It took them longer to get from their case to Alfred's flat than Zelda would have liked, in the snow; by the time they got to the building there was snow and ice stuck to her hair and her coat, and the cold and the damp was seeping in through her gloves even though she had them spelled to repel water. She hauled the door to the building open with no small sense of relief, and led them inside.
"I think this is it," Zelda said to Delight as they shuffled over to the door of the flat. She didn't want to explain that she usually took the floo, or even that she'd been here before - and as they approached the door it was confirmed.
"What were you expecting? I'm getting married!" Zelda frowned faintly, said nothing, knocked twice, waited. Maybe she hadn't knocked hard enough, because there was another explosion of noise, from a female voice - so obviously not his flatmate, which she'd sort of expected. She was also pretty sure she knew who it was, either in the Congratulations she could hear enunciated or just in the cadence of words.
Zelda knocked again, a little frantic - her face was red for an entirely different reason now. You think I wanted this and I do care and - fuck this, actually, she didn't need to eavesdrop, she wasn't even sure Alfred locked the door. She tried the handle and it popped open, and Zelda stepped inside, trying not to look like someone who was - intruding, why did she feel like she was intruding, she was the one who was courting him?
"Hi," Zelda said, because what else was there to say? She looked to the kitchen, and - she'd expected it but of course it was Jo, standing there, with a towel around her hand, even though things were over. She had an instinct to apologize for the intrusion, immediate and unbidden, which she shoved down in her chest. Zelda used her professional voice to relay the explanation, to try to remove any emotion or anything from her tone:"The Ministry has us on call but we can't get back there in the snow. This is Miss Urquart, by the way."
"I think this is it," Zelda said to Delight as they shuffled over to the door of the flat. She didn't want to explain that she usually took the floo, or even that she'd been here before - and as they approached the door it was confirmed.
"What were you expecting? I'm getting married!" Zelda frowned faintly, said nothing, knocked twice, waited. Maybe she hadn't knocked hard enough, because there was another explosion of noise, from a female voice - so obviously not his flatmate, which she'd sort of expected. She was also pretty sure she knew who it was, either in the Congratulations she could hear enunciated or just in the cadence of words.
Zelda knocked again, a little frantic - her face was red for an entirely different reason now. You think I wanted this and I do care and - fuck this, actually, she didn't need to eavesdrop, she wasn't even sure Alfred locked the door. She tried the handle and it popped open, and Zelda stepped inside, trying not to look like someone who was - intruding, why did she feel like she was intruding, she was the one who was courting him?
"Hi," Zelda said, because what else was there to say? She looked to the kitchen, and - she'd expected it but of course it was Jo, standing there, with a towel around her hand, even though things were over. She had an instinct to apologize for the intrusion, immediate and unbidden, which she shoved down in her chest. Zelda used her professional voice to relay the explanation, to try to remove any emotion or anything from her tone:"The Ministry has us on call but we can't get back there in the snow. This is Miss Urquart, by the way."
![[Image: xXXD462.png]](https://i.imgur.com/xXXD462.png)
AMAZING set by MJ