{Thanks to Brooke, Mimiham and Miss Mrprk for your reviews. They made me smile and write faster.}

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE A Hard Day's Work

Ophelia awoke early the next morning, with Sirius' heavy arm draped across her stomach. He was laying next to her on his chest, his face buried in her hair.

She slowly sat up-- being careful not to wake him --and left the room. Remus was just leaving his own and glared at her.

"What were you doing in--"

"Save it Rem." she retorted, clumsily lacing her boots. "It isn't what it seems."

He snorted, but only shook his head, "Going to Adolphus' then?"

"Yep, want to come? He's showing me round the Ministry." she explained, stretching at the top of the stairs. "It was his way of telling me how proud he was that I took his advice."

"No, I feel a bit off from last night. The grandfather clock in my room was smashed to little pieces. Did I keep you up?"

"Not a bit." answered Ophelia, as a snippet of her latest premontion flashed before her eyes. "I was out cold..."

"Ah, good. Well be sure to send him my love."

"Right, of course."

She headed down to the fireplace in the sitting room and threw down a palmful of the grey Floo powder. "Adophus Place."

She whirled round in the green flames for a few moments before landing in her uncle's dining room.

The white-haired wizard looked up from the Daily Prophet. On the front page was a picture of the previous' night, with the Dark Mark hovrering over a tiny cottage. 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Kills Family of Four' read the headline.

The smile at seeing her uncle fell from her face as she scanned the newspaper. "F-Four people were killed?"

"In Edinburgh. Did you see it?" he asked.

Ophelia nodded. "Yeah, at the end of our date."

"You went on a date last night?"

She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Yeah, with Sirius."

Adolphus set the paper down on the polished table, revealing a long gash along his jawline. "Sirius Black? That was long ov--"

"What happened to your face?"

He ran a finger along the deep wound. "I was sent here," he explained, tapping the picture. "I followed one of the Death Eaters from the scene. His wand was broken in two, and this was the result of his Crucio."

"But did you catch him?"

"I'm Adolphus Lupin, of course I caught him." her uncle smirked, quite reminiscent of Sirius. "Do you still want me to take you to the Ministry?"

"A few Death Eaters aren't going to scare me away. Besides, a deal is a deal, Dolph."

"That's my girl. Let's go; it's going to be a fairly busy day because of, well, you know..." he said, guiding her back to the fireplace in which she had just moments ago came in. He transported first, disappearing within the flickering emerald falmes.

She followed him, speaking the same words as he had, "The Ministry of Magic."

Moments later she spilled out of the golden grate, dusting off her robes.

Adolphus led her over to the lifts and they squished themselves inside.

"We're getting off on Level Two." he muttered, as a pleasant male voice called off the various departments.

They stepped out of the elevator and made for the Auror Headquarters.

Owls were zooming overhead, delivering messages between cubicles. The witches and wizards Ophelia happened to catch glimpses of were morose looking, and hunched over their desks. "What did I tell you?" he said, as if reading her thoughts. "It's quite busy this morning."

"Because of the attack?"

"Yes, but more so because of the capture. A lot of paperwork has got to be done, as well as a trial by the Wizengamot."

"When is it being held?"

"Early tomorrow morning. Which means that I had to cancel my plans to visit my brother. I have to preside over it," he fixed his collar importantly, "As I am the Chief Warlock."

Ophelia smiled, rolling her eyes. "Yes, Dolph. If only I can one day aspire to your level of greatness."

"Aim higher." he laughed, as they rounded another corner and came to his office. He closed the door behind them. "So this is where I've spent the last forty years of my life."

She whistled, looking at the pictures he had posted on the walls and around his desk. Most were of her and Remus, following them throughout the years.

"You need a hobby, Uncle Dolph."

"Being an Auror barely lends itself to sleep let alone hobbies." he replied, without a trace of bitterness in his voice. "You'll find that soon enough."

