ANOTHER AUROR MEETING (ALL AURORS)

[Angelique St. Clare]

Angelique was in a mood. There were apparently now two brutal killers out there, and she needed to put a stop to it. It was time to check in with the department and get some of this worked out. Right now, everything seemed like a mess and it was getting worse.

Normally, she would bring coffee and donuts to the meeting. But not today. She meant business this time, and was anxious to get this over with. She was so frustrated that she couldn't even sit still; instead she was pacing the floor as she waited for everyone to arrive.

(Sorry, that's a crappy post. Lol..)

[Hayden Ferrera]

Naturally things were starting up again. Hayden knew that the attack on Hogsmeade was only the beginning. Even if one of the killers wasn't part of the Deatheaters, it was still horrible. Tracking them down seemed to be almost impossible. One was so clean and didn't really leave anything behind other than his 'work'.

Last night Hayden didn't sleep well. The couch wasn't as comfortable as it used to be, but he still refused to really sleep in his bed. He took the liberty of bringing in his own coffee to the meeting. Following his parents, Hayden entered the Auror meeting, taking a seat next to his father.

[Riley Neves]

"I hate these," Riley told Roland, and whether she was talking about her episodes of morning sickness, or the Auror meetings, she wasn't too clear. It was getting harder and harder to 'forget' that she was pregnant. She even had a little bump starting to show, and though she would never say anything to Roland about it again, it helped with remembering he was still around, too. A figment of her imagination could not have gotten her pregnant.

She was slipping into her work robes, Phoenix laying on the end of the bed as he watched both her and Roland get ready.

She did mean the meetings, though, as the things she hated. The ones that were called like this usually meant tragedy or emergency. The last one she went to was announcing Roland's death, after all. Things like that didn't just leave a person right away.

"All right, you'll take Phoenix out, right? I'll see you there, babe." She kissed Roland, and moments later, she apparated, quickly making her way to the meeting room. Hayden and his parents were there, and she gave him a smile and a nod, her way of thanking him everytime she saw him. Choosing a seat a couple rows back, she saved the one next to her for Roland.

[Masika Hotepankh]

Masika, on the other hand, loved when she knew these meetings were called to deliver bad news. She was a mole, for sure, but the Aurors would have been stupid to not suspect. The Death Eaters knew that they probably had moles among them as well... and oh, when they were discovered, would there be hell to pay.

She was in no rush to arrive, but managed to show up fairly early anyway, taking a seat not far from Hayden Ferrera.

[Ted Tonks]

Life in the Auror office had been busy lately, and not in so much of a good way. The relations between the Aurors and the MLE were blending together, since so much of their work was now interchangeable, it seemed.

Magical London was becoming a dark, frightening place, and the protective part of Ted worried. He had a wife to protect, and soon enough, a child to raise. And he knew that because they were Aurors, and she was a blood traitor, and he was a muggleborn- they were already targets.

He sighed, waiting for his wife at the apparition area, holding a cup of coffee in both hands.

[Kole Hobbs]

Ever since the Hogsmeade attack, everyone knew that it was only the beginnign. People were being murdered. It was frightning. Kole had even asked his sisters and parents to pack up the shop and get the hell out of town for a while. Naturally, their stubborness was hereditary, and they refused to leave.

Needless to say, Kole had expected the meeting. He sent a quick letter off to his new partner, Hestia, since she was at school still. He probably wounldn't tell her, but he admired the kid's brilliance. She really was cut out for the job, especially since she was already Auror material and still had a few more months left at Hogwarts. His note simply siad, there was a meeting, if she could make it, great, if not, that's fine, he understood, and he'd write to her letter to tell her whats up.

Kole entered the meeting and sat in the row between Hayden and his family and Riley. He smiled in greeting at both of them. Not one to normally drink coffee, Kole had a water bottle that he drank out of before putting it on the floor by his feet.

[Andromeda Tonks]

These days Andi felt less and less like going to work. Even though her current assignment mostly kept her away from the Ministry, that didn't mean that she wasn't aware of the increasing danger and stress surrounding her. It would have been impossible to miss it. And as her stomach began to grow, Andi was becoming more and more aware of the terrible world she was about to bring her baby into. As aurors, she and Ted were on the front lines. Added to that was the fact that he was a muggleborn and she was a blood traitor. Their baby was going to be in so much danger, and it terrified Andi.

