Chapter Nineteen
Confronting the Faceless 💀 CompleteDecember 31, 1997
"I never really gave up on you"
Branwen starts the final day of nineteen ninety seven feeling quite good about how her year has gone, all in all. She'd single-handedly handed the Ministry over to the Dark Lord, gift wrapped with a list of which employees to recruit, arrest, and keep under watch. She successfully directed Sahana Avery's inquisition into the Ministry sabotage towards outsiders with access to the Records room which led to the takedown of Saundra Caldwell and her wannabe resistance. And she's now carefully selecting which Floo Network Engineers to use to install the Deatheaters' new spy spells into the Network (so they can fire the idiots doing the active monitoring - half of them are causing more problems with the Network and she knows the other employees are taking note of it).
All in all, a good year's work, tainted only by a single, irritating fact: Yurina Nakayashi has, in the past month, decided that she and Branwen are friends.
Honestly, under different circumstances Branwen might be more open to spending time with the younger woman - Yurina is sharp as a whip and her ability to make just about anyone break down into tears in under ten minutes is impressive - but Yurina is very obvious about her alliance to Voldemort, and Branwen's position in the ranks can't afford the other woman getting chummy where they can be seen.
Not to mention the fact that despite Voldemort approving of the young woman, Branwen is yet to see her do anything other than wander the Ministry and scare the remaining workers. It's a waste of everyone's time.
So of course the universe doesn't let her spend her last day of the year peacefully up to the Floo Network Authority Head Channer Lindberg. Instead, she's greeted by Yurina Nakayashi in the middle of the Atrium not two minutes after arriving for work.
She quickly schools her expression into one of nervousness, though she wants nothing more than to hex the other witch - there are dozens of witnesses here, what does Yurina think she's doing?
"Wennie! Good morning darling, fancy running into you here!" Yurina declares cheerfully, falling into step next to Branwen, who hunches her shoulders and ducks her head, fighting to suppress a glare in favor of projecting fear. She hates that stupid nickname.
"Can I help you ma'am?" She asks softly, and Yurina snorts.
"You're good at that Wennie. No, I actually think I helped you out today. Ever heard the name Aelfwine Fawley before?" She drags out the name, her accent causing her to mispronounce it slightly, but Branwen tenses nonetheless.
Yurina grins. "Taking that as a yes, and as a 'oh thank you Yurina, for giving him wonky directions and sending him off on a wild chase through London!' Yes, yes, you're very welcome." She bows a bit sarcastically and looks up with a -eating grin that's irritating enough to cancel out Branwen's moment of panic and allow her frustration at Yurina to return in full force.
"It is... appreciated." She grits out. "He's an old fling I have no interest in seeing anymore, as he outlived his usefulness."
Yurina pouts. "Aw, so I could have killed him? Oh well, next time maybe."
Branwen sighs. "Do whatever, but he's pureblood so maybe avoid doing in in front of our Lord." She hisses lowly. "Now bugger off, I have to work and you could ruin my cover."
Yurina grins ferally again but still flounces off to find her true target for the morning. Branwen shudders in case anyone is still looking, wipes at her eyes for good measure, and then clears and scurries for the lifts.
"Unpleasant way to start the morning dearie." One of the older secretaries from the Beast division says soothingly as Branwen steps onto the lift next to her.
"Indeed." She murmurs weakly, glancing up to check who it is exactly she's speaking to. Amelia Johnson, half-blood, sixty years old and never had kids though she regrets that. "I feel like a mouse waiting for the cat to pounce."
Amelia titters soothingly and pats her arm lightly. "I hear that child never strikes the same person twice love, just focus on work - you're safe now."
Yeah right. If Al really is back in town I'm about as far from 'safe' as I can get. She thinks sourly.
