Always a Riddle

Prologue

This is the last time I trust a Muggle forecast.

Of course, it just had to start raining again on the one day she left all of her warm clothes at home. She should've known that the weather would be bad- for Pete's sake, she'd lived in London her entire bloody life! Elizabeth's heel splashed into another puddle, soaking her bare feet in muddy brown water. Her toes, pale and filthy, recoiled at the liquid's slimy touch.

"Cloudless sky, my arse," she muttered vehemently. Her foot sloshed through another puddle, and her scowl deepened. The sound of an AT&T ringtone went off in her briefcase as she trudged home from the Ministry. The high-pitched ring from her work phone made her flinch involuntarily, as it often did. Elizabeth paused in the middle of the sidewalk and rummaged through the large case, retrieved the irritating device and flipped it open.

"Elizabeth MacMillan speaking. What can I do for you?" She answered in the most polite way possible, doing her best to conceal her exhaustion. Being the Minister of Magic's personal assistant was anything but a walk in the park. It was deemed an honorable job, one that was jealously desired by many witches and wizards. However, slaving around for the Minister wasn't at all what it seemed to be. The job payed well, of course, but the Minister didn't seem to know how to think for himself: it baffled Elizabeth each and every time she attempted to understand how he managed to become the leader of an extensive magical society. Did the job description specifically state "Applicant must be a complete idiot"? If so, it....... A familiar voice came out of the phone as she put the call on speaker.

"You can clean my room, and do my laundry, thanks sis" she heard Caleb say into the phone, most likely with a grin on his face. Her shoulders slumped when she heard his voice. Why didn't I check the Caller I.D.? she kept asking herself "What do you want " Elizabeth said sounding tired to her own ears. "Can't your dear brother call his big sister once in a while" He said obviously loving the fact that she wasn't in the mood for his shenanigans.

"Caleb just tell me before I hang up" she replied already annoyed, and he sighed loudly into the phone. "We need more food in the house and mum is having morning sickness again" he said straight to the point. "Why cant you do it?" she asked curiously as her interest peaked. "I don't want to go across town to pick up groceries" he whined. She grinned taking absolute joy in this, So he needed a favor.

This was a thing between them, you had to do a favor, and as reward he/she has to do whatever the other asks. Caleb tries his best to be independent but sometimes he gets lazy. She then said the three words he hated the most " you owe me" and hung up to the sound of his complaints. They are expecting a new brother to come just before May so that means seven more months to go. Which also means raging hormones and unexplained mood swings. Elizabeth quickly looked around and found an alley way so she could apparrate without muggle eyes around. She walked between two office buildings and stopped when a fowl stench from the two dumpsters leaning against the building, hit her nose. Holding her briefcase and her nose she disapparated, out from London.

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Holding three bags full of groceries is hard to do with a brief case and in the pooring rain. Walking in heels doesn't make it any better when its raining cats and dogs. Elizabeth found a metro station entrance and climbed down the damp stairs. Trying not too slip and drop everything before getting to the bottom. The station looked deserted, no one was around and she was okay with the silence. She envied those who knew the art of driving a vehicle. she never tested to get a driver's license because in retrospect all magical folk used were brooms or some other way of magical transportation, She didn't really think it through. As she walked down a long corridor, her eyes wandered to old tattered advertisement posters and faded signs that looked hand painted.