to protect & serve | nottingham

[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

THERE WAS A TANGIBLE AWARENESS OF disappointment. Claire had had a sixth sense for it since she was a child, she could practically smell the emotion before it even arose. But, there was nothing quite as bad as disappointment in ones self. Or, so her mother had told her, her prim voice as distant as it was emotionless. Claire had gotten the call before she'd even been summoned in to the office.

"Leaking private, confidential information, Claire Evangeline...?" Her mother's voice had dripped across the network, echoing from the fire where she had appeared, her expression hotter than the coals she emerged from. She felt as if she were being carted off to Azkaban already, a dementor feasting on her soul in the shape of her mother's sculpted expression. And then she'd received the owl that she was due in her superiors office immediately. She hadn't meant to tell Grey the girl's name, but even then she'd soothed herself by thinking her brother wouldn't use it. Of course, they were both Slater's. And they were nothing if not ruthlessly ambitious. Errand boy no more, Claire thought scathingly.

Crossing her legs, Claire sat on the hardback chair and waited for her punishment. Would she be demoted on the spot? Would she be sent home? The Ministry was already struggling with the onslaught of the sick, and the nationwide quarantine. But, apparently neither of those things would happen to her. No, they hadn't confronted her at all. After all, they couldn't prove she was the leak, though it was fairly obvious. No, their punishment was far more creative.

"You've been reassigned," They told her, their expression already logged off. "A partner will be issued to you." So she couldn't be trusted on her own. "And together you will, for the foreseeable future, be expected to man and protect our new borders from internal and external threats." Claire had swallowed roughly, her expression sour. But, she had accepted her punishment without fight. She had always been a glutton for punishment. So, there she sat, her head in a noose, waiting for the poor soul who would be trapped with her forsaken reputation. Her superior had left her there without a second glance. And when the door opened again, Claire turned, almost ready to fight for her place at the Ministry. And then she stilled at the figure standing there.

"No." Claire exclaimed, standing abruptly so that the chair she had been seated at toppled behind her. "Absolutely not!" She scoffed, her face going red as she side stepped over the mess she had made and marched for the door. "I don't know what you think is happening here, but it is not happening." Claire's nostrils flared, her brow breaking out in an angry sweat. "Get out of my way, Nottingham." Claire said her name like a  curse, her hand up as if to push the other auror out of her way. This girl was, in Claire's eyes, the very reason she was in this position to begin with. 

finn kylie nottingham

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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The road to recovery had been long and slow. The mediwizards that had been tasked with her recovery had mentioned something about having her right leg being some of the worst non-magical damage they had ever witnessed before. She managed to sneak a glance at her x-rays and found it hard pressed to call it a leg anymore. Thankfully a few painful nights later of bone regrowth and repair had her back to tip top shape, albeit having to relearn how to walk again. Then came the months of physical therapy and training to see if she was back in proper shape. It was almost like going through the rookie program all over again. Her physical therapist even suggested that she sit in with the new class of trainees at first, just so that she could work on the basics again. Finn initially scoffed at the notion of hanging with children all day, but it turned out to be the fastest way to recovery. The trainers also let her give input – apparently the MACUSA training program differed immensely from their own, which wasn’t much of a surprise to her. The Ministry lacked action, which was why they kept getting caught with their pants down. She had become complacent herself, and that was exactly why she was in her current position.

Her first order back, after appropriate lessons and tests were finished (and her reprimanding for bringing down a no-maj building in the middle of London was done), was to do light border patrol work. There were other MACUSA aurors stationed around now, and they had to get a lay of the land on their own. Basically she was being shoved into the corner until they needed her again. Not taking action and being benched was Finn’s biggest pet-peeve, but it was better than being dead. All she was told was to head to the Head Auror office, where she would be given details of the exact job and who her partner would be.

Having said office door opened to a very irritated young female auror practically cursing at her was not how Finn imagined it to start. She knew of the other woman: Claire Slater, the one that killed the first key Purifier member a few years earlier. Apparently that title came with entitlement, and now she was in trouble for something as well. Finn could sympathize – they all did stupid things in their first few years in the field. Sometimes they didn’t outgrow it, despite making smart, tactical choices most of the time. Finn thought she was a great example of that herself, even going as far as to break the law a bit during her time off from MACUSA.

