A/N: Enjoy this chapter!
The sands of time swirled through his mind... It seemed to take shape - no. Alas, it was only his imagination. The Sahara desert was not usually his preferred travel destination, but it was far away from his normal area of operations and, right now, that was precisely what he needed. After much thought, and days of isolating himself from human contact entirely, Albus decided that he needed to earn some income, all while paying a visit to a mystical oasis that he had so often read about.
It was a scorching hot day but the problem was defused by a quick cooling charm. There's nothing more satisfying than a shade under the scorching heat, coupled with a glass of cold water. He sensed footsteps, streams of consciousness, in the surroundings. Nothing magical though, as it appeared to be the passing of a Tuareg rider. Should it need be, Albus had the ability to disguise himself. He had plenty of practice in the past.
He struggled to shake off the thought of the time turner, perpetually lingering in the corners of his mind. It is not as if he wasn't aware of the perils of time traveling and creating potential paradoxes— but part of him scoffed at concerns about imperiling the present. The present offered him nothing. He was an isolated man, with a few tenuous contacts and commercial contracts here and there, perhaps a few old friends who did not think ill of him (though he often wondered if, much like Lawrence, they feared him instead) a little nephew who had not yet figured out what a shitty human being he is and parents who—
No. It had been weeks, months, even years since Albus last pondered about Harry and Ginny Potter. How was Head Auror Potter, indeed? His latest glimpse of the papers seemed to indicate that the man was alive and well, but how well really was dad? Maybe there was an element of guilt but Albus could not bring himself to comprehend it. He had screwed up in every possible way and chances of reconciliation were waning— blood may be thicker than water but blood ties are meaningless when stretched too thin. No doubt Harry viewed him as an international criminal that must be hunted down. Whatever qualms the man had needed to be dispelled because his job demanded it. Was he heartbroken —? And Ginny, mother, bless her, what would she think of him now? Ginny, who was always so accommodating, so understanding, no doubt she would want to disown him too if she had known the truth. Both his parents, did they know?
But if he had that Time Turner, would he be able to fix everything? A quick act of drugging Delphi on that fateful day, coupled with a few targeted assassinations, pre-warnings, quick reconciliation with Scorpius—
He was getting ahead of himself, letting his imagination run wild. But what if it were true? What if something could be done? It was so mind-numbingly tempting.
He would be home for Christmas, chatting merrily with his father about the happenings of the world, getting admonished like a child by his mother over another round of playful banter with James, as Lily laughs in the corner… He'd be able to meet his nieces and nephews in a not so illicit situation — he had picked up from the tabloids that James had had even more children, the madman — and maybe even have children of his own, being doted uncontrollably by Grandma Weasley. Rose and Scorpius would be there too and it would be as if nothing had happened. It would —
What would they say if they came face to face with him today?
~X~
Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Celina Warbeck was always enjoyable. It was the only class where Nigel really got to spend time with Dora — she had insisted on him calling her "Dora" these days.
A relative of the famous singer Celestia Warbeck, their professor was both profoundly proud of being an ex-Auror and a member of Ravenclaw house — there were rumors she could take over from Flitwick when he retires — and exceedingly irritated when someone tried to ask about her Aunt's singing career.
His current lesson was about gnomes and imps, but because Conrad kept asking supposedly "completely and philosophical questions," the conversation and content took a detour.
"Professor, say if we accidentally, you know stumbled upon the cure for a complete memory wipe that was simultaneously actually psychological torture, what would be the ethics and, well, level of classification of the spell?"
"Boot, let's stick of practicals — and on topic, please…"
Nigel would hear snickering at the back of the classroom. He frowned as he thought he heard Dora join in with them. It was an interesting topic. He wasn't sure why she was all sneering and obnoxious about a legitimate topic of debate. She was whispering to Ana, who was whispering to another guy. They were smirking at each other and pointing fingers, only to promptly pretend nothing happened when Warbeck laid her eyes on them.
Professor Warbeck began delving into ways to dispatch Conrad's questions after the introductory comments on what the Dark Arts consist of and why one should not delve into them, no matter how curious and tempting ("It's never just research. It may seem like it at first, but some knowledge is best left untampered. Believe me, I've seen things as an Auror.") It seemed to at least partially satiate Conrad's curiosity, although Nigel eventually had to pull the guy to stop him from saying something even more weird and also so everyone could start learning what they were actually supposed to learn.
