The Burning Pot was almost a second home, and in the past was often the only time she ever saw her Father.  Sure it was an establishment for those of age but because Ciarra was the daughter of the man who owned it she was always allowed to enter.  That hardly mattered anymore since she was twenty years old now.

Her emotions were still dealing with everything that had happened with her Father the day previous.  No longer was he avoiding her or neglecting her.  The years of pain and confusion were starting to finally lift.  Her Father was finally trying to move past it.  And even Ciarra herself was finally able to deal with her own emotional issues, even if it was only just a start.

She sat in a familiar booth as the waitress Elaine came up.  Ciarra smiled as Elaine offered her a hug.

"Oh Elaine its good to see you!" Ciarra smiled.

"Ciarra, I haven't seen you around in a while.  You just missed your Father," Elaine gave her own smile and stood up.

"Yeah, he was probably heading back to work," Ciarra knew that her Father had some last minute details of Remember Day events to tighten up.  So she wouldn't be surprised if he ended up at the Ministry for a long time.  "I'll have my usual, if you would, Elaine."

"Of course, coming right up!" Elaine said and was gone.

Ciarra knew that her Father had probably put off a lot of work yesterday, but she was so happy and still muddling through all of it that she was surprised how her Father could still work.  Though he wasn't much for showing his emotions.  She sighed and waited for her food, not knowing she was about to meet with a friend she hadn't seen in years.

It was a chili cheese fry sort of day.  Moira had worked an extremely long shift, covering for a sick coworker after her regular shift had ended.  The last place she truly wanted to go was home at that moment.  Despite the added security Dreogan had helped her with; she still had this nagging feeling that she would be seeing Marc Donnelly again.  She would even brave the Muggle part of town to find a bit of comfort food and nothing would lift her spirits quite like the Burning Pot’s Chili Cheese Fries.

Entering the establishment, she instantly felt a bit better about everything.  Her eyes scanned the room quickly, part of her hoping Alex might be there and the other part dreading a conversation.  Surely he had heard about Donnelly, The Prophet had covered it, and the paperwork had to cross his desk at some point.  She didn’t really want to have yet another conversation about it.

Her eyes however did spot Elaine moving away from a familiar looking face.  Suddenly it clicked the missing link from the other night.  She had in fact gone to school with Alex’s daughter and she had known her fairly well in school.  She was a few years younger then Moira and was yet another person she had lost touch with when she went to America.  She could have kicked herself for not putting it all together the night she met Alex.

She crossed the room, smiling slightly as she did.  When she reached the booth, she said, “Ciarra?  Is it really you?”

The last few days had been tiring and all seemed to lump together.  She was sure most of it had to do with yesterday and the whole event with her Father.  In fact she was pretty darn positive that was the cause.  So she was really out of it at this exact moment, so it took her a moment before she realized that someone was talking to her.  Looking up she saw...huh?  Her mind was confused for a moment before it made the connection.

"Oh my goodness!  Moira its you!" Ciarra was out of her seat and with a little too much enthusiasm gave Moira a hug and nearly knocked them both off balance.  But she managed to stop herself enough so that the two of them didn't go tumbling to the ground.  "Moira, where have you been?  You totally disappeared after graduation and I tried sending an owl but she came back looking angry as if I sent her to the wrong place."

Something about the last couple days had started to turn her life in a different direction, almost like it was preparing her for something.  Of course, that just might be paranoia...but then again it was just like her Father to have feelings like this.  And if they had never served him wrong then perhaps she needed to make sure she listened to her feelings as well.  Trusting your instincts was a must in being an Auror.  One thing though, she wished she wasn't so damn sore from all the training she had been put through.

"Here sit down with me!  I just ordered food, I'm sure Elaine will be back in a second and you can order too.  Tell me where have you been?" Ciarra said pulling Moira over.  She was incredibly happy to see her, and it would definitely be obvious to Moira as Ciarra had a huge smile on her face.

Moira could see the moment of confusion on Ciarra's face and was about to respond when the younger woman recognized her finally.  She sprang up and Moira was barely able to keep herself from falling over at the force of Ciarra's hug.  She winced slightly, still a bit sore from the abuse she had suffered at the hands of Donnelly a few days earlier, but was able to recover before her friend pulled away.

