Whisper Courage

Two Words

Friday dawned early, and Aurora kissed Remus goodbye longer than usual. She and Sadie had decided that she would spend the night at Sinead's and not see Remus again until the wedding. It was tradition, something Aurora never really paid much attention to, but she figured that she might as well get caught up in superstition. It could be fun, a night just to the two girls.

"See you tomorrow. Don't go having a bachelor's night on me,” she winked and kissed him once more before leaving.

“You know you won’t have to worry about that,” he laughed.

Once she arrived at the Ministry, Aurora sat down in her chair, next to Kinsey. He grinned at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." 

"Your smile is creeping me out. What?" She asked again, and he shook his head. She narrowed her eyes at him and he just smiled on.

"Close your eyes," he demanded and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"Just do it." She sighed and closed her eyes, covering them with her hands. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a necklace, placing it carefully into one of her hands.

"Open," he said softly. She stared at it for a moment in awe. It was a thin silver chain, and hanging from it was a small pendant- a tiny, shining, blue flower. In the center of the petals was a blue gem.

"Kinsey...?" She asked. No, he couldn't have bought this. It was too much. She was about to protest when he spoke again.

"It was my sister's," he said softly, and closed her hand around it now.

"You know that old superstition for weddings? The bride has to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Well, this knocks out the borrowed and the blue in one hit, right?" He smiled, and she hugged him tightly.

"Kinsey!" She exclaimed, and he laughed before hugging her back. 

~

She slipped the necklace away safely and they got to work soon after. How could Sadie think Kinsey was evil? A Death Eater wouldn't be so kind or so thoughtful as that. 

The day passed slowly, and she only left her office once to run a quick errand to Umbridge's office. She was about to knock when she heard voices inside.

"Yes. Sadie Bell. I've talked to Davidson about this one. He's sure." It was Umbridge's voice, no doubt about it. Aurora knew if she got caught eavesdropping, she'd be in serious trouble, but she couldn't resist. 

"Well, that's another blood traitor. You know, all this pureblood goes to waste." It was Yaxley's voice and Aurora bit her lip to keep from making any noise. Umbridge spoke again.

"Yes. Well, I expect you'll be apprehending her soon?" 

"Yes, as soon as we can. It's too late for today, but perhaps we'll get it done next week." They were silent for a moment and Aurora was about to turn and run away, but she heard her own name spoken.

"Do you trust Ms. Finch? They were good friends at school," Yaxley asked, and Aurora held her breath. Aurora knew that Yaxley wasn’t particularly fond of her, mostly because she had never expressed a respect for him. In her opinion, he hadn’t become the Head of the department because he was talented; it had been a choice based on his allegiance. Thicknesse, who was now the Minister of Magic and most certainly under an imperius curse, had been a wonderful person to run the department and Aurora had admired his ability to keep the place together smoothly. Yaxley had always been short-tempered and stared at her much too long. Umbridge paused for a moment before speaking, and it felt like an eternity.