Why was it whenever he had to venture out of his office he was horribly delayed by one thing or another?  It made him cranky…well, more cranky.  This time the supplier he was meeting at The Hogshead had been twenty minutes late.  Unfortunately the stammering dolt seemed to be the only reliable source for several of the more volatile ingredients he needed for one of the studies he was working on.  With his newly acquired supply safely tucked away he had stopped to grab a cup of coffee and was preparing to floo directly back to his office in London.

However, as he turned the corner, something caught his eye down the street that made him come to an abrupt standstill.  The lady behind him, who had been walking too close to him in his opinion, ran into his back nearly causing him to spill his coffee.  He glared at her as she past, causing her to murmur something incomprehensible as she scurried along.

The shop that had caught his attention was best described as one thing…completely girly.  He shook his head slightly, fighting a smirk as he remarked to himself, “Leave it to Stevenson to make that shop look like a pygmy puff exploded.”

He hadn’t seen Candice Stevenson in quite some time, but he was well aware of what she had been up to.  Thanks of course to the Ministry gossip line that he could not seem to avoid listening to as his employees sauntered past his office.  He considered pretending he didn’t see the shop and just continue on his way back to London, but how could one miss those doors?

Continuing down the street he shook his head slightly has he reached the entrance, would the inside look as much like muggle cotton candy as the outside?  Stepping inside he was a little surprised to find the interior a bit more subdued.  The smell of pastries and other treats greeted his nose as he took a look around.  Despite the loud exterior he actually found he almost liked the inside of the shop…even if there was still a bit too much pink for his taste.

Candy had only been open for three weeks, and already business was booming. She knew that the next few days would hold the Hogsmeade visit for the Hogwartsians, and was attempting to get everything ready for their arrival. She wanted to be sure that she had enough sweets, that her menu was tempting to teenagers, and that she'd have enough ingredients to whip up fresh batches all weekend. It was a lot of preparation to get done, but she was glad to be doing it. Finally she was doing what she loved- and following no rules but her own.

She had been pulling some strawberry cupcakes from the oven when she heard the door tinkle. Carrying the tray of warm cupcakes out to the front, she rested them on the back counter and tucked hair behind her ears, wiping hands on her apron as she smiled cheerily at-

Dante Ward.

Candice Stevenson had not laid eyes on Dante Ward since February 6th. That was the day she had gone to his house with dinner, wine, and wearing a dress which Dolly St. James had chosen for her, in some misguided attempt to... woo him? At this point, Candy wasn't even sure what she had been trying to do, but that had been a confusing and difficult time in her life (three months could change a lot about a person after all) so she had blocked most of it out.

But here he was- standing in her shop- nose twitching at the scent of sweets, and it took Candy a few moments of staring at him, completely dumbfounded, before finally speaking. She decided the best course of action to take would be to simply pretend she and Dante had not had some incredibly strange and awkward blossoming friendship not even six months ago. It was best to pretend they were merely passing acquaintances and avoid the level of awkward that would come if she greeted him with too wide a smile and too bright a tone.

"Good day, Mr. Ward," Candy greeted with a soft, subdued smile. "Is there anything I can help you with?" after asking her question, Candice turned to flick her wand at the mixing bowl which held the ingredients for her icing. Another flick of her wand and it started to cream itself at a slow and steady pace.

It was only a moment before Candy appeared with a tray of cupcakes in hand.  There was something different about her…and he had a good idea what that something was.  He had seen her get worked up into quite a state while employed by the Ministry, and, even though he had always thought of her as a generally ‘sunny’ person, she seemed less strained.

Her greeting was friendly, but a bit business like.  The fact that he was once again ‘Mr. Ward’ didn’t go unnoticed.  A few months back she had shown up at his flat with dinner and a bottle of wine…and that had been the last they had interacted.  They seemed to have a friendship built on false starts.  They’d tiptoe around each other for a while, but the moment she seemed to be trying to test the walls he had built up around himself for cracks he would find an excuse to avoid her.

“Actually, Miss Stevenson,” he began, “I couldn’t help noticing the explosion of pink outside as I rounded the corner.  I didn’t remember this particular part of Hogsmeade being so bright and I heard a rumor that you had opened a bakery here…I could only assume based on the color pallet choice outside that this was it.”

He took a sip of his coffee as the rationalizations started.  She hadn’t exactly gone out of her way to seek him out again either after their impromptu dinner.  They weren’t an item, there was no rule saying he had to call upon her next.  They had simply been friends.  If she had wanted to see him, she had made it quite clear that night in February she was capable of simply showing up whenever she saw fit.

"Knowing that this shop was likely yours, I thought I'd stop to see that all was well."