"Moira, where have you been?  You totally disappeared after graduation and I tried sending an owl but she came back looking angry as if I sent her to the wrong place."

She didn't really get a chance to respond and she laughed as in the next moment she was being pulled into the both Ciarra had been occupying.  Her friend's smile was a bit infectious, lifting Moira's mood almost instantly.  The horrid day, and the horror of the past few days completely forgotten.  Every meeting with a familiar face made her feel more like her old self again, and more at home.

"Tell me where have you been?"

"I'm so sorry I fell so horribly out of touch," she began.  "I was offered an apprenticeship in American almost right after graduation at Salem's Peak.  I was trying to keep up with healers hours and my studies...although it's not really an excuse."

She felt terrible every time she came across someone else she should have stayed in touch with and failed to do so.  It was another reminder of how terrible of a friend she had been over the past few years.  Elaine approached the table again, taking the attention off of Moira's inability to stay in touch over the last few years.  From the smile on the other woman's face, she knew she recognized her from the other night.

"Welcome back, Moira," Elaine greeted, setting down Ciarra's drink.  "What can I get you?"

"Hi, Elaine," she replied, giving her a smile, impressed she remembered her name.  "I think an order of the Chili Cheese Fries and just a water to go with it."

"Of course," was the reply before Elaine wandered off again.

She wondered if Ciarra would be curious that Elaine had known her.  She remembered Alex mentioning they didn't talk much, and she didn't want to bring it up that she had met him right away.  Before she could question, Moira said, "Tell me what you've been up to."

"I'm so sorry I fell so horribly out of touch," she began.  "I was offered an apprenticeship in American almost right after graduation at Salem's Peak.  I was trying to keep up with healers hours and my studies...although it's not really an excuse."

"Well I know what its like to be worked to death, so I'm guessing by the time you had free time the last thing you even thought about was getting in touch with everyone back here in merry old London," Ciarra couldn't help but keep her big smile on her face.  It wasn't like she was angry at Moira, she was just glad to be able to see her once more.  The timing of running into her just made her so much more happy than she already was.  And hell after the whole thing with her Father she didn't think it was possible.

Elaine came back out and took Moira's order.  Ciarra was taken back a moment, "I'm guessing you've been here before, not even needing a menu."  She laughed.  It was a bit surprising...sure it used to be one of the hang outs for Auror's back during the Second War, simply because it was off the beaten path and most likely never had to deal with any Death Eaters or any other nasty buisness.

"Tell me what you've been up to."

"I'm entering my last stretch of Auror training, so hopefully that will be over and I'll be a full fledged Auror.  I live with Scirey, you know the one I always studied with that was in Ravenclaw with you," Ciarra smiled thinking briefly of being back in Hogwarts.  Really it wasn't that long ago...but she was a grown woman compared to the way she had been then.  "Though I'm sadly lacking in any juicy boy stories.  I have opted to stay away from that whole scene.  At least for now.  How about you?  I'm sure you got some stories to tell."

Moira smiled when Ciarra said she had almost completed her training as an Auror.  She also nodded when she mentioned Scirey.  Yet another person from school she would have to try to look up at some point.  She thought perhaps starting a list might be helpful to keep track.  Each bond she reformed brought her a bit closer to feeling like she was really at home.

"Though I'm sadly lacking in any juicy boy stories.  I have opted to stay away from that whole scene.  At least for now.  How about you?  I'm sure you got some stories to tell."

She laughed slightly, knowing her ‘juicy’ stories certainly the type Ciarra was referring to.  Part of her wondered if her friend was as much of a workaholic as she had been over the years.  Dating had not been Moira’s top priority either, and she had not really had a serious relationship until last year.  Yet, she had a few stories.

“Ah yes,” she said, smirking with a mock wistful sigh, “how the English rose became an American wild child.”

It was closer to the truth then Moira cared to admit sometimes.  In the early days, when everyone was just starting out, there had been so many parties and nights out.  They became fewer and fewer as the group she entered the program with began to mature and actually begin to perform healing work.  There had also been quite a few male classmates who had found it quite amusing to try to crack her proper English façade.

“In the beginning there were tons of parties, but we all settled into work fairly quickly,” she told Ciarra.  “Much to my embarrassment there were a few drunken nights here and there.  I even had a date with a rather famous Quidditch player when he ended up in my care.  Honestly though, I didn’t have any serious relationships until last year, and that just wasn’t meant to be.”

