November 10th, 1995

Vanessa had always kept me away from parties, leaving me to babysit her children with Tinsy the House-Elf if I was home for the holidays. I would sneak out and watch for a few minutes on the top of the staircase, the women wore beautiful robes and dresses, several of the men were handsome in that traditional aspiring politician way and commanding in a way that reminded me too much of my father. I had always been careful to not be seen, but sometimes I would make eye contact with Senator Elihu Weathers and his wife Elaine, he would give me a wink before transfiguring a napkin into a dove to give me a bag of candy.

Those parties were big standing room affairs with dancing and people, rich people with the ability to donate massive amounts of money to any politician's campaign with a snap of their fingers. A famous goblin investor and his family often attended these events, his approval could start careers of any floundering politician. Also the widow Snyder, she outlived three husbands, all of them had very well off businesses that only grew under her management after she combined them into a major conglomerate.

The parties Lucinda wanted to bring me to seemed different. They were not as busy as the one's Vanessa had hosted, there seemed to be less echo and there was a group of well dressed young children who were having an adventure of sorts outside in the grove of trees in front of the house. There was tea, small appetizers, sparkling wine and a group of less than thirty well dressed people drifting about and talking quietly with one another.

Lucinda kept her voice low as I leaned down to listen to her observations and introductions.

"There's the Fudges, you know them already and they're hosting. We'll say hello in a few minutes. That lion looking man is Rufus Scrimgeour, he is the Head Auror. That woman in the blue by the drinks is Una Irvine, she has an apothecary shop and works closely with Elizabeth Fudge on various projects." I nodded, taking mental notes about the people Lucinda took notice of.

"Ah, there's the Malfoy's. Fashionably late as ever." She paused and looked at me for the hundredth time from the top of my head to the soles of my dress shoes. "They have a son in school about three years younger than you."

"Oh, really?" I felt like she was implying something, but I was not too sure I wanted to probe it any further or come to a cynical conclusion. "How nice."

"Mr. Malfoy has an interest in foreign education, they almost sent the boy to Drumstrang. Well, the wife did not like that at all."

Mrs. Malfoy seemed a sensible sort of woman.

"I'm sure you can find something to talk about with the Malfoys. I'm sure the husband would be quite taken with anything you can tell him about the state of the magical population back in the States."

I nodded again, mentally going through topics that may be of interest and immediately discarding several for being controversial or needing too much explanation.

"Lucinda," I asked as a House Elf offered me a delicate fruit pastry no larger than a knut. "Thank you. Why are we here?"

"We're here to make nice with the right sort of people. People I think you should know."

That was not helpful and sounded… I wasn't sure I had the word for it. Oh, snobby. That was it.

"Can you explain what that means?" Lucinda looked at me as if I should know, her lips pressed together and her glasses sliding down her nose. She elbowed my side and turned to the door where more people where coming in. "Do you see the young man there? The tall one?"

I nodded.

"That is Harrow Avery."

Harrow Avery looked, well, birdlike. He had a beaky nose, weak chin and dark eyes and his bright robes reminded me of a peacock. His brown hair was perpetually falling in his face.

Lucinda leaned over to whisper in my ear. "He is the one who technically gets my house after I'm dead. That whole family is circling like vultures. If I have my way, that lot will never see even a dust bunny."

"How are they related exactly?" I whispered, angling slightly towards Lucinda to better hide my mouth from anyone who was watching.

Your great-grandfather's sister married the Avery family's only son. So he's some kind of distant cousin of yours. The inheritance of the house is a matter of tracing the family line to the nearest boy from the last true born son."

Isolt's wand, these people think like my father!

"Since we can't produce a whole house of boys like the Weasley's, we need to know when to make allowances. There can be alterations made to pass to a maternal line, but it takes a lot of time and needs to be done properly so nobody can fight about it." Lucinda paused. "We can skip a generation, find a few cousins and pick the one that won't waste the opportunity, but I would need the consent of the supposed heir and for him to sign the paperwork for both of those options."

"What if there are no male heirs available?"

"Well, if they all die sudden horrible deaths, then it goes to the eldest daughter in decent. Which in this scenario is you."

Skip a generation… Avery wouldn't get a thing if Alex could be found, but from what I understood about my brother, I doubted he was the settling down in a large house type. Alex always left for Ilvermorny with a single suitcase to last a year unless father made him come home for some reason.

