August 19, 1996

The office was… different. Rearranged. Eddie's desk was gone, it had been replaced by a door with a shiny golden plaque on it while one of the men from magical maintenance was making final adjustments to the door and revealing spellwork. It was the traditional office used for the Senior Undersecretary, but Eddie liked to be in the trenches with Percy and I so it had been hidden away to better take advantage of the space.

In the middle of the room was the woman I assumed to be the mysterious Dolores Umbridge who was speaking with Percy and Scrimgeour. She was a squat woman with mousy brown hair clad in pink, who bore an uncanny resemblance to a toad from a children's book my mother had read to me as a girl. The matching pink bow in her hair was garish and her sick, simpering giggle when speaking to Minister Scrimgeour made my stomach turn. I could see Percy standing nearby, nodding to every word she said about her experience at Hogwarts, none of it was complimentary about the staff, school or students.

I would expect some loyalty to one of the oldest wizarding schools in the world, but that was not my place.

My half-written letter to Irene was being constantly reshuffled in my head, I knew Beth was going to visit her this weekend and I thought it might just be easier to send my letter of salacious gossip with her instead of sending it through the mail. The old women could read it over crumpets and frankly, I was probably going to need advice on how to handle Umbridge. I was certain I could, but a woman who had no issue torturing children, according to rumor, was an entirely different beast than a man who would forget my existence.

Frankly, I just wanted to go home and finish putting the pictures Elizabeth Fudge had given me of my mother into a photo album. I had been struggling with how to organize them and was getting more from Lucinda, the oddness of seeing my mother as a happy child never really faded and it was hard to work on at points. I always found my mind wandering about what my life would be like if she had not died while I was so young. I needed a break from my own listing of potential locations for Alex, who was hopefully laying low like I was. Though, I had a closet dedicated to the articles I had collected with a map and a series of tacks and strings that marked his known locations that were identical to the one in Lucinda's office at Thornell. The map hung behind the door to haunt me with its obligation and my fears.

I had been in touch with Valencia Talbott, mostly through letters as she looked for anyone named Thalia in local newspapers, births, and obituaries mainly. After all, babies with pretentious or silly names always ended up in the papers. So far, she had found nothing, but she sent me a list of names to check at the Ministry so I could examine their family trees. Which I explained to a very nosy Percy as helping my great-aunt find a long lost relative to leave her home to as the Averys kept ending up in Azkaban. He let me be after that. It was was always awkward to discuss jailed extended relations, he did not need to know that Harrow, who remained the closest male relative had yet to be in trouble with the law. Frankly, I hoped he had stolen some candy in his youth for the sake of Lucinda's health.

There was a gruff noise from Scrimgeour that sounded so like my father I felt myself jump to attention.

"Audrey, come meet Madam Umbridge," Scrimgeour motioned me over the way my father would when introducing me to one of his work friends.

I did as I was bid.

The closer I got to Madam Umbridge, the worse I felt. There was ill intent in her bearing, something that she tried to mask with a girlish, coy expression and blisteringly pink wardrobe. The pitch of her voice grated on my ears and Irene's words came back to me with the force of an exploding quaffle.

"A pleasure to meet you," she appraised me with her beady eyes and I forced a pleasant smile in turn. I knew this game. I learned it at Vanessa's knee.

Ignorance.

Become the desk lamp you are destined to be.

"The pleasure is mine, Madam Umbridge. I've heard so many good things about you and all you've accomplished in the Improper Use of Magic Office and what you've done at Hogwarts of course."

It felt so slimy…!

She knew very little about me, but I imagined that I knew more about her from the rumor mill of the secretarial department. Secretaries knew everything and the old women tended to try and look after the younger ones.

I would ask for more concrete details at the meeting today.

"The Minister," she seemed to simper at an uncaring Scrimgeour who was engaging with Percy on some matter and not even looking in our direction, "has told me so much about you."

That couldn't be good.

"All good things I hope?"

If I could ooze, I swear…!

The combination of Percy and Umbridge had been the final straw for Irene to leave. I had Percy managed, he was not odious to me, though he did still glare at Nobby Clark whenever he came to deliver memos and chat with me about the a historic site that was being uncovered in the swamps of Lousiana. We shared a mutual historical interest in what was being uncovered, mine was in the magical practices of the area, Nobby's was in the realm of magical history. We were often able to exchange a few minutes of notations of the matter before Nobby would lock eyes with Percy and make a break for the elevator.

