"Your White Russian, miss. I'll add that to your tab, shall I?"

"Please," Hermione said, raising the glass in a small toast of appreciation for her barkeep. Norman was a decent enough guy, but he made the best drinks in town. That was about the only thing that kept her coming back to this dive; the Fox and Chicken wasn't anything on the Three Broomsticks, but it was closer to where she tended to work. Well, that, and Rosmerta wasn't around to learn the fine art of the White Russian anymore, and her replacement...well, frankly, he could mess up butterbeer--a talent in its own twisted sort of way. She checked her watch--a gift from an old friend--and sighed in agitation. "Norman, what time is it?"

"Time to get a new watch, Miss Granger," he said, not looking up from the glass he was cleaning, but pointing to the clock over his shoulder. Of course, in getting lost in her own musings, she'd completely blanked about the perfectly-functional clock well within plain sight. "You ever gonna replace that old thing?"

"As soon as I remember to, Norman," she sighed. "Love to chat, but I must be going; what's the tab?"

She paid off tonight's total, then headed out to hail a taxi. It was slower, but wasn't quite so attention-getting as a woman behind the wheel fresh out of a pub. Besides, explaining that to Muggle Relations would be a challenge in its own right. Once she had the cab, she gave it directions to the apartment complex over by Carle Park. She could check in with her superiors and ensure there wasn't anything particularly special to bring up at tonight's meeting, and also wait for the other two to arrive. Duty tended to be rather punctual...but then again, she didn't have a Muggle job to hold her down. Compassion, on the other hand, was stuck in a Muggle library. Fascinating as the job was, sometimes the other staff could be something of a challenge. Thankfully, that could be worked around in a pinch without bending too many rules.

She was disappointed to still not see Cho's car in the parking lot, when she arrived at her destination. When she got in, she placed a call to Duty, asking what she knew of the situation. Thankfully, that seemed to resolve itself in short order, and it was only a few minutes between then and Compassion's arrival, flourished by a rather hasty (and surprisingly good) parallel-parking job. She was doubly relieved to see Duty with her, though she couldn't say why; she had always been trustworthy, and being a Shadowshade didn't seem to have changed that. She waved them over to the seventh oak from the right, then tapped it seven times. As they approached, a root split open, revealing a shallow, narrow stone staircase descending into the ground. She didn't risk the flashlight until after she was already belowground, making her way to the small conference room in the back. After lighting the fire in the fireplace and getting a few candles, she went back and motioned for the others to follow. When they had, the root closed up above them, effectively sealing them in.

"I'm glad you could make it. Sorry about the short notice, but word from Headquarters is spotty at best, these days."

"What do you mean, 'spotty'? Aren't you the Ministry's direct affiliate for us?" Compassion asked, a little nervous tension creeping into her voice. She had always been under the impression that they were working directly for the Ministry of Magic. Was she wrong?

"Of course she is; we just tend to get a bit more free-reign than the others do. Even the Aurors are jealous of us--though never out loud. And no, I'm not reading their minds," Duty added nonchalantly, turning to face Honesty. "It's rather difficult to read minds when their surface thoughts are screaming. But you'd know all about that, now, wouldn't you?"

"All the same," Honesty replied stiffly, shooting a glare at Duty through her mask, "remember that you still stand on shaky ground. Every Shadowshade in the Ministry's employ does. Keep current with your tests, make sure you keep your crystal on you at all times except when necessary, and never force your Watcher to do anything particularly dangerous. Speaking of which..." She turned to Compassion, who seemed to be slightly uncomfortable next to her fellow agent. "When was Duty's most recent test?"

"On the way here. Would you like another test, for your records?" She produced her own crystal pendant--wrapped in a faintly-glowing silver wire--and prepared herself for the test. This time, it was Duty's turn to look nervous as Honesty nodded.

"You know the procedure, Luna. Remove your mask, and present your arm for the test."

She sighed a bit, grimacing slightly as she removed her mask and rolled up her robe sleeve. Sure enough, there was a blackish-violet mark from a previous test that still looked fresh enough to be from within the past two hours, though it was slowly healing. "Hell of a beauty mark," she chuckled grimly, then winced as her Watcher applied the crystal to her skin. "So, where's your Watcher, anyhow? Shouldn't she be here with you?"

Honesty cleared her throat. "She will be with us shortly. She had another task to tend to before she could join us this evening. Given the nature of the task, I thought it prudent to leave her be. Let the records show, however," she added, presenting her marked arm, "that I have also been tested recently. Naturally, if it would make you feel better, I'll also re-sit the test."

While this conversation was going on, Compassion was concentrating on the test itself. By all appearances, all she did was touch the crystal to her skin. The problem was that one had to maintain contact to determine the extent of the corruption...and Shadowshades tended to argue, so maintaining a hold on the subject was necessary. Unfortunately, that also tended to invite the attention of the corruptive influence of the Curse, which could be spread by touch. With crystal in such close proximity, the chances of corruption spreading--or even increasing in cursed victims--was minimal at best, but the whispered voices she sometimes heard when she tested someone was more than a little unnerving. Thankfully, Luna wasn't as far gone as some of the subjects they'd captured shortly after the Final Battle, and she shuddered inwardly at the memory. When she heard the voices, and made note of the volume, she sat back. "No change in level, Honesty. She's only been without her crystal once in the past week, and that was to execute her assignment. It was a necessity of duty, and she recovered it as soon as her assignment was completed."

"Honestly, Honesty, does she have to go through all that every time she gives a report?"

"Yes, and more when she's giving an official report to the Magisters. If she doesn't, then that's one more strike against us, and we've so little trust to work on anyway. Push them too far, and the consequences are too dire to imagine. Remember," she added as she took off her own mask with her other hand, "we are almost immortal, but far from indestructable."

"Immortal, eh? I don't think anyone ever mentioned that little perk," Luna said, smiling lightly as she pulled her robe sleeve back down, wincing one last time as her finger brushed the second test mark. "Might make this whole thing worth it, after all."

"It comes with a price, Duty. Everything about the Shadowshade curse does. That's why the Ministry encourages us to use our...abilities...as little as possible. They were actually somewhat displeased when they learned that you used them on the Malfoy assignment."

"Oh, come off it, Honesty! You and I both know that it was the one way that had an almost guaranteed success rate, whether or not the poison did its work. Besides, if we weren't supposed to use it, then why'd you develop the Living Golem spell?"

"Because I knew there would be times when it was inevitable," she replied stiffly, brushing some invisible lint off her robes with her free hand and managing to bite back a gasp as the crystal left her skin. The quick bite of cold was always something of a shock, no matter how often she was tested. "And for your information, I never said I agreed with them. While I don't think we should be...using our abilities for every little thing, I honestly believe our jobs would be much easier if we were permitted free use of them on certain assignments. The Malfoy case was a perfect example of this."

Compassion cleared her throat. "As lovely as this discussion is, ladies, I think we should save it for another time. I think we have a guest." She pointed back towards the doorway, from which a faint tapping sound could be heard over the crackling fire.