Then there’s the fact that my truly juicy stories didn’t start until I got home…I have a Muggle stalker, a wizard stalker, and a request from the Minister to have lunch tomorrow.  It was a bit of irony really.  She had gone home to London to escape her problems, only to find worse ones...not that lunch with Marcus was on that list.  Of course there was the horrid tale of how her last relationship ended, but she didn’t consider that ‘juicy.’  It also didn’t seem Ciarra knew that she had been in a run in with Marc Donnelly, which was covered, much to Moira’s annoyance, by the papers since the Ministry was involved.

Perhaps to Moira's benefit, Ciarra hadn't been the most up to date with anything outside of her Auror training since they had all been pushing her so hard as of late.  It been a long time since she had sat down with a copy of the Daily Prophet.  And even if she had, Ciarra would have most likely avoided the topic because she knew Moira enough to know whe had probably already had enough people bringing up that subject.

“In the beginning there were tons of parties, but we all settled into work fairly quickly.  Much to my embarrassment there were a few drunken nights here and there.  I even had a date with a rather famous Quidditch player when he ended up in my care.  Honestly though, I didn’t have any serious relationships until last year, and that just wasn’t meant to be.”

"Wow, dating a big time Quidditch player, that had to have been some crazy times," she thought knowing that Ciarra had passed up all those kinds of opprotunities on more than one occasion.  She had been called a shut in and whatever because of it but she didn't mind it.  There was a point where she realized that her studies was what she really wanted to focus on.  But she was still a girl and she loved the gossip, all though she played her social life safe.  Perhaps because she wanted to maintain a certain reputation for when she went in to the Ministry to become an Auror.  That was more than likely the case.  As it was, she couldn't remember the exact reason she had choosen what she had.

"I'm sure you have a number of good stories to go along with all of that but I can leave that alone for now," Ciarra said with her usual playful wink that she had been doing since she was a little kid.  The same one that her Mother used to do to her Father.  She had picked it up just out of habit...and it was something she remembered clearly about her Mother.  So she hung on to that as much as she could.

Elaine was back with the food.  For Ciarra it was a basket of fish and chips, one of her all time favorite meals.  Perhaps because it had been something she always had as a kid and it served as a bit of a comfort food for her.  Still trying to deal with everything that had happened in the last day was what had brought her here.  A place that was like a second home to her.

Moira was given some chili cheese fries and then Elaine was gone again.  Ciarra gave Moira a smile before she spoke again, "You know who my Father is right?"

"Wow, dating a big time Quidditch player, that had to have been some crazy times.”

Moira laughed a bit, nodding in agreement.  The whole situation had not been one of her finer moments.  If she had been smart she would have refused the charming smile and the thought of a date.  If she had been smart she would have believed the rumors about his habits with women.  However, it had been one of those times when hindsight truly was twenty-twenty.

“It was only one date…let’s just say he lived up to the reputation he had,” she said.

She was a bit grateful that Ciarra was letting the conversation of America and her dating habits drop.  She wasn’t particularly in the mood for skipping down that part of memory lane.  Perhaps another day, when she finally understood all the reasons for the things that happened…if that day ever came.

When Elaine returned with their food, she gave her a small smile as the aroma of chili cheese fries filled her senses.  She truly needed that.  She had been run ragged today, her mind a bit burnt out from a few more trying cases, but it was nothing fried greasy food couldn’t cure.

"You know who my Father is right?"

“Actually,” Moira began; glad Ciarra had brought up Alex first since the other night he had indicated they hadn’t been close in some time, “I do.  I met him the other evening.  He…he sort of spared me the embarrassment of wandering around Diagon Alley like a lost nit-wit who hasn’t been home in seven years.”

“It was only one date…let’s just say he lived up to the reputation he had,”

Ciarra could only guess on what kind of reputation that it might be that this Quidditch player had but she was pretty sure she would be right.  She could notice that Moira wasn't exactly wanting to talk about her relationship past but it at least had been a way to break the ice after not having seen each other in so long.  Both of them had changeda lot since the two of them had seen one another.  She still had three years of school left after Moira had graduated.  During that time Ciarra had become slightly more active and had even gone to be the President of the Dueling club on her 7th and final year. 

