August 16, 1997

Living with Percy was not so different then my previous overnight visits. He was still treating me more like a guest then a full-blown roommate, but that would come with time. I hoped.

Honestly, the difference now was really that it was both easier and harder to keep him in bed a little longer in the mornings. Percy generally woke up early, but the Ministry issue had put a stop on his runs with Oliver for the moment so he would lay in bed and either think quietly or get out of bed to not bother me. I liked neither of these options.

This morning I managed to get him to stay and it led to several minutes of lazy kissing in bed where I messed his hair further with my fingers as his lips moved from my mouth to my neck and down to my collarbone in a way that was attentive, lazy and so… well, sexually charged that I was reminded of descriptions in some of the more… raunchy novels in my collection.

When he moved away from me, looking both very content and hopeful for other things that I found myself also wanting somewhere under the burden of my lies and anxiety. It would be so easy to let all of that go for a few minutes, but I am not doing this half awake at six-thirty in the morning. I'm not having these necessary talks before coffee or alcohol and I refused to become a day drinker.

I guided him back down to me to press my lips against his again before finding that spot on his neck I knew he liked.

Really, this felt so easy.

Early mornings felt like the only times I really saw him during the time I had been living here. The Minister had been keeping Percy late for a whole manner of things that Percy came home to tell me about. It felt wrong to burst out the truths of myself while he was seeing so much misery and corruption that frequently made both of our heads spin.

In the few days we had this arrangement on previous, temporary visits it was easy to fall into our day to day routines. Now that this seemed to be a more permanent arrangement it felt so easy and normal. Where I was putting my clothes, my filling of empty shelves in the hall closet with my own towels and toiletries, the items distinctly separate but also reflecting a similar taste. Percy apparently only had two large towels in different shades of blue, that would have to change, who lived on two towels? Men… I put my four body towels in the closet, at least I had a set of matching towels and matching towels look nice in bathrooms.

I put my collection of general medication in a small container next to the one where Percy kept his own bottles and vials of things I was sure he made himself to save a few sickles.

Oh, I know he makes enough money to not have to make his own cold potions.

I could hear Percy moving around in the kitchen, the clinking of dishes and quiet crashing of cookware on the iron of the stove. We were having an early dinner, we had spent most of the morning in bed thinking and talking about safety measures and rent, both topics we were invested in but I privately vowed to keep out of our bed for the rest of time itself.

Talking about money only leads to fights and even I was smart enough to keep those talks out of the bedroom.

I read a lot of books and I learned a lot about how money issues will split even happy couples quickly. It was always an essential aspect of drama in fiction, either money issues, the threat of not being loved, keeping secrets or the class divide between the rich and the poor.

Okay. I have had an average life (in some ways), I was comfortable, (really it was extravagant at points), my family never really struggled, (financially, emotionally these people were very messed up).

We would have to have a talk about budgeting and shared finances before the week was out.

We had agreed that we would split the cost of the flat, Percy was trying to tell me it was not necessary, but I had grown insistent. He made more money then I did, but not by much, I would pay him my half in cash to be put into an emergency fund in case we could no longer access the Gringotts vaults, it would be easier for me to just cash out my work check every two weeks.

That covered both our talk of safety and rent cost related budgeting. Very simple terminology and plans as we would sit down again probably in a few weeks to be more specific on the details once my landlady formally released me from the contract at the end of the month. She was very distraught over the Carter's deaths and

As for shared finances, I had decided I would pay for food and split the cost of housing and would suggest as much over the coming week. Really, we were fully capable of making these kinds of arrangements.

We were adults. It would be fine.

Or just children coming of age in wartime despite how mature we believed ourselves to be.

There was real arrogance to that. Believing we were old enough to go through life without succor from our parents or other people who had done this before.

I was not sure Percy had anyone he trusted that way and he seemed… Unwilling, and unable to reach out to his family.

I heaved a sigh and closed the door to the closet with a soft click.

I could not judge.

That was not my place.

Because I too had things that he would judge me for with time as well.

To live with secrets and lies has become comfortable. I was Audrey Graves, a third cousin of a sitting MACUSA president who had a family I was not on speaking terms with. I had an older brother with the personality of a cat, a younger sister still in school who had morbid interests and I had lived an average life in every respect.

