Tuesday, 4pm
Sunrise 6:01am - Sunset 8:00pm


“I want to go through the events of last night, Monday 16th April 2018, in Manchester…”

Merlin he’d worn a tie and suit and everything. It somehow looked too formal, too dressed up on him in Nadine’s opinion. Cepheus Gamp had once been her brother-in-law, and still was the younger brother of her first daughter’s father. She couldn’t ever escape the Gamp family, they seemed to cling onto wizarding society through one disaster or another. Whether they were performing highly unethical experiments, or being hailed as once-in-a-generation minds for wolfsbane developments.

She’d known the summons would come soon enough, but she’d made sure to ignore it until she’d gone home, showered and slept. Being Division and their vampire paperwork pushers had been kept fretting for a few extra hours. Why, what were the vampires going to do? Stage a daytime protest? Rex had warned her that her work with vampires was risky enough after that one had almost ended her, but when he’d got wind that Crowe and Associates was representing the vampires he doubled down. She’d ignored her husband. He worried too much and these blood-suckers had no business claiming they were above the law.

There was Crowe, and then there was Vaillancourt. Of course he’d been brought along. Penny Pickler, Four’s Diversity Officer wouldn’t step foot in an office with Nadine since the auror had managed to put together a perfect and particular alliterative persuasive argument to humble the left-wing pronoun-pandering witch in front of a room full of other Ministry workers undergoing ‘re-training’ for their lack of sensitivity. Nadine didn’t feel at all bad for the woman’s tears. Penny Pickler didn’t know what it was like to face death at the fangs of a vampire.

She knew this vampire. He took a Ministry pay cheque and ‘advised’ or ‘liaised’. More like tipped off his mates in their covens. Used his methods to convince Ceph and the rest to legalise feedings. Vampires and their human food had literal loyalty cards to punch fang-holes in. Meanwhile the one who had punched permanent ones in Nadine was still at large missing a huge wooden stake through her.

“Cut the formalities, Ceph, we all know you’re just doing this to cover your Division’s backside.” Nadine interrupted, leaning forward over the meeting room desk. “You’ve come up here to Two to make a visible point.” She gestured with her dominant left hand. She wouldn’t have come to them, she was far too busy. Tonight was the night after new moon and there were other covens to spot check.

“You’re fine with Two doing checks but I had a feeling you had a special interest in the Scoundrels and their distasteful little pet.”

“Bloodwell.” Greensleeves chipped in, taking notes at Ceph’s left elbow. For a squib she was likeable, but she was on the wrong side here.

“A name doesn’t change a problem.” Nadine snapped, as if correcting a child. She didn’t gift the secretary a glance, but kept her attention on the Being Division Head and his vampire influencer.

“You know there is ongoing communication with the coven-.” Cepheus began in his soft, polite tone that had gained an edge today. Too little too late.

“Of course. Everything is copied to my desk.” Nadine replied dismissively. “But they were due.”

“This was why you went mob-handed.”

Nadine laughed at the choice of words.

“I took Abbott, Ackerzonne, and Clayton with me. I’m not sure they’d appreciate being called a mob.” They were three hitwix, two more experienced hands and one quick one who Nadine could more easily persuade. “It was the new moon, Ceph, do you want me to walk in there alone to conduct an inspection, with only some quill-pushers?”

His shifts at the Ministry varied - it was not unusual for Tristan to come to work long after most of wix kind were tucked into their restful beds, and remain throughout daylight hours. As was the case this day.

After receiving word from Zara it had become a priority to address the ever-overzealous methods of Auror Pinn. He was too old to harbour a simmering anger, naturally, but maintained a look of disdain.

"The Scoundrels are a legitimate establishment..." he clicked his tongue, brushing a bit of fluff off the collar of his antiquated jacket. "If their patrons can waltz in with peace of mind, Madame, it seems particularly cowardly of you to necessitate protection. Non?"

This was not a new dance. Pinn was no delicate flower in bloom, nor was she a politician who hopped about to cover their true meaning. She did not hide her loathing behind niceties.

As such, he spared her his own niceties nowadays.

"Unless you make the claim that you were met with aggression?" he added, with genuine curiousity.

Much as he loved his fellow vampire, he knew stories were told differently through other perspectives.