old dreams {open}

[haden]

Hayden ran his fingertips over the surface of the desk, picking up a thin film of dust, hardly able to believe that this had happened. It was official, he was on an actual payroll for the first time, his name was on the office door. Hayden had applied for Auror training several years ago, but had been turned away. It seemed now, with times being what they were, standards had dropped to allow people like him, werewolves, in the office. Or perhaps it was the fact that he had passed the exams flawlessly, well except for the potions one. Hayden only knew basic ones by heart, but they had hired him.

And it seemed that his connections with the lesser-desirable crowd were something that the Ministry found valuable in finding fugitives. So here Hayden was, in his own office, in a set of plain, but respectable black robes. Ordinarily, there might not have been an office to spare, but this one belonged to a poor sod that had been killed in the line of duty about a month ago. But it had been gutted of his possessions, the filing cabinet emptied, the only things remaining being the desk and chair, a small couch, and a stand for hanging up cloaks and hats. The spidery wooden stand didn't look sturdy enough for his heavy winter cloak- so he unceremoniously laid it across the top of the filing cabinet.

Hayden sat down at his desk, using the sleeve of his robe to remove the dust before picking up the name plate. It still bore the surname of the office's last occupant, Reynolds. Drawing his wand, Hayden tapped it, and the letters morphed into Christou. There was a knock at the door, and before he could reply an obviously overworked intern scurried in, depositing an armful of papers onto his desk. "Those'll need to be filled in before the day is out, and there's a meeting at noon sharp in conference room six," said the intern, and practically ran out to deliver paperwork and the message of the meeting to the other Aurors.

Lightly shaking his head, Hayden picked up a quill, flicking open the manila folder atop the stack of papers he'd been given. The newest Auror on staff couldn't be spared from their backlog of paperwork. Hayden began filling in the forms, not looking up as someone knocked on the door frame (the intern had neglected to close it behind himself), but instead answered, "yes?"

[dominiqueweasley]

It was amazing and scary how quickly time seemed to be going past. In another month or two Dominique would be back at work in Hogwarts, her maternity leave over and by that time Archer would be 8 months. It still felt like just yesterday he'd been born and here he was, already 6 months old and to top it all off it was Christmas. It had been a whole year now since the attack that had shook the wizarding world to it's core, when so many young, innocent lives had been lost. Again, it was scary how quickly time was passing them by, every moment was precious and she did what she could to make them all count and matter.

For the first time in a long time she was feeling hopeful for the future. Hayden was now working for the Ministry as an Auror. It was a dangerous career, no safer than the one he'd had for the last several years but this was different. It felt like finally things were getting better for them. Of course Hayden believed it just proved how desperate times where but Dominique was of the belief that things were getting better, he was finally getting the chance he'd been denied so many years ago because of what he was. She hated how people would treat him and was of the hope that it would change now. Maybe not completely but this was a good thing right?

She liked to think so.

It also gave them something extra to be thankful for this year, this Christmas. It was exciting, it wasn't their first Christmas together, in fact it was their second but it was their first with Archer and Dominique was excited. This was always her favorite time of year, the atmosphere, the presents, the weather and food. It was hard not to get lost in it all and it seemed a lot of people were putting in more of an effort this year after what had happened a year previous, all the life's that had been lost. Though determined not to be sad, Dominique prayed for those life's, thanked God she'd made it out and promised to make this Christmas one to remember, it was only a couple days away after all.

Stepping into the Auror office's, Archer on her hip she looked around for her husband, before a woman who introduced herself as the secretary, pointed her in the right direction of his office. Smiling and wishing her a happy Christmas, Dominique made her way to the office, peering through the open door and smiling at the sight before her. Hayden over a stack of paperwork wasn't something she'd ever see, so knocking on the door frame she stepped in, half smiling at him when he answered her. "Hey there handsome...they keeping you busy?" she asked, she was only here to drop off his lunch which he'd left back at home, she adjusted Archer on her hip and smiled at her husband as she moved closer to his desk.

Outfit

[haden]

Hayden tried not to sigh as he filled in the empty fields, this work was honestly mindless, and there was a lot more of it than what he would like. He was not and never had been a man content to be at a desk job, he needed to be able to move and do things. He needed to be on the prowl for the scum of society, he hadn't thought of this aspect of being an Auror until he had signed the contract of his employment. When he had gone the route more along the lines of freelancing or even vigilantism he hadn't put much stock in paperwork.

Weight had instead been put in spoken agreements and backed by gold. But the career change he felt had been the right move. Being an Auror was still dangerous, but it was less so than the way he had gone about bounty hunting before- he didn't risk informants turning against him and getting, quite literally, stabbed in the back, as the case had been so many months ago. Hayden still bore the scars- those and several others from his years of serving crooked justice. Now... He was supposedly and upholder of order, of all that was good. He wasn't sure if he quite fit the description.

