Black Roses

Chapter Three: Trouble in the Office

(Third Person Point of View)

Talitha stopped in front of a damaged Muggle phone booth. It had coloured graffiti all over it. Ginny stared at it, taking in the colours of the paint that did not come off in the heavy rain. The two girls were both soaked. Talitha opened the door and stepped in.

"C'mon, Ginny, it's not going to bite you," Talitha said with a grin. Ginny laughed rather nervously and stepped into the phone booth. Talitha shut the door with her arm over Ginny's head. They were now crammed awkwardly in the phone booth. Talitha punched in the numbers '62442' on the dial thing, that Ginny had no idea what it was. She was confused. She didn't even know what a phone booth was.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic," a woman's voice said coolly from somewhere. Ginny looked around immediately. "State your name and business."

"Talitha Black coming for Auror duty and Ginny Weasley visiting for the day," Talitha stated firmly.

"Visitor, please take these badges and place them on the front of your robes," the women's voice said coolly. "Please show your wand and the front of the Atrium for registration. Thank you and have a good day." There was a clink and badges came out of the phone. Ginny stared at them.

"Go on, take them--and you don't have to pin it to your chest; just slip it in your pocket," Talitha told her. Ginny snatched them and handed Talitha hers. She slipped it in her pocket. Ginny did the same. They suddenly began to drop, the floor was moving. At first, Ginny was frightened, but when she looked at Talitha, who looked tranquil, she calmed down. If Talitha wasn't afraid, neither was she. Finally, they stopped and a door opened. Talitha walked out and Ginny followed.

Ginny's first thought was: I remember this place.

The golden fountain statues had been replaced with new ones. Voldemort had destroyed the other ones in his battle with Dumbledore just last year. Ginny had broken her ankle in the Department on Mysteries. She still remembered the pure terror set in her heart--in her veins. She tried to shake the thought out of her mind as she jogged to catch up with a brisk Talitha. Talitha smiled down at her pleasantly. Ginny returned it.

"You've been here, no?" Talitha asked. Ginny nodded her head serenely.

"Yes...once last year," Ginny replied, trying to make it sound like it hadn't been a life-or-death situation--which it had been--and instead a visit with her father.

"You've seen the Dark Side of this place," Talitha murmured darkly. "The Department of Mysteries is no place for a Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, or even Seventh Year."

Ginny shivered. Talitha sounded so grave and mysterious and her eyes seemed filled with soberness. Ginny didn't know that Talitha had been one of the first Aurors on the scene. In fact, she had been one of the witnesses.

13

"He was here!" Henry Williamson shouted, pointing to a pile of golden rubble. "I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear, it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!"

"I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!" Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, yelled back, terrified out of his wits. "Merlin's beard--here--here!--in the Ministry of Magic!--great heavens above--it doesn't seem possible--my word--how can this be?"

Dumbledore stood calmly in the middle of the room. The fountain was in ruins; the statues shattered. Harry Potter sat up, looking perplexed and in pain. A few Aurors ran out; Nikkei streaked up to one of them.

"Nikkei, what're you doing out here?" Daryl Gray questioned her loudly. He was only one year ahead of her age. She was looking shocked.

"I was coming in for work early, having a very bad feeling about something," Nikkei explained quickly. "And the first thing I see when I get here is You-Know-Who showing up out of nowhere to kill Harry Potter! Bloody Hell, I was shaking in my shoes! I can't imagine what Albus Dumbledore thought, fighting him and all."

"If you proceed downstairs into the Department of Mysteries, Cornelius," Dumbledore said (a few Aurors raised their wand while others--like Nikkei--looked astounded), "You will find several escaped Death Eaters contained in the Death Chamber, bound by an Anti-Disapparation Jinx and awaiting your decision as to what to do with them.

"Dumbledore!" Fudge gasped. "You--here--I--I--" He looked around wildly at the Aurors he brought.

"Bloody Hell, he saves all of our arses and you want to arrest him?" Nikkei fumed at her boss, knowing exactly what he wanted to say right now. "I'd give him a Merlin's First Class!"

"He took some lady and Apparated!" a man hissed feverishly.

"What lady?" Daryl questioned the man. He opened his mouth to speak, but Nikkei was one ahead of him.

"It was Bellatrix Black," Nikkei growled resentfully. Daryl and a few other Aurors stared at her. "My dear cousin got away with him. Argh, she got away from me again! If I just hadn't been so effing stunned that You-Know-Who was practically standing in front of me, I could've recaptured her. Ah, but what's the point in putting her back in Azkaban when she can just break out again because all of the Dementors are going on You-Know-Who's side? But still..."

