TL;DR [Ana]

[Bianca Alia Rivera]

11 June 2027

“Dismissed,” Bianca finished her summary abruptly as she shut the file and neatly lined it up with the rest of the paperwork laid out on the conference room table. “Onwards to your sacred mission! Teach those lily-livered cowards a lesson!” Cadogan shouted from his portrait, waving his sword around until one wild swing knocked him right over. Bianca winced slightly, bringing one hand up to rub idly at her temple, but she didn’t bother to respond. That was a lesson every Hogwarts students learned soon enough – don’t encourage the mad knight – but she’d been somewhat late to the party. Too much time had passed to simply remove the portrait from the Chimaera Room, which meant the Ministry was stuck with the current arrangement until somebody at Hogwarts asked to return Cadogan to his rightful spot on the wall (although she doubted anyone would ever suggest that).

Under normal circumstances, Bianca was usually the first one out of meetings -- barely leaving a beat between her last word and a hasty departure from the room. There were just too many things to do in the day, so her secretary would dutifully keep up with Bianca’s breakneck pace as she rattled off all the details of the day’s schedule while they walked. But today was different because the Minister had canceled their one-on-one (again) which left an hour-long hole in Bianca’s agenda for the day. It was a blessing in disguise, the opportunity to take a breath before continuing her busy day, so Bianca stayed seated and laser-focused on her phone as people shuffled out of the conference room. She idly scrolled through her work email, but paused once she heard the ding of a new text message. The reminder of her upcoming reservation sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach, although Bianca made a face and resisted the temptation to roll her eyes as she read the rest of the message. She supposed some people might like the idea of a little cherub throwing rose petals at them like some little demon from love-hell, but Bianca found the idea mortifying. Anniversaries were already romantic enough, and she wanted to show Cade she was trying without sending the message ‘I’ve lost my mind.’ No, she definitely had to cancel the cherub. But before she could text the number at the bottom of the message, Bianca heard the telltale sign of a chair being pushed back and she quickly turned off her phone.

So she wasn’t alone. Bianca was usually more observant than that (at the very least she knew exactly who was in a room with her) but she'd been too busy wondering if it was legal to Stun cherubs -- or if they counted as employees. Most of the Aurors had left immediately, glad to have an opportunity to stretch their legs after such a long meeting, and she didn't see anyone else from her department. But she supposed that the Interpol representatives were more used to spending half their day in meetings, and Ana Karkaroff would be no exception. The only other alternative for her choice to linger was that Ana had developed a curiosity for what Bianca did on her phone in her spare time, but that didn’t sound anything like the all-business no-nonsense Karkaroff. “Excited for Madrid?” Bianca asked impassively, staying seated for the moment as she neatly lined up the stack of paperwork in front of her again for the third or fourth time. That had been one of the agenda points – who to send to the upcoming summit with the Spanish Ministry -- since Bianca herself had already committed to staying local for the upcoming visit of the American Minister. It would be a disaster if anything went wrong there. Ana had been rather forcibly volunteered by the head of her office, but it wasn't exactly the worst thing in the world. She certainly wouldn't have minded a business trip to Spain.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

Joining Interpol had allowed Anastasia the easy ability to leave her home country and be a reasonable distance away from her mother and family home. But, she had not wanted to deal with her older brother’s reaction if she decided to work as far as the United States. However, that meant Ana was obligated to travel for work—such as this next assignment in Spain. It was a lovely country, even if there wouldn’t be much time to relax or enjoy the wine. The portrait that had once resided in Hogwarts yelled loudly as the room emptied just as much as it had during the meeting.

A colleague and Hogwarts alumni had explained that Sir Cadogan was a well-known painting in the Castle and one of the loudest. Ana was not amused. Not that Sir Cadogan was skilled at reading their social cues, though even less wielding that sword. Standing, Ana gathered her files and neatly stacked them but glanced up and saw Bianca was still in the room. It was rare. She was always on the move as much as she was commanding the room. But there was something less rushed about her demeanor. ”Does she actually message you in return?” She paused, organizing her files, pausing on the open one on top. The face of some low-life kid. He was barely twenty years old and now an easy target for Interpol now that he had crossed borders.

