Silas had been so cold and calculating and it made Dora's blood boil. "Fine you have a great day Co worker she spat and turned on her heel to flee the scene as it were. All she really wanted was to hit him with a stunner and walk away, but she had to be professional.... or did she.

Brandishing her wand over her shoulder she shot a well aimed tripping jinx at Silas as smiled with satisfaction.

Silas was caught off-guard by Dora's sharp retort. Great he thought. As if I wasn't feeling bad enough about it already. He'd been a right git, and he knew that. He'd upset her, he knew that. It was this precarious balance between protecting himself and treating her well. It was exactly this reason why Silas was such a loner. And why he switched jobs so frequently.

He was shuffling away when suddenly his feet slid out from under him and he landed face-first on the hard floor. "oof." that was the only sound he made and he laid there and gingerly lifted a finger to his face. Internally berating himself for having been so clumsy (it didn't occur to him that he had been tripped), he thought it almost a sort of karmic justice. Dabbing at what felt wet under his nose, he pulled back his fingers and saw the unmistakable color of blood.

Dora heard him smack the floor and had to stifle a giggle as it were she said over her shoulder, "You really should watch where you're going Silas, you could hurt yourself." She had spoken very icily and murmered I'm not sorry. Wow that was.... wrong. BAH! Why couldn't Dora be mean?!

Turning around Dora saw Silas still lying in the floor. "Sorry Silas." she said with a sigh and turned to help him up. On approaching him she noticed he was bleeding. "It looks like you broke your nose. I can fix it." Dora said as she knelt in fromt of him. Pulling out her wand she muttered Episkey and held out a hand to help Silas up.

The tone of her voice hurt almost as much as the floor had. He imagined she'd leave, then, and gloat over how he got what was coming to him. But instead, she came over to help him up, and mended his broken nose. That was clearly above and beyond. Remorse wasn't an emotion Silas felt very often, but it coursed through his veins in that moment.

Taking Dora's hand, and before he could think better of it, he got up and, still holding her hand, looked her in the eye and began to speak.

"Dora, I want to sincerely apologize for my actions; I was rude and dismissive," his dark eyes searched her face. "I'm not asking you to forgive me.. just.. may I try to make it up to you?" Silas was clearly not in control at this moment, unsure of what he was trying to accomplish. Guilt was something he'd always carried.. but this guilt was fresh and it gnawed at his stomach.

"Don't answer now," he paused, "please." He released her hand and turned to leave. "Just let me know.. and, uh.." he pointed to his mended nose. "thanks."

Dora listened as Silas apologized and couldn't take her mind off the fact that her hand felt so nice in his...right. Silas was trying to make amends and Dora would forgive him, of course. She really should apologize for tripping him like that, but she wouldn't- he got what was coming to him. She simply stood there silently and nodded when Silas asked if he could make it up to her. He turned to leave... say something, stop him she thought, but let him walk....

"Siilas, you tell me when and where and I'll be there." she called after him and hastily took off down the hall before she could say anything stupid. "Oh yeah, no thanks necessary for the nose. It was the least I could do after I tripped you." Dang it... too honest a person Dora, too honest. she giggled a bit and then stepped back into her office.

She was calling after him... yes, she'd do it. "Tonight then? After work? I'll send you a note." He turned and continued to walk down the hall, unsure of whether or not she'd just said that she had tripped him.

Dora was standing in the corridor daydreaming a bit. Her heart was telling her one thing, but her head was screaming for her to be rational.... but rationality was not something she was used to. Dora was more of a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person... Silas was exactly the opposite. It was obvious that he put lots of thought into his actions... if only he thought about the things he said!

Dora stepped to the watercooler and picked up a glass and put it under the tap to fill up. All the while thinking of Silas...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

days/weeks later....

Dora took a deep breath as she entered the corridor. Wow.. maybe she had returned to work too soon. She was having hard time controlling her anger and she felt like weeping. She reached the watercooler after a moment and lay her head against the cool wall and took a deep breath. She began to let the tears escape.

Silas stepped into the hall, about to head over to check on Dora when he saw her in the hallway with her head against the wall.

