"How are you this morning, beautiful?"
"Get away from me, Black," I scoff, looking up from my magazine and frowning at the man standing on the other side of my desk. His shaggy black hair frames his strong cheekbones and gray eyes elegantly, but his handsome, aristocratic features are marred by the lopsided grin he is giving me.
"In another good mood, I see," he replies, unfazed by my rudeness. I roll my eyes at him, unimpressed. Sirius Black has been trying to get in my pants since the day he started here in the Auror's Office. It has gotten him nowhere. Not that his efforts haven't paid off with every other woman in the Ministry of Magic.
"Isn't there some slut you could be annoying right now?" I ask bluntly. "Say, the one you kicked out of your bed this morning?"
His grin, if possible, widens. "How'd you know?" he asks sweetly.
I throw my copy of Witch Weekly at him, seriously considering jinxing him. He catches it deftly and studies the cover. "Hmm, let's see. '5 Minute Cauldron Dinners', 'Easy Wand Hairstyles', 'How to Win Over a Werewolf'…deep stuff, Cassie."
"Give it back, you jerk" I say, pulling my boots down from my desk and standing up.
He shakes his head. "Possession's nine-tenths of the law, love," he drawls.
"Oh, yeah?" I sneer. "Well, if that's the case, your wand is mine."
"Wha-?"
Before he can react, I raise my arm high, shouting, "Expelliarmus!" His wand flies out of the pocket of his black robes and into my outstretched hand.
He narrows his eyes. "Cheap trick, Cassie."
"Useful, though," I reply. "Most people don't expect the simple charms."
He frowns at me. "You're not gonna Bat-Bogey Hex me again, are you?" he asks, eyeing me warily.
I smile, studying his wand closely, turning it over in my hand. "Mmmmm, I don't know. Maybe."
He holds out my magazine, and I am pleased to see that is hand is shaking slightly. "Truce?" he suggests. He laughs in an attempt to appear brave. "I know where Ginny Weasley got her skills now."
I grin. "My cousin is a fast learner." I flip my long red hair, exactly like the rest of the Weasley clan's, over my shoulder. "Magazine," I say pointedly.
He shakes his head, disagreeing. "Wand," he insists.
We eye each other, each sizing the other up for several moments, before I stretch out my arm and hand him his wand as I snatch my magazine back. He grins and slips his wand back into his pocket. "You're entertaining," he says lightly, his uncertainty gone now that he has his wand back, cool arrogance evident in his tone again.
"It'll be really entertaining when I cause you to grow tentacles out of your ears again," I threaten.
His laughter carries back over his shoulder as he walks away. I shake my head, settling back into my desk and flopping my magazine down. Opening my desk drawer, I move aside two chocolate bars and a medal for bravery before I locate my two-way mirror. "Molly," I say into it firmly, grinning as her face replaces mine in the glass.
"What has he done now?" she sighs. I hear the children yelling in the background, and my cousin looks exhausted. I forgot that Hogwarts was on holiday for the summer.
"Nothing," I sigh, deciding not to burden her with my complaints. "How are the kids?"
"I'm going to kill Fred and George," she tells me. "They've gone and blown a hole in their bedroom ceiling again. Another one of their crazy experiments."
"They'll be famous for those one day," I predict, tearing open the wrapper on one of the chocolate bars and taking a large bite.
She sighs, blowing her bangs out of her eyes exasperatedly. "What are your plans this weekend?" she asks suddenly. "Arthur and I would love to have you come by."
"Who all's there?" I ask curiously, crossing my fingers and praying the Potter boy hasn't shown up yet. Where he is, his godfather is sure to be also. And I would much rather not deal with that magazine-stealing fool any more than I have to.
"Just the family," she assures me. "Remus might stop in."
"That's the werewolf guy, right?" I confirm, speaking through another mouthful of chocolate.
My oldest cousin makes a face at me in the glass. "He's a good man, and a good catch for someone like you." I roll my eyes as she begins another one of her you-need-a-husband-you're-nearly-thirty speeches. It does her no good- I know for a fact that Nymphadora Tonks, one of my co-workers, has had her eye on Remus Lupin for years. Finally, I interrupt her. "What time?"
"Six o'clock. Friday. And wear your green robes, those magenta ones you've got on clash horribly with your hair," Molly admonishes me before vanishing from the mirror. I am left staring at my own pale face in the mirror, my scowl failing to hide my dark brown eyes and soft lips. My mother used to tell me that I would grow up to be a classic beauty, and maybe I have- minus the freckles, of course. Being an Auror has not helped my sense of style, however- working in a job field generally dominated by men has led me to hide most aspects of my femininity in order to fit in. The only concession is the small diamond piercing in my nose. I wrinkle my face, making it twinkle in the office light.
Tossing the mirror back into my desk drawer, I prop my feet back up on the desk and settle in for what I hope turns out to be a quiet afternoon.
If only I were that lucky.