Luthas didn't normally spend much time on Level Two, his time spent keeping the legal archives organized and mentally complaining that having access to a computer would make things easier. His time at the National Archives, he would admit, had spoiled him - though a dozen self writing quills and a crew of drafted interns helped.  Unfortunately Ministry scuttlebutt had finally gotten around, which meant that the interns who didn't have a specific job to do were avoiding the place like the plague.

While normally he would snag a nearby runner to send off the requested documents, this time he was bringing the requested documents personally. It wasn't because they were old or contained sensitive information (those would never leave the library after the last time one came back with jam and crumbs all over it) but because he had wanted to talk to one of the Aurors about something that had been bothering him lately.

Entering the Auror Headqarters, he didn't see Adon Eleor, his normal contact for this specific case,  around. But his partner Jonas Trevelyan was sitting at the pair's desks. Luthas shrugged mentally and walked over to where he was sitting. He didn't mind Eleor, but Trevelyan was definitely the more easy going of the two for Luthas to get along with.

Luthas knocked politely on the edge of Trevelyan's desk to catch the wizard's attention. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I have the reports Eleor requested." He pulled the file out from under his arm and held it out for Trevelyan to take. "Ishane also wanted me to tell you two that whatever ward was causing the water pump on her hydroponics tanks and fountains to malfunction seems to have stopped now." He smirked. "So you don't have to worry about her showing up to grouse at you anymore - though," his smirk became irritated, "She now has someone else to focus her ire at."

It was hard to believe that it was already Wednesday.  The week had been passing by surprisingly quickly -- not because of any building stress or constant sense of overwork, but because they finally had leads to run down and clues to follow up on.  Trishna's code had cracked open the door, the surveillance on Prideaux's vehicles had pointed them in the right direction, and once they'd put a tail on Don Mallard (Adon had had to nearly threaten to strangle him to get Jonas to quit making duck jokes), the bloke had proceeded to lay golden egg after golden egg of valuable information.

For once, it felt like they were getting somewhere.  The Runespoor smuggling ring had operated deep under cover for years, but they were finally starting to creep into that hen house.  Slowly but surely, the two Aurors were starting to piece the clues back together.  Pinning anything on Prideaux himself was still a bit of a pipe dream, but with every lead they tracked down and with every key player they identified, actually being able to build the case was feeling more and more like reality.

Jonas had been lounging at his desk, feet kicked up on the trash bin, idly reviewing the last few days' worth of surveillance on Mallard as he waited for his partner to arrive.  With Dreogan and Akiva's wedding the prior weekend, Adon's hours had become slightly more erratic in recovery, and he'd warned Jonas the day before that he had business at the Israeli embassy that morning.  The knock was enough to catch his attention.  Jonas glanced up quizzically, eyebrows raised, before relaxing at the sight of his visitor.

"Yeah?  Who's that, then?" he asked cheerfully, flashing Blair a quick smile as he extended a hand for the papers.  The archivist normally helped the Aurors with their legal research, and Jonas and Adon had gotten to know the Blair family much better after Tapendra Trishna had requested protection for them in early May. 

"Thanks, mate," he said, as he began to flip through the file.  All extraordinarily ancient and official-looking; that meant it was Adon's area of expertise, not his.  "Glad to hear it's all working again, at least.  You find a way to stop the wards from frying your mobile, and we might have to talk," he added with a crooked grin.

Luthas chuckled. "Avoiding the areas they're placed in seems to work just fine. The family room and my office is safe at least, though not Ish's lab, aparently." He lazily glanced around the busy office. Aurors bustled around constantly and the amount of people talking turned everyone else's converations into a constant buzz. It was far busier than the section of the library that he managed. While there were people in the archives constantly, it was so quiet that someone walking to one end of the library could be heard on the other.

"I know you're not allowed to tell me anything, but I do hope the investigation is going well." Though that didn't stop him being curious about it. After all, Tapendra's life could be on the line if things were bungled. When Tappy had told them that he had informed the others, Luthas never felt more regret at allowing himself to be talked out of joining the force than he did at that moment. If he had joined the force he could have taken over and made sure his family was safe.

That feeling had weighed on him. He had always had a passing regret at not joining the force but it never lasted for long - until know. And he really wanted to help, to do something rather than just waiting around. Joining the Aurors would be the easiest way to directly help.

