vicarious | finn

[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

It was that time of year again. Finally, Ewan could find a quieter part of the room to stand in and pretend to mingle. His eyes scanned the room, spotting familiar and new faces, but they weren’t all entirely new. As he prepared and submitted all the documentation for Portkeys, Ewan managed to find the official invitation list for this party. The unfortunate part was that it was never complete. People brought their partners or brought their friends. Perhaps someone couldn’t attend, and they brought their brother’s best friend’s son, who just happened to be a recent school graduate. It was the perfect event to schmooze, but Ewan felt calm about this event after a quick self-guided tour of the Ministry in his cat form.

And all was quiet on the Western Front, so to speak. The state of the world had steadily improved since the Hogwarts fire. However, that wasn’t saying much. The tragedy had set the bar relatively low. He could only hope to see at least one of his preferred familiar faces at some point in the night. But cautiously, Ewan decided he’d let himself have fun. Earlier, he’d entered and made small talk as he found his way to the mulled wine. An easy grin, a well-placed laugh, don’t forget to compliment his Department Head’s new hat. It was all routine and easy. Somehow, he felt like the ‘trained’ one of the McGonagall children. His older sister had the tact of a runaway train, while his younger sister forgot to filter what she spoke.

However, it was still early in the night, so the noise was just the buzz of conversation. People he’d seen earlier in the day nodding off at their desks were now in their dress robes and excitedly participating in conversations. Alcohol had that effect. Ewan only hoped many of these individuals remembered to eat as they drank. At least half the people present were accustomed to parties like this. Famous names, pureblood and otherwise, were always at these events. Ewan remembered them as a child. He attended with his parents and Great Aunt Minerva as they met children of other famous names like some never-ending cycle. Unfortunately, Ewan knew he couldn’t leave early just yet.

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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What even was taking a break anymore? Between her new little teaching gig at Hogwarts on behalf of the Ministry and Auror division, and her regular work, it was starting to finally catch up to her as the calendar year was winding down. The relative peace as of late was certainly welcome; Finn disliked being on constant border patrol in order to make sure there were any breaches in the magical zones that could cause a leak of the Statute. She'd already screwed up on that once and thankfully it had been covered up magnificently. The old injuries from that incident still reared their ugly heads every so often when the weather changed, and she was starting to wonder if there was a point to living in London anymore. Sure, New York City had even crazier weather, but at least it didn't feel like she was in a constant state of perpetual damp. There were seasons back home...and her family was there too. That sort of mattered to her more and more as she got older.

Speaking of her parents and the holidays - a thought that had jumped ahead in her brain line - they weren't coming this year, opting to stay back home now that her sister had moved back in with them. Who could blame them for wanting to stay out of the UK. It was absolutely dangerous to be over here. Finn sort of liked it for that reason, but she knew they worried about her constantly. They basically said it every time they were sat down for their weekly phone call on Sunday. MACUSA could have her transferred back to the home office almost instantly if she requested it. But there was also something sort of fun about her unique situation and working conditions. Being here out her in the heart of the action, whether that was drama with her British counterparts, or whatever flavor of explosion it was this week.

This Christmas party was sort of boring though. There wasn't much room for a semi-headcase American at a proper Ministry organized party. Finn knew how to play her part well because of her ex, but she had no one here to impress. Those that knew her had their opinions on her, and those that didn't, wouldn't care. So she spent a lot of her time plucking little finger foods off passing by hors d'oeuvres trays and keeping her champagne flume filled. Which wasn't difficult because she was positive either a house elf was snapping into existence to refill it, or they were charmed to do so to begin with.

Either way, she was feeling loose finally. The stuffy warlocks that wrote legislation had nothing in common with her, and only a few of her colleagues had shown up so far. That left...the tall guy standing on his own that was literally eyeballing everyone in the room. Finn had seen him earlier, only because he stood out, literally, but had no idea who he was. She wanted to change that now that she had a bit of liquid courage coursing through her bloodstream. "Exhausting, isn't it?" she asked him as she snuck up next to him. "Finn Nottingham. MACUSA Auror. Still stuck here," she followed up with, sticking her free hand out to the man.

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

It never failed. Alcohol always made Ewan’s face feel a little warm. If he drank enough, he would feel and look flushed. His older sister always got a kick out of it. Ewan insisted that his resistance to letting himself completely plastered was merely for decorum. So while he finished some wine, he’d held onto this champagne flute for quite some time. But to maintain appearances, Ewan finished it before grabbing a new one. But his patrol was interrupted, much as it often was at social events, and he looked to see whose voice he’d just heard.

