October 2nd, 1995

"I wish you would try a little harder to fit in," my father leaned across the desk, his voice low but trying to be kind as I fidgeted in the chair on the other side of his desk. The room was paneled in dark wood and paneled in a style one would affiliate with the Revolutionary War. If I closed my eyes I could swear I felt the prickling judgement of history on my skin.

I nodded to imply that I was listening while I allowed my mind to wander to the past and the list of things I would rather be doing with my time or the pile of requests on my secretarial desk. Along with the envelope from Sybil, the fund manager's assistant, who said she was quitting and wanted me to know that I was the only unpaid intern on my father's staff before she left. Something that did not improve my mood.

"Audrey, please do something with your hair before I make my speech to the Senate about the new trade amendments next week. It looks so…"

Say it. Just say it.

"Unkept."

You're getting a bald patch, right in the back, so you have no grounds to talk.

My father, Jack Graves, is a senator for the state of New York, he's a tall man with broad shoulders and perfectly silver hair. Jack Graves believes in three things with absolute certainty, first is that No-Majs are dangerous, therefore we must remain hidden at all costs. He believes in the absolute authority of MACUSA, its worldwide power and influence, a great superpower of the magical world. Lastly, he believes that his daughters should be seen and not heard, for they are just ornaments to build his power upon when they marry and have sons of their own.

His constituents describe him as 'Perfectly Presidential.'

If this man is elected president of MACUSA, I will do something drastic.

"And please wear some make-up, but not too much or you look like one of those," He moved his hand as he tried to build himself up to actually say what I knew he was thinking. "Ladies of the night."

Prostitutes, he meant, he just could not get the word out in front of his almost eighteen-year-old daughter.

I stared at him blankly. The best way to handle my father is to let him think I'm a stupid little ornament in his life.

"I don't wear makeup, never have."

He looked confused, like it was something girls were supposed to know intuitively. "You should get Vanessa to teach you."

I would rather chew off my own hand.

"I'm sure if you tried it, you would like it. The rest of the office girls wear it, it might help you fit in, give you something to talk about instead of those books you're always reading."

My head moved up and down in a slight nod of its own volition, I was unaware that understanding the philosophy behind modern politics while working for the government would make me an oddity.

"Makeup would help you look more professional."

The silence that followed was normal for conversations with my father, a man who never seemed to grasp how to talk to me like a person and not a sentient desk lamp.

"Where is that other intern, Thad Wester?"

"You mean Chad?"

"Ah, yes, that was his name, Chad," he paused for a moment thoughtfully. "Kind of a stupid name."

One of the few things we agree on.

"I think he went to lunch."

"You think?"

I shrugged, "He doesn't tell me much of anything."

My father stared down at me like watching Chad Wester was supposed to be my job. It was not. I got the impression that Chad -Thad- whatever his name was never shut up. Whenever father sent us off to run some errand, his preferred method of communication was asking me about something and complimenting me on my intelligence the way one would an obedient crup when I was finished. Other times he would try to explain to me how the laws in the government worked, like he was trying to prove himself a superior, cutting me off when I attempted to correct him.

Fine, father can pay him to be dumb, because he's not paying me at all.

Walking into work was an act of not showing how angry I was by being overlooked, or doing three people's work while managing my father's calendar for the lobbyists who wanted to meet with him about bills and amendments. Chad would just talk and be lauded for it as he made new acquaintances who would help him move up in his political career.

The awkward silence was enough to tell me that I was dismissed, my father's attention being pulled to the reports on his desk.

"Will that be all?"

Senator Graves looked up from his papers and made an effort to give me a warm, paternal smile as he got to his feet to get the door for me. "Yes, I believe so."

I rose from the chair and moved it back to its original spot against the wall before adjusting the collar of my robes.

For the last three months and I truly believed I was freed from one cage to be placed in another. Only, this cage was far smaller and more suffocating than I could have imagined. My father strong-armed me into taking this internship after Senator Weathers had to step away from politics after the sudden death of his wife. I was due to meet with him over lunch, he said he wanted to apologize for the sudden change and give me a recommendation letter for my volunteer work from last year.

Really a very nice man, he did not deserve any of what the last year had thrown at him.

There was suddenly a hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts as I moved to the open door. I looked up at my father, he had not hugged me since I hit puberty, him putting a hand on my shoulder was the only bit of physical affection I received as a rare treat for behaving like a houseplant.