The dredgings of over a year of arrests and investigations. Ana wondered if it would ever truly be over. Her gut told her ‘no’. Many pieces were missing, and when she walked the streets of London, she wondered if the faces that looked back were faces they didn’t know about yet. She closed the file, it only reminded her of the images she still couldn’t forget. ”Spielman keeps asking IT’s assistance with his phone.” Ana’s direct superior was an accomplished Wizard in his own right, but these new devices made him look like an introductory student at Durmstrang—lost. He was convinced that his messages were not being sent properly to the Minister or that her messages were not sent to him.

There was a short period of time at the beginning of the year when Ana had steered clear of the Head of Law Enforcement. Not out of fear or intimidation or even by chance. But fear that the temptation to draw her wand and demand why Asher Burke would be too great to resist. And wouldn’t that have been a lovely sight? A pureblood witch whose father had served in Azkaban drawing her wand on a muggle-born witch who outranked her. But their work forced them back together, and the youngest Karkaroff had to learn to take a breath and somehow summon all the patience Cas and Damian had, but she possessed none of it. But that had been her whole year. Just working. Investigating, interrogating, and perhaps using a little too much force in arresting these perpetrators. Even now, she just felt tired because nothing in these files or those interrogation notes told her what she had missed and how it all ended badly.

Ana shrugged passively. ”As one of my more talkative trainees likes to call it: “mandatory fun”.” He was just a kid, and the way he ran his mouth reminded him very much of Potter, though so far without the natural skill. Besides, she had visited as a girl. Her mother had been more than happy to drag Ana around like some prized Granian to showcase for the pureblood heirs of Europe.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

Considering the complete failure the Ministry had faced with the appointment of its last several Ministers…Ana’s question about how the current one was doing was not unexpected. Still, Bianca pursed her lips in frustration as she glanced down at her phone and considered what to answer. In the approximate two minutes before Bianca had realized Ana was still in the room, she’d been very close to a ‘good mood’ – once an impossible scenario, but now becoming more and more common. Bianca wasn’t particularly plugged in to the rumor mill of the Ministry, not since her promotion at least, but even she hadn’t missed the betting pool that speculated what exactly had her so happy these days. Some of the guesses were rather tame, but she’d also seen ‘got away with murder’ and ‘Batman?’ as two potential answers.

But a performance review of the current Minister – that would be enough to annoy anyone. Cadogan answered first. “Baseless speculation! A stain on this institution's honor!” He might have continued, but Bianca quickly interrupted with a more accurate answer, only glancing down once at her phone and her last stream of texts to the Minister that had gone unanswered. “She seems to prefer a hands-off approach. A…very hands-off approach. Krum would be proud.” It was a bitingly sarcastic answer, and Bianca wouldn’t have dared to be so honest with most people. But Ana was a coworker from the Order, and they’d worked closely together in the past (even if the Order had officially disbanded in the last year). It had been the Karkaroff that had brought the news of an impending attack on Hogwarts, and they’d made a plan of action for the Ministry together, after all.

The one benefit of the new Minister having done nothing at all? Well, Bianca didn’t have any serious opposition to the plans she’d made for her department. Law Enforcement was a powerful department, after all, and nobody but the Minister really had the authority to veto one of her orders. It might be easy to abuse, but Bianca had her list of priorities and she worked efficiently to check them off the list. That was all she wanted. Azkaban rebuilt, the Purifiers disbanded as an organization with its members tried and sent to Azkaban – and that gave her the opportunity to turn to old problems like Yrisle and the druids. Finally. All in all, it hadn’t been a bad year for her department – excluding the constant thorn in her side that was Asher Burke. While his name had mostly disappeared from the headlines, most of the public didn’t seem to know that Bianca was waging her own private war of attrition against him. An occasional raid or check up by an Auror, just to keep him on his toes and remind him that she hadn’t forgotten.

