"It's more of a family thing, you know." Shane replied in between taking sips of her coffee. "Yeah, lemonade is there, but the Dalton family just love the stuff. At every meal, no matter what, there'd be lemonade. Homemade lemonade, as a matter of fact."

She looked at Syd and nodded. "It's pretty much a family tradition to have lemonade right in front of you for me."

"Well then, Miss Dalton, I'll just have to whip up a fresh batch and bring it in. We can enjoy a nice, cool glass of fresh lemonade," Syd said, genuinely excited to have a fellow lemon lover around.

"I'll tell ya, lemonade on a warm summer afternoon back home is pretty much the law."

Syd couldn't help but chuckle. Oh the days of his youth... the days before the prosecutor's office.

"I'd like that very much, Mr. Wordsmith," Shane replied with a nice, warm smile. "I'm sure that the whole department would like it as well. I'm sure there is more lemonade lvoers around here somewhere."

She took a few more sips of her coffee, her cup now half empty, and flicked her wand at the table of little deserts. Good thing that these were her! The table sat down gently in front of the two and Shane reach our for a donut. "Want a donut from here, Mr. Wordsmith? There's all sorts of them here."

"Donut? Well... I guess it couldn't hurt, could it?" he reached over to take one off the table and realized he'd need a napkin.

He got his wand out and made a couple napkins float over toward him and Shane. Before going for the donut this time, he took a napkin and lifted a glazed one out of the box.

"There we go. Na' this is a snack."

Shane smilled as Syd bewitched some napkins. She reached our for a napkin herself and took a nice, small bite into her donut. Mmm! Frosted, filled, and sprinkles. Perfect! She took a few more bites out of her donut and swallowed before talking again.

"So, how are things going in the Department Head's day today? I've seen that you've gotten quite a few visitors. ... Then again, you are the Head, so that should be pretty expected," Shane said, giving Syd a quick wink.

Syd took a bite and nodded approvingly. The donut was still warm and the glaze cracked nicely.

"I have been sort of busy. Level Six needs help... the Minister needs help... There's just so much to get done. But I guess that's what I get for being the boss," Syd laughed.

"And how are things with you and the other judges?" he asked, curious about them...

Shane laughed with Syd. Ahh! Interesting, she though to herself. She smiled and then said, "Well, that's clearly understandable. What's been going on at Level Six? Something going on that I could possibly help out with?"

"Ahh. The other judges," she said, after taking a bite of her donut. "Things have been ... alright. There isn't really much happening in there right now. Thus you see me sitting here at this moment. It's just a matter of time, though. Then it'll be really crazy in there."

"Well it's just a usual case. You might be the judge for it, but I still haven't decided how to pass out cases," Syd said, taking another bite of his donut.

"But you're right. Once things pick up, you guys will be in deep states of thought, judging those cases," he said, chuckling. "Or enjoying your time along in your chambers."

"Or hiding in the smallest corners of our cubicles," Shane giggled. "I don't plan on hiding there, though. I'm here to judge, therefore I must judge. No matter how afraid I am or whatever I'll be feeling when I'm out there. There's no turning back now."

She finished eating her donut and took a few sips of her remaining coffee. Her coffee was a little on the cold side, but it didn't taste that bad. She set down her empty cup and sighed, now looking down at her purple boots that still glimmered in the light.

"Now that is a very good attitude to have," Syd said, smiling to Shane. "Very good attitude. I think you'll end up on one of those chocolate frog cards one of these days."

Syd smiled and finished his donut. It was quite tasty. The box said they were from a muggle shop not too far from the Ministry. He'd have to remember that.

Shane smiled at the thought. I might end up getting myself on one of those Chocolate Frog cards. Now that I wouldn't mind at all. She looked at Syd and giggled. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be on one of the Chocolate Frog cards before I get there myself. You being so helpful everywhere else in the Ministry and still managing to keeping everything in here up and running."

"Yes, well we'll see how long that lasts," Syd laughed. "I might just end up exploding if I continue to run around this place."

He wiped his fingers on his napkin and looked around the room. It was furnished exactly how he had wanted it to be. Classy. Elegant.

"Nice break room, isn't it?"

"Oh, don't worry about exploding," Shane said calmly. "A lot of people here won't let that happen too you. Trust me, you're an excellent boss and we don't want you leaving any time soon."

She took a quick look around the breakroom after Syd had asked her about it. "It's quite charming, really. I wouldn't have designed or decorated it any better. ... It needs more purple in it, to be honest with you." She smiled jokingly.

"More purple, huh?" Syd laughed. "Well I think red and gold would be good compliments to purple."

He stood up and stretched. His hands went into his pockets and looked around the room. He rearranged some books on the shelves and dusted off a few statues.

"Perhaps we could add a few purple things here and there."

"Yes, more purple," Shane said, a wide smile on her face. "Just to make it a little more ... homey for me. In case you haven't noticed, but purple is my favourite colour. Always was and always will be."

