February 27, 1996

Misty threw her arms around me in a hug, "Audrey, my tall Yankee friend! I'm so happy to see you!" She squeezed me tightly as I felt something heavy go into my purse. She looked up at me with a smile, before giving me a wink and stepping away to loop her arm through mine. "Accounting is such a burden! The taxes, the raises, the department fund allotments!"

"Sounds terrible!" I put my hand over my purse feeling the glossy texture of a magazine cover that had not been there when I walked into the Atrium this morning.

"I mean, some things in the world are just not meant for human eyes, or for those high up in administration." Something in her tone kept my attention and the smile she gave me was cunning but cautious. "I'm sure you understand that better than I would, being privy to the Minister's opinions and all."

This was interesting. I smiled back at Misty trying to encourage her to be less oblique as we walked to the elevator.

"I do enjoy your radical opinions, Audrey. I would love to hear your thoughts on this latest scandal." Oh, she wanted me to read the magazine. This must be delightful if Misty was being so evasive on the matter.

"Still on for drinks tonight?" I asked as I held the elevator door for one of the tea witches.

"Of course! Zara and I look forward to our little tradition."

"Great! I'll be a little late tonight but I will be there as soon as I can!" I stepped onto the elevator with a smile and a wave as the doors closed and lifted me upwards with a sudden jerking motion.

Zara and Misty beginning to date was something I was afraid would interfere with our friendship. It had not. They were more inclined to cuddle and make moon eyes at each other, but most of their traditional dates were on Saturdays, their Fridays were reserved for time with friends. Zara had explained that bit of the idea to me with a punch on the arm, she and Misty were not traditional romantics who wanted to the other person to be their whole world, a relationship was supposed to add to a person, not consume them and hurt others in their orbit in the process.

I wanted Misty and Zara to have a long, happy life together if that was what they chose. Two more thoughtful, considerate people I was sure I would never find.

The whispers and mutterings around me in the elevator were different. More tense and uncertain, some with more conviction or less. Words like "Potter," and "Quibbler," assailed my hearing.

"You read the Quibbler yet?"

"Who reads the Quibbler? It's not a real paper!"

I moved my purse in front of me and peeked inside to find the bottom part of a headline.

-Know-Who's Return

I need to hide this. I bring this upstairs and I'll lose my job faster than I can say Quadpot!

By the time the elevator reached my floor, I was the last one on it. I stepped off quickly and ducked around to the women's restroom. I worked with three men, they'll never come around this way. I locked the door behind me and pulled out the magazine.

Harry Potter was a handsome boy, his vivid green eyes peered at me from the magazine cover and he just looked so tired. I took in the scar on his forehead and shuttered. What a mark to carry! You could never hide from who you were or what you represented to people.

I remembered Chastity Rollins from school hiding her Vivian's Secret magazines to make them look like trashy pulp literature with a charm. I was trying to remember the variation she did to accomplish fooling our teachers that she was doing something productive and not reading how to guides for sex.

I held the image of a favorite book of mine about a family division in a time of war. My copy had a unique cover of stars and a pocket watch. I muttered the spell and held the image in my head, an illusion and active transfiguration of the outside contents soon left me holding what appeared to be a copy of The Time and the Night by Hans Brinker.

Such a good book.

Justine Falsworth was a fantastic heroine, so strong-willed and opinionated and her conflict with her parents over the idea of a woman's place in society and her hawkish view of politics and wartime resistance in wartime Europe left me in a comfortably anxious state every time I reread the book. The romance angle was subtle, but it was a calming aspect in such a tumultuous tale of despair and hope. Benjamin Faulks was an insecure, but competent man who could stand on even ground with Justine after he found his footing by the middle of the war.

I needed to find another copy. I loaned mine to Cassandra after I left Byrgen House after she told me she had never read it. She would not marry my favorite cousin before she read this book and we talked about it at length.

I double checked the charms and slid it back into my bag before stepping out into the hallway to head to the support staff office. I could read it while I waited for the morning meeting to start.

I was greeted with a chorus of good mornings from my coworkers as I made myself comfortable at my desk.

After a few minutes of content waiting and reading, now more confident than ever in my illusionary spellwork, the morning meeting began with a rousing rant as Minister Fudge came out of his office, reading the headlines that Percy gave him every morning. Fudge's brow was furrowed and his face was a flaming red.

