Annalee McKinnon had been having a very pleasant morning. On her way in to work, she'd stopped at her favorite coffee shop and gotten herself a latte - a splurge that she usually saved for only the most important occasions. But Annalee was feeling very much like she deserved something good to tie her over while she waited with shortened breath for The Moment.

She heard a rumor from Finley that he and Archie were to be accompanying their father on a very special luncheon the very next day, vetting a young man who they suspected was going to be asking for permission to propose to Annalee. 

"Do you like this Buckner bloke?" Finley asked, "Just curious because your feelings about him will sway my vote." He had grinned and Annalee had been on cloud nine ever since.

She'd been staring at her bare left hand fingers all the way on her walk from the coffee shop to the Ministry entrance on the Embankment across from Muggle Parliament, imagining what her hand would look like with a modest-sized diamond on it. She didn't even care if it was small, honestly, Sean was a diamond enough that she was willing to take any size stone. She just hoped it was set in silver and not gold.

Her purple high heels had click-click-clicked all the way through the atrium, into the lift, and then down the hallway at the very top floor of the Ministry for Magic, and she'd set herself down, smoothing her purple tweed skirt beneath her and crossing her legs at the knee, sipping her latte, and pulling the first of the large files toward herself from her inbox.

"Good morning, Mr. Minchum," she chimed merrily when the Minister came into the office door, shrugging off his trench coat and throwing it to be magically collected by the coat rack, which galloped to catch both his discarded coat and hat as he flung them across the room. "I got you a latte."

"Thank you, Miss. McKinnon," Minchum said, taking the proffered cup from her. He sniffed it. "Vanilla?"

"Yes Mr. Minchum," she replied in a perky little voice. She'd watched a film on telly with Marlene, who got her obsession with Muggle telly from that Sirius Black, where there'd been a very pretty secretary who spoke with a perky, chirpy little voice and it had been Annalee's dream to emulate that tone ever since.

"Have you looked over the speech notes yet?" he asked, plucking a folder from the corner of her desk.

"Yes sir, I made notes and was going to go down to copy it for you in just a moment. They've done an exceptional job on the editing, I think this may be one of your most memorable speeches." She smiled and tapped the cover of the folder before her with her long purple nails.

"You think so?" he asked, looking quite proud.

Annalee nodded. "I reckon it's because you feel so passionately on the subject." She smiled.

"I do at that... After all that happened with that poor girl in our own building..." He shook his head. "I absolutely feel that it is time to update the Restriction Act. It's been sixteen years since it was initially instated and if it had been properly upheld there would be far less tragic tales building up. Just look at what's going on in Blackburn --"

"I know Sir, you needn't convince me. I completely agree with you." Annalee smiled.

Minchum nodded and took a sip of the latte. "This is good," he said, looking at it, then smiling at Annalee.

Annalee smiled, "It's a grand treat."

"Run down and get those copies made. I'd like to have everything finalized this morning for the speech so we can focus on the dinner tonight with Rowling. I'm quite excited to hear more of her plans for the news program." He carried his cup and the folder he'd plucked from Annalee's desk toward his office, head down, "Also, have you heard anything from Mr. Scamander about where he sets on the idea of the Fantastic Beasts telly show?"

"Nothing yet, sir, but I'll reach out to his people again today." 

"Yes, keep on top of them - Mr. Scamander's reps are very fishy when it comes to trying to get in touch with them, it's as though they don't even know how to reach out to their own client." He shook his head. Then asked, "Is your copier still accompanying you tonight?"

"His name is Sean, sir," Annalee smiled, flushing. "He's looking forward to formally meeting you."

"And I, him," Minchum replied.

She took the folder from the desktop and cradled it in the crook of her arm. "Be right back."

"Mhm," Minchum muttered, heading into his inner office, smirking, "You'll be at least a half an hour down there flirting with that bleedin' copier... Even with the damned tunnel you've never once expedited your trips downstairs." He rolled his eyes, but he disappeared into his office without any actual reprimand and Annalee looked at her fingers again, thinking about the bleedin' copier.