"Yes, yes they were."

She looked at me like she was filing me away for later use.

Though I can't say I was doing any different.

Oo0Oo0

The secretarial staff had a group meeting every two weeks to touch base and have a nice lunch. It was a way for the Head of our department to ensure that we were content with our positions, needed time off, wanted to move to a new department or generally needed advice.

Susanna Waldrope was a middle aged woman with dark skin, glasses and carefully styled hair. She was a first generation immigrant, her family migrating from South Africa before she was born. She generally worked in the Department of Mysteries, traditionally she would be in a major department on one of the main floors but she was not convinced that she could send one of her girls down to the basement where they would be eaten by a giant plant or something. She was generally happy to leave me in the Minister's office due to my previous work history, the fact that I had not murdered Percy and she could not stand Umbridge.

Which was one of the reasons I was attending this meeting.

Also for the food.

I was starving.

Inside of the conference room there was a table against the wall with an assortment of homemade sweets, a fruit and cheese plate, a salad and a collection of nice breads. A nearby table held containers of juice and hot water for tea. I felt my mouth water as I got in line behind Millie and Beth who greeted me with warm smiles before returning to their complaints about some idiot clerk from Beth's department. Behind me I could hear Susanna whispering about the war with Althea Cartwright, the latest news about a rumored attack on muggles somewhere in south London.

I loaded up my plate with an assortment of food, sampling the cheese with a happy grin akin to a successful mouse on a kitchen raid. It was delightful. I had been living on sandwiches of various kinds to the extent that Percy had commented on it when we had lunch together. I traded him the apple I brought for the grapes from his own lunch out of a need for something different. I considered stealing a baked potato he brought last week under a particularly powerful warming charm. That thing looked delicious! He had extra butter!

After loading my plate, I took a seat next to Millie who was sipping herbal tea with a contented expression. She set her mug on the table with a soft sigh and looked over at me, a seriousness in her eyes.

"I heard Umbridge is back from Saint Mungo's."

I nodded, "She seems… pleasant."

Millie's brown eyes rolled so fast I thought they would spin out of her head. "Pleasantly parasitic."

"Devastatingly devious." I liked this game. I would have to start playing it in the office again. I had stopped when Percy had developed from peevish to pleasant and it became less fun to find words that start with P to describe him in annoyance.

Millie chuckled and slid one of her cookies to my plate as Beth from transportation, (who really liked my accent), sat across from us with a curious expression.

"You two talking about Umbridge?"

We nodded, I quickly informed Beth that she was officially back in the Minister's office after her year at Hogwarts and months of therapy. Beth's brow furrowed, her grey hair looked like a pale storm cloud as strands escaped her tight bun. She fixed her gold rimmed glasses and gave me a pitying look.

"I can get you to my department if you can't handle her! Noah needs a personal assistant, it would be a promotion, and he's single!"

"He's thirty, Beth!" Millie jumped in for me before I could say anything myself. "She's eighteen! I doubt Noah's that kind of cradle robber!"

"Ah!" Beth covered her mouth quickly in shock, her face flushed. "Sorry, love, I thought you were at least twenty three."

"It's fine!" I laughed before taking a sip of water. "I feel older at points. Not thirty though. Maybe twenty five."

Beth chuckled, "You're so young, and I think you're too smart for Noah, bless him. If the Minister's office keeps hiring the wonderkids, what will our departments do?"

Millie shrugged, "Guess we'll get them when they realize what a work-life balance is and slow down."

Beth gave me a probing stare, she really wanted me in her department.

"Mine is fine, Percy doesn't like to share paperwork."

"So, if I wanted to spend more time with my grandchildren, I'd have to get Weasley Junior in my department, is that what you're telling me?"

I nodded, both of us knowing he would not take what he would view as a demotion.

"I knew Irene was pulling my leg. She just didn't want to go to the porcelain through the ages display, she said Weasley threw some stuff at her last minute."

Irene made Percy sound far worse than he was.

Though, judging by Eddie's comment at the wedding, Percy may just be exceptionally nice to me. No. I had to get my thoughts off of that. I had to focus. I had a whole list of other things I needed to manage and a fairly pleasant young man with a nice smile was not one of those things.

