It's a bit shorter than the last few and writing it was a grind but it's important to the rest coming up, so...ta da!

It had taken Trixie longer than usual to get to work. She had spent precious time weaving through complaining No-Majs with newspapers over their heads and arrived at MACUSA nearly ten minutes late. Using a No-Maj umbrella to avoid suspicion was sensible but not nearly as effective as a simple Impervius charm, meaning her heeled feet were soaked and her stockings were splattered.

Still, there was something satisfying about the weather reflecting her mood.

She shook out the umbrella, oblivious to her colleagues wincing as the rain sprayed over them. The elevator sluggishly sunk down to the Major Investigations floor and she stared blankly at the closed doors. Her mind was relentlessly replaying the events of the weekend, not letting her consider anything else. Everything had been going so well, of course it had only been a matter of time before it fell down -

The doors pinged open and she stepped out into the bustle of Major Investigations on a Monday morning.

She gave a weak smile to a passing auror as she walked to her desk, hoping that no one would stop and talk to her. She shook off her coat and threw it over the back of her chair, sinking down into her seat as far as she could. Mercifully, everyone was far too busy to pay attention to her. With nothing more than an occasional sniffle, she dug into her pile of work, forcing herself to concentrate. By mid-morning, she had managed to push most of her woes to the back of her head due to her compiling a very interesting file on a witch who had been selling love potions to No-Majs and caused total havoc for the Obliviators last week.

It was nearing lunchtime when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps and a small group of aurors, led by Mr Graves, came striding into the office.

She watched them with intrigue, realising that they must be new recruits. They were looking around with wide eyes as Mr Graves briefly told them about the departments. If it had been another, happier day, Trixie would have laughed at the thought of Mr Graves giving his recruits a guided tour but for now all she could managed was a small smile before she turned back to her work. But she was quickly interrupted again by a blonde head weaving its way through the group.

"Oops! Excuse me! Sorry, sugar..."

Delanna, the most notorious MACUSA busybody, was delivering a heap of files. Trixie tried to avoid her eyes but to no avail.

"Good morning, Trixie!"

She cleared her throat and said rather coarsely, "Good morning. Are those files for - "

"You, yes!" She waved her wand and they stacked neatly on her already full desk. "Sorry, but it's all urgent, kitten." Trixie could feel Delanna's eyes scanning her face and tried to busy herself with her work. She leaned over the desk and peered at her.

"Oh, Trix!" She breathed, half sympathetic, half excited. "Your eyes look all red. You been crying?"

Behind Delanna, Trixie noticed the Mr Graves was looking over, an unreadable expression on his face. Embarrassed, Trixie tried to straighten herself out.

"No, it's nothing. I'm fine. Really."

But Delanna acted as though she hadn't spoken at all, seizing her hand clutching it to her chest dramatically. "Oh, kitten! What's got you all sad, hmm? A man, I'm betting. That man of yours...Billy?"

"Bobby." Mr Graves was still watching. She could feel her face getting hot. "But really, it's nothing - "

"Shhh, shh! Look, I'll meet you for lunch and we can talk all about it. I'll get some of the girls together and we can make a little support group!"

"I don't think - " But Delanna was already scooping up her things and wandering off.

"I'll come and pick you up in twenty! Ciao!"

Trixie felt her shoulders slump and the prickle of desperate tears behind her eyes. It had been days since she'd had any peace, what with Bobby and then her parents and her sisters all swarming around her, asking questions and arguing. The last thing she wanted was to go through it all again. She just wanted some peace to read her book and take her mind off it for a while.

"Miss Barnes."

She jumped. Mr Graves had finished his introductions and wandered over. She tried to keep her eyes on her work because she was sure Mr Graves would think she was being horribly unprofessional with her red eyes and endless sniffling.

"Hello, Mr Graves. What can I do for you?"

There was a pause and she imagined that he was trying to work out why she was acting differently. Either satisfied with his conclusion or happy to let it go, he said, "I need the files for yesterday's Apparating incident."

She felt a scratch of irritation. "They're next in the pile, sir. You'll have them whenever they're done."