Hayden looked up when he heard the voice of his wife, a small smile gracing his features. He didn't have the words to express what he felt, but it seemed with each passing day he grew to love his wife even more. And there was something about the sight of her with their son on her hip that made her all the more endearing. Soon she would be going back to work, her maternity leave was just about over, and little Archer wasn't quite so little anymore, six months was an awfully long time.

Hayden had adapted well to fatherhood, though the first month or so had been difficult. Not in the regard of having to care for someone too small to do anything for themselves, but how fragile his son had been. Hayden had been honestly afraid of doing something the wrong way and hurting Archer, his son, his own flesh and blood. But he had become more accustomed to it, and now that the boy had gotten bigger and his neck could support the weight of his head, it wasn't quite so unnerving to be alone with him.

"A bit," Hayden responded, laying down his quill as Dominique stepped closer to his desk, re-positioning Archer on her hip. He vaguely wondered what she was doing here, though he didn't mind the distraction from the paperwork, he found it rather tedious. It didn't take an ounce of intelligence or skill, it required simply being literate, and it was almost an insult to his skill. Though Hayden knew everyone had it, so he could put up with it. He stood and walked around his desk to give Dominique a quick kiss on the lips before moving to lightly tickle Archer's chunky thigh. The boy gave a quick squeal of laughter, and Hayden smiled.

[dominiqueweasley]

Her husband was her hero, it went without saying really, you could see it in her eyes, he was her protector, their families protector, she knew he'd do anything for them. Even suffer through this. Being an Auror was something he'd wanted for years, she knew this and she was happy he was finally getting to live an old dream, it wasn't a safe job but it was a hell of a lot better than what he had been doing for the last few years. That horrible image of him stumbling through the hospital doors, after being quite literally stabbed in the back still haunted her nightmares. She'd always been waiting for something worse to happen, the thought of losing him was crippling.

She returned the smile, coming to a stop beside his office desk.The pile of paperwork he had to do made her feel guilty for interrupting him, but it was a quick visit, she was only here to drop something off. Archer's little arms and legs began moving excitedly as he spotted his Dad, his eyes glued onto Hayden's hulking mass as he moved around the desk. Smiling softly she tilted her head up to meet his as he dropped a soft but sadly quick kiss onto her lips. A small giggle escaped Archer's lips as his Dad tickled beneath his chin and he hid his face in his Mother's shoulder for a moment, before peering up at his Dad again, as if almost daring him to try once more.

"You forgot your lunch..." she told Hayden, balancing the baby on her hip and reaching into her bag with her other arm, pulling out his dinner which she'd made fresh for him before laying it down on to his desk. "Also just to let you know I'm taking Archer for his check up today, nothing for you to worry about just routine." she told him, having also forgotten this morning. If anything her mind was a little more scattered since having her son. Glancing down at the paperwork again she let Archer reach for his Dad, the baby straining to get into his arms, "Should I expect you home tonight?" she asked, giving a little nod to the paperwork, smiling at Archer who was now beaming at her from his Dad's arms.

[haden]

Hayden couldn't help but smile- honestly this was the last place that he had ever expected that he would end up. Someone like him, none too good with words, a generally disagreeable personality, and infected with lycanthropy was now a family man, working for the Ministry of Magic. Hayden had simply thought that he would be alone for the rest of his life, living out of his cramped flat and tracking down undesirables in the bowels of Knockturn Alley, only to bring them to lesser-desirables. He had been an outcast, having ostracized himself from society the moment he had run away after he was discharged from St. Mungo's.

To that day Hayden still wasn't sure if it had been the proper decision, but he had been just a boy, barely seventeen years old, having been given a diagnosis that would linger over him for the rest of his life, and the death of Nikita had been heavy on his conscience. Hayden still believed that it should have been him to die at the claws and teeth of the werewolf and not his sister, that if he had done a better job protecting her that she would have walked away free. Perhaps not entirely unscathed, but he would rather she be the werewolf and he be in the ground.

Though nothing could be done about that now, there was no helping what was in the past. Hayden simply hoped that if he gave it more time he might not think on it so heavily, it was holding him back, everything that he had run from for so very long... Hayden had encountered a shred of his past, in the form of running into Amelia as if by chance, and she had begged him to stop running. He had agreed, but he wouldn't exactly say they were reconciled. He didn't know what to call them.

"Ah," said Hayden, he hadn't realised he had forgotten it until Dominique placed the bag on his desk. He nodded when she said that she was taking Archer for a check-up, though he wondered if he ought to go with her, he didn't like her going to St. Mungo's alone after her experience there. But she could handle herself. His gaze flickered to the paperwork as hers did. "Yes, I'll be home," said Hayden, it was mindless, but he could do it quickly.