Marissa wasn't sure exactly what had possessed her to accept an invitation from a complete stranger on the journals, really. She knew that she needed to get out more, sure, and she felt like she could finally be at peace with the fact that she and Sturgis had gone their separate ways, but she still rarely felt like leaving the house after getting home from work. The pressure and pain from seeing James Potter die, to see Alice and Frank Longbottom tortured to the point of no return -- to see her sister lose her hand just like she had, it was all too much for her to have faith in much of anything any longer.

She knew the rest of her friends were feeling it too, that pain, but she just hadn't been able to deal with it. Neither had Sturgis, at least not when they'd been trying to do as much. Now seeing him just reminded her of exactly how much they'd both lost; it was far too painful.

That was why, as she left the Experimental Charms department, she slipped into the lavatory to pull her hair down from its messy bun at the back of her head and wave it out, apply a little chapstick, and give her cheeks a quick pinch. She headed back out soon after and stepped into the main entrance of the Ministry, arms crossed as she leaned against a nearby pole.

She could just wait him out, look to see who else was trying to find another person in the flood of wizards and witches eager to rush home.