Friday afternoon found Minerva stepping out of a Floo at the Ministry of Magic. She strode to the receptionist.
"Professor, how may I help you?" The witch sitting at the desk greeted her.
"I am here to see Bartemis Crouch Sr., head of the Auror department," she announced.
"Yes, ma'am, do you have an appointment?" the witch asked.
"No, but I will see him if I have to sit here all night," Minerva insisted.
The receptionist nodded and waved her wand over the paper in front of her. "Yes, ma'am. Here you go, ma'am." She passed a badge to the older woman that read Minerva McGonagall, visiting Head Auror.
Minerva attached the badge to her robes and marched to the bank of lifts. In just a few seconds, one arrived with a crowd of witches, wizards, and paper airplanes that quickly departed. When they had all passed her by, she stepped into the car, surprisingly alone.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement," she said once aboard. The lift stopped at each floor where additional witches and wizards boarded, with memos swooping in and out. She stood straight as if she had a rod lining her spine and didn't move a muscle as they pushed in around her. Several paper airplanes were circling her hat, but she didn't react. Each person nodded to her in acknowledgment when they entered, but no one said a word.
Finally, the lift stopped at the correct floor. Minerva stepped out and moved quickly down the hallway to the Auror's main office.
The office seemed to be in chaos as she entered, with witches and wizards moving rapidly from one place to another. Memos zipped through the air. She stood and took in the scene, looking for the Head Auror. Unable to find him, she simply walked down the hallway to her left, where she knew she would find his office.
She paused only briefly in front of the doorway with a smart copper sign that read: Bartemis Crouch Sr., Head Auror. Peering inside, she could see that he was not there, so she took a seat in front of his desk.
"May I help you?" came a voice from the door a few moments later.
Minerva turned to the speaker.
"Oh, Professor, what are you doing here?"
"I am here to see Auror Crouch, Theodora."
"Did you have an appointment? He doesn't usually miss appointments," the witch replied. "However, things are out of sorts right now; it's possible he forgot."
"I wrote to him several times," the professor said. "I shall wait for him."
"I don't know if he's even in the office," Theodore said.
"That is fine. I can wait."
"He might be out in the field. It could be all day."
"I can wait, but thank you," Minerva replied.
"Um… Yes, ma'am. I'll just go and see if I can find him to let him know that you're here."
"Thank you."
The scene repeated itself with four other Aurors over the next forty or so minutes until the Head Auror himself came into the office.
"I don't believe we had an appointment," he began brusquely.
"No, as I was unable to reach you by owl," Minerva began.
"I have been quite busy. Your owl probably missed me," he replied.
"Owls," she clarified stiffly. "I sent a letter each day this week requesting an appointment at your convenience, as I am quite aware of how busy you must be at the moment. Are you telling me that not a single one found you? That would be quite odd. We use owls as they are so reliable at finding the recipient of our post. One I could see, but I used a different owl from the Hogwarts owlery each day. If they all missed you, that is a problem that will need to be addressed or our students may not be able to contact their families, and you know that could cause a ruckus. So, did truly none of them reach you?"
The man cleared his throat and began sorting through the stack of parchment on his desk. "Now is not a good time," he said, sidestepping her question.
"Right now, I'd imagine there aren't any truly good times. If you had replied to a single letter of mine, we might have been able to come up with a 'good enough' time or some other alternative. Perhaps we could have had a conversation via post, allowing you to answer whenever you had a chance, or we could have had a discussion by Floo. However, as you did not, I am here now," Minerva replied.
Barty, who had been leaning over his desk looking through the papers and seeming to avoid her gaze, now stood as tall and straight as he could and stared straight at her. "No time will be good enough. You need to leave now."
Minerva stood as well and stared right back at him. "I am willing to excuse your rudeness due to your current situation-"
"Get out!" he demanded.
"Bartemis," she snapped.
"I am no longer your student, nor have I been for well over two decades. I will not permit your presence in my office any longer. Get out!" He shouted.
"What is wrong with you?" She asked, hand to her heart. "I have never known you to be so rude!"
"I? Rude? No, it is you who have been rude! Get out!"
"Well, then I shall seek my answers elsewhere," Minerva announced and spun on her heel, striding from the office, her robes billowing behind her.