There was another pause, this one longer and far more tense. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a few of her colleagues watching. She braced herself for Mr Graves' temper. She didn't relish angering him but right now she couldn't care how quickly he wanted his damn files. She had bigger problems and he would just have to wait. She tore her eyes away from her work and met his surprised gaze. There was a long moment in which neither of them said anything. She was ready to argue with him, desperate to have something to shout at -

But he just nodded and said, "Fine."

He strode off to his office without another word, leaving Trixie with her work and her guilt. She knew it wasn't fair to take her problems out on him; no matter what was happening with her, there was no need to rude. She sighed and pushed back her hair from her face. Sorrow welled in her stomach and she was only just managing to stop herself crying at her desk. Could her day really get any worse?

Ten minutes later, she got her response. Delanna appeared with a beaming smile and a small group of intrigued women.

"Come on then, Trix! Lunch time!"

Trixie felt sheer panic. "Um...I'm sorry Delanna but I have a lot of work to do. I don't think it's a good idea - "

"Don't be silly! Work can wait, matters of the heart can't! I'll take you to lunch - "

"I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Mr Graves had reappeared, his hands in his pockets and a small frown on his face. Delanna's face fell.

"Oh! Why not?"

Yes, Trixie thought. Why not?

"Miss Barnes is behind with her work and there are several files I need from her by the end of the day."

Whatever joy she felt in avoiding Delanna was nothing compared to the panic she felt on seeing Mr Graves' stern expression. As the witches shuffled out grumbling, all Trixie could do was wonder what on earth was going to happen. Even on her busiest of days, Mr Graves had never demanded that she work through her lunch. Tears stung her eyes again. This was all her own fault for being so rude to him earlier. They were friends and she had been so cold to him -

"Miss Barnes, go to my office."

Fear made her body freeze. "What? Why?"

"Just go."

She stood up a little shakily. "But the files - "

"I'll get them. Go to my office."

"R-right. Of course, sir."

She started walking on trembling legs to his office along the corridor. He's going to fire me, she thought wildly. I thought we were friends - especially after the Gala. I was rude but aren't friends suppose to forgive each other? She straightened up as she opened the door to his office. He's not going to fire me, he's not going to fire me...

She stepped inside and he closed the door behind them.

"Sit down." He pointed at his desk chair.

She did as she was told, starting to feel a little confused. Had he really just brought her in here to work? She glanced down at his desk and saw a large plate of sandwiches and a flask of pumpkin juice. She frowned and then jumped when he threw one file onto the desk in front of her. She was about to ask what he wanted her to do when she saw he was pulling on his coat.

"Uhh, what's going on?"

He straightened out his collar and then pointed at the sandwiches and the flask. "Those are for you. Sit here, work on that file and eat. You look like you need it."

"Oh. And what are you doing?"

"I've got a meeting with the President. I'll be gone for about half an hour." He gave her a small smile. "My office will be locked. No one will come in and disturb you."

"Oh." She said again, unsure of how to react. The idea of sitting and working in peace sounded lovely but she was sure there must be a catch. "I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not sure I understand what's happening."

"I saw you were upset earlier. And you looked horrified at the idea of going to lunch with those women. I thought you might appreciate some peace and quiet." He thought and then said, "That was presumptuous of me, if you'd rather go - "

"No!" She said quickly. "No, I'd definitely rather stay here. Thank you, sir."

He shrugged. "Just eat and enjoy the quiet Miss Barnes. I'll be back shortly." He swept through the door and sealed it shut with an unspoken spell.

Trixie let out a sigh of delight. The sandwiches looked delicious and reached for one straight away, not realising how hungry she had become in her self-pity. Suddenly feeling happier than she had in days, she smiled into the emptiness of the office, breathing in the silence. After finishing her first sandwich, she decided she should work on the file. Mr Graves had been so kind in giving her food and a place to relax, the least she could do was complete the file for him. She opened the file and stared.

Inside there was nothing but a book. The same book that had been sitting, unread, on her desk for the past week. She pulled it out, reached for another sandwich and opened it to the first page.