A glare from the elder aurors left in the room told Finn that she was supposed to follow Slater, and with a sigh and a packet of orders later, she was doing just that. “Hey!” Finn yelled down the hall after her as she jogged up behind, “I have no idea what stupid shit you did to get yourself stuck with me, but don’t throw your temper tantrum until you’re out of sight of them.” She motioned with her head back at the office they had just left, hoping that her point was a valid one Slater would consider. Finn then slapped the other woman’s packet of papers into her hands, not caring if she took them or let them fall to the ground. “We’ll probably only be doing this until the rookies graduate in a few weeks, and then they’ll have us back on the front lines. We’re too valuable to them.”

Claire Evangeline Slater ● 604 ● Carte Blanche by Couer De Pirate

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[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

THE SITE OF NOTTINGHAM STANDING BEFORE Claire felt like some kind of cruel joke. She had, inadvertently, cause Claire to lose her prestigious front-line position. Or, so she saw it. If Finn hadn't blow up that building and gotten herself hurt, Claire would never have accidentally let her name slip. She wouldn't have faced punishment and reassignment. But, the icing on the cake was that her reassignment was to the very woman she had grown to despise.

Storming from the room, Claire was already thinking of all the ways she could amend this. A letter to the acting Minister, one of the many ways she would appeal. And then, the sound of footsteps approaching made her stop. Claire hoped it would be her superior, come to tell her about the awful mistake that had been made. Of course, it was simply Nottingham. Her entitled, unwelcome deductions making Claire seethe.

"Tantrum?!" She exclaimed shrilly, laughing a humourless wheeze. She would not tell the girl why they had been assigned together, it was too shameful. Though she was sure it would eventually reach the ears of every respecting auror in the building, right now Claire scavenged her ravaged reputation. It was, after all, everything she had. "They've put us together because you can't be trusted, Nottingham." Claire spat, her nostrils flaring as she took a dangerous step forward.

Claire was not quick to temper, usually. It was uncouth, her mother had taught her. A sign of weakness, her father would say. But, she was wounded. It oozed from the inside, eyes flashing. Snatching the papers that were slapped in to her arms, Claire didn't even deign to inspect them, she was too angry to even read. But, Finn had a point. This was only temporary.

"Oh, it'll be well before that." Claire said surely, gathering her exposed edges and piecing them together carefully. She gripped the packet to her chest, lips pursed at the ends so that she looked as severe as she did childish. "Border patrol is for idiots, this is ridiculous." And she shook her head, expecting nothing less from Finn, but far more from herself. And then a terrifying thought occurred to her, how on earth was she supposed to reveal this to her parent's? It didn't bear thinking about and she huffed, a terrible pain tightening her chest. 

finn kylie nottingham

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[finn kylie nottingham]

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Finn had forgotten that the Brits were the sensitive types. Back in the New York office, everything she had just said to the younger auror would have been fairly tame. Finn’s own superiors back home were the loud mouthed, rude, and aggressive sort. Not all MACUSA aurors were like that, but the New York City division certainly was. She was proud of that fact. So getting the reaction she currently was from the Slater girl had her immediately regretting everything she had just said.

Apparently Slater thought she was untrustworthy, which was fair enough considering what Finn had done a few months earlier. That had been a stupid stunt she pulled, but that was far from the first time she had done that. Most of the re-training and classes she had been forced to take post-hospital seemed to be coming from the Ministry’s orders, as opposed to MACUSA. Her handler here apparently didn’t have her back like she should have. Back home this would have been a slap on the wrist at best. “Being trustworthy is subjective,” Finn retorted. “When I’m on the job, I do my job. It shouldn’t matter how I get it done as long as the public is safe at the end of the day.” And bringing the building down on top of her happened while she wasn’t on the job. Should she have known better? Sure. But she was outnumbered and backed into a corner, and oh so close to bringing in two escaped Azkaban convicts. Not many aurors could claim that.

