Take me down to the fighting end

[Deleted]

Brooke wandered if there were people out in the world who ever woke up and thought ' Great, another boring day'. And if they did, what were they doing with their lives that it was so completely boring? Did they ever realize that they themselves were the only ones to blame for it? Honestly, if life was that boring, what good was the point of just laying around and doing nothing but complaining? Get up and change your life! Do something exciting that made you grateful for actually getting up and out of bed in the morning! It was save to say that Brooke was not one of those people that woke up every morning and dreaded the day to come. Oh, there were days where she just knew that getting out of bed wasn't worth it. But at the same time, for her those days were far and few between. She made sure of it. And really, it was quite easy to do so. The first - and perhaps the most important - step was to make sure one woke up on the right side of the bed. (Or couch or whatever it was you slept on.) The next step was to make sure you had a job you enjoyed. That's not to mean you have to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day of your job. But for the most part, enjoying what you did was a huge plus, a huge plus on the outlook of your day. And then make sure you got along with your co-workers. Department - and inter-department - friendship was always a MUST when it came to a good and positive work place. Not that Brooke's work place would be considered 'good and positive'. Unless you actually took it literally by face value of what she did. While being a Hit Wizard and making sure dangerous Criminals were behind bars - whether or not they were breathing really depended on how big of a fight they put up - a good and positive thing; in all honesty it was extremely stressful. There are reasons why the testing scores are so high to work in her department. Most people probably wandered why and what one could possibly need of all those skills. Brooke - at those points in time - simply smiled and shook her head while she changed the subject. If they had to ask, they would never understand. But risks aside, Brooke could honestly say she loved her job. And while she may not have gotten along with all of her co-workers, she got along with most of them. After awhile, you just sort of learned to deal with the people you saw every day.  Walking into the Office with a Styrofoam cup in hand, Brooke took a sip of her hot tea as she expertly maneuvered her way behind desks and over tipped piles of paperwork. The past year and been more than hectic; what with the return of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The last time they had been this busy had been during the First Wizarding War. She'd been a rookie then; and most of her active duty days had taken place during the end of the war - cleaning up what was left of the mess left behind. She was just about to turn into her little section when she noticed Andrea sitting at her desk. Not that it was completely unusual - as it was her desk after all - but the young Auror had been stationed to work around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Brooke figured she'd come to the office to complete some paperwork. Still, it had been a while since she'd seen her friend. Taking another sip of her tea, she made her way over to Andrea's desk and leaned against it with her hip. "Look what the cat dragged in! Fancy seeing you here. Let me guess, you missed my beautiful face." Brooke did a little pose with her hand in her curly hair before looking at her friend with a smile. "So I see the kids haven't driven you mad yet. Or have they and that's why they've sent you back?"

ANDREA BRENNAN

[Deleted]

Paperwork. There was always paperwork, and Andrea Brennan was beginning to think that perhaps that was all the Ministry kept her around for these days. While a majority of her time was still dedicated to security detail at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there were still days when she needed to come into the office purely for the purpose of filing reports and looking through paperwork for any suspicious activity. But then again, they were living in a period of war. All activity was suspicious when it came right down to it. Either way, she was bunkering down for a long day in the office, and Andie hoped that her dear dog Stryder would be able to contain himself until she was able to get back to her flat to take him for a walk.

”Bloody hell,” Andrea grumbled as she settled in at her desk with a quill in hand and a cup of straight black coffee in the other. It seemed like a mountain of paperwork had formed since her last trip into the office, and with a slight jolt she realized that two of the reports needed to be filed by the end of today. It was one of these reports that she pulled close first, and began scribbling out the information required as she took a sip of her coffee and desperately hoped that the caffeine would take effect soon.

The bags under Andrea’s eyes were proof that this war, even if she had barely taken part in it, were beginning to take its toll on her. People were going missing every day. While the war front had gone relatively quiet, there were still missing persons to locate and murders to solve - not that there was much solving involved, she noted bitterly, considering everyone knew exactly who was behind all of these murders. Muggleborns and halfbloods like Andie found dead in alleyways or their homes, and once again, fear for her mother spiked as she considered the danger her mother was in just by living here in London. When she visited next, she’d have to push for her mum to go into hiding once again, for fear of what would become of her if she didn’t.