Candice couldn't argue his reasoning that any unexpected explosion of pink on a shop front could be tied back to her. And she was actually glad that he had bothered to stop in and say hello- though Candice had a feeling that as soon as things got to be too intense for Dante that he would end up claiming to have business back at the ministry and disappear from her shop just as unexpectedly as he had blown in. But Candy had no reason to be rude to him, and had no intentions of doing so.

"It has certainly been a very busy month," she responded to his... inquiry? It didn't sound like a question, more like a statement. "I just opened on the first, and it's been steady ever since. That's a good thing, though," she added. "Hopefully it stays that way, I think I've had enough failures the last six months to last me a lifetime." Candice couldn't help the pointed glance she gave him before turning to scoop her icing into a decorating bag.

As she began piping the icing onto the fresh cupcakes, Candice finally peered at him again. "So how's my Connor doing?" Candy asked. Because naturally she was more concerned about the dog she was worried that Dante would neglect than she was about Dante. Ward had made it very clear that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself and didn't need her meddling or interfering in his life beyond the boundaries he set for her.

"Do you want a cupcake?" Candy asked as she finished the piping on another cake. "They're strawberry with a whipped cream icing. Fresh strawberries baked right inside," she said, holding up the cake for him.

He wasn't quite certain how to respond to her mention of her 'failures.'  It was one of those words that glossed over a who array of emotions that could linger just below the surface and Dante Ward was not the sort who handled emotions well.  Also never being much of an optimist there was little he could say in response.  After all, he wasn't the sort to ponder too much on the peaks and valleys of life.

"So how's my Connor doing?"

Somehow he wasn't entirely surprised by the question...From the moment she had the dog delivered to his door step he had been a way to avoid talking about much of anything.  He could still remember that evening just before Christmas...and how mad he'd been when he'd banged on her door.  She had been baking that night too...and he tried desperately to think of her sitting on the floor in the middle of her kitchen wearing her stripped pajamas.  Of course the brief display of affection in the form of hugging had gotten the better of him after he left her home and the walls that had started to crack a bit had been quickly mended and reinforced.

"Conner is doing well," he said.  "He only managed to break into my home study once...thankfully there was nothing of any importance for him to destroy.  He's been complete havoc for my work schedule, since dogs require quite a bit of attention."

He paused for a moment taking a breath, and then added, "But...when all is said and done he's turned out to be a good dog, and a good companion.  So...I suppose this is where I admit that you were right...this time."

He couldn't let the go unqualified, lest she think she was right about everything she wished to change in his life.  She hadn't meddled since Conner, but that didn't mean she might not see his admittance as some sort of opening.  After all, the words 'you were right' rarely left the lips of Dante Ward.

"Do you want a cupcake?"

"I suppose one couldn't hurt," he said.  "I'm sure the students will be thrilled with the addition your shop.  It seems children can never get enough sugar."

And that meant he would be avoiding Hogsmeade weekends as if his very life depended on it.  There was nothing worse then teenagers on a sugar rush.

Candice couldn't help the bright, beaming smile that replaced the restrained one when he admitted that she was right about the dog- and that Conner had turned out not only to be a good dog, but a good companion. Candice took that to mean that Dante enjoyed coming home to a wagging tail and a happy face, someone to cuddle with at night. (Because naturally in Candy's mind, Dante kept Conner in bed with him. He seemed that sort.)

"I'm glad he didn't destroy anything important," she told him. "And that you've grown to love the little guy. I bet he misses my cooking." Because naturally Candice had not given him a strict diet of dogfood, but often prepared little dishes of meat and rice and vegetables for the mutt. He deserved a nice treat now and again, and she certainly wouldn't want to eat kibble every day for the rest of her life- so why force the dog to do so?

She handed him the cupcake when he stated that one couldn't hurt. "I don't think that a whole dozen cupcakes would hurt you, Dante," she said- slipping into his first name with ease nowt hat the awkward had somewhat been pushed out of the way. She eyed his frame as she said it- noticing that he still lacked any soft curves like her own body seemed to have. "I'm sure that you'd burn the calories slaving away at work, keeping all of those wayward employees in line." He always did seem to think his department did nothing but goof off and avoid doing work, judging from what she'd heard both from gossip at the ministry and from the man himself.

"I'm excited for the first Hogsmeade weekend I get to be a part of!" she told him. "I'm sure that it will be a lot of fun. It's just a shame the first years won't be around. I love children, they're always so funny and interesting. The teenagers are usually trying to grow up too fast to have any fun. I remember that's how it was when I was at Hogwarts, anyway. But that was such a very long time ago- I've been graduated nearly ten years now. How time has flown! Makes me feel very old sometimes."

Especially since she was now twenty-seven and hadn't done any of the things she had intended to do with her life. Candice had always expected to be married with children by this point, but she was no where near close to either of those things. She didn't even really go out on dates, but just had an awkward clump of awkward crushes that never quite seemed to work out in the end. But it was something she tried not to focus too much on- it could be depressing. And Candy knew that if she really wanted to find someone, that she could probably get Dolly to help her out. But that just wasn't on her to-do list at the moment, at least not until she had the shop in order and it was running smoothly without requiring her attention twelve hours a day.