Bianca rolled her eyes at the reminder that the wizarding world still hadn’t completely taken to the idea of Muggle technology. Most magical institutions had already adopted new standards – newspapers moved to the Internet, St. Mungo’s had modernized their archiving system, and Bianca could finally use her phone in Diagon Alley. But it was still a slow process. “I’ve thought about adding a Muggle competency section to Auror training,” Bianca said frankly, “Basic exams in technology literacy and blending into Muggle areas. But some of the initial scores in the trials have been embarrassing.” There had been some complaints that these exams would favor Muggleborns, but those were quickly shot down. Transfiguration exams favored Metamorphmagi, and those were still requirements too. It was becoming increasingly necessary to know how to handle Muggle issues – and if it naturally weeded out blood purists, then Bianca was just fine with that.

She nodded along to Ana’s observation about mandatory fun as Bianca finally stood up and began to gather her paperwork together. “Criminals are criminals, whether they’re English or Spanish,” Bianca said with a slight shrug as she stacked the parchment into a neat pile. She glanced at the time on her phone and sighed slightly. A year ago, she wouldn’t have cared what time she was leaving the office, or what time in the morning she needed to arrive. But now? Bianca looked forward to her time at home and couldn’t seem to stomach staying later than seven or eight. And sometimes even leaving earlier, if she could manage it. Times really were changing.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

Ana always overheard the trainees talking. They often traded experiences with the Auror and Hit Wizard trainees as some of their classes overlapped. She was often asked to fill in and have them practice dueling, and naturally, these children walked in with their chests puffed out, wondering what Ana could do. She was a foot shorter than some, but then she’d show one of the more arrogant ones. Most were amused while suddenly the tall ones were hiding in the back of the group. As expected, her supervisor gave her the obligatory lecture on how to deal with trainees, though his tone was less than serious.

Those that weren’t too scared to walk near her desk gathered with other trainees and whispered exciting gossip about almost everyone at the Ministry. Ana’s desk was, unfortunately, very close to a coffee station. So while avoiding Bianca had been the easy part, she was the topic of many hushed conversations. Personally, Ana put her Galleons on ‘getting away with murder’ and perhaps planning Burke’s accidental death. The knight’s incessant chatter filled the room in a futile attempt to defend their fearless leader.

The question lingered on the tip of her tongue, but Ana knew she couldn’t ask it without releasing her rage along with it. They had witnessed the same things at that school and on those grounds. The memories were still in her mind, constantly reminding her how she’d failed. The thought of Muggle competency training didn’t bother Ana, even if this technology was not her strong suit. She could only imagine her childhood peers’ dismissal of the subject, just another step closer to bridging the gap between their worlds. ”These newer trainees seem to have less of an issue with it.”

”Indeed.” She mumbled, glancing at her paperwork once more before closing the file. Hunting Purifiers felt as routine as tracking down smugglers these days. And Ana’s enthusiasm for it had left her even before that. But she noted Bianca checking the time from the corner of her eye. ”Late for something?” She asked casually. Most of their meetings had overlapped these previous weeks. But for a good reason. The rebuilding of Hogwarts had invited an opportunity for a new structure, perhaps a more efficient one—though Ana felt that remained to be seen. Regardless she’d been invited and forced to attend by her superiors. ”The meeting with the High Council is not for another half hour.” Her tone fell flat, but she was curious about what had Bianca’s attention. They’d worked together long enough to know one another at this point.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

It had taken a long time for Bianca to realize she hadn’t spoken to Ana Karkaroff in months. In the aftermath of the last battle with the Purifiers at Hogwarts, she thought it could be excused. The entire Ministry had been overwhelmed, being fired on from all sides when it had been discovered that a senior Department Head and member of the Minister’s inner circle had been a Purifier. After that, the Order had been disbanded and everybody had gone their own separate ways. Some people worked together or had ties outside of the Order, but Bianca’s life didn’t overlap with the majority of the other members and Ana in particular came from a specific background. Karkaroffs didn’t get mixed up with Muggleborns, after all.