"The Avery's have money and social connections, but are land poor. I have a lot of land and entailed property."

"What was that about the Weasels?"

The Weasley's," Lucinda corrected. "They're an old pureblood family of blood traitors, they love muggles and are notorious for having a ridiculous amount of sons. Though I think there is a single daughter in the latest batch. You should know this, you work with one of them."

I thought Percy was an only child, so that was a bit surprising. We did not talk about much about anything other than work and have what Eddie referred to as squabbles about filing.

I pictured having only brothers for a moment, putting together every story my roommates in school had told me about their families and siblings. The older brothers who should sit on their sisters to be annoying. The perpetual fighting and wrestling, the bad ideas involving ramps that ended in broken limbs.

Yikes. That poor girl.

It was decided. I would only have girls, one or two, if I could have any say in it at all. It seemed to promise a quieter home life.

"Weasley's have blood status, but they have no real connections." Lucinda peered down at me, her glasses glimmering from the light of the light behind her. "Most of the boys I think are around your age, but I think you can do much better than a Weasley boy. You're not desperate."

I thought about the lovely color of Percy's hair and wondered if his siblings had the same particular shade.

"Oh, smile! We have to play nice." Lucinda jammed her elbow into my side as Harrow Avery walked over.

"Cousin Lucinda," Harrow Avery gave Lucinda a courteous bow, "It has been a long time."

"It has, little Harrow is all grown up. How is your father?"

"As well as can be expected, he's been donating to new medical research for children."

"How magnanimous of him," Lucinda smiled but it did not seem to reach her eyes though Harrow did not seem to notice. She motioned towards me, "Harrow, this is my great-niece, Audrey Graves. One of your American cousins."

Harrow extended a courteous bob of his head to me with a smile. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," I smiled and got a better look at this cousin. He was over thirty, closer to Alex's age than my own and had an air of excessive politeness around him. Just a very pleasant air, though I had met men like this my whole life and it made me weary of him. He came across as bland, uninteresting and I could understand why Lucinda despised leaving Thornell to him.

He spoke with us for a few minutes before he was called away by another man about age, bidding us a farewell.

"You're bypassing his father for the inheritance?"

"His father got into some… trouble during the first war. I used a loophole to skip his father in the line of inheritance. Plus, his father is my age. I intend to outlive him anyway and told him as much."

Lucinda was a cold, ruthless policy wonk and I wondered how high she would have climbed if she had stayed with the Ministry.

Elizabeth Fudge flounced over in her pastel green dress robes with a smile and pulled me into a hug. She smelled like flowers and her perfume lingered in the air after she pulled away.

"I'm so happy you both made it! Audrey, you look lovely!"

"Thank you, Mrs Fudge. I love your dress robes!"

"You're very sweet! I would love to show you some of the plants I'm growing in the greenhouse out back after dinner. The snipping soapwart is particularly feisty, it tried to take off one of Cornelius' fingers."

Lucinda looked like she was restraining her horror. I wrung my hands excitedly as I agreed to take a look. I love a mildly dangerous plant with finger ripping potential.

The three of us talked for a few minutes about the various plants in the greenhouse until she was called away to make polite talk with other guests. Lucinda found herself engaged with a former schoolmate of hers and I was left to my own devices. I decided to amble around the main room and admire the paintings, traditionalist art in an impressionist style with colors and shapes of people and places that left me feeling like I had I was somewhere else for a time.

"Lovely painting," a woman said from behind me. "Quintin Upton has always done marvelous work."

"Oh, I've heard of him, but I've never actually seen any of his paintings in person before."

The woman gave me a look and a tight smile. "You must be the American."

I nodded in affirmation and introduced myself.

"Narcissa Malfoy." I noticed the large, glimmering diamonds on her ears. "Madam Ainsley says you are one of her American relatives?" Mrs. Malfoy was a very pretty woman with pale yellow hair, alabaster skin and very much looked like the politician's wives back in the States.

"Yes, Madam Ainsley is my great-aunt," I smiled politely. " I haven't had a chance to see her as much as I would have liked growing up but I am glad to get the opportunity now."

Mrs. Malfoy nodded thoughtfully, though it seemed a more routine response than actual engagement. "How is society back in your country?"

Something about how she said society made my hair stand on end, like there was something I could not quite grasp.

"I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

"Oh, tell me about your family."