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Trevelyan, if you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to rejoin the aurors after quitting? I imagine it must have been difficult, if only with the transition."

The red-haired man blinked, pausing mid-page turn to glance up at the other wizard.  "Sounds like the start to a longer conversation than just dropping off some files, doesn't that?" he asked mildly.

He frowned at Blair -- more in thought than in any consternation -- and leaned back in his chair, crossing his ankles under the desk as he mulled over the question.  The archivist, like most of Tapendra Trishna's mates, was extremely protective of the astronomer.  If Jonas had to make a venture, he'd guess that the unexpected question had something to do with a renewed interest in his motivations, but what had triggered the suspicion this time around, he couldn't begin to predict.

Still, there was no way out of it but being honest. 

"Well, Level Two paid a hell of a lot better than what I was doing," he said after a beat.  "Professionally getting yourself into trouble doesn't really offer the best options on a retirement plan when you're self-employed."  Nor did it lead to very good odds of reaching a retirement age at all.  The thought of having the Ministry to watch his back, even the same Ministry that had turned on him once a decade ago, had been legions more assuring than continuing what he had been doing alone.  There were only so many times that one could risk playing with fire.

"So, I reckon it was the money.  This was safer too, believe it or not."  Jonas raised his eyebrows as he glanced back at the archivist.  "And I reckon I missed it -- the work, the coworkers.  Except for the ones like Radley," he added in a raised voice, directing the words towards his former partner's desk, just in case the big Auror happened to be listening.  He couldn't get away with even teasingly undervaluing Adon without causing the Israeli to suddenly question his self worth, but Archer Radley had an ego of steel.

"Yeah, there were bits about the transition that were hard, but what isn't?" he asked with a shrug, returning to his normal volume as he returned his attention to Blair.  "I don't think I had it so bad, anyhow.  Had plenty of mates in the Corps already, so I reckon I missed most of the hazing bits."

It wasn’t as though the Auror office was sound proof, unless, of course, you wanted it to be.  Intentional muffling charms were not uncommon in the place, but things that weren’t muffled – well, they were in an office of highly trained officers.  It wasn’t as though their investigative skills shut off when they weren’t in the field.  So, the talk between Trevelyan and Blair, Archer assumed, was nothing out of the ordinary.

He wouldn’t have even been fazed, if not for, of course, the raised voice, meant to provoke him.  Luckily, the ginger had no impact on Archer’s self-worth, and in fact, amused him more than hurt his feelings any day.  They had a normal back and forth, common of a brotherhood like the auror corps, and it didn’t hurt that back in the day (he could say that when – embarrassingly enough a decade had passed). 

“Such noble motivations!” Archer commented, like the peanut gallery he was, with an unsolicited opinion on Jonas’ reasons for joining the corps again.  “Might want to get you a medal of honor for that – I’ll put in a word with the boss,” he laughed to himself, shaking his head as he turned back to his paperwork – since, desk duty really seemed to be the place he was put more often than not these days.  Apparently this was what happened when you tried to help bring down a criminal outside of the legal boundaries… but, hey… it was a thing.   

Rufus’ now large head lifted at the sound, lazy eyes readjusting as he opened and closed his jowls.  The dog was getting big, Archer noted; much to his preference and definitely Tamis’ detriment.  Rufus probably weighed just about as much as she did now.  You could only imagine how that worked at either flat.  Archer leaned down, rubbed the dog’s head and Rufus resumed his slumber with a huff and rolled over.  Like owner, like dog. 

Seemed Rufus wasn’t the only one who was going to roll himself over on this one.  Archer barked a laugh – again, startling the dog, and rolled his eyes at Jonas’ comments.  “You’d be no fun to haze – too easy,” Archer called back, his feet up on the desk. 

Luthas nodded, "Makes sense. If you're going to be putting your life on the line it's probably best to do it while earning a steady paycheck." His eyes flicked upward in thought,"The back up from everyone else I would probably rate higher."

He smirked as Jonas and Archer playfully ribbed each other. "Oh, I don't know. I say you could get pretty creative before he'd break," Luthas chuckled. "Speaking of hazing, I met some of your trainees last night. They're an interesting bunch from what I saw. I think you'll have fun with them." His smirk grew wider, "I know I'll be enjoying the new batch of minions."

