Tales from the Auror Office

Trick or Treat

October 30th, 2021

Like usual, my alarm went off precisely at 5:25am. I snoozed it until 5:50 when I actually got out of bed. From there, I brushed my teeth, threw some bread into the toaster, heated up the kettle for some morning tea, and went back into my room to get dressed.

When we first started training, Harry told us that each uniform cloak was unique to the auror, much like a wand is specific to its owner. I think that was just an excuse to give us mismatched "uniforms." But whether or not that story's true, my tan cloak did fit me extremely well and had an abundance of pockets, which I always appreciate. I slipped it on over my dark blouse and black jeans, making sure to tuck the bottom of my pants into my tall combat boots.

When I emerged from my room again, Elinor has finished making breakfast and was waiting for me, already dressed for the day. We chatted a bit about the Daily Prophet headline then headed off to work.

Ever since the summer, when the DA started, the auror office had been rearranged into scattered groups of cubicles to accommodate our new organization into teams. Of course, no one else really knew that these teams were supposed to help us DA aurors communicate more easily. Seb was already in when Elinor and I arrived. He was making his way through a large stack of papers while drinking his second cup of coffee, per usual. He greeted us without looking up.

Beside him, Charles's desk was still empty, as the man himself was still out on mission. Recently, he'd mostly been getting assigned to guard Hogwarts, which according to him was super boring but fortunately helpful for the DA. He wouldn't get off that station for another month, but at least he would be there in case something happened.

Likewise, Teddy was nowhere to be found, though that wasn't a surprise. He'd been coming in a bit later now that Torie's almost due to give birth. I'm pretty sure Harry told him to go ahead and take leave starting next month, but Teddy's set on staying for another week more just so he doesn't get too behind in training. Like he isn't already.

Anyways, my laptop was starting up when Lena Donnelly, an auror on Dominic's team, passed by on her way to the breakroom. "Morning, Honor Roll!" she called out while sipping her coffee.

Seb stuck his head up. "Honor Roll? That is not the team name I submitted," he grumbled.

Lena just laughed. "Oh I know," she winked. Elinor threw me a confused look.

"She means that we were all Headboy or Headgirl at Hogwarts," I explained, still waiting for my computer to load.

Seb started going on about team names but Lena was already gone, and Elinor and I had started talking about our mission at hand.

There used to be this poster of a beautiful sunset over a precipice by the sea hanging in my cubicle. It was posted alongside a map of the London underground and a drawing of a phoenix that Victoire gave me last Christmas. In the middle of this idyllic scene was the silhouette of a man, arms spread wide, jumping off the cliff and into the shimmering water below. "Expect the Unexpected" was printed in bold font across the top.

I thought the saying ironic when I first pinned it up – a muggle phrase that didn't even begin to capture the wonder and chaos of the wizarding world. But now... Well, now, several hours later, I was staring at the poster with mild annoyance as Elinor looked over my shoulder at my laptop.

"Nope. Not that one. No. Next. What even is that?" Elinor's curt rejections echoed through the quiet office. Seb looked up at us curiously from his cubicle, which sat diagonal to mine. Help me, I mouthed at him. He chuckled and shook his head. Can't get you out of this one, he mouthed back.

I glared at him but continued scrolling through the gallery of pictures, wishing I had picked a shorter list to traverse. Why did I think "100 Costume Ideas for Halloween 2021" was a great idea? By dismissal number 73, Elinor seemed to come to the same conclusion. "These are all dumb," she complained. "Can't we just wear our old school robes again this year?"