I liked the woman I was pretending to be. She… seems so normal. No burden of what was viewed as familial duty and destiny upon her shoulders.

She was not the family disappointment.

Oo0Oo0

August 19, 1997

I could see Elihu and his Auror team by the check-in desk in the Atrium as I returned from a discussion with the secretary from the security department. I was sure she was feeling me out for sympathies to the current regime or if I was trying to get by like the rest of us. I could understand either perspective. There were days I did not know myself what I was still doing here, but I would have to wait for now. Information was everything.

I worked for a higher purpose now. A greater cause. I could not put my neck out for everyone, but I would do my best to ensure word got out about every atrocity that was being committed.

There was no choice. I did not get to meander in the gray, to play courteous stooge to every side anymore. I had seen enough death and blood over the last few months.

There was the sudden fury of raised voices from the check-in desk and the unmistakable tones of Elihu's voice rose over the din of the Atrium to make himself heard, bringing a hushed silence from passersby.

"Repeat yourself."

It took an effort for me to slip through the crowd for a clear view of the check-in desk where I could see Elihu and three Aurors. Mankiller stood straight backed and uncowed, making him easy to see, his long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. I could see Auror Jenkins resting his hand on the wand holster at his hip, his cowboy hat low hiding his eyes. The last Auror was Cassandra, who had slightly parted lips and a furrowed brow as Mankiller moved her behind him slowly away from the check-in desk where a smug wizard was locking eyes with Elihu who was crimson with rage.

"The blood status papers need to be filled out."

"We don't answer to you," Elihu's voice was low and dangerous, all illusion of diplomacy and the restraint of MACUSA representation had been stripped away from him. I was sure that Elihu was going to leap over the counter and beat the check-in wizard with his bare hands like a New York bar brawler on New Year's Eve. "We're American, not British. We have diplomatic courtesies-"

"All mudbloods-" There was an uproar from Elihu and the Aurors at the slur. I let my eye drift towards Cassandra who glanced around quietly as the check-in wizard looked at her pointedly.

"I'll report this! You do not get to say that!" Elihu's voice was sharp, aghast with the sheer blatant purist rhetoric that this man felt comfortable uttering publicly without shame or embarrassment.

Cassandra stepped forward and nudged Elihu aside, "I'm a Seed. What did you need me to sign?"

My mouth fell open as the Aurors did a few feet away. Elihu froze and the crowd nearby was silent.

The check-in wizard smiled and slid Cassandra a couple of papers and a quill, which she quickly filled out while she spoke to Elihu. "You need to see the Minister and meet with the new department heads to do your job. Do not make me the reason this does not happen."

Elihu moved back slightly, conceding Cassandra's point for the moment until a security wizard pushed his way through the crowd. He was a big, broad fellow who probably ate failed interns for breakfast to maintain his strength and stature, perhaps he dipped them in a homemade sauce or baked them into pies? It did not matter, he was advancing towards Cassandra who was giving him a withering stare.

"If you'll come with me-"

Cassandra never got to respond, Auror Mankiller had scruffed her by the back of her uniform and yanked her back away from the man who was reaching for her. Mankiller stepped in front of her to look down his nose at this security guard with nothing but murder in his eyes and a glimmer of white teeth like a wolf on the hunt. Elihu and Jenkins had moved to guard Cassandra and keep her from doing something stupid.

"You want her, little man? You'll have to go through me." Mankiller's voice was a low contralto of danger, deep and menacing that echoed in the stunned silence of the Atrium. A promise, not a threat. He leaned down so he was almost nose to nose with the security wizard. His voice was calm, but his eyes were all fire and rage that walked the line between civility and homicide. "Put a hand on her and no healer will be able to reattach it."

Elihu looked at the check-in wizard, his voice carrying through the Atrium. "So, what do you do with the Muggle-borns? Were you going to tattoo a number on her arm?"

Merlin's staff, Elihu!

Jenkins was giving the Security wizard a look that could have peeled paper as he tightened his grip on the handle of his wand while Elihu continued to stare down the check in wizard.