"He interviewed with the Quibbler! The Quibbler! Why are people taking this seriously?"

"It's just the conspiracy theorists, Minister," Eddie said with a wry grin, "Remember the supposed Rot Fang Conspiracy?"

"People have been asking for comment since yesterday, do you want to set up a rebuttal with the Prophet?" Percy asked as he pulled out his day planner and reinked his quill in expectation.

"Yes, let the Daily Prophet know when I am available and as soon as possible and we'll get this sorted out. Absolutely ridiculous that I have to dedicate time to this- this farce of a lie. You-Know-Who is not back and Potter will be spending the rest of his life in Saint Mungo's before the year is out!" Fudge paused to collect himself. "If I see a copy of the Quibbler in this office or any other part of the Ministry, make sure the offenders are looking for new positions before the end of the day!"

I discreetly moved my illusioned copy of the Quibbler behind my in-tray out of sight of the three men in the room.

"I'll meet with the Daily Prophet before the day is out Weasley, just tell me when they arrive."

"Of course, Minister."

I would reinforce the charms, I would still really like to have a job when I went out with my friends this evening.

The Minister spoke again, "I'm leaving early today to visit Elizabeth at Saint Mungo's."

I bit my lower lip, Elizabeth had Dragon Pox, which sent her to the hospital with complications a few days ago. From what we had been told, she had now developed pneumonia and while she seemed to be improving, that could change quickly. Adults were more likely to die from Dragon Pox than children were. I couldn't imagine what that would be like for a man who clearly loved his wife. I had brought her flowers the other day, I was not allowed to see her, but I did request that they be brought up to her along with a card. I was hoping to actually visit her on Monday if it could be managed.

Oo0Oo0

The article was… A lot…

I struggled to stop reading. I had to put it down because I was at work and it was so much to take in. It was like I was in the graveyard too, that the statues were watching for having the gall to judge this child, to diagnose him with potential madness out of a need for peace for those around me. They pierced my flesh with their cold, judging stares, the scythe of the grim reaper statue shimmered in the moonlight, blinding me like the lies and doubts I had told myself over the last several months.

The names of the accused Death Eaters were names that were familiar to me. Malfoy. Crabbe. Goyle. I had dinner with them. They were well dressed. Malfoy was the most well spoken of the group and I had often spoken with him when he came to discuss matters with the Minister.

I knew a well dressed, polite disposition could hide dark intent, but I had never imagined pureblood supremacy was a thing. America had its issues, most of it related to our relations to No-Majs, but wix who came from No-Maj households (we called them Seeds) were very accepted as an omen of good fortune for the community as a whole. There were sections of society that were devoted to a more extreme version of Rappaport's Law even after it had been removed from the books, but… these groups were generally not violent like these Death Eaters.

What a stupid name!

Though, if I stopped and thought about it, under these definitions, most American wizards that I could think of would be defined as Pureblood under the English bloodstatus ideology. We frowned upon interaction with No-Majs, many of the Seeds were seen as more wix then No-Maj by the time they finished school, even if we did not wipe the memories of their parents anymore like we did during the time Rappaport was in effect.

Forsythe Graves, the son of Gondulphus Graves and a respected Auror in his own right, was famous for his declaration upon returning from killing a dark wizard in the Georgia colony that "Peace comes from the grave." A quote that was often repeated in the courts on matters of sentencing those few dark wix, or mass murderers, who were brought alive to the MACUSA court of law. I believed the full quote from my many times great grandfather was "Peace comes from the grave, as one knows their enemy lies in it."

He was supposed to bring his target back alive.

Clearly, that was impossible as he just dragged the corpse back and dropped it on the floor of the council chamber to prove a point.

The incident was captured in a famous American painting called "Peace from the Grave" that was currently on display in an art museum in New York.

A quick rap on the break room table made me jump. I had been so engrossed in my own thoughts and my reading that I had not heard Percy come in. He was holding a small lunch box and giving me a weary smile. We didn't normally share lunch breaks. I usually went downstairs to eat with Misty and one of us tried to be upstairs with Eddie and the Minister.

"Mind if I sit here?" He motioned to the chair across from me. "I got a chance to have an early break."