So many people wanted to know where family members were, where friends were, where lovers were. It made Andrea’s heart and mind ache as she stared down at these reports. All necessary requests and warrants to search areas for bodies and missing persons, and many were actual official requests made by families to have the Auror Department search for their loved one. Almost as if she’d become a machine, Andie signed off on each and every request, and even though she didn’t realize it, she was actually making fairly steady headway through the very mountain of paperwork that she’d been dreading when she first came in here.

Andie was so caught up in her work that she didn’t even realize that someone was approaching until Brooke Selwyn’s voice met her ears, and the young Auror looked up at the Hit Witch with a bright grin and a look of relief on her face. ”Well, of course, I missed your beautiful face and all of this lovely paperwork, naturally,” Andie said with a slight smirk, as she gestured to the wide array of papers that littered her desk. Leaning back in her chair and deeming that it was as good of a time for a back as any, she took a sip of her coffee. ”Though let me tell you, no cat would be able to drag this hot mess anywhere. And nah, those little blighters could never drive me mad - if anything they couldn’t possibly handle the amazingness that is myself in their midst.”

The young Auror set her coffee down and stretched luxuriously, feeling the long-still muscles popping. ”Had to come in and take care of some paperwork, is all, someone else is covering my shift for today and tomorrow. What about you? No baddies to go out and nab for the time being?”

BROOKE SELWYN

[Deleted]

Brooke really liked Andie. In all honesty, the young Auror reminded her so much of herself. She wished she could ad the ‘at that age’ phrase onto the sentence, but Brooke would be lying if she said she was a different woman now. Many fine things got better with age; and she liked to think she did as well. But not in the aspect most people would have thought. And that was fine with her. She had no desire really to change who she was. A slight scoff escaped Brooke as she waved a hand to dismiss the paperwork comment. Really, there was only one reason why Andie came back and they both knew it. “Keep telling yourself that Sweetie. You’re only kidding yourself about your.. Lovely paperwork.” She gave a slight wink as she took a sip from her cup. There was nothing more calming than tea for the nerves. And while she may have loved her job dearly, there was no denying that the stress level for the job was extremely high. They all had to make sacrifices somewhere. She tilted her head slightly in agreement as she swallowed her bit of tea. “Very true. You’d be the one dragging the cat in I suppose.” She laughed lightly at her friends comment. “Are the children alright? What with being prolonged to your amazing awesomeness. Andie, I thought I told you, our job was to protect the children, not cause them harm. Honestly, I thought we were finished with this talk.” She gave the younger woman a mock frown, shaking her head in disappointment. “Oh, what are we going to do with you.” When asked what she had been up to, Brooke gave a wave around the office. “You’re looking at it Sweetie. The most excitement I’ve seen were the attacks on Hogsmeade. Other than that, it’s be really quite. Lots of paperwork, trying to follow up on leads. But… nothing. We know where to look… but we can’t. Policy’s won’t allow us.”

ANDREA BRENNAN

[Deleted]

”I know, but at least kidding myself is better than sitting around here moping and moaning about how many reports I’ve filed through that should have gone to some other department,” Andrea grumbled. She had a particular reason for despising paperwork, or so she believed, seeing as it was really all the Auror Department had her doing for the past two years. Hogwarts had been her first technical field assignment, and even then it was just a security detail, but she still loathed the days when she’d have to come in and do the droll work that reminded her of those dreadfully boring years that started her off here at the Ministry.

There had always been something about Brooke that Andie had trust in, and she didn’t give away trust like Galleons at a charity function. Hit Wizards had it a little tougher than the Aurors did - while Aurors did just about everything, they only did the general crimes and served as a general peacekeeping force. They were only meant to make arrests when it was a last resort. Hit Wizards were actually sent out to directly deal with darker and more dangerous criminals, and anyone who had the spunk for that job automatically had some good graces in Andrea’s book. It wasn’t that the former Slytherin didn’t have the spunk herself, just that her hopes for her career in the future laid in a different direction. But as she smiled up at the other woman, it was a genuine smile, unlike the usually fake one she put on for so many of her coworkers and people she encountered.

