Elena groaned as she blinked wearily at the bright light that shone through her curtains. Stumbling out of bed, she cursed as her bandaged ankle collapsed under her, but she managed to make it outside at a good time.

The night before had not been a good one. She had been interfering, and had ended up badly injured. Luckily all that remained as evidence was her bandaged ankle and her wrist, which was now in a sling.

Apparating, she landed in front of the Ministry, cursing, then made her way towards her office, waving at Alec as she went. Once she entered the auror department, all hell broke loose. Everyone rushed up to her, inquiring about the new cases, if they could have leave, and how she had obtained her injuries. But for all the money in the world she could not deal with it. Pushing her way through, she sat down in her office, rubbing her eyes wearily. Alec would want to see her at lunch. He made a great boyfriend, but he worried to much. Elena could take care of herself.

The morning passed too slowly for Elena’s liking. She gave the usual announcements, and to her dismay, she had to go deal with the Minister. Talk about last night. Knocking, and not waiting for an answer, Elena entered the ministers office.

The minister was sat at her desk, her pristine looking blond hair and clothes contrasting sharply with Elenas messy brown hair and more than a little crumpled clothes. “Ms Viriden, have a seat.” Elena did as the Minister said, seating herself on the chair opposite her.

“You seem a little battered from yesterday evening, but that is no surprise. You are lucky to have escaped - alive.” The minister said calmly. Elena couldn’t help but feel a little angry. The minister considered her some reckless idiot who charged straight into things, but in Elena’s opinion that wasn’t true. After all, she had sacrificed herself for the good of the ministry. Right? “Yes,” Elena replied tensely.

“Submit the reports to me by the evening. There will be a lot of... cleanup needed.”

Elena grinded her teeth at the not so subtle jab. For God’s Sake, she had saved the life of four muggles, and all the Minister could see was how messy it was? She hadn’t even been on duty. “Of course,” Elena nodded. The awkward meeting was short, but Elena was relieved when she got out. Finally.

At lunch, she headed down to the cafeteria, where Alec was waiting. His brown hair didn’t stand out, so it took her a while to find him. “Alec!” She smiled, rushing towards him and hugging him tight. The head of the department of Mysteries looked glad to see her too, though he looked worried. “E, you okay? Her asked, stroking her arm gently. “Alec, stop worrying.” She chided him gently, hoping he had forgotten about the last nights argument. She certainly wouldn’t bring it up.

Not soon.