INTERLUDE X
Autumn 1943
The Fifth Great Wizarding War had reached a fever pitch by the time Matthew became a fully qualified Auror. With a Triwizard Championship under his belt, and a war for him to prove himself in, the entire world should have been at his feet, but for every bit of good that happened to him something equally bad had happened to.
The biggest of his problems was certainly his father. Upon Matthew's graduation from Hogwarts, he had finally revealed himself to be the kind of man that his son had always feared him to be.
"Lord Grindelwald would build us a better world, son." The Commander had whispered, even though they were alone. "A world where we don't have to hide or live in fear of the Muggles' oppression. We, who command magic, will finally stand where we belong."
Matthew had not hesitated in reporting him. While he loved his father, his loyalty was to the Confederacy.
While his father now languished in Hollow Penitentiary, Matthew's immediate concerns were in the treatment of his comrades and, of course, his little brother.
His fellow Aurors, while obviously unhappy with their Commander's betrayal, seemed to take greater offence at Matthew's reporting of it. It wasn't hard to imagine why. If he could turn on his father like that, then could he be trusted to watch their backs if they went out of line?
The answer was obviously no, but he still resented being judge for it.
His worry over Tom was neither as big as his father, nor as immediate as the treatment his comrades were giving him, but it was the one he thought of the most. Unlike his father, he had turned a blind eye to Tom's behaviour at school because it had actually protected him, but when he returned from the Triwizard Tournament to find the school locked in terror at the hands of the Heir of Slytherin, he could not help but notice that all the targets were the students he had struggled so desperately with to leave his brother alone.
While he never would have suspected him before, now that his father had shown his true colours, Matthew could not help but worry that his brother had been more receptive to the Commander's words than he had been.
All of this was what he had to deal with, to brood over during his first few months as a fully qualified Auror, but none of it mattered to him in the end. Even his petty irritation that first he was skipping the traditional five-year world tour in order to rebuild his family's reputation left him one November morning when the new Commander of the London Citadel sent him a message to meet in their office.
They probably want to cut me down to size before the formally introduce themselves to the London Division, Matthew thought derisively, as he knocked on the door. Matthew entered when he was heard the "Come in!" come from inside.
He began to introduce himself, "Sentry Matthew B-" but he stopped when he saw who he was speaking to. She was sitting behind his father's old desk, and the markings on her badge revealed her as an Auror Commander, but she looked hardly any older than he was.
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sentry…?" She prompted.
Matthew flushed. "Sentry Matthew Boot. And you?" He wanted to slap himself as soon as the words came out of his mouth, far more flirtatious than he had intended.
She took it in stride. "I am Commander Gemma Montgomery." He raised his eyebrows, as that name seemed awfully familiar.
It came to him then, and he blurted out, "As in Jacob Montgomery? Mei Wen's husband?" He gaped. "You're Lin Wen?" Matthew just knew from the tightening of her expression that he had failed to appeal himself to his new boss by mentioning her legendary mother.
Oh well, he had never been particularly good at first impressions anyway.