11

"It doesn't have to be like this."

Adora rights her footing, cocking her wrist ever so slightly, as she replies, "it's too late—"

Mara barks out a laugh. "It's too late? This coming from the golden girl herself? I wish those bloody reporters were here to see exactly how hypocritical your doctrine is."

"I think we're far past the point of letting you explain yourself." Adora grits out; she tightens her hold on her wand—a steady reminder to not let Mara get into her head. She always did a good job of doing that; a way of making Adora come to decisions—wholly manipulated by Mara—with the foolish notion Adora had come to them on her own accord. "You lied to us for years; this entire time you've just been Prime's lackey—a bloody death eater— we trusted you! And I…" Adora shakes her head, in disbelief, "...I became an Auror because of you—"

"And what a disappointment you turned out to be."

Adora flinches despite herself. She wishes she could brush off Mara's disdain—coming out unscared—but deep down Adora knows, regretfully so, Mara's opinion of her still holds some weight.

Adora shoots back, rather childlike, "you're the disappointment."

"It's such a shame," Mara sucks her teeth, "you had so much potential for greatness. All you had to do was play your cards right, then you could have a seat at the table beside me—mentor and student—we could have been formidable knights of darkness—upholding Lord Prime's wishes!"

"You're mental," Adora spits viciously but her words fall upon deaf ears.

Mara's rant continues, "do you know how blessed you are to be connected to Lord Prime?"

Adora frowns. "I was nothing but a horcrux—"

"—a vessel," Mara corrects. "What an honor to have bestowed upon you, but you squandered it—betrayed our Lord." Mara's face contorts, "and even after severing your tie with him, you somehow made it worse for yourself; becoming an Auror only to dismantle his army, letting a hybrid defile you—to lie with such filth—"

Adora whispers a nasty hex fueled simply by emotion, skin boiling, but Mara simply sidesteps the attack.

"—and it could have been forgiven." Mara says, "it's not too late for you to join the side of the righteous."

Adora's eyes narrow in. "I'd rather die in the coldest corner of Azkaban—have my very soul sucked from my body—than to join sides with anyone who supports that monster. And you want to talk about hypocrisy? Prime is a half-blood, hardly anything close to pure if we were to go by your logic."

"You ungrateful brat," Mara growls, having struck a nerve.

"Ungrateful?" Adora splutters, "you tried to frame me for murder, you nutcase. Don't act like you were trying to do anything in my best interest. For years you've manipulated me, but it ends now. You're done pulling the strings."

A dark shadow casts over Mara's face. "Then I'll just have to cut them—"

"Bombarda!" Adora shouts.

Mara's quick on the draw, she utters a simple "protego" summoning an invisible shield to defend against Adora's exploding spell.

Adora grits her teeth, lashing out with a vicious "confringo!"

"Protego," Mara says with the flick of a wrist before shooting back with an unforgivable curse, "crucio!"

Adora leaps to the right—knowing a simple shield is no match for an unforgivable curse released by a witch of Mara's standing. The curse narrowly misses Adora's head, dissolving into a nearby boulder causing it to shrivel into smithereens. Adora falls to the ground, rolling with the motion, until she slides to a stop behind a jagged boulder—covering her from view; she presses her back against the stone, clutching her wand to her chest, allowing herself a bit of reprieve. Mara's shrewd cackle echoes in the cavern.

"Did you honestly think it would be so simple?" Mara's voice sounds closer than before.

Adora looks up—eyeing the stalactites as a plan forms.

"I taught. You. Everything." Mara spits out, word for word, until her voice tampers off into a shrill screech. Mara sounds a bit more composed as she asks, "or have you forgotten? You can't get the jump on me—"

Adora shoots out her arm, aiming her spell to the ceiling with a shout, "bombarda!" The spell collides with the ceiling—exploding on impact. Adora curses under her breath, holding onto the bolder as the cave begins to shake around them—caving in on itself.

Mara hisses, "you fool!"

Adora summons a protective barrier atop her head as the stalactites shoot down at a fast velocity. While the world falls down around them, Adora rises to her feet—protected by her shield—she finds Mara in the chaos; her former mentor has taken a page out of Adora's book and is also protecting herself with a convenient shield. Mara meets her gaze—unflinching as the cave collapses.