Soon classes resumed. The upside: it was all fairly easy content, because Nigel had plenty of experience helping his mother in the gardens. The downside: for some inexplicable reason, Professor Warbeck seemed particularly fond of picking on him.
"Throwing back Wizard Crackers," Nigel responded neutrally. "And the Knockback Jinx, of course."
"And what's that?" Professor Warbeck would then stare at Nigel with an inscrutable curiosity.
Even after class Warbeck would as him to stay behind and ask him inscrutable questions.
"I— I'm not sure why the state of my grandfather is of particular concern… I— I know you worked under him but—"
Her gaze looked rather pensive.
"Say hi to him and your mother, will you?"
"Yes, professor. I'll be sure to send in a good word."
"Yes… yes…" she murmured.
~X~
Dora's attitude was really starting to get on his friends' nerves. Karen had, by now, swiftly concluded that she was no longer worth their time in terms of hanging out, while Conrad had long stopped inviting her to their Ravenclaw trivia nights. Yiannis and Nigel were the only ones in their friend group who would still chat with her amicably but increasingly, it seemed that she no longer preferred their company. Perhaps that was how things were supposed to develop as everyone settled into their Houses and friend groups solidified, but Nigel did miss the nights when Dora would sneak out with him using the Maurader's map and into the kitchens.
These days, she no longer approached them in the Ravenclaw table anymore and was often found lingering near Ana and Maggie. Nigel shook his head as he complained to Yiannis, "I don't know why she is ignoring us these days…"
"Nigel, you can't seriously wonder why, right?" Yiannis explained calmly. "Certainly not after the disaster in our common room that night."
"But I didn't accuse her of doing anything! We didn't! But she's still ignoring us — in favor of Maggie! Maggie!" Nigel felt rather indignant. He was mildly guilty of the comment but, in truth, he was rather offended that Dora would rather be friends with Maggie than him and his lot.
Thus commenced a debate between Nigel Potter and Yiannis Papadakis that lasted throughout their entire journey to the owlry. It had been a few days since Nigel last wrote to his parents and they were getting rather impatient, not to mention uncomfortably curious. Dad had asked him how Hogwarts had been, when he'd finally start blowing up and sending over toilet seats (probably to mother's dismay), what places he had explored with the Marauder's Map, how the "nerds at Ravenclaw" normally "functioned" (another one his mother would be displeased with), whether he had set any Firecrackers on the Slytherins (something his mother would indubitably have been furious about), what classes he enjoyed sleeping through and whether he had the chance to sneak onto the Quidditch pitch just yet. Mother's questions were decidedly much more mundane but not less comforting. Soon, however, their topic of conversation had completely veered off course from Dora and Maggie.
"I'd love to do the exchange program with Castelobruxo some day," Yiannis remarked, "I've always wanted to study in the jungles of the Amazon."
"They've got a great Herbology department too AND probably one of the best Care for Magical Creatures department in the whole world," Nigel added.
"I've heard there are still muggle tribes in the Amazon that are uncontacted with the other muggles in Brazil. Apparently, they all know about Wizards. There's no Statute of Secrecy there at all! Dad said he wished he had raised us there."
"I wonder how things would be like if there was no Statute of Secrecy… Theoretically, it could mean the Ministry of Magic would merge with the muggle governments," Nigel hypothesized.
"Apparently the muggles in the Amazon would go to Castelobruxo to be treated for disease."
"Wow, I mean, there are some muggle diseases that magic could definitely cure. My Aunt Lily used to say that all the time."
"Imagine that, at a much lower price too—"
Before Yiannis could finish his sentence they heard a voice yell in the distance. "Furnunculus!" It seemed to shout with glee. Dora.
They both rushed forward and saw a boy in a Hufflepuff scarf, face covered in boils. "Hey stop that!" Nigel yelled.
"Nigel!" Maggie waved at him out of the blue. "What brings you near the owlry?" She smiled widely.
"Um, care to explain, Dora, Maggie" — there two other girls with them but Nigel couldn't remember their names — "why you guys are doing this to him?"
"Oh come on, he wouldn't stop staring at Jemima! She was getting creeped out!—"
"I was only trying to ask for directions—"
"—Whatever," Dora said with a shrug. "Jacob, stop following us."
"I'm not following —"
"What's the problem?" Nigel turned to Jacob. "Need any help?"
"I… I was looking for the owlry. I need to send letters to my parents," Jacob explained shyly. He was slightly plump and overweight and seemed to be rather upset.
