Herschel had received a rather curious series of owls from Cameron Rosier- the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was, admittedly, very interested in what was going on, and when Rosier had asked his advice, Herschel had not hesitated to extend an invitation to come by his home for dinner so that they might better discuss the topic in private.

He was not a particularly skilled chef. Herschel's late wife had been an excellent cook, and had taken to fixing the meals instead of leaving it to the house elf. But after she had died, and he was left with his son, the feminine touches had soon vanished from Ellsworth Manor. Most things which reminded Herschel of his wife had been put away into storage. He hadn't wanted to be reminded of her.

Tonight his elf had prepared a simple but delicious meal for himself and his guest, and after dinner the two had moved to Herschel's sitting room. He was sitting in his favorite arm chair, cigarette in one hand and a small ashtray in the other. "Now that we are fed, I suppose we should get down to business," Herschel said quietly, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Tell me, Rosier, what exactly has been going on that you would need my advice?" Herschel asked. "I have a feeling it is certainly not a trivial matter."

A cigarette after a lovely meal along with some good company was one of Rosier’s favourite combinations ever. Thanks to the nature of his job he rarely had time to socialize, so this was a very nice change. Reid has always been a great host and Rosier appreciated his kindness and hospitality. That is why he didn’t want to bother his old colleague with all the ‘serious stuff’ before catching up during dinner. Both of them were busy people but they always had something interesting to discuss. That was one of the reasons why Rosier enjoyed Reid’s company - he was an intellectual and his opinions and guidelines meant a lot to Rosier.

Reid also had a lovely home, but a manor of this size uncomfortably reminded Rosier of his family’s old estate where he grew up. For some reason, these days the thoughts of his family lingered on his mind more than they usually would. It was all probably because of what had happened…the attack, all the stress and on top of it the unexpected arrival of his ex-wife (well, one of them…). Sighing, he decided to rather think about something more pleasant…

And then Reid decided it was time to get down to business. Well, Rosier wasn’t sure how to approach this matter. As his colleague said - it was certainly not a trivial matter. “Well,” he started slowly, taking a small drag from his cigarette before putting it down in the ashtray. “Maybe you noticed these…injuries.” Rosier pointed to the side of his face - the scratches weren’t so distinctive as they were a couple of days ago, but they were still there. Then he lifted his left arm up, pulling his sleeve a bit to reveal a light bandage around it.

“Only a few people know about this, but I was attacked the night I sent you that letter. Now, we both know that was bound to happen sooner or later…and will probably happen again. Just look at poor Robards…” Rosier paused a bit, not really wanting to talk about the demise of his predecessor. “Let’s just say I need to be better prepared when this happens again, Reid.”

Herschel had noticed the scratches on Rosier's face- but had not commented, it was not his place to do so. That Reid was attacked was unsurprising, considering the recent string of attacks against the ministry- they had been highly publicized, and it was only a matter of time before the new head of the law enforcement would have become a victim. Herschel remained quiet for a few moments after Rosier trailed off, stating that he needed to be better prepared if it were to happen again. Nobody wanted to end up like Robards- and it would be a shame for the law enforcement to lose their head yet again. People might stop taking up the position.

"That you got attacked so soon is a shame, though as you said- not unexpected. I admit I am surprised you were in such a position that you could be attacked- especially considering the circumstances of the recent string of attacks against the ministry." It was not meant to be a lecture- but it was important to take precaution not to get attacked, to not put yourself in such a situation, it was the best preventative method a person could take.

Herschel took another drag of his cigarette. "As the head of Law Enforcement, I admit I am somewhat surprised that you would come to me for help." Surprised and amused. Herschel knew that he was an accomplished man, and that his skill with spells was very great- especially when he had been working on experimental spells and methods of self protection in the past. "But anything I can do to help, I will."

"Was it MacDuff?" Herschel asked, arching a curious brow. If the man was getting that brave, it was high time they stopped pussy footing around and caught the beast. "Or someone more small time?"