Got a Secret? || Amelia & Dorcas
She’d dreamed of her brother, the last conversation she’d had with him: They’d been having coffee after the kids had gone to bed; he’d started humming a song that was stuck in his head and Amelia had teased him for being tone deaf. Edgar had just laughed and informed her that his daughter Jacqueline – four years old at the time – shared her opinion. “I was singing earlier while I made them a snack and Jax came up to me and asked, ‘Daddy…what’re you singing?’ I told her the name of the song and asked her if she liked it and she said, ‘No. It’s not very good.’”
They’d both laughed at her precocity and Amelia teased him about how much of a handful she’d be as she grew older. Death Eaters attacked that night only a few hours after Amelia had finished her coffee and gone back to her own flat. The dream ended as they all did, with Amelia standing over the bodies of her murdered family, a sickly green glow from the Dark Mark seeping in the windows. She knew what was coming, but couldn’t force herself to wake up before it happened. As if on cue, little Jacqueline sat up, her tiny face pale and hurt. “Auntie ‘Melia… haven’t you figured it out yet? It was so scary… everyone was screaming and you didn’t save us. Why haven’t you found the bad guys?” Amelia opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. As she watched, the little girl withered away to ashes that scattered in the sudden breeze.
Amelia woke with a start, her face damp with tears and sweat. Four thirty am...brilliant. Knowing she'd never be able to go back to sleep, she got up, showered and got ready for work. She'd be insanely early, but no one would be surprised. Upon her arrival at the Ministry, Amelia went straight for the break room to make coffee and walked in on her colleagues in the midst of a conversation.
"'Ow many fidelius charms you think one person can 'old at a time?"
"Dunno, mate. Why?"
"Jus' wonderin'. I mean, there's go' ta be a limit, right? 'N is it better ta ask some'ne ya know or a stranger who no one'd think ta ask? Like that one broad what does it for money or a hobby or somthin'."
"Who's that now?"
"Somethin' Meadowes or wus it Fields?"
The two men nodded to Amelia, walking out of the room as they continued their conversation. She frowned as she made her coffee and took it back to her desk. Meadowes. Dorcas Meadowes? What was she into? A quick glance at the clock told her it was hardly a reasonable hour to send someone an owl, but, quite frankly, Amelia wasn't overly concerned with that. Plucking a piece of parchment from her desk, she penned a quick note.
Dorcas,
Overheard an odd rumor today that I'd like to discuss with you. Can you stop by my office?
--Amelia Bones