Well, long time no read... I'm back with a few not-related stories... most of them written after a sudden inspiration...

Discl.: Anyway, seeing as Umbridge has been fed to a herd of centaurs, I feel free enough to claim the rights of Harry Potter and Remus, Tonks and Kingsley, Moody, Snape OH! and of course the very serious Sirius Black.

No, kidding; don't own, don't sue.

Kingsley's Report

She'd been sitting in the same position all evening. Very still.

'Somebody ought to give me credit', she thought, because it was not at all like her to be so still. Especially not when she needed the bathroom.

She was aware of everybody staring at her. Because she was new. Because she was so young. Because she looked all but subtle in her ragged jeans and violently rainbow-colored t-shirt. Because she had caused one hell of a noise upstairs only shortly after her arrival.

She didn't know it yet, but the people in this old, dusty house would soon grow accustomed to the thundering crash resulting from the falling umbrella stand.

Pity it hadn't shattered, because she was likely to get her foot caught in the thing more times in the future. Then again, it wouldn't have been a proper start to destroy family treasures by entering a house for the first time. Though, somebody just might have put it back together, anyway.

But could the staring people know she needed the bathroom?

She reached up, absentmindedly, and twirled a lock of bright pink hair around her index finger.

Her colleague, Kingsley, was currently speaking with his deep, calming voice, bringing her to the edge of sleep. Much needed sleep. She didn't even want to think about how long it had been that she had slept for more than 3 hours.

Noticing the drooping of his cousin's eyelids, the black haired man elbowed her in the side.

She winced and straightened up again. Sirius grinned at her.

Finally one member of his family who seemed normal.

'Mentally normal', he corrected his own thoughts after throwing a glance at her.

To Sirius' other side sat Remus, his usual non-distractable self. He listened carefully to the boring tirade that came out of Kingsley Shacklebolt's mouth.

'No offense here', Sirius thought quickly, as if Kingsley was able to hear his thoughts. He owed Kingsley. It was the dark, tall wizard who constantly led the ministry of magic on false trails in their headhunt of Sirius Black.

Moony to his right seemed oblivious to the monotony of Kingsley's report. He was still listening intently. Or he had fallen asleep with his eyes open.

Sirius leaned forward slightly, Remus' gaze was locked on Kingsley. No way a person could be so still! Sirius grinned and then froze. Remus turned his head and looked at Sirius skeptically.

"What?", the werewolf mouthed.

It was like finding the needle in the haystack!

So Remus had not at all been paying attention to Kingsley! Sirius' eyes had wandered over Kingsley's shoulder to the shiny chrome toaster. Wondering briefly who had brought it in the first place - who needed a toaster if he had a wand? - he adjusted his eyes to the dimness and recognized a ruffled pink spot reflecting in the kitchen tool.

Sirius' grin turned incredibly smug. Remus wondered warily what in the name of Merlin's pants his buddy was up to now.

'Well', Remus thought, 'whatever makes his day can't be THAT bad.' He thought wrong.

One seat farther down the aisle Remus saw just a bit of Tonks' bright pink hair, mostly blocked from his view by Sirius' shaggy head.

Maybe she could convince him of a proper haircut later...

From the front - or back, depending on how looked - of the room Remus heard paper shuffling.

'Fabulous,' he thought, 'thanks Sirius. Now I've missed the last third of Kingsley's report.'

Oh well, he might as well ask Kingsley for a rehearsal after the meeting. Surely Kingsley understood the difficulty to listen properly for about - he glanced at his watch and his breath caught - five hours? A quick glance toward the old dusty clock above the kitchen door.

Five hours. Wow.

She'd done it. She'd sat still for almost five hours. Without embarrassing herself. Whoot! Well, she'd sat so still in fact, that she'd almost fallen asleep. Almost.

'Brilliant!' she thought, beaming. 'Bathroom, I'm coming!'

'What the hell is she smiling about like that?' Sirius wondered silently, with a sidelong glance at Tonks. Had she caught Remus staring at her? Did she like it?

'Sirius seems to have gone nuts...' Remus thought.

'This can't be any longer, can it?' Tonks thought.

'Damm damm da-damm, damm damm da-damm!' Sirius thought.

End.