There were some lessons that those serving in the Auror Corps learned very quickly.  Rule Number One was never to leave your personal space undefended.  Leaving for long periods of time meant risking the sanctity of your desk, especially when you were -- even though no one had any formal proof, Jonas insisted quite firmly -- suspected of initiating many of the office pranks.

Last time he'd left for a week, he'd come back to find that the Department Head had confiscated all of his files.  This time, after his two weeks in Israel, he'd purposely arrived at the office early.  That at least would give him time to set right whatever had been done to his desk and papers, although he'd preemptively mitigated the damage by taking most of his important files with him this time.

He'd arrived well before eight, which was according to plan.  His desk looked fine; not even a pen was out of place, which made Jonas unreasonably suspicious.  He was relatively certain that his coworkers could not make it through a two-week absence without messing with his things.  Just because everything looked all right didn't mean that it was all right -- it just meant that he'd have to dig deeper to find and disarm the prank.

Or, very possibly, they had devoted their time and energy to pranking someone else.

Luckily, he was not the only one who had come in early to the office that day.  Jonas marched over to Archer Radley's desk, not even bothering with a hello as he tossed the stack of what were apparently gift-wrapped file folders -- each done up neatly in different wrapping paper and topped with matching bows -- over the big man's shoulder and onto his desk.  He'd been contemplating tossing the chair, which had been transfigured into an enormous Christmas tree, complete with little gnomes hanging as ornaments and twinkling fairy lights, at the man instead, but the risk of starting the day by causing severe bodily injury to one of his coworkers outweighed any satisfaction he'd get from it.

"So."  Jonas left the word -- not really a question, but not quite a threat -- hanging in the air as he casually leaned against the entryway to the bigger man's cubicle, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.  Normally, if the prank had been directed at him, he would have ignored it.  He knew how to deal with Archer Radley; admitting that you'd been had at all meant that you'd already lost the battle.  But he wasn't the one who would come back to find that his entire cubicle had been turned into a gigantic Christmas present.  "Miss a holiday, did I, Arch?"

Despite the fact it seemed like Archer Radley's life had finally slowed down for a little while, it seemed like he spent more time in the office than ever.  It was a good space, and having Adon and Jonas gone for a bit, well, it wasn't exactly sending him home to cry in his pillow.  Now, it wasn't that he didn't like his co-workers, quite the contrary, but with them out of the office, Archer couldn't help but enjoy his time a little bit more. 

Now, it wasn't as though he was going to own to anything, but he'd figured out by now if you wanted to mess with Jonas, you didn't actually mess with Jonas.  It was astonishing, how just one little thing to Adon would perturb the redheaded auror more than anything.  So, no one bothered Jonas anymore - it was much funnier to watch him rile himself up over nothing.  Not touching his things would prove even funnier than if he actually had.

Rufus rose up from his place under Archer's desk - the cubicle getting a little small to handle both of them - but the dog lifted his head, then the rest of his body and wagged his tail excitedly as Jonas approached.  Archer could tell by the uneven walking pattern.  That limp would probably get them killed one day, but now that he was Adon's partner, at least he knew they wouldn't go down without taking their tracker down with them - probably in some fiery inferno, nonetheless. 

So, Archer did nothing.  Instead, he continued scratching away at the last piece of the report he was putting together.  If he finished this early, he'd be able to check the board for something new to work on.  Of course, as he put his signature on the end, some wrapped up folders flew onto his desk and he raised his eyebrows.  They were certainly culturally conscious - Hanukkah paper. 

He slowly turned in his desk chair, the desk chair squeaking as he did, "I don't know, did you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.  "I thought Hanukkah was near Christmas?" he said thoughtfully, "I could be wrong though.  Why not ask Eleor?"

Jonas stared back at him, his expression still impassive, though the tightening muscles in his jaw gave away the tension as he straightened.

