Alastor could hear chattering on the other side of the door now and the faint ticking of a clock. He looked around the room and thought it was dressed rather formally given the age of the people who lived there. He correctly guessed that they were renting someone else's house. He had always had access to money, first through his own parents, who were aurors, and then when he went to training himself so he hadn't had to live with anyone else when he was younger. He knew how people could behave when he was around and so, after a point, almost right after school, it might have been awkward to live with anyone anyway. The second anyone had brought home a guest, what was going on on the opposite side of that door would happen over and over again and so it was less trouble to live by himself.

His arms were rested on his thighs and his fingers were laced. He continued to survey the room. Everything seemed like they came from an older person or people, or at least the same people, the deep marroon-y, forest green-y, dark grey jacquard of the couch, the embroideries, the heaviness of the squat side tables. It all gave the impression that it was musty and dust-covered and yet it was spotless. The setting sun cast a soft glow in the room and further illuminated the things in the room that Alastor also correctly assumed did not belong to the original owners. A bright, yellow wood upright piano stood proudly in the corner, it was carved in some ornate something that might have found a home here but the carving was more delicate and lighter, more playful. A vase of flowers sat on one of the side tables on a coaster of gleaming cracked stone and on the heavy old coffee table, sat a fuchsia tray with little figures dancing on it in some new style of the day. All of these things made him smile to himself.

He heard someone come down the stairs and stop midway. He wondered in passing what the people on the other side of the door might be saying but he had a very strong idea of what was going on. He thought to take another sip of tea. It was very tasty. Hm, he thought to himself. The young woman who opened the door. The piano or flowers or the cracked stone belongs to her. The tray certainly and definitely belongs to the young woman who brought them in. He really did think that if she got to starting a bakery, if she baked as well as these pastries, she would be wealthier than him in no time whatsoever but he was not there for either of them.

Alastor had heard Dorcas' name now several times and knew she worked closely with Mason, she was no longer an apprentice as far as he was concerned. Was it two field appointments ago when she had pulled a man out of part of a cabinet? Mason and Dorcas' had both caught the witch who had apparated with the wizard and left a lot of him fused with the furniture not even having the decency to splinch him in the air. Instead of sending the wizard directly to Mungo's, she knew enough of the magic to prize his legs and shoulder blade from the surrounding wood. She had cast a charm or spell or something that sent part of his blood circulating through the wood itself, along the channels already there and back into his body until a specialist could separate the wizard's heart and spine from the plane he was stuck in. Both Alastor and Kingsley considered sending an owl of congratulations and praise for that. When he learned the news of what happened today however, he told Kingsley and his team that he would show up himself. This used to be more common. Alastor had many owls and letters sent to him in his day. Aurors used to visit each other for encouragement and support, even for small cases. The small cases could very quickly get out of hand. They had all lost someone to something that started as a small case.

Alastor heard the door and looked up. There was a pause and then the person he wanted to see was in the room. He stood up.

"Miss Meadowes?"

She gave something of a curtsy. She hadn't meant to.

"Yes. Hello, Mr. Moody." She stammered still carrying the stack of papers as she made her way forward. She noticed right on time and turned to set them on top of the piano by the door. She wiped her hands against her trousers.
"Nice to finally meet you." Said Alastor.

She shook his hand when she was closer, nodding, unsure of what to say. He sat back down on the couch smiling. She continued to stand. He motioned for the chair and she sat in a chair in a house that she paid rent in because she was calculating on the best time to sit and then she hadn't sat at the right time and then she didn't know if she should keep standing and-

"You don't mind. Just as a precaution." Dorcas shook her head.

"Actually, do you mind, if it is no problem for you Mr. Moody?"

He shook his head. Dorcas pulled her wand from under her pants leg tucked in her sock. Alastor breathed a quiet sigh of relief, he thought momentarily that she was one of the aurors who only kept her wand for work but it had been there all along.

She turned in the chair.

"Pulsonorate silencio!"

And a bang sounded against the door and Stan yelped in surprise from the other side.

Alastor covered his mouth with one hand. He might have found this even funnier if she had not turned back to sit in the chair as nervous as she had come through the door.

"Thank you." She muttered.

He nodded his head, removing his hand from his face but still smiling.