Andrea snorted at Brooke’s remark. ”Damn right I’d be dragging the cat in. Furry little beasts,” she said. Cats had always irked her for some reason, she was much more of a dog person. And her years at Hogwarts with the Gryffindors and their obsession with being cats as opposed to her being a “snake” didn’t do too much to help her already irritation with the four-legged felines.

Then she outright laughed at the remark about the children. Andie shook her head at the other woman’s comment, doing her best to look rightfully ashamed. ”You know me, Brooke. I’m a fast learner with everything except when it comes to children. They’re little monsters, I tell you, just like cats,” she replied. The play shame turned into a bright and angelic smile, the one that Andrea used to pull back in her not-so-far away days at Hogwarts when she was caught causing some kind of trouble. ”I mean, really, can you really blame me? I can’t control it, I never learned how.” Stretching, though, she observed, ”It has been a while since we last talked, though. How’s your family doing?”

The news that everything had been quiet around here made Andrea scowl, but not because she was angry with Brooke for the information, but simply because it frustrated her, just as she was sure it annoyed the older officer. It might be quiet around the office, and even the warfront relatively quiet, but by no means was nothing happening. And with all of these laws to protect purebloods in place, she understood what Brooke was talking about, at least when it came to all of the policies in place. A tired sigh escaped the young woman as she thought about it, and she leaned back in her seat and ran a hand through her long, dark hair. ”That’s just insane, is what it is. This Ministry’s so determined to make us look honorable, but we’re letting them all slip through our fingers in the process. Security detail’s been pretty quiet too, other than Hogsmeade. Nobody’s insane enough to try and attack the school directly. Even without us watching out over it, there’s still all these enchantments that would keep the Death Eaters out. It’s not that I enjoy the violence or any of that, but… even that would be better than the lull we’re in right now.”

BROOKE SELWYN | Andie's question is basically aka HOW IS LIL BABY HARPER

[Deleted]

Brooke smiled lightly at Andi in an understanding sort of way. Oh, she knew that feeling! When she had first joined up, they had been in the first war. And even after that dreadful Halloween night, there had still be tons of Death Eaters to catch. They had been stretched thin then. But even then, there had been paperwork. Oh Merlin had there been paperwork! Brooke had worked ridiculously long hours back then. Of course, she still worked ridiculous hours, but back then it had been constant all nighters. During the day, she had ran around attempting to catch Death Eaters and others for questioning. The night hours were devoted to the numerous amounts of files that had to be filled out and sent on their way. “Don’t worry, soon there will be fresh blood in the department. You can push the paperwork off onto them. But I’m afraid the more this war goes on, the more paperwork there’ll be. You’ll be wishing for the ‘boring years’ just so you don’t have to fill out as many files.” Brooke was currently having her own problems with the dreaded beast known as paper. She could already imagine her poor in-tray. Undoubtedly it had spilled over and was covering most of her desk, and – if she were truly unlucky – parts of her cubicle floor. Oh she was going to need a drink after this one! And a good shag. Maybe just a good shag… and if there were drinks involved, she’d just count herself lucky. A laugh escaped her at her friends little outburst. “But cats are so much fun! And so deadly too.” Oh, Brooke wouldn’t call herself a cat person so to speak. But neither was she a dog person. She didn’t have time for animals. But cats were elegant. They demanded attention from the room around them and they knew how to work their environment to get what they wanted. And as calm and docile as they could be, they could just as quickly turn deadly. She laughed harder at her friends cheeky response, giving her shoulder a slight swat. She reached up to brush her blonde curls out of her face; not that it did any good, as they fell right back; but it was always worth a try! “Oh, they’re good. Mum’s still being a bother about settling down. Dad’s still playing with his garden. Henry and Karen are struggling a bit; what with Diagon Alley not being as crowded as it usually is; bad for business, see. Of course, people still need their Quidditch Supplies. So most of the orders come in via Owl Order. They’ve had to make a few cuts here and there on hours, but Henry and Karen have always been well off. I’m sure they’ll manage fine. If not, I’d be more than happy to throw some gold their way; not like I have much use for it. “Olivia is excited for next year. Every time I send her an owl, she keeps reminding me she’s going to Hogwarts next year. As excited as I am for her, I’m also frightened. I know Henry and Karen were discussing what to do; whether or not they were going to send her to Hogwarts or just home school her. Course, that’ll cost more, but for now they’re watching and waiting. Little Henry had to go to St. Mungo’s the other night. For some reason he thought jumping out of the tree was a good idea. Though that may have something to do with the fact that Karen left her wand laying about, Olivia grabbed it and convinced Henry that she placed a Hovering Charm on him. Bless! That boy will definitely end up in Gryffindor! And Baby Harp’s entering her terrible twos. Love her to bits, but I don’t envy Henry and Karen for having to deal with her right now! Of course, it doesn’t help that they just give her whatever she wants. I warned Henry against this, but what would I know!” She rolled her eyes in a way that clearly stated ‘men’. “What about yourself? How have you been?” It was rather frustrating, wasn’t it? A sigh escaped Brooke as she nodded her head. “Well the rumor going around is that they’re letting them slip through on purpose. A few of us believe the Ministry’s been infiltrated… Hell, we know it has been… but we’ve no proof or no way of getting the proof without risking our jobs and – by extension – our families. And who exactly are you supposed to go to, when it’s the higher ups you suspect?” She nodded her head, staring out over the desks. “This lull in fighting… they want us to lower our guards. We should be guarded now more than ever. Granted, they never tried this tactic during the last war… But they’re smarter this time around. They’re waiting for something, we’ve just got to figure out what before it’s to late.”

