Valentine's Day. Thomasina had never been particularly enthused by the holiday, but she was even less so today — if she wasn't still feeling so sour about the ballerina, and about the election, she would have taken one of the pink cards to cause some dramatics with her husband. But she was feeling sour, still, and she was the Minister's wife now, and people would not stop talking about her.

Accordingly, she did not last very long in the main room of the ball. She decided to play a game, a twist on her usual games with her husband. She would take the floo, and then she would go home, and she would see how long it took Ozymandias to find her. But when she reached the downstairs parlor, the door was closed. Sina frowned and heard frantic sounds from inside. She tried the doorknob.

No such luck. She pressed her ear to the door, but it was quiet, now.

Sina shook the door handle more vigorously, and drew her wand. There were a man and woman in here, and — she'd been furious for months. Wouldn't it be a change to have someone else be the center of attention? Besides, if two people were up to no good at the party — she wanted to know who.

She hardly had to convince herself. "Alohomora," she whispered, and heard the resounding turn of the lock in the door.

Sina pushed it open.