She was quiet as she got ready for the meeting. Ted seemed quiet, too, and Andi suspected it was because he was thinking the same kinds of thoughts. He left a little before she did, but she knew he would wait for her int he Apparition area. She took an extra moment to feed the cat, then apparated to the Ministry.

Sure enough, Ted was waiting for her, and she quietly slipped her hand in his. "It couldn't be worse than the last auror meeting," she said hopefully.

[Hestia Jones]

Hestia woke up that morning dreading class. It was like any other day of the week. Stay up too late finishing last minute homework and get up early enough to be late to your first class. She had rolled out of bed with enough time to throw on her robes and grab her bag. The last thing on her mind was how the rest of her day (possibly life) was about to change.

It was lunch when she got the memo about an auror meeting. She was in her dorm changing into actual clothes and attempting to look decent for the day (she made a mental note to never pull an all nighter again). The note told her she could either be there or not. It was signed by Kole. Her first fleeting thought was to be excited. Actual auror business. Her second one was how in the world she get out of class. But her last one was what if something was seriously wrong....again.

Hestia threw on her shoes, forgoing her school robes, and flew down the dorm stairs and out of the common room. Coincidently or not (more than likely not), Professor Dumbledore met her at the end of the seventh floor stairs and told her that, because he felt like it, he would excuse her from the rest of the day's classes. With that, he had walked away. Hestia suspected that this was his way of telling her that she could go to the meeting.

Hestia went by floo to the Ministry of Magic. She walked towards the auror conference rooms. She knew this place well. It was the first time she had ever met Kole. It didn't take long to find the conference room that the meeting was going to be held in. The door was ajar and people were milling in slowly. She stepped into the room behind a couple with coffee and scanned for Kole. She saw him sitting beside another auror and slowly walked over. She stood behind him and bent to whisper in his war, "I got here as soon as I could." She didn't want to say it much louder, because then, she would be the only one actually speaking.

[Veronica Massey]

(Because I have so many aurors, I am going to godmod a few of them in with one post. )

"I have no idea what it's about," Veronica was saying to Kit and Cassidy. The three of them were walking in together, each armed with a cup of coffee. "I just know it can't be good.... An emergency meeting is never a good sign. Maybe there's been another attack."

Cassidy shuddered at this possibility. As irrational as it might seem, whenever she heard the possibility of an attack, she immediately worried about Tyler. He was considered a traitor on both sides, and he was home alone without a wand. She really hoped this new hearing on the case would finally resolve it. He couldn't remain so unprotected any longer.

"I hope not," she said.

Kit, meanwhile, was worried about more immediate and personal concerns. The last of these meetings, she had put her foot in her mouth by declaring the place like a funeral home. How was she to know that Roland Ferrera had just supposedly died? Of course, as it turned out, he was still very much alive, but that didn't change the fact that Kit's first impression for most of the department had been a bad one. She was just hoping that she could make it through the meeting without embarrassing herself.

The three women settled down near the middle of the room, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for the meeting to start.

[Cynthia Darling]

Cynthia was right behind them. Not being a big coffee drinker, she was empty-handed, but she felt sort of like she might need something to hold onto. Sure, it could have been a simple meeting to talk about their assignments. But somehow, Cynthia doubted it just as much as Veronica did. Unlike the others, however, she had actually heard a rumbling from one of the other departments on her way up in the lift. Apparently, the Obliviators had been called late last night to modify the memories of about 20 muggles who had seen the Dark Mark in the sky above a residential neighborhood. Cynthia was still rather new at the politics in England, but she knew enough to know that this was not good.

She slipped into a seat near the back and began to scan the room for Jacob.

[Mathieu Ferrera]

It used to be that whenever a meet took place, Mathieu and Cara would go in together. They'd only been back at work for a couple of weeks, and Cara spent most of that time ignoring him. They had not returned to their guard duties at Hogwarts, and instead they were catching up on paperwork. Mathieu was bored and, if he was honest, he was lonely. Never more so than when he was standing right next to his wife.