This was it. This was the moment. I had practiced the lie in front of my mirror with such conviction I had almost believed it myself. I could not hide myself from the larger Graves family, but I could downplay it.

"My father works for the government in wand regulations, and my stepmother is a teacher for magical children."

"And the rest of your family?"

Very nosy woman.

"A lot of my relatives work for the MACUSA as Aurors and in other law enforcement divisions. My cousin is going to take his final exam next year."

"That must be exciting. So your family are all wizards?"

This conversation felt… gross. I could feel the prodding of a memory about the Rapport Law and the decades of protest to repeal it to allow for a wix to marry or intermingle with the nonmagical. There was still social backlash for marrying or having any interaction with No-Majs, so they were kept quiet. I had never actually met a No-Maj, they were mythical in a way, like snow in Florida.

She seemed to take my silence as an affirmative with a slight smile that reminded me of a cat getting into the cream. It also reminded me of Vanessa in a moment of triumph.

"There's the Goyles, this has been a lovely talk Ms. Graves, and I can't wait to continue it over dinner."

She moved away in a grand movement like a queen or a duchess, taking the arm of a tall man with long blond hair and whispering in his ear.

I felt like I had done something right in her eyes, but it left a bad taste in my mouth, the successful interaction tasting of ash and bad coffee.

Oo0Oo0

When it was time for dinner, I found myself sitting next to Mrs Fudge and Una Irvine, the pair of them making quick discussions of plants and medical uses. Mostly how hard it was to get seeds for essential products during this time of year due to a shortage from Brazil. Mrs. Fudge was quick to ask my views on American horticulture and potential replacements.

Una Irvine was delightful, she had an immense knowledge of plants and wildlife after spending her formative years in Australia and New Zealand before studying at a wildlife center in the United States. She then proclaimed that Australia was where God and Merlin had left their more questionable creations, which made me giggle.

Across from Mrs. Fudge and I were the Malfoys. The wife seemed very bored by the three-way discussion on plant life and medicinals, looking at the three of us in turn before turning her attention to her husband's discussion with the Minister about politics.

Mrs. Fudge was the first to notice that we were probably being a bit rude and quickly changed the subject. "Narcissa, how are your renovations on your house going? I heard you were doing something with the field behind your house?"

"A temporary enclosure for the peacocks while we do some work in front of the house next summer."

Peacocks?

She noticed my confusion and gave me a wry smile. "We have a flock of albino peacocks who roam the estate. They are lazy birds and the only albino peacocks in England." Despite her expression of disinterest, I did think she sounded very fond of those birds, affectionate disinterest would be an accurate description. Like a person who had barn cats and knew they were a creature that could never be owned.

Though, no person truly owned a cat.

The dinner continued on.

And on.

At a snail's pace.

"Water, Miss?" A house elf squeaked at my elbow.

"Yes, thank you, Gordy," I held my glass out for the elf and his heavy water pitcher with a smile. Gordy seemed taken aback before his mouth pulled back in an awkward smile.

"You don't have to thank the help," Mrs. Malfoy's voice was a low snooty whisper that only caught the attention of those in our immediate vicinity.

Gordy looked at ground so quickly as he was willing it to swallow him. I realized I had the attention of my section of the table. I focused on maintaining a serene expression, ignoring the confused expressions and judgmental stares from those a couple of seats away. I was not afraid. Lucinda thanked Barry all the time. Tinsy was less a housekeeper or servant, and more of a constant employee who was waiting to retire. No, employees were paid. Tinsy was a slave to the family and the magic that bound her to the house. I wondered what she was doing now?

"Sorry, force of habit when you're from a country without a servant class. Manners are for everybody and all of that."

There was an odd silence from the rest of the table and I looked back at Gordy with a soft smile.

For the rest of the meal, even if I was politely ignored as an uppity, foreign oddity, my glass of water remained consistently full and my favored appetizers were always within reach.

Oo0Oo0

After dinner, I found myself lead away down a small hallway to a small office with an assortment of shelves containing various small boxes and baskets of seasonal seeds next to books on plant life cycles. The wall was a pale green and a small oak desk sat in the center of the room in front of a large window where I could see the greenhouse.

"I'm terribly sorry about not finding time to meet with you sooner." Minister Fudge ushered me into the office with his wife leading the way. "I'm sure you know that everything has been busy, no more than usual, you understand, just more chaotic."