He would have a happier life for not getting involved with me and I would not have to fuss over his motives, even if I knew intellectually that Percy was not politically savvy enough to take advantage of an opportunity a first daughter with daddy issues would present.

I could not even risk putting myself in a position that vulnerable.

"So, what's the deal with Umbridge?" I asked before popping a grape into my mouth, savoring the sweetness on my tongue.

"Well…" Beth looked around and motioned Susanna over to take the empty seat next to her. "Susie, you'll want to take this one!"

"She's a demon!" Susanna said as she went to sit at the head of the table a few chairs up from me.

Okay.

"She's been with the Ministry for years, scheming her way to power through any means she could manage. Irene lasted where you are because she's old, climbed as high as she wanted and was blunt about it. You're young, pretty and can string a sentence together. She's going to try and remove you, be stupid and you may get to keep your job."

"I don't even think I want to stay with the Ministry long term."

Susanna shrugged, "Then she'll try to remove you quickly. She enjoys it, like a cat playing with a mouse."

"She terrorized any secretary who worked under her." Beth stated with a roll of her eyes, "She kept trying to marry up into power when she started here, but she's such an odious creature that thankfully that never worked out. I shudder to thing what would be like as a department head's wife, constantly butting into office business or slipping nasty advice to a husband to fire some poor girl who she saw as a threat."

"It's the power," Susanna said firmly, her dark eyes flashing over to Jiera Patel from the Improper Use of Magic Office who looked as if she were having a horrible flashback while she held a grape frozen an inch from her face like a statue. "If she ever found someone stupid enough that would have been a lot worse, though stupid people are often blessed with some sense of morals."

Jiera put the grape back on her plate and leaned back in her chair. "She's a work thief, yes I said it, she took full credit for everything and I let her do it to get her out as the head of my department and put Anika in charge. She was a terror, I'm sorry for sending her up the ladder but it was the only thing I could think of to get her away from us."

By the Twelve. There was going to be some kind of reckoning upstairs and I was going to be right in the heart of it.

"Sorry you're in this mess, Audrey." Jiera smiled awkwardly and held out a cookie to me. "Biscuit?"

I thanked her for the cookie and bit into it slowly as more stories about Umbridge were whispered around the table and more sympathetic looks were aimed in my direction.

The meeting was soon called to order, Susanna reviewing safety protocols that had been issued by the the Ministry to the public and opportunities for spell education that were being provided for Ministry staff by members of Law Enforcement. Millie Thorpe was quick to add that it was the desk workers teaching the class and she was not convinced they could cast a shield charm and it may be safer to buy some hats from the Weasley shop in Diagon Alley. Couldn't cast a shield charm? That was concerning.

The meeting was called to a close at the top of the hour and soon there was a crowd at the door to head back to the various offices when a sharp voice caught my attention

"Oh blast!"

"What is it, Toula?" I asked as she stepped away from the door to check the time on a pocket watch.

"I need to deliver these schematics to Mr. Weasley, not yours, his father about some new type of sham protection charm the department's been trying to break, but I need to take my son to an appointment at Saint Mungo's."

"I could deliver the schematics for you. It's on my way."

"Oh thank you!" She pressed them into my hands and ran out the door leaving me holding a large folder and the leftover cookies I had wrapped in a napkin. I put the cookies in my pocket, and said a quick farewell to Millie and Beth before leaving on my errand.

Oo0Oo0

The Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects was such a long title they had to put the office plaque on the wall next to the door instead of on the door itself.

I knew this was the new department run by Percy's father, Scrimgeour was more proactive then Fudge and one of the first things he did was promote Arthur Weasley from Muggle Artifacts to head this larger department, saying that he needed people he could trust to find these items and Arthur already knew all of the Muggle baiters who would probably make the jump to this new wartime industry.

I had to admit that I was curious about what Percy's father was like.

The office was a busy one, I counted ten people collectively working on disenchanting items and taking notes on the spellcraft, probably looking for common links to a manufacturer of sham spells. One older man recoiled from what appeared to be a shocker spell to help prevent probing before cursing loudly in response to his singed fingers and going back for another round out of agitation and vengeance.

I was quickly pointed to the door at the back of the room, which should have been plainly obvious to my simple mind but I digress.