Daryl put a comforting and firm hand on her shoulder that she didn't like, but she let him do it anyway. She was fuming too much on her self-anger to be angry with him.

"Hey, none of us would have been able to do it either," Daryl told her forcefully. "I'm not sure if we could've handled seeing You-Know-Who himself." Nikkei sighed and he smiled--what smile he could produce. Nikkei turned to him with imploring eyes.

"It's just...if we would've believed Dumbledore in the beginning... would this have ever happened at all?" Nikkei whispered. Daryl didn't have a response so he just looked away from her. It was simple: No.

13

"Voldemort sure does look menacing and evil," Talitha muttered to herself nonchalantly. However, Ginny heard her though and flinched. "You're going to have to get use to that name; everyone uses it now in the Order. Bloody hell, I'm just getting use to it now."

They walked in the elevators and some flying paper airplanes flew in. They hovered in the air and then flew out when the door opened. At the Law Department level, they walked out.

Talitha cut corners quickly and was walking very briskly. Ginny had to jog to keep up. After all the twists and turns, they walked past an office. Ginny connected eyes with Kingsley Shacklebolt and then walked out of sight. It was strange, seeing all those pictures of Sirius Black on his desk. She shook the thought away as she saw Talitha walking in an office. Ginny hurriedly walked in before Talitha shut the door.

"Ah, my office," Talitha sighed. She turned to Ginny. "Now come over here so I can use the Drying Charm on you." Ginny suddenly remembered that she was all wet with rain. She nodded her head absentmindedly and walked over.

Talitha pulled her wand out of her pocket quickly. She muttered the charm on Ginny. Abruptly, Ginny was completely dry and her red hair raised a little. Talitha grinned and did the charm on herself. Immediately, she was dry and her black hair that was up shaped a little. She slid her wand back in her pocket.

"Ginny, have your wand with you?" Talitha blurted. Ginny's mind blanked suddenly.

"Er...yeah, I did bring it!" Ginny exclaimed, pulling her wand out of her pocket. She really didn't know why she had it with her. She supposed that she always felt...safer when she had a wand in her grasp and at her command. Talitha smiled and collapsed in her black chair.

"That's great!" Talitha noted. "That's the first thing you've got to know if you want to be an Auror. You must always have your wand on all occasions. Very good, Ginny."

Ginny smiled brightly and then realized she had nothing to sit in.

"Oh, right, almost forgot," Talitha sighed. She pulled out her wand again and swished it in the air lightly. She produced a chair out of thin air and it landed on the ground softly. It was red and gold. Ginny sat down in it; it was comfortable.

"Red and gold?" Ginny said with her eyebrows raised. Talitha guffawed loudly.

"They remind me of my days in Gryffindor at Hogwarts," Talitha sighed. She smiled and shook her head serenely. "I sure do miss those days."

"You were in Gryffindor?" Ginny questioned, sitting up straight in the chair. Talitha nodded her head and sighed again.

"Yup, I was a Gryffindor girl," Talitha replied. "I'm pretty glad I wasn't in Slytherin. Those people were conniving and deceiving and...They acted like me--but I needed better people to be around and Sirius always kept me under check." Ginny laughed and leaned back in her chair.

13

They talked for at least another hour longer. The phone didn't ring at all, like Talitha had expected. Talitha had found out that Ginny was always getting picked on by her older brothers, and Ginny found out that Sirius and Regulus had also done that to her. It was at least another two hours until Talitha's lunch break, which neither minded; they weren't hungry. There was a knock on her door and their talking stopped.

"Who could that be?" Talitha pondered out loud. Talitha stood up and walked swiftly over to the door. Ginny had a sudden feeling that Talitha shouldn't open the door.

"Talitha," Ginny blurted. Talitha let go of the doorknob and down at Ginny. "I'm getting the feeling that you're not going to like who's behind the door."

"Good, then I'm not the only person who feels like that," Talitha sighed. She looked back at the door. "But I have to answer it anyway. Bugger, huh." She opened the door and came face-to-face with her nightmare again.

"We meet again, Miss Black," his voice drawled lazily.

Oh, crap, was Talitha's initial thought.

When Ginny heard the all too familiar voice, she shrunk in the chair rapidly. She curled her legs up to her chest and hoped that he couldn't see her. She hoped that the chair was large enough to hide her. She could only imagine what Talitha was thinking. She'd heard the conversation this morning with her father. She remembered what Talitha had said.