"Go right ahead," I struggled to take my eyes off the article as Percy took the empty seat across from me. His lunchbox opened quickly to reveal some kind of sandwich.

I went back to reading the article, one hand bringing a grape to my mouth as I went back to being engrossed in the story that was being told.

"That book looks interesting."

It took me a moment of panic to remember that my copy of the Quibbler currently resembled a copy of my favorite novel.

"Yes, yes it is."

"What's it about?"

"It's about resistance in a time of war." I left out the bit about familial divides. "Hans Brinker is a very talented writer."

Percy nodded and started asking if I had any book recommendations, apparently he was in a bit of a reading slump. His usual choice of mystery novels had become predictable over the last few weeks and he needed some new material.

I did my best to give my recommendations in a way that did not reveal how distracted I was, all my mind could think about was the article I had just finished, but had digested in parts throughout the day on my breaks. It was hard to read, it had left me distracted, this would have been better done at home. Now I would have to seriously consider giving this to Lucinda and Tavish, people who were neutral on the topic but scarred deeply by the previous war.

What was a fourteen year old boy to do when faced with great evil? Was he to grab it by the hand to haul it back for witnesses? Or do what small good he could manage in a horrifying situation and return a young man's body to his family? Even if he had the foresight to know he would not be believed.

Was I now in a country at war? A war so quiet that people were able to ignore it and it's ills? Dismiss loss as accidental and not an act of hurt and pain upon another human being?

I couldn't dismiss Harry Potter anymore. This account was vivid and raw. Too much and not enough in a way.

I realized only one question remained to me.

What should I do now?

Oo0Oo0

March 5, 1996

VIRTUS PRIMARY DECLARED FOR GRAVES

Oh… Oh no!

I looked at the flower painting on the wall. I turned to look out the window to the false sunny day, listened to Percy's calming tones as he spoke of something political with a laughing Eddie, anything to distract myself from what I had just read. It was not my desired outcome. I had to read on.

The final votes of the Virtus Party primary have declared Jack Graves of New York the winner with fifty-nine percent of the vote from party voters across the United States. His opponent, Senator Ismelda Wolfe of Georgia has gracefully conceded to the victorious candidate and vowed to support Senator Graves in the months leading to the Presidential election. After victory was declared, Senator Graves announced his choice of running mate to the exuberant crowd at the Illinois Inglewood stadium. Governor Miguel Martinez and Senator Graves have been friends for many years and support many of the same political and social causes.

Senator Graves thanked the voters in a victory speech last night and now prepares for his next debate against incumbent President Astrid Cunningham.

The Vice Presidential debate between Governor Martinez and current Vice President Samuel Vissar will be broadcast on radio networks at 7pm on March 15th.

The first presidential debate will be held on public radio networks on March 24th at 7:30pm.

Future debates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Damn.

I was hoping Wolfe would come from behind and take my father out of the running. I guess that didn't happen. I'll have to keep a lower profile, candidates and their immediate families are provided Auror protection. They'll have to find me and I'll turn it down when they do.

Oh Isolt's wand! What if he wins? I can't deal with that! If he wins I'll have to decline protection in person and Aurors are sneaky.

Honestly, I was surprised I had not run into that issue yet.

Either my privacy was being respected for the moment, the embassy was having a hard time finding me somehow or… Well, those were probably the only two options. Though, now that my father had won his primary election, I imagined efforts would step up to get in touch with me, especially if Elihu Weathers was set to arrive and fill the diplomatic post in the coming days.

I would have to talk to him after he was settled.

I needed to double down on my low profile, charm my clothing to add doubt to my image from a distance, reinforce that Jack Graves was a particularly deplorable, distant cousin of mine if asked.

My name was in the paper when listed as one of the offspring of this candidate- Merlin! Um… Audrey was a family name. Yes, I had met Jack Graves' daughter. She was a sad dour creature who dressed like a crypt-keeper. Last I heard she was in Canada studying burial rituals. This whole thing was just confusion on the government's part. MACUSA was not known for their forays into international intelligence, that incident with confusing Cuba and Hawaii should be a prime example.

I had to stay in the Minister's employ, Fudge said he would confirm my story to anyone who was suspicious and seeds of doubt were enough to sway most people from a course. More persistent ones could be misdirected through other means. Staying exposed me to other dangers, but it offered me more through protections if needed.