"There you go, you could have just helped him—"
Meanwhile, Yiannis had quickly casted a counter-charm and reversed the boils on Jacob's face, who appeared rather grateful.
Maggie sighed, "Alright Jacob. We're sorry. It was a drastic misunderstanding." Jacob smiled weakly back at girls. He seemed a little intimidated.
"Yeah, we're sorry Jacob," another girl remarked. "Just, don't stare that way. Just… you know, ask us directly…" She elbowed Dora, who finally relented.
"I'm sorry too, Jacob. Actually… um it was… never mind. Sorry," Dora muttered.
"Oh Merlin, Francis was joking about inviting us to the Third-Year parties if we casted a Furnunculus curse on a Hufflepuff!" The last girl in the group finally remarked after an uncomfortable. "He's not going to invite us anyway!"
"Not you guys," Maggie stated, "But I, maybe."
Nigel couldn't stand this and rolled his eyes. "You guys are hexing people to get invited to parties?!"
"Ugh, don't be such a killjoy Nigel, most of us have other things to do rather than studying." Maggie waved her hand and the rest of the girls followed her.
After she left, Yiannis and Nigel took Jacob to the owlry and the three promptly delivered their letters. "I don't understand girls," Nigel complained. "Why are they so weird and mean?"
"Your cousin is a negative influence on Dora," Yiannis observed. "Her penchant of hanging out with upperclassmen is giving the rest of her First-Year friends insecurity issues."
"Who cares? Doesn't mean you should randomly hex — Jacob, I'm so sorry about what's happened, I—"
"It's okay, they'll grow out of it," Jacob said. He didn't seem particularly angry. "My sister was kind of mean and she's only three years older than them. Thanks so much guys for taking me to the owlry. Gotta admit, I'm still kind of new to this whole magic thing. I finally got my owl — Athena — Athena?! Oh crap! Where's she gone now?! Anyways, hit me up if you guys ever want to sneak into the kitchens, my dorm is pretty close by— no Athena, no! That's not— No! Come back Athena! I haven't attached the letter yet!"
Nigel and Yiannis were torn between laughing and helping the guy get his owl back. The conundrum lasted half an afternoon and ended in tears of laughter for all. Soon, he had forgotten the altercation with Dora and Maggie.
~X~
"Your teammate Tobias is still incapacitated. In the meantime, I'll be his replacement," Thomas announced (possibly through gritted teeth) to the group. Not all of them were pleased, Neil noticed, particularly Cynthia.
"Welcome abroad," Neil responded curtly before going up to shake the Director's hand. It was the most polite thing to do. There was a quick glimpse between him and Cynthia and Morrison.
"Does this mean you'll be in charge instead of him?" Morrison blurted out, curious. He received a covert kick from one of his teammates— as to which one, he wasn't paying enough attention to determine that, but the suspects are numerous…
"Oh of course not! I have full faith in Neil Nott's … leadership qualities. Just treat me like one of you guys," Thomas said with a slightly contrived grin.
"Well, thanks. That's more than I do," Neil said with a snort.
"Only because he's had none in the first place," Cynthia couldn't resist a joke.
"Ah, I see, she's as insubordinate as usual."
Somehow that made everyone laugh.
~X~
The addition of Thomas of the team threw everything out of balance again — just as the delicate state of things was slowly stabilizing, Neil noted with dismay. There was no way they could continue their sideway investigation on what actually transpired that night without alerting their higher ups to suspicious activity.
"Well, Neil, are we still going ahead with it?" She had pressed him, slightly anxious.
"I— We have to be delicate. Very, very delicate. But I'm convinced we could be onto something big," he admitted.
"I'll help. The rest can too—"
"No, Lily, too risky. Cynthia was pretty close with Thomas. Morrison is, well, Morrison…"
"That's fine. It'll be just us then."
"Just us then. And kept under a low profile…"
~X~
"You know Lily, I was, well, informed my great-great-whatever grandmother Primrose that this supposed leader of the Sons of Walpurgis was trying to make… a Horcrux."
Lily had evidently heard of that word somewhere — Neil wasn't sure how — as she clasped her mouth in horror. "No way!"
"Well, I take it your father must have told you something about it…"
"Yeah, not the details of course, just that he had to destroy seven of them and that it's one of the foulest magical instruments in existence. You trap your soul in an object so you basically can't die —"
"Basically, yes, I was skeptical at first because half of the stuff great-great-great gran says is nonsense but I did cross-referenc that with a few books I brought from Knockturn Alley just to be sure and —"
"Neil, you did what?!"