Aelfwine Fawley. There's a name she'd hoped to never hear again. A school-time fling that kept her in good standing with the other students despite the rampant hatred of Slytherins during her school years. Al had been a pleasant enough source of information and alibis in school, but she'd made clear at the end of seventh year that what they had wasn't to go past the walls of Hogwarts. And for almost seventeen years it hasn't.
So what's changed? Why on Earth has Aelfwine Fawley suddenly shown back up? And why would the universe make Yurina be the person he runs into? Now Branwen will have to actually go talk to her later to see if she can figure out what he wants.
In the meantime, she has a job to do, and she intends to throw herself into it today, if only to salvage the rest of her final day of the year.
Of course, due to it being New Year's Eve there aren't all that many people in the Ministry. Mainly older folk with no families who Branwen has long marked as 'unresisting but useless'.
Of course that means after she's finished flirting with the ever-amusingly flustered Channer Lindberg and scouting around the Floo Authority offices she doesn't have much else to do but go see Yurina about an ex.
Miraculously, the other woman is actually in her office in the Department of International Cooperation, though Branwen supposes the lack of personnel around likely contributed to that. No victims means Yurina actually has to do her paperwork.
"Hello again Wennie." She grins as Branwen enters the office, after carefully checking that no one had seen her come in. "Something you forget to mention earlier?"
"You need to tell me exactly when and where you saw Al and what he said to you." Branwen snaps. She has no time for Yurina's games.
Yurina arches an eyebrow, her usual easy demeanor slipping into something a little more focused, and maybe Branwen can see a spark of why the Dark Lord favors this one the way he does. "Is he going to be a problem?" She asks bluntly. "Because if so I'll remove him. Believe it or not I actually appreciate what you do for our Lord and if this guy is going to make your job impossible I can take him out of the picture."
Branwen blinks, honestly a little startled by the genuine admission by the other woman. Which is annoying - she's supposed to notice everything but apparently Yurina actually respecting her fell into a blind spot. She'll need to check for more of those, she can't afford any slip ups.
"No, nothing like that." She says lazily, masking her surprise quickly and easily. "I can handle Aelfwine Fawley, I just need to know why he's shown up again so I can get rid of him as quickly and efficiently as possible. You have those details, so I'm asking you. What did he say exactly?"
Yurina's mouth quirks up. "No wonder the Ministry crumbled so easily, you are good." She compliments lightly. "Alright, let's see what I can remember. He showed up maybe twenty minutes before you did, and he looked nervous."
Branwen listens intently as Yurina lays out the encounter with a surprising amount of detail. Apparently the other woman is quite good at reading people as well - another thing Branwen will need to keep in mind during their future interactions. When Yurina has finished speaking, Branwen nods briskly.
"He'll likely show up again in the next few days - go ahead and let him through. I know how to handle this." She instructs confidently, and is pleased when Yurina nods.
"As you wish. Have a good rest of the day." She adds with a wry grin, "Don't let the paperwork catch you."
Branwen lets herself laugh at that - maybe keeping Yurina in her corner will be a good play to make. At the very least, she can capitalize on the respect she'd spotted and use it to make sure the other woman doesn't interrupt her work again.
She heads back into the Ministry, deciding that she's had more than enough stress for the day and that a cup of tea would be perfect just now.
And she knows exactly who she wants to get that tea with.
Valerie Phipps is one of the few people still working in the Improper Use of Magic offices when Branwen bursts in, her face a carefully crafted mask of distress. Valerie glances up and immediately stands from her desk.
"Tea?" She guesses, and Branwen nods mutely, mentally pleased by how easy her 'friend' is to drag around.
Since Valerie is the most senior person to have shown up today, she gets to leave without having to inform anyone, which means it's only five minutes before they're both at Rosa Lee's with steaming cups of chamomile.
"What's wrong." Valerie prompts gently, ever to-the-point. Branwen takes a slow sip of her tea, making a show of it, before setting the cup down and cradling its heat between her palms.
