Syndicate (Archie)

[parvati patil macmillan]

June 26, 2026

The anguish of having lost her daughter didn't go away just because a few weeks had passed since it had happened, but the fear of not being able to provide for herself had been assuaged by the creation of a Hogwarts Rebuilding Efforts Council under the Department of Magical Education, at least. Parvati had missed the first few council meetings, but she was able to pull herself together enough to make it to the Ministry for the next. Holding Ministry credentials felt odd, but that was applicable to more than just the purpose of her being there. The realization that she had outlived one of her own children hit her at the worst times—not that there was a good time. She was still going through the motions, hoping that eventually she would become so used to doing that that she would begin to think of it as "normal" and not a living nightmare.

Parvati knew that she was fortunate that her colleagues had been understanding, and she knew that there was nothing that she had to worry about at the meeting itself. She'd been sent the previous minutes and had caught herself up on what had happened in her absence. It was all just… routine discussions, really, but the nature of it all had been too much for her to think about at first. They shouldn't have needed to be thinking about rebuilding the school, full stop. They shouldn't have needed to discuss increasing safeguards or what to do in the event of yet another worst-case scenario, yet Parvati knew too well that they'd already been through all that.

She wanted to be part of the discussions, painful though she knew they would be for her, because she couldn't imagine any more parents going through what she woke up every day having to endure. It didn't get better; she just got better at pushing it to the back of her mind, and she knew that a few hours of sitting around with people she already knew wasn't going to kill her.

Gripping tightly to one of the handrails against the wall of the lift down to the Department of Magical Education, Parvati heard a voice that she recognized addressing her by name. It came over the sound of the lift announcements, and she turned her head to see from whom it had come.

octavian archimedes vector jr.

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

nobody said it was easy

June 26, 2026
parvati patil macmillan

Archie still thought about that experience. It was nothing that he ever thought he would experience in his lifetime, the destruction of the school that had felt like home. The sentiment was shared by staff, students, and other alumni. He could still see that parchment in his hand, covered in soot from his hands as he tried to take account of what students had sheltered in Hogsmeade and which ones the Professors could contact through their families. He could still remember how his heart had sunk into the pit of his stomach when he couldn’t mark off some names.

The opportunity to assist in the rebuilding of Hogwarts had been an easy decision. It was a welcome distraction as they all tried to push through such traumatic events. But, Archie knew he had been lucky. His brothers and sisters had made it out safely, all five of them, while Nova had been safe with their Aunt. It could have been much worse for him as it had been for others. Archie made his way into the Ministry, and he knew he was running a few minutes late, but he spotted a familiar and yet a new face. He paused for a moment before approaching Parvati in the lift. ”Parvati!” Archie sped up his walking to catch up. It was good to see her, especially knowing what she had lost.

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[parvati patil macmillan]

June 26, 2026

"Parvati!"

It was Archie Vector who had spoken to her. One of her Hogwarts colleagues, he taught Arithmancy and was one of the younger professors, although plenty of them were younger than she was anymore, Parvati considered. She looked in his direction and gave him a closed-lipped smile as he got on the lift with her. Not that she wasn't capable of handling herself, but it was relieving to know that she had arrived at around the same time as someone else who was on the council with her. It helped with easing herself back into work, especially because her job wasn't exactly what it had been when she had had the mental clarity to think through as much.

"Hi, Archie," Parvati spoke, loosening her hold on the handrail and stepping from where she stood and over towards the corner of the lift to free up some space for him. Breathing out, she reached behind herself and grabbed the handrail again but not as tightly as before. "How have you been?" she asked him in a relatively friendly tone but at a low volume, even though what had happened to Hogwarts was no secret. Unlike with the Order, she didn't have to hide her pain and what she had experienced, and she was still trying to make sense of that. People knew who she was because of Dumbledore's Army, and they knew what had occurred the previous month. In spite of that, though, Parvati didn't get the feeling that people were staring at her or wondering what in Merlin's name she was doing there.

octavian archimedes vector jr.