"Rule number three," Mara repeats, "if you can't catch your opponent off guard, then use your surroundings to your advantage…funny, I taught you this as well."

Adora frowns. "You didn't teach me this—fumos!"

Smoke escapes Adora's wand—engulfing the cave in a foggy screen. Adora leaps back, shielding herself behind a nearby boulder; she switches her wand out and uses her free hand to keep her shield alive until the rockslide subsides. I may not be able to beat her one on one, but if I can find an opening… Adora sighs, no, that'll take too long…I have to come up with something fast. Mara isn't one to let her opponents lay idle.

At moments like this, Adora envies Catra's strategic genius. Sure, Adora's rush-in method gets the job done most of the time—and her sheer strength is enough to subdue her opponents—but Mara isn't an ordinary opponent. She knows all Adora's ticks and tricks. Unfortunately, Adora doesn't have a plan that will keep her two steps ahead of Mara; but, it will get the job done.

Adora grins as an idea sparks to life; if Angella were to see her expression, Adora's sure a headache would be sure to form.

Adora hasn't performed this spell since her third year at Hogwarts.

"—stupefy!"

"Ack!" Octavia chokes out; the last attack in Catra's array collides with Octavia's chest—sending her flying back until she smashes into the wall of the cave. A gruesome crater forms in the shape of Octavia's body—trapping her in the wall.

Catra limps over to the crater, winces when her leg moves the wrong way; it got scarred during the battle—clipped—when Catra foolishly allowed her ego to get the best of her. She should've taken Octavia seriously instead of thinking she could defeat her with a simple flick of her wand. Because of her mistake, her leg paid the price.

"I'm fine," she mutters, trying to calm Melog's jagged fur. "She's the one you should be worried about." Melog's fur bristles even more; despite it all, they're a sweetheart at their core. To appease her uneasy companion, Catra cautiously presses a finger to Octavia's neck to check for a pulse.

Catra turns to Melog with a huff, "see? She's alive, you big baby."

Melog mutters some unkind words Catra very much would not like to repeat at the moment. Instead, she confiscates Octavia's wand for safe keeping. Catra places a binding spell on Octavia in case she manages to gain consciousness.

With the coast clear, Catra kneels on the ground and presses a hand to her leg—magic seeps from her palm as she begins the healing process. Melog laps at their own wounds in the meantime. Once she's finished Catra stands up and tests her mobility.

"Good enough for now," she mutters before glancing in the direction she recalls Adora going in right before they split up. Catra decides, "we should check on Adora...I don't like the crazed look Mara had at the trial."

Melog nods in agreement; they make quick work on tracking Adora's magical signature so Catra can save her energy for other matters. Melog chirps with discovery of a trail they can follow. Catra's ready to go—desperate to help Adora (though Catra doubts her girlfriend needs assistance)—but something holds her back; locking her in time. Not even Melog's persistent nudging can break the thrall. And if Catra was in her right mind, she might panic about the dampening of her connection with Melog—how their bond seems to fade in the presence of the new thrall.

…the tides align.

Catra's ear flicks; she tilts her head to the side, frowning as an unfamiliar voice calls out to her.

"Do you hear that?" Catra asks, glancing at Melog briefly. The magical beast shakes their head and gives her a strange, disbelieving, look. Melog mutters something and for the first time—Catra doesn't understand them.

Catra staggers back—finding no comfort in Melog's presence for the first time.

…don't be afraid, your connection shall return. I just needed to borrow it—

Catra whips around, expecting to find the source of the voice but she comes up empty. Catra bares her fangs and demands, "what the hell is going on? Show yourself, or are you that much of a coward?"

I'm not the one who's hiding…

Catra flinches, "what does that even mean?"

You walk around this earth not knowing.

"Not knowing what?" Catra frowns, taking a step closer; she ignores Melog, waving them away as they nip at her pants leg desperately.

When the tides align, only then will the moon reveal itself…revealing the truth…

"The moon?" Catra whispers the warning—trying to make sense of it. "What truth? Who are you?"