"This morning... well, this morning was a bit rough is all. Tell me about what you're up to?" She encourages with a wan smile. She doesn't really intend to tell Valerie anything - she just wanted to get away from the Ministry and have some enjoyable company. And Valerie is very enjoyable company, especially after the morning had put so many dents into Branwen's certainty of her own abilities. Valerie is a great reminder of how fantastic she really is at this job.
Valerie takes the bait as expected and begins detailing some work they've been doing to improve Trace tracking since it's not as precise as it could be.
"If a family has multiple children then it's not always clear which one engaged in the underaged magic and what could just be accidental." She says eagerly. "I've always thought that needed to be fixed up, and Department Head Yaxley finally approved my request to work on it a few days ago." The last part is said in a tone that fully reveals Valerie's mixed feelings on the Department Head.
Another thing to like about Valerie: she wears her opinions on her sleeves since she's so sure she can tell what everyone else is thinking. There's no need to hide if you know what everyone else's thoughts are after all.
Branwen takes another sip of tea to hide her smile. She knew a nice tea with her obliviously overconfident 'friend' would be just the thing to take her mind off the morning's frustrations.
"But enough about that, how are you?" She hesitates for a moment, a rarity for Valerie, before pushing on. "Amelia from Beasts mentioned that Yurina cornered you this morning."
Oh. So that's what Valerie thinks happened. That makes sense. Well, Branwen can play into that - it'll even be good for separating herself from the other Deatheater in the minds of the common folk.
"Oh... yeah." She says, dragging out the pause afterwards to get Valerie worried. Worried people tend to overlook details concerning the person they're worried about - they'll believe anything you say as long as you make them work for it. That's manipulation 101.
"Hey, it's just me. You know I'm not going to judge." Valerie is trying to be soft and supportive, and it would be hilarious if it wasn't ruining Branwen's nice, comfortable tea time.
"You judge plenty." She mutters at her tea, crafting a small smile that makes Valerie chuckle.
"Okay fine, but I won't for this. Yurina is... well. It will probably be easier to deal with when let out rather than being kept in." She points out. And damned if she doesn't have a point - and enough stubbornness that Branwen realizes she's going to have to talk if she wants to get out of this.
Besides, she can plant something now to keep Valerie firmly on her side in the future. While Branwen doesn't think it likely that her Lord will fail in his quest, she wouldn't have called the deus ex machina baby from last time, so she should maintain an exit route for a worst-case scenario. She has zero interest in being tossed into Azkaban the way Yurina and Yaxley inevitably will be. Always keep your cards close to your chest.
"She said some things about my family." She mutters. "You probably don't remember the first war, but my brother was dragged onto the wrong side by his friend. He was just a kid, and he'd always been desperate for the approval dad refused to give us so he sought after it wherever he could..." She trails off. This is an old story, well-developed from the use it had gotten back when she was getting her idiot brother out of an Azkaban sentence after he utterly failed to hide his allegiance as she and her father had. "Sorry, you'd think all these years later it wouldn't still hurt. Yurina just said things about how they'll get him again, and our whole family will be thrown into Azkaban no matter what happens, since both sides don't trust us..."
Valerie remains silent for a while before speaking. "That... it how she gets right at the heart of things." She finally says. "But... and don't get mad... is that really it? I thought maybe the guy she was speaking to when I got in this morning might've had something to do with it as well." She's hesitant as she speaks, and maybe that's what pushes Branwen to actually be honest.
That or Al's reappearance has knocked her further off kilter than she'd like - it's probably an even toss up between the two.
Regardless of the reason, she finds herself saying, "Oh. Um. You saw that?"
Valerie's eyes light up knowingly. "Thought so. Come on, tell me. If he's someone Yurina can use to hurt you, maybe I can help."
And that... that sparks an idea in Branwen's mind. Maybe Valerie can help - Branwen just needs to phrase this correctly.