"...Bloody hell, he doesn't even have to speak to unnerve you senseless! He just advances on me and I was like, 'Whoa, you're too close!' Bloody hell, he scared me. I had chills after he left."

"Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing here at my office at this hour of the morning?" Talitha questioned smoothly. Ginny wondered how Talitha could speak so calmly; she'd be shaking--and she was.

"It's Malfoy, and I came to see if you had any progress," Malfoy replied. He leaned against the threshold of the doorway. Talitha forced herself to smile pleasantly.

"I'm not allowed to disclose any information of the search for Sirius Black," Talitha answered professionally. "Besides, you'd have to ask Kingsley Shacklebolt about that. We pass all of our information directly to him; he's the head of the search."

Malfoy tutted. "Not doing a very good job, now is he," he noted softly.

"I believe he's doing the best job he can, Mr. Malfoy," Talitha replied sternly. "Sirius Black is quite delusional, but very smart. I don't think he'd be that easy to find."

"You do know that you're talking about your own brother--your own blood," Malfoy whispered. Talitha felt like shivering, but didn't. The way he said it sent chills up her spine. Ginny recoiled in the chair again and closed her eyes, wishing he'd go away and never come back. Talitha looked straight into his cloudy gray eyes.

"As far as I'm concerned, someone who would do such a terrible thing can no longer be related to me," Talitha said quietly. "I don't have any brothers."

"Well, you did," Malfoy noted. "I mean, Sirius Black was once your older brother and then there was Regulus Black--when he was alive." Talitha closed her eyes. She remembered the day after her graduation from Hogwarts. She wanted to see Regulus--maybe one last time; and it was her last time to see him before he was killed.

13

June 23^rd, 1979

Talitha took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He pulled the black cloak around her body more. She was so cold. She hadn't been on the door step in a long time, not since she was fifteen had she been in this position--and now she was seventeen. She had just graduated Hogwarts, and so had Regulus. The door opened; Kreacher had opened it.

"Young Mistress Black, the blood traitor, is at the door," Kreacher noted. Talitha rolled her eyes.

"Is Regulus home?" Talitha asked. "I've come to see him." Being that she was a Black, Kreacher had no choice but to answer her truthfully.

"Yes," Kreacher murmured. Then, he added in an undertone that was clearly heard, "He is much better than she for My Mistress." Talitha grinned. He let her walk in and he shut the door. He led her to Regulus's room and walked away muttering distasteful things at her. Her mother and father must be at another dinner party. Good, she liked it that way. She knocked on the door softly. Someone inside was disturbed.

"Who is it?" his voice grumbled. It was low and angry. She didn't want to see him like this.

"It's Talitha," Talitha said softly. There was a crash and the door was retched open. She came face-to-face with her twin brother. His hair was as black as hers and his eyes were the same light gray as hers. He hadn't seen her in this house for a while. She hadn't spoken to him in a while; not without a fight starting with someone else at least.

"What are you doing here?" Regulus questioned her.

"To say..." Why was she here? The answer came to her mind before she knew why. "To say goodbye, Regulus." He stared at his sister and grinned.

"To say goodbye?" Regulus snickered. "Why do you need to do that?"

"Because...I have a feeling that you're drowning in this family's dark shadow, and you won't be coming out," Talitha said truthfully. She stared into her brother's eyes. "Because...I want to close some doors and tie some loose ends together."

"Okay, go ahead, Talitha," Regulus said. He offered her a chair and she sat down. She wouldn't be here long, but in the form of manners, she sat anyway. Her family was so old fashioned. Women had to sit; she doubted she would ever grow out of that habit.

"Do you hate me?" Talitha asked. Regulus gazed at her.

"No, I couldn't hate you," Regulus answered. "I wanted to hate you, it's true. You turned out just like Sirius, but I couldn't because you still had a heart to accept me. You had an open heart and mind and I like that about you."

"Okay..." Talitha sighed. "Did you want to be in Slytherin?" Regulus thought about it.

"Yes, I did," Regulus replied. "I wanted to be there and to please my family. When I got sorted there, I was ecstatic."

Talitha nodded her head serenely. "Did--did dad ever...hurt you when he was alive?" she stammered. Regulus stared at his sister.

"No, I didn't disobey him that bad," Regulus sighed. Talitha nodded her head painfully. So he never knew how it felt to be hated enough to be smacked around. Or did he?