After that…Bianca didn’t have much of an excuse except that she’d been busy. Days at the office were long, and little gaps in her schedule like the free hour she found herself with now were rare. There was always another meeting, or another case file, or another event to attend. And at the end of the day, Bianca didn’t linger anymore to catch up on paperwork or burn the midnight oil. No, she’d made a routine effort to go home and see her boyfriend and even sneak in a date night whenever it could be managed. So now she found herself in the first real conversation she’d had with Ana in a long time, and the Karkaroff’s frostiness was obvious to everyone except the oblivious knight in the portrait. Bianca considered that as Ana observed that the newer trainees were better at handling Muggle issues before dismissing the topic altogether.

She raised an eyebrow at Ana’s casual question. The two women had never really discussed their lives outside of work before. It wasn’t the kind of relationship they’d formed in the years that they’d known each other – no, they were professional to the extreme, effective together even if slightly cold. The question might have seemed innocent on the surface-level, especially when Ana quickly fired off a reminder about the High Council’s latest pointless debate (if anyone was wondering how Bianca felt about those meetings)…but she knew better. They’d worked together a long time, and that question wasn’t innocent in the same way that Bianca could see now that Ana had been avoiding her. “No,” Bianca said simply as she finally gave in to the urge to check her phone again. She kept her face carefully blank as she noticed two new texts from Cade and opened them while she continued detachedly to Ana, “But it’s hard to find time for personal things.” Like this surprise anniversary dinner that was impossible to plan when both their schedules were so full.

Turning her phone off again, Bianca considered sliding past the observation that Ana had been avoiding her…but no, that wasn’t her. Diplomatic, considerate, submissive? No, not her style at all. “It’s easy to judge when you don’t have to make the decisions yourself. Or live with the consequences,” Bianca said pointedly. She knew exactly what this was about, because she’d been having the same arguments with Cade and with herself for weeks. Signing Asher Burke’s pardon was the hardest decision she’d had to make since her promotion, and she’d struggled with it from every possible point of view. It was wrong, he was undeniably guilty, she had a responsibility to put criminals away. Bianca had considered all of those things, but in the end…the knowledge he’d given the Ministry had led to many more arrests and shutting down all kinds of Purifier safe houses and smuggling rings. That had to be the bigger picture, in the end. She’d been prepared to accept the backlash, but Bianca couldn’t afford to be apologetic about her decision even in private. As an Auror, she’d been critical of the higher-ups’ decisions for years. Now, sitting in that chair, there was never a right choice. Just two bad choices and the knowledge that she’d suffer for whichever one she chose. It was a lonely point of view, but her predecessor had told her it was part of the job. Make the decision, live with it, move on.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

Everybody had moved on with their lives, or at least that was the appearance given. There was plenty of work to bury oneself under and hide behind. It was exactly what Ana had done. Tiring herself out so she could sleep at night and working to the point where her brother Damian had forced her to take a break at one point. Their closeness in age made it easy for them to read one another. They’d grown up almost side by side though their experiences were vastly different. Ana suffered at the hands of her overbearing mother, while Damian missed out on the father experience their older brothers had endured.

But Bianca had focused on Purifier interrogations while Ana was kept away. Since she’d infiltrated them with her pureblood background, it was more of a safety concern though she didn’t doubt some prejudice was lingering there. Was she still trustworthy? The agent who so easily slipped into the ranks of a terrorist organization? Bianca easily stonewalled her, but she wasn’t surprised. They were hardly close on that personal level, but then again, who was Ana that close to?