"Because it's not funny," he retorted.  Having this argument with a wizard was a bit like setting himself up to beat his head repeatedly against a stone wall; beyond that, it wasn't entirely Radley's fault that he was culturally insensitive.  He didn't even know for certain if Radley was the one who had gift-wrapped Adon's desk.  He just seemed like the likely culprit, considering that Pratt seemed to stay well clear of the Israeli.

He was fairly certain that the prank wasn't intended maliciously -- well, at least not any more maliciously than Archer's 'Over the Hill' fortieth birthday party, or turning Level Two into the Wild West for the Ministry's Open House, or throwing a stapler at Radley's head.  To be fair, the pranks had been escalating for months.  But Adon hadn't been the one escalating it.  It wasn't right to drag his partner into it like this.

"Look," Jonas said shortly.  "Archer.  Would it be funny if somebody scrawled 'Mudblood' in glowing letters over me desk?  Or, I don't know, decked it out in lightbulbs or toasters or something?"  The latter, he had to admit, might be slightly funny, but only if it caught him in the right mood and only if that was as far as it went.  But he'd learned that that was the problem with this.  You couldn't draw a line and say that that was as far as it went, and then assume that no one else would cross it.  You had to stop it from starting at all.

"Leave him alone.  You can tell Pratt or whoever else, too."  He set his jaw, leveling a look at the bigger Auror.  "He's got enough on his shoulders, alright?"

"Toasters.... I like that one," Archer smirked, trying to make light of the situation.  It wasn't as though he had done anything beyond the realm of acceptability, and now, with all those trainees (who likely had no idea how angry Adon actually could get) and Eddie with him, there was no way to place the blame squarely on him.  Even if he had been involved, it was surely not a singular effort. 

Shaking his head, Archer pushed himself up out of the chair.  Rufus shifted to make room for the standing man and Archer leaned down a little to rub the big dog's head.  He licked at the tips of Archer's fingers, which he quickly wiped off on one of the oaf's ears.  Rufus did not seem to mind, and bored with the exchange, went back under the desk to continue chewing on the silenced squeak toy.  Archer could not stand that thing for another moment. 

He wished the two of them could lighten up though.  Not everything was a personal attack, and the fact that they had even been kind enough to use Hanukkah paper, Archer thought, had been quite the gesture.  Maybe he'd be kind enough to transfigure the chair back into a chair.  Not that he had done it in the first place, of course .

"I'll pass on the word," Archer responded lamely.  "Did you see your desk?" he asked, knowing full well nothing had happened to it, but hey... what was the harm in asking.

Monday morning. If Fauna had been at Hogwarts at this hour, or at her mum's house, she'd still be cocooned in her covers and dead to the world. As it was, she'd decided to come into work early. Early! Some would call it a bold move. Some would call it desperate. Fauna just hoped she wouldn't get stuck on filing duty before the other trainees arrived, when the real reason she was here was to make a good impression and see if she'd be allowed to help out on a case.

The Ministry was nearly always buzzing, and now was no exception, though the Atrium greeted her with a mellow hum instead of a deafening wave of voices. Before stepping into the lift, she stopped to buy a cup of coffee, cradling it in her hands but resisting taking a sip from it. Aurors always wanted coffee. Getting it now would just save her an extra trip. There was bound to be someone working early this Monday, so she planned to hand it to the first Auror she saw mired in their work, and then nonchalantly peer at whatever he or she was working on. Sneaky Fauna!

She smiled as she opened the doors to the Level Two offices, thinking she was quite clever. Fauna passed by the cubicles, looking for a sign of life, and perking up when she saw that Radley's office area looked lit. Knowing him, he'd look at her, frown at the coffee, and pretend that he wanted something silly like a cup of tea, which would give her an excuse to roll her eyes and ask what he was working on! Butting in was easier when it was with an Auror she already knew and liked.

But Fauna paused. Something was not right. Tiny lights twinkled from Auror Eleor's cubicle, and was that... a Christmas tree? What? But it was August! And Eleor was Jewish! And... uh oh. There stood Auror Trevelyan, arms crossed, looking like a grim tin soldier with a hat of red hair. Archer was standing too. Their voices sounded less than happy.