"Can you try, please? Wear something nice, do something with your hair, Vanessa would love to help you with anything if you just ask her." My father was suddenly pressing a small pouch of money into my hands that he seemed to pull out of nowhere. "Buy whatever you need." He smiled at me in a dazzling, indulgent way. He gave my shoulder a final squeeze before I stepped out of the office holding a small pouch of money that I was already forming plans for.

Plans that did not involve a shopping trip.

Oo0Oo0

The Remembrance Hall is an old marble room inside of MACUSA Headquarters with the names of every Auror who fell in the line of duty in service to their country lining the wall in gold plates. Placed carefully in the center is a statue of the original twelve Aurors of MACUSA, including my ancestor Gondulphus Graves. It is a family tradition for there to be a Graves at MACUSA, specifically as an Auror every generation. It's something that happens, becomes expected, when one of your ancestors founded the department and died in the line of duty fighting the greatest dark witch of his time. An expectation of honor and family tradition, plus the minute the name Graves is seen on the application you're guaranteed a position.

If Gondulphus could see us now he'd probably be sick or very proud.

Gondulphus Graves died at the peak of his power, his statue stands shoulder to shoulder with the other eleven and he looks at the high end of middle age while some of his allies look much older or younger. I think this statue was added too as they fell in battle. None of them died truly young and only two lived to see old age, dying peacefully in retirement.

I stooped down to clean up his nameplate with a tissue. I was going to need a pinch of Gondulphus's courage to do what I was thinking of and even then I felt it would not be enough.

"Audrey!" I jumped and put the tissue in my pocket as the sound of a man's voice echoed through the room, bouncing off the golden nameplates of the fallen. It was rare my cousin Quincy was on time for anything except meals.

Quincy was tall and dark skinned with his microbraided hair pulled back in a ponytail to show off his gold earring, his pride and joy. He pulled me into a hug, talking about how he had not seen me in over two months. He was only a couple of years older than me and was finishing up his Auror training with a focus on international tracking. He smelled like dirt and sweat, as if he had just got off the training field, which he probably had.

"Hi Quincy," I enjoyed the freedom of breathing again and gave him a slight smile. "How's training going?"

He waved his hand dismissively, "Almost done is all I can say about it," He looked at me with sharp eyes, "But training isn't why you called me out here is it?"

I shook my head, feeling my ponytail sway back and forth as I did so as I handed him the letter I had received from Sybil the accountant and began to twiddle my thumbs as he looked it over carefully with the cautiousness trained into every Auror. I watched as he read the letter slowly and deliberately mouthing each word, before his eyes moved back to the top to reread it silently.

Quincy looked up at me as he finished. "I have no control over intern pay Audie, you know that. Intern's are not guaranteed pay, it's at the discretion of their employer."

I nodded slowly. "I am aware of that." My hand came to rest on the money my father had given me that was weighing heavily in my robe pocket. "I need your help with something else."

Quincy looked around the Remembrance Hall, seeing it fill with sightseers and workers on a lunch break before putting his arm over my shoulder and pulling me towards a more secluded corner. As always, he remained the cousin with the keenest mind and best sense within a family spoiled by the success and heroics of dead men. He guided me towards a plaque with the name of another relative emblazoned upon it. My great-uncle, Percival Graves, was reportedly murdered by Grindelwald, the details about his death were very trim.

We sat down on a small bench and looked at the plaque for a moment before I found it in me to speak.

"I want to find my brother."

"What?"

I repeated myself slowly. Quincy responded by giving me a firm look implying that I did not have to be a smartass about it before leaning back and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Audrey, I know Alex means a lot to you with the family of vipers you've got, but this is crazy."

Yes, it was.

"Quincy, I have put this off long enough." I pulled a manilla folder out of my purse filled with news articles my brother had written over the years he had been estranged from the family. My brother had started writing under our mom's maiden name, so it had taken me a little bit of time to find him at first. The collection I had gathered featured news articles from all over Europe for an international paper called The Modernist. I pulled out the latest article about the Tri-Wizard Tournament at Hogwarts. "My brother has not written an article for this paper since the end of the tournament." I pulled a more recent article from the back of the folder from an English paper called The Egregious Erumphent. "I think he's finally settled down somewhere!"

It was an investigative piece my brother had written about an underground dueling ring at the start of the summer. I had not found anything more recent and was beginning to worry.

"Wow, you're very obsessive."

"That's not the point. The point is if I can get to London, I could find my brother!"

He looked at me as if he were assessing me with fresh eyes.

"I would like your help to get my paperwork together to leave the country and get a Portkey to London as soon as possible. If you don't want to get involved, I'll do it myself."

People would do almost anything for a Graves, especially a more rebellious Graves.