I knocked on the door, the voice on the other side gave me permission to enter. Even muffled, Arthur sounded like a pleasant sort of man, a bit energetic from how quickly he responded.

"Mr. Weasley," I popped my head around the door to find a balding head of red hair hunched over an odd looking pendant while sitting at his desk. The necklace sparkled and spat magic like a hissing cat. The man looked up and I remembered how much he looked like Percy, though having more than a passing glance in the elevator helped immensely. Something in the tilt of his head was identical to his son, made more so by their physical similarities, including the glasses. "Toula sent me to drop some schematics off for her. She had to take her son to Saint Mungo's."

"Oh, I completely forgot about that," he stood up to take the spell plans from my outstretched hand while I admired the collection of oddly shaped metal devices on the walls and shelves. "Thank you, Miss…"

"Please call me Audrey." I ignored the furrowed brow, he had probably heard about the American in the Minister's office who worked with his estranged son.

He reached across the desk to shake my hand insisting that I call him Arthur as we finished the formalities.

I turned my attention to the assortment of artifacts on the walls. "What's all of this? Goblin craft?"

He followed my line of sight to his shelf of law and spell books that had strange metal items and long black tubes that came out the supposed back of the item. I had never seen goblin wear like that. Must be a local specialty. I'd have to ask Misty.

"No, no. These are muggle devices for cooking!" He stepped out from behind his desk to point at one that looked like a square on the top shelf. "That's called a 'toaster', they use it to make toast in less than two minutes."

I had just figured out how to make toast in a frying pan on the stovetop without burning it. It took at least five minutes to warm the pan. Maybe No-Majs were clever after all?

"Really? What's this thing at the end of this pipe?"

"A plug for the ektricity to make the toaster work. Marvelous these muggles. I have a collection of plugs, all different kinds."

I looked over to find a small box of these… ploogs? Pugs? Some had two prods, a couple had three and there were so many that the box was half full.

"How did you start collecting muggle items?"

"I took a Muggle Studies class at Hogwarts and became absolutely fascinated by the astounding ways they get on without magic."

I had never put a lot of thought into No-Majs, they existed, but the history between us and them in the United States did not lead to good feelings. Many wix had no interest in learning about No-Majs, even though the department that covered such things was well respected for helping us blend in as a secret society in areas where we overlapped. Scourers were still a threat, one often preached to young wix when discussions about playing with No-Maj children, marrying a No-Maj, or even just leaving our magical communities. One of the first spells taught at Ilvermorny was a memory charm.

We talked for a few more minutes, I was surprised by the depth of Arthur's knowledge on this other society that we lived alongside, though any amount of understanding would have been impressive as I was engaging in a conversation where I truly did not understand the topic. He seemed thrilled by the interest I was showing in these items which I got the impression he was hiding from his wife, like any reasonable man would.

A picture on his desk caught my attention, it was a family photograph of eight people in an expansive desert. The family all had red hair, the mother had a round pleasant face, the children all alternating between tall like their father and shorter, but more firmly built. Though, there seemed to be a gap somewhere in the middle as the little photo-family shuffled around, like something or someone had torn itself away. That must have been Percy's spot in the photo, so a family of nine with six sons and a young daughter despite what the picture implied. They seemed so happy, but I understood that pictures could lie. Magical photographs could banish an occupant at the whim of the pictures owner.

I knew I had been banished from my own families photographs, not the ones in the front hall for appearances, but any that were for the eyes of immediate family alone.

How ironic to see such a thing from the other side of the matter.

Was familial love always so conditional? It felt that way at points. A tired display of appearance and joy to keep nosy neighbors out of private matters. My father was good at wearing the mask of a nice man, who was to say Mr. Weasley was any different? Not everyone could be a Tavish, so easygoing and forthright.

Maybe I was petty? Maybe I wanted to poke at a situation so similar and different to my own? As if it would provide answers for what was going on in my father's internal world for my own peace of mind. AlI did not know for sure, but the words flew unbidden from my mouth.

"Is Percy your son or a nephew?"

Arthur looked at me, his expression thunderstruck and frozen, not knowing what to answer. He never had a chance to wrestle with the options, honesty or lies before a knock at the door put an end to our discussion. One of the older men who worked in the department stepped inside and I took the opportunity to slip out the door with a quick farewell.