She sat herself down in the straightback chair opposite his desk. "I thought you were trying to convince me that being an Auror was a good thing, not turning me off it."

"I'm only being honest. I'm sure if you made the effort to make time for things other than your work... you could."

"So what do you do? Tell me about a typical day for you."

"Typical?" he repeated. "I don't know if I would describe my days as typical. But I usually arrive at nine in the morn--"

"You don't start work until nine?" she shrieked. "I could be happy with nine.."

"But it usually depends on whether I was patrolling the night before."

"Patrolling?"

"Yes, waiting round here until there is an attack. Then I check the Auror Daily, it's a newspaper that specializes in strange occurnces and captures. If there's anything there, I have to look into it."

"And then lunch, right? I bet they serve a fantastic lunch here."

Adolphus smiled. "Then I meet with my Directory and distribute their tasks for the day. I discuss any important matters with my Second--"

"Your second?"

"Second in command; if I should ever be killed, he's the wizard that takes over my Directory. Next I have lunch."

"Finally."

"Which I eat at my desk."

"Oh." sighed Ophelia.

"After I've eaten, I owl the various international Heads of Auror Affairs to see if anything suspicious has happned overnight. If it's a Friday I visit Azkaban--"

"You've been to Azkaban? What's it like?"

"The foulest, most disgusting place imaginable." said Adolphus. "If it's not a Friday, I pay a visit to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department to see if some random pranks could in fact be more than what they seem."

"What do you mean?"

"An exploding automobile can be a joke gone horribly wrong, or a threat against Muggles."

"How can you tell them apart?" asked Ophelia.

He winked. "You learn that in your training."

"Oh."

"Then I go home, only to be called back to work if there is an attack." he finished, studying his neice. "Are you regretting your decision?"

"Ha, not likely."

"Good, that's what I was hoping to hear. And what about your friends? What are they looking at?"

"Well, Lily was recruited by the Ministry of Magic last month."

"Give her my congratulations; that's not an easy field to get into."

"I'll be sure to do that. Rem wants to be a teacher, and from there get a influential position at the Ministry."

"I expected as much."

"James is becoming an Auror, as is... er, Sirius."

Adolphus beamed, sending Ophelia into a mad blush. "Which brings us back to our previous discussion."

"I didn't know we had a discussion on the matter..."

"Oh we would have had you not cut me off so quickly." he replied, "So you're dating Sirius Black?"

"Please Dolph, let's not make this into a big deal."

"But it is, butterdrop."

"It had been fulfilled."

"His family is not doing so well at the moment." continued Adolphus, "Aurelius is not having the best of luck with his friends in the Ministry."

Ophelia shook off what she had just heard, unsure of the full meaning behind it. "Yes, well, Sirius is moving in with James' family next month."

Her uncle's eyes lit up. "Really? That will be good for him, good to distance himself from the Blacks right now. Save Andromeda, of course."

"So she's not involved with what's going on?"

"Not as her family would like her to be, no." he rummaged through some papers on his desk. "She's getting married, I recieved the invitation yesterday. Very kind of the girl to invite an old man like me."

"Dolph, you're not old."

He only shrugged. "She's marrying... Theodore Tonks. A muggle-born. I think it's safe to suggest not many of her relatives will be attending."

"That's too bad."

Adolphus stood up suddenly and brushed off his dark robes. "Well enough gossiping like old maids. I promised to show you around the Ministry and I've never backed out of a promise."

"Unlike your brother." she retorted, following him back into the main Auror Headquarters.

"Noah means well enough..." he said quietly. "So where do you want to go first?"

"How much time do you have?"

"For you? Unlimited amounts."

"Dolph, come on. You just went over how busy you're schedule can be."

"I cleared it today, gave my Second all of my tasks."

She grinned. "I want to see the courtrooms."

"Why the courtrooms?"

"I want to see how large of an audience I'll preside over one day." said Ophelia.

He grinned. "You're ambitious, you get that from me."