American accent, bright hair, energetic. Before she said her name, Ewan knew who this was, although he’d never met her in person as with many of the MACUSA Aurors. ”It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas party if it wasn’t.” He remembered attending many functions as a boy and how much work they were. Eyeing the hand, he stuck out his own to accept her introduction. "Ewan McGonagall, Portkey Office.” Nottingham, this one had caused a bit of trouble some time ago.

But Ewan figured he would do what he always did and make conversation. ”I suppose you’ll be heading back home soon?” The American staff was shrinking every day, although unsurprisingly, a few fell in love with London and decided to stay. Ewan had a stack of paperwork for their colleagues returning home on his desk for the overseas portkeys. And it seemed he had to do it himself since a few younger members could never get it quite right. How often did they end up with some random, lost American in London when they accidentally picked up some object in the western United States meant for magical folk. The paperwork for that, in itself, was a nightmare.

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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At least there seemed to be a general agreement that things here were dull and all for show. Finn knew she wasn't good at that. Well, not the kind of show that the Ministry and MACUSA preferred. Sudden building demolitions and large explosions were more her thing, bordering being a pyromaniac. Luckily she'd reeled herself in these last few years. Whether that was by design by her superiors literally keeping her out of trouble or if it was because she'd learned how to control herself, she didn't know yet. Maybe a mix of both. It was hard to get into too much trouble when you were stuck with Slater doing everything by the books and then some. "I suppose so. I've skipped the last few, and I don't think I missed much."

Finn shook Ewan McGonagall's hand, immediately taking note of the last name. Wasn't that one of the old professors or something? And she could have sworn there was another one that was younger and a professor too. It was hard to tell though because she didn't stick around too much after her class periods. The auror trainees were treated differently than the other students in the continuing education programs, and as an advisor of sorts, she was oftentimes stuck with them in their little part of the new Hogwarts campus. "Can't say I use those too often," she commented about him working for the Portkey office. "Do you handle the international portkeys as well? I've always been impressed by those. My parents are no-maj so they get confused by how fast I can get back without a plane." It would have been great if they could take them as well, but planes worked just as well for the non-magical.

Speaking of home, that looked to be the way this conversation was going. "Not until next summer at the earliest. I'm teaching the auror trainees at Hogwarts too." 'The Art of Dueling' and 'Issues in Magical Law Enforcement'. Real thinking classes. She enjoyed dueling more because it was practical, but she was also required to teach the other one because there had to be coursework of some sort. Either way, it was a nice change of pace over border patrol. What a bore that was...

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

Ewan nodded in agreement. ”I’ll just say I’ve had a strong sense of déjà vu all night.” He responded flatly, sipping from his glass. It really was the same thing every year. But was it all that different from the social functions his parents would drag him and his sisters to over the years? And Merlin forbid they miss any event where his Aunt Minerva was making an appearance. He was incredibly proud of his great aunt and those parts of his family, despite the small spotlight that came with the name. A name that many hadn’t thought would ever associate itself with the Department of Magical Transportation.

”Yes, especially those.” It was worrisome how many managed to mess up the international portkeys. So Ewan often got stuck with them. As he drank more from his glass, he nodded in response to her comment. ”Ah yes—planes. I’ve never been on one. I can’t imagine sitting in one place for so long.” The idea was dreadful. Let alone if he was stuck in a seat between his older and younger sisters. What would happen if you opened the window at that height? ”Portkeys are quite convenient, although we get the occasional muggle that picks up some rubbish occasionally. Always a mountain of paperwork for that.”

Ewan finished the champagne flute. It was always an odd look to go through these so quickly. But one had to remember each only held a small amount of liquid—unfortunately. ”Really? What are you teaching them?” His mind immediately went to something explosive. Although perhaps that fell more under the category of potions unless there was a course for that now. ”My younger sister is teaching a course as well.”

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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It almost felt good that she'd skipped the Christmas parties of years past, especially if nothing changed from year to year. Family had always come first, though she supposed that was still how Christmas Day was going to pan out this year as well. Supposedly she was to travel back to New York. That meant this guy in front of her was going to be the one to establish that connection. "They're flying tin cans. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind them. But once you've been given a taste of real flight or apparition, it doesn't compare at all." She was going to be forced to fly by plane one day, she was sure of it. Her parents were very particular about 'maintaining the sevcret', far more than they really should have worried about it. They thought that if they didn't fly to London and just suddenly disappeared by magic, people would notice. And maybe that was true, but no one seemed to care that she and her sister did it all the time. According to them, they had to worry about something. She could give them that.