Trevelyan would be able to spot her from where she was standing, but she bit her lip and turned, hoping he wouldn't say anything. This wasn't her business. Still holding the coffee cup, Fauna took a few steps back down the row of cubicles, her gaze set on the doors of Level Two.

Then the pitter patter of mischievous feet sounded and a brown, wiggly tail knocked against her legs. She cursed loudly.

"Rufus!" Fauna scolded, face flushing, as she held the coffee away from her like it was a dungbomb. She'd only sloshed a little of it, which was impressive considering her lack of balance, but still.

"Um," she glanced over her shoulder and tried smiling at the two Aurors. "Coffee?"

Fauna held it out, not realizing yet that she only had one to offer!

The red-haired Auror let out a sigh.  'I'll pass on the word' was probably  as close to an acknowledgement as he was going to get.  On top of that, he knew that the prank was likely meant in good humor.  Dragging it out or trying to force Radley into backing down wasn't going to fix anything.

"Did you see your desk?"

Jonas eyed him.  "Ye-ahh..." he started suspiciously, letting the word drag out.  He had seen his desk, certainly.  He hadn't noticed anything out of place, but then he hadn't had a chance to check everything; he'd gotten distracted by the state of Adon's desk.  Was there something wrong?  Had he missed it?  If they'd been so obvious with Adon's space, would they have been more subtle with his?

Before he could decide whether or not to let Archer's question worry him, they were interrupted by a bounding Rufus -- and then an embarrassed trainee -- and then a frustrated moan that sounded from the next row of cubicles over.  The loud "God DAMN it!" that echoed through the office indicated that Jonas's partner had unfortunately also come into work early.  Jonas patiently looked up at the ceiling, silently counting to five, and shook his head.  The Israeli could take out his irritation for the moment by ripping apart the festive wrapping paper.  They'd be able to plot revenge at lunch.

"Naw, Miss Blake, we're alright," he said, flashing the young woman a tight smile.  "Arch'll get up and fetch his own if he wants it; you go ahead and drink that one.  So what'd we miss in the office, mate?" he asked, shifting to give Archer a cool smile.  "You lot hold down the fort alright without us?"

And there it was.  The subtle recognition that something was amiss. He could read it all over Trevelyan's face.  Archer could have started laughing right there, but he had to stop there.  He didn't want to give it away.  Jonas would be on edge for days, until he went through every single one of his drawers and touched every single thing there.  Oh, this would be glorious. 

He would enjoy it wholly, he was sure.  Rufus was squeezing out from behind him though and Archer shifted, letting the dog free.  He probably heard someone else coming in and wanted to greet them - certainly more than he'd done for Trevelyan, he noted with an inward smile.  This day was starting off all too well! 

It could only get better if... his train of thought was derailed by the sudden sound of swearing from a few cubicles over.  Archer suppressed his smile.  He felt very accomplished.  He almost yelled a welcome back, but stopped himself.  Not the time.

And, on top of that, the party Rufus welcomed in shouldn't have surprised him - though, he had to note it was early for a trainee to be in.  Eyes was a constant surprise though, and he did allow himself to snicker at her own crash landing into the office.  She was a wild card.  He wanted to see her succeed, of course, but he couldn't help but wonder, sometimes, what on Earth the girl was thinking.

Clearly, thinking straight right now - with that coffee held out.  Archer was about to walk forward to claim it, but Jonas cut in and Archer cut him a look so deadly, if it could actually kill someone, Jonas would have dropped to the floor.  He narrowed his eyes, Eyes was going to win points for that, but now - he wasn't so sure.  "Revenge only lasts so long," Archer pointed out cryptically - another stream of obscenties ringing out from the cubicle, a piece of wrapping paper flying up and the sound of ripping prominent from that direction. 

