This Time, Last Time (A Harry Potter Universe Fanfiction)

2.

When I saw your face,

I instantly knew I was 

totally screwed.

-"Immune to It," Natalie Holmes

---

Late June, 2018

The ministry had changed since James had worked there. When he had left, it was still partly under construction. Post the second wizarding war, the minister had decided not only to revert many of the unfortunate changes made by You-Know-Who's regime, but to take the opportunity to redesign much of the office space. The plans for the remodel had taken the better part of the three years he'd worked in the auror's office, and had only just gone underway when he left. It was all complete now and looking more impressive than ever with six evenly-spaced glass elevators running straight through the middle of the black tiled floors, cord-free of course, and run on magic. From the main floor, he could look straight up at the gold, domed ceiling three floors above him.

He also noticed, as he crossed past the myriad of fireplaces connecting to the floo network, the addition of many more windows. Though obviously none of the picturesque scenes they looked out on were real, it was nevertheless much more inviting. Overall, James had very much enjoyed his years as an auror, but one of the things he'd liked least about his job had been the suffocating feeling of knowing he was underground all day. His classroom at Hogwarts, with its natural light and high, airy ceilings, had been a literal breath of fresh air after three years holed up in his tiny office.

As much as he'd liked his job, he just wasn't sure how anyone did it for as long as they did. It was exhausting.

He strolled up to the elevator at the far right which seemed least populous and stuck his thumbs in his pockets while he waited for it to arrive. He felt a little giddy, actually, to be doing something different. The fact that it was only temporary made it all the better.

"James Mason?" said a voice to his left. James turned to the speaker, a pretty blonde woman in a set of off-white robes with dark blue eyes. She wore her hair sleek and neat, cut in exactly straight lines at chin length. It was none other than his ex-girlfriend Anna Brown. He had spoken to her occasionally since he'd started working at Hogwarts, but it had been at least a year.

"Anna," he said, surprised. "Hi, nice to see you." Anna worked in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a member of the Wizengamot. She'd been one of the first people he'd met when he took the job as an auror, only a secretary back then. He'd asked her out almost immediately, because she was blonde and confident. They didn't last long, but stayed on good terms after the break-up because, in all honesty, neither one of them had been invested beyond the physical perks of the relationship.

"What are you doing at the ministry?" she asked.

"Oh- I'm just helping out a little for the summer," he said. "My old office."

They stepped into the elevator and it began to move so seamlessly he could almost not feel it, except for the entirely disorienting sensation of being encased in a box of glass. He felt a little like he was flying, but had somehow misplaced his broom since he left the ground.

"Elise put your name in?" she asked, digging in her shoulder bag for something.

"No-" James began, but then her words sunk in and took him off guard.

How had he been so entirely idiotic as to not think even one time that he would be spending two months working side by side with Elise?

"Oh my god," he said, his stomach sinking like he'd just swallowed lead.