Today Cara had left before him, without even saying goodbye. And when he got into the office himself, he couldn't find her. Mathieu wanted to confront her about this, force her to talk to him, but for now... they had to go to this meeting. They had missed the last one... the one that had pretty much been Roland's wake. For this reason, at least, Mathieu was looking forward to the meeting... and seeing Roland there as well. It still seemed somewhat unreal to have him back after they had believed him dead. And Mathieu didn't even care how or why or what had happened... he was just glad to have his son back.

Since Cara had left without making coffee this morning, Mathieu was forced to drink the cafeteria coffee. He walked slowly into the room, holding his cup in his hands. As he looked around for a seat, he spotted Riley... sitting alone. Immediately, he began to panic.... Where was Roland?

(Haha... and that pretty much leaves Roland. I'll bring him in tomorrow, hopefully after a few more people have posted...)

[Jacob Tanner]

Jacob followed Cyrus and Constantine toward the meeting. He actually meant to meet Cynthia first but Cyrus started talking to him and well, he couldn't get away at that moment. It was obvious that something was about to really start. He only hoped that his sister would be safe at school. Part of him wondered if his brother was in on these attacks but he didn't think Samuel would turn evil enough to just kill someone. However, people did change. Jacob didn't think he could ever think that Samuel could become a killer. Even though he and Samuel didn't get along that didn't mean anything. As a brother, he hoped that he was alright.

Constantine went off in a different direction when they went in and sat somewhere in the middle and Cyrus went to go sit with his family. Jacob scanned the room and saw the person he was looking for. Slipping into a seat next to Cynthia, he apologized, "Sorry, I was going to attempt to find you before the meeting but Cyrus started talking and I couldn't get away." He gave her a small smile.

[Henri Gillet]

Henri felt bad for leaving Aurelia for a little bit. He knew he should be there but there was an Auror meeting that he had to go to. Slipping away from her, he wrote her a note letting her know where he was going and left it on the little table next to her bed. Luckily she was still sleeping from a potion she was given.

His mind was on Dani. The little girl had to be found fast. He knew that the MLE were doing their best but part of him wanted to scream at them and tell them to pick up the pace. He was getting impatient to have Dani back. It was the only way that Aurelia was going to be okay. Plus, Henri adored the little girl and wanted her to come back as quick as possible.

Even though Aurelia was finally getting rest, Henri was still going with lack of sleep. Looking a little tired and carrying a cup of coffee, he slid into a seat between the middle and the back.

[Roland Ferrera]

It had been Roland's idea for the two of them to arrive separately to the meeting. Too often, it seemed as though they were joined at the hip, and he wasn't entirely sure it was good for Riley. If he was always with her, it would be too easy for her to believe that he wasn't real. They needed to have occasional time apart, and she needed to see him interacting with other people once in a while. So he had agreed to take the dog for a walk before he headed to the meeting.

He was also very aware of the fact that the last auror meeting had been to announce his "death." And no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he was fine with that, it was still a little weird to him. People he barely knew had mourned for him, called him a hero... and he'd actually been hiding out while his girlfriend put her life on the line. At the time, he had felt like he was doing the right thing... but he now wished he had handled things differently.

But he couldn't do anything about all that right now. He had to focus on his job, and on Riley, and on making it up to everyone he had hurt--even unintentionally--with his plan.

As he walked with Phoenix in the little park a few blocks from the apartment, he sort of lost track of time. This was unusual for him, but he did have a lot on his mind. So when a nearby clock tower began to chime, Roland immediately hurried back to the apartment and made sure Phoenix had fresh food and water before he apparated to the Ministry.

Luckily, by the time he walked into the meeting room, the meeting had not yet started. He saw his father standing near the door with a panicked look on his face, and he put a hand on his shoulder. "It's OK, Dad. I'm here," he said. "Come on, why don't you sit with me and Riley?"