He looked to Eyes and then back at Trevelyan, "Without the Anti-Slavery committee here, life was pretty sweet," he almost smirked, though was too sore about having to get his own coffee to actually smile at Trevelyan.  Why did he care so much?  Geez.  It was part of first year. "Very little of interest," Archer shrugged, knowing full well it was only a partial truth.  The other Eleor had been in to talk to Arch, and Arch was following up on it, no doubt, but not something he wanted to bother Jonas with, and definitely not something he wanted Adon dealing with. 

He glanced over at Blake, "What are you doing here so early, Eyes?  Coming to scout the best cases?" he raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk.  Wasn't typical for the first years to come in early, or get first choice, and she certainly couldn't hope for that one.  But, hey, if she was lucky enough... maybe she'd get to do the best paperwork - or take the first round in the training ring.

As the flurry of swearing and typical chaos unfolded around the office, Fauna awkwardly sipped at the coffee she'd just bought for herself, ignoring the glare that Radley sent Trevelyan.
 
Somehow she was still here, along with the rest of the trainees, she thought in response to Trevelyan asking what they'd missed. Fauna smiled at the man when he called her 'Miss Blake'; the polite form of address was something she hadn't heard since he'd left. Fauna didn't mind being called 'Blake' and was partial to 'Eyes', but she appreciated the gesture.
 
Hannukah wrapping paper went flying above the cubicle a few rows over, and Fauna shook her head slightly, feeling bad for Eleor even as she wanted to laugh nervously at the scene. Radley was running out of good ideas for pranks, or he couldn't get his holidays straight - clearly that's what happened when an Auror hit forty. And since Fauna had joined as a trainee, clearly she did a hell of a lot more snarking in her head, having learned from the best, of course!
 
Fauna tried not to look embarrassed when Radley guessed why she was here, and gave him a mildly reproachful look. He was only going to become more insufferably smug as the day went on. "I was going to ask if either of you wanted help with anything." Before he'd welcomed the Aurors back so kindly. "But it looks like Rufus has everything under control," Fauna grinned at the adorable dog, bending a bit to scratch behind his ears and accept another whack on the legs with his tail.
 
"How was the trip?" Fauna glanced up at Trevelyan's sunburned face, evidence that he hadn't spent all his time stuck in the Auror Office in Jerusalem.
 

Jonas broke into a genuine grin, rubbing at his peeling nose.  "Fantastic," he said enthusiastically.  It was somewhat ironic that he'd gone on more holidays in the past six months than he ever had in the twelve years he'd been away from the Ministry, and this past trip hadn't been only a holiday.  While Adon had been doing his service for the IDF, Jonas had spent most of his weekdays in the Jerusalem Auror Office, collaborating on the Runespoor investigation with Adnan Musallam and his team.  With the recent breakthroughs that he and Adon had made on the case, with the help of Tapendra Trishna from Hogwarts, they were closer to shutting the ring down now than they had ever been.

"I mean --"  He cleared his throat, attempting to look grave.  "The trip was a continuation of what has been a beneficial partnership, and I reckon it'll help further the Runespoor investigation considerably," he said seriously.  "And I spent most of the time in the office.  Which is a bloody shame, because Tel Aviv's got some great beaches."  He attempted to look sheepish at the admission, although it was impossible to hide his grin.  "And the hiking.  And the sightseeing.  Houdini gets a bare Acceptable as a tour guide."

Things had gotten oddly quiet at his partner's desk.  Jonas tried not to crane his neck to look -- if Adon were really fuming over the wrapping paper job, the entire office would be able to hear him stomping around.  Feeling a bit guilty that he hadn't immediately gone to help, he rubbed at the back of his neck, leaning one arm against the wall of Radley's cubicle to take some of the weight off his bad knee.

"You looking for casework?" he asked Blake with a frown.  There was plenty of paperwork that he and Adon were going to need to catch up on after their trip, but pulling a green trainee into a smuggling investigation that had gotten full-fledged Aurors killed didn't feel right.  Even if the work were mundane, it didn't matter.  He and Adon understood what the risks were; the kids didn't.

