia as the way cleared. She grinned back at the woman's addition, a little in awe, as always. There were a fair few over-achievers who could mix work or study with alcohol, and she had never dared that herself, her marks too important to risk. But...she'd excelled, she'd landed a Ministry job and one for the Order...

Moody would go off on her if she ever thought of relaxing, if any of them ever dared it, but did the alternative mean living forever in his unrelenting, paranoid universe? It's kept him alive so far - not in one piece, but alive. He'd forgive their upcoming night of frivolity if he ever found out, right?

She fell into step with the Auror - or was it "in-training," how long was the program these days with the accelerated need of field agents? - with interest. There could hardly ever have been a more important time for Aurors, and however much she missed a classroom herself, Dorcas had to agree that that was surprising. "I love sitting for an exam as much as the next girl," she started, chuckling with some incredulity, "but you're not getting more instruction, practice, in the practical matters? Hope that changes for you soon - your brother, the eldest, went through the program, didn't he?" To be on the safe side, she reasoned that she shouldn't let on that she'd met the Agent...but made a mental note to ask him about how much Amelia knew about the operation, the next time they crossed paths.

But Dorcas had to laugh in earnest at what followed. "Merlin, I wish. Truth be told, this is just temporary. It's a good enough place to start, make some money, get to know important people...by their orders for tea." With a roll of her eyes, she continued, "I do like to solve problems, but this wasn't exactly what I had in mind to put that proclivity to use. It's alright for now, though. What do you like from the canteen? Or - " She eyed the documents - confidential? " - can you take those off-site?"

[Amelia Bones]

Her flair for hyperbole had caught up with her yet again, but Amelia took it in stride. She smirked slightly as Dorcas spoke, wondering if the Minister's Junior Assistant now envisioned the entirety of Auror training to be conducted at a desk, which was far from the truth but also much closer to it for Amelia's liking. "I might have exaggerated a wee bit," she said with a soft chuckle, "it's not as if there is no practical training at all. I had just hoped for less of the same after Hogwarts, is all. Edgar," she confirmed with a nod to Dorcas, "played it up as if it had been the most fantastical adventure to go through the academy, but then again he is the more reserved of my brothers, so it may have been a miscalculation on my end." She rolled her eyes, trying to remember any of her actual conversations with Ed about his time at the Auror academy, but she found she'd not paid him much attention. As the youngest of the Bones children, she not only had more to prove (at least to herself) but also an apparent obligation to make every family moment about herself. "Don't tell him I said anything of the sort, though, should you cross paths. I don't want him thinking I took his advice on something." She chuckled again, mostly to herself, confident with the perceived knowledge that Dorcas, if she had even met Edgar before, wouldn't be on gossiping terms with him.

So Dorcas Meadowes was attempting to hobnob with powerful people? Amy hadn't suspected that from the little bookworm, but then she supposed most people would have liked to be well connected. If given the opportunity, who wouldn't try as Dorcas did? Meadowes wanted to climb the political ladder, it seemed, and Amelia found it admirable. They needed more good people in positions of power, especially these days. "There's a cute little muggle cafe around the corner, if you're up for it? Nothing here that can't be shuttled around a bit," she said of her pile of homework. A few text books, some case study files none of which had been deemed confidential, and a pile of her own notes that she'd scrawled rather haphazardly during her lectures.

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror

[Dorcas Meadowes]

Dorcas had to smile along with her companion as Amelia elaborated, glad for the witch that training wasn't all books, and grinned anew as the eldest Bones was described as reserved. It was all too easy to imagine the determinedly boyish Agent spinning tales to his sister about his grand adventures, even if those adventures were confined to a classroom. It was what Edgar did with all of them as new recruits, really, in a bid to keep things light and exciting when the quiet of their workroom at headquarters got too solemn. Having only had prefects and Head Students to look up to compete with in place of elder siblings, to learn from their rare swept under the rug mistakes and lauded accomplishments, Dorcas laughed anyway at Amelia's instruction. "Not to worry - should he ever think to ask me, I'll inform him that he had no influence at all on your path."

She gave a nod at the idea, eager for an excuse to stretch her legs and get out of the office for a time, and entered the steadily progressing queue for the fireplaces. "Yes, let's get out of here for a spell. What's it you have - black market, dark arts trade law? I'm ready to get into it - and hear more about how you're doing, of course," she added with a short laugh at herself, this far from being the first or the last time she got rather too excited about material, in front of the person presenting, no matter how much she was interested in what was going on. And blending in with muggles for any significant period of time was something Dorcas couldn't deny needing more practice with - she'd been brought up to be open minded, to be sure, but her parents hadn't exactly given her the run of muggle London on her own - and going along with Amelia would surely help. It wasn't as if someone would take enough interest in them to question Amelia's reading material! And as long as she kept her wand concealed, and the newspaper in her bag, certainly she wouldn't draw unnecessary attention to herself.