There was a moment of tension, the two women looking at one another as if to see who would flinch first. There had been quite the ripple when Asher Burke had been set free. Ana herself had been so angry that she kicked everybody out of the dueling training area and destroyed at least two of the training dummies beyond repair. But she looked away first, willing her occlumency training to kick in and help her subdue all these mixed feelings, but one always lingered no matter what she did. ”I’m not seeking justification for your decisions.” It didn’t matter anymore. Six months and the world seemed to settle enough for a layer of dust to settle. But the next question she’d been asking herself since May of the previous year sat on the tip of her tongue. ”But tell me…did we do enough that day?” The question Ana was asking actually did she do enough. All those lives lost, could she have done more?

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

Moving on had never been Bianca’s strong suit. She supposed one of the reasons she’d loved her job so much was that it gave her the opportunity to be obsessive. To just never stop until she’d done the research, went out into the field, and came back with a Dark wizard in handcuffs (or Dark witch, there were plenty of both). She’d never minded staying late or going out to patrol in the most random and unbearable places that London had to offer – because really, she would’ve chosen to do it herself too. It didn’t sit well with her to know that there were loose threads still unraveled, a clue that she hadn’t been together, a guilty wizard still walking free. Asher was a loose end for her too, and Bianca hadn’t been able to let it go even after she’d made her decision. Someday, sometime, she’d finish what she’d started.

So it didn’t surprise her to realize that Ana was the same way. All the best Law Enforcement personnel were, she supposed, because you just couldn’t get anywhere with the job if you were the kind of person that put in their hours from nine-to-five and then was satisfied with going home and leaving work in the office. Ana’s answer didn’t quite satisfy her – being as evasive as it was, and radiating that strong aura that Ana was saying much less polite things in her carefully fortified mind – but then Bianca probably wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than winning the argument. She liked the words ‘you’re right’ more than was healthy. But she supposed she could leave it at that, because as hard as it could be to remember…she wasn’t a rank-and-file Auror anymore. In those days, she stood for herself and what she believed. These days…Bianca represented something much bigger. And it just didn’t look good in her file when she got into fights with other departments.

Ana’s last question lingered in the air. And Bianca, in a quite uncharacteristic manner, hesitated to reply. The truth was, she didn’t know. The Ministry had decided to play it cautious, to take a few days and rally all their forces before storming the castle in the fear that they would cause much more damage by rushing things. The plan had been carefully executed, and even fluidly modified when they’d released the castle was burning and they’d need to send a special force of Aurors to contain the damage. But all that didn’t change the fact that Hogwarts had still burned into ash, and students had died that day alongside Purifiers – and maybe it didn’t need to have turned out that way. Bianca had played it over in her head a million times, especially in that dark month after the fact when she’d found herself completely alone. Completely cut off from the other departments, from all the people in her life.

She just didn’t know. And the truth was that they’d never truly know without a supersized Time Turner. “The answer to that question is both a truth and a lie,” Bianca finally decided, finding herself fiddling with her files again. She wished she could extract herself from the uncomfortable conversation, fortify herself in her office and stay on the phone with Cade until the doubts left her mind again. But she continued. “We could always have done more. Or we could’ve done just enough. You won’t know which is true until the next crisis, when you have to act. And choose between what you think worked and what didn’t.”

It wasn’t a satisfying answer, or at least it didn’t satisfy Bianca who loved everything to be black and white. Right and wrong. True and not true. But these gray areas existed, and it was still a hard pill to swallow. Bianca looked over Ana questioningly. A pureblood that sometimes seemed so out-of-place in the Ministry, even more so when you took into account her secret doings. “Do you ever wish you’d done less?” Bianca asked frankly. Knowing what they did now – how many of her friends and contacts from the old community that had gone to jail, the pureblood families that had broken up or gone into crisis after the fire…Ana was loyal. There was no doubt about it. But sometimes Bianca wondered if the loyalty was stronger towards her principles or her family.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

These questions felt more like riddles. A simple yes or no would have sufficed. Assuming the world was a binary place with clear lines to distinguish right from wrong. But, like everything in life, nothing was that simple. Not even with magic. Even Veratiserum, one of their world's most potent potions, didn’t always reveal the truth but only what existed in the person’s mind. Their truth. This was frustrating for those like Ana, Bianca, and others whose eyes never left their target. Justice was their truth. Although Ana also carried the weight of her world—her family, her blood, everything. Ana was sure she’d spend the rest of her life paying for her father's and everyone else's sins.