Follow my voice. I'll tell you all I know to be true.

Against her better judgment, Catra complies.

"You're right about one thing—"

Adora lowers her shield as the rocks finally stop falling; she presses her back to the stone covering her and tries to glare through the mist she's created. Mara's voice sounds far away but there are spells to manipulate that—a way to fool Adora into a false sense of security—but she won't fall for it. Stick to the plan...

Mara taunts, "I didn't teach you to hide like a coward."

Adora readies her wand; she flicks her wrist to dampen the fog just enough for her to catch a glimpse of Mara's shadow.

"But if I can be honest," Mara whips around, "you could use some work on your stealth—"

"—glacius," Adora whispers, aiming a jet of ice to the ground beneath Mara's feet.

Mara staggers for a brief second—but, it's enough. While Mara is distracted, Adora leaps out with a spell on her tongue; it unfortunately never slips past her teeth as Mara quickly rights herself on the ice and uses her wand to subdue Adora midair with a binding spell.

Mara shakes her head, fixing her wild hair as she demands, "did you really think I'd fall for a child's spell you used on those idiot Junior Auror's?"

Adora grins despite her situation. "Nope."

Mara frowns, uneased by Adora's demeanor. "What are you—" she trails off with a startled shout as Adora grits her teeth—face contorting—as she pulls her arm back with sheer willpower before using all her energy to pull her fist forward until she's decking Mara in the face with a solid jab.

Mara's head shoots to the side under the force but she snaps back just as quickly with a livid scowl. "You little—" Adora disappears in a cloud of smoke.

Mara realizes with a start, "a clone?"

"—confringo!"

The spell hits Mara in her right flank—sending her to the ground. Mara chokes out a spine tingling scream; she clutches her injured side, hissing when pressing on it only makes the pain double. But it must be done. Mara ignores the blood gathered on her palm and presses on the wound to keep the bleeding at bay. She lifts herself up with a single arm and glares as the real Adora makes her appearance out from the fog.

Adora picks up her wand and doesn't waste any time aiming it at Mara. Adora smirks—enjoying the disbelief on Mara's face. She taunts, "what was that about not falling for children's spells?"

Despite it all, Adora can't fault Mara for falling for a doubling charm. When Adora first used it during her third year, she fooled even Angella—easily getting out of detention to help Bow and Glimmer with an adventure they needed help with. Unfortunately, the charm took a lot of Adora's energy to perform and the clone burst into smoke causing quite the scare. Adora still recalls Angella's murderous look when she tracked the trio down.

Nice to know it's still effective even if only for a moment.

"I gave the clone my wand so you wouldn't be suspicious," Adora supplies, feeling the need to explain the methods to her madness. "Give it up. It won't be long until all of London discovers who you are. You've lost."

"Shut up!" Mara exclaims, shooting her free hand back to the ground. Adora frowns, readying her wand as she senses Mara's magic in the air—it's caked with a strange substance— dirt. Adora realizes too late. Mara's magic seeps through the ground until it circles Adora—shooting up in the form of vines—encasing Adora in a vicious binding spell. Adora gasps as she's lifted into the air; the vines wrap around her wrist so tight she drops her wand under the pressure; her back arching under a devastating squeeze.

"It's far from over…" Mara hisses—her body curls in on itself as she heals her side, just enough for her to stand to her feet although with a stagger. Mara raises her hand and clenches her fist. Adora cries out—the vines take their cue from Mara's hand; they wrap tighter, and tighter, until Adora feels her skin cave under the pressure. Mara says with glee, "I'm going to kill you—tear your body apart—and then, I'll go after everyone you love. Those idiot friends of yours, the family you made at the orphanage, and the hybrid…" Mara cackles, "I'll put extra time aside for her. And once the golden quartet is dismantled—when the Country loses all hope—the Dark Lord will rise again."

Adora's body contorts under the vines—her body snaps together as Mara clenches her fist even tighter. Fire seeps through her body—Adora thinks she might just pass out.

