Enclosed

Chapter Two: Dramatics

Sucking in a deep breath, Rose hoped Helene could see the apology in her eyes. "I QUIT!" To add to the flare, Rose flicked her wanding sending all the parchment from Helene's desk onto the floor. "Have fun finding a new wonker to take this case."

Swirling on her heels, Rose ignored the shocked expression of her co-workers. The gossiping drifted into her ears and the obvious stares heated into her back. Rose refused to acknowledge them. Instead, she focused on slowing down her breathing. One deep breath in. One deep breath out. Repeat. One deep breath in. One deep breath out. Repeat. 

By the time Rose managed to shut herself behind her office door and away from prying eyes, she was near hyperventilation. Grabbing at her chest, she leaned against the door for support. She stared at the ceiling, blinking away the remaining tears and focusing on the tic of the clock. 

Tick. Tok. Tick. Tok.

Minutes passed, and her breathing slowly returned to normal. Knowing there was business to be done, Rose counted to 60, giving herself one minute to break down. 

When the minute passed, Rose wiped away the last of her tears and sent Harry a Patronus informing him to meet her at her flat.

 Once that was taken care of, she turned toward her desk. Conjuring up a box, she began manually packing away her belongings.

Her office was a lot smaller than Helene's. It contained a single shelf and a small desk. The space was over-filled with all of her stuff. Books she'd collected over the years, empty boxes of candy she munched on during the day, her Dad's old Deluminator, a remembrall, and so many photos of friends and family that the paint wasn't visible anymore. 

She'd been pushing for a bigger office for months now and hopefully, after this whole nightmare was over she'd have her pick. 

Pushing up the sleeves of her robe, Rose got to work. 

Twenty minutes later the box was full. It was almost depressing to see such a big part of her life fit into such a small box. The files she was currently working on for the Pious case were secretly stashed at the bottom of the box and magically disguised to the untrained eye. If anyone were to look in the box they'd see parchment covered in spilled ink.

Hiking the box on her hip, Rose took one last look at the office and wondered about the next time she'd see it. The positive side of her brain told her a few weeks. The realistic side however knew that it'd be months before she stepped foot in the ministry again. 

"One step at a time," Rose whispered, before opening the office door. Like she anticipated the common area outside her office was filled with her co-workers all frozen in place, as if they were statues. As soon as they saw her, the office roared back to life. People cleared out of the area, scurrying back to their respective work areas or trying to make it appear that they were busy. Rose paid them no mind, as she walked out of the office, doing her best to appear angry and frightened. 

As Rose passed Helene's office, she caught her eye. The kind woman offered Rose an encouraging nod in solidarity. Neither one of them wanted to be in this predicament. Yet, fate had a different plan set. There was nothing they could do to change it, so it was time to familiarize themselves with the paths and create a plan to conquer them. 

Rose nodded in return and exited the ministry. As soon as she smelled the fresh morning air, she apparated back to the front step of her flat. The familiarity of her home wrapped her in a comforting hug. Even after yesterday's catastrophic events, her home still felt like an escape. Not many people were allowed to enter her flat, due to the excessive amount of case files she brought home. 

Setting the box down on the kitchen table, Rose took a seat, resting her head in her hands, which suddenly felt too heavy to hold up anymore. 

Being one of the top lawyers in the country, Rose was used to long days. Nights spent with only parchment and the glow of a candle to keep her company. She was used to the pressure building in her head and the expectations weighing down her shoulders. It was part of her daily routine and most of the time she'd handle it without a sweat. There was only so much a witch could take before she crumbled.