Which brought her to the events of that day. The work Ana had done to reach that point had taken so much out of her. To immerse herself willingly in a world she hated. It was jarring at first how easy it was to blend in. She’d been raised alongside many of these Purebloods—including Asher Burke. And despite all she gave, it hadn’t stopped anything. Bianca didn’t even seem to know if something was missed. The Department Head collected her files, finally answering. Ana listened with arms crossed. It seemed like the only comfortable position right now.

Her answer was very neutral in its message. Essentially a non-answer. Ana didn’t particularly like that but demanding an answer wouldn’t do anything for either of them nor calm her mind. As she tried to think of some clever response, Bianca hit her with a new question. Surprisingly, Ana was caught off guard. One never thought about what they could’ve done less when their efforts felt insufficient. An odd question to ask on this topic, but Bianca’s tone added some context. Less would have meant possibly not knowing Elaine’s plan ahead of time. Less would’ve meant Asher Burke still would’ve held his position as a Department Head. Less would have looked bad for all of them.

”No.” She responded simply after regaining her composure. ”That isn’t the job.” Law Enforcement required all of you to be present while struggling to see where the lines of morality began and ended. Ana wondered where Bianca fell in the spectrum of people with a renewed distrust of Purebloods and descendants of former Death Eaters. But honestly, Ana was tired of proving herself to everybody. This altruistic path of redemption her brother was dead set on was draining. Besides, at least Ana wasn’t on the hook for Asher Burke walking free.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

Bianca found herself looking backwards so often these days. Not in the physical sense – she had an uncanny ability to sense when she was being followed, but that wasn’t the society they lived in anymore. The Purifiers that had survived the Ministry’s sweep had since faded into hiding, and it seemed likely that they’d stay there for the near future. At least until they found some cause to rally behind or some charismatic leader to unite them. No, Bianca found herself reexamining the past with an unusual frequency – to the point where one could almost call her nostalgic. She’d never had a reason to look back with fondness on what had passed, but her life these days seemed to call for it. Trips to Castelobruxo, reminisces with old mentors, and all the forced self-reflection that came with drama and tragedy and fleeting romances.

Now she was forcibly reminded of a Christmas ball (Merlin, already some years ago) and Bianca’s pointed observation that Ana had always seemed defensive to outsiders. The only thing I care about is proving them wrong. That was a weighty statement to hear from the pureblood, and it revealed truths about the Karkaroff’s life that maybe most of her coworkers weren’t interested in hearing. Bianca had never considered herself a traditionalist in any sense, especially as a newcomer to the wizarding world, but she supposed she’d picked up some prejudices along the way. Dark wizards were usually purebloods, weren’t they? And while the petty criminal came in every shape and size, the truly depraved and too-far-gone didn’t vary so much in background.

So there might be some distrust there towards the community, even if it didn’t stop Bianca from hiring purebloods in her department or visiting Xiulan’s flat regularly to eat custard tarts and complain about Cade preferring to read a physical paper instead of using his phone. But all that aside, Bianca unashamedly asked Ana her question – having decided already to accept whatever answer she gave and not push on the subject anymore. Ana had proven her resolve multiple times over, and her simple ‘no’ rang true enough to Bianca. She shrugged and observed, “We both have things to prove. Just depends on who you’re asking.” She remembered her first partner of approximately 20 minutes, a wizard who needed to see her bleed before judging the quality of her blood. ‘Mudblood’ was still heard often enough, depending on where you went. Bianca idly shuffled the files in her arms. “I’ve had those doubts before, wondering if I could have done anything more,” she said suddenly, firmly, “Wondering if I could’ve caught Grimstone before his last victim, if I’d just connected the dots earlier. But does that help me do my job better, or just plant doubts in my mind that stop me from acting decisively next time? Dwelling is dangerous, even more so now. I don’t want to lose any more sleep over what happened.”

