A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

Chapter Fifteen

Marlene bit her lip, contemplating. Patrick was nowhere in sight and Rose was being very kind to make sure she was alright after the whole episode on the other side of the bar. But she really didn't feel like lingering around for long in fear that another confrontation might present itself. Also, her thoughts were still focused on Sirius and the conversation she and Peter had been having about him. She snuck a sideways glance to Peter; he was still standing there ravenously drinking his drink and his cheeks flushed pink. It seemed to Marlene that Rose made him nervous.

"Okay yeah I can spare a few minutes," she said. It would give Emmeline more time to find her and that alone would prevent a second argument of the evening. If Marlene left the pub without her then she'd be in for a night of a major guilt trip. Leaving without warning was a sure fire way to get on Emmeline's bad side again, and she wasn't even completely out of the danger zone yet from her first offence.

"I'm actually looking for some extra help at the Ministry. We've been rather swamped in the administrative support department and I could really benefit an extra set of hands. Obviously I am not trying to meddle like my brother, but I'm aware now that you are no longer at the hospital and wondered whether or not you might be available?"

"Are you offering me a job?" Marlene asked, surprised. She hadn't been expecting that. Rose didn't even know her until this evening.

"I understand if that is an awkward offer considering," her hands gestured in a rolling sort of motion towards the direction they had both come, "well, you know. Patrick. Of course that wouldn't interfere with your place in my department. I've just heard such great things about you. Patrick always spoke highly of your work ethic."

"Your department?"

"Oh yes, I run the support unit for the Minister. It can be monotonous at times, isn't that right Peter?" Her eyes roamed back to Peter whose cheeks seemed to turn a violent shade of crimson at the extra attention.

"Oh no, no," he squeaked. "It's a great job."

"You're too kind, Peter." She smiled, her kind eyes twinkling even in the dim lighting of the pub. "What do you say, Marlene? Would you like to consider it?"

"Uh." Marlene wasn't certain, her mind was too occupied elsewhere. "I wasn't expecting this to be honest. I'll have to think about it."

"Oh yes, of course. I understand. Please get back to me soon. I'm really in desperate need and hope to fill the position soon." Then she looked to Peter again, smile stretching even wider. "Lovely to see you Peter, I hope you are having an enjoyable evening?"

Peter nodded vigorously, eyes averted downwards to the floor. Marlene was really starting to feel sorry for him. How could he manage to work day to day with her as his boss? He could barely string a sentence together in her presence, let alone complete any sort of work. 

"Wonderful. Do take care, both of you. I hope to hear from you soon, Marlene." She offered a casual wink and then gracefully floated away, leaving Marlene even more fuddled with her thoughts.

"Why is she offering me a job?" Marlene rounded on Peter. His fluster seemed to have ebbed away slightly but he still appeared uncomfortable. She noted that he had completely polished off his drink. She had never bothered to ask what sort of work he did at the Ministry, even though she knew he had obtained a job there.

"I'm not sure. We haven't really been that busy in the office though, so I'm not certain what type of work she is referring to." He shrugged.

"What department do you work for again?" Marlene asked. Rose had mentioned it, but she hadn't been giving her full attention to the details of the conversation. 

"Support staff. Rose was right, it can be pretty monotonous. We do things like the paperwork nobody wants to do, preparing visitor passes, scheduling apparition tests and filing away license registrations.  That sort of stuff. It's a good job though. The pay is nice, and it helps to keep in the loop with – well, you know," he leaned in again with another whisper, "the Order."

It did seem like an excellent opportunity when he put it that way. A sudden thought struck her like a bolt of lightening. If she worked at the Ministry, it would make it all that much easier to get herself information about the Department of Mysteries. This was the answer she had been looking for.

"Peter!" she exclaimed, causing him to jump. "This is perfect!"

"It is?" He appeared confused but Marlene offered no further explanation. "I need to find Emmeline. I'm so sorry to run off on you. If you see Mary can you please tell her I'm sorry that I couldn't stay to talk?"

Marlene didn't wait for his reply before darting into the crowd. She'd grab Emmeline and fill her in on her plan, then she'd apparate to Sirius's place and figure out what was going on with him. Screw Patrick. He wasn't going to ruin her evening.

In fact, she probably should be thanking Patrick. If he hadn't gotten himself involved in her life she wouldn't have even been at the pub in the first place. The thought caused Marlene to scowl. No. She definitely would not be thanking Patrick.

She caught sight of Emmeline chatting with some guy she didn't recognize, and by judging her body language alone indicated to Marlene that she had likely found Colin as well. She pushed through some more people, their boisterous laughs ringing in her ears but not loud enough to completely drown out her thoughts.

"Emmeline!" she yelled, waving her hand to catch her friend's attention. It took another yell before Emmeline's head snapped in her direction. Her face lit up and she grabbed hold of the man's arm, yanking him forward.

"Oooh here's Marly now." Marlene heard Emmeline say, presumably to the man. "Marly! Marly this is Colin."

"Hi Colin," Marlene breathed, making very brief eye contact before grabbing at Emmeline's shoulders. "We need to go."

"Oh." Emmeline's face dropped. "Wait. Did you find Patrick? Shoot. I'm sorry, I got distracted." Her eyes flicked to her left as if to indicate why exactly she had gotten distracted. But it didn't matter to Marlene anymore, Emmeline needn't bother putting an early end to her evening. Marlene had already accomplished what they had set out to do. 

"You know what, its fine. You stay. I have to go see Sirius anyways." Marlene let go of Emmeline's shoulders. "We'll talk later."

"Black?" Emmeline's face contorted into confusion as Marlene began to turn away. "What about Patrick?"

"Talk later!" Marlene called over her shoulder and then disappeared back into the crowd.