"Never mind. Point is, it made sense. And for your information, the books I got didn't have anything to do with the instructions needed to make one. It was an alternative history book about the 'secrets' of the Second Wizarding War. It supposedly contains a lot of information classified by the Ministry and was written by an anonymous source within the Department of Secrets," Neil explained patiently. "Oh Sweet Merlin," he paused, "Morrison will never stop calling me a conspiracy theorist — anyways, yeah. There's a strong likelihood whoever was behind the Sons of Walpurgis was trying to do the same as well."
"I see."
"I… we have to start small. Ask around. The Department of Mysteries could be one, I—"
"That's actually how I found out about Horcruxes the first place, Neil. I had a friend there. They pulled a few strings."
"So your parents didn't tell you anything?"
"No, they didn't like talking about any of this. Plus, this was very, very Dark Magic and also very classified."
"Yeah, can't have the crazies running around trying to murder people and encase their souls in objects. Imagine if someone turned the Queen of England into a Horcrux!"
"…"
"Sorry that was a bad joke."
Lily rolled her eyes but chuckled.
~X~
Out of all his brother's friends from Hogwarts, Neil was closest to Douglas Bulstrode, who was, after all, his friend Martin's Quidditch teammate as well. He'd been to a couple of their games and they had played together, if only briefly, when their times at Hogwarts overlapped. The conversation was interesting, if rather unfruitful so far, vacillating between talk on Quidditch and Douglas chiding Neil for not pursuing a career in Quidditch.
"Honestly Neil, I was with you at Alumni Day. You could've been one of the best Seekers on the market… Man, don't know what you're thinking. What does your brother say?"
"Same thing," Neil admitted, biting his lip. Ah Lawrence… They have not spoken since that night — although his brother had begrudgingly conceded his reaction had been too harsh after Neil wrote a letter of apology. "I'll have to admit, I really missed playing Quidditch. It's nice seeing everyone that day too. So many faces to catch up with… so much has changed. Some of my classmates are doing things I would never have imagined."
"Yeah, at least your year didn't produce an international criminal."
There was an awkward silence. Neil had planned to bring up the topic of Albus Potter more subtly than that, but it seemed like the guy before him was already eager to talk.
"Look, Neil, I like you, you seem like a cool guy, but let's be real. I saw the news and I'm not blind to the kerfuffle around us. You wanted to ask me about Albus Potter. Everyone knows the Auror are all frantic about our fellowed esteemed ex-Housemate."
"Well, Douglas, if you say so," Neil admitted, "Have you heard anything about him?"
"Probably inasmuch as you have," came the explanation, " I know you're not some sort of Legilimens, like Albus, but I assure you I have no intention of deceiving you. But no, I have not been in touch with Al since"— Neil felt himself tense, anticipating Douglas's next words —"since, well, never mind. We haven't met for years."
"I take it that you were in touch with him before, like my brother was," Neil said, trying to prod for answers. "I was at Hogwarts so I wasn't with my family 24/7, but I knew the Sons of Walpurgis, everyone did. It was all the talk in our House. Mostly people who are terrified, concerned about their families out there… They were trying to recruit everyone, but everyone was more afraid than anything else—"
"Indeed, I received a lot of unsolicited mails and calls," Douglas responded. "It's… hard, dealing with them all. They started small but pretty soon they were threatening my parents too. I mean— By the way I can personally attest that Al is in no way connected to the Sons of Walpurgis. He did his best to pass on important information to me and all of his friends to forewarn us about potential attacks and members. He was also committed to everyone's safety and even suggested Auror protection. Of course I never took that up because things were never too serious for my family. We were never exactly Death Eaters."