"Dora?" Silas approached slowly. Who knew what kind of mood she was in. "Sweetheart, are you ok?" Silas couldn't tell if she was crying or resting or what. He was pretty sure she'd come back to work too soon, but she's ignored all his protests and insisted. She still couldn't walk without wincing, but here she was.

Silas reached out a hand, and gently placed it on her shoulder. "It's me. What's wrong?"

Dora turned and launched herself on Silas. She let her tears flow freely. "I think you were right, I don't know if Ican handle this. I have been snappy with everyone and now I feel horrible about it." she said through choking sobs. She hated being so weepy all the time, but she was hurting!

She tightened her grip on Silas and cried even harder. She took deep breaths to try and soothe herself, but it didn't seem to be working. "I think I want to go to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat. Would you like to come with me?" she asked Silas between her hiccups.

Silas staggered a bit, surprised that she'd thrown herself on him. He'd been bracing for a stunner. "Shhh, you can do this. It's ok." Silas held her and stroked the back of her head. Be strong for her, Silas, he told himself, trying to fight away the exhaustion that was creeping in.

"That's it... let it out." He spoke softly. It had to go somewhere, after all. And better tears staining his shirt than something else. "Food sounds like a good idea. I haven't eaten much today." Truth was, he wasn't very hungry. He hadn't had much of an appetite since Dora got back. He wished he knew what to do, but he hid his feelings; he had to... for her sake.

Wiping the tears from her face, Silas smiled at her. "Shall we?" he asked, extending his arm in true gentlemanly fashion.

Dora tried to compose herself a bit and put ona plastic smile for Silas and said, "We shall!. Dora put her arm through Silas' and set off toward the lifts. She couldn't help but giggle as she tripped over her own feet and nearly fell bringing Silas with her. It hurt, but she felt more like herself than she had in days and that gave her hope.

Melanie walked out of the office, sure that Dora was following her, she had only taken a few steps when she pirouetted back, gazing into Dora's face.

"What in Merlin's name is going on with you?!" she asked raising her hands then letting them fall to her sides. Dora was her best friend, she had the right to ask ... right?

Dora knew this was coming eventually. She had been dreding this. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." she muttered. Heaving a big sigh she looked at Mel and said, "So, am I being reprimanded for having personal issues or what? I wasn't aware that it was against Ministry policy to have a rough couple of weeks." She raised an eyebrow to Mel and crossed her arms across her chest as her hair slowly began to turn to red.

Melanie pulled her face back and tilted it to the side analysing Dora's tone. Don't get mad, don't get mad..she echoed to herself " It is against Ministry policy if it interferes with your work!" she snapped"You keep storming in and out of the room for apparently no reason, and I'm your friend you can tell me whatever is happening" she said more seriously, touching her arm " I will believe you!" she pleaded.

Dora took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I am getting all of my work done, Melanie. There is nothing wrong with my work ethic!" Dora said. She shook off Mel's arm and said, "I know you are concerned and I thank you for that. There has been a lot of stuff going on lately. I have the scars to prove it." She screwed up her face and let it turn to it's typical face. It was covered in deep red scars from her recent battle. "Do you still think you need to know?" she asked.

Mel's eyes narrowed at Dora's gesture and she crossed her arms over her chest. But then her jaw dropped which she quickly recovered. " What was that?!?" she asked, trying to reach her face, but flinching away " what happened to you, I want to know, I demand to know, I'm your friend for crying out loud!" she exclaimed, her voice raising up as she grabbed Dora by both of her arms, determined not to let her go. She shook her lightly " TELL ME!" she demanded in an act so unlike of hers. Her eyes were flaming and her jaw was locked with tension.

"MEl, there is so much you don't understand, so much you don't know about me." she said quietly. Wiggling out of Mel's grasp she walked to the watercooler and pressed her forehead to the wall as she filled a cup of with water. "You know I used to be an Auror. Well, the reason I left America to come home is because of one of my team members turned out to be a Dark Wizard responsible for a lot of the deaths we were investigating. Well, i figured it out and confronted him. It all went wrong. He took off after the vowed to repay me in kind for the trouble I had nopw caused him."
She took another steadying breath and turned back to face Mel. "Well, he found me and he kept his word" she said with a shaking voice. She lifted her shirt a bit and showed Mel the bruises that still darkened her back. "He invaded my home while Silas was there and I went after him. He...uh... got the better of me for a whie, but when Edward and his team arrived things got better. I dueled with him... he was fighting to kill. It's over now though. But I will ahve the scars tyo show for the rest of my life. He killed Prometheus and then he killed Edward. I couldn't let him take Silas, Mel." She looked at her friend beseechingly.