"Basic law enforcement stuff and dueling. Essentially what first year trainees need. They figured putting a younger auror at the front would make them pay attention more." It felt strange saying that, considering she'd been in for close to eight years now. Even with the small break she took when moving to England, that still put her as a more 'senior' younger auror. "Really?" Finn responded a bit surprised that she hadn't taken note of a McGonagall that taught. To be fair, they were in different buildings even if she was a LIFE professor. "What does she teach?"

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

”Tin cans?” Ewan’s eyebrow raised slightly. He couldn’t quite see the comparison, but perhaps it was something understood when once inside. Either way, it didn’t sound appealing to sit in one place, trapped, for such an extended period of time. What if he had to travel to the United States. Merlin—that was hours. ”I think I’d rather arrive covered in soot.” Thankfully, portkey was still the best option for traveling far distances or new places, especially. The floo network was stable, but certainly didn’t extend as far as one might’ve thought. Ewan especially hated the soot part.

”Transfiguration.” Ewan responded. For a moment he was contemplating if putting an explosion prone Auror to teach trainees was wise, but he kept those thoughts to himself. There were certainly worse choices. ”I heard Rivera is also teaching, is that true?” Not that it was a terrible idea to send a department head to teach but where would she find the time? Again, not that it was any of Ewan’s business but he merely kept tabs. What he knew for certain was that LIFE would not need any instruction on filing portkey applications.

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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Maybe her comparison wasn’t the best in the world. She forgot that not everyone in the magical world knew what flying in a plane was like, let alone had seen one up close. The closest thing that came to mind was that dragons had a similar shape…so maybe a giant, metal dragon that didn’t breathe fire or flap its wings? “Travel is your job after all. I think if that was the case for me, I’d trust what I know best too.” Portkeys and floo powder were cheaper after all, and she only ever took planes because of her parents.

Finn wasn’t too up to date on who all of the LIFE professors were. Yes, they had an orientation of sorts since most of them were brand new to teaching, but remembering every single one of them was basically impossible. She was such a great Auror for that. Faces that didn’t matter were about just as usual as looking at a blank canvas. The ones that needed to be remembered, were. “Okay, yeah. I think I recall a McGonagall teaching Transfiguration,” Finn lied. It wasn’t on purpose, but she really didn’t remember. Thankfully he also mentioned that Bianca was teaching, and Finn nodded her head quickly. “Yeah she’s basically doing the other half of what I’m doing for the trainees. And some higher level dueling over what I’ve got.”

Bianca Rivera was sharp. There were times where Finn wished her own superiors were like that over here. The lack of oversight from MACUSA meant things had gotten…lazy. She could shoulder a lot of that because she liked it relaxed like this, but it was nowhere close to how on top of things they were back home. Not being directly under Bianca and her departments meant Finn had a weird gap in authority. She still looked to her as a superior though, and it was for the best that she was in that position and not someone else.

“I usually skip out early on these things,” she mentioned, glancing around at the other stiff looking groups of workers. What was there really to talk about with your coworkers that couldn’t be done during the work day? Obviously it was different for her in this conversation because she’d never talked to Ewan McGonagall before, but a lot of the small circles of people looked like they saw one another for forty or more hours a week already. How boring. “There’s not like, an after party or something that has a little more life to it, is there?”

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

Finn brought up a good point. Travel was his job. You’d think he would have tried all forms of transportation. But the wizarding world had no need for such primitive and uncomfortable forms of travel. It was far too time-consuming. His mind also wandered to incidents he had read about from the muggle world. Planes falling out of the sky and other things caused significant loss of life. If they couldn’t keep witches and wizards safe in a stadium, what told them they could keep people safe in a moving target?

Ewan nodded. McGonagall wasn’t some obscure name. Perhaps less notable across the pond, he felt sure that his great aunt was as well known as Dumbledore in certain circles outside the United Kingdom. But times were certainly changing. Active members of the Ministry teaching six and seventh-year students hadn’t even crossed his mind during his own school days. The closest they ever came was a weekend career fair during his seventh year, where they crowded people from all walks of life in the Ministry of Magic behind tables.