“And that’s why we’re here,” Finn said under her breath at Slater’s comment about their new job being for idiots. It was all so they would learn their lesson about breaking the rules. Finn understood already what she had done wrong. But she was also part of the task force and they couldn’t allocate her to border patrol for too long. MACUSA knew they were lucky that she was already over here when things went down. Recruiting more aurors to send over was proving to take a while. “So what got you into this anyways? You’re the poster child for the Ministry, from what I’ve heard.” Finn knew she was pushing her luck, but she didn’t really care anymore. If Slater was going to hate her for no reason, it was better that there was a reason. Finn could be annoying when she wanted to be.

Claire Evangeline Slater ● 403 ● Drapeau Blanc by Couer De Pirate

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[Claire Evangeline Slater]

never enough.

THERE WAS A LAZY EASE TO THE AUROR THAT Claire found utterly intolerable. Her head rearing back as if she'd been slapped, eyes narrowing sharply. "You think what you did was right?" Claire snapped, her lip curling slightly. It was a side of her that she did not often let slip. The Slater's were famed for their poker faces, but she was vulnerable. She'd been demoted and paired with the very person who'd caused her demotion. She had no patience for pretence at that moment. Plus, she cared little for Finn's opinion of her.

"You're delusional." Claire added with a cruel little laugh. "What you did was reckless, and dangerous. Out of work, or not." And she made to turn away, but was unable to help herself as she turned back sharply. "Do you think bringing down a building protected the public?" She pointed a thin finger at Finn, truly wondering if she believed her own bullshit. "Muggle and Wizard relations are paramount to keeping peace and privacy." She crossed her arms stiffly. "Or did you skip that lesson during Auror training at MACUSA?"

Claire did not care to strain her hearing, dismissing Finn's grumbling remark. She was already certain it wouldn't be complimentary, and that was fine by her. Of course, Finn's curiosity got the better of her and Claire tensed immediately. Her posture statuesque as she squared her chin. "I'm not going to trade tragic backstories with you." She muttered, tongue dashing out over her bottom lip. If Finn didn't know why Claire had been assigned to her, all the better. She cradled that shred of control to her chest. "Just meet me tomorrow morning, 8AM sharp." She looked down at her paperwork briefly, the mission printed pitifully on the parchment. "Do not be late." She warned her new partner, before turning and storming down the hallway. 

finn kylie nottingham

NEVERLAND at ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0!

[finn kylie nottingham]

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Maybe the papers had been wrong about Claire Slater all this time. Between what she had seen from a distance and this encounter, it seemed like she may have just gotten lucky with her infamous kill. Or maybe that was what caused all of this. Finn, thankfully, hadn’t had the pleasure of pulling the kill switch on a suspect yet, but she had definitely heard stories of aurors losing it a little afterwards. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the likes. That made more sense to Finn than her new coworker being an uppity bitch all the time. She wanted to see some positivity in this new arrangement.

Because of that, Finn accepted the verbal lashing that Slater gave her, about being reckless, and how dangerous everything she had done was, and blah blah blah. Her new captain was scarier than this girl was. Hell, most New Yorkers had more bark than Slater had in her bite. Finn had heard far worse and definitely sustained punishments from haughtier colleagues. The only problem she had with all of this was that she had expected all of the British to be kind and understanding. Clearly her time spent with Will wasn’t an accurate representation of the country as a whole over the last year or so.

“Hindsight is twenty-twenty,” she mused, trying to keep a straight and even face throughout it. Picking away at this girl’s brick-like exterior was going to be fun. Finn liked to think she was an expert in breaking down walls though, both physical and mental ones. “But fair enough. I’ll see you at…” she looked down at the paperwork they both had, and tapped the time that was set for them, “8:15AM on the dot. Partner.” Finn grinned at Slater’s back as she turned and left. This was honestly the best outcome from everything that had happened. A tiny little punishment like border duty, which was bound to happen for MACUSA agents until they were needed anyways. Before then though, she had some snooping around to do. She desperately wanted to know what Slater had done to get in this position, especially because she was so peeved about it. They would probably end up as best friends by the end of the stint anyways, so better to learn more about her new partner before then.

[THE END]

Claire Evangeline Slater ● 386 ● My Endnote by The Ghost Inside

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