Guardianship (Tonks/open)

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

Riley huffed as she stood in the lobby of the Ministry, waiting for her assigned guard for that day. She was only being assigned an Auror protector that day because her usual Cavaliere guard was on leave. She didn't have much faith in British Aurors, honestly, but she'd been told that this one was exceptionally talented. Tch. She'd be the judge of that.

She withdrew her pocket watch and clicked it open in a single, fluid, well-practiced movement. The Auror that was supposed to be escorting her throughout her daily routine was ten minutes late; she didn't like that. She was, by nature, far too impatient to just wait for someone to show up. This Tonks person had best have a damn good reason for their tardiness.

[Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin]

Tonks ran up she was really late, she'd been told a certian time to be in the lobby but she'd been finishing up a letter to her fiance. Even with no ring, she was getting married real soon and had so many things to finish up before the wedding. She looked around, she was supposed to be guarding a girl from Italy, a girl by the name of Riley. All Tonks knew about her was that she was only about twenty, and was visiting with a large group from Italy. She looked around again, who was this girl? It was always a long shot in this place.

"I'm looking for a girl named Riley, she's from Italy, anyone here that person?" she asked at large. It was a tough call but she prayed they were still here.

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

Fifteen. Minutes. Late. In her head, Riley noted that this Tonks girl was much less punctual than the Cavaliere. She waved off Pyre, who had hung around even though she should have been in school. The dark-haired child smiled anxiously at Tonks as she rushed off to handle things for Anabelle. From what Riley had gathered, Pyre had been in charge of the house-staff back at the London headquarters. She was a sweet girl, with her heart in the right place. Riley appreciated that.

Riley waved a hand in the air to get Tonks' attention and flicked her cigarette to the ground to put it out under her heel. She carefully replaced her watch in its usual pocket and crossed her arms, mouth quirked up in a wry smile.

[Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin]

Tonks noticed a hand in the air. Oh thank the heavens above! She'd stayed! She ran over and appologized. She was fifteen minutes late and the only excuse she had for it was one she couldn't say in the ministry because no one knew she was getting married, except for Kingsley. She'd tripped over her robes on her way over and got right back up, "I'm good, I'm good." she said. Her vivid pink hair was the only really bright thing in the room, besides that of the water from the fountian.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I was.. finishing up some... paper work for the minister and lost track of the time. I almost forgot what I was supposed to be doing today." she said chuckling at herself.

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

Liar. She wasn't even a good liar, Riley noted to herself. She would do a quick once-over of Tonks' mind later to find out te actual cause of her lateness. She sympathized with the paperwork thing, though; she almost constantly had an ungodly amount waiting for her in her study. It was depressing to come home to every day.

"Hn. I can sympathize with that. I get flooded with paperwork, too," she explained.

She extended a hand to Tonks for a handshake.

"I am Riley Salvatore, Curia Ambassador to your Ministry she introduced herself.

[Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin]

Tonks shook the girls hand, "Nymphadora Tonks, Auror of this Ministry, and please don't call me Nymphadora. It's Tonks."

She took a deep breath. Well the paperwork thing seemed to work, she didn't know what to say. She had been doing paperwork to cover up for the letter she'd been writing. Even her father had gotten a bit suspicious. He'd kept coming to talk to her, actually he was the last person she'd talked to before realizing she was late. She'd hurried because she couldn't let anyone find that letter. If someone did, she was going to be in soo much trouble.

"I hate paperwork. Ever since we got a new minister, it's all I've been allowed to do. That, and stay in Hogsmeade." she shrugged.

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

"I've been confined, too," Riley admitted with a laugh. "That ex-Minster of yours pulled a lot of low moves before being removed from office. My cousin is the Italian equivalent of the Minster of Magic, with admittedly more power. He fell afoul of her before leaving office; she's not very happy. I've been stuck around here for weeks."

She looked around the lobby, mouth turning downward into a disapproving frown. It was a rather drab, depressing place. She much preferred the place she'd been staying or the Forum, where the Curia met in Rome. Leave it to the British to create the least aesthetically pleasing headquarters possible for their Ministry.

[Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin]

"Ouch, well, you're the one who gets to chose what to do to day. I'm here because I needed to escape. Although there is somewhere I need to go, it won't take long I just need to get a message to a friend of mine." Tonks said smiling. She flashed her hair a wide variety of bright colors and then went back to the color of Bubblegum Pink.

She looked around her, there were a few eyes but that was normal. She never really minded but now she always got the feeling one of them knew something. But, that was impossible, she hadn't told anyone at the ministry and if she had she would've told Kingsley but even he couldn't know, it would mean she would have to make sure he wasn't given veritiserum. It was a long complicated process, her life.

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

"That's fine. Most of what I'm doing today is dropping off paperwork. It's a long, convoluted process, preparing for my cousin Anabelle's arrival," she explained. "The reason you needed to tag along is that I'm not exactly popular around here."

Ha! That was an understatement! She sometimes thought that the Minister was personally trying to kill her to avoid her cousin's visit. The British never did like dealing with the Curia. It was a natural aversion when the activities of the Curia during World War Two were considered. As could be expected of an Italian group, they had supported the Axis Powers. The Cavaliere had raised hell in Diagon Alley during the Blitz. They'd nearly burnt the entirety of Wizarding London down.

[Nymphadora "Tonks" Lupin]

"I'm not exactly someone who everyone likes around here." Tonks shrugged, "I really hate paperwork. They keep assigning me more and more work, I think they're trying to keep me away from catching Dark Wizards... The Minister really needs to tell the aurors who and when someone is coming. I really don't know what the hecks going on in the world.."

She shook her head, stretched and then placed her hands on her hips. This was going to be a long day, she could tell. And it wasn't because she was tired.

[Riley Marie Salvatore]

"British wizards, especially older ones that remember the Blitz, tend to not have an overt fondness of Italian wizards, particularly their leadership. We've all done things that we're not proud of. The burning of Diagon Alley during World Aar Two is one such incident in the Curia's history," she shrugged. "By the way, you Minister is trying to pretend that if he keeps his Aurors around and ignores me, the Curia won't convene in London. Clearly he's delusional."

She would need to smoke at least two more cigarettes before the end of the day, she decided. She didn't drink any alcohol except for a sip of wine at church and a glass of it with dinner, so she needed something to help her release stress that didn't involve hexing the face off of the Minister of Magic.