"It's a long story." She hedges - she may have already decided to share the tale, but she still wants to make Valerie work for it. "I don't know-"
"I'm the senior secretary in the office today, which means I get to take as long a break as I please." Valerie interrupts with a grin. "Come on, I know you're not a fan of talking about yourself, but I'm not going to judge. And talking is good - you're the one always telling me that."
Branwen smiles faintly. Yes, she is always saying that, under the guise of concern. It's how she gets a lot of her information about the Ministry without having to go directly to the source. Fewer chances to tip people off if you get your information second-hand, and Valerie is great at retaining details, making her an excellent second-hand source.
"Alright, alright. Not fair using my own words against me." She says, lightening her tone slightly so it seems she's attempting to be playful despite the weight of what she's about to say. "So it starts in my fifth year of Hogwarts."
But that already is a lie. It started much earlier than that - two years earlier, when Branwen had first noticed a shy young Hufflepuff gazing at her fondly when he thought she wasn't looking. But fifth year is when he'd made his move, so it's when the story she needs to tell Valerie starts.
"He was Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and he started courting me fifth year. It didn't really go anywhere at first - I thought he was cute, but with OWLs we were both too busy to really start a relationship." She pauses, frowns, then adds, "Well, that's what he said." It's what she had said, but putting it on him puts him in a bad light, which is what she needs if she's to recruit Valerie into keeping him away from her and the Ministry. Back in fifth year she really had been busy with OWLs though, and beyond that Slytherin wasn't on the best terms with the other Houses - her friends had been protective against Al in case it was a trick of some kind. They'd backed off when Branwen had asked though - dating a Hufflepuff, she knew, would be a good alibi if anyone wondered which side of the war she was on.
"He kept sending letters all summer, I thought it was so sweet. My dad didn't like it, but what sixteen year old girl listens to their dad?" She asks with a small laugh. That part is true at least - her dad hated Al. "And when we got back to school for sixth year, it was like a fairy tale."
Valerie is sitting almost completely still, absorbing the story as her tea grows cold in front of her. She's obviously waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Branwen intends to give that to her.
"I really thought - I thought he loved me. Maybe I was being foolish, we were just teenagers, you can't really know love at that age." She forces out a laugh and mentally grins as Valerie leans forward in her seat. Hook line and sinker. Now to land the catch.
"He didn't dump me until seventh year, right before NEWTs. Who does that? And I... Merlin this is embarrassing." She says, keeping her voice just this side of shaky so she seems to be holding back tears. "I... begged him. To stay. To explain why. And he just laughed and said I was a fun distraction, but we're at war and he can't be associated with... with someone like me."
Valerie growls, and Branwen has her. She focuses on that instead of the pit in her stomach that formed over the last lie.
The facts are that Al didn't break up with her - she'd broken up with him. She had at least waited until after NEWTs, but the fact was she couldn't keep him around any longer - he wasn't going to be of much use in the real world. At school she'd been able to keep tabs on the other Houses thanks to Al, and he'd been great for improving her image to the biased idiots of the other Houses as well, but out of school none of that mattered anymore. So she'd shed the unnecessary weight. It had been quite a well-crafted break up too, she likes to think, the kind that's clean and leaves everyone involved better off.
Ignoring the fact that Al had dropped off the face of the Earth afterwards. Ignoring that she'd had to put in a concerted effort to avoid him once the last war was over. Ignoring-
Ignoring a lot of things. Al had been clingy and stubborn, the combination of which is why she needs as many people in her corner as possible now that he's apparently crawled out from under whatever rock he's been hiding behind all these years.
"So he's an and you deserved a lot better." Valerie declares, pulling Branwen out of her reverie. , she hadn't even realized she'd gotten distracted. Thankfully, Valerie seems angry enough to have either not noticed or attributed the spacing to something else. "Don't worry Branwen, I remember his face. I'll make sure to head him off if I see him around again."
"Please don't mention me." Branwen says quickly. If Valerie actually talks to Al, chances are her story won't hold up. She'll have to plan something a little cleaner in case she has to bring anyone else in on this. "I don't want him to know how close he came, and I just... I thought I'd left this in the past. I can't even imagine what he wants now." She says tiredly.