"Hopefully they find pastries enticing enough without needing the magic added in," she said. "I refuse to sell anything infused with potions to Hogwarts children. It's just too dangerous and to be quite frank they don't need it. I remember the kind of havoc love potions could wreak at that age." She remembered all too well- having been the victim of them as some sort of cruel joke. Naturally no boy at Hogwarts wanted her to be in love with them, not when she was one of the very few overweight teenagers.

"Have you been productive at work, even having to take care of a pesky little thing like Conner?" she asked with a grin. Candice knew the answer would be yes- and liked to think he found himself far less stressed having the fuzzy thing around.

Taking the cupcake, he took a bite, practically ignoring her commentary on his eating habits.  He had always been the active sort, but that didn’t mean that indulging too often in sweets wouldn’t cause problems.  However, diving into work had usually been the best deterrent for him.  He did have to shake his head slightly though when she mentioned feeling ‘old.’  It looked worse at forty then it did for someone in their twenties, but he kept that thought silent.

I remember the kind of havoc love potions could wreak at that age

“It amazes me that troublemakers can still find that sort of thing amusing,” he said, resisting an eye roll.

It had been quite the game when he was in school to try to get the usually stoic Dante to show any emotion by slipping him food laced with potions.  When the potion wore off he had found himself in the Headmaster’s office more then once after retaliating in some way…if he got caught.  As he got older, his methods of revenge had grown sneakier.

“Teenagers are hormonal and overly dramatic enough…you’re smart in not encouraging them to me more so under the influence of potions,” he added.

The thought of having to deal day in and day out with teenagers was part of the reason he had never in his life considered teaching.  Teens were whiney, needy, and completely arrogant.  They were caught between child and adulthood, and were neither one nor the other…yet they spent all their time acting like children while insisting they were indeed adults.  He had enough trouble working with all ‘grownups’ at the Ministry.

"Have you been productive at work, even having to take care of a pesky little thing like Conner?"

“I’ve had quite a few projects occupying my time,” he told her.  “This is the first I’ve really been out of London lately.”  He took another bite of cupcake and then turned the conversation to his dog, “Having Conner forces me to leave work at what one might consider a ‘reasonable’ hour to make sure he gets his walk and dinner.  Of course, there are days I swear that dog looks at me as if he’s wondering when he’ll get something aside from kibble.  I think he misses the extra spoiling you gave him.”

Yes…it was Conner who missed seeing Candy, Dante told himself.  It had nothing to do with their on-again-off-again friendship.  It was merely that the dog had been spoiled by eating human food while with Candy and now he missed her.

"I don't think that teenagers ever change," Candice said. "I think that's just how it is. Times change, but they don't." Which was quite sad, actually. Teenagers were always very vicious beings, and she felt bad for anyone who was on the wrong end of their brilliant ideas or pranks. Had she known that Dante was a victim as much as she had been- Candy would have probably hugged him, but she didn't know- and never would have expected.

She wasn't surprised to hear it was his first time out of London in a while. "You should make it a point to get out more," she suggested. "Take Conner to the mountains for a weekend and let him run around in the wild and play in the woods or in a lake or pond, I bet he'd like that. And the fresh air would probably do you some good, too. Maybe go fishing or something." Candy had loved going fishing with her grandfather.

She beamed when Dante said he thought that Conner missed her spoiling him. "You could spoil him, too," she said. "It's not hard to make rice with a little bit of chicken. Next time you order out, you could order him a little." Because naturally Candice assumed Dante was incapable of cooking for himself or for Conner. "Have you bought him any treats?" Candice asked. "He likes pig ears to chew on, they usually help keep pups out of trouble. Give him something other than your things to chew on, at least."

Candice began putting the cupcakes into the glass counter, sliding them in carefully as to not mess up the icing. "I'm glad to hear things are going well. I know it's been rough for the ministry lately. I read in the prophet one of your employees getting kidnapped. I worried about you- since you're the department head and all, about what MacDuff might do if he managed to get his hands on you." Candice frowned, and shivered. "Terrifying prospect- that thing on the loose. Hopefully the WCU and the aurors get him soon. I don't like worrying about everyone at the ministry."

When she made it clear he should be the one spoiling the dog, there was a pang of some unidentified emotion that Dante refused to let show on his face.  What had he really been expecting?  Conner was, after all, his dog.  And, if anyone should be spoiling the dog then it was indeed him.  He gave a slight nod, letting the conversation drift to the latest Ministry drama.

I worried about you- since you're the department head and all, about what MacDuff might do if he managed to get his hands on you.