"Talking to them brought back memories though." Luthas smiled, "I had wanted to join the Aurors when I was in school, you know. And my parents were on board, but after sixth my mam completely changed her mind. Wouldn't hear of me joining the force at all and kept hounding me to pick something else. Said she had a bad feeling." Luthas frowned slightly, his eyes staring off into memory. "With the attack on the ministry a couple of years later I guess she was right. Almost lost Da in that one."  Luthas pulled himself out of his nostalgia, "Did you always want to go into law enforcement? Or was it one of those spur of the moment things."

Luthas leaned against Jonas' desk, eyeing the man thoughtfully. He was feeling impatient and just wanted to ask if they took almost 34 year old archivists as Aurors but...well maybe he should just bite the bullet as it were. "Trevelyan, what's the cut off age to be a trainee?"

It hadn't taken Jonas very long after his return to get used to the idea that no conversation was sacred in the Auror office.  He cracked a grin at Archer's interjection, looking entirely bemused by the teasing.  Nodding to Blair in a half-hearted attempt to show he was still listening, he tore off half of a sheet of blank parchment, crumbled it unceremoniously into a ball, and then flicked it over the top of the cubicle wall in the direction of Radley's desk.

"Me?" he asked, blinking as he attempted to catch up with the conversation again.  Blair -- talking -- wanted to be an Auror.  Jonas mentally replayed the last few sentences, and then shook his head.  "Naw," he said ruefully.  "I knew for years that this was what I wanted to do -- me uncle used to work for the constabulary down in Exeter, and I reckon I would have joined up anyhow, even if I hadn't been a wizard."

"Me best mate in school had always wanted to be an Auror," he added, eyeing the top of the cubicle wall for any sign of retaliation as he spoke.  Carefully, he began to heft the other items sitting on his desk, weighing their suitability for an aerial counterstrike.  "So I latched on to that early on.  Couldn't have imagined doing anything else -- and it's nice to be back at it again," he admitted, closing his hand discreetly around an ink jar.  "Reckon I'd like to think this time will last."

Simple curiosity didn't seem to be the only thing weighing on Blair's mind, though.  The archivist had paused, letting the silence hang thoughtfully between them, but his next question wasn't anything that Jonas could have predicted.

"Trevelyan, what's the cut off age to be a trainee?"

The red-haired man blinked, his aerial defenses momentarily forgotten.  "The cut off age?" he repeated, frowning at the other wizard.  That hadn't been the question he had been expecting.  "I don't know, mate.  Most of 'em are just kids, maybe eighteen or twenty, but I've seen a couple older -- I don't think Adon started training until he was in his mid-twenties, but he had some unusual circumstances.  Why?"   He leaned back in his chair, his forehead creasing as he regarded Blair with an air of concern.  "Not thinking about a career change, are you?"

The wad of paper was not a very impressive rebuttal to Archer’s brilliant comments.  No, it truly lacked in all finesse and excitement.  Archer unfolded it, thinking that perhaps it had a message in it – something to make it a little more sparkling in the realm of office prank war, but it was not the case.  Just a blank piece of parchment.   Archer shook his head and took out his quill.

Something needed to be done about this.  So, Archer started to write a little note on it. 

“Be more creative, you lousy tosser,” Archer crossed the last T for good measure and snorted to himself.  He felt right proud that he at least came up with something, and then put his wand to the paper.  He magicked it, quite like he might have in the days of Hogwarts, and started to write another line, “You throw like a girl, Trevelyan,” and then repeated the process again, and again… and again.  The more he thought of, the more he scribbled.

Trevelyan would have fun reading this one.  Archer crumpled it up again and launched the (literally) offending paper over the top of the cubicles.  It didn’t matter what Trevelyan was actually doing, all that mattered was that this was not over.  He still hadn’t even made up for the birthday party yet…

"Not thinking about a career change, are you?"

"Well, actually yes." It was somewhat of a relief that it was finally out in the open. Now to sell it, "I've been thinking about it. To me..." Luthas trailed off, all the well planed talking points were no where to be found now that he needed them. "I want to do something. I've never been the type to sit around and do nothing if I can do something. I want to be active in helping the force out and the most direct way to do that is to be a member."

