(no subject)

[clumsy_auror]

It's been a hectic couple of days, at the Ministry of Magic. Nymphadora has slowly been excavating her desk from the detritus that accumulated whilst she was gone, which was considerable even though she owled work in from home nearly every day.

Right now all she wants is a cuppa and a biscuit, but it's not quite teatime. Suck it up, Tonks, she tells herself sternly, and scribbles furiously at the report in front of her.

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[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

There is a rustle, from behind her.

It's very faint; she might not even hear it, really.

Then, a paper airplane alights on her desk. It's not the usual sort of paper airplane that you see winging around the Ministry. This one was thrown.

Inside, it reads, Hey, baby. Come here often?

[clumsy_auror]

Automatically, 'Dora reaches for the paper airplane, thinking it's yet another memo from that bloody idiot Dolman over in International Relations. She taps it with her wand and watches it unfold, not a crease left on the paper.

She blinks.

Then, very carefully, a purple head peers out into the corridor, looking to the right and to the left.

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

There's a redhead leaning against a cubicle a little down the way.

"Hey."

[clumsy_auror]

Nymphadora quirks an eyebrow, and gives her husband a wry grin. "Do you flirt with the people in your office in such a shameless fashion?"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

Bernard goes like this: >.>

"Well. Aron blushes so prettily."

[clumsy_auror]

Snickering, she waves him into her cubicle and turns back to finish off the sentence she'd been writing.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

He checks his watch.

"It's teatime, isn't it?"

[clumsy_auror]

"Very nearly. Just gimme a sec to knock out this report."

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

He strolls over and rests his chin on his arms on the wall of her cubicle, looking down at her.

"'Kay."

He's staring.

[clumsy_auror]

She's pretty good at ignoring him, when the need arises.

Allbright, on the other hand, casts a look of exasperation at Bernard from across the room. "Wrangle!" he barks. "Let my Auror do her bloody job!"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

There is a decided rustling as 45 aurors lift their heads from various tasks to see what, exactly, is going on.

Bernard grins unrepentantly. "Far as I can see, you're the one being distracting."

He winks at one mousy, brown-haired new hire peeking over her cubicle to see what the commotion is, and she ducks her head again, blushing.

[clumsy_auror]

Allbright slouches into his office after shooting Bernard a final churlish glare. Nymphadora drops her head in her hands, face a bright crimson. "All right, that's quite enough out of you." She stands and herds him towards the lift. "Off to the tearoom with you."

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

He's totally giggling. "He started it!" They enter the lift; a short, balding wizard who started to step in suddenly steps out again.

"...Are we that scary?"

[clumsy_auror]

Facepalming, and rather giggly herself all of a sudden, 'Dora slumps against the side of the lift and pokes her husband in the side. "I'm not. But I make no excuses about you."

The tearoom's as busy as it always is, this time of day. The clattering of china and the chattering of scores of people fills the air. Nymphadora sends Bernard off to claim a tiny little table in a corner of the room whilst she procures sustenance.

After a few minutes she appears, balancing a tray crowded with a small pot of tea, two cups and saucers stacked precariously on top of one another, and a plate full of assorted sandwich quarters and biscuits.

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

Bernard eyes the second cup balefully and takes a sandwich.

"So, have you visited the healer for blood loss from papercuts yet?"

[clumsy_auror]

"Ha ha," she replies wryly as she doles out the cups and pours tea into both of them. "Drink up, it's blueberry. It's got antioxidants. And yeah, I'm looking forward to getting to the bottom of the pile, not that I'm likely to see it anytime soon. How're things by you?"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

He puts quite a bit of sugar into the cup before drinking; even then, it's a bit of a strain to get it down.

"Slow. Aron's been stepping up more lately, and I want to give him that chance, but, Jesus. He's methodical as fuck."

[clumsy_auror]

"Well." 'Dora lifts an eyebrow at him over the rim of her teacup. "So're you. You're just methodical and fast."

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

"Exactly. I keep hoping he'll, you know. Speed up." A sigh, and another bite of sandwich. "He'll do it."

[clumsy_auror]

"Sure he will. He wouldn't be on your team if he didn't have a lot of potential."

Nibbling on a cookie, she glances around at the nearby tables, and drops her voice.

"How's Elektra?"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

Gosh, that tea is interesting, all of a sudden.

"She's... God. She's very, very quiet."

[clumsy_auror]

A slight nod. "Expect she would be, yeah. Does she seem... I dunno, stable? Like she's holding it together?"

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

A hesitant nod.

"Most days, I guess. We're all kind of on eggshells. I've got her working alone and with Jonathan mostly -- she seems to get on well with him, and he's got a much lighter touch than I do."

[clumsy_auror]

"Yeah. He's a good bloke. Bloody young, but bloody good at what he does. I remember him from school."

Nymphadora sighs, rolling the kinks out her neck, and takes another sip of her tea.

[the-woodpecker.livejournal.com]

Bernard smiles, and sips his tea without thinking, immediately making a face.

"Yeah. He's got good ideas about defensive weapons, which isn't so much my forte. It works well."