“I do.  I met him the other evening.  He…he sort of spared me the embarrassment of wandering around Diagon Alley like a lost nit-wit who hasn’t been home in seven years.”

Ciarra couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Lost huh?  I don't blame you after being gone for a few years.  Then again I tend to get lost on occasion anyway.    But wow, you actually ran into him already, that's kinda funny."  Her mood changed though as she spoke that last sentence.

"Father and I actually talked yesterday, the first time since Mom died.  And he said there was a couple women that had made him come to his senses.  I wonder if you were one of them," Ciarra said softly and taking a bite of her fish.  "He is still holding a lot in, but its a start right?"  It was obvious she was really happy and wanted to share it with everyone that things were getting better between her and her Father, but...she could tell that she was still emotional about the whole thing.  "Dad is...I mean Father is doing his best.  But he and Uncle Marcus are going to be over their heads for Remembering Day."

Moira could hear the change in Ciarra’s tone as she spoke of Alex, and she was surprised and happy to hear that they had spoken yesterday.  She had been hoping he would reconnect with his daughter; it was a relief to find he had.  She began to eat as Ciarra spoke, listening to every word her friend said.  She couldn’t help smiling a bit at the thought that her conversation with Alex might have helped even a bit.

"He is still holding a lot in, but its a start right?"

“It is,” she agreed.  “Everyone processes things in their own way and in their own time.  After speaking with him the other night, I’m glad to see he has indeed made a start.”

She listened again, noting the correction from ‘dad’ to ‘father.’  It was an odd correction, and she pondered it for a moment.  Perhaps after all this time her friend didn’t trust that Alex would continue to open up.  She didn’t mention it for the moment as the conversation turned to Remembering Day.  She couldn’t help the smirk slightly as Ciarra referred to the Minister as ‘Uncle Marcus.’

“It does promise to be quite an event,” she said.  “They’ll certainly have a busy couple of days.”  Her smirk turned into a smile as she remembered her first meeting with the Minister of Magic.  “You know, I actually managed to meet Marcus as well…It was a rather ungraceful moment on my part and I had no bloody idea who he was until I saw his name in the paper a few days later.”

“Everyone processes things in their own way and in their own time.  After speaking with him the other night, I’m glad to see he has indeed made a start.”

She wondered if her Father actually had been thinking about her all these years.  Maybe he did regret his neglect for her, but Ciarra didn't care about any of that, not that much anyway.  She remembered only how her Father had changed after Mom had died.  She had cried, though she didn't really understand or able to deal with her Mothers death until later on when she finally grasped what it meant when someone died.  She hadn't been very old when it had happened.  And she could only remembere bits and peices now of her mother.  But her Father, he had cried on so many nights.  And whenever he looked at her, he had such a sad and lonely look in his eyes.

Originally Ciarra thought that it would go away in time as her Father dealt with Mom's passing.  But he hadn't.  He started having nightmares, screaming out Mother's name.  The thing of that was, she knew that her Father still had those nightmares.

“You know, I actually managed to meet Marcus as well…It was a rather ungraceful moment on my part and I had no bloody idea who he was until I saw his name in the paper a few days later.”

The topic steered away from her Father, which was good simply because she was remembering a lot more than she wanted too.  After the talk with her Father she had done a lot of thinking about the past and everything that had happened as a child.  Trying to remember any small detail that would help bridge the gap between her Father and herself.

She laughed thinking of her Uncle.  "Yeah he doesn't seem to act in a normal fashion.  Then again my Father doesn't either, I guess its why the two of them are still good friends.  And to think that those two are essentially holding the most power in out wizarding community," Ciarra smiled.  If anything she almost felt like she owed her Uncle for basically taking care of her Father for so long.  She didn't know much about her Father's past but knew that Marcus had always been an important part of it, aside from her Mother.

"You might be able to guess it, but my Father and Uncle Marcus were partners when both were just Auror's.  After the Battle at Hogwarts, the two of them were responsible for putting away the majority of the Death Eaters.  But they also have a long track record of working together and quite effectively.  I read a bunch of their case files, but apparently there is still a lot of their bigger cases that are still classified," Ciarra sighed knowing that most likely there was something in them that seemed important to her.  At least in her attempts to learn as much about her Father as she could.