He seemed thoughtful, "This is the most reckless thing you've ever done." He smiled, "I'm kind of impressed."

"So you'll help me?"

Quincy nodded and suppressed a chuckle, "Your dad'll have a stroke, it'll be worth it for that after he voted for cutting public welfare."

Father never liked cousin Quincy or his long-term girlfriend Cassandra Barebone very much, both of whom tended to show up to protest in his office with loud music and signs when he announced his vote to his constituents to stay in their good favor. There was a more involved incident when he announced a more recent voting decision and Quincy brought some of his friends along to boo him at the speech while arranging for a couple of streakers to prevent Senator Graves' rally photos from ending up in the paper.

I never knew how to feel about my father, I saw him as the man who would put me on his shoulders and run around the backyard when I was very young, but I also remember him bringing my mom, Alex, and I to his political rallies to show what a good family man he was, what a kind, devoted wife he had, how handsome and accomplished his son was and how well-behaved his daughter was.

I hated the lights, and the noise of my father shouting into crowd with a Sonarous charm as his eventual constituents shouted and screamed their approval. Alex would play paper games with me, crosswords or hangman were favorites and we would pass notes back and forth as our father would begin to speak about the proper way of doing things, the changes that would come to this country when he and his party would rise to power.

"Now here's the thing, Audrey," Quincy started as he stretched his legs out in front of him, getting comfortable for his part in my familial treachery. "I don't want to send you over there alone unless we have no other option. Your mom was English right?" She was Scottish actually, but I did not see much of a difference there. "Do you know about any relatives of her's you could get in touch with who could give you a hand?"

It was a short list, my mom had died before I developed any real interest in her family history. Though one name came to mind quickly.

"My mom's aunt, Lucinda Ainsley. She's the only name I remember mom ever mentioning." I remembered nothing mom had ever said about her except she liked to send ugly vases to hated relatives. Those were the kind of gifts you had to display or be asked about when she visited. We had never received a vase from her, though she did send one to my father directly after my mother died.

Quincy nodded, "I'll see if I can start getting in touch with her for you. Now when do you want to leave?"

I paused, thinking about what loose ends I had to tie up before I did something like this. There was very little. I really had no obligations aside from a hated job that I was not even paid to do, I fussed around my pocket for the money my father had given me and began to count the trimes, notes and eagles that Quincy would need to help make this impossible mission a reality. "End of the week at the latest," I pressed the money into his cold hands and felt lighter than I had in years.

Oo0Oo0

Dinner in the Byrgen house was always quiet. There was always minimal talking except for the occasional babble from baby Aldridge and Vanessa's occasional chatter about the other society wives and their families. Vanessa was recounting about the Jones family hosting a silly hillbilly cousin with an atrocious accent that the girls were absolutely in love with for some reason while he openly wondered why they had three forks at the table.

My jaw clench the sound of Vanessa's charming laugh while the family house elf, Tinsy, refilled her glass. Tinsy turned towards me, lifting the pitcher in a wordless ask if I needed a refill. I shook my head with a forced smile. Tinsy was a sweetheart who disliked Vanessa as much as I did, she rebelled in little ways mostly by being slow to do anything the woman asked, much to my amusement.

"Anyway, dearest, how was work?"

Jack Graves turned the page of his newspaper with a barely acknowledging nod. "It was fine, Weathers is on the table to takeover the diplomatic post in Britain next year. Apparently the President thinks this Harry Potter statement should be watched and Upton wants to retire to Florida for some reason next summer."

Harry Potter?

There was no one alive who did not know the story of Harry Potter. Surviving a killing curse was sure to leave some long term damage on a baby, right?

"The boy's clearly an attention seeking liar," Vanessa huffed as my eleven-year-old half-sister Annette moved her broccoli around on her plate in sheer boredom. "The return of some long dead dark wizard? A silly idea from a confused mind."

"Well, Astrid Cunningham wants people she trusts at the embassy to keep an eye on things. She says it's probably nothing, but some of her favorites are definitely going to get a nice vacation galavanting around Europe out of it."

The ice water that I brought to my lips was not enough to still my nerves. I took a drink and placed it back on the table with a soft clink. "Father?"

"Yes, Audrey?"

Vanessa's eyes seemed to pierce the side of my head with the force of her glare. My hands trembled and clutched my skirt under the table. How dare the extra speak? How dare she remind her better of her unwanted presence? My thoughts swirled before I grabbed hold of my slippery, shifting courage.

"Have you heard from Alex?"

