Bad Liar [Ana]

[Bianca Alia Rivera]

August 2028

Fundraisers. Bianca hated black-tie parties, but at least it had been more bearable when her job was to act as security. That let her do exactly what she was good at – hanging around the edges, watching the crowd and looking for weak points in the security grid. Some Aurors would kill for an assignment like that, where they could wear something besides their blood-red robes and sip overpriced wine while they mingled in the crowd. But it had always made her uncomfortable to pretend she was having a good time, and that was before rich people started asking her stupid questions. The whole thing just felt too fake, and she’d rather use that time to catch up with paperwork at the office or go home to watch a movie.

It was even worse now that she had actual responsibilities, and couldn’t pretend not to notice when the Minister marched her in front of important donors to the Ministry to thank them for their contributions to the new fireplaces in the Atrium. She could only pretend to be deaf the first time, and from then on? Well, then she obediently followed the sound of her name like the Crup Squad the Aurors used whenever they were searching for hidden magical evidence. As for this conversation…she’d stopped following ages ago. One of the other Department Heads was having an animated conversation with some donors about the start of the new term at LIFE soon and all the exciting changes that were being made to the curriculum this year. Bianca chimed in with an ‘absolutely’ whenever someone looked at her, but her attention had wandered a long time ago towards her particular area of strength.

She was frowning at a pair of Aurors huddled in the corner, murmuring and pointing at something out the window. Bianca barely remembered to say ‘excuse me’ before abruptly exiting the conversation and walking purposefully towards them for a status update. She spoke in a clipped tone and they got the message – short sentences, straight to the point. She spent five minutes dealing with the issue then watched them wander away. With a small sigh, Bianca rejoined the crowd. Being a lone individual on the edge of the crowd was an excellent way to be spotted by her boss – so she needed the camouflage of a conversation. “Talk to me about anything except my five-year plan for the department,” Bianca said tensely to Ana as she spotted her nearby. The two had something of a tradition when it came to people-watching at overpriced parties.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

You got wings on command

You can fly like no one can

August 2028
Bianca Alia Rivera

These events weren’t all that different from putting on a charade at some event that required her distinguished pureblood presence. The thought was enough to make Ana roll her eyes, and not even subtly. Thankfully, it was Ana’s direct superior’s job to schmooze and push out force laughs at terrible jokes and nod their head like they understood whatever some old dignitary mumbled among the loud partygoers. Ana’s eyes trained on a younger member of her department who kept eyeing the punch bowl from his assigned corner. Would anyone care if he partook in a glass? Probably not, but he was probably too scared to attempt it when he was supposed to be on watch.

The assigned Aurors and other Law Enforcement personnel always did a terrible job of blending in, and at the same time, nobody paid them much attention. Ana noted the presence next to her before the voice reached her ears. Bianca sounded a little desperate. Ana could genuinely empathize. The pair’s paths still crossed often, especially when crimes crossed borders, but nothing like those final months in the Order. Days that felt like they occurred just the previous week. ”You can help old Limus find his invisibility cloak.” Ana offered flatly. ”Allegedly, he set it down on the back of his chair.” She looked at Bianca with a side-eye. It was just as likely the old man didn’t own an invisibility cloak.

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[Bianca Alia Rivera]

It was hard to accept that the qualities that had gotten Bianca her promotion didn’t seem to be a requirement for the job itself. It didn’t matter how well the department head could read a crime scene, or extract a confession, or keep their sanity during a days-long stakeout with a partner who liked freestyle karaoke. No, the big bad boss was interested in the ongoing reelection campaign, and that seemed to directly correlate to her interest in how many of these parties Bianca went to and how much extra funding she could snag. Occasionally the Minister might tell her off for having a bad poker face or for ducking out from parties at key moments. Bianca had gotten a long and dull lecture for disappearing from the Christmas party at the next cabinet meeting.

None of those facts had succeeded in changing Bianca’s behavior, though. She hid her grimace by taking a long time to sip at a goblet of something she’d grabbed from a random tray, and pointedly ignored the underlying sarcasm in Ana’s suggestion. “He’s a good cautionary tale for interns not to barge into Obliviator classrooms without knocking,” Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. The fact was that he’d been at the Ministry so long that nobody really knew when he’d started to lose his marbles, but that was the most popular story. She gave a little sigh at the thought of her own Invisibility Cloak, stowed away in the back of a drawer at home. It used to save her from these awkward parties just as much as in the field, even if it now spent most of its time gathering dust. “I’ll buy you your coffee for the rest of the week if you go speak with the Copper twins instead of me,” Bianca offered. Her gaze lingered on the obnoxious broomstick tycoons as one grabbed a waiter’s arm and started slurping down pickled murtlap tentacles.

anastasia marie karkaroff

[anastasia marie karkaroff]

You got wings on command

You can fly like no one can

August 2028
Bianca Alia Rivera

All around them still remained years of nepotism, favoritism, and nothing of the alleged meritocracy these organizes claimed to be. As a chess piece on that board, Ana didn’t mind her current position at the Ministry. She did not need a corner office or fancy plaque on a door to see the fear in the trainee's eyes as she approached them during training or arrogant Aurors second-guessing themselves when Ana asked a question. In fact, she would rather avoid all that paperwork that came with such a job altogether. There was a certain appeal, however. But unlike her oldest brother, Ana wasn’t accustomed to having that kind of power one second only to have it taken away the next. She was the youngest of four and a girl, which, at least in her mother’s eyes, made her more of a pawn on that chess board against whatever her brothers thought they were.

Fortunately, this year, she willingly disregarded the usual August invitation back home to the family manor for her birthday. She was not interested in some delusional lecture by a woman who’d clearly lost her mind. Slowly, she looked to the side with an eyebrow raised. Tempting. But no. ”I’m not paid to do that.” It certainly was not in her job description, even as a senior member of Interpol. It was similar to the satisfaction of reminding Casimir that he was the head of the family, not her. Thankfully, Alek had saved them all the trouble of siring the next generation. Another conversation avoided. Ana’s eyes scanned the room once more, hearing loud laughing from one corner. Of course, The Daily Prophet’s representatives were always present. No doubt looking for anything scandalous to print on the following edition’s front page.

She rolled her eyes. ”I’m surprised the Editor is here. Damian says he avoids all these things if he can help it.” It probably helped The Prophet’s lower ranking Editors never seem to run out of words to say. But as trained journalists, that probably made them all that much more dangerous. Didn’t the Sr. Editor ever tire of them? Merlin knew he spent enough time at the Ministry as it was.

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