That brought back certain unpleasant memories for Neil. "My family did, actually," Neil explained almost to himself, "You know— with our history... Of course, mother and father seriously considered relocating to safe place in Mallorca, I mean okay they literally did for a while, but my brother reckoned that would not have been enough to keep them safe. They reached him all the way in America. I was still in Hogwarts so they thought I would be safe, but — I — I did receive threatening messages and although no one I knew was particularly sympathetic to the Sons of Walpurgis, you can never be sure." He swallowed inadvertently, shutting his eyes and recalled the hushed halls of Hogwarts after someone had been attacked at Hogsmeade. The Dark Mark had shot through the sky, radiating nauseating green light, for the first time in years, even if it was a false alarm by all accounts. "But you know, at the same time, people were suspecting my family too. After all, our history is not as untainted as yours or other milder pureblood families. Even after we requested the help fo the Aurors. Mother suspected that they agreed in part to keep an eye on us. I had to meet with this guy— well, he's a director now — Director MacLaggen — actually, he's on my team but that's a story for another time — once every few weeks. He kept asking me question after question after question... Sometimes almost accusatorily... It sucks. Not being trusted and all. By anyone."
"Wow," Douglas said before Neil realized this was the first time he really had the chance to convey these feelings out loud. "Sounds like you got issues."
"Look, I'm not saying I joined the Aurors to prove anything — but"— one look at Douglas's skeptical face salted it —"Okay maybe that was part of the reason. Only a small part. Quidditch was fun but Quidditch players party way too hard for my liking — no offense! I liked the games but I don't think I could have dealt with the publicity. I mean, imagine being basically harassed by Witch Weekly!"
"You know Neil, you're supposed to be the one interrogating me," Douglas commented with a small, wry and amused smile. "I appreciate your heartfelt honesty, but I am afraid I don't think I can give you any information that would've helped except that I have strong suspicions that your brother has been in touch with Al, if only intermittently."
"And why is that?" Neil had possessed such speculations himself, but he needed to pull out concrete reasoning.
"Well, they were fairly good friends — not as close as Albus and Scorpius back in the day, but quite close, if only after Second-Year, when all the feuding and mutual bullying stopped because our Potions Master insisted on pairing them together in class," Douglas said, "No but that day — during Alumni day, your brother was there with us and he seemed ... off. We were all in the stands, but he left for Hogsmeade earlier than us. Said he wanted to save us a place at the bar. I arrived soon after the Quidditch match actually to maximize my chances of stocking up butterbear before the place gets too crowded and your brother was alone. Look I'm not 100% sure about it all but the seat next to him was still warm. And he looked like he was sweating a lot and had just dodged a bullet. Maybe, just maybe, he met up with someone?"
"Albus Potter?"
"Perhaps. Who else would it be?"
'Well, there's a lot of people my brother could've clandestinely met up with. But then again he wasn't even supposed to be at Hogwarts. He was supposed to be looking after great-great grandma— yes, that one." They both chuckled. "All of this is spurious evidence of course, but thank you for your time."
"Hey don't leave yet, there's a match between the Horned Hornets and the Holyhead Harpies. Watch it with me," Douglas offered, grinnning.
~X~
Morrison was at the hospital visiting Tobias again. This had almost become a weekly routine. The guy was drudged and uncomfortable and barely conscious, placed on multiple potions routines and looking pale as snow. It was almost Christmas. Only this time, the visit brought some good nows.
"They… they say they'll be able to discharge me, Morrison. I just need to take daily potions that will suppress my responses," Tobias said after taking a deep breath.
"Are you sure you'll be okay? You seem better but I can tell you're struggling…"
"Well, life has always been kind fo a struggle for me Morrison. I- you see - I'm - I'm a-"
"Maledictus," Morrison pointedly finished the sentence for him.
"How did you know?"
"I did some research. Your signs and symptoms bear resemblance to the descriptions."
"Right, you're a smart guy - I - "
"What can you turn into? By the way don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. No way in hell am I going to tell the rest of the team without your permission. I was just a little cur-"
"A dragon."
"WHAT?"
"I can turn into dragon. I mean - I - I will eventually turn into a dragon and never be able to turn back."
"That's… kind of cool."
Tobias rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah I've been told at times I'm a mood killer but damn! That's so cool!"
"What else would I expect," Tobias shrugged. "By the way if you want to share my apartment, one of my roommates just moved out and I would love another roommate to help cover the rent."
"Really, that's the first thing you -"
"Your a great guy Tobias, I think living with a dragon-dude is pretty cool-"
"Dude!"
"Okay, okay. Now, before you return to the team, let me try to keep you up to date with what we have been up to…."
~X~
Being put on the same team once again with Thomas MacLaggen had resurrected memories she had preferred to kept buried.
Her love-life so far since her suspension, with the range of mental health issues she was dealing with, was non-existent. But even before, with her all-consuming job as an Auror, none of her dates went anywhere. There were a few flings here and there but all romantic sentiments simply petered out without much tending effort.