Her heels clicked over to the filing cabinet, which had been fixed to swing open on a hinge and reveal a secret lift that would carry her down straight to the corridor outside of the office of Sean Buckner.

Sean barely looked up when she first stepped into his office, he was buried behind towering stacks of paperwork and counting furiously as he shifted the sheets, his skill making the tedious work look almost easy. He caught the sent of her delicate floral-fruit perfume and looked up.

"Hullo," he said, eyes bright. "Been busy this morn'. How's things upstairs in the sunlight?"

"Very good." She lay down the folder on his desk. "Minchum's final draft for tomorrow's speech."

"Aye? What's it on then?" Sean asked, and he took her folder and pushed the other work he was doing out of the way to do hers in an interlude. "Hows them plans for the telly channel comin' along?"

"Still nothing from Mr. Scamander," she replied, knowing that's what Sean was truly interested in asking. She reached across and pushed a bit of hair off his forehead and straightened the tie at his neck.

"I do hope he replies soon a'nough," Sean murmured. "You'll tell me when ya do?"

"First chance I get," Annalee said, nodding.

Sean's fingers flitted over the papers in the folder quickly, duplicating as he went and she watched, mesmerized as always by the smoothness of the action, by his speed and accuracy. Her eyes glimmered as she stared at him.

"So what's it on then, hey?" he asked.

"The speech? Oh you'll have to listen to the radio tomorrow night to hear it," she replied, miming zipping and locking her mouth with a bit of a mischievous twist to her lips.

"P'haps you could come 'round with me to the pub and we could split a plate of chippys and listen t'gether...?" Sean suggested.

Annalee smiled, "I wish I could, but I'll have to be here. You could come here, though, and after it's over we could go to the pub."

"Sounds like a date," Sean replied, stacking her copies up and handing them to her. Their hands brushed and he paused to run his fingers over hers, his eyes meeting hers and a smile trembled on his lips. "Jaysus Annalee y'are the most beau'iful gal I've ever seen."

Annalee smiled. It was the way that he took her breath away when he said stuff like that. The way he loved her so much she could feel it in the marrow of her bones. Every bit of Annalee McKinnon had always longed to be loved and cherished just the way Sean Buckner loved her. And he did it with such unapologetic innocence and sincerity... She felt her face flush, and her eyes moved to where his hand was on hers, where his fingers were touching her finger - the fingers she'd been looking at all morning.

Sean got up and came 'round the desk then, the papers he'd copied for her in one hand, wrapped in the folder she'd carried down with her, and his other hand slid round her head and into her hair, cupping the curve of her skull with his fingers as his mouth pressed to hers. His lips were warm and soft - just like his body was, really, which Annalee loved about him. He was safe and good and strong and comfortable. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped backward until her back was against the wall. She ran her purple fingernails down his back and hummed happily into the kiss. 

But then she remembered she was at work and she had told the Minister she'd be quick at it.

"I'll see you tonight," she whispered, pulling her copies from him, her heart beating rapidly and slipping out from between him and the wall.

"Where should I be meetin' you at?" he asked, pink-faced and breathless.

"Take the lift up to the office and we'll leave for dinner directly from there." Sean had been invited to come along that very night with Minchum and Annalee as they met over dinner with the Daily Prophet's staff.

"Your special lift!" he said with a laugh, "You're wantin' me to be goin' up to the Minister's Office? Me? Someone like me isn't half as important as anyone that goes up to the Minister's Office, I'd be terrible out of place." As he said it, he looked down and straightened his shirt, which she'd messed up by tugging on it with her nails. She liked that kissing her flustered him so much.

She shook her head, "Honestly. Invited to dinner with the Minister but still thinking you're not good enough to go up a lift to his office." She rolled her eyes.

"I s'pose you're right, but it feels a bit like trespassing going up there," Sean laughed.

Annalee replied, smiling, "You belong there as much as I do - and you're twice as important to me." 

She blew him a kiss and he looked on nervously, re-tucking-in his shirt as she turned and went out the door.