This was a going to be a mess, but I had time. No reason to be concerned yet.

Hopefully.

Oo0Oo0

March 7, 1996

I walked into the office after my lunch break to find the Minister conversing with a man who had a heavy New York accent. I was surprised by the familiar sound and enunciation under it.

"Thank you for inviting me!"

I definitely recognized that voice.

Elihu Weathers was a former senator for the state of New York, he was of average height, wore glasses and had an easy, affectionate manner about him. His kind eyes belayed a ferocious temper on the senate floor, where his past as a prominent, fiery lawyer often came into play. For a man who was in his early forties he was very well accomplished and made his leap into politics by prosecuting the representative who assaulted Valencia Talbot. He did not get to act as a senator for very long before his wife's passing, and he chose to step back for a time, but he made an impression during his short time in office. Enough of one to have a place of trust for the sitting MACUSA president, who asked him to go into a potential war zone to keep an eye on things.

I felt my lips pull back in a smile as Weathers looked away from the Minister for a moment to meet my eyes from across the room.

"Audrey!" He strode over towards me a few quick steps before pulling me into a hug. "It's good to see you! Is this where you've been?" He let me go and shook me by the shoulders playfully, his smile crooked and manner light. "I knew you had chutzpah, but not the run across the world kind!"

"I got an offer I couldn't refuse!"

He leaned in closer, "A good one? I did teach you how to get out of bad deals right?"

"It's a good one, Senator. Don't worry."

"Senator? God, kid, I'm not your boss anymore. Elihu's fine."

I nodded, he was right, but Senator Weathers was still something that wanted to roll off my tongue with the merest prompting at hearing his rather thick New York accent again. His tone was quick and harsh like hail in a blizzard, sharp and decisive with flat vowels. I did not know how much I missed hearing people who spoke like me until that moment.

I shifted slightly only to make eye contact with Percy in the office doorway, his brow furrowed in a confused, annoyed stare as he focused on Elihu, something… annoyed in his expression. Eddie was already inside glancing between Percy and myself with amusement dancing in his eyes.

I'll have to warn Elihu about the English love affair with the letter U.

And tea.

There was too much tea in this country.

"My speeches on the floor really dropped after you went back to school." Elihu continued, oblivious to the looks he was getting from the door. "Una is a nice girl but she was more suited for research than punchy speech endings."

I laughed quietly as Percy moved towards his desk a few feet away.

"Ah, Weathers," Minister Fudge spoke up and motioned towards Percy, who's back straightened immediately. "This is my personal assistant, Percy Weasley. He handles my schedule and if you need a meeting with our office or need a name, you can go through him. Percy, this is the new MACUSA diplomat, Elihu Weathers."

Percy and Elihu shook hands with quick greetings. Elihu had an easy, stern confidence that contrasted harshly with Percy's usual stuffiness. It did not take long for Elihu to start engaging Percy in policy discussions, he always liked to prod people, often saying it was the best way to learn about them. Only, this quickly became less prodding and more of an intellectual bout about government structure and policy. They both liked to talk, I had almost forgotten how much Elihu could talk about things.

"I was a senator, I thought I could do more good than being a lawyer at that point. Tell me how it works here. It's more of a council system right? How do you all do elections?"

Eddie and I exchanged a look before shrugging and going back to our desks as Elihu left with Percy and the Minister for a meeting and information exchange in what should hopefully be a long, diplomatic relationship.

Before Elihu returned to the MACUSA Embassy a couple of hours later, he extended me an invitation for us to catch up on MACUSA affairs over coffee. I ignored Percy's piercing stare in our direction as I accepted, I needed to discuss a variety of issues with my old mentor in relation to my father's career prospects.

I had no idea why Percy was so clearly annoyed by Elihu. I assumed Percy found Elihu's accent a bit grating for someone who spoke with such careful, proper enunciation. Well, he'll get over it in a few weeks.

Oo0Oo0

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed that slow build to chaos, we're heading into the final stretch for this section which should be done around the end of February. Then we move into the Half-Blood Prince timeline, which should be a lot more political then this section was.

Guest: Thank you! I try to tell different kinds of stories and I'm always happy when it land with a reader. :)