LIES ➱ Sirius Black (Golden Trio Era)[being rewritten]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 13

'What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us'

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Alicia apparatated to a dark alleyway, and stepping out, she made her way to a crowded pavement which had spiked black railings flanking two flights of steps, one labelled GENTLEMEN and the other labelled LADIES.

Heading down the steps to ladies, she found a number of witches in an ordinary public toilet, tiled in grimy black and white tiles.

Standing behind an elderly looking witch in a line in front of a cubical, she started tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for her turn.

"Excuse me? Can you please ask the others to hurry up?" she said to the witch standing in front of her as she checked her watch for the time.

"They are doing it in the usual way. It's better to not be in a hurry." said the elderly witch, glancing back at her with an indifferent expression.

"Exactly." quipped in a witch from beside her with an overly faked smile on her face, "We do it everyday. And as you seem new here, you might need to get used to it. It's not like you are running late for a meeting with Cornelius, I mean the minister himself."

"Well," Alicia snorted in amusement, "See the irony of the situation. I am going exactly for that."

"Really?" the witch raised her brow with a sarcastic chuckle, "And who you must be?"

"Elizabeth Johnson. I am from MACUSA." she told her smugly, showing her MACUSA identity card which she got hold of very easily with the help of her sources and of course Matthew.

"MACUSA?" the witch said, surprised, her whole demeanour changing. "Ah, Cornelius told me about your arrival. But I was under the impression that you would be using the visitor's entrance."

"I thought about getting a full tour of the ministry. Especially how the ministry workers reach their working places." she said smiling lightly, knowing completely well that she chose this way of entering the ministry just for some nostalgia.

"Dolores Umbridge. Head of the Improper Use of Magic and Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic." the witch shook her hand, introducing herself.

"I've heard about you. You are going to be the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. I might stop by if I drop in at Hogwarts for a visit." she offered her a tight-lipped smile.

"You would come to Hogwarts?"

"Just having a little magical tour of London." she shrugged in response.

"Do enjoy it then. I would love to have some tea and a little chit-chat with you. Drop by my office after your tour."

"Sure." she shrugged turning towards her cubicle "Now it's my queue to leave. Pleasure meeting you, Ms. Umbridge."