Luthas' face was serious. "This is not some spur of the moment thing. I've been thinking about this for months now and if there's danger to my family and friends then I want to be the one protecting them, not relying on others to do so."  He tried to hold Jonas' gaze, attempting to project his sincerity and determination into Jonas' mind. "No offence is intended but-"

Luthas started as a wad of paper landed on his head. Irritated at being interrupted, he grabbed the crumpled wad and flattened it out, reading the message as he did so. Any other time Luthas would be up for office pranks but not now, he shoved the paper in Jonas' direction. "It's for you." Taking a big breath, he continued. "Basically I want to do it myself and I don't want to rely on others who I don't know very well."

Jonas was frowning now, the ink jar forgotten in his hand, his attention fully focused on the archivist.  This didn't strike him as some spur of the moment thing.  Blair, from what he had observed, was thorough and deliberate; anyone who worked in the Ministry's library was both by necessity, and for the man to have won favor with Level Two, he had to be good at his job.  For him to have broached the subject at all, he must have thought it through -- which didn't make it any less worrying.

No, there was no requirement that Auror trainees had to be a certain age.  Most came in young.  When Tamis had joined at twenty-one, she had been old enough to be a bit of an aberration.  Adon had certainly been too, but he had had years of military and investigative experience to lend him credibility before he'd joined the Near East Auror office.  A librarian had useful skills, but not nearly to the same degree.

Jonas listened, watching the other wizard, taking in his gestures and his expression.  He was concentrated so thoroughly that he nearly missed the ball of paper that was sent flying back into his cubicle.  Blinking, he took the smoothed out piece of paper from Blair, giving it a glance.  The words 'Did Bailey teach you that one?' flashed back at him, before dissolving into something uncomplimentary about his hair color. 

That decided it. 

"Well, you don't need to be an Auror to protect the folks you care about, mate," he informed Blair with a frown, gathering up his papers.  The two case files that had been sitting on his desk were tucked under his arm, as well as the files that Blair had just delivered and anything else that looked important.  If he was going to vacate the premises after his next assault, he didn't need to leave anything here to suffer the inevitable counterattack.  "I mean, I reckon you can do it just as well from where you're at; work on defense magic, or talk to Adon about some self defense."

With everything crucial in his possession, Jonas partially unscrewed the cap to the ink jar, leaving it just teetering on the threads.  "And Auror training's not easy," he added, as he lobbed the nearly-opened ink jar over the wall and into Radley's cubicle.  It was likely to be messy, and committing the act felt a bit like the office warfare equivalent bringing a dragon to a flobberworm race, but what else was magic for if not cleaning up after practical jokes? 

"I mean, I don't think I could get through the physical bits now," he added, gesturing to his knee as he limped quickly out of the cubicle.  Nor the magic, but he wasn't going to bring that up aloud.  "You wouldn't get any shortcuts, Blair.  You'd have to start at the beginning just like everyone else."

"Oh I can be defensive about things. If someone attacks our home I can defiantly put them in their place. But as an archivist I can't be active about it. I defiantly can't be proactive about it."

Luthas tried to keep his irritation out of his voice and expression. Most people who thought of a librarian or an archivist thought of someone who was slightly chubby, dressed exclusively in tweed with a bowtie that doesn't match, and thick glasses. His mentor Pollux Black certainly fit that stereotype to a tee, Luthas however didn't and actively tried to avoid being associated with it. It normally didn't bother him, primarily because most people were not obvious about it. But being dismissed like this was really starting to bring out the snark.

"I've been regularly fencing since I was 15, Trevelyan. And I've been doing Muay Thai for over a decade. I think I can handle the physical part of the job, thank you very much." He hadn't fought against an unwilling opponent in a long time though, and he doubted the aurors would allow a pair of guard dogs to follow him around as back up. "The Aurors don't really use them but I've been training guard dogs since I was little. I've also been taught to deal with attack and defensive spells since I could hold a wand. It's the Blair family tradition after all," He added.

He was the heir to the Blair Estate and grounds. He knew magical security and while things weren't a direct translation he knew how to patrol, he knew how to look for suspicious activity and he knew how to deal with invaders. "I know the training won't be easy, I know that the job won't be easy. I understand that I'll be starting from the ground up. As long as I get a fair chance, starting at the beginning won't bother me." He crossed his arms, eyebrow quirked as if asking 'any more objections?'