A strange scent reaches her nose. Smoke, Adora thinks with a frown. She cracks open a weary eye; smoke is in fact seeping through the air, but it's not coming from the vines…it's coming off her. It's as if her body is at molten levels—the vines weep, crying out as they fall from Adora's body and fall back to the ground limp.

Adora feels a familiar heat seeping behind her eyes. She hasn't felt like this since—

"Impossible," Mara's startled cry brings Adora back. Mara shakes her head and whispers frantically, "I don't understand…"

Adora looks down—she's floating. Even more surprising, her body is cloaked in a blue hue. Adora clenches her fist, marveling at the pure magic racing through her veins. I see, Adora deduces before getting back to the issue at hand. Her eyes—now electric blue—narrow in on Mara.

Mara lashes out with an array of spells, "bombarda! Crucio! Stupefy!" Her eyes dull, defeat soaking in as Adora's body acts like a battery of some sort—absorbing every spell. Mara falls to knees, clutching the poorly healed wound at her side.

"You severed your connection to Lord Prime, so why…" Mara shakes her head, "this can't be…"

Adora says, "it's over, Mara. Turn yourself over and—"

"You don't get it." Mara growls, "even if I wanted to, I can't show my face to the coven after something like this. My Lord…he would—"

"He's dead," Adora argues, "he has no hold on you."

"Your body is leaking with the magic left over from your days as his horcrux," Mara spits, "you're a fool to think he's dead. As long as his magic is on this earth…he will continue to exist—through you and all his other little tools."

Adora shakes her head. "I don't believe that."

Despite what Mara may say, Adora refuses to have his name—his legacy— live on. No…Adora will make this power her own.

"He lives on…this will never end."

Adora senses the spell before Mara has a chance to utter it. "Don't do this—"

"—Avada Kedavra!"

Adora raises her hand to absorb the spell like before but the magic encasing her acts as a shield. Adora can only watch as the spell bounces off her hand—

"Wait!" Adora exclaims, reaching out to grab a spell that's already in full motion.

Mara's eyes go wide—shock lacing her face—as the spell hits her in the chest. And as Mara is flung into the air—colliding to the floor with a cold thump— a dark part of Adora finds the moment poetic, devastatingly so, how they've come full circle.

Mara was taken out by the very same curse she got Finn with.

With Finn's death fresh in her mind, the blue aurora disappears. Adora allows herself only a second to melt down but she quickly becomes lucid. Adora traces the magic in the air—traces the magic signature that was once encasing her during the battle. Just as she assumed, the magic guides her to a pile of rocks. Adora gets to her knees and digs through the pile until she digs out a golden cup—it must have fallen from Mara's bag before their fight. But this cup holds more value and devastation than anyone could ever imagine.

Adora raises the cup until it's eye level with her, she greets her old foe, "Prime."

Silence leaks into the cavern but Adora waits. Years as an Auror has given her patience when it comes to this.

"...golden girl."

Adora frowns, using her free hand to dig into her coat pocket. Adora shakes her head, "you've got to learn some new tricks…did you really think I'd be stupid enough to let you create another horcrux? Like I haven't seen this a dozen times before. And I was just a kid back then. I'm not falling for it again. You're done."

"As long as you rely on my power to kill—"

"She did it to herself," Adora defends herself, though…she isn't sure if it's true.

"—there will always be a chance for me to revive."

Adora obtains what she was seeking and pulls it from her coat. Adora nods, "and I'll always be prepared." She places the horcrux on the ground and raises the jagged piece of the basilisk fang.

"Foolish child. Even if you win today, I will always be connected to you. So, even in your death, I will jump at the opportunity to find another vessel."

Adora shrugs. "I guess we'll deal with that when we get there."

Clang! Adora doesn't wait for another lengthy spiel from Prime; she bashes the cup with the basilisk fang. Adora doubles over, hissing as a part of her dies along with him.

"Damn it," she mutters, digging her fingers into the dirt to steady herself. Prime's right, as long as he's connected to me he can always find a way to resurface. Adora shakes her head. She's not alone in this fight. They'll deal with it when they get there.