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

Ana knew she was far too young to feel this weary. Perhaps Bianca as well. These events perpetrated by Elaine and others felt impossible. Things like this were supposed to only happen once in a generation, if at all. And somehow, they had missed it all. The national and international bodies let it happen. Politics was never far from her mind, her mother used to chat incessantly about it, plus she worked at the Ministry of Magic. There was no escape. Even her brother, the Prophet, could not escape it. Ana saw the world as neither a moral nor ethical place but full of people pursuing their ideas of right and wrong.

And she did not want to admit that Bianca had a point. She’d heard one repeatedly from her oldest brother, although not phrased so gently, perhaps. But she didn’t entirely agree. Some people overcompensated rather than choosing inaction. Ana looked away a moment. Her mind had clung to the words regardless of her feelings. ’Stop me from acting decisively’. Ana thought of Asher Burke walking free, sitting back on his self-made throne. ”Is that what you’ve told yourself since you let Burke walk free?” Ana had told herself for months to let it go. But that part of her she’d had to transform and compromise to get that information from Ivy, and Elaine wouldn’t let it go. What the hell was it all for?

Crossing her arms, she closed her eyes and let out one heavy, shuddering breath. Bianca was not the enemy here. Plus, it wouldn’t do anyone good if either of them walked into that meeting with the Heads of Houses of Hogwarts with rage in their eyes. She opened them again, opting not to look at Bianca directly yet. As much as Ana wanted at times, this wasn’t a duel to see who would blink first. Her anger was not settled by the needling voice of her brother in her head chastising her for not controlling her emotions and her mouth.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

There was an unexpected downside to the promotion – one that Bianca supposed she should have seen coming, even if still felt like a sucker punch every time. She’d been used to the occasional slap on the wrist by her old Auror captain from time to time, whenever Bianca got a little too overenthusiastic about the pursuit or her unconventional methods. But it was nothing compared to the constant attention she received all the time as a Department Head. There were always a million people watching – from her department, from the rest of the Ministry, from the general public. And for every green light she got, for every nod of approval…well, there were always ten critics. Always people who weren’t satisfied with how tough she was – except no she was too soft – except no she was too indecisive – except no she always steamrolled over everyone to get her way. It never stopped.

She’d heard every last possible thing someone could say to her about Asher Burke. The last minister had been skeptical about signing the pardon, her deputy head had been firmly against the decision, many Aurors had since shot her skeptical looks in the hallways, and the newspapers had had a field day with the news. All that was nothing to the fights she’d had with Cade about it, not to mention various Order members that had been involved with the final drama at Hogwarts and were opinionated on the outcome. But she’d made her decision, had wrestled with it over many sleepless nights, and at the end of the day – the signature was on the paper. Asher was holed up in his club. A sweep of old Purifier safe houses had filled a few more Azkaban cells, and that was that.

“Sometimes good police work isn’t enough,” Bianca pointed out, staring frankly at Ana while she pursed her lips. It said something about the Karkaroff’s self-control that she was only hearing this now, even if there’d never been any doubt that Ana’s patience would eventually wear thin and her dueler’s instinct would claw its way to the surface. But Bianca had never backed down easily herself. “You think it all ended with Elaine and Hogwarts? You all had months after his arrest to find the intel from somewhere else to shut the network down. There wasn’t another way, and he gave us what we needed to finish it.” Bianca had never been the calm type, and her voice was tinged with anger now at the defensive position she found herself in again. Defending her decision over and over again. Her tone was steely as she continued, “But let’s not pretend like I’ve forgotten. He’s a loose end, and I intend to close it someday.”