Annalee's heels clicked in the corridor until she ran into James Potter, all done up in his auror's uniform, all twenty-eight buttons properly done across his chest and hair actually neatened for once. Amazing what a difference a bit of hair products could make. If she were Lily, James would be as clean and presentable as this everyday, she thought, looking him over as she approached. It wasn't until they'd all but walked into one another that she even noticed the dissheveled mess that was Remus Lupin shuffling along behind James.

"Good morning, James... and -- Oh, hello Remus. How are you?" She hugged her copies to her chest.

As good as James looked, Remus looked all the worse for wear, not even properly dressed but wearing a pair of lazy old grey sweatpants and two sweaters that didn't really match the sweatpants at all. Not to mention the fact that his curly hair was about as unruly as it had ever been. Honestly, weren't gay men supposed to be more conscious of that sort of thing? Whatever was the point of being gay if not to dress smartly as they did? She thought.

"Morning!" James replied, grinning. Remus waved weakly behind him. "How are you?" James asked and his eyes darted to the copy room door. "And Sean?" he added, winking.

"Good," Annalee replied in as professional a tone as she could muster. Her heart was still beating double-fast from the kiss in Sean's office. She couldn't let James Potter - of all people, he would would find such amusement in Annalee's unprofessionalism! - know she'd been snogging on the job. She ran her little finger over the corner of her mouth, suddenly worried her lipstick might've smudged. She looked Remus over to distract from herself. "You look ill. Are you feeling well?"

Remus nodded, "I'm alright," he said. But he sounded nervous and very un-Remus-like, for of the four Marauders she'd always thought Remus Lupin to be the closest thing to a gentleman. James might've grown into one, but Remus had been raised one. 

It worried Annalee to see him disheveled like that and she wondered what was going on that he would be here, at the Ministry, looking like that. Were there troubles at home? she wondered, and her heart clenched. Marlene had mentioned there being some drama at the Halloween Party she'd attended at Sirius and Remus's flat, though Annalee and Sean had left early and hadn't seen any of it, and she hadn't really had a chance yet to talk to Marlene about what had happened... Was it some fight between Sirius and Remus? Annalee felt sorry for Remus then, and decided not to press and upset him. 

And she had told the Minister she'd be quick, she reminded herself a second time.

"Well, I must be off - LOADS to do today in the Minister's Office. There are some important new laws we're looking into, and he has a big speech tomorrow to deliver." She hugged the copies all the tighter and then asked, "Did you hear we've just approved a wizarding telly channel?"

"Wizard telly!" James lit up like a Christmas tree, then scoffed as though it hadn't initially excited him to hear it, "What are they ever going to play on that?"

"They're trying to sign Mr. Scamander to do an educational program," Annalee said. She remembered then that Remus and James actually knew Mr. Scamander fairly well and made a mental note to come and talk to James about it at a more appropriate time. Perhaps he could help them to get in touch with Mr. Scamander about it, rather than relying on his people to get back to them. She had a feeling the girl she'd spoken with on Mr. Scamander's public relations team was far from close to the magizoologist and perhaps a better connection was in order. "And there's a news program from the Daily Prophet preparing for filming." The producers and main telly personality that they were planning to use for the program was precisely the people that Annalee and the Minister had dinner plans with that very night.

"Tell them they might do a spin on the Muppets!" James said, excitedly. He looked like a child as he said it.

So much for that sophistication Annalee had been admiring.

Honestly, the Muppets.

"Sure I'll... mention it," she waved. "Bye boys," she said, turning, and her high heels click-click-clicked down the hallway all the way back onto her lift and into the Minister's Office.

His office door was closed when she arrived back and she click-click-clicked back to her desk, putting the copies down, and bent over the desk to get her latte and take a sip. She was back-to the Minister's Office when she heard the door opened.

"I told you I'd be quick," she said, gathering her things together, "And you thought I'd be at least a half an hour!" She glanced at the thin silver watch around her wrist and said, "I wasn't even twenty minutes! That's practically a record, that is, and I even ran into an old friend in the corridor and didn't let it distract --"

She turned around and stopped dead in the middle of her sentence and dropped her latte, which hit the floor, the cup bursting open and spraying coffee every where on the fine carpet.