ANDREA BRENNAN

[Deleted]

Andie sighed at Brooke’s assessment - she certainly hoped that was true. But with the war having started up, fewer and fewer people were applying for Auror positions and entering into the training program, and more people were dropping out than ever before. While that meant that the people still coming through were tough as nails and were sure as hell committed to seeing their career through, there was still the fact that they were getting less and less people into these positions. It seemed like nobody wanted to be caught in the Ministry when this all truly came to a head, and it wasn’t like Andrea could really blame them either.

”I hope so,” she grumbled, returning her mind to the subject at hand. ”Yeah, well, the paperwork’s already picked up because we’re sending so many idiots to Azkaban without giving them proper trials. Like I get the need for the speediness, but… all the damn paperwork coming in for appeals? I think I’m going to drown in all the paperwork. Even though most of it should be going through the actual law department. I’m an officer, for Merlin’s sake, not some wizard lawyer’s intern.” Well… so much for keeping herself quiet on relatively political matters. Andrea had been raised by a muggleborn and raised around Muggles, she still frequently used Muggle slang and terminology despite the fact that most wizards and witches working here had no idea what she was talking about.

Andie huffed at the idea of cats. She was very much a dog person, and didn’t enjoy the hissing little felines. She liked them about as much as they liked her. ”You’ve got the deadly part down,” she replied. ”But not against me, those little buggers aren’t. I’d much rather take my pup over some fluffed up furball cat any day of the year.” Speaking of Stryder, she glanced at the clock on the wall. She’d have to be heading home in a while to let him out and maybe take him for a walk. Andie loved her dog because he gave her the chance to get exercise, and he was always a bundle of energy. She was a young woman who had grown up mostly surrounded in affection and care. She liked coming home to a similar environment, even if the affection was coming from a dog that relied on her for survival as much as it did for attention.

The young Auror grinned cheekily as she got swatted on the shoulder. She listened to Brookes anecdotes about her family with a sort of blissful longing - in a way, she wished she had a family like that, some big brothers and sisters who had kids of their own. Even though she would outwardly claim that she hated children, to Andie they were very much like puppies. Troublesome, but in the end sweet and always just looking for a little bit of love. ”If I still played, I’d go and buy some merchandise to try and help them along, but at least they’re managing. But I remember when Aidan was getting ready to come to Hogwarts. He never stopped asking me what it was like in his letters. If you want, you can tell little Olivia she can send a letter to him to ask about it if she’d like. I’m sure he won’t mind. That is, if it won’t break her heart if she doesn’t end up going. But her parents should probably know that it’s a rather well-guarded school. She’ll be safer there than she is at home. I would know.” Another somewhat cheeky smirk after a somewhat cheeky remark.