Something knocked suddenly into the side of his head.  Jonas jumped and swore, whirling to look for the culprit.  A paper airplane -- the normal form used for the magical memos that circulated throughout Level Two -- was hovering impatiently by his head.  Cursing fluently, he grabbed it, turned it sideways to check the name, and then pulled a face.

"Tell your mail to watch out where it's going," he grumbled loudly, tossing the paper airplane at Archer's head.  "Isn't there supposed to be a charm on those bloody things so they don't run into anyone?"

Archer rolled his eyes, "Honeymoon before the wedding?  Kind of unorthodox, isn't it?" he tried to keep a straight face, but found it entirely impossible.  He was sorry, but it was just too funny to pass up.  It was becoming something of a running joke in the office, quickly replacing Archer and Tamis' partnership as the center of attention.  It was so great to be last week's news.  He could quickly regain some standing and "pay it forward," as it were. 

"Looks like you had a good time though," he looked him up and down, "Don't suppose it's just your nose that's sunburned, huh, Red?" he smirked.  He probably roasted fifteen minutes into being there.  Israel, from what Archer understood from his meager understanding of geography, was on the equator and that could not have proven very useful for the ginger-haired auror.  His peeling nose was a testament to that. 

Glancing over that the trainee, he saw her sip the coffee and he glared, again, at Jonas.  That could have been his coffee.  Of course, he might have felt marginally bad it was from Eyes, but in the long run, really, he couldn't be mad.  If it were that Fayette kid though, Archer would have taken it without a second thought: compeltely reasonable.  "I might have something for you," Archer smirked, "If you want to help out, that is."  He glanced at the files on his desk that desperately needed to go back and get put in the right places. 

Gofers were so helpful.  He turned to go back into the cubicle to grab something when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a little paper plane flying their way.  He was going to say something, but analyzing its course in a matter of seconds, he just let it hit Trevelyan - another beautiful moment for this morning.  Archer shrugged, "Person probably got lazy," he said as he grabbed the letter.  "At least they're not owls anymore, eh?" he grinned, smoothing out the folds of the airplane, his name clearly marked on the top. 

As soon as he opened it up, the letter reaching its intended, the words appeared, materializing in front of his eyes.  He raised his eyebrows, curious that they'd have to be hidden in the first place, but shrugged as he started to read, pursing his lips as he did.  What on Earth?

"Might have something to do after all," he muttered, re-reading the paper just to see if he understood what was going on. 

There was no denying it.  Magical travel made things remarkably easier; you could be halfway across the world in mere moments. Unfortunately, there was no way of explaining to the IDF that you had alternative methods of travel across continents from Heathrow to Tel Aviv that would take less time than an airplane.

And so--Adon Eleor thought, as he pushed open the doors to Level Two--not only was he slightly jet-lagged, ready to go at 6 am, instead of 8, he also had a kink in his neck that was likely to see him through until next Tuesday. Coach--he'd been in coaches more comfortable than that! Oh, life was wonderful. Adon shuffled to the break room directly, tilting his neck in a downward stretch as he walked. Once there, it was clear that while his colleagues might have lavished gluttonously, delighting in the coffee beans he'd purchased last month, they certainly hadn't replenished. He sighed.

And he was out of coffee.

Twenty five heavy steps back to his desk to drop his satchel onto his... blue and papered...

"God DAMN it!" Adon set his teeth as he looked about him.  It was just paper--and Adon was trained in demolitions, so it really was no problem. But really.  One needed very little reminding, after a long and pleasant trip back to the Jerusalem Auror Office and Israel at large, to realise why it had taken so much adjusting to this little grey island in the first place.  But just in case, you know, you did-- Adon began ripping long, parchment-length scrolls of paper from his belongings; glad he'd had the sense to learn from Trevelyan's cautionary tale and store his case files elsewhere.  He sighed, stripping the desk bare, tempted to launch the sorry excuse for a Christmas tree down into the atrium.  Instead, he began to smash the paper between his fist, jaw tense.