A tall, sleek man, pale in complexion, but very nicely dressed in a smart suit and tie, stood in the doorway of the MInister's office. His eyes were a bit red, his mouth curling into a smile as he looked her over. 

"Hello," he said demurely in a tone that instantly made Annalee's skin go cold - a predator speaking calmly to it's prey.

Annalee took a step back, her bum hitting her desk. Her wand was on the desk behind her and she grappled with her palm, feeling for it.

"Accio wand," came a second voice from behind the man that was slowly stalking toward her, and Annalee's wand flew over her shoulder and past the man into the palm of -- 

"Greyback," Annalee gasped, seeing the werewolf, who she recognized easily. Disturbing, she thought, that someone as odious as Fenrir Greyback could be in the room and she was far more afraid of this other, more menacing, pale stranger.

Greyback grinned and his eyes flashed. "Well if she doesn't fill your payment, dunno what else would, hey?" he punched the shoulder of the suited man, then turned 'round into the office again, leaving Annalee and the stranger alone.

Annalee's vest felt too tight suddenly, as though the twenty-eight buttons were keeping her from taking deep enough breaths or as though the air in the room were refusing her any oxygen.

"Don't be afraid," the Stranger said as he came nearer, and he smiled and she saw the glint of his sharp teeth and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she realized he was a vampire... and by the pale complexion, a clearly rather hungry one at that. And just like that it was the blood in her body she became overly aware of as it moved through her, pumping in her heart, and she realized that the stranger could most definitely smell every drop of it. "I won't say that I don't bite because -- well." He chuckled. "But I can promise that it won't hurt. At least not for long." And he moved a bit more purposefully toward her, then, and she shrieked in fear.

There was the sound of a fight from inside the office then and a cry of pain and suddenly the large form of Harold Minchum was coming from within, his face contorted with pain and determination as he launched himself forward, knocking the vampire to one side with bound arms and a roaring shout of anger.

Annalee gasped and ran 'round her desk - there was a button there which allowed her to alert the aurors - it sounded alarms in the wings below. Her heels clicked as she ran 'round the desk and stamped on the button.

Greyback had recovered from whatever strike the Minister had hit him with in the office and he struck Minchum in the back with a spell that slammed him forward into the desk and Annalee screamed. "Run!" Minchum shouted to her. "Go!"

She hurried for the door of the office to find it had been spelled locked and her wand -- her wand was in Greyback's fist as the vampire got back up to his feet. Annalee tugged at the door knob, tears soaking her cheeks, unable to think clearly. The vampire came up behind her then, wrapped his arm around her narrow waist and twisted her about to face him. "I prefer to enjoy my meals but since you've gone and set off the alarms -- well, looks like it'll be a quick snack instead." He bent in and just before he'd bitten her, Minchum was there again to knock him to the side.

"The lift," Minchum said. There was blood in his teeth, his nose was gushing. "Get Underhill." Annalee had stupidly forgotten all about the lift. But Greyback came' round the other side of the desk, blocking her path to the cabinets that hid her secret lift, and Minchum moved in an attempt to get to Greyback, but was caught from behind by the vampire. Annalee was knocked to the floor as the vampire leaped upon Minchum, grabbed hold of the Minister's head and -- Annalee screamed as the vampire's teeth sunk into Minchum's throat, tearing and blood poured from his neck, the pale faced man looked positively ravenous then, and that predator's instinct took him over and even Greyback looked away.

The vampire released Minchum and the Minister staggered forward, his breaths sharp and ragged and he stumbled, his knees buckled, and he fell forward into Annalee's arms on the floor, blood gushing from him and pouring onto her purple vest and her skirt as she sobbed.

"G-go," he choked on blood that came out of his mouth, staining his teeth and his lips, matting in his beard, "Go," he said.

For with Greyback turned, she had one shot at it.