Adora staggers to her feet. She glances at Mara—a shell of her former self. But, then again, maybe Adora never really knew the original either. Her mentor lived a lifelong façade. Adora walks over to the limp body; she gazes down at the woman who had such a drastic fall from grace.

Adora's brow bunches up. "I hope it was worth it."

With nothing else to say, Adora marks the spot for the team of Auror's who will surely be on the scene; then, she follows Catra's comforting magical signature.

Octavia is caked into the wall of the cave when Adora makes it back toward the entrance. Adora feels only a faint trace of Catra's stupefy spell—probably the spell that finally did Octavia in—so she quickly cues in on the battle being over a while ago.

Adora frowns. "Where is she?"

Instead of asking silly questions, Adora continues to track Catra's magic signature; it guides her along the right path, as if she's an old friend. Catra's magic keeps her comforted—helps block away the memory of Mara's dulling eyes, and the eerie voice of Prime she thought she'd forgotten only to have it cemented in her mind. Maybe Entrapta can find a way to remove Prime's trace from me, Adora knows if anyone can figure out a foolproof way to isolate a magical being it'll be Entrapta.

Adora's train of thought slows to a halt as Melog races towards her just as she turns a sharp corner. Adora smiles, happy to see a familiar face, "hey buddy." Her smile wanes at the sight of Melog's droopy fur—their coat glowing dark blue. Adora rubs their head, trying her best to console them in their mourning. She tries not to think about what Melog could be mourning.

"Where is she?" Adora's voice wobbles despite her best effort.

Melog bumps their head into her knee before they guide her further into the cave. Adora steadies herself for whatever she might encounter around the corner. Her knees nearly give in, buckling under the pressure, but not for the reason she suspected. Adora readies her wand and takes a cautious step.

"...Catra?"

The object of her affection stands at the edge of the cave with her hand outstretched toward the Gringott's dragon—the guardian of vaults. Catra's ear flicks in her direction. Adora chews on her lip, her gaze flicks from the dragon to Catra in rapid succession; not quite sure who she should be keeping an eye on.

"...Adora?" Catra mutters, blinking away the fog from her eyes.

Adora licks her lips and whispers, "back away from the dragon, slowly."

The dragon huffs out a ragged breath—a hot stream of air causes Adora's coat to flutter. Adora doesn't want to draw her wand; dragons are—at their core—gentle creatures. They also breathe fire that'll rival even Catra's fiendfyre. Yep, Adora definitely doesn't want to get into a fight with a dragon.

Catra snaps out of her daze; she eyes the dragon one more time before backing away slowly. Adora doesn't make a move until Catra is within reaching distance; she pulls Catra by the elbow and rushes back the way she came. Along the way Melog's fur simmers back to their normal hue. Adora guides them to the exit, very aware of the internal conversation Catra is likely having with Melog.

Good, she huffs, I hope Melog is ripping her a new one for approaching a fucking dragon.

Adora waits until they're out of the cave system and above ground before she lashes out, "what the hell?"

Catra blinks. "What?"

Adora's eye twitches. "A bloody dragon? And you say I'm mental."

Catra rubs her neck, glancing off with a faraway look Adora hasn't seen her express since the Triwizard Tournament. Catra mutters, "it's a long story…how's Mara?"

Adora swallows at the memory. "She's gone."

Catra's shoulders sag. "Adora—"

"I tried to stop her," she reiterates, "but…everything just happened so fast." She sinks into Catra's embrace—taking in the familiar scent of pine and mint. Adora clutches at Catra's jacket and confesses into the crook of her neck, "that's not all ...he came back."

Catra stiffens in the hug but doesn't pull away. After a moment, Catra lowers her voice and asks, "you took care of it?"

Adora nods. "I had the fang in my pocket. Ever since…I've been carrying it with me for a while." Ever since their first run in with Prime—back at Hogwarts—even though Adora killed him, she always had a feeling another shoe would drop.

Sadly, she was right.

Catra says with a sigh, "the connection is still there."

Adora nods ruefully. "Yeah."

Catra pulls away, brushing tears from Adora's face. Catra nudges their foreheads together, "we'll talk about this, okay? Just...not here." Catra's eyes flick to the side—gesturing to the fallen goblins who are slowly starting to gain consciousness.