Well.  Perhaps he should have been flattered that the boys had thought about him in his absence.  He might have been flattered with a little more respect, though. Frowning, Adon narrowed his eyes in the direction of the occupied cubicle, from which he could hear Jonas' light prattle and then--yes. Archer Radley. A likely culprit.

Silently, Adon crouched atop his desk, beside the pyramid of crumpled reminders of days gone by--approximately 9 months gone by. Or perhaps it was Days to Come.  If this was the future--well, then it was Bizarroland for them all.  Adon picked up one of the balled up wrappings in his hand, feeling the shape of it before pulling out his wand and tapping it.  "Multiplicaro viginti!" he muttered--a brief, ad hoc improvisation on a traditional, timed multiplication spell.  Adon wasn't fully sure to if the added word meant it would be multiplied 20 times, or after 20 seconds, but in this instance, was more than willing to give it a try.

With the precision and expertise of a grenade thrower--which, in fact, he was--Adon, back turned to his target, glanced over his shoulder, back towards Archer's cubicle.  Satisfied, he resumed his crouch and lobbed the projectile behind him.  He turned. Assessed., and heard a brief rustling of paper.  Yes, this vantage would work nicely.

Fifteen crumpled balls flew in a quick-fire volley, raining blue and gold and silver balls of multiplying, Jewish joy--so his colleague could know what a delight he was to come back to.  "Watch yourself--the Mazel-tov cocktails come next!" he barked to Archer.  Knowing Adon's love for pyrotechnics, it was up to him--or the more sensible Jonas to determine if he was in jest there or no.

With less enthusiasm than he had set out with--now that he'd thought of it, Adon wouldn't have  preferred some sort of pyrotechnics--but not really with Jonas around--Adon tossed the remaining handful of wrapping paper, turning to throw the last few to be sure to hit Archer at least once directly in the face.

As amusing as Trevelyan's summary of Tel Aviv was, Fauna was grateful for the memo that arrived. She was not looking forward to putting away Radley's files or being an accomplice in his next prank (unless he came up with better pranks). When Radley muttered at the letter, Fauna edged closer to the desk, about to peek over his shoulder and see--

"Shite!" She flinched as balled-up paper pelted them. The coffee cup ever so predictably fell out of her hands, and Fauna quickly stepped back, bumping into the wall of the cubicle, and wincing (more out of regret than anything) when the lid burst off and hot liquid splashed up onto her shoes.

This was why they couldn't have nice things.

Fauna crossed her arms and waited out the onslaught with a resigned scowl. For all their pomp and protocol, the Auror office was not too different from the Hogwarts Great Hall at 8 am in the morning, filled with three Figaros a-hollering. At some point the tantrum would cease and she'd find out what was in that memo!

But Fauna wasn't counting on the multiplying spell. Or on Rufus. She frowned when the silver and gold paper balls began popping up off the ground like popcorn. The dog paused in licking the spilt coffee and raised his head, ears perked. Then his doggy eyes lit with elation at the sight of TOYS! The wriggly puppy bounced up, caught the paper in his mouth, tossed it, then got distracted by another ball. He ran around in circles as more and more paper balls spawned!

Cursing under her breath, Fauna picked up the dog (who was much bigger than she'd remembered) and hurried away to stand a safe distance from Radley's desk. When she thought no one was looking, she took a moment to pluck the soggy paper out of Rufus' mouth and toss it in Auror Pratt's general cubicle area. Oopsies! 

Like Fauna, Rémy had decided to bring coffee, with the express purpose of maybe getting the attention of one of the older Aurors for the chance at an assignment. One assignment, any assignment would do, any wee little assignment they could spare, because frankly, he was going to go out of his mind if he was stuck inside Level Two for a day longer. However, Rem liked to think he had a little more strategy, a little more cunning, to his attempt.

