Dorothy’s face bloomed into a smile when Donny took the coffee from her, a laugh escaping her as she watched him drink from the cup. The laugh quickly died down when he pointed out the auror down the street and mentioned the duel. “Good for Patil,” she muttered, her eyes focusedon the auror, wondering if she knew their name. She didn’t envy them - not ever, really, but especially not now, when the tensions were only going torise. She took a drink from her own coffee, her gaze moving along the street, taking in the fliers strewn all over the uneven cobblestones. Gripping her coffee tighter, she turned to her friend, watching as he flipped through his notes.
“No one’s figured out who posted it yet?” She couldn’t stop the surprise from coloring her voice. Worry twisted in her stomach, a sinking stone she was sure would only grow heavier. When Adonis pulled the flier out, she couldn’t help herself – she reached over, trying to pluck it out of his hands to get a better look. “Intention’s never really affected impact before,” she replied, staring at the lettering, the moving photo, even the paper it was printed on. Lifting her gaze, she gave her friend a small grin. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m sure Weston’s going to give the actual assignment to someone else, but I figure if I write a good enough mock-up, he’ll have to give me something new, soon.” She hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt. The editor of the Daily Prophet wasn’t exactly her biggest fan. Still, she tried to hold on to her optimism. “You can tell Ewan you won’t be going alone. I’ll have my nastiest hex atthe ready for anyone who tries anything.”
He held his coffee cup in two hands, watching the goings on with a sort of mild curiosity. He had figured out what he wanted to write, and now all he had to do was write the damn column, which always ended up being the hardest part. He was nitpicky in the worst kind of way sometimes—it was good when he was giving critique on other people’s work, but he’d pore over his own work for hours and hours, unwilling to let it go until it was exactly how he wanted it. “From what I hear, he seems justified,” Donny replied. “But I don’t know all the details. And I doubt the aurors are going to give anything up. Might have to go straight to the source on this one.”
Donny shook his head. “I mean, there’s some murmurs about a secret group, but I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “Besides, a group’s not very secret if they’re going out plastering Diagon Alley in fliers.” The whole thing was curious, to say the least, and Donny would be lying if he said his interest wasn’t piqued. However, he had a family to think of, a husband and children who would be devastated if something happened to him. He knew that he had to be careful, lest this turn out to be something far more sinister than what was advertised on the fliers. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it,” Adonis replied with a huff of laughter. “I mean, Patil’s a quidditch player, right? I’m sure you could find a way to slide in some mention of this into your next article. If you decide to do a mock up, you can always drop it on my desk, too. I’ll probably be at the office until...” He checked his watch. “Late.”