“Gosh, feels like forever since I saw you in person, rather than printed in the paper.” Elixa perched herself on one of the stools at Edwin’s breakfast bar. “How’s it going Minister? I mean, you’ve lost weight, like I could really tell when I gave you a hug on the doorstep.”

She had apparated into his back garden, to a point she was familiar with for the short time she had lived with him on coming to England. His cousin had thrown her arms around him in greeting only to exclaim at his weight loss. To her it was a big difference as she had not hugged him in months, if not years. Edwin had lost track. Time moved simultaneously fast and slow with his job. It was a good job he had not ordinarily kept up with family before becoming Minister, as he would have alienated them all with his absence.

“Thank you,” he accepted genuinely, “Lost weight, and hair apart from gaining some greys.” His fingertips brushed at his temples and the crown of his head which was definitely much more bald for the last year. “Turns out running things is a little stressful.” He pinched his fingertips together as he remarked, smiling. It was refreshing to be honest and candid.
    “Never!” She scoffed, throwing her hands up. “I thought running the country would be easy!” Elixa laughed, and took the cold beer from him. “To think that the greatest stress was Octavius Pepper and your car when I got here.”
“Hmm,” Edwin agreed, lifting his own bottle to his lips and drinking. “How time changes. We’re in the process of getting those on the road, or rather air.” Elixa had been there the day Octavius had come over to fix Edwin’s car, and ended up breaching the Statute over the village.

“I sent Abbott to research that one for me.” Edwin explained, taking the stool beside her. There was a curry on the way, he’d called it in earlier. He’d had a telephone installed, as it was another way to communicate long distance other than the floo. The Americans were rather intrigued with it and he didn’t want to seem behind the times.
    “Ooh, that’s the good looking one isn’t it?” Lix asked, folding one leg over the other. “I keep seeing him in the background of your speeches.” It was surprising how observant she was at following him. As Minister he was rarely out of the paper, but he didn’t expect her to keep up with things as routine as his speeches. As for Brinley Abbott, well, he’d clearly caught her eye.

“He is, I suppose,” Edwin agreed, accepting that the Senior Undersecretary regularly caught the eye of witches (and some wizards) in his presence when they made introductions. “I thought you were spoken for last we spoke?”
    “I am… sort of.” Edwin raised a thinning eyebrow, fully in the know but wanting it from her lips. “Alright, yes, me and Eva Kuester. It’s not like you don’t know… Witch Weekly blabbed it.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“It caught me by surprise,” he admitted, “you’re right, but it’s not anything Kuester and I used to discuss.” It was more dementors and government policy. Kuester hadn’t particularly warmed to Glass, and he had made peace with that. She’d shifted off to work with Solomon Carstairs in the Magical Law office, which was for the best. She was cramping his style as Minister with her morals.

“What can I say,” Lix gestured to herself and parted her arms, “I am a tonic to people who are stressed in the most surprising ways.” She was wearing her mischievous smile.
    “So why do you say ‘sort of’?” He asked, probing. His beer was going down much more quickly than he expected. He’d need to open them a second before the food arrived.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she pouted, leaning her elbow on the kitchen side between them. “I’m just not one to be tied down, unless literally.” She winked at him, cackling and he shook his head part in discouragement and part in knowing this was just her. “I thought I might be up for something more regular but you know, but the spark isn’t quite the same. I’m not the sort who will be climbing into the same bed. Familiarity is alright with a break, but I like exploring someone new.” He could empathise with some of that, at least in decades past. But he’d actually craved climbing in and out of the same bed with the same woman. Not Kuester though.

“What about Kuester?” He asked politely, though actually intrigued. He’d never seen this relationship between the witches coming.
    “Not the same.” Lix replied quickly, then paused to think a little more on it. “Well, I think I was something new, but I don’t think she’s really happy with the public persona of it, you know? I’m not the sort to take to formal things.”
“You do yourself down. You’re a respected healer.” Eva had taken Elixa to things he’d attended in his role as Minister. She knew how to behave in public, despite her reputation and needs.

“Am I though?” She fished, gesturing with her bottle, “Am I reeeeally?” She drew out the word, and put down her beer, before gathering her long black curls behind her neck in both hands. “I get people better, yes, but I’m not off saving the world from high profile cases like Eva and Harper.” She released her hair and raised an eyebrow, grinning at him. “Those two should get it on: power couple ladies.”

He laughed at the idea.
“Perish the thought, no criminal would be safe!” He declared, finishing his beer and getting up to fetch them both another.

As he popped the caps with his wand, he lowered his voice.
“Do you think they would?”
    “Ooh… no…” Lix shook her head. “Not unless Harper is even more closeted than Eva was.” She continued to sip her first beer while he took a thirsty gulp of his second. “I mean, there was a time we almost ended up with Harper in a threesome-” He choked on the mouthful. “I’m sworn to secrecy on that one though!”

He put his bottle down with a bump and wiped his lips.
“You what? You’ve been spending time with them both?!”
    “Not like that!” She smacked him on the upper arm in retaliation for the suggestion. “Harper’s like a real good friend of Eva’s so I tag along. Like New Year’s.” She smiled more gently, eyes heading upwards as she recalled the scene of the cottage, Harper’s dog, the food. “Only they were too busy talking shop about some memories Harper had… so I wandered around Harper’s cottage to check if her knickers are as frumpy as her job makes her out.”

Edwin caught himself before he asked if her investigation concluded that they were, or if the lawyer was actually hiding expensive lingerie under her power dressing.
“They talked about memories while you fished in her knicker drawer?” He asked incredulously, all the same. He had not expected to be discussing Harper Graves’ underwear drawer within ten minutes of Lix Mordent’s arrival.

“Yeah,” She confirmed. “Something to do with the guy we had in the hospital for months.” His beer stopped midway to his lips. “Isn’t that trial coming up soon now he’s in Azkaban?” It was back on the table.
  “It is.” He confirmed, somewhat more soberly, his interest well and truly caught now. “Why, were they someone’s memories about him?”
“No,” Lix shook her head, seemingly relaxed about talking about this. Either unaware of the significance or forgetful. “Think they were his memories.”

The doorbell rang, a noise that made both of them start, given it was unusual to hear. Only Muggles used it.
“Shall I get that?” He motioned wordlessly to her to oblige, his mind already working out the best route to get his distant relative back on the topic of the memories Harper Graves had from Lawrence Musgrave’s head.