"Good morning Minister." Brinley Abbott was Senior Undersecretary to the Mnister of Magic. He took his job seriously. In the last year there had been temporal tampers, a griffin, a resurgence of magical measles and a trunk load of other things to handle with the Minister. Brinley took it all in his stride. He was a capable wizard and a former hitwizard. He was unflappable. Which is why he was sure this memo on the top of his pile was nothing to worry about. But it was his job to keep the Minister informed. Especially when it concerned the Minister himself.

The doors shut behind Abbott. He took a seat without invitation. This was all routine. He did not need to stand on ceremony. "Madam Hopwood's replacement is confirmed sir. Mr Leon Halloran from MACUSA." Brinley passed a short resume of the wizard to the Minister. "For your interest sir. Given your ties to Madam Som's team." Glass had led the third floor before his appointment. Led it for decades. Hopwood's resignation had come as a shock.

"I did speak to Madam Hopwood." Brinley cleared his throat. "Or attempt to Minister. She was most reluctant. Did not want to let me in. All she said was 'it would all come out in the wash'." He stared intently at his boss.

Edwin received the paperwork. The magical moving photograph portrayed a wizard with heavy, overshadowing eyebrows, and frown lines. His eyes were ever so slightly too far apart to be reassuring. Previously at MACUSA, their equivalent of mysteries, then catastrophes, reaching Head Obliviator. Then rather than a promotion to something higher had crossed the pond. Unusual. Edwin doubted they were funding a better wage. Still, it was good to know that Hopwood was going to be out of his thinning hair. She had looked increasingly uncomfortable in his presence since the Musgrave business. They no longer had a score to settle.

“I did speak to Madam Hopwood,” Abbott continued, reliable to a fault. Edwin glanced up from Halloran’s summary at the other wizard’s pause. “Or attempt to…” The former hitwizard cleared his throat and Edwin paid closer attention. “… said it would all come out in the wash.”

He didn’t realise his mouth had twitched, the tell was entirely unconscious. Not that there would be a ‘tell’ for Abbott to know about. He’d only tasked his Senior Undersecretary with probing the reasons behind Hopwood’s unexpected resignation since reasons had been lacking in her letter. At sixty-something the witch had plenty of life left in her by witch standards, and her office held her in very high regard.

The Minister’s gaze slid past Abbott a moment, thinking, and then refocused.
“Is Hopwood under some investigation?” He asked directly. “Any complaint against her?” He tried to pose it as best he could within the frame of Minister and former direct superior.

"None that I am aware Minister." Said Brinley. He now doubted himself. Had he missed a key detail? "I will be sure to check again for you sir." As for the wash he did not know either. "Perhaps the stress of the job got to her." As it could to them all. Magic or no magic. "Would you like to send her a note congratulating her on retirement?" Edwin had been invited to sign her official leaving card. But on occasion the message was generic and written by Pickler. "You worked together sir?"

Abbott had done his job, though Edwin could recognise a little seed of doubt now accidentally planted in the Undersecretary’s mind. Bother.

“Perhaps the stress of the job got to her.”
“Perhaps.”

“Would you like to send her a note congratulating her on her retirement? You worked together, Sir?”

“We did,” Edwin confirmed, “more than that, actually. We were same year at Hogwarts and trained as obliviators together in the late sixties.” She was a Hufflepuff, he a Slytherin. Through the war she’d escaped and hid Muggle-borns, while he, a half-blood had trod that line very gingerly, using his Slytherin sorting to keep himself out of the spotlight with the Dark Lord.

“And of course we served in Accidents and Catastrophes for our careers until I became Minister. Forty odd years.” He paused as if reminiscing about those ‘golden’ years fondly, while he was more dwelling on the time they’d been an item.

“I’ll organise something myself, Abbott, not that I don’t appreciate your impeccable attention to detail. But she’s an old friend, and I feel I should honour that personally.” Perhaps with a warning not to go talking about more recent events and returned favours.

“Now tell me about that revised proposal for the flying cars bill,” the Minister asked, sitting forward keenly and changing the subject. “Will I be sending you and Som off to research flying carpets next? That dealer wrote again according to Pickler.”

Madam Hopwood must be special to the Minister to get such special treatment. Being uninformed of the reasons for her leaving was at odds with this picture. But the Minister had little time for friends. That would be it. They had fallen out of touch with his new job. Brinley brushed away his doubts.

"She did." Confirmed Brinley. "As charmable objects go... carpets are considerably easier." They were popular in other cultures over broomsticks. "But done poorly could result in more problems. The average wix does not own a motorcar. It is much more likely the population will pursue the proper routes to purchase a specially charmed one. Than to enchant their living room rug."

He adjusted his tie. A tiny indication he was touched by the mention of Quill Som. The two had grown quite close of late. One might even say they were dating. Brinley did not care much for the word. He would call it courting. They had gone to the States together.

"We would not be against the research trip Sir." He posited.

“I’m sure,” Edwin agreed with a sly grin. He had once been known for ‘chasing skirt’ and he was not as conventionally handsome as Brinley Abbott. He was glad for them both, particularly for Quill whom he was fond of and respected highly. He trusted both to act with integrity and couldn’t picture them both acting like teenagers in love, thankfully.

“Draw up a proposed itinerary, no more than four days. Can’t spare you for much longer this time.” Wasn’t that Brinley was indispensable (which he was), or that Quill was integral (which she was) but that he liked to have his man close by. This Hopwood business made him somewhat uneasy. It was against Morwenna’s impeccable work ethic to up and stop so easily.

There was a knock at the door, Pickler again.

“That’ll be all, Abbott. Thank you.”

He had the Hungarian Minister in his fireplace momentarily…

End