Adora takes a deep breath. "Okay…you're right."

"I tend to be," Catra breaks the tension with a grin.

Adora nudges her away with an eyeroll. "Come on, let's cue the Ministry in on our location so they can make sense of all this."

12

"—how sorry we are for putting you through all of this…"

Adora loses track of the Minister's apology—zoning out. It's not her fault she can't focus on his spiel. Five days have passed since the Mara and Octavia incident and the Ministry of Magic has been up to its elbows in press coverages.

Netossa even stormed the doors of the Ministry threatening to take them for all their worth for sullying the golden quartet's good name. Several public apologies have been issued since then; all of which they had to attend. And sure, it was nice getting praise from their Country—and having parties thrown in their honor (mostly because of the free food)—but it's getting excessive now.

They haven't been this popular since the war.

Adora glances toward the door nervously. Her grip tightens on the armchair as she contemplates how stressful this is for Catra especially. The fame was what inevitably drove Catra out of London—further from her friends—from Adora. And sure, she has complete confidence in their relationship but…a small part of her worries one night Catra might run off again.

"—listening?"

Adora snaps back to the present. She offers the Minister a charming smile, although, he doesn't seem fooled by it. "Minister, please…my friends and I are very grateful for all the positive press we've received since the incident, but at this point all we can do is try and get back to our ordinary lives."

The Minister clears his throat, "about that…"

Adora freezes. "What's wrong?"

The Minister laughs, waving off her concern with a smile. "You and your friends are always expecting the worse…which is understandable after all we've put you through and I won't stop until I make sure you are all—"

"Minister," Adora says as politely as she can, "please spare me the accolades and tell me what's wrong."

He nods. "There isn't anything wrong…well, there is a lot wrong with the Ministry of Magic; I see that now. There is corruption, and although Mara is gone I can't help but wonder if there are more espionage agents like her within our organization. I need people I can trust working with the Ministry; we have to restow its name."

"What are you saying?" Adora asks.

"I'm asking if you would step in as the Director of Magical Security."

Adora's breath leaves her body, "what?"

The Minister smiles. "Don't seem so surprised."

Adora shakes her head. "But I'm—"

"—qualified for the position."

"—twenty six!" Adora exclaims, "I planned on being the Director of Magical Security when I turned thirty—thirty-two the latest. This seems like a huge leap."

The Minister reassures her, "we're not going to throw you into the water, Miss Grayskull. Previous Directors who upheld the position will be training you for months to come until you're ready to take up the mantle." He frowns, put off by her silence. "I don't understand, isn't this what you've always wanted? I heard you wrote about it in your application essay to the Auror academy."

Adora sinks into the chair. She looks away and mutters, "I just feel like…it's a handout."

The Minister's chair scrapes along the floor drawing her attention back to him. He eyes her through his spectacles, "Miss Grayskull, I'll have you know I do not make this decision lightly. I selected you for the position because you care about this Country and have been doing everything in your power to protect it since your days at Hogwarts. I'm picking you because I know you'll do what's right—every time."

"So?" The Minister holds out his hand, "what do you say?"

Adora hesitates. This is everything she's ever dreamed about, but…things are different now.

"I'm sorry," her voice echoes. Adora can hardly watch as the Minister lowers his hand with a depleted look. Adora confesses, "I've always had my entire life planned out, you know? I'd find a way out of Weaver's house, be the bravest witch in Gryffindor, graduate at the top of my class at the Auror academy…every detail was in line but, life isn't like that." Adora smiles softly as she decides, "I think—I want— to live in the moment more. Enjoy life for a bit before I accept a desk job.

"There are still cases out there that need loyal Auror's on the front line. Sure, the Director of Magical Security oversees them but they can't be in the field and—for now—I think it's where I need to be." Adora sighs, "I'm sorry if that's not the answer you were hoping for."

"No," the Minister sinks into his seat with a smile, "it's far better."

Adora looks up.

"The position will be waiting for you when you're ready."

Adora smiles. "Thank you."

"No, thank you."