The room stopped. Annette's fork clinked on the plate as she dropped it and baby Aldridge seemed to instinctively freeze at the sudden chill in the air. Tinsy's already bulbous hazel eyes seemed to swallow her face as she moved her gaze between each of the people sitting at the table.

The bone chilling terror of making a terrible mistake settled over me like a cloak as my father's jaw clenched and the silence in the air reeked of a quiet violence that made the hairs on my neck stand on end. There was something inside of me that wanted to apologize and take it back, but the words were free to hover like a battlefield spirit and all I could do was keep talking.

"It's been five years, he was publishing articles until three months ago!"

There was a part of me that knew what I was doing. I had just intentionally kicked a hornet's nest.

My father grew red in the face, like a volcano about to explode. Mentioning Alex had put an end to every bit of control he displayed publicly and privately. I don't know why I had been so blunt on the matter, but it was done and I would have to deal with the consequences.

"Are you not interested in finding him?" My voice was low. "If Voldemort is back maybe we should-"

"I HAVE NO SON!"

I stood up from my seat so quickly the chair fell backwards to the tile floor with a bang that I felt up my spine.

"Then I guess you don't have a daughter either!" I was breathing like I had just run a mile as my body shook with barely suppressed adrenaline, my legs struggled to hold me upright as I turned neatly on my heel like a soldier doing drills. I threw the cloth napkin I was clenching on the table before I stormed to the entryway, my eyes focused on the staircase while Aldridge's cries echoed loudly off the high ceilings of the dining room. "I'll find my brother!"

"How are you going to find someone you barely know?!" My father's voice was loud and mocking, like I was too stupid to know the folly I was suggesting. I felt something light inside me like a fire on a cold day.

"Better a man I barely know then this nest of vipers!"

My father roared and shouted, "He's never written! Never apologized!"

The things I had wanted to say for years died in my throat, so I settled for something crass and to the point. "NEITHER HAVE YOU, YOU COWARD!"

Jack Graves stepped away from the table and advanced towards me with fire and rage in his eyes.

"You never paid me for work I did for you! You paid the other interns and not me! Throwing money at me to do what you want for your career is not paying me for the work!"

"You ungrateful little bitch-!" His tirade continued as he stormed forward, though my ears were deafened to it. Annette reached out suddenly, grabbing father's arm with steady hands and wild eyes as she looked between the two of us. He stopped short, glowering at me with hate in his eyes. I'm not sure he saw me at that moment, I assumed he saw Alex.

"I'm leaving."

I could have the family I wanted even if it was just me and one of my siblings. I could not care for the rest of them, my father remarrying almost a year after my mother's death. His wife who did not care for myself or my brother, only the Graves name and the power it offered. My half-siblings were on their own, but I knew they would have at least a sense of love and affection from those cold people, if only for appearances sake.

The sound of my feet storming up the stairs and the white noise that echoed through my head as it pulsated with rage. This was it. I stormed down the hallway, bursting through the heavy door of my bedroom, calling my suitcase and backpack with a flick of my wand.

My shaking hands were barely able to keep my wand movements fluid enough to pack my bags. I summoned my MUSA and MUK passports from my dresser drawer and into my purse. My suitcase was too small and I did not trust any extension charm I would place on it to last for the moment. I knew it would end like this, but it did not lessen the pain, shock and fear of it all.

I was alone now, nothing but the road ahead.

I could hear loud voices echoing up the stairway that only made me feel nauseous. The sudden noise of clicking heels and the creaky stair nearly made me puke.

The feeling of an unwelcome presence in my room, a piercing gaze in my back filled me with more fear and trepidation about my inane quest than I ever had before.

"You heartless girl!" Vanessa's voice was quiet and sounded like the hiss of a snake.

The voice behind me was frightening, but I resolved not to show any sign of fear. I had walked through this house too quietly for too long.

"Your father is going to be running for president of MACUSA, do you know what this childish fit will do to his reputation and political standing?"

"Good things for the country?" I snapped back.

Vanessa was not someone who was prone too true kindness, she hated me because I reminded her of my father's first wife, no, that was not quite correct. I was the reminder that someone else had been in her place first. She was bursting with joy to see me go. It would be easier to become truly first in my father's attentions and pocketbook if both of his elder children were disowned and left with nothing.

I turned around to look at her. Blonde hair perfectly in place, diamond earrings glittering from her ears as her ruby lips pulled themselves back in a sneer that spoke of her victory as she stood in the doorframe.

"The moment you step out that door, you will never be welcome back in this house."

