Here And Now [Ewan]

[Bianca Alia Rivera]

March 2025

Justice. Discipline. Restraint. These were the values of the Aurors, the principles that had been drilled into her head over the years by a revolving door of superiors that had come and gone – some into retirement, some moving up the food chain, and others into cushy desk jobs after having their nerves fried by the job. Bianca repeated the last one to herself over and over again as she stiffly waited in the line to the coffee cart behind her new arch-enemy. The man hmm’d and umm’d, changed his order, asked the barista for recommendations, debated between the value of soy milk or almond…Bianca felt her temper simmering, rising to a boil like the coffee machine should have been – except it was waiting idly for this niffler-loving moron to finish ordering.

She gripped the files in her hand tightly, repeating the value of restraint over and over again in her head as she reminded herself what the consequences would be if she broke. No coffee. She’d surely be kicked out from the Atrium and then how would she get her coffee fix? By relying on the mud they served in Floor Two? No sir. She could hold her tongue for a second or two longer. The order was finally placed, the barista finally began to prepare the drink…but then the worst happened. The man began to turn his pockets inside and out, patting himself down because he was sure he had brought his wallet with him…Bianca’s hand moved in a flash, slamming the sickles on the counter with such force that the woman behind her jumped. “Wow, t-thanks!” the man beamed at her. Bianca only stared at him with a flat expression. “Get out of the line. Now.”

Finally, finally, Bianca mercifully walked away with her coffee. She riffed through the file in her hands while she walked, frowning slightly at the Code Red stamped across the top. Red because of the color of her robes, of the authority they represented as the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her captain hadn’t simply tossed this case onto her desk like the others – he’d called her into his office to explain the sensitivity. There might be something dirty happening in the department. Someone working with the crime family whose last three cases against them had mysteriously fallen apart. It was the worst kind of case to have crossed her desk, and she dealt with Dark wizards on a daily basis.

Visiting HR wasn’t normally a cause for celebration, but they might be the potential new lead she was looking for. They didn’t have an open-space concept like Floor Two, but rather each Ministry drone had been given their own office. Maybe they needed privacy for handling the dirty laundry of the Ministry’s personnel issues. Bianca glanced at the name her captain had written on the file, promptly located the office, and placed her coffee cup on the file so she could knock. She only did so once sharply as the only indication that she was there before opening the door. “McGonagall?” she asked abruptly, eyes focused completely on the balancing act she was doing between her files and the liquid treasure she didn’t want to drop.

ewan caelus mcgonagall

[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

should your drama prove sincere

do it somewhere
far away from here

March 1, 2025
Bianca Alia Rivera

Ewan grimaced. Why on Earth he bothered to server himself a cup of the Ministry coffee was beyond him. It must have been a few moments where he blacked out and hadn’t realized, or perhaps Holly had hit him with a confundus charm when he wasn’t looking. Then again, he wouldn’t put it past Juniper either—but she wasn’t employed by the Ministry anymore. A little dramatically, Ewan picked up the small Styrofoam cup with two fingers and let it drop into the trash bin. At least he had the corner of his desk returned so he could adequately organize his paperwork.

The new use of technology had helped his work considerably, as was his ability to turn into a cat at will. His superiors had not said that he couldn’t for the sake of his work. The former solicitor took such words at face value, after all. Hearing a loud knock on his door, Ewan looked up expecting another knock, but instead, the door opened. In the doorway stood a woman holding files while precariously balancing a cup of coffee on top. Immediately, his first thought was how that coffee might land anywhere in his office. He’d witnessed firsthand what happened when coffee, especially Ministry coffee, landed on one of these computers. The damn thing began to spark and come to life.