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

nobody said it was easy

June 26, 2026
parvati patil macmillan

Archie felt grateful that his family had gotten out alive. Maybe his younger brothers might not want to speak to him all that much due to the influence of their mother, but Archie wanted them safe and sound nonetheless. It was more than their father ever cared to think about—he just wanted his next big payday. ”I’m well.” He responded, the lift moved slowly. ”How are you doing?” Archie asked after a few moments. It was instinctual to ask, but also, he was very aware of what had happened that day in regards to her family.

It was a terrible thing to think about, and Archie knew better than to push these things if he was met with some one-word response. And the rest? Well, Archie was caught up on his history. Imagine going through such an experience in the same place in a single lifetime? A place that was supposed to be safe and protected and yet evil managed to march through the Great Hall doors so easily. Clearing his throat, he figured it was safe to change subjects. ”I’m glad you’re here. We need someone to break the stalemate on our discussion of anti-cheating charms for Exams.” It was a dull subject, but for some—it kept them up at night. Archie felt the current charms were sufficient, but others wanted more in place.

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[parvati patil macmillan]

June 26, 2026

The lift began to move as Archie spoke to her, saying that he was well. He asked her, too, how she had been. Parvati knew that it was just small talk and that she didn't need to say everything that she was feeling in that moment. Overwhelmed, maybe? Technically speaking, they had become employees of the Ministry, but anything that meant being able to make a living and not having to beg her ex-husband for money was better than nothing.

Parvati knew that she was better than she had been; that was apparent solely in her being there. She certainly didn't feel on top of the world, though, and she didn't think that she would be fooling anyone into thinking that. I've been better, she wanted to say, but that invited more questions than she cared to answer—at least while surrounded by people in a Ministry lift. She wished she could explain how it felt like she had been watching her life from outside her own body. It didn't feel like her own life that she was living. There was a detachment anymore, like she was watching herself move through the world. Because it wasn't her life. She had just gotten a handle on hers, and now…? Nothing felt real.

"I'm okay," she replied to Archie as pleasantly as she could, unsure if the pit in her stomach came from the movement of the lift or her own self-doubt.

Archie went on to say that he was glad that she was there, which caused Parvati's eyes to brighten a little without her realizing it. There was apparently a stalemate in a discussion of Anti-Cheating Charms for exams. Why that was the case, though, Parvati wasn't sure. Those rules had been in place at least since she had been at Hogwarts—and likely well before then. Besides, those didn't come from Hogwarts, they came from the Wizarding Examinations Authority. They couldn't just overrule… the Ministry. Right. They were part of the Ministry.

Unsure if the distraction of work would be helpful or even more of a stressor after all, Parvati sucked in a little bit of air through her teeth and readjusted the bangle bracelets at her wrists. She knew that she would need more context, because she certainly didn't see any reason why anyone would want to do away with any of those charms. The circumstances they were under were different; that was obvious, but any sort of aids were always banned. "Sorry," Parvati apologized quickly, wanting Archie to know that she wasn't necessarily frustrated with him. "So what's the concern, exactly?"

octavian archimedes vector jr.

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

nobody said it was easy

June 26, 2026
parvati patil macmillan

Archie tried to offer a simple and encouraging smile. Greif was a complicated process. Nobody in his own family had processed the passing of his father the same. But focusing on supporting his aunt during that time helped his career change. Then again, his stepmother’s constant presence when it came to whatever estate he had left only seemed to rub it in their faces. Octavian Sr. hadn’t exactly left much for his other children.

But thankfully, there was something he could talk about that wasn’t such a horrible thing, and the last thing he wanted was an awkward silence in the lift. Archie shrugged. ”Well, some believe that existing methods aren’t good enough for written exams.” Archie had not run into this issue in his subject, but the number of students he saw paled compared to topics such as Charms or Potions. Archie shook his head. ”Some of these enchanted items and charms the students create…its more effort than just studying.”

Maybe it was that Ravenclaw mentality. If you wanted to do something, you would. While characterized as a bunch of know-it-alls and perfect students, that was far from the truth.

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[parvati patil macmillan]

June 26, 2026

"Well, some believe that existing methods aren't good enough for written exams," Archie explained. That didn't seem to be his own opinion, though, from the context of what he was saying. "Some of these enchanted items and charms the students create, it's more effort than just studying."