She pulled on a borrowed jacket of Mick's, taking a moment to smile into the collar as she snuggled into it and stepped up in the queue. While unable to see too much from her spot, the Sapper kept her head on a swivel regardless in the crowded space. It was difficult to know how much stock to put into some of the senior Order members' theories - just how much of the Ministry had been infiltrated by real threats? - but it wouldn't hurt to keep learning the patterns of the place in the meantime. With a short wave to the Auror-in-training upon reaching the head of the queue, Dorcas stepped in to be swallowed by the warm flames, and was shortly stepping out of the ladies toilet in the nearby muggle underground station with a couldn't-be-helped look of disgust. She stepped to the row of sinks to quickly clean up, eyes in the mirror to watch for Amelia.

[Amelia Bones]

The lack of complaint as Amelia suggested a muggle café for their outing was a good sign. Too many otherwise rational people were anti-muggle these days, along with an unfortunately growing pack of loons, neither of which were groups Amy had much interest in socializing with. The café was, in fact, an adorable little place Amy spent many of her breaks at, but it also doubled as small test of character. Sure, Dorcas might be a Death Eater in disguise and simply playing along with her offer to eat among muggles, but Amelia doubted it. Or hoped it, at least.

A few moments later, Amelia was stepping out of a stall in the women's loo and joining Dorcas in front of the mirrors where she fixed a few strands of hair before heading toward the door. "If we don't get wolf whistled at by at least three blokes, the day will be a complete waste." Pushing the door open and stepping out into the crowded street, Amy led the way to her favorite little break spot.

The café was small, with several tables set up right on the pavement outside which, unfortunately with the nice weather today, were all occupied. Not to worry, Amy was sure they could find a seat inside. Pulling the door, she held it for Dorcas, her notebooks and texts cradled neatly in her arm against her chest. Inside there were several tables of varying sizes with matching metal chairs, a handful of empty spaces dotted around the room. Against the side wall was a pastry case showing off at least a dozen different pies Amelia knew for a fact were delicious.

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror

[Dorcas Meadowes]

"If we do, they're all yours," Dorcas replied with a chuckle, wanting nothing to do with random muggle men but enjoying the compliment from her companion nonetheless. She'd never been good at noticing if she turned heads, not unless it was someone she was smitten with and already paying too close of attention to. But Amelia was a beauty, always held herself so well, and had an enviable confidence in accepting that kind of attention. It wasn't hard to imagine her calling back something entertaining if someone whistled at her, and as Dorcas slipped out of the loo with Amelia and headed onto the street, she smiled to herself while they fell into step again.

"Do you remember Mick - Marlene, Marlene McKinnon - from my year? We've been together since the holidays, actually," she shared, wondering if the other witch would be all that surprised. During their shared time at Hogwarts, Dorcas hadn't been as open with herself or with others as she was these days, and had put poor Benny Applebee through the wringer early on after her realization. But if memory served her right, Amelia had been out with a witch or two too...who to set her up with... "I'm throwing a surprise party for her birthday on Saturday - if you're free, you should come by! There'll be at least three folks to whistle at you," she declared with a grin, confident that if she wanted, Amelia would have her choice of who to pick up. Assuming she's single, that is...

Following Amelia's lead, she headed inside the cafe and quickly took stock. It was busy, divine smells wafting from the kitchen and the pastry case, and Dorcas was suddenly hungrier than she'd realized. "Let's grab the table by the window," she said, grateful to get a little sun today even if they weren't lunching outside. All the better to keep an eye on everything too. Patting her pants pocket on habit and ensuring her wand was there, she settled her coat on the back of one of the little metal chairs. Dorcas swept her curls over a shoulder and looked above the heads of the seated patrons to the pastry case, asking in an undertone, "Any favorites?"

[Amelia Bones]

“That’s a bit ambitious for a Thursday afternoon, but if you insist,” she laughed, falling in step with Dorcas and curbing her own brand of outlandish humor in order to listen to the younger witch detail upcoming plans for her paramour’s birthday. "Saturday?” she asked rhetorically. Amelia had no plans for the weekend other than studying her training manual and getting a few extra hours in at the gym to practice her offensive spells. “Yeah, that sounds brilliant. Shall I bring something? I don’t remember them by name, but everyone loves tequila, right?” Marlene McKinnon’s face was not leaping out at Amy’s mind, but the name sounded vaguely familiar, and she was certain once the pair met it would help to jog her memory. And if it didn’t, well then, at least she would have tequila and those wolf whistlers Dorcas was promising.

Dorcas suggested the open table near the window and Amelia nodded, working her way through the space and setting her heavy load on the table before determining which seat she wanted. One of the more important points that senior Aurors had drilled into her was that she ought to be properly aware of her surroundings, and so before pulling out a seat, Amelia scanned the room and decided that she preferred the one facing the door, with her back to fewer tables and a wall. Moody would be proud of her. Constant vigilance was a phrase heard round the Auror office more often than “hello” and Amelia wouldn’t deny that she felt a wee bit smug at the ridiculous daydream that the seasoned Auror might happen upon their luncheon, notice her strategic arrangement, and praise her for it in front of the entire café.

Taking the seat opposite her, Dorcas asked after a suggestion, effectively pulling Amy from her daydream. She slid her pile of texts and notebooks to one side of the table. “That depends,” she explained, “if you’re wanting something sweet, they’ve the best scones and jam, but when I’m wolfish I rarely pass up their sausage roll, although today I’m craving a ham and cheese toastie.”

Tagged: Dorcas Meadowes
Outfit: future auror