Before she qualified the statement, an eyebrow had started to rise when she had said she was worried about him.  Yet, it quickly seemed it had more to do with the fact that given his position he was privy to a great deal of information that in the wrong hands could spell disaster for the Wizarding community.  It had been a rather tense time, and he couldn’t blame her for being concerned given the nature of the DoM.

“It would be nice to not have to worry about what that maniac might do,” he said.  “You shouldn’t worry over me though…I haven’t always been tied to a desk.  I am quite capable of handling most situations.  MacDuff would have his hands full.  But, I'm not planning on putting myself in a dangerous position either."

"Well, if he can get away from aurors I imagine he must be more dangerous than you're giving him credit for," Candice said simply. "But I'm sure you can manage to keep yourself safe. If nothing else I'm sure you'd take a good chunk out of him before he'd be able to get to you," she offered with a smile. The idea of Dante fighting with anyone was an... oddly pleasant thought. She had a feeling he was definitely capable of holding his own. Very masculine, no doubt, but she pushed the thought away. Candice had already come to terms with the fact she had been attracted to Dante- and had quickly tried to forget about it after their last run in, and it had been made easier when Declan Murphy had distracted her.

"It is hard to imagine you doing anything other than experimenting in your laboratory, though," she said. Candice knew that he was well traveled, and had no doubt that field work was something he had pursued in his youth, but Dante was just so.... stuffy. Spontaneity wasn't something she associated with him, and she had a feeling field work required a lot of that. Besides, the idea of Dante getting dirty was laughable.

And she had no doubt that his was capable of being cautious enough to prevent himself from getting kidnapped or hurt. "Just keep the doors locked and your wards up," she said to him.

But talking about MacDuff was heavy conversation and made Candice uncomfortable. "So what do you think of my little shop, then?" Candice asked. "I've come a long way since I left the ministry," she announced proudly. She was glad to finally be happy, and glad to be out of that stressful atmosphere.

Life was unpredictable and no one was guaranteed to be safe.  He knew that better then most.  He was also probably more paranoid and cautious then most as well.  It only took a moment for a lapse in judgment to spell disaster and he wasn’t about to let that happen if he could do anything to avoid it.

She changed the subject to the shop as he finished up the cupcake, and he was glad to let the switch happen.  The longer they lingered, the longer he had to wonder what her true intentions were for concern.  Candice always seemed a genuine person.  In the past that had caused walls to begin to crack, and he thought it safer to simply assume she was simply worried for everyone and the security of the Wizarding world.

"So what do you think of my little shop, then?  I've come a long way since I left the ministry.”

“It seems to suite you well,” he told her.  “You seem…and, you also have the talent for it, it seems…judging from the cupcake.”

After years of service and commitment the Ministry was his life.  He didn’t consider outside work, and he was convinced he would be like his father and work at the Ministry until they forced him to retire.  However, he had been well aware of how miserable certain members of the staff had made Candice and the severance of employment had certainly taken its toll on her.  There had been many times he had wondered how she was getting on and if she was settled in her new situation.

“The daily grind of the Ministry can wear down anyone,” he told her.  “I…”

He paused for a brief moment.  There was a part of him that he often ignored that missed having someone around the Ministry who brought an innocent sort of mischief to his life.  And it had very nearly slipped off his tongue.  Just when he had gotten used to having her barge in and create a little chaos things had gotten tense between them.

“I should probably let you finish up your work,” he said, starting to prepare to leave her to her business once more.  Then stopping, he added despite wondering somewhat amused if she had put a mood enhancer in his cupcake, “Although, before I go I think I’ll purchase some cookies…perhaps an assortment.”

Candice was glad that Dante seemed to think the change of pace was suitable, and that he thought she had talent for baking judging from a single cupcake. Those were damn good cupcakes, one of her favorite recipes, so she was glad he had enjoyed it. But in the past he hadn't seemed too offended by anything she had every cooked and owled over or taken to him. It wasn't like that time she cooked Kurby dinner and he was so ungrateful. But they weren't fighting anymore, and Candy had been very worried after that attack on him by MacDuff and she had decided not to be angry with him ever again after that.

And he was right- the Ministry was a stressful place to be. She often wondered how he managed to go along as though things at the ministry were peachy. Candice had a feeling being in charge of your whole department had its perks. The only person Dante Ward had to answer to was the Minister of Magic. "You seem to handle the grind well, though," she told him. "I guess it takes years of practice then."

Candice didn't want him to leave because he thought she was busy- but had a feeling that was just his polite way of saying he had to go. So she didn't complain, or try to entice him to stay- she simply smiled and nodded. "I'm sure you're busy as well," was her response as she grabbed a box for the cookies.

"What kind of flavors do you like?" Candice asked, pulling two large sheets of cookies from the bottom row of one of the display cases. "I've got a little bit of everything, it seems. Are you a fan of chocolate or do you prefer something else?"