For Auld Lang Syne. Hannah gave a small chuckle and grit her teeth. It was 11:45 on New Years Eve and the doctor of the dead herself was sat alone in her office while the rest of the country was no doubt partying. The whole holiday season was all about festivities. It was about spending time with family, friends, enjoying, eating and being merry. Hannah had little interest in spending time with her family over the holidays. She was anything but close to her parents. Cindy Bombay had never been a brilliant role model as a mother, choosing manicures and facials over spending time with her daughter. Fred Bombay had lost all his daughter’s respect the day Hannah had found out about Graham and her relationship to him. For that day on he hadn’t been the perfect doting father. He’d been a liar. A liar she no longer wanted to be close to let alone related. Graham? Well he wasn’t exactly a barrel of fun. He was most likely being dragged into a delightfully horrendous New Years celebration with his overbearing mother. Poor man.

Hannah had attempted the pretending to have a social life. She’d even gotten dressed up, attended a party at a wizarding club in London with a somewhat close acquaintance and left early. Anyone that knew Hannah Bombay knew for certain she wasn’t the ‘partying’ kind. She was the working all day and relaxing at home with a book about the newest forensic magic techniques before bed. She was serious, professional, not drunk and girly. One glass of wine and the woman was very tipsy. She didn’t drink often, but when she did, her personality changed. She offered slightly more of herself and became friendly, even chatty.

So here the Doctor was, sat at her desk, glasses perched on her nose as she carried on filling in paperwork. Tamis wanted the report soon. Apparently it was imperritive to hand it in as soon as possible. Hannah didn’t hurry. She’d politely informed her friend and colleague of that fact. How could someone be precise and accurate when rushed, trying to get through something in the nick of time? One missed things, as Hannah had pointed out, if the head auror wanted an exact, clear-cut report, she would have to be patient. However, right now seemed as good a time as any to continue to transcribe her messy scroll from doing the post mortem itself into the perfect calligraphic script usually associated with Dr. Bombay. The ministry was quiet, there would be no interruptions, the majority of people were out having themselves a delightful time.

Obviously, the woman’s choice of dress for the evenings work would say to anyone she’d had different plans for the evening. Her long flowing red dress fell gracefully against the cold white tiles of the floor, barely revealing a pair of beautifully made high black heeled shoes. That was the woman’s weakness. Shoes. Standing at a petite 5”2, Hannah always increased this by teaming any of her perfectly put together outfits with a very expensive pair of high heel shoes. No one could ever say the woman was scruffy. Especially not tonight when her usually untame, wavy brown hair was pulled back into a bun, allowing a few curls to drop down and frame her face.

The beautiful silence didn’t last long as Hannah heard the door behind her open, pursing her lips as the hinges squeaked eerily while the door closed itself slowly behind the new inhabitant of the lab. “What can I do for you?” The FME asked, not bothering to look around at who had just entered. It was no doubt someone as keen to work hard as her.

It still amazed Oz that he was at work so close to the strike of midnight and the dawn of a new year, as he had plenty of invitations to attend parties. There was still time to make his way to one of them as the time drew near, but there was something more pressing for him to attend to. There was some business to take care of  from the old year before he could really be comfortable ringing in the new one.

Or at least that was how he was going to justify his being there should anyone spot him. In actuality, earlier in the week, he had a visitor to his office who brought some evidence for one of the cases the Wizengamot would be hearing soon. Since that time, he had not been able to stop thinking about the visit and it had not taken him long to figure out that it was neither the case, nor the evidence that kept him distracted.

No, it was Miss Hannah Bombay. Or rather, Dr. Bombay, to be exact.

He would use the case as an excuse to talk to her, but truth be told, that was not what he had been thinking the most about. No, it was most definitely the person and not the evidence that had lingered on his mind. It was hard not to take note these days of the lovely woman that Hannah had become and the more time he spent with her. Only it was Oscar's opinion that she spent way too much time working for her own good. Being holed up with no one but dead people people all day long could not be good for one's health. Or beauty. Or social life.

All three could be easily rectified though and Oscar was determined to help her out in that regard.

Oscar carried with him a bottle of wine and he hoped that it would go a long way towards convincing her to join him in celebrating the new year.

He arrive to her office and thought about knocking, but eventually just opened the door and stepped inside, feeling as though it would save time. With only fifteen minutes left before midnight, he needed every second.

He was not prepared to see Hannah working in such a stunning ensemble. If all doctors wore what she was wearing, he'd be more inclined to get his check up more often.

After stopping just inside the door to collect him jaw from the floor, Oz closed the door behind him and stepped further inside. He responded to her question with a playful tone. "Oh, well, you see....I have this bottle of wine...and can't hope to drink it all by myself. Think you could help?"

That voice Hannah recognised. It most certainly didn’t belong to one of the over enthusiastic aurors coming to press the magical examiner for speedier reports or evidence. Neither did it belong to one of the more interfering members of the Department of Law Enforcement that had come to simply enquire as to why the lights were on in the Magical Examination Lab at a quarter to midnight on New Year’s Eve. It belonged to a man whom for some reason she had seemingly been seeing more of in the recent months. Perhaps that had been due to her taking over the Magical Examiner’s office and therefore dealing with the wizengambot more regularly, or it was simply down to coincidence.

It wasn’t as if Dr. Bombay was at all bothered by the fact this man was appearing in her day to day business more habitually. In fact, there was something about this older man she liked. He wasn’t one of those imbecilic persons likely to shy away from speaking the truth. He was straight to the point, assertive and...distinctively handsome. He was also her half brother’s best friend. Oh Graham would have a coronary if he found out about the thoughts she’d been having.

Hannah liked Oscar, but she wasn’t about to turn into a giggling schoolgirl, that was simply pathetic. What would the wizard think of her if she were to turn the colour of an overcooked pumpkin and start dribbling like one too?

Instead, the doctor pulled her glasses off her face, placing them on the desk in front of her before turning slowly in the dragon leather chair to face Mr Whitman. She smirked up at the man before pushing herself out of the chair to stand at her full, unimpressive height. Most people towered over Hannah, that was fine. That was why she liked Tamis Raynor.

“So, by some strange coincidence or work of Merlin, you find a bottle of wine in your hand on New Year’s Eve.” The Magical Examiner began, taking a few slow steps towards the lab’s newest visitor. “Willing as I am to help you out with this predicament, what, may I ask, runs through your head to think of the ministry’s resident pathologist?”

She had bec ome such a lovely woman, Oscar thought as his eyes settled on her petite frame before him. Hannah was beautiful and accomplished and it made her easy to appreciate, especially more recently since he had been working more closely with her.

Seeing her at Graham's holiday dinner had placed her at the fore of his mind and such thoughts had caused him to seek her out on this day, of all days. Perhaps he was feeling a need for a fresh start. A clean slate as far as romantic liasons went. Oz admitted that he had been closed off in that regard for quite some time. But there was something pure about Hannah, and then not so pure at the same time, that made him wonder about opening his heart up to such vulnerabilities.

It was a new year, afterall. Perhaps he could put his war on love to the side for just a little bit and enjoy himself.

Oscar returned her smirk with one of his own and stepped a little further into the office and sauntered towards her. "Yes, funny how these things seem to come into my possession at times like these," he joked. "It must know that I was in search of the company of a beautiful witch who might help me polish it off." When she questioned his motives for seeking her out specifically, Oz shrugged. "Do I need a reason to see you, Hannah? We are friends, afterall, no?"