Mordecai listened to his deputy, frowning in thought. Filtering through cases lately had become simultaneously easier and harder - easier, because of the help Sameera and Dieter were contributing, but harder because of their workload doubling. Still, they had managed to establish a proper workflow by now - it just depended on the other parts of the MLE to function in tandem, which he considered the most difficult issue of all.
He looked back down at the list on his desk that he’d made the previous night of cases his deputy had stuck notes on for him to look at. Work like this was making him return home late. Lydia understood this, but there was only so much time he had left these days to spend with her, rather than just coming home, having a wash and rolling into bed to fall asleep within five. Long days, short nights.
“--can I help you?” Sameera’s voice cut through his thoughts. He looked up, curious - the IUM did not get visitors most of the time.
She was listening intently to the person unseen outside the office, before turning to him.
“I, uhh… sir, someone is here to see you.” The level of uncertainty had him lowering his brow. Sameera wasn’t usually hesitant.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“Uhh…” She glanced back through the door.
“Your son, sir.”Arc? His son had made it extremely clear to him once that the Ministry was a place he absolutely despised, in a tone that suggested the only way he could ever be found at the Ministry would either be against his will, or possibly dead.
“Let him in.” Mordecai got to his feet, still not believing in the news - but Sameera had never lied to him. Toyed with words and phrasing, yes, but never lied.
The healer stepped in, somehow looking gaunt and yet the air of someone with purpose. Sameera took one look between them hastily.
“I’ll go and look into the records, and maybe go find Morgenstern,” she said.
“He hasn’t been back for two hours. I better go check that he hasn’t lost himself in the IMC.” The door shut behind her, and then they were alone. Anyone trying to eavesdrop into the office with the IUM door shut would find their ears burning hotter the longer they attempted.
They stared at each other for a moment.
“Arc, wh--”
“Dad--”They stopped. Then Arcturus blinked.
“I have questions for you,” he said.
“Does it have to be now? In the middle of the workday?” He was more confused as to why his son was here in the Ministry rather than interrupting his work. Arcturus had always considered stepping into his parents’ lives to ask as a major bother rather than a familial need. If he was here, he had a damn good reason why.
“Yes it does.” He saw his son hesitate.
“Better not in front of mum.”
Mordecai grew increasingly concerned. “Arc, what is i--”
“Who’s Madame le Fay, and why does she claim to know you and me?”It took a moment for the name to register, but when it did he was struck with foreboding and shock. How in the world had she-- No, that was a silly question to ask. There weren’t that many Hollingburys around London, it would’ve been but the work of a moment to ask around. Arc’s dementing would have already made his name known slightly, and knowing her she would have her ways of prying information out of people without trouble.
“What do you think?” he said carefully. He had rules to obey... and unbeknownst to Arc, Linus had bound Mordecai
[1] with a
Prohibition Jinx about the whole matter. There were always loopholes to the law, though. “Who do you think...?”
“What I know: she knows you. She knows me. She’s too old to be a sister. Too young to be a grandparent or some cousin of said grandparent. Considers herself family blood, so not godparent. Based on that, I deduce she’s… an aunt.” Mordecai was impressed, and he knew Arc had seen the expression on his face. The healer however remained impassive.
“Is that true? She’s your sister?”And there was the loophole. He couldn’t give the answers - someone had to say them out loud. Arc would have figured it out on his own. “You would do well in the MLE if you were here,” he answered. Neither yes or no, but the implied tone that Arc was correct.
“Pass,” the healer said curtly.
“Madame le Fay… name’s familiar, but doesn’t quite ring the bell.”“Remember those stories I used to tell you two about King Arthur?” His son made it so incredibly easy to get around the pact, though in fairness Linus would not have banked on her to make contact with him.
There was a pause.
“...Morgan le Fay. Morgana.” He nodded his head slightly in response, still keeping to his word of silence.
“Morgana Hollingbury. That’s her name?”“Was. Now just the first.”
“Why?” Arc’s heavy, deliberate tone was making him worry for his son. He’d never seen the healer this determined in a long time.
“Why did you not tell us anything about her?”Mordecai leaned against an empty desk, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’m not allowed to. Your grandfather’s word, I swore to it. I can’t even directly refer - he’ll find out, and the last thing I want is the wrath of the previous generation down my neck when I have to look out for the next one.” He waved in the general direction of the office around him. “Why the contact?”
“Looking out for me. That’s her answer, not mine.” Arcturus’s eyes narrowed.
“When will you tell mum?”Mordecai shook his head. As much as he wanted to, he was explicitly forbidden. He could hear the regret in his voice. “Not possible, not while he’s still alive.”
“Why is she not part of the family?”“Caught trying out Dark magic. I wasn’t allowed to defend. Got kicked out into the streets, name burned off the family roster. Turned to crime to survive, made it a career. Came back, trying to turn over a new leaf. Criminal status still ongoing.” It sounded so
cold to describe her entire life that way, but he literally could not make it any more about her than he wanted to. “That’s the long and short of it.”
“Where was she during the Wizarding Wars?” There was a certain intense urgency for this, he sensed.
“Europe. Mostly France. Still associates with a few figures that the various Ministries have their radars, but no real need to pursue. Have heard rumours that the Ministries take advantage of the services provided, in exchange for silence… but not in exchange for a pardon.”
Arc finally dropped his gaze from his father, which as a relief - the brown-eyed stare had never been colder in his life.
“Then she doesn’t know the struggle,” he said, in a disgusted tone.
Mordecai took his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms across his chest. “What are you going to do with the information? This isn’t exactly classified and can be accessed by request, but it’s still not something you should just walk out of here with lightly.”
Only because you don’t, but that’s not for you to decide, isn’t it?“Knowledge is power. Isn’t that what you told us?” The healer turned on his heel.
“Could anyone make a request at the law records room of a criminal of this level? I have some homework to do.”“Just tell them the Head of Improper Use gave you permission.” It was better this way. With the pact still ongoing until Linus died or broke it, there was no feasible way Mordecai could ever spill the beans. Despite knowing that he had done his best to discuss it without breaking it, there was still a feeling of regret.
As his son made to leave, Mordecai got off the desk. “Arc. Listen. I would have told you, but… I am bound by family law. You know I can’t break the rules so easily. I tried to convince him to change the status quo, but... “ He shook his head. “You know what your grandfather’s like.”
Arc stopped in his tracks to listen, and when Mordecai was done, he turned his head slightly.
“Yeah, I know,” he said, still in the same heavy, unimpressed tone.
“Family, huh? I’ll see.”“Arc.” The healer paused. “When you have a family, you’ll understand. You’d do anything to keep them safe.”
When the healer spoke next, Mordecai had no answer for him. There was none to be made. No one could rebuke the shared voice in the darkness.
“And sometimes, good intentions pave the way to hell.”
[Oct 13] A Day When We No Longer Believe [SNAPSHOT]