I didn't feel good about what I had said, but it was done now. There was no reason for it but my own spitefulness and growing anxiety about seeing my father at the Minister's behest. I had to find a way out of that arrangement that made me look stupid or would provide me the ability to plead ignorance to what Scrimgeour truly wanted of me. I had options. Though they were foggy, vapid and hard to grasp at this moment.

Oo0Oo0

August 22, 1996

The end of the month came quietly in turn, rumors and fear perpetuated the air. It seemed unusually quiet for a country at war, there had been few arrests for Death Eater activity, I often checked the arrest pages for my brother (heaven forbid), or my unsavory Avery cousins. It would be nice to be informed about something that would put Lucinda in a joyous mood, though Harrow Avery seemed the Avery least inclined to directly practice acts of political terrorism. Harrow was a creature prone to terrorizing Lucinda with his mere existence which was a feat in and of itself.

I checked the date and the carefully wrapped book of crossword puzzles and new quill for Percy's birthday. This new administration seemed less… social then the Fudge administration, but per Madam Umbridge when she put the personal calendar on my desk, a secretary's job was to handle these little social matters like birthdays, anniversaries and the social things that made the whole office's life more pleasant.

I didn't tell her that Eddie handled those things out of a deep enjoyment for the practice.

It was a simple thing to put the gift on his desk with the card, while Eddie had mentioned the box of chocolates was a traditional office gift, Percy did not appear to have much of a sweet tooth, though he did spend his few breaks working on the newspaper crosswords and I noticed his quill was getting a bit on the short side from all of the sharpening for his note taking sessions for the Minister.

It seemed a more practical gift, I decided to state it was from the office as whole and move on. I didn't want to claim all of the credit, that would be weird, awkward and… Honestly, it would cross a line I did not care to cross.

I left the gifts on his chair and went to make a cup of coffee in the break room, I put far more sugar then I needed too, it was not coffee with my sugar levels but more like a coffee flavored candy. A tooth rotting goodness that would only make me feel ill in the aftermath. I did like sweets, but not a too sweet coffee as I was finding out.

It was nice to sip coffee at the break room counter with my thoughts. I wondered what I would do if I left the Ministry. Maybe write a book? Perhaps articles of political commentary that were currently only several angry paragraphs in my journal? How strange to think about my life after the Ministry, it was unlikely I was to remain here for the rest of my life and I was becoming more certain by the day that it would come at the first opportunity I had to do so. I would ride this Voldemort unpleasantness out here, at least I would know what was going on and not have to relay on a paper of questionable morals and if Alex was found behaving badly I would be among the first to know.

A couple of quick raps on the doorframe pulled me from my thoughts.

"Audrey," Percy's voice was low as he stepped into the break room doorway and smiled at me broadly, he was holding the book and quill I had put on his chair. "Thank you for this!"

"Better than chocolate?"

"Much better." There was a pink hue to his cheeks that seemed to go to the tips of his ears that clashed with his hair. He fiddled with the book before placing the quill inside the book like a bookmark while he seemed to struggle for whatever was on the tip of his tongue.

"Do you have any plans to celebrate?"

Percy shrugged, seeming to come back to himself in the blink of an eye. "I'm having drinks with Oliver at my flat. There's a Quidditch match replay tonight." He paused. "It's hard to listen to the news now."

I nodded in agreement. Things felt normal enough, but the tension in the air was like a heavy fog of uncertainty and fear.

"I'm listening to a lot of radio shows now, it's nice to be involved in things that don't involve the day to day realities."

"You have point there. Anything good?"

"There's a special on Mondays about great accidental inventions of history that's really good. It's at seven."

"I'll have to look into that."

Umbridge's croaky voice called down the hallway for me, putting an end to our talk as Percy stepped back to let me return to the office, a stolen moment at its end.

Oo0Oo0

Author's Notes: Umbridge is here folks. The worlds most evil paper pusher.

Audrey becoming a bit of a food gremlin amuses me, we all spend a period of time as raccoons.

Secretaries know everything that goes on in an organization, I promise, I was one, my mother is one for a nonprofit and has been for over twenty years. People just tell you things, you network with the other clerks, you know who's sleeping with who, you make friends with the assistant managers who feed you the company secrets. The office drama! Be nice to your secretaries, you will never know everything that they do in more ways than one.