Nodding, in shock, and shaking, she pulled away, stumbling forward, losing one of her high heels in the motion, and slipped behind the filing cabinet and into the secret lift. She slammed into the gold-trim wall and shrieked with fear as the filing cabinet was ripped away to expose the lift doors, the lift had closed before either of the two villains could get to her and was moving down, away from the horrific scene. She was sobbing and screaming, leaning against the rail in the back of her lift, her hands shaking, head too dizzy to comprehend what was happening.

When she staggered out of the lift, she hit the far wall, the smell of blood choking her and she  could barely stand up right. Her one heel clicked as she moved blindly down the hallway, her palms outstretched, bouncing off the walls, unable to stay upright and wholly disoriented. She was still screaming, she thought, but she wasn't sure. She hit the copy room door in a daze and all but fell into the office.

"Annalee?" Sean leaped from his chair, knocking several stacks of copying over as he rushed to her and she grabbed onto him, her fists tightening in the fabric of his shirt, though not strongly enough to hold onto her balance, and his warm arms wrapped about her, pulling her into him. "What's happened?!"

"Mm-m-m-minch-ch-um, I - I've only j-just just e-es-escap-escaped."

Sean stared into her eyes, panicked, and she stared up into his, his arms around her, holding her from falling.

His arms are safe, she thought. I'm safe.

And she passed out.

Sean was blindly worried - the only thought in his head was to get her help, and he scooped her up, his arms holding her to his chest, one tucked beneath her knees and the other 'round her back. She hung limp in his arms and he pushed out the still opened door and across the hallway, the only thing he could think to do, he went to Mr. Underhill's office and began kicking and shouting against the door frantically.

It was taking too long, too long to be opened, Sean's heart was breaking with every breath he took.

Sirens were blaring.

And finally, the door opened and there was Harry Underhill, looking first annoyed, then perplexed, and then fearful as he stepped back to let Sean in... "I dunnage what's 'app'ned - I --" Sean could barely speak, Annalee's body in his arms - she felt dead, she felt gone, and it was terrifying him because he could feel his gran's claddagh in it's little velvet box in his chest pocket, pressed against him by Annalee's weight and all the dreams and hopes he had were shattering around him. "She's just come into me office. She - she came into me office and she was covered in blood." He felt dizzy himself, then, and James Potter was lifting her up out of his arms and Sean stammered, "She's - she's cover in - in blood - an' she says - she says she's only just escaped."

Remus Lupin was there - Sean had no fathom of why or any care about it for that matter, only noticed because Remus was the one who cleared the desk as James lay the precious form of Annalee McKinnon down and her arms were limp over the edge and Sean was gasping for air. James Potter tore away the purple Ministry blazer, the twenty-eight buttons popping as he did, and revealed the stark white shirt beneath, unbloodied. 

It - it wasn't Annalee bleeding? Sean realized, and without a moment of hesitation, he dropped to his knees.

"Thank the sweet babe Jaysus and 'his mother alike!" he sobbed covering his face, which was stained with the blood that covered Annalee's body. He leaned 'round a chair in the middle of the room, grappled for the hand that hung over the side of James's desk.

"Ennervate," James cast, pressing his wand to her chest.

She woke with a gasp and grappled for the fabric of James's shirt, "Sean! Sean?!" she sobbed.

"I'm here, Mo mhuirnin dilis," Sean said, and he pushed fully 'round the chair and pulled her hand to his face so she could feel he was there, clutched onto her for dear life. He'd nearly lost her. Nearly lost her and he couldn't fathom what his life might've been if he had. "I haven't left you and I don't intend to," he said, kissing her palm, kissing her pulse point, thankful for every drop that pumped through it.

"What's happened, Annalee?" James asked. "Who's -- whose blood --?"

"They came into the office - it was s-so sudden. I was d-distracted, and th-they - he w-was collecting his copies from me - they attacked, oh it was so sudden. He t-told me to g-go and I- he was there in m-my arms -- I -- if not for my passage to Sean's - the copies, see it's been takin' me so long... He had a special passageway made for me - Oh gods he's dead!" She started sobbing, and pulled Sean closer, purple-nailed fingers gripping tightly to his shirt.

"Who?" James asked.

"The Minister - he's - he - is d-dead. Harold Minchum is dead."