Whatever he said, it was clear that Blair had already made up his mind.  Jonas cast a thoughtful look at the archivist as he limped away from his own cubicle and over towards Adon's, ignoring any cry of protest that might come from Radley.  He'd come in with his course already set, with his arguments in order; this was making his case rather than asking for advice in setting his course.

Still, it felt wrong just letting this go unimpeded.  Whatever the rest of the magical world's view was of Aurors -- heroic or incompetent, meddling or vigilantes -- the stereotypes never quite matched the reality.  There was Adon, with the sharpest temper and the biggest heart of anyone that Jonas had ever known.  Radley, who underneath his sometimes-overbearing surface, would give anything for the people and ideals that he loved.  Pratt, unquestioningly dedicated to his family and still hurting beyond belief behind his sharp blue gaze.  Roh, brash and bold, and Cavanaugh, so quietly competent and unexpectedly brave.  Harcroft, who was irritatingly precise but undoubtedly loyal.  Even Faust, still feeling out his place amongst his fellows.

Jonas had no doubt that he worked alongside the bravest men and women in the magical world.  He knew that he'd give his life for any of them, and he did not doubt that they'd do the same for any of their fellows.  But that sense of belonging, that brotherhood, came with a price.  Every Auror shouldered a burden.  Every day, the cost of their commitment rose until eventually, it was too much.  It was why Ackerly Fox had quit; why Tamis was so alone; why he had left; why Ed Pratt had nearly broken.  It was a weight that he'd never wish on anyone.

"That's not all there is to it."  He hesitated, leaning an arm against the wall of Adon's cubicle as he visibly searched for the proper words.  Even if Blair had already decided, it still needed to be said.

"It's not an easy life," he said at last.  "It's not glamorous.  You'll put your family in more danger just by giving it a try, Blair.  Pratt lost his parents because of a maniac.  Me best mate was murdered because of a case when we were both barely out of training.  And it's bloody frustrating sometimes," he added, shaking his head.  "It never ends.  It's once in a blue moon that we feel like we've won.  And even then, we're only holding off the darkness for another day, not ever putting a stop to it entirely."  He met Blair's gaze, his own eyes questioning, searching.  "If you're thinking on joining up because you want to make a difference, just know it'll take years before you do."

Luthas got up and followed Jonas, "I know that Trevalen. During my time helping the aurors and through my own research I've read a lot of case law. I've read the reports of previous aurors, what they went through, what their process is. I know how hard the job is, I also know how long the process is including what happens after the aurors end their part."

Luthas sighed and looked solmly at Jonas, "While they are only reports and not being physically there, I probably have a better idea of what the job will be like than any of your fresh from Hogwarts trainees." He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "And even though it will take a while, I still will be able to make a difference."

Jonas studied him for a long moment, his mouth pressed shut.  "We'd all like to think so," he said, more tired than dry.  Making a difference wasn't something that came so naturally to anyone.  It never appeared on anyone's to do list; it wasn't so easy as simply checking it off.  Most of the time, it wasn't even on their radar.  You just did.  You hoped somewhere along the line that you would.

He sighed, and then gave a helpless shrug in the other man's direction.  "Look, Blair," he said simply.  "If your mind's made up, there's nothing I can do to talk you out of it.  You should talk to Rosier and ask him about admission into the training program.  Just, ahh --"

Jonas hesitated, trying to think of what advice exactly he'd give to someone who was doomed to interact with the current head of Magical Law Enforcement.  Cameron Rosier hadn't exactly been in the best place recently.

"Just stay calm, whatever he throws at you," he said at last.  "And ignore him if he says anything about taking your trousers off; that's what the rest of us do.  But I'd make sure I don't have any illusions about this."  He watched the archivist, his expression cautious.  "I reckon it'll be even harder than you think."

Luthas snorted, choosing to leave Jonas' last warning unanswered. "Noted." Somehow he believed that Rosier's behavior towards Jonas was more related to Jonas himself rather that Rosier treated everyone the same way. In his own limited interactions with the man, Rosier came across as competent but distracted, most likely because of everything that was going down on level two.

"I'll go talk to him then." He straightened and headed towards the door. After walking a few feet he turned and looked back at Jonas, "Trevelyan, I know you were only trying to warn me but thank you. For answering my questions at least." He turned and walked out before Jonas could respond heading towards Cameron Rosier's office.



End.