Four days later, Beth finally gave up sneaking around the Ministry in the hope of never having to bump into Lucius again. Yaxley had not said anything about the task he had asked of her except something about it must have gone well otherwise she would look more scared than usual. Beth didn't extend this conversation, partly because she was afraid that Yaxley would shout at her if she even opened her mouth.
Still the events of the last week played on her mind like a Ferris wheel going round and round and round. Endlessly tormenting her. The way Lucius had grabbed her and held her like she might break if he wasn't careful, and then…his…the way he looked at her before they kissed. And the kiss! The way his lips felt, the coldness of his skin fighting against the warmth of his breath. Beth couldn't believe it had even happened. But then it wasn't like the perfect moment she'd been dreaming of; there was the way he looked at her after they had kissed. That look, it broke her heart over and over again.
Beth looked towards the desks to her left, people sat with quick quills and piles of papers and furiously copied and created and then sent things upwards and onwards. Flying memos soared over their heads, every once in a while one of the workers would add their own memo to the air traffic. Beth was at another desk, the woman on the other side was slow and was frustratingly using her wand to poke around the papers that lay like debris resulting from a small stationary war. Beth tapped her foot impatiently on the wooden floor, Yaxley expected her to return within ten minutes and now she was pushing half an hour.
'I really must be quick, it's very important' Beth stammered. The older women looked up over her spectacles for a second and then continued rummaging.
After another excruciating five minutes, the women grasped a tattered piece of paper and gave a triumphant grunt.
'Here you go. Now mind you make a copy and return this document as soon as you can. Yaxley marches to his own Wizard's jig but even he knows that all this documentation is very confidential and procedures are in order' she said without hiding her distaste for Yaxley. She handed Beth the parchment and then bowed her head and returned to typing up whatever Beth had interrupted.
Beth didn't hesitate, she spun on her heel and crashed straight into someone coming in the opposite direction. The bit of paper flew out of her hands and she made a grab for it. It soared upwards, hit a charmed memo and then came shooting back down again. Beth turned back around and scanned the floor where she assumed it had fallen.
'See, this is why we have to make copies!' The woman at her desk sighed behind her typewriter. 'Good job some people are around to keep things running smoothly,' she continued, smiling up at the person Beth had collided with.
'Oh Meryl, you're too nice. It's people like you the Ministry depends upon.' Lucius Malfoy smiled at the woman with a glint in his eyes. His gaze then fell upon Beth and his smiled stayed untouched on his lips. He stepped forward and handed the document to her, he looked like he was bowing. He held his cape back with his hand and when Beth took the paper, he swished the cape around him as he turned to walk away.
'Nicer than most think that one.' Meryl said to no one in particular. Beth nodded in reply, but noticed the woman wasn't even aware she was still standing clutching the paper in front of her desk. She blushed a deep pink and half ran back to Yaxley's office to deliver the forty minute late document.
Before Beth went inside the office and handed the paper over, curiosity took over and she opened the page out. It was a list of names of people awaiting trial for performing magic in front of Muggles. But that wasn't the most interesting thing, sitting in the crease of the document was another piece of paper, folded up into a small square. She lifted it up and cradled it in her palm, her name sat promisingly in black ink in the centre of the folded parchment.