January 25th1977

Minerva put down the newspaper she had been reading, unable to finish the article about the attack in Caithness. It had barely 3 weeks since the incident had occurred and the memory of what had happened and what she had seen still burned vividly in her mind. Flicking her eyes quickly towards Elphinstone who was still engrossed in the muggle crossword she had shown him, Minerva then leaned back in her chair and let her eyes glaze over as she recalled what had happened following the explosion.

The first thing she remembered was waking up in St Mungo's where her mother and her brother Malcolm, who had rushed back from Romania as soon as he heard the news, proceeded to explain what had happened. It was then that she had learnt the true extent of the chaos and destruction caused by the Death Eaters in her hometown. Along with her brother and Florence, the McGregor family, who happened to be walking past Robert's house, had been killed when it had suddenly burst into flames. Minerva felt her heart twist and tried to give her hands something to do by brushing a few stray hairs from her eyes. She had still not having come to terms with the shock and realisation that Dougal McGregor, the farmer who had proposed to her before she left to work at the Ministry, was now also dead.

Feeling Elphinstone's eyes on her, she shifted her gaze and looked at him pointedly, aware that he probably knew exactly what she was thinking about. Biting back an urge to snap at him to stop fussing, as he had been so kind to her these past few weeks, instead she raised her eyebrows and waited for him to say something.

"Well," said Elphinstone looking up properly from his newspaper, folding it and then throwing it unceremoniously across his kitchen table. "I think we can safely say cryptic crosswords are not my forte." He rubbed his eyes and then leaned over the table to grab the last ginger newt in the biscuit tin. "20 minutes of my life gone. I can't believe you do them for fun." Minerva shrugged innocently, the faintest traces of a smile on her lips. "How long does it usually take you to finish them?" he asked.

"Under 10 minutes," she said. Elphinstone looked at her incredulously and Minerva felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Well," he said after a while, "There's no point trying to compete with that." Popping the biscuit into his mouth, he stood up and swept a few crumbs off the table and onto the floor. "I'll clean it up later," he said when Minerva raised her eyebrows. "We should go if we want to get there on time." He looked expectantly at her when she still hadn't moved. "Coming?"

Minerva felt her cheeks go red and she looked down at her hands, which were cocooning her coffee mug to keep warm. Following the incident in Caithness she had begun to notice that, unconsciously, she had started to avoid Order meetings under the impression that she would go back once she felt ready. It had now reached the point, however, that the thought of returning and participating in a meeting made her feel so sick that she could no longer see herself as joining the Order again.

Elphinstone picked up his scarf and wrapped it around his neck, "Minerva?"

Minerva who had been lost in thought suddenly forced the image of the dark mark above Robert and Florence's house out of her mind and cleared her throat. "I don't think I can make it tonight, Elphinstone," she said quietly. Feeling his eyes on her she stood up abruptly and set down her mug. "Lots of work," she tried to explain, "You know how it is." She looked up into his eyes and noticed he didn't seem convinced.

"5th time this month," he said

Minerva looked away trying to avoid his gaze again. "I know," she paused, "I'll be there next week," she lied.

Elphinstone smiled sadly, "You said that last time."

"I know."

They were both silent for a moment, and Minerva was sure he knew exactly what was going on in her mind. Praying that he would let the matter slide, she picked up her stack of marking and made a move to the fireplace in the next room.

Elphinstone followed her, picking up the small jar of Floo powder amidst the clutter on his slightly tilting bookcase. "I thought Albus was taking care of your lessons?" he asked, in an attempt to sound nonchalant, "You're not meant to be back at work until next week."

"I changed my mind," answered Minerva shortly. Feeling a little bad about her attitude she added more softly, "I needed something to do."

Elphinstone nodded as they came to a halt beside his fireplace. Extending his arm he made it look as though he was offering the Floo powder jar that was still in his hand. However, as Minerva reached for it and tried to take it from him he didn't let go.

Looking deeply into her eyes as though he was x-raying her, he said, "It wasn't your fault, Minerva." Minerva felt her fingers tighten around the jar and her bottom lip trembled slightly. With his free hand, he took hers and squeezed her fingers gently, "You couldn't have known."

Struggling to keep her emotions under control she bit her bottom lip before saying, "I knew he was going after Order members." Suddenly she pulled her hand away from his as she took a step back and turned around to face the fireplace, "I was putting them in danger by visiting them." Feeling a lump start to form in the back of her throat she tried to say in the strongest voice she could. "I didn't even check to see if anyone was following me." Not giving Elphinstone the time to find something to say to reassure her she turned around and tried to smile, "You're going to be late for the meeting. I'll see you this weekend, all right? I'll bring the puzzle you bring the biscuits?"

Following her lead, Elphinstone smiled albeit weakly and nodded, "Of course. Remind me to get two packets of ginger newts though, I didn't realise you were as much a fan as I am," he gave her a long hug, "We managed to munch through half a packet and my secret stash."

"Blame Pomona," answered Minerva as they fell apart, "She was the one who introduced me to them," she explained.

Elphinstone smiled and handed her the jar properly this time. "Take care, Minerva."

Minerva took a handful of the powder and threw it into the fireplace, "You too, Elphinstone." Then with a small wave, she took a step into the fireplace and vanished in a puff of green flames.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) Have a nice day