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Vienna appeared to have noticed Dorian’s gaze and it made the man’s jaw clench. Now he had the undesirable choice between walking over and greeting the pair or pretending as though he hadn’t seen them and hope he could ignore their presence as long as they were together. The latter was obviously not an option. Dorian touched Dorcas’ shoulder gently to announce his presence as she cuddled with Ariel and then leaned near her ear to speak softly. “Would you mind keeping an eye on her for a moment?” he asked, knowing Dorcas hadn’t passed up an opportunity to care for the blonde little witch since she was an infant (back when Dorcas still pretended to dislike babies altogether).

His confident gait made for a short walk across the patio, zig-zagging around the little fairies and the parents running after them that crossed his path until he reached his half-brother and … his date? Had they come here together or was this a chance meeting? Dorian couldn’t seem to wrap his mind around what was happening, so instead he put on a polite smile and said, “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, Julian.” Tristan was running around behind them with a group of children, and made for an easy conversational point. “It seems Tristan is enjoying himself.” Dorian’s expression remained the same as he turned to Paris’ sister. “Lovely to see you again, Mrs Rosier.” He wanted to ask how the pair knew each other, and why they were here, together but instead he stuffed his hands in his pockets and prayed for any sort of interruption. This was certainly not the company he was expecting to spend his time with.

“Julian?” That was an unexpected turn, but then it did make more sense than Dorcas – who had known Dorian for several years now in a personal capacity and many more in a professional one – throwing him a surprise party for his birthday. Though Dorian hadn’t thought the brothers were close enough for that sort of gesture yet. Things were much better between the pair now that Dorian no longer suspected that Jules was trying to wriggle his way into Ariel’s life only to abandon her as he had done their sister time and time again. They even got together for friendly chats without the children from time to time, though in truth Tristan’s and Ariel’s playdates made up a lot of their time spent together. Perhaps Julian was attempting to take their blossoming friendship to a more familial level which, if that were the case, meant that Dorian would need to step things up as well.

Dorcas left him for the adults part of the soiree as an excited Ariel ran up to him. “Dory-nan!” Dorian scooped up the little princess and gave her a snuggly greeting. He complimented her dress, at which point Aurora appeared and demanded remarks on her attire as well, and he played with them for a few minutes before Ariel became distracted by one of the tinier babies. He took this as his opportunity to return to the other room to properly greet his guests. And maybe have a glass of wine.

“I hear you were the mastermind behind this…event.” He sidled up next to Julian, waiting for a lull in the conversation to interject. “Thank you. You put far more effort into this than I am worth.”

Ariel was spending the day with Emily and Andre so that Dorian could see Immy. She had had to miss his birthday party the week prior due to work, but Dorian wasn’t terribly bothered by her absence. It was not that he didn’t want to see her, or didn’t want her to meet his friends, it was just that Dorian was not a fan of parties in general and the excessive attention made him uncomfortable. He would have preferred more people to have been called away to work but alas the party had been quite large. And rather shocking all things considered. Dorian had managed to catch up with Immy a few days later but he didn’t want to discuss the news of what had been revealed at his party to her when they had such limited time together. They managed a short lunch before he was called away on an urgent work matter but planned to meet up today at the library for a proper date. A date which was doomed from the outset. Dorian had only been waiting a few moments before he got word that Immy was not coming. There had been some emergency at the hospital. He should have expected it by now. He couldn’t remember a single time that they’d actually made it to the end of the date in a traditional fashion but it was to be expected with their respective work. He had already made so many adjustments to his schedule for Ariel, there simply wasn’t enough wiggle room to also work around a girlfriend’s work schedule as well and if he were forced to choose Ariel would win out every time.

His plans for the day were dissolving, but as he was already at the library Dorian figured he might as well pick up a few new books for Ariel and him to read together, and maybe something just for himself. He wouldn’t require the Meadowes to sit Ariel all day, but she was already at their home and she had been so excited to see her grandad Andre and play in his garden. He would afford her a little more time with them before stealing her away. Dorian turned and headed into the library by himself, heading to the children’s section first and seeking out the aisle with the books Ariel most often preferred; the Prancing Pony series starred a miniature horse that wanted to be a ballerina and often got into mischief with her animal friends. Dorian grabbed a couple Prancing Pony books and also a Merle the Magical Muggle book, then headed for the Non-Fiction section to find something for himself.