"I'm here, Ms. Meadowes to discuss your work." Dorcas tensed. "Everything is fine. Better than that, in fact, I'm here because I heard about your case earlier today and wanted to commend you on a job very well done. We have discussed some of your cases and all of us our proud and impressed by your work." Dorcas looked surprised. "Yes, Ms. Meadowes. If this is the kind of work you're doing now, then England is very lucky to have you as an auror. Thank you for all of your service and good work."

Dorcas really did not know what to say.

"You look surprised."

"I didn't know if… I wasn't sure why you'd be here if… thank you. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome. Please let me know if there's anything any of us can do for you. I've discussed this all with Mason, of course, and you are free to continue working with him, in fact I'd personally encourage that, but we have decided as district heads that you are no longer an apprentice as of today."

Dorcas eyes widened.

"When you feel ready, and only then, you are free to take assignments alone and as you feel comfortable and safe. Know also, and I am unsure if this is still taught during training, you working alone is never a requirement, we never fight alone. You can send a message to any of us to support you. This really only means that if you see fit, you can now work by yourself and can host your own apprentice. Mason will discuss your salary tomorrow morning. Whichever number you have in mind, double it and add a zero. Really, this just means a lot more paperwork." He smiled, he thought the last part was funny. "Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything I can help you with."

Dorcas shook her head taking it all in. She was no longer an apprentice? She was planning on quitting tomorrow, should she tell him that? No, nope. Don't say that! They thought she was doing well? Alastor Moody thought she was doing well? This was amazing news. Maybe she wasn't so awful at her job after all! Or maybe she was, she thought, but this was still good news! She would have to go over what to do with Lydia later today. She might have to discuss this with Brad, hell, they should all discuss what she would do. She would make some tea and see if Heidi had some of the bicuits leftover or could make something else.

"Thank you so much for everything that you've said today, sir. I am only glad that you and the auror league find my contribu-."

Something had caught her eye and her face dropped. Alastor followed her sightline. The handful of the honey almond treats they had multiplied on the tray. Now Alastor was laughing behind his hand but Dorcas didn't even notice.

"As I was saying," Dorcas powered through, "before these desserts started to-" She had been trying to be funny even if she didn't feel like it was, she was trying to break some of the tension she felt in herself but the biscuits bloomed again on the tray. Heidi put a charm on them, didn't she? Biscuit, pastry, baking, Dorcas thought and the pile grew three times larger and spilled onto the floor. Dorcas inhaled slowly, her voice dropped and she turned.

"Mr. Moody, I am so sorry. It's just that my friends are so excited for you to be here. I hope you understand and I had nothing to do with this." He looked up to see her holding back tears. She pointed her wand at the tray and mumbled something. Dessert, she thought and the tray stayed as large as it was but didn't grow.

"Miss Meadowes, I-"

"Dorcas." She whispered. She was too embarrassed to accept this level of formality when he had just complimented her on her work and her little kid flatmates were doing little kid magic in front of their, her and her boss' boss' boss' hero.

"Dorcas, I don't mind. They were delicious and," he cleared his throat to keep from laughing, "now I can take some home without feeling guilty."

Dorcas relaxed.

"Thank you Mr. Moody."

"Alastor. If you don't have any questions," Dorcas shook her head vigorously, "May I ask what that stack of things you brought in might be." Dorcas closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then exhaled.

-

The door opened up to her flatmates crowded around it. They milled as if they hadn't been trying to catch a little of what was being discussed but didn't dare try to cast a counterspell or amplify what was said on the other side. They were reasonably sure that Alastor Moody might just give them a stern talking to about privacy and the sensitive nature of his work but, for all that they knew that Dorcas loved them, in this particular instance, they were certain she would have no hesitation in testifying against them all and recommending they be sent directly to Azkaban. She looked at them all.

"Heidi," Oh no, oh no, oh no, she thought. "He wants to know if you have a container to spare so he can take some of the biscuits home."

Heidi beamed and seemingly out of nowhere, she brought her hands from behind her back and there it was, a container full of pastries.

"Tell him, I put some tea in there too. It's a great pairing, I think. If he doesn't like it he can feel free to just gift it to someon-"

Dorcas made to open the door to go back into the living room and turned again "When this door is opened again, can you not all be crowded around it? Please and thank you!" She hissed and went back inside.

Alastor Moody was now standing and received the gift.

"Thank you. I only wish, I could also take the tea. It was a delightful pairing."