”That makes sense.” Ewan wondered if asking if her curriculum involved explosives would have been too rude since they’d just met. He decided to keep that question to himself for now. Unlike some members of his family, he rarely spoke before he thought. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at his new acquaintance curiously. Not even he could stay the entire time at one of these parties. Most people didn’t. And the probability of anything nefarious occurring was basically zero. ”I imagine if there were such a thing, invitations would be few and far between, don’t you think?” Few was an overstatement, and finding such an event was hardly a puzzle. But despite what others may think of him, Ewan knew how to have a good night without appearing as his older sister did.

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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”Probably…” Finn trailed off. If there was an after party already planned, she certainly hadn’t been invited to it. Which was sort of comical considering some of the parties she had been to since she first came over here. Dating literal royalty for a hot minute had its perks, even if she didn’t fit their general status quo in the slightest. And then when it came to the Ministry, well, she definitely hadn’t done her best at integrating into their ranks. Everyone knew that too.

”Even if there were one, I don’t know if I would actually be able to go,” she explained, remembering that she did eventually have to get home and let her dog out. Luckily such a thing was easy to do when magic was involved. Poor Bruce spent a lot of time on his own, and Finn always felt bad about it. One of these days she’d get him a nice big yard. ”I’ve got a dog,” she felt the need to elaborate, as leaving it open ended really didn’t make sense. And she wasn’t trying to be mysterious. ”He’s a husky, so I sort of need to let him burn off all of that before he’ll go to sleep. It is not fun when he’s wound up at three in the morning…” He had started to calm down with age, but huskies were going to husky regardless of that. There was no telling when the zoomies would strike.

”But say there was one of these parties…who would I have to talk to in order to get an invite?” Finn inquired. Because she really did want to know, and Ewan McGonagall here seemed like the sort that would. ”Or are we talking like, old pureblood sort of shindig? Because if that’s the case, I don’t need any of that. I don’t have enough of what they want,” she said with a laugh. A no-maj-born had no reason to be at one of those sorts of parties.

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[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

Neither brave nor the bold

Nor the brightest of stories told

December 16, 2027
finn kylie nottingham

Finn didn’t seem bothered at the idea of a private party she was privy to. It was a change of pace to many of Ewan’s peers or anyone remotely like his older sister, Holly. Merlin forbid she was left off some list. Ewan swore she would get upset if there were no post for her at the Ministry. The day Ewan moved out of the Human Resources department was when he breathed fresh air for the first time. His ears almost rang from the infinite silence lacking Holly’s constant chatter and gossip.

”Of course, I imagine he’s chewed up your couch by now.” Ewan wasn’t the biggest fan of dogs. Most were unruly and uncontrollable. Not to mention impulsive and destructive. Internally, he smiled at himself as he’d just described his younger sister’s ex-boyfriend. Werewolves. Needless to say, McGonagall’s were typically cat people. Still, Finn inquired about such a hypothetical party. Ewan let the corner of his mouth turn up. He supposed he could play this game for a bit longer.

”No, nothing of the sort.” He assured Finn. Blood status was trivial and quite silly if you asked him. Thankfully, the magical world thought more progressively of these things. ”As it happens, I might know of such an event this evening. Unofficial, of course, but certainly better than this.” Ewan scoped the room again. The low murmur of conversations was enough to soothe anyone to sleep if they tried.

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[finn kylie nottingham]

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”Every couch I’ve ever owned. Twice. And the foot of my bed for whatever reason.” Bruce the husky had taken it as a challenge to do as much damage to her belongings as possible, despite being a relatively well trained dog. Finn personally thought that he viewed it all as a game, since she was able to easily fix most of his destruction with a few waves of her wand. He was smarter than he looked too, so she was positive that he liked to do it on purpose. Had it only started after the move here, she would have thought otherwise. Like as a protest for making him leave New York. But it had always been like this. Boredom got the best of him, and she knew better than to let him stay home alone for too long. ”Nothing that can’t be undone, of course. But I’d rather have all of my pillows when I get home, instead of it all being shredded,” she laughed. Luckily that had only happened once.

Ewan apparently did know of a party though, and that caught Finn’s attention. It seemed like he was trying to be quiet about it though. So it was some sort of exclusive get together but not for the blood purists? She’d found her way into several parties like this since her arrival in England, and it only turned out bad the one time when she was suddenly heading a fragment of the Order. Silly times. ”You don’t say…” she trailed off, making a face that showed she was interested. ”Is it somewhere where it would be okay if I left here and then went there after I let my dog out?” A third location wasn’t the worst thing in the world. She just needed to run poor Bruce out for a little bit. If he destroyed everything after that because he was angry with her, well, she’d accept that loss.

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