"We're leaving."

"Representative-" Cassandra started before Elihu held up a hand to silence her.

"No," Elihu's voice got louder as he turned to face the American Aurors, his voice rising in irritation, carrying in the same way I remembered from the floor of the Senate, passionate and righteous as he ensured he was heard by the gathered crowd. The check-in wizard was too stunned at the audacity to speak. "Muggle-borns are entitled to respect and protection under MACUSA law and that should be the same in other civilized countries, which I'm not sure Britain qualifies as at this point." Weathers looked back at the check-in wizard as a hushed silence fell over the few in the crowd who were talking. "Until we have clarity on the matter, MACUSA will not deal with the Ministry of Magic on their own grounds. Tell Thicknesse that if he wants to meet with me or my government, he can send someone from his office instead because he's a purist degenerate."

Elihu turned away and locked eyes with me as he did so, his glasses catching the light in an ominous manner. I moved closer to where the astonished crowd had parted to get a better look, but closer to the back so maybe I could steal a few words with Elihu or Cassandra.

"We're going back to headquarters," Elihu's voice had an air of authority and finality as the security wizard who tried to take Cassandra away stepped forward, seemingly unfinished with his duty.

Jenkins stepped in front of the security wizard with a smile, his cowboy hat tilted slightly as he slapped the security wizard's hand away with a smile, knocking the man's wand to the floor with an echoing clatter on the stone floor.

"Now, that ain't very smart," Jenkins' tone was teasing but there was a hard undercurrent under his deep southern drawl. "You step back an' maybe I don't have to treat you rough for tryin' to assassinate my boss."

The MACUSA team left quietly, Mankiller and Jenkins' eyes roaming over the crowd with surly expressions that spoke of the promise of violence if anyone else tried anything stupid. Cassandra met my eyes through the crowd and gave me a slight smile as she continued to guard Elihu who was strolling out with a purpose I had not seen from him in years, a hard determination in his eyes that belied a sense of pride in calling out what was going on with this allied government. He may have ruined MACUSA's ability to deal with the Ministry for a time, but he seemed content to put the nation on the right side of history.

They disappeared into the lift that would take them back to the streets of London and it took restraint for me not to follow them.

What took less restraint was opening a letter in Elihu's handwriting when I returned to Percy's apartment. It contained nothing but a quickly scribbled MACUSA code.

'6 p.m. Tomorrow. My place'

Oo0Oo0

Getting to the MACUSA embassy was simple enough, though the place was still being watched, which put a momentary stall on my plans. I could see a wizard looking around on a nearby corner and I pulled my hood up, the tingle of magic altering my appearance to that of my cousin with a few complex charms. Quincy met me at the apparition point with Mankiller, pausing for a moment to wonder why cousin Audrina was here before I told him about the Quadpot training incident he made me swear to keep secret, Mankiller seemed to deeply enjoy Quincy's embarrassment before the pair began to escort me to the back entrance to the embassy.

They took me down an alley, up a fire escape to a small pair of shoes sitting on a roof next to a drying line of clothes.

Quincy shoved a shoe into my hands with a whispered, "Here!" and I immediately felt the pull of a portkey in the center of my stomach as I was whisked away in a flurry of color before enduring a hard landing on a carpeted floor. I landed on my face and could taste the rough fabric of the carpet in my mouth.

Ugh… A short distance portkey? Really?

Where was the trash can? Short distance portkeys made me sick.

The door to the office opened as I retched in the small trash can by the desk.

"Ah! Need a minute, Aud?"

I gave Elihu a surly stare as I clutched the tiny trash can before I began my insides made another appearance.

"I'll give you a minute." Elihu closed the door and gave me a few minutes to finish expelling my lunch and clean myself up.

I took a deep breath. I had planned how I was going to break the news to Elihu and I was going to do so in a calm, rational manner. The same way that I conducted my day to day life and I was not going to bluntly unload my trauma from the last several weeks on this mostly sensible, kind man.

That was not what happened.

When Elihu stepped into the room once more and placed the charms on the door, I could feel everything swirling upwards inside me.

