Chapter 3

Work

As much as Laura hated to leave the relative security of Dolores' home, she had decided that it would cause more trouble than it was worth to hide away.

So, she took her heavy cloak down from the peg next to the fireplace, wrapping it around her shoulders like a security blanket. She stood on tiptoe and reached into an ornate silver tin and pulled out a pinch of fine powder. She hated the Floo, but as the head of the department she had her own private connection, and it made the commute much easier. There would be no scrutiny or questions about her unusual new wand, for which she was eternally grateful. How would she even begin to explain that, should the need arise? What would be a valid excuse for such a thing?

She was calling out her destination before she finished the thought, and found herself swept away in the network. She stepped out into her office mere moments later, slightly frazzled, wiping the soot from her brow with a distasteful frown. She stepped behind her desk and pulled out her chair, sitting down gently. She cleared away a few discarded papers and set to tidying her admittedly cluttered desk.

There were piles and piles of written complaints, reports, and various legalese that needed to be sifted through. A cup of cold, slightly moldy coffee from two days ago sat nestled between a vase of charmed flowers and Dolores' nameplate. Overall, she had left quite the mess for herself, and wasn't that just the way of it?

There was a soft knock on the door, and Laura hurriedly vanished the cup and swept most of the papers into an open drawer.

"Come in!"

A slender figure entered the office, clutching a thin stack of parchment to her chest. The twitchy young blonde looked around Dolores' office and bit her lip.

"Good morning, M-Madam Umbridge." She said, cautiously walking closer and gently setting the stack of parchment on her desk. "I brought those forms you asked for."

There was an awkward pause as the girl refused to meet her gaze.

"...Thank you Marilyn. Did you have to go through the secretary?" Laura asked. The girl flinched at the mention of her name, nervously weaving her fingers through her long hair.

"No, Mr. Cessloc had them ready when I got there." She answered. Her eyes looked anywhere but at Laura. The white lace doily that had been under her cup. The blush pink rug under the desk. The collection of cat plates hanging on Dolores' wall.

I don't blame her, this office is incredibly tacky. Laura thought, amused. She wished she could befriend the girl, but because of Dolores…

"Perfect." Laura smiled, though it did her no good. "That's all I needed. I'll see you later at the 10 O'clock meeting."

Marilyn immediately turned and scurried from the room as quickly as her heels would carry her. She was a fragile little thing that was deathly terrified of Dolores, and for good reason. She knew better than anyone what that woman was capable of. She'd been her assistant for nearly three years.

Laura settled back into her chair, frowning unhappily. She hated it. Dolores had been sickly-sweet, and it soured her actual attempts at being nice to anyone.

Well, anyone who knew her, anyway.

Maybe she was better off becoming a social hermit.

With a discontented sigh she riffled through the paperwork, setting aside that which needed to be completed today and those that could wait a little longer. She sharpened her quill and spent the next few minutes working diligently on paperwork. From her memories, she knew Dolores had been competent at her job- just incredibly corrupt. She'd hidden things that shouldn't be hidden and passed things that shouldn't be passed. She had her fingers in several different sections of the ministry and had been steadily working her way up the totem pole. Already she'd been in contact with Fudge, and if the future kept its course Laura may find herself as senior undersecretary in a few years.

The thought made her feel conflicted. On one hand, it would be a good way to influence the world around her for the better. The political scene was unstable, a mere seven years after the defeat of the darkest wizard of their age. They needed powerful figures that would be a positive influence.

But Laura didn't think she was cut out for politics. She wasn't very much like Dolores in general, though she had her memories of how to manipulate people, and there were no guarantees she could act well enough to stay in Fudge's good graces.

It was a dilemma she'd have to address in the future, but it worried her.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Laura retreated into herself and let the memories guide her steps, only veering from them when ethical decisions needed to be made. She avoided as many employees as she could and spent most of the day in her office, pouring over paperwork and delegating other tasks to her underlings.

That, at least, was something Dolores and Laura had plenty of experience with.

It was nearing the end of her day now, and she was anxious to finish her responsibilities and leave. There was only one meeting left, and she was planning to avoid it by sending Merilyn in her place to take notes. No new decisions were ever made at these end-of-day meetings, anyway, and the topic really wasn't that important. She scribbled her signature on a few more sheets of parchment, then set them aside to be filed later. She glanced down at the checklist she'd been working on- staring blankly at, more like- throughout the day.

First, she needed to visit Gringotts and have the money for her shopping trip converted into muggle pounds. That much was simple, because it was necessary for, well, literally anything else she wanted to do. She also needed to buy herself some new clothes. Couldn't waltz into a grocery store in a robe and pointy hat if she wanted to blend in, unless it were maybe around halloween. But it was May. Some jeans would not be misplaced.

Thank goodness it's the eighties. At least it's not skirts and girdles…

After she had appropriate clothing she could get her grocery shopping done. And wasn't that a novel idea? Hopefully it wasn't too different from what she was expecting. If nothing else, she could get the basics and go back home. Then she could be on track to fixing up her life.

Go to bank, go clothes shopping, get groceries.

Laura leaned back and scowled at the little slip of parchment. It seemed woefully inadequate, those few things she wrote down. She didn't want to put anything incriminating on paper, just in case, but she felt like she needed SOMETHING to keep her on track.

She scribbled "FIX DOLORES' LIFE" at the bottom.

It was time to go. She quickly got up from her seat and picked up her cloak from the back of her chair. She swung the heavy cloth over her shoulders and glanced down at the list again before chucking it into the fireplace.

She'd have to figure out something better.

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think, I need reviews to let me know if I should keep going or let this idea die a slow death.