"It's not a problem," I smiled as I took the offered seat as the Minister took his seat on the other side of the desk Mrs. Fudge put silencing charms on the door and made sure it was closed. "I understand completely."

Mrs. Fudge moved to stand next to her husband with a carefully guarded expression before offering me a gentle smile. She seemed frail in a way, a tiredness in her eyes that reminded me of my mother.

The Minister spoke first. "I got an American newspaper from one of the ambassador's yesterday. I assume you've read it already?"

"Yes." I took a moment to prepare myself. "If you wish to engage with my father, Minister, I will be of no use to you. Jack Graves and I are no longer on speaking terms."

He seemed taken aback by this admission, and almost amused by it.

"No, no, not at all."

This conversation had just gone off script. I was expecting him to tell me to reach back out and play the dutiful daughter. An estrangement over something so silly as a callous father was nothing in comparison to the other things that could tear a family asunder.

Jack Graves clearly had the gall to try and hide it entirely by making it sound like I had run off to hide a pregnancy. The best thing he had ever done for me, I think.

"Elizabeth told me everything, we just wanted me to ask how you were doing."

I felt an eyebrow rise in confusion. "I'm alright. I knew Jack was going to run, but not on such a scale. No chance he'll win though."

"Really?" Mrs. Fudge inquired as she moved her hand to rest on the back of her husband's chair.

"He's got enemies, you know you make all kinds of you work in politics long enough. He has some pretty vicious ones, and over twenty years in the public eye is not going to help him at all."

Also, Astrid Cunningham was a sitting incumbent President. This would be her second campaign, this time to keep her seat after a fairly successful governance. Incumbents tenet to have an advantage unless they had really screwed up somewhere or the opponent was a more engaging, forceful personality.

Elections for MACUSA President were run over the course of a year. There was always preemptive speculations about which politicians would take the presidential plunge in the two years before an election year. Interested parties would do this in many different forms, generally they would do more town hall events and give more speeches on the floor to gage the reaction of the people and the party that supported them. Why only a year? There was an election at the start of the century that had primaries that lasted for three years. The smartest thing we did as a magical community was to decide that politicians should have a ready platform, say their peace in five months of grueling campaigning and then let the people vote for the candidate who annoyed them the least.

Besides, No-Majs had far more people to woo on political matters.

Minister Fudge smiled, seemingly entertained by my cynicism. "You may have a point."

I sat in every offered seminar about the MACUSA politics and its history offered at Ilvermorny from the time I was fifteen. It was enough to improve my cynicism on political matters, and offer me enough knowledge to build my arguments, even if I never voiced them. Senator LeHay, who gave those biyearly lectures, had introduced me to the political philosophers of Mary Lou Hardy, Gerald St. Germain and Francoise Layfayette all spoke of the voting process and the ideals of a truly balanced and equal government.

Hardy often voiced the improvements to the current system and how we had ignored the magical contributions of various immigrant, native and slave communities in our efforts to grow spiritually closer to 'Mother England' and their idea of civilized magic.

"On that note, Ms. Graves, I wanted to let you know that should Jack Graves win the election, if you want to quietly transfer to another department or leave the Ministry, I'm sure we can write you a good letter of recommendation."

This idea was a good one, but his expression was strained like he was losing a good connection. Something told me this was more of an offer from Elizabeth Fudge then from the Minister of Magic.

That idea was quickly confirmed by Mrs. Fudge's pleasant smile at her husband that seemed to wither him slightly with a shadow of guilt on his brow. Something told me there had been an argument about the matter and the wife had come out victorious. I bet she never even raised her voice.

"That would be lovely, Minister. I'll let you should the event come to pass."

"I believe you've told Smith and Weasley that Jack Graves is your cousin?"

"Yes. It seemed easier. I want to build a life here and I can't do that with Jack's shadow hanging over me while he talks from the political stage."

"If anyone questions it, I'll support your story."

I felt my eyes widen in shock. That was more than I expected.

Mrs. Fudge's hands were all over this. She professed to not liking politics or being the wife of a Minister, but she clearly knew how to get her husband in her corner on things she wanted in her quiet way.

"Thank you, for all of that." My eyes moved from the Minister and to his wife who gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "This was far more than I expected on the matter."

"Ms. Graves, you do have some right to privacy." The Minister said, his tone almost fatherly. "I mean, your father is not a Ministry politician but we do see where you would have some valid concerns on the matter."