There were more whooshing sounds as I threw a couple of books into my bag to read at the international portkey station. An unsettling calm fell over me like a warm blanket as I made sure she saw me put the picture of my mom in the bag last. I made sure she saw her face before I closed clipped the bag closed. Then I turned to face Vanessa, feeling calmer then I ever had since she married my father.

"My mother's jewelry. Give that to me and you will never see me again."

Vanessa's mouth curled in a smug little smirk. "Jewelry? I would discuss that with your father."

I had seen her wearing some of my mother's collection over the years, so I knew that was a lie.

Accio!

There was a series of bangs and crashes from down the hallway as several small boxes flew over Vanessa's head. Vanessa made effort to snatch them out of the air before I caught them in my hand.

"On to theft now?" Vanessa's sarcasm made my stomach tighten.

I had the ownership papers and a copy of my mom's will, there was not anything the law do really do to me in this case, but shouting those words to Vanessa in an act of defiant righteousness the way I had imagined for so long could not happen as the words were stuck in my throat.

Why couldn't I speak? The moment was here and all I could do was cower like a scared child.

I was leaving to never return. I would never come back to this house. There was no more reason to fear this woman. I was going to say my piece, even if it was not the dramatic exit and grand speech I had planned and fantasized about.

Vanessa stepped into the room, her heels clicking on the wooden floor.

For a moment of time, I could feel the premeditative slap from Vanessa's ring clad hand that she often threatened to hit me with, but that had never been her way. To noticeable to outsiders and the press.

The surge of calm that washed me kept me standing as Vanessa moved forward with fury in her eyes. I held my ground and pointed my wand at her chest, stopped her cold a few feet away from me. I was not one for violence, but Vanessa was not going to get a chance to lay her hands on me in anger. Not now, not ever.

"Congratulations Vanessa, I'm leaving. You've finally driven me out. With Alex and me gone, the sidepiece finally got an ideal family." I lit the tip of my wand, "Now step aside."

Vanessa's face was cold and unreadable, my stomach flipped and twisted before she moved away from me at last and pressed herself against the wall. No doubt readying her story for father about how I threatened her and blowing it out of proportion. I levitated my suitcase with a flick of my wand and walked out the door as calmly as I could manage while my heart threatened to escape the cage of my chest.

I turned at the foot of the staircase to find Tinsy hiding behind a large decorative vase next to the coat closet. She was making quiet. whimpers and gasps as her batlike ears flicked back and forth as if she was trying to use them to achieve flight.

"Just like little Master Alex," she whispered as she rocked back and forth, clutching her tattered cloth dress as she became more visibly stressed as I walked closer to her and the front door. She moved out from behind the vase with tears in her large eyes.

"I'm going to find him, Tinsy, I promise." I stopped and smiled at the house elf, a thought entering my mind through the haze of fear and anger that had engulfed me for the evening. I quickly summoned a shirt from the laundry room nearby. One of Vanessa's nice blouses in burgundy and elegant gold patterns flew into my hand. I could not have planned this better if I tried. "Here Tinsy, I think you would look nice in this."

Tinsy's watery eyes widened as she reached out and took the blouse reverently from Audrey's grasp. "Mistress Audrey has given Tinsy a shirt…" Tinsy trembled before rushing into my arms with a muffled cry. "Tinsy is free!"

Tinsy was a warm, sensitive soul who did not deserve to stay in this house. Vanessa could raise her own children, it wouldn't kill her.

"We're both free. You to live your life as you see fit, and me to find my brother. Take care of yourself Tinsy."

I gave Tinsy one final squeeze before standing up and grabbing my suitcase.

"Yes, Mistress," Tinsy wiped her nose on her tattered cloth dress and sniffled loudly. Her new blouse draped over her arm lovingly.

"It's just Audrey." I gave a small wave before I closed the door behind me. The last thing I heard from the house was a sentence being whispered like a prayer.

"As Tinsy sees fit. As Tinsy sees fit."

Oo0Oo0

Author's Note: As long as this hellsite lives I am compelled to publish apparently. Now the story is slow paced but will pick up in a few chapters.

I got my first degree in politics and have an interest in political scandals, which helped lay out some of the foundations for this story. It will cover the time period of the books 5-7 as a trilogy. This is different then my usual material and easier to write at work because it's first person. It's also more... mature in a lot of ways to my other work. The rating will change at some point should that become the case.

But I also have the focus of an excitable dog, so we'll see how long it takes to put up.

Sidenotes: I think Voldemort achieved some recognition outside of the UK but not the fear, hence the use of the name in this chapter.

The ancestral Graves family home is called the Byrgen House- Byrgen means "grave" or "tomb".