Working for an insurance company was for the those who had the patience of the Saints. When Hope was hired for the position, she had really hoped that her impatience would grow out. One of the main objectives was to control her quick temper but she was wrong. The customer on the line had now threatened her to call the police and make her pay for a mistake Hope had no control over. The doodles around her notebook displayed her current frustration.

"Ma'am, I apologize you are experiencing this problem. I can not help you, this is the department for payments. I only take payments. Would you like to speak to my supervisor?" Hope read off a small notebook and sighed as she transferred the customer to another line, relieved that her supervisor was now going to be the one being chewed at instead of her. It was days like those that made Hope want to rip her hair off her head and shove it in the mouths of those particular callers.

"Tough caller?" Hope nodded and passed her hand through her hair. Her co-worker, Camila, asked and leaned against the desk before taking a sip of her coffee.

"It's like the world hates me today. My bicycle got stolen last night and the bus almost left me, if it weren't for me actually throwing an empty pop can."

"Hope, you're almost 30 and still ride a bicycle. It's time you got a car." Hope shook her head.

"Can't get on right now, Cami. I'm on the bridge of moving out of this crappy apartment I'm currently in." Camila nodded and put down her mug before grabbing Hope's hand and looking right into her eyes. "What?"

"It may come out as a weird question, but have you thought about.. you know? Settling down?"

"Camila." Hope gathered some paperwork and walked right to the cabinets, ready to file her work's day. Camila had followed her, the damn coffee mug not leaving her hands.

"I'm serious, Hope. You're very young and not to mention, extraordinary gorgeous. Any man would be a lucky bastard if he were to put a ring on that lonely finger of yours. You'll have beautiful children and worry about them instead of those nasty callers you always get."

"I'm on my prime time, settling down just isn't in my plans right now." Camila sighed, not wanting to get her friend upset over her trying to settling down. "Besides, no one handles grouchy customers like Hope Howell." The two women laughed quietly before walking back to their desk, each of them ranting about the grouchiest customer they had to deal with.

It was odd in Hope's part that none of the men in the office had gotten her attention, although many of the men in the company had certainly put their attention on her. Hope had grown to be a beautiful woman with a humour and lifestyle not many men wanted their future wives to have. That was why Hope continued to wait to finally be able to build a life with another man that wasn't her friend, Terry. While it had passed many times through her head to find herself a man in the age she was, Hope did not find the one who she dreamed of. The several dates she had been through were not what she wanted to deal with the rest of her life. She needed someone who was as thrilled of life and the out of ordinary just like her, someone who wouldn't see her with judgement because something different had excited her. Pushing aside the sudden feeling of loneliness and the envy of her friend finally being able to settle in, Hope took the next call in the office, ready to take another upset customer to add to the list.

♢

Camila and Hope had said their good nights when Hope wrapped her coat tighter and walked towards the bus stop, ready to go home. She looked at the setting sun and turned around before deciding to look at the sunset through the forest she had grown up walking to. It had been years since she had stepped into the forest ground but knew that the memory of the walk would come back to her. Carefully switching her high heel for the flats that were in her bag, she looked at the path that would lead her right to her spot. The spot where her father and she shared for many years, the spot where she went when she started to feel lonely once again. As the sun was now on the horizon, making Hope smiles as she stared at the purples and pinks paint the sky as the dark slowly took over. The cold had now made her hair stand up, but Hope did not want to move from the spot. It was until the sun was now fully set when Hope stood up and began to walk back to the main street. There was one thing that scared Hope, and that was being trapped in the forest without knowing which path led to another, and to her luck of the day. That was where she was.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Hope looked around her, the multiple paths facing her yet none of them seemed like the one that would lead her straight home. The whoosh of the wind did not make her nerves lower as she walked back from where she came from. "Oh sweet lord, where am I?" Once she turned around, her heart had gone up to her throat as she faced the man with the black cloak. "Leave me be." The figure came closer, where the pale face now showed a sinister smile and his hands reached out. Hope had backed up, falling right on her bottom before letting out a scream as the man continued to get closer. There was more movement amongst the fallen leaves, Hope thinking that there was more of him out there. A young man jumped out amongst the trees and pointed a stick towards the growing figure. 

"Riddikulus," The man said, making the large man turn into nothing but a field of mushrooms. Hope stared at the field, unable to say anything without asking why the man had turned into a field of mushrooms. "it's all right, it was only a Boggart" He said before reaching out his hand towards her. 

"A Boggart?" Hope gripped the strap of her bag, as she stared at the man in front of her. He looked at her, and most likely figured out that the last thing that she wanted to hear was what the man that was about to attack her called a Boggart. Instead, he changed topics and agreed that the man was truly scary and big, and offered himself to be her companion all the way to her apartment, as a form of protection. Hope didn't like the idea of having a stranger escort her home, but he had just saved her so gave in. The two walked out of the forest, Hope checked her surroundings not wanting to be approached by the same man that was now a small field of mushrooms. 

"You're going to be okay." The man said, offering her a smile as they stopped right in front of the complex.

"Uhm, thank you." Hope looked down at her intertwined finger, her cheeks heating up as she got a full view of the man that had just escorted. "I'm Hope. Hope Howell." 

"Lyall Lupin, at your services."