Written for - The Sims 3 Progression Challange

Trait - Workaholic

"So… What you are telling me is that there's this Dark Guy with special powers who… who can… use these drumstick things to produce spells; the ones like in children's story books?"

"Except he produces green light –" the stranger who had introduced himself as James responded.

"– which can instantly stop people's heart." Lydia interrupted hastily. "Yeah, I think I get it."

It had taken her approximately 30 seconds of uncomfortable silence to absorb everything James had said about the Wizarding World, much quicker than he had expected. Of course, Lydia would not have believed him if he hadn't had used the Scourgify spell before her eyes to clean up the mess she had made with her spilled latte.

"To sum up, there is a secret world which exists unbeknownst to the general public… apart from the very few like the Prime Minister…"

James nodded. "Yeah."

"And you are a part of it?"

"Yeah."

"And at the moment, hell broke loose in your world and it can affect mine?" Lydia asked anxiously.

"It will." James said strongly.

"They're after my family?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

At that moment, Lydia asked the last thing James would have expected her to.

"There must be some sort of rule of secrecy in your world. I mean, otherwise everyone would know about you guys. Are you breaking any rules telling me this right now?" she questioned.

James stared into her face with a puzzled expression. "That should be the least of your concerns at the moment."

"And yet it's not. Will you get into any trouble?"

"A lot of trouble." James said quickly, and continued without giving her a chance to object. "But it's my job as an Auror – sorry, think of it like a police officer – to protect innocent people from harm and stop the bad guys, no matter at what cost."

Lydia smiled appreciatively. She also realised a young waitress was close by, cleaning empty tables far too slowly to be her usual cleaning habit, so she dropped her tone to a level only James could hear.

"Look, as a workaholic myself, I can understand what it's like to be… dedicated to workplace ethos. But it just seems very unlikely that someone would get themselves into immense trouble to save a few people they don't even know. Forgive me for asking you this, but how do I know that I can trust you?"

A heavy silence conquered the two, stretching between them with anticipation, where Lydia wondered how she could remain so calm when so much was at stake and James thought through his next few steps before taking real action.

Then, he stood up and offered the auburn girl his left hand.

"Follow me?"

It wasn't a request, nor a rude command. It was, in all truthfulness, nothing but a mere plea.