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

why do i need friends

when i've got plenty of enemies

June 11, 2027
Bianca Alia Rivera

Ana wasn’t one for regrets. It was a waste of time, and to Bianca’s point, dwelling was dangerous. Even as they spoke, it was beginning to weigh heavier on Ana’s shoulders. And why? She had done everything in her power to stop that catastrophe. But the picture had been incomplete. The glaring missing puzzle piece had arrived in magical handcuffs and a familiar name. The only link she knew for sure was Ivy Burke, though her confession and call for help was to her benefit. At the time, the standing of the rest of the Burkes was pure speculation and still was to a point.

But Bianca hardly seemed fazed. Ana’s comment was not the first, nor would it be the last. Others like herself were resigned to reality but couldn’t hold their tongues. But once again, Ana’s listened carefully to her words. Some of it was old news. Interpol had been very active in those months after the fire for the fugitives crossing borders and providing local assistance where needed. Ana also didn’t want Bianca to be right, but her doubt and anger were looking for a new target before she simply imploded. Ana surveyed the woman who was only a few years older than Ana and was in charge of a department.

There was so much Ana could say about the Burkes. Their quest for dominance and the ultimate goal of sitting high enough to look down on everyone. And always the need to appear the strongest, especially as a family. But that wasn’t what it seemed, was it? Or Ivy might have tipped her brother off before he dug his own grave. But they weren’t infallible. Every pureblood in those circles could be rattled. It was about finding the right angle. But Ana kept these thoughts to herself. Her vengeful side merely justified that she wasn’t asked. She nodded, accepting the reality but knowing that Bianca kept their word. ”A dangerous loose end.” Ana made a mental note to speak to her brother soon as she picked up her items. They’d be late at this rate. It was likely a loose end he wasn’t comfortable with either.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

She supposed that Ana was the closest thing Bianca had to a work friend. She’d drifted away from most of the other Aurors a long time ago, ever since the incident that’d left the ugly scar (the one that didn’t only run skin-deep…). It had made her bitter, and skeptical about the system she worked for, and Bianca had lost a lot of faith in life. She’d started to color outside the lines more after that, and take vengeance into her own hands when it looked like justice wasn’t possible. Aurors tended to be more solitary folk, in comparison to Hit Wizards or cursebreakers, and she’d decided that working alone suited her more anyway. It had taken a long time to shake that way of being, but even then – her rare partnerships tended to be rather spontaneous decisions and usually not her own.

But she understood the Karkaroff because their decision-making processes weren’t really so different…even if their backgrounds meant they came from two completely opposite worlds. So she let Ana point out the catastrophic failure that had been Asher Burke’s arrest and release, and stonily studied Sir Cadogan’s detailed portrait so she could avoid another moment of eye contact. But Bianca had meant what she said – she hadn’t forgotten about Asher, and he was just an unfinished chapter in her arrest record. Someday he’d get exactly what he deserved, and she was determined to be the one to make that happen. And in the meantime, she had to be satisfied with provoking him and sending little reminders that she still remembered. Her eyes drifted to her phone again, and the slight frown on her face deepened. There was a time when her unfinished business with Asher would have consumed her, and the obsession would have continued until it ended with him in magical handcuffs. But there were other important things in her life now, and her attention wasn’t laser-focused on just work anymore. And she had to cancel that stupid cherub.

Ana noted that this loose end was rather troublesome, not to mention dangerous, and Bianca nodded slightly. She looked up at Ana again and studied the familiar features of a frustrated face – familiar because she saw that expression all the time in the mirror. “He knows he’s being watched,” she said, although she left it at that. Ana had her own connections and ways of getting things done – and she knew that world much more intimately than Bianca did. Bianca gathered her files together and rested them on the crook of her arm. “Any more talk about Burke should be left for somewhere more private,” she pointed out, the statement hovering between a warning and an invitation. She shrugged and turned sharply on her heel to return to her office.

anastasia marie karkaroff