Admittedly, she had a crush on several of her colleagues before. Nothing too serious.
Albus Potter was one initially: she thought him amicable, attractive and witty. Obviously a poor judge of character given hindsight but even after a few months of working with him, she realized there was a certain distance he put around him. Professional but never really letting his personal side slip, with a hint of paranoia and madness, coupled with, of course, brilliance, that only really became apparent after that night.
Thomas MacLaggen was a more raw subject. They often grabbed lunch and coffee together, not to mention all the all-nighters they pulled at the office alone when working on an assigned deadline. They also went to the same house at Hogwarts, played on the same Quidditch team and were placed on the same training course at the Aurors. Perhaps all of his signs were just a mirage, conjured up by Cynthia's oversensitive instincts because ultimately, it never went anywhere. Sure, they commiserated together when Albus had left (was kicked out of) the Aurors and all the talks ultimately led to a few drunken nights together, whispering comforts and fucking senselessly until they forgot everything. But after the disastrous incident in Romania when they failed to capture Albus, he grew more distant and began ignoring her calls and rejecting further invitations to hang out outside of work. After her probation, he cut her off entirely. Perhaps she reminded him of things he'd rather forget. Yet it never really was a relationship; there was no formal acknowledgement, just a few one-night stands that were naturally assumed to be friends with benefitting having fun.
And now when they met again, now when he's temporarily assigned to her team, he was reticent to speaking with her but, otherwise, acting as if nothing had happened. No explanation. No anything. No -
He preferred interacting with Lily, Morrison or even Neil over her.
While once before, they were close companions — even if not necessarily romantically intimate — they barely spoke now. They used to—
What did they used to—
Even on that fateful night, when everything ended in commotion he had comforted her and—
What had he done?
Wait—
What had actually happened?
Even upon their failed mission to capture — which failed — what
Cynthia scratched her head before she realized something was really wrong. There were gaps in her memory, deliberately buried, removed, relocated. Someone did this to her and perhaps Thomas too. She could not recall why.
~X~
"Teddy! What brings you heard?" Thomas greeted the guy excitedly. Neil and Cynthia nodded politely in his direction too. Lily enveloped him in a hug and they exchanged greetings and platitudes. They had always been pretty close, it so seemed.
Neil had always respected Teddy. He had briefly directly worked under the guy and Teddy was courteous and kind, as well as a competent Auror. There were talks that he could eventually succeed the famed Harry Potter.
"Actually, I'm here for Neil," Teddy replied, smiling.
"Right," Thomas remarked and Neil thought he could hear Cynthia snicker.
"There's a case I want your team to work on, one involving the entourage of a famous singer you might know."
Neil sighed. He knew where this was going to go. "Please don't tell me this is shenanigans involving Cornelius. I don't think I could deal with his giant ego and I'm not sure how I survived my last encounter with him…" Lily chuckled. She too had been exposed to the frivolous antics of Cornelius Mulciber once upon a time, probably, when he tried to sign at Scorpius Malfoy's wedding while high as a kite and was promptly dragged off by his embarrassed manager. Neil had no idea why so many middle-aged witches were so fond of him.
"This is a serious matter. His concert organizer was found dead last night inside his apartment. We suspect homicide but this case needs to be investigated. Your team has the most appropriate schedule and skillsets to take on the bulk of the work. That and Cornelius kept insisting that someone was trying to murder him and requested full Auror protection."
Neil nodded. Glancing at the team around him, who looked ready, he replied "we're on it."
~X~
"I'm writing another letter to my brother. I—"
"Is this about our investigation again?"
"No. I mean, partly, but not really. I just… I kind of miss him."
"I know how you feel, Neil."
"Yeah, I—"
"We don't have to ask him anything if this makes you uncomfortable."
"Well, this is important, albeit not the case we're currently assigned on—"
"It's okay. Just… I wonder… maybe there are times when you're supposed to put family ahead of everything else."
"You're right, Lily, I've— all this time I've thought about how he could help me with my career but it all sounds so… wrong." Neil stood up and pulled the blinds over the Whiteboard containing a web of convoluted notes about their sideways investigation. "The truth will come out when it does."
"In the meantime, before we have to get back to work again, you free to watch the match between Applebee Arrows and Chudley Cannons?"
"Oh yes, it's on! The Arrows are taking it!"
"I'm not so sure about that!"
"Loser of the bet pays for the drinks!"