"Last question," Talitha said. "Are you becoming a Death Eater or are you one now?" Her eyes were deep and imploring. She had to know; she needed to know--and he knew it. It was a big question, but she needed it answered truthfully.

"Yes, I'm one," Regulus answered honestly. He rolled up his sleeve and showed the black Dark Mark on his arm. Talitha shuddered with her eyes closed. She opened them up to look into her brother's eyes one last time. She stood up.

"Thank you...for telling me, Regulus," Talitha whispered. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Talitha," Regulus said. Talitha walked out of the room and shut the door behind herself. She not only shut the door on Regulus, but her past. Gone forever.

13

Talitha opened her eyes, willing herself to believe that she was just waking up from a bad dream in the morning. But when her vision became clear again, she saw Lucius Malfoy standing in front of her. She hoped someone saw him here. She really hoped that he couldn't see Ginny.

"Well, if that's it, then I must be back to work," Talitha said, her voice faltering slightly. She slapped herself mentally. She couldn't show fear, but it worked through to her eyes; she knew he could see it in her eyes. "Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy." She went to shut the door, but he pushed it back open. His eyes flickered to the red and gold chair.

"I see you have company," Malfoy chirped. Ginny cringed in her seat. What if he saw her? What would he say? What would he do? What would Talitha do? She closed her eyes and hoped that he wouldn't see her.

"Yes, and I think I'm a little busy at the moment," Talitha replied sternly.

"Who is it?" Malfoy questioned her.

"None of your concern, I'm sure of it," Talitha said fluently. Malfoy looked back into her eyes. The gray of his eyes made her look away. She couldn't look into his eyes. There was something in them that she couldn't quite place; something that she'd seen before...

"Who is it?" Malfoy repeated. He wasn't going to give up until he got an answer, and both of them knew it. Talitha bit her lip and sighed.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm quite busy at the moment," Talitha replied forcefully. "You chose a very inopportune time to drop by my office to chat. Good-bye--"

"Who is it?" Malfoy demanded firmly, stepping forward. Talitha took an involuntary step back. Malfoy grinned; he could see the fear--the hesitation--the anger--in her eyes. She knew he could and the anger increased.

Ginny couldn't take it. Her hands shook with fear. Talitha could sense it in the air. Ginny knew either Malfoy found out or Talitha could make up a good excuse--and one was greatly needed. Malfoy could piece the puzzle together.

Auror Talitha Black, sister to escapee Sirius Black, was watching over Ginny Weasley, only daughter to Arthur Weasley who was head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department and close to Harry Potter. Ginny didn't want Talitha to be in danger--not even before the term started in less than a week.

"I guess you could call it baby-sitting for an hour," Talitha said lightly. Malfoy raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Arthur Weasley's daughter--I think it's Ginny--is sitting in here with me while I work. She was at work with him today, and he just got a very important call that he couldn't take her on with him."

Ginny thought that that was an extraordinarily good half truth. Talitha took a step back and Malfoy stepped forward. Ginny composed herself. Malfoy gazed at her, and Ginny frowned and glared at him.

"Hm...he didn't let Shacklebolt watch over her or Tonks," Malfoy asked. The way he said their names sent a chill up Ginny's spine. She could feel the pure terror surging through her veins as Malfoy continued to look at her.

Ginny didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She had always been taught to be afraid of him--to watch out for him--to stay clear of him--and she was breaking all of the rules at that moment. Talitha sensed Ginny's panic.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt is extremely busy and Tonks doesn't come in until after lunch," Talitha replied calmly. Malfoy tore his eyes off of Ginny and back onto Talitha. "And truth be told, I usually don't have much to do."

"Your phone's not off the hook, looks like you're not so busy at the moment after all," Malfoy quipped. Talitha slapped herself mentally again. Ginny looked down at her feet. How was Talitha still standing? How was she not freaking out? Ginny knew that she would've likely fainted.

"I am busy; I'm watching Ginny Weasley," Talitha noted firmly. Malfoy took another step towards her and Talitha took another involuntary step back.

"Why do you take a step back?" Malfoy asked her quietly.

"I need my space," Talitha lied. Because you terrify me, you prat! How in the world can you possibly be my cousin? What did Narcissa ever see in you?

"I don't think that that is the real reason, Miss Black," Malfoy whispered idly. He took another step toward her and she took another step back; her legs hit her desk. She started to panic. She was really flustered. "I think...it's something else." He got closer.