He put his official stole of office on the cloak rack next to his flat cap and cloak. Before he got a chance to say hello or sit down at the desk the words fell out of me, clinking like coins on the floor and flooding the room with truth like a flash flood as the door clicked closed behind him.

"Scrimgeour was assassinated!"

Elihu looked at me in horror as he grabbed the cloak rack he almost knocked over in shock.

"He's dead! Murdered! V-" I tried to speak Voldemort's name, but something stopped me. As my mouth formed around the word there was a taste of ash in my mouth that made me want to gag. "You-Know-Who did it! Then Scrimgeour was eaten by a giant snake!"

"What the fuck?"

Elihu cast a series of spells on the door so quickly, spells I recognized to enhance wards of silence and misdirection of outside listeners. I could smell the coffee brewing on the counter nearby.

"What else has been going on?" He moved to his desk and sat down, motioning for me to take my usual seat in the vacant chair across from him, which I took gladly.

"I'm being watched. They're not doing a good job, and it's not regular, but I know I'm being watched at work at least."

"Not surprised. Do you think your home is being watched?"

"I've gone off the grid, broke my lease and moved in with a friend of mine."

"Why not your aunt?"

"Lucinda has enough on her plate. I'm giving her a place to go also."

"Smart." Elihu summoned the coffee that had finished brewing and poured me a cup before passing me the sugar and cream. "We need to talk."

"What else is there to talk about?" I made my coffee in my preferred manner with shaking hands before setting it aside to cool for a few moments.

"Jack does not like what's going on here. What little I have been able to tell him anyway. Your father's a very intelligent man despite his many flaws." Elihu sighed. "I think our letters are being checked at the border and we need to find a new way to send correspondence quickly. We used to send letters with individuals on No-Maj transports like planes, just send them with a person and then given to the Rookery, but I'm not sure the Embassy can spare a body to do that with the amount of communication that I need to do with MACUSA now. Since letters are not organic they can't go through the floo network and floo networks are not internationally connected anyway."

"Do you have a solution for that?"

"Well…" Elihu paused and I felt like I suddenly knew what he was going to say. "He's coming to visit."

"My father is coming to visit."

Elihu nodded slowly and began to drink his coffee, bringing it to his lips with a sigh.

"No." My voice was firm. "My father visiting in an official capacity offers legitimacy to this coup d'etat government."

"I'd hardly call it official. His story is he was stopping by to see me on his way to France to meet with their Ministry, but…"

"The Ministry found out."

"Yeah. Which is why I am damn sure they're reading our mail. The purist administration wants to establish legitimacy and because America is a big foreign power with our own historic dislike of the non magical we seem a decent way to gain that legitimacy. Jack wants to see what's going on with his own eyes, but he's not going to be blunt about it. There's a lot I can't put to paper for him. Your father has never been against Seeds, America is about the gift of magic then parentage. Always has been."

I nodded in agreement, I knew this from the time I was a little girl. While Jack had problems with my grandmother, her being a Seed had never been one of them.

"He needs to do this unofficially."

"Yes."

"I doubt Thicknesse will see him, he doesn't really leave his office. We have no real morning meetings, all the papers cross Percy's desk these days, but he says none of them are very informative though that might change."

Elihu sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "Do you trust Weasley?"

I better, I'm sleeping in his bed.

"He's no purist, if that's what you're asking."

"That's half of the question."

Hm… How do I phrase this?

"He sees the same things that I am seeing and we're both unimpressed. He's not going to rise higher in this government unless he lies blatantly about who he is and what he values, which he can't, he's got no talent for it."

Elihu rolled his eyes, "Don't get too attached to Weasley. He's too straightforward for politics. Honest people don't do well under these conditions."

Then I'll look out for him.

"I'm not sure Thicknesse will meet with Jack," I chose my words carefully. "I'm concerned it would become an official meeting with the press and the like if he does so."

"That's my concern too," Elihu crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. I could see the beginning gray at his temples and a few new lines around his eyes. He had not had a good time at the embassy over the last two years. "Which means I need to control every aspect of the meeting."

"Which explains your fight at the check-in counter."