Good, he thought. No one he needed to follow up with in the immediate future. He could get back to the real detective work and push off the unsettling feeling that Dorcas was more involved in the incident than she let on. He still needed to check out a few more leads on her alibi but thus far they were turning up in her favor and for a man who purposefully distanced himself from every sort of relationship due to his profession, he was glad that it seemed he would not be losing another friendship just yet. "Alright then, Miss LeBeau." He set his quill down and looked up at the woman. "I don't have any further questions at this time, but I may be in touch at some point in the future. Thank you for coming down." Dorian rose from his chair and extended his hand to her.

Dorian jotted down the details as they were provided to him. He focused on collecting the necessary information while attempting to not form an opinion on the matter just yet. He wanted to details and the clues to lead him to the answer, not the other way around. Forming an opinion early on in a case was a surefire way to end up ignoring key details that might otherwise indicate the narrative they were following was flawed. It was sloppy detective work and Dorian had learned long ago to avoid that sort of investigating procedure, which was why he was here taking down an alibi for his own friend. He could not afford to be blinded by personal connections. He would inquire internally as to if and when Dorcas’ message regarding the fire came into the Ministry.

They were nearly done, but he had just one more question for the woman. “And was there anyone else with you during or following your visit with Mrs Meadowes? Anyone you might have spoken to about the incident?” If there was, he would contact them next. If not, he would look into Dorcas’ message to the Ministry and then, hopefully, put this ordeal behind him and focus on finding the Death Eaters involved with this attack and determine exactly who had been hiding the muggleborn families in the first place. They were either in danger or perhaps had already met a similar fate, but if there was a chance they could beat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to the punch, Dorian would try for it.

He rang the doorbell, despite having been welcomed in the home numerous times. Some people might feel comfortable strutting into their friends’ home unannounced, though expected, but Dorian had already encountered the couple in flagrante delicto once before, several years ago, and he had no wishes to repeat the encounter. Not that he expected them to be doing that while Ariel and Aurora were having a playdate, but Dorian never quite fully trusted Dorcas’ judgement. Not when it came to personal matters, at least. She was an excellent Auror with only a small blip of concern on Dorian’s radar earlier in the year, something he was still working through, but her personal life seemed a bit of a mess. She had married a man she’d been seeing while he was still married and had a run-in with the wife that resulted in a death. She kept all manner of friends, some of whom Dorian did not fully approve of – Tersha Knight – and continuously flirted with Dorian despite now being a married witch and step-mother. It was shameful and yet Dorian had difficulties shaking her from his life. He blamed that bit on Andre and Emily, Dorcas’ parents. They were an amazing couple and something of grandparental figures to Dorian’s niece, Ariel. She would be devastated to not have Grammy Em and Grandad Andre in her life, as would Dorian. Andre wasn’t exactly like a father-figure to Dorian – he had a proper father growing up and all – but he couldn’t say that wasn’t truly the case. And Emily was such a lovely woman, she was definitely a sort of motherly friend. Dorian had a strange familial-type relationship with the Meadowes and so he would tolerate Dorcas’ shenanigans out of loyalty and, reluctantly, friendship.

The door opened and as expected Doria was greeted by one of the Lestrange house elves, Ader. The other elf would no doubt be helping mind the children somewhere off in this obnoxiously large manor so Dorian allowed the smaller elf to shuttle him into the lounge where he’d been informed Dorcas and the children were playing. He’d be glad to not have to interact with her husband during this short exchange. Dorian had a nice quiet evening planned for Ariel and himself at home, hoping she would crash early after having played with Aurora all day which would give him plenty of time to review his notes on a case he was working. And maybe read a book if he needed to clear his mind for a bit.

As the pair neared the lounge, Dorian’s brow furrowed. There was noise coming from another room further down the hallway that sounded like more than just two children, and there was a hum in the air that made his jaw set. He felt uneasy, as if walking into a crime scene that had not yet been cleared. Dorian stiffened as the door to the lounge opened and the lights flicked on. Had it not been only a few days after his birthday, he might have drawn his wand in preparation for the throngs of people who were about to jump out at him.