She stood up, straightened her purple robes, and walked around the breakroom. "Is there a specific reaosn to why red and gold would be good compliments to purple? Not that I'm complaining or anything of the sort. Just ... curious. However, they would match wonderfully."

"Yes, I believe I have noticed," Syd said, scanning a bookshelf.

He turned back to Shane and shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps he had overdone the red and cold. After all... it was pretty much everywhere.

"Well purple matches both colors nicely," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "So it's only natutal ta add a bit of it in."

"Yes, it is," Shane replied, looking up at the ceiling. "A little purple here and there would look nice. There's just a little too much red and gold, but there must be a good reason for it though."

She smiled at Syd and wandered around the breakroom for a few more minutes. She searched through the cabinents that held all sorts of things that you'd expect to find in a breakroom. She grinned once she found something that might be of interest to both of them in the fridge. "Hey! Did you put this in here?" she asked, pulling out a lemon. She then replied jokingly, "Plenty of lemons in here to live on!"

Syd chuckled. Had she already forgotten her time at Hogwarts? It probably wasn't just connecting yet.

"Red and gold, Miss Dalton. Gryffindor colors," he said, walking toward the refrigerator that Shane was examining.

He peeked in and smiled as he saw the lemons. Sadly, it seemed that his workers were all coffee crazed so very few would be using the lemons.

"Well they go good in tea!" he laughed.

"Mr. Wordsmith," Shane giggled. "I never went to Hogwarts, sadly. I went to school at the Canadian Academy of Magic when I was in my schooling years. So I wouldn't get the whole connection between the red and gold colours. Always lived in Canada until a few months ago when I got the job to work here, whihc makes my knowliedge of Hogwarts maxed down to a minimum. ... But I understand now. You were a lion of courage and bravery in your school years."

She nodded and grinned. "You do know what lemons are great for making, instead of having them with tea, do you?" she asked him with her usual friendly wink.

Syd snapped his fingers and nodded to Shane. She had caught him. Sure it was a blatant contradiction, but she still found it and corrected it perfectly.

"Right. Sorry about that, Miss Dalton. I got myself confused there," he chuckled. "And I do in fact know what we could make. I'll go get the sugar."

"That's alright, Mr. Wordsmith," Shane said, winking at him. "It's really no problem at all. Just a simple mistake. No big deal."

She nodded at him as he went to get the sugar. "I'll get everything else set. ... Maybe we should hide the coffee," she giggled as she went to get a pitcher and a big spoon to stur everything together. She also pulled out a lemon squeezer from one of the cabinents. "My, my, Mr. Wordsmith. You pretty much have everything in here, do you?"

"What use is a kitchen if you don't have enough equipment?" he asked, getting the sugar out from the coffee and tea station.

He walked over to the counter Shane was working at and set the bag of sugar on the counter.

"You squeeze those lemons into the pitcher and we'll add water and sugar accordingly," he said, enjoying the lemon scent.

"That is true," Shane agreed, beginning to squeeze a lemon. "It wouldn't be much of a kitchen without all the supplies." She stopped talking and squeezed a few more lemons.

"So," she said, getting tired of just standing there in silence while squeezing the lemons, "what were your years at Hogwarts like? It seems like Hogwarts is very different from the Canadian Academy of Magic. So, you were a Gryffindor? I know a few things here and there, but what is really the point about having Houses?"

"Well it was pretty nice. I could've gone to Salem's back home in America, but my parents said it'd be nice if I got out and enjoyed Europe. Though I gotta tell ya, England's weather is downright depressin' compared to the ole south," he said, taking the pitcher full of lemon juice.

He took it to the sink and ran the tap into the pitcher. It filled up steadily, the little bits of lemon pulp dancing around as the water gushed in.

"I guess the houses are a way of organizin' the students. Gives them a bit of a family to belong to when they're away from home," he said, hefting the pitcher our of the sink as the level got high enough.

He added some sugar to it and stirred it with a spoon he pulled out of a drawer. It dissolved and he sprinkled a bit more in.

"Orginization, eh?" Shane asked, rolling her eyes. "I understand about the whole part of your House being like a family, but doesn't that just separate everyone all together? For example, I heard that Gryffindors and Slytherins aren't the greatest of friends. I suppose that might've changed by now, but they basically hate each other. I dunno." She paused.

"I guess it's just different for me. At the Academy, we didn't have Houses so to speak. It was just separated from boys and girls, which is about as close from getting to what we'd call a Hogwarts House. ... But I felt like that having a whole bunch of girls, from the oldest age to the youngest, was like a huge family. Hogwarts is probably much bigger than the Academy, so I guess I can see why there's Houses. It's just ... weird."

She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a look that said 'But what do I know? Not like I was there in person.' She looked down at the lemonade and sprinkled a little more sugar in it. "I'm sure that it is sweet enough now." She smiled.