A pair of brown eyes peered over top the cubicle wall behind Archer Radley's shoulder, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand, attempting to catch an eyeful of the note the Auror had just opened. Trevelyan and Radley's little spat had, without a doubt, attracted the attention of everyone else in the office, no matter how hard they tried to pretend not to care. With the addition of Adon's colorful explosion in the next cubicle over, the incident had only gained notice, and all over the room, Aurors were poking their heads out of their tiny grey boxes to witness the escalating argument.

Rem was moments from interrupting with a too-friendly hello when Adon shouted from somewhere behind him, and suddenly crumpled balls of wrapping paper were raining from the sky, and....oh.

"Bloo-dy hell!" He yelped, ducking and putting up a hand to ward off the falling....missiles. It took him only a couple of seconds to remember that they were just pieces of paper, at which point he stood and stared down, nonplussed, at the carpet of wrapping paper balls slowly expanding around his feet.

"This...is stupid," he muttered, taking a much-needed drink of coffee from the mug he'd brought with him.

Days like this reminded him why everyone on Level Two was clinically addicted to caffeine.

It was at times like these that Jonas really loved his partner.

Even with the wedding jokes -- which on that note, he made a mental note to leak the developing state of Radley and Raynor's relationship to Niobe Thursby the next time he talked to her -- the digs around the office didn't really bother him.  Jonas trusted nearly all of the Aurors with his life, but he trusted Adon even more than that.  There was no question in his mind that after their families, their partnership came first.  But knowing Adon as well as he did, he should have guessed that his friend could hold his own against a holiday assault. 

Without warning, colorful paper balls suddenly rained down from above.  It was like a scene out of a bad holiday movie -- with every passing second, the blue-and-white arsenal seemed to multiply, doubling and quadrupling as the paper balls exploded like popcorn, bouncing all over Archer's cubicle like an army of hyperactive Hanukkah Tribbles. 

It all happened in an instant, and standing in the open doorway, Jonas was right in the line of fire.  Archer -- paper balls -- Rufus nearly slammed into his knee, and someone shouted something clever about Mazel-Tov Cocktails.  But beyond the aerial assault, none of it seemed to register.  Utterly overcome by the sheer hilarity of the situation, the red-haired Auror doubled over in a fit of gleeful laughter, clutching his stomach helplessly and shaking his head to clear the tears as he collapsed against the wall of Archer's cubicle.

Archer had finished reading the note, but not before a blue paper ball sailed through the air.  He did not think much of it, at least not at first, until, of course he watched one by one, each coming in rapid succession – hitting the trainees, causing Rufus to start barking and frantically look around at the balls of paper, probably wondering what day it was because it surely had to be Dog Christmas.  It seemed Fauna was going to spill the life’s blood of the Auror office and Sharp was going to get a face full of paper – and Archer…

Well, he looked down and blinked, the balls of paper popping rapidly, exploding into a flurry of other pieces of paper, jumping off one of another, like some really bad dream one would have around the holidays.  Archer saw Rufus take one in his mouth and then jump back, letting it go as it tried to multiply in his mouth.  These were dangerous balls, they needed to be barked at, obviously.

Of course, it gave Archer an idea, and as the ginger auror in front of him started to laugh, Archer dropped his paper into the fray (somewhat by accident) and lunged forward, using Jonas’ incapacitation as a mechanism for surprise and pulled him into a tight headlock.  “It’s a typical day, Sharp, you should know that,” Archer grunted against the struggling (more like laughing and squirming redhead), looking down to steady him –but noticing something alarming.

Apparently, it was just about any paper that touched the others that would explode and his memo was bounding up as well… Archer grabbed one that flew, hit off of another, and stuffed it into Jonas’ open mouth, waiting for the result.  “I’ve got your fiancée hostage, Eleor,” Archer called to wherever the Israeli Auror was hiding.