Adora shakes his hand and shares a few more quick words before she exits the office with a sigh. Adora leans against the wall to steady herself before she continues her journey through the halls of the Ministry. Her eyes flick about until she settles on a very welcome view of Catra lounging on a bench with her legs crossed—her head is propped up by her hand as she stares at the passerbyers with a bored expression. Even Melog—choosing to take their tom cat form—yawns at her feet.

And for a foolish moment, Adora's shoulders relax because Catra's here. And maybe this time, she'll stay.

Catra's eyes spark to life when they notice her arrival; she gets up from the bench and meets Adora halfway with a kiss.

Adora holds Catra's hand, guiding them down the hall. She asks, "how was the meeting?"

Catra yawns out a muffled, "good…what about yours?"

Adora pokes Catra's stomach. "You first."

Catra rolls her eyes but eventually she yields. Catra whispers, "the Unspeakable Division is sort of a shit show right now; apparently people have been breaking their vows without facing any repercussions."

Adora's eyes go wide. "Seriously? How is that possible?"

"Hell if I know," she shrugs, "so they need people they can trust to work the more important cases, and I'm first in line since I helped with Lonnie's case."

Adora interrupts, "how's she doing? I haven't heard from her since Kyle and Ro sent me an owl apologizing for thinking the worst." The two men promised to meet up for lunch to talk in person but for now they wanted to get their family back to normal. Which is understandable.

"She wasn't at the meeting, one of the upper heads said she's taking time to be with her family."

Adora nods in agreement before a thought occurs to her.

Adora says, "oh, and by the way..."

Catra glances over, curious. What greets her on the other end is an unpleasant—and unfortunately familiar—pinch to her right side.

"Hey!" Catra snaps, rubbing her sore arm—glaring at Adora out of the corner of her eye. Girlfriend or not, Catra finds herself struggling to keep the hex from slipping past her lips. She takes the high road instead and asks, "what the hell was that for?"

Adora frowns. "For not telling me Lex was actually Lonnie."

Catra seems like she's trying very hard not to roll her eyes. She sends Adora a muted expression, "you're a shit actor, Adora."

Adora's frown morphs into a pout. "I've gotten better."

"Sorry, love. Couldn't risk it."

Adora supposes she understands the urgency of the mission so she waves her hand, gesturing for Catra to continue.

Catra eyes her warily before she goes on, "so anyway…they want me to take over the Unspeakable case in—"

"There you two are." Glimmer interrupts, turning the corner with Bow at her side. "What's taking so long?" Glimmer shakes her head, "I actually don't care…can we leave? This place has always creeped me out."

"We can't go yet," Catra says with a huff. Before Glimmer can get into a rant Catra explains, "the Minister is holding another press conference explaining the outcome of the trial and he'll most likely ask us to attend."

Bow rubs his neck as he admits, "I don't know about you guys but—"

"—we're sick of public apologies," Catra says what they're all thinking.

Bow deflates. "Thank Merlin, I've been holding that in for days. But then again, I guess it's the least they could do after all the hell they put Adora through—parading you through the city like that. What were they thinking?"

"It's not just me," Adora says, "all of our reputations were stained because of this trial. Not everyone is going to believe the truth—"

"Fuck them." Glimmer says flippantly—gaining an indignant gasp from Bow and a chuckle from Catra; Adora only blinks owlishly.

Glimmer says, "seriously...if they don't want to believe us—after everything we've done for this Country—then maybe we should take some time for ourselves."

"There it is," Catra mutters. "You just want your—"

"—yes, I want a Holiday." Glimmer doesn't try to hide it. "But you two are probably too busy, right?" Glimmer sighs, taking in the sheepish expression Catra and Adora offer. "Thought so."

Bow asks softly, "is that what your meetings were about?"

Adora tightens her grip on Catra's hand before she admits, "the Minister wants me to take over Mara's old position as the—"

"Director of Magical Security?" Catra exclaims.

Glimmer gasps. "That's huge!"

"Congratulations," Bow smiles. "You'll be great at it."

Adora rubs her neck nervously as she flushes under the attention. "Thanks."