In fact, she was rather sure that Aidan would mind, but he was her little brother, and he was also a good kid at heart, so he’d reply to a little ten-year old girl even if it was a bit of an inconvenience. ”Oi, jumping out of a tree isn’t always a bad idea, it can be a lot of fun if you know how to land the right way. But a Gryffindor? Blech.” She was naturally teasing, but being an ex-Slytherin, she felt the playful jab necessary. ”She sounds like a right little troublemaker in the making, that little Harp does,” she then said, and sighed at Brooke’s question. ”I’ve been alright. Still trying to convince Mum to go into hiding, but she won’t have any of it, and even Marcus is getting a little antsy about her continuing to work here with everything going on. Stryder’s getting bigger, it won’t be long before he isn’t even a puppy anymore, but that’s really about it. It’s still been too long since I’ve had a shag, so that’s probably factoring into this whole stress issue.” Andie had always been a somewhat blunt young woman, so blurting that out in public honestly didn’t have much of an effect on her.

Looking back up at Brooke, she began to wonder. How tough of a position the Ministry was in right now, what kind of a position their entire society was in right now, with this war. The lull in fighting was troubling, and Andrea nodded sagely at Brooke’s words. ”It feels like the only way to get anything done is through vigilante work,” she grumbled, ”Which we both know either of us would lose our heads for if we tried. But trust me, my guard isn’t going down for a second. They’re planning something, alright, it’s just eating me alive that I don’t know what.”

BROOKE SELWYN

[Deleted]

Being an Auror was a nice title to carry around. It came with weight, and if you were able to shoulder it people usually thought twice before they tried anything against you. But there was difference between carrying that title during times of peace - when it was just simply a title - and carrying that title during times of war - when the weight of that title actually meant doing something; getting your hands dirty. People were just to frightened to fight back. They knew the risks were higher. Going after Death Eaters was never easy. And when you did it as an Auror, your family became a target. Brooke had always known what she wanted. She knew she had wanted to strike fear in Death Eaters; she wanted to be a symbol that - for all intents and purposes - meant badass. And what better way to get experience than to just jump into the middle of it all? So she had. And she'd been loving it ever since. "I've tried talking to Selene about that. But apparently the orders are coming from Higher Up. So that means the Minister himself. She does as she's told and we do as we're told. Nothing for us to do. And every department is swamped with work. At this point, they're figuring out what the papers are for, and sending them to an office as close to the subject matter as possible. Which means we get stuck with the Appeals. In all honesty, I don't see what the M.L.E. are so busy with that they can't handle their own paperwork. We're the ones with our hands full." She was used to the amount of muggle terms Andie would some times speak with. It had thrown her at first, but she'd quickly gotten used to it. Usually the younger woman was good at keeping strictly to terms other witches and wizards were familiar with. But when stressed, Brooke noticed that some words still slipped in. She shrugged her shoulders. "Depending on what type of dog you get, they're more of a fur ball than cats. I never did like the long haired cats. To much grooming to do. And dogs are so much work. I don't have time for them. Cats can take care of themselves. Just leave some food and water down, clean the litter box and your golden." Dogs took away from work, and going out and having a good time. Brooke shrugged her shoulders, taking another sip from her hot beverage. "That's nice of you, Sweetie, but really it wouldn't be necessary. Quidditch matches will be played come hell and high water. Even if the Atmosphere burned up or if the sun suddenly became poisonous, people would still play it, and people would still go out to watch. So long as the major teams need supplies, Henry won't have trouble about getting a paycheck." A sigh escaped her. "Is it safer? How many attacks have been right outside the castle in Hogsmeade? Students were hurt in those attacks. How long until something actually happens to the school? I know I may be acting paranoid, but I just can't help but worry. Merlin, I sound like my Mother!" And she was just the aunt! She could only imagine what Karen must be feeling. She laughed and shoved her friend slightly. "Better then Slytherin." she said, making a playful face in Andie's direction. Of course, it didn't matter to Brooke. She was long past the silly rivalry of old School Houses. But it did make for great teasing material. "Ah! You and me both. At this point I'm liable to just grab someone down in the Atrium and tell them to shut it and shag me. That's what we should do. Just go out, grab a guy and tell him no strings attached." Okay, so maybe she was being a bit easy there. But a good shag was an excellent way to unwind. Another sigh escaped her as she nodded her head. She knew exactly how Andie felt. It was the same feeling that kept her awake at night. "We'll just keep an eye out for each other. Same as we always do."

ANDREA BRENNAN