"I haven't seen anything beyond the usual recently," Parvati told him in response, "though I wasn't invigilating exams." It was completely possible that there were methods of cheating that they needed to address. "Do we know how many instances of cheating there were this year?" Knowing how many students had been cheating and how many students had been caught cheating were two different matters, but the latter would have to suffice. Then again, it was possible that the numbers had been lower than usual because students had to sit their examinations at the Ministry itself.

"Actually… Should we consider establishing stricter policies on Muggle technology?" It wasn't the first year that enchanted mobile phones and music players, among other pieces of technology, had been thrown into the mix, but they needed to reassess if they needed to take a stronger stance on them, Parvati thought.

octavian archimedes vector jr.

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

nobody said it was easy

June 26, 2026
parvati patil macmillan

Archie gave a light shrug. ”Not many. I never believed it was anything we could entirely get rid of. There will always be the few.” They were all only human, after all. So while the effort wasn’t entirely a waste, one had to manage their expectations as well. ”I observed more instances on homework assignments than I do exams.” That was his personal observation. And at least in his courses where it was a matter of numbers, it was easy to argue that there were a limited number of ways to answer a question. But that was not true, and it was part of what fascinated him about the topic as a whole. He’d spent many evenings discussing the theory behind it with Ivy and missed hearing her insight into the matter.

”I hadn’t thought about it. Are they using them for exams?” Archie had a mobile phone but used it simply to send and receive messages and phone calls. While the convenience was noted, writing a letter was far more personal. There was a beauty to it. Everyone and their unique handwriting or even choice of ink color. But he also wondered how different his childhood might have been with such devices. His father had rarely answered his letters. Would he have picked up a call? ”I suppose certain wards could be placed that negated the magical properties of the devices? I’m afraid I don’t know much about how they work.” There was an entire department at the Ministry for this, and for a good reason.

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[parvati patil macmillan]

June 26, 2026

Acknowledging that he had seen more cheating on homework than on examinations, Archie said that he didn't think it would be possible to rid Hogwarts of cheating in its entirety. Parvati knew that he had a valid point. Unless they wanted to go the route of establishing some form of surveillance all over the school, that wasn't happening. She had been through Hogwarts under Umbridge and then the Carrows, and she didn't care to go back to that. Dissuading students from cheating to begin with would be a better choice, Parvati felt. She, for one, wasn't planning on dressing in all pink every day and making ridiculous proclamations.

The question of Muggle technology was a related one, but Parvati wasn't sure how much of an issue it really was. Not all the students had devices that would be of concern, but she also didn't want them to be able to use mobile phones and the like to gain any unfair advantages.

"We should consult someone in Artefacts and Development," Parvati stated after Archie suggested that perhaps they could make use of some sort of means by which to keep the devices from working properly. Obviously, it would need to be something that wouldn't keep students and staff from being able to use other forms of magic, whether for emergencies or for practical examinations. "Erm, not right away, obviously," she added, considering that they were in a Ministry lift and being sent this way and that.

octavian archimedes vector jr.

[octavian archimedes vector jr.]

nobody said it was easy

June 26, 2026
parvati patil macmillan

Parvati’s suggestion was an excellent one. That particular department of the Ministry often was forgotten since it was a rather new one. Archie had observed that many older Witches and Wizards still stubbornly held on to their quills and parchment, refusing to adopt the new devices. He personally didn’t see a problem with having both on hand. Writing letters by hand was not something he would willingly give up, but there was something convenient about that little device in his front pocket. Although now that his Aunt had learned the basic function of the mobile device, he often received pictures of whatever she was baking that day. Not that he complained, it simply reminded him of home.

”That’s an excellent suggestion for the team.” Archie said reassuringly. Everybody carried scars from that day, some far deeper than others. And everybody would deal at their own pace. Archie felt he’d seen enough death for a lifetime and simply wanted to move past it. The lift finally stopped, and the doors opened. He waited for Parvati to exist before exiting and then gauging his surroundings. ”The meeting room is just ahead and right. I don’t recommend the coffee, but they’ll have tea there.” The sludge in the glass pots left something to be desired. And he gave it a glance, the displeasure clear on his face. What a crime.

[ end ]

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