”Yes—“ He stood and walked the short distance to the door, his fingers gently grasping the coffee before it had a chance to ruin anything. ”Please, come in.” Of course, he recognized Bianca Rivera. It was his job to know, of course, although they had not worked together on any cases. Then again, not many new Aurors lead cases. Instead, they support those with more years under their belt. Ewan returned to his seat, placing her cup on the far edge of his desk. Feeling uneasy about its proximity to his work, he grabbed a stack of files and moved it to a cabinet behind him. ”What can I help you with?” Typically, other departments didn’t visit his office specifically unless a Department Head was following up on a new hire—but even that was rare.

template by vee

[Bianca Alia Rivera]

Bianca’s ability to focus had always been a blessing and a curse. It proved to be highly effective at work, since Bianca could push through her paperwork or burn the midnight oil without even noticing. Nothing could speed up time like diving into a case, only to resurface hours later and realize she’d skipped lunch. But it also meant that things slipped past her radar sometimes, especially if she wasn’t particularly interested in them. In this case, she was hyper-focused on her coffee and not allowing even a drop to spill (not after what she’d suffered this morning to get it). But it also meant that she didn’t notice Ewan until he was right in front of her, putting his hands on her coffee and causing an outraged gasp to slip through her usual stony demeanor. He might as well have grabbed her badge and started stopping people on the street.

His only saving grace was that he immediately set it down on his desk and stepped away, which saved her the trouble of pulling out her wand. Bianca took a second to center herself before she followed him to the desk, because the casual way he simply decided what was going to happen was foreign to her. Nobody had tried to manage her in a long time, mostly because she didn’t allow it. It seemed unacceptable to be off-kilter before they’d even started discussing the case, so Bianca took a moment to let the oxygen reach her brain again and then sat down in front of him. Placing the files on the table, Bianca immediately reached for her coffee and took a long sip. She frowned slightly at him as she set the cup down again. His question made it seem like he hadn’t been briefed on the assignment, although that was impossible. So this was what it looked like when someone was being polite – not like the Aurors who simply plowed through conversations to get to the end (present company included).

“It doesn’t seem like the last Auror on this file came to visit, but my captain’s spoken with your supervisor,” Bianca summarized flatly. She’d gotten the case files a few days ago and had spent most of the time trying to untangle how the three Aurors before her had handled their individual cases. It was a mess. None of them had gotten far on their own case before being cut short – testimonies had been changed, evidence had gone missing, confidential witnesses had been tracked down and threatened. It didn’t leave her much to go on, so she’d shifted her attention to a new subject. “Ever heard of the Shadegroves? They’ve developed quite a reputation on my floor.” One of London’s most established, if not slippery, crime families. It all led back to them. She was sure that finding the breadcrumbs back to this family was the key to breaking her case open. Bianca didn’t open the files, though. She kept her gaze locked on Ewan to study his reaction (because really, a compromised HR drone was the last thing she needed).

ewan caelus mcgonagall

[ewan caelus mcgonagall]

should your drama prove sincere

do it somewhere
far away from here

March 1, 2025
Bianca Alia Rivera

Ewan didn’t catch the surprised gasp from his guest as he quickly handled the hazardous and hot cup of coffee. Merlin that would have ruined his day if the beverage had spilled all over his desk and papers. Sure, a charm could easily clean it all up, but it was the fact that the entire situation was easily avoidable. Maybe this was why Ewan avoided coffee. It wasn’t worth the hassle. And nobody in their right mind ever spilled their tea as easily as coffee in a disposable cup. Ewan returned to his seat behind the desk while Bianca haphazardly placed her files on the edge of the desk.

His eyes lingered on the unstable pile briefly before returning to Bianca. ”No—he did.” Ewan responded humorlessly. ”Buford has a limited vocabulary.” Their work overlapped for quite some time when Ewan was part of the solicitor’s office. And Merlin, if all of them didn’t dread the task of deciphering the ruins scratched into parchment with far too much ink, that was Buford’s handwriting. He let Bianca continue, as Ewan wouldn’t have minded a refresher on the pertinent details.

”I have.” The Shadegroves were a troublesome bunch. Their international presence caused a bit of a problem at times. Jurisdictional fights were not uncommon, and Interpol arrogantly swiped the Auror’s files and all their work for their own hunts. ”I helped put a few away in my time.” Not anyone near the snake's head, but small victories nonetheless. ”I thought most of the cases were handed off to Interpol?” Either way, Ewan wasn’t sure how this involved him. It wasn’t his job anymore to legally chase this particular scum of the earth.

template by vee