"Partially. I also don't think Cassandra needed to be taken away and branded, or forbidden to do her job because of her blood status. She's a good Auror, she has a fantastic head on her shoulders, nothing really gets by her. Members of my staff will not be disrespected that way."

I nodded. Elihu was good that way.

"The other reason I asked you here is I need a favor from you."

I straightened in my chair. "Anything!"

"You are aware of our war processes right?"

I paused, "Do you think Jack would want to intervene here? The ICW would never allow it!"

"No, but America is a massive country, we have the manpower to make our own choices and deal with the ICW later if we feel inclined to do so. ICW is more of a guidance system than a powerful political body, they can take powerful people to court for violations to the statute or anything close to that, but they don't get to run sovereign nations. Jack would have to answer to them in their court, but he's willing to make that sacrifice to his reputation if American lives are lost in this conflict."

"Or he gets the support of the State governors and the senate before going to the ICW to plead his case and keep his reputation."

"But that could take a year or longer and you know how your father is."

I heaved a heavy sigh.

"Part of the voting process is that expats do get to voice their opinions at our own town hall meeting at their respective embassies." Elihu paused for a moment to take another sip of coffee. "I need you to come for that."

"Why? Can I just mail it to you?"

Elihu finished his cup of coffee and poured himself a second cup when I had barely touched my first. "I'm asking all of the American expats to the UK to come to the embassy in person. Letters are no longer safe, even with the seal of MACUSA. I want to see all of you in person. We are going to vote for one of you to state our vote to the representative body, because I am not elected to represent your interests as representative, governor or senator, and I am putting your name forward to represent the voting results to the representative house."

I dropped the spoon I had been thoughtlessly stirring my coffee with onto the table with a clunk.

"What?"

"Hear me out-"

"No."

"You said anything."

"Anything but that!"

Elihu rolled his eyes, "I can't think of anyone more capable to handle this than you, none of the other expats care too much about the politics back home and I doubt any of them want to give the results to MACUSA. If they did, they would work a bit harder to get their votes in on time to be counted. You need to be voted in that day by the others who attend, but you'll probably be unopposed. You'll state your opinion on the matter in our town hall debate, but you know the procedures of the MACUSA government as well as I do and even if you were not a First Daughter, I would still put you forward because you are a reasonable person with a very political mindset. I need these people to talk. The expat community is not very big and if we intervene here, those people will have to give up the lives they have built. Please think about how you want to vote and I'll give you a date as soon as I have one."

I could not think of anything else to say. I was too flabbergasted by this trust Elihu had in me. I knew Alex would not come to the town hall, he was in too deep at this point to be seen in public.

For some reason, be it the things I had seen or heard in the last several days, I was sure I knew how I wanted to vote and what my stance would be in the debate. I was not sure that was truly a question, but would I be willing to say these things aloud to other people? To invite people to view what I had seen over the last several weeks? I did not think there was going to be a choice. Elihu tended to get what he wanted in most things.

"Do… I've told you about my family right?"

I nodded slowly, the topic of Elihu's family history came up once during a debate on the floor about lists and registration and Elihu went on a rant that led to him telling me about his grandparents surviving one of the death camps of World War Two. While wix used the cover of No-Majs blowing each other up to openly increase the ferocity of the fight against Grindelwald.

"Do you know what they're doing to the Muggle-borns?" Elihu's voice was low.

"No. Not exactly. I know their wands are being broken and they are going to Azkaban, I can't tell you anything else definitive right now." I struggled to find the words about what happened to the Carters or that my friends had gone on the run..

Elihu nodded slowly. "That's how these things start. First they come for a vulnerable population, one that seems frightening or threatening in some way, then they move on to other targets."

"They're sending thugs after the ones who don't come to the Ministry. I think they've started calling them Snatchers."

"Ugh, that's a bit on the nose."

"Well…" I took a deep breath. "They killed my neighbors. They fought back and-" I fought to control my breathing, managing to calm down before I spoke again. "They have permission to kill resisters."

I watched Elihu's face, he looked very cold in his expression as he took in the information.

"Is everything in place to stop travel between America and Britain?"

"Yes and no, that's the other part of the reason your father's coming. I need his approval and a very blunt discussion." He glanced out the window. "I won't be able to speak to you at the Ministry after this. Unless you tell me you will not go back to the Ministry and want to leave for America with your father. Associating with me will put you in danger."