Glimmer gestures to Catra saying, "spit it out. I know that anxious expression."

"Well…not to steal anyone's thunder or anything but, after the trial I've gotten tons of offers from all over the world." Catra says sheepishly, "I'm kind of the hottest Unspeakable in the world right now."

Bow smiles but it doesn't meet his eyes. "That's great, both of you really deserve it."

Catra looks at his less thrilled counterpart. "Sparks, what's up?"

Glimmer crosses her arms. "I'm really happy for you two, I am…but I guess…this is it, huh?"

Catra raises an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"You're getting all kinds of Unspeakable case offers and Adora is gonna be the Director of Magical Security...you're going to be super busy now that your careers are taking off—more so than before." Glimmer shrugs, "guess we won't be seeing you two for a while."

Catra and Adora glance at each other wearily. After a short beat they burst out laughing.

Bow looks startled. "What's so funny?"

"Lonnie's case was a nightmare on its own." Adora says.

Catra nods. "The worst I've ever seen."

"So?" Glimmer frowns, still out of the loop.

"So," Adora says, squeezing Catra's hand with a smile, "I told the Minister I appreciate the offer but...I'm going to finish my Holiday and enjoy some time away from work."

Catra adds, "as for me, I'll be taking a brief sabbatical. And from now on, I'm just gonna stick with Unspeakable cases inside of London instead of traveling all over the world. Don't you think it's time I settled down a bit, yeah?"

Glimmer gapes, "does this mean—"

Adora nods. "Best Friend Squad Holiday—"

"—revamp," Glimmer adds not so subtly.

"Is back on!" Bow exclaims.

Glimmer asks in a rush, "but wait, not that I'm not super happy for the both of you for getting your shit together—"

"Rude."

"—but Adora, all we've learned from Lonnie's case is that the Ministry is corrupt. If you don't take the position then who's to say the same issue won't happen again?"

Adora smiles. "I said I'm resuming my Holiday, not turning them down. They said they'll wait as long as they need to."

Glimmer squeals. "Oh! Where should we go this time?"

"Definitely not America," Bow says with a shiver. "...at least, not for a while. Too many memories."

Catra nods stiffly. "Agreed."

"What about Europe?" Bow exclaims with glee, "there are tons of magical creatures we can hang out with! I mostly have connections in Romania, but we can spend time with the dragons!"

Adora gasped. "Can we ride them?"

"They're not pets, love." Catra says in a soft chastisement. Melog makes a noise in agreement. "...but I'm sure if you ask nicely they might be willing."

Adora almost makes a comment about the Gringott's dragon Catra had a run in with but keeps it to herself. Catra hasn't spoken about the encounter much but Adora can tell it's bothering her. Since the trial they've been staying at Catra's unlisted flat and, more often than not, Catra has woken Adora in the middle of the night with nightmares. She's doing her best to give Catra space to eventually discuss them with her but…one step at a time she supposes.

Glimmer's voice brings Adora from her thoughts. "Can we go to Italy like we originally planned? Take a break from all the excitement before easing back into it with dragons."

"Of course," Catra agrees with ease, "my flat has lots of space."

Bow cheers, throwing his hands in the air. His crop top shoots up even higher, catching Glimmer's lingering gaze. "Romania, here we come! Well, Italy first but you get where I'm going with this."

Catra notices the glint in Bow's eyes; she takes a step back but somehow she gets trapped in a group hug that sends them toppling to the floor—a mess of mixed limbs. They collect themselves quickly—laughing at their misfortune. Catra pulls herself up, content with kneeling on the floor as she watches Adora playfully chastise Bow and Glimmer for their shenanigans. A smile slips across Catra's face but the moment is short lived.

Melog joins Catra at her side; they nudge her arm —reminds her of the situation. Catra locks eyes with Melog, I know.

Catra refuses to let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

Notes:

It's been a while since my last post, I took a few weeks off to recharge from work/studying; I probably won't update weekly like before but I will pop in to update this now and again. I have a solid outline for this story so I promise it will get done and it will be amazing. The next chapter I have planned is on the shorter side so it might be up sooner than expected.

Thanks for reading, as always.