[Cara Ferrera]

Cara was never much of a coffee drinker- she would have a cup now and again when she made it for Roland, when he lived with them, and for Mathieu, who was an avid coffee drinker. But with Roland gone, and Mathieu spending all of his time away from her, she just stopped making coffee. And as much as she still loved her husband, she had a hard time forgiving him for abandoning her. So this was just one more way that she quietly reminded him that she was still living independently. She didn't mean to point it out- it was just new habits that had to be made and broken. Like everything else, repairing their relationship would take time.

She was already at the meeting, though she arrived after Riley... and she felt a very familiar panic when she saw the girl alone. But Riley had met her eyes, smiled, and nodded, and that meant to Cara that nothing could be wrong. She hoped. Riley had already proven herself to be quite the actress, and Cara still hadn't forgiven her for that, either.

Her eyes caught Mathieu as he walked in, following his gaze to Riley. As angry as she was, perhaps unjustly, she did feel for the girl. She wondered how many people walked in with the same sudden worry about Roland.

She focused her attention forward again, just waiting. Though she kept an eye on the door, just so she would know when Roland did come in.

When Roland did come in, Cara watched the small interaction between him and his father, and she was torn between relief and...anger, almost. But she hid this, sighed, and settled more fully in her seat.

[Mathieu Ferrera]

Mathieu sighed with relief as Roland came in and touched his shoulder. He doubted that feeling would fade for quite a while. As it was, Mathieu had always worried about all of his children, and somehow he worried about Roland the most. He had a tendency to be reckless and it had always scared Mathieu. Now, after coming so close to losing him, Mathieu really wanted to just hold onto him at all times.

But he couldn't do that; Roland would never allow it. And Mathieu had the rest of the family to hold onto as well. Right now, he had to fight to hold onto his wife.

"Glad you made it," Mathieu said. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to sit with your mother." If she lets me, he added silently.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland nodded and looked over toward his mother just as she turned around in her seat. She'd been looking for him, too, but she was going to pretend that she wasn't. He knew her too well, and he wasn't fooled.

"Yeah, good idea," he said softly, a tinge of regret in his voice. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to stop feeling like he'd let them all down in his attempts to protect them.

He didn't say anything as he made his way into the room. Stopping at the edge of the row where his mother was sitting, he leaned in closer and said a quick, "Hey, mum" before moving on to sit next to Riley.

[Riley Neves]

Riley was quietly watching the scene between the Ferreras, wishing she could just fix it. She kept going over everything in her head. Should she have told them earlier, or never lied to them in the first place. And now Cara and Mathieu were having a hard time of it, and Roland was caught in the middle of it, and Riley felt like she could have stopped it all.

She took a deep breath, instantly blaming the hormones and willing them to go away. They were not conducive to a good working environment. And there were bigger, more important things going on here.

When Roland sat next to her, Riley took his head and gave him a gentle smile. "Everything okay?" she asked quietly.

[Roland Ferrera]

Roland leaned closer to her, giving her hand a light squeeze. Strange how the little things, like holding her hand and leaning up against her, seemed so powerful and important. Sometimes he just needed to feel her near him.

"Yeah, it's OK. I'll have a talk with them after the meeting," he said.

He was beginning to realize that his parents weren't just upset about his "absence" and the things that had happened while he'd been gone. In fact, there was a problem that had probably existed long before his supposed death. He barely saw his parents now, and he hadn't really seen them very often before that. He was gone a lot, he didn't visit as often as they might have liked. And now he spent all of his time alone with Riley. It made them feel like he didn't need them... and that feeling had haunted them when they thought he was dead. Maybe they blamed each other, and that was why they fell apart when he was "gone."

Maybe he was wrong, but it was all he could think of. And if he was right, then maybe he could help them somehow.

But all of that would have to wait until after the meeting. He leaned in and whispered in Riley's ear, "Any idea what this meeting's about?"

[Riley Neves]

Riley watched him for a moment before her eyes turned back to Mathieu and Cara. While Roland blamed himself for their problems, Riley was pretty sure it was hers. She could have made everything so much more bearable if she hadn't lied. But then they would have told their other children, and it wouldn't have worked. Everyone would have ended up knowing. She sighed.

"No... no idea. But judging by the look on Angelique's face, I'm going to guess that it's definitely not celebrating your return."