"I can't leave."

"Fine. I won't try to talk you out of this again, but you need to go to the Ministry on Monday and rake me over the coals. I'm a blood-traitor. An embarrassment to MACUSA and wizardkind. If they saw you come here today, tell them that you came to tell me that I was wrong about everything, that you are ashamed that I cannot see what you so clearly can! Understand?"

I nodded slowly.

"Good." Elihu sighed. "Make sure you can get the day off for the Town Hall, I need you here. If they get nosy, I trust you to know what to say so you don't get murdered."

"Sure, boss."

Oo0Oo0

August 22, 1997

I moved the container under my arm as I reached for the key to the apartment. The key was warm and tingling in my hands.

I had left immediately after work to help Lucinda and Tavish with re-enforcing the wards at the edge of Thornell and deliver a message. Mainly that I was having a hard time getting a moment alone with Susanna, I always felt like we were being watched, like someone was listening at the door. Susanna's aide had been replaced with a new girl from a well respected family, Aster Nott. Her particular little friend was Nadine Lestrange, newly placed in the Office of International Magical Cooperation, her father was French apparently and a blood supremacist. I assumed they sped up her papers.

I was not sure the rest of the secretaries were as trustworthy as I had hoped, and I really did not trust the new ones who were the younger daughters of prominent rich or pureblood families. Now that the Ministry was quietly moving into a purist state, a job that would have been frowned upon for rich, or even just eligible daughters in Lucinda's day was now a fertile hunting ground for husbands outside of family run establishments. In short, the risk of a daughter bringing home an unsuitable boy had been lessened significantly, her opportunities to meet suitable men of desirable blood status had gone up significantly at places other than large, infrequently held parties.

I knew Susanna had not made those hiring decisions.

I could swear there was the stench of Umbridge's perfume all over that.

A little network of spies made up of girls who wanted to stay on their father's good side where they had access to all kinds of information through new secretarial positions in new offices. They had also been granted prominent positions under people who seemed… less enthusiastic about the new regime but could not be removed for the moment, filling the positions of those who were muggle-born or had disappeared, like Susanna's aide.

They were pleasant enough, but it was all a lie. They tittered too much over boys for it to be a true facet of personality, they kissed up a little too hard and I heard at least one rumor that one of them wanted my job.

Good luck to her.

I opened the door quietly.

Percy had a meeting that required him to stay late. I was not sure about what, but I had brought some leftovers from Thornell for dinner or breakfast tomorrow. There were some leftover cookies that Barry had made for the Carter girls and I thought those would be nice to bring by for Percy's birthday. I had hidden a newly released book that Percy had been eyeballing in the paper for the last couple of weeks under the bed. Our plan was to celebrate tomorrow, the week had been incredibly long and I had hidden a small cake at Thornell, meaning I asked Tinsy to make it.

I was expecting him to be asleep on the couch but instead Percy was sitting in his chair, staring hard into the distance in the silence of the room. If he did not look at the fireplace molding with such interest, I would have believed he was dead.

"I'm back!" I put the container of food on the table. "I brought some food!"

How odd. Percy liked to listen to the radio around this time of day. The news had been so depressing lately, perhaps he had altered the habit, unable to take it any more today. There he was, sitting in silence and looking like he had just been punched in the face and had several hours to stew over the offense.

"How was the errand?" I walked over towards Percy, intending to kiss him. He looked stressed, his hair was messy and the top buttons of his shirt were undone and my hands itched with the phantom memory of him under my hands just this morning.

He seemed to come back to himself as he looked at me. Something in his eyes stopped me cold, a look of betrayal and disappointment that left me feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

"I met your father today."

Author's Note: Elihu's name comes from the Book of Job in the Bible, Elihu is a young man who gave a fiery defense of god's righteousness and is never seen again in the text. I thought that was hilarious and very appropriate for the character.

So, um, the next chapter should be fun and end the arc so I can go on break for April for exams.

The version from the meeting from Jack's POV will be going up through In Absentia at some point this week. It's maybe 80% done.