"Well, you wanted to know. Now I've told you. Can I go please. I can't be here right now"

Mel was a little taken back by all the information Dora gave her. It was all too awful to be true. She said nothing and stayed in silence for a long minute " You should have told me" she ended up saying, raising her eyes to Dora's face. " I had the right to know, to try and help you, Dora, I'm your friend ain't I? I could have helped protecting you... Edward, he killed him, I can't begin to imagine how that was for you I..." Melanie was starting to feel guilt to making her tell her all those horrible stories.

"Yes.. sure.. go" she said, stepping aside.

"There was nothing anyone could have done to help, Mel. I didn't even let Silas go with me. It's over now and I am just dealing with the aftermath. I am getting better though. Both mentally and physically. I am sorry for not telling you, but Silas took good care of me when I came back. Thank Merlin he was already at my house when I floo'd in." Dora said quietly wiping a single tear from her eye.

When Mel dismissed her she walked over and gave Mel a quick kiss on the cheek and said, "I really am sorry. THank you for being a friend Mel."

With that she turned on the spot and apparated out of the Ministry.

Calla, red marker in hand, made her way through the breakrooms and corridors. She slunk in the corners and shadows to make sure she wasn’t seen.

Ben was just minding his own beeswax, patrolling the corridor and sipping on his tea when something caught his eye. At first glance, it looked like the posters that Mr. Stryker had been handing out to all the employees...but someone had added their own additions to this one.

His eyes widened as he read what was written on the poster before walking forward and yanking it off the wall. Normally, he didn't get this angry over something soooooo unimportant but...he was NOT going to have the name of his level dragged through the mud because people were a little upset over the whole werewolf thing.

Hmmm, but now...what would be done about this? He had heard rumors of arguments breaking out all over the level, and he had to put an end to this now before someone got hurt even though this had already occurred, he just didn't know it yet. Tapping his chin as he brainstormed, he walked back into his office and shut the door behind him.

Someone sneaks down the corridor and sticks this to the wall with the following message flashing across it:

Join us as we stand up for Beings and Beasts Rights!Don't give into the injustice. Stand up and walk out for what you believe. Join the hundreds of Wizarding Workers who are opposed the Ministry's prejudice against those who are different! There will be a mass walk out on Saturday at 4 p.m. to show your support for those who have none. Take to the streets of Diagon Alley and stand up for what is right!

A tightly folded piece of parchment floated above the water-cooler as if suspended by a string from the ceiling. It was just out of reach, but would float down if the right person came close enough. Only the intended receipient would be able to read it.

Her name flashed on the front. Dora

Dora spotted a floating piece of parchment above the watercooler. As it turned toward her she her name flashing across the front of it. She was on edge and had morphed into someone no one would recognize. Where Dora would be standing there was a young man now standing. He wore horn rimmed glasses and had brunette hair that hung down in his eyes. The slender man was wearing the black robes Dora had donned for work that day. Luckily Dora had worn her favorite pair of black Converse, so there wasn't a weird guy wearing ladies shoes in the corridor.

As she neared the watercooler the piece of parchment fell from the air and landed at her feet. Slowly she reached down and scooped it up. With shaky hands she opened it to read the nexy riddle. Her brow was furrowed and she read it through twice before it hit her... She knew where she had to go next.

Taking off toward the lifts she shoved the note in her robes and continued her search to save Silas.

Tasha saw that Melanie was in the Breakroom, so she walked in towards her. "Hey Melanie!, hows it going. I just got back from visiting my mother. She kept saying that she wanted to go to a Muggle Hospital but I wouldn't let her. Shes so used to doing things lets say the "Hard way" she laughed. "The only thing she isn't complaining about is that her injuries will take less time to heal. she's so funny that one. Thats why you got to love your Parents always there to make you laugh." she told Melanie.