Not the Last
Chapter 5-Failing and Winning
The next day Bennett decided to go to the ministry to see if they really weren't going to give Sirius Black a trial.
He left before Remus woke-up, so he left him a note on the coffee table:
Dear Remus,
Went to ministry to figure
out the trial situation. Back
later.
Bennett
When Bennett arrived at the ministry, he was surprised to see that it was incredibly busy even though it was still early in the morning.
He decided to go see if he could talk to the minister. As he made his way through the ministry all he could think about was what if his plan didn't work. He quickly pushed these thoughts away. He needed to be calm and focused on his errand.
Finally, he found a door that said, "Minister's Office." He walked in only to find the minister's secretary with her back to him.
"Wait, a minute," he thought, "She looks oddly familiar." Indeed, he had seen this woman before.
"Excuse me," Bennett said, still trying to remember where he had seen this woman before.
The woman turned around and Bennett's spirits dropped.
"Well, look who's feeling better," said Holly sarcastically.
"Yeah, um...About that, I-," Bennett stuttered, feeling flustered.
"I don't care. Just tell me what you need so I can get back to work," Holly said as she organized the papers on her desk.
"Fine. What day has Sirius Black's trial been set on?" he asked.
Holly snorted and handed a back issue of the Daily Prophet to Bennett.
"This should answer you question."
Bennett looked at the paper in disbelief. The headline screamed, "Black is Left in the Dark!"
"So Remus was right," Bennett whispered to himself.
"Of course Remus was right," an angry voice in his head scolded him. "What were you thinking when you decided to come here?"
Holly looked at Bennett with curiosity for a moment before she said, "May I ask what your fascination with this case is? I mean, it doesn't concern you, so why are you worrying about it?"
Bennett crumpled up the newspaper and walked out the door without another word.
Bennett walked all the way back to Remus's house in a state numb disbelief. His plan, his brilliant plan, had failed He had been so sure it would make everything better.
When Bennett got back Remus didn't say anything about what had happened. This was supposed to make Bennett feel better, but it just made him feel like more a failure.
He needed to get out and clear his head.
"I'm going for a walk," he told Remus.
The cold November air was refreshing. Bennett already felt slightly better. It was nice just walking down the street with nothing to do and no where to go.
He hadn't gone far when he accidentally bumped into Holly on her way home from a long day at the ministry.
"Sorry," he said quickening his pace because he had had a rough day and didn't want to get into another row with her right when he had started to feel better.
"Bennett, wait," she called, trying to catch up with him.
"Look," he said as he turned to face her, "I'm sorry I bumped into you. I didn't see you. And while I'm apologizing, I'm sorry if I offended you yesterday or this morning at the ministry. It's been a rough week and I don't really want to get in another argument right now."
"I wasn't going to argue with you," Holly said quietly staring at the sidewalk.
Bennett turned to look at her.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being so nosy and insensitive to you," she finished.
She turned to leave but Bennett grabbed her arm to stop her.
"How about we start over?" he suggested.
She smiled and said, "That sounds like an excellent idea."
Bennett smiled back at Holly as he said, "Why, hello, miss. I don't believe we've met. I'm Bennett Potter and what may I call you?"
Holly laughed as she replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bennett. You may just call me Holly."
And with that, they walked back to see Remus and have some tea just as they had planned.
During this time, Bennett couldn't help but think that maybe he hadn't failed at everything that day.