No! No! No! Talitha's mind was spinning. No one was passing by her office. She wished someone would just pass her office. Please, help me!

Malfoy raised a hand up to her face. Talitha went stiff; she couldn't even move when she wanted to just duck and move to the side. She screamed in her mind as his hand got closer. Ginny felt like she was glued to the chair. Something rushed through Talitha's body, and she caught his wrist before he could touch her.

"I'm sorry, but I really feel uncomfortable," Talitha said truthfully. She let go of him and he just grinned. What was there to grin about?

"See, you told me and it didn't kill you," Malfoy sighed. "You're afraid of me."

"I didn't say that I was afraid of you; I just said that I was uncomfortable!" Talitha protested. "I'm sorry, but you don't scare me that bad. You just unnerved me, that's all." Talitha went to walk away from him, but he put out his arm in front of her and caught her before she could. She looked back into his eyes.

"You can't lie to me," Malfoy hissed.

"Exactly, that's why I'm not lying," Talitha whispered. She glared at him into his grey hazy eyes. It was like he knew what she was thinking; like he was reading her mind--or using Leglimency. She wondered if he was. The thought frightened her.

"Talitha--"

"I prefer Auror Black," Talitha interrupted determinedly. He stared into her eyes. She stared back. She didn't want him to be that close to her--never.

"Auror Black...you cannot stop me from finding out the real truth," Malfoy said, choosing his words carefully. "One day, no one's going to be there to bail you out of a problem and you're going to be all alone."

His words stung her like a rose thorn stabbing into her leg. She felt like ice began to course through her veins; the chill was definitely large. Ginny could see it all in Talitha's eyes and was sure that Malfoy could too.

"Is everything alright in here?" someone questioned. Ginny jumped in her seat and peered over the top of the chair to see who it was. Malfoy dropped his arm and looked back. Talitha looked at the door. A man around his thirties was standing in the doorway, watching Malfoy.

"Yes, everything's fine," Malfoy replied.

"I wasn't asking you; I was asking Talitha," the man said coldly. He looked back at Talitha softly. "Is this guy doing anything to you, Tal?"

"I happened to be Lucius Malfoy," Malfoy interjected indignantly. The man in the doorway rolled his eyes back to Malfoy.

"I know who you are; I just don't care to say your name," the man said maliciously. He looked back at Talitha gently.

"No, he wasn't doing anything," Talitha replied, regaining her courage. She looked back at Malfoy and grinned. "In fact, he was just leaving. Weren't you, cousin?" Though Malfoy didn't want to leave, he had no choice but to do so.

"Right...goodbye, Auror Black," Malfoy said through gritted teeth. She waved lightly.

"Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy," Talitha said with a smirk. Malfoy brushed passed the man in the doorway and stormed away. The man walked in.

"What was all that about?" the man asked. Talitha fixed the files on her desk that she'd accidentally bumped into. He jabbed his finger at the open door. "I swear I thought I heard you scream." Talitha turned around to face him.

"I didn't scream, Daryl," Talitha told him dryly. "He was just being stubborn when I told him to leave. He wants progress on the hunt for Sirius Black."

"He's not allowed to have that information!" Daryl, the man, declared.

"I know, I told him that, Daryl," Talitha said wearily.

"You said he was your cousin, right?" Daryl asked. Talitha sighed.

"Well, yes, he's married to my cousin, Narcissa, but we never got along," she replied. Daryl shook his head grimly.

"I'd hate to be related to that guy," Daryl noted.

"Yeah, I hate it, too," Talitha said. "I didn't want him in here; not with Ginny Weasley in here with me. Her father does not get along too well with him--got in a fight once, I hear, in public at the book store in Diagon Alley; Malfoy mocked his family. Ginny doesn't do too well around him."

Daryl spun around to see the fifteen year-old red headed girl gazing at him.

"Ginny Weasley, you're dad's a real good guy," Daryl said, shaking her hand enthusiastically. All Ginny could do was smile, so she did. "Nice meeting you, Ginny. Goodbye, Talitha, and if that son of a Death Eater comes back, notify me and I'll deal with him." He walked out.

"I can do it on my own!" Talitha shouted back. She shut the door and shook her head. "Gosh, everyone still treats me like a little kid."

Ginny laughed. "I know how you feel!"

Finally, the pressure was off and they continued to talk, just wanting to forget what had just happened. Talitha began to discuss what Ginny wanted and where they could go out to eat.