She felt a rush of affection for Mr Graves as she settled down to read. For a man who liked to appear intimidating and powerful, there was a lot more of him hidden beneath the surface.

By the time he returned, she was truly engrossed in her book.

"Good lunch, Miss Barnes?"

"Mmhmm!" She quickly swallowed her last sandwich and marked her page. "I can't thank you enough, sir. Really, it's been lovely."

He pulled off his coat and hung it up. "Are you...feeling better?"

She squirmed in his chair, not wanting to think about it. "I suppose."

He stared at her as he poured himself a glass of juice. "You don't have to tell me what's wrong." He was obviously thinking about his own behaviour at the Gala only a few weeks before. "Sometimes it helps, sometimes you just make a fool of yourself."

She wanted to tell him that he definitely hadn't made a fool of himself, but his kindness was the thing that finally tipped her over the edge. Within seconds, she was wailing with her head in her hands.

"It's all my fault!" She sobbed, unable to stop it all spilling out.

Mr Graves had edged around the desk and was resting a hand on her shoulder, awkwardly patting her. "What is?"

"O-on Friday, Bobby said he thought it was time we got m-married." There was a heavy silence while she sniffled into the tissue he'd quickly given her.

"Right." Mr Graves, his tone oddly clipped.

She took a breath to compose herself, not wanting to seem unprofessional. But sobbing at his desk and telling him her personal problems meant that she had probably passed that line a while ago. She sniffed and continued, "My parents were so happy - they really love Bobby - but it just felt so...off."

He cleared his throat. "Oh?"

"So I said that maybe I didn't want to get married yet. Honestly, my parents acted like I was a murderer!" A wave of sorrow overcame her again and she quickly wiped the tears off her face. "Then everyone was arguing and Bobby was storming out..." She held her head in her hands. "I feel like I've let everyone down. My family have been waiting for us to get married and we've talked about it so much. But when it was actually going to happen..." She felt a shiver pass through her. "It just didn't seem the right thing to do."

"And you're upset now because...you regret turning him down?"

She blinked. "No, of course not! I just wish it had gone better. I wish I hadn't hurt his feelings and I wish my parents understood." She sighed. "It's just been a tense weekend."

There was a long silence and Trixie couldn't bear to look at Mr Graves for fear that he would finally throw her out of his office for being such a mess. But of course, he was just thinking of the right thing to say.

"As long as you're sure you made the right decision, you have nothing to worry about." She watched as her perched on the edge of the desk, his hands in his pockets. "Your parents will understand once the shock wears off."

"You think?"

He nodded, smirking a little. "You might have bursts of temper - " She snorted. "And the occasional teary episode, but you're an inherently sensible person."

She looked at him doubtfully. "Really?" He nodded again. "Well, I don't feel like I'm being very sensible right now." She peered into the reflection of the clock on his desk. "I should probably tidy myself up before I get back to work."

"You look fine."

She smiled, the weight on her shoulders lifting. "I really don't, but thank you for lying." She stood and picked up her book. "And thank you for all this." She wanted to hug him but she thought that would be pushing him too far. So instead she tried to lighten the mood. "Turns out all I needed to do was eat and cry."

He shrugged, half smiling. "Everyone's got to do it sometimes."

She wandered to the door. "Really? I'll bear that in mind next time you have one of your 'bursts of temper'."

He groaned. "I'm going to regret saying that."

"Yep!"

She closed his office door to the rare sound of him laughing. Walking back along the corridor to her desk, she considered how lucky she was to have a friend in Mr Graves. She wondered how many of his other colleagues he would willingly listen to as they sobbed about their personal life. How many others would he let hide in his office and give them lunch? A strange rush of excitement coursed through her. Something that quickly disappeared when she saw Delanna at her desk. The woman rushed towards her, dragging her into a hug.

"Oh, kitten!" She cooed, finally releasing Trixie and letting her sit down. "I'm so sorry we couldn't talk at lunch! That Graves, eh?" She hissed. "I knew he was strict but Mercy Lewis! What a piece of work!"

"Yeah," Trixie said, smiling warmly. "He's quite something."