Too Honest ~ James Potter

Chapter 44

When the morning of Mariya's first day of her internship arrived, she couldn't help but feel immensely nervous; they hadn't been told who was in each group yet and she didn't even know which country she would be travelling to. The only proper information she had been given was that she was meant to apparate to the Ministry of Magic for seven in the morning with all of the clothing and money she would need for her trip.

Mariya had packed her case the night before, carefully enlarging the bag so that it would hold more items than apparent and then charming it to ensure she wouldn't have to deal with the full weight of it. Taking a shower and curling her hair so it fell in spiralling ringlets against her skin, she quickly made sure there weren't any smudges on her glasses before putting them on. They had been told to dress down seeing as how there would be a fair amount of travelling for most of them once they reached their placement countries, and so Mariya found a more casual black and white shirt looser sleeves than the blouses she would usually wear, alongside a pleated red skirt her mother had given her for Christmas but she had never had occasion to wear when at Hogwarts. Pulling on her smart black ankle boots, Mariya made sure her waist holster was clean and placed her wand inside it, checking that her spare was still in her case.

Grabbing some churros and croissants as a quick breakfast, Mariya said goodbye to her parents before apparating - as her mother was one of the supervising Aurors, she didn't have to be there until half an hour later and she was taking advantage of the situation to enjoy a morning crossword from the newspaper before heading to work.

When Mariya appeared in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, she was glad to spot the group of other interns and was even more happy to see James already standing with the other young adults. Walking over to him, she dropped her bag onto the ground beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. This feat was more difficult than it sounds as Mariya was rather shorter than him - even with the short heel on her boots - and so was virtually standing on the tips of her toes in order to reach. James seemed to appreciate the gesture though as he pulled her into a hug before drawing back and smiling down at her.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Not in the slightest," Mariya shook her head. "I just hope they have given me a country with a language I already speak or which I can pick up easily."

"I'm sure you will do great wherever you end up. Besides," His grin brightened considerably. "You will have plenty of contact with me."

"Great," Mariya pulled away from him and screwed up her nose as though disgusted by the very thought. "Just what I wanted from this holiday, more time with you."

"How rude!" James exclaimed, though his tone made it clear he was not really hurt by her statement. "I'll have you know that there are plenty of people who would give a lot to spend time with me. You don't realise how blessed you are."

Mariya nodded her head sympathetically in the way one might with a small child, "I think I do."

At this further insult, James gave a huff before catching the small woman in his arms and beginning to tickle her sides. The people around them cast the two confused looks for a few moments before many of them realised that this was James Potter; the notorious prankster who had been well known at Hogwarts for his strange sense of humour and entertaining group of friends.

"Stop it, James." Mariya managed to get out between bouts of laughter and the man frowned and shook his head at her.

"Not until you apologise for you hurtful comments, I think it very rude of you to say such things to your wonderful boyfriend." Mariya gave a snort of laughter at his theatrical tone and was about to claim she would never regret her word, when she saw movement in the corner of her vision and realised that the Aurors that were meant to be debriefing them had already arrived.