"No one really pays any mind to the family of an American presidential candidate here, they'll see a picture in the paper as a one off event but unless he wins, I'm not too worried."

Except for people like Misty who are little political animals.

I allowed my thoughts to drift for a moment, "Is there anyone in the office who would have an interest in International Affairs?"

"Well, I stole Weasley from the Department of International Magical Cooperation-"

Oh, hell!

"But you have no reason to worry, he's very…" He paused and fished for the right word.

"Persnickety," his wife contributed with a quick laugh.

"That's perfect! Thank you Eliza."

Elizabeth Fudge beamed as Minister Fudge turned his attention back to me. "Percy is very persnickety about what papers he reads. He reads the national papers for me and brings me the headlines if they have things I need to respond too in an official capacity or recommend a correction. I find my mornings vastly improved by the experience, hard to believe I went so long without a personal assistant to handle to more pointless aspects of my job."

I'm sure Percy is too smart to spend his life as a parchment pusher. Intellectually. Maybe not socially.

The Minister stood up from the desk with a paternal smile. "I'm afraid I've promised the Malfoy's a few more minutes of my time."

"I'll find you if I need you." Mrs. Fudge gave him a bright smile as he squeezed her hand affectionately before stepping out from behind the desk.

"Audrey, if you need anything at all please let either of us know."

"Of course, sir. Thank you."

Mrs. Fudge motioned me over to a cabinet as the door closed behind the Minister. "I found some things I want to show you."

"Really?"

She pulled a small box out of the cabinet and laid it on the desk, taking off the top with a soft smile.

"I found some pictures of your mum when she was in school, I thought you might like them." Mrs. Fudge pulled a photo album out of the box and handed it to me with a smile.

My hands felt like they were no longer attached to my body, that they were moving of their own accord with their own mind as I opened the photo album with bated breath.

By the Twelve, I looked just like her.

Lucina Ainsley had a warm smile and would turn to hide her laughter if her photo caught you staring for too long. Her eyes were bright and cheery, not the sad expression I remembered from my childhood when she was dying slowly and my father had found her replacement. Her sandy blonde hair was long like mine, only pulled back in a long single braid down her back.

"She was so quiet, but she had this very dry sense of humor that made me laugh, even in the middle of a professor's lecture." Elizabeth laughed quietly at the memory. "Pretty typical of a Ravenclaw, they're very smart and quietly sarcastic." She smiled at me as I turned the page, my throat tight. "A lot like you actually."

There was another of her in Herbology Class avoiding the vines of a particularly irate plant. A picture of her and several other girls in a brilliantly blue and bronze room lined with books and statues. My mother made occasional silly faces before fixing her wavy blonde hair, pushing it out of her face with a coy expression.

My eyes grew watery. "…Thank you."

My father had ruined this girl.

Lucina Ainsley was a happy person, she told jokes and made snide funny comments to her friends and wanted to see the world. Instead my father tied her down to his political career, being the perfect political wife and replaced her with a younger, healthier woman before she was even dead because at that point Lucina Graves was an inconvenience.

I had loathed my father for the wrong he had done my mother for years, but the real depravity of his actions was beginning to sink in.

I had no memory of my mother being happy.

Jack Graves ruined things. He would force the world and the people within it to bend to his will or fall apart from the fight of defiance. I saw what happened when my brother defied him. I knew what would have happened to me if Annette had not reached out and stopped him.

Time was always the best of teachers.

And time was teaching me that my father was worth the same hate and apathy that he himself was capable of.

"Oh, one more thing."

"Ma'am?"

"Please call me Elizabeth."

"I would like that."

"Good. My offer still stand to come see what has been growing in the greenhouse if you have the time."

I wiped my eyes and nose with an offered tissue and decided that no matter what I thought of her husband, Elizabeth Fudge was among the finest of women.

"I have all the time in the world."

Oo0Oo0

Author's Note: I think Elizabeth holds a lot of sway over her husband, much like his political contemporaries. Elizabeth is a warm personality, but enjoys being alone with her plants more than the political ring. Perhaps if she was more engaged and able to offer that guidance about such matters closer to home, offer a clearer prospective on what she really thinks about some of these people, then maybe Voldemort's second rise would have been different in this universe? Either way, Audrey may have a lot to learn from her in the long term.