.falling.inside.the.black. OPEN

[Erik Pattinson]

It was the last hour before he would get out of work for the day as he left the Ministry. He had one more place to install a floo after hours of getting the location and purpose accepted. Of course he was exhausted, but the job never got bored. Erik walked down the street as every typical bloke did in this city. Hands were inside the pockets of his tweed jacket and his loafers following to a beat on their own. The air was sweet and cool this late in spring, but perfect weather to go out and picnic in. Ivy would love that. He smiled to himself.

As he turned down one street, Erik came across a large house that the floo should link the family to. He spent time examining the place while one other coworker appeared. They had to section off part of the room for safety purposes. After half an hour and testing out the floo, it was a complete success to the end of their shift. Returning to the Ministry, Erik and the other checked out and walked to the entrance of the building. "See you in the morning," he bid, walking off with a small wave and heading down the sidewalk. He couldn't wait to get home, but on the way he decided to take a detour and do a little shopping for tonight's dinner.

[Ginny Weasley]

The night was young, and so was she. She should have been out exploring the world, dancing on the back of rainbows with the Irish, or playing with dangerous creatures. Instead, Ginny Weasley was grocery shopping, and it really wasn't the adventure she'd had in mind when she was twelve years old and imagining the future. Passing up and down the aisles of Wand Mart was ordinary, at best, and she was definitely not ordinary. Nonetheless, that was what she was doing, still dressed in the Ministry robes from work, her dark red hair still tied back away from her face.

As she reached up to grab something from a shelf beyond her reach, Ginny stumbled backwards and walked into something solid behind her. Her attention sufficently diverted from grocery items, the witch turned around to face whoever she had fallen over (literally) and smiled a little sheepishly. "I'm sorry," she apologised, shrugging her shoulders. "Too much work makes me more than a little clumsy."

[Erik Pattinson]

As he entered inside, Erik took a basket rather than a cart. There wasn't a whole lot he would pick up for tonight. Though he could start with a bouquet of fresh cut flowers to add before he headed down the aisle that contained pasta and sauces. He wasn't sure how late Ivy would be working this evening, but he could whip up a hearty spaghetti with buttered breadsticks and salad. So he picked out thin spaghetti noodles and tomato sauce with basil and garlic seasoning. Then off to the salad where he chose the all-ready made caesar salad.

Though as he left the aisle to go down to the breads, he was side-tracked by junk food. Now he was trying to lay off the sweet and salty foods, but he could cheat just this one time. Plus if he got one or the other, he could always share with Ivy, whether it's chips or perhaps cakes. As he glanced at what to pick, something or more along the lines of someone bumped into him. He nearly dropped the bag of chips, but caught it quickly and placed them on the shelf.

Erik looked to his side and the woman and her red hair caught his attention first before her blue eyes. She was strikingly beautiful and vaguely familiar. Then he recognized the Ministry robes and finally realized that they both worked in the same establishment, but most likely in different areas. "Oh no, that's okay," he replied with a smile. "That's understandable. Especially if your job keeps you on your feet at all hours of the day."

[Ginny Weasley]

Ginny smiled, grateful that she hadn't bumped into an ogre. After the day she'd had, the last thing she needed was to be chewed out for a slip. "Thank you, it certainly does," she said, rolling her eyes. Unable to help her curiousity, Ginny glanced in the man's basket. She didn't know what she felt like cooking for herself, but one look at the assortment of ingredients for spaghetti practically made her mouth water. "Somebody is in for a treat for dinner," she commented with a grin, gesturing to the food.

As a witch pushing a trolley loaded down with more children than food passed, Ginny shifted on her feet to get out of the way. She looked back at Erik and cocked her head to one side slightly. He did look familiar, so Ginny decided to take a wild guess. Thrusting her hand out to shake, she smiled again. "I'm Ginny Weasley," she said brightly, "Auror. Do you work in the Ministry, too? You look awfully familiar."

[Erik Pattinson]

He looked down at his basket aware that most of the items spoke of a dinner for two rather than one. Erik wanted things to be special on this occasion just because they had both worked so hard and had no time for 'us' time. Besides, he figured that Ivy probably had a busy shift and he would just like for her to come home to dinner already made and possibly a foot massage after. "Yes and I'm hoping she has quite the appetite for it," he smiled. Not only would they have pasta for dinner, but breadsticks, wine, and dessert of course. He was making a full dinner course, but we'll see if that'll last.

No wonder the woman looked familiar. He's even heard of her too! She was one of the Weasleys and their distinct red hair, blue eyes, and freckles should have given him clearance of who she was. "Nice to meet you Ginny," he extended his hand, grasping her's firmly and gently. "I do work at the Ministry. My name is Erik Pattinson, Floo Network Authority at your service," he grinned. Letting go of her hand and shifting the basket to his right, he looked at the woman before him and was intrigued by her selection of groceries. Though he made no comment. "So how are things up on your side of the Ministry? I'd imagine busy... right?"