Valerie flags down one of the waitresses and orders two more cups of tea. "My treat today. Let me tell you about my ideas for focusing the Trace."
And honestly? Branwen appreciates the distraction more than she'd care to admit. Thinking about Al, digging all this up again, is triggering memories and feelings she thought she'd gotten rid of some time ago.
Their tea hour turns into three before Valerie admits that she really does have to get back to work so she can finish a few things before going home for the day.
"Don't let yourself get too stressed." She says in parting. "It'll be a new year in a few hours - a new slate."
Branwen gives the other woman a smile, which drops as soon as Valerie has turned away and headed for the lifts. A new slate, ugh, cliché much? Still, the other woman is trying - it's not like Valerie is particularly good at emotions and Branwen had dragged her through the wringer today. Well worth it, of course, to get Valerie in on the situation with Al.
Branwen still decides to call it a day early - it's not like she had much to do anyway. So she heads back out of the Floo and decides to walk home from Diagon Alley. It's a nice enough day for December, and all the streets in Wizarding London are covered by warming charms anyway. A stroll and some fresh air might be just what she needs to end this year pleasantly.
At first she thinks she's made quite a good call on this - until she realizes that she's being followed.
She sighs and pulls out her wand. "Look," She says to the air, "I've had a long day already. So you can either come out and explain what you want, or I can take out my frustrations on you. Your choice." She keeps her voice steady in the way people do when they're scared, though she's honestly hoping for a fight. That would definitely improve her day.
To her disappointment someone steps out of the shadows. To her horror, that someone is Aelfwine Fawley.
She tenses. "Al. I heard you were looking for me." I also heard you were sent on a wild goose chase. Clearly Yurina was lying, the little brat.
He just stares at her for a long moment, long enough that she's getting uncomfortable, before he finally speaks again.
"I just... you look amazing." He says, and it's weak, and they need to get out of the street now.
Branwen strides over to him purposefully and grabs his wrist before he has a chance to react, Apparating them both to a quiet location she knows that's not too far from her house, but won't give away where she lives either. The last thing she needs is this stalker knowing her address.
"Why?" She says harshly as soon as they've landed, releasing Al and taking several steps back away from him. "Why are you here? Why now?" She demands again.
He shifts on the spot, running a hand through his hair in a familiar gesture that shouldn't make Branwen's breath catch. Shouldn't but does, and here she thought she was past these stupid teenage hormones. Perhaps there's something to the saying that you never really get over your first ual encounter, if Al is still getting this sort of pointless and ridiculous reaction from her.
"I... I heard about the war." He says awkwardly, always awkwardly, it's like he never grew up. Heck, he even looks the same, though she supposes she probably does as well. Thirty four isn't old enough to have collected any wrinkles or gray hairs.
"Congratulations. If that's the case, why are you here?" She growls again, and he looks at her miserably.
"I admit I was expecting this reunion to go differently." He says quietly, and Branwen scoffs.
"Oh, I'm sorry for not leaping into your arms after you stalked me at work. Let me just get on that." She growls, privately enjoying the ability to let loose and get sarcastic. She can never be snarky at work, it doesn't fit the character she's built there, but there's something viscerally enjoyable about castrating someone with just the tone of your voice.
Al, to his credit, does flich. "That... okay, yeah, sorry about that. I just, I didn't know how else to find you."
"But why now?" She repeats, slowly relaxing back into the character of 'Wennie', the girl Al had dated for two years. It's been a while, but it's like riding a bike, and her brain is already whirling in ways to maybe use this to her advantage. Or at least find a way to shake him off permanently - she doesn't like the way he's knocking her off-kilter and she can't afford him lingering around the Ministry when she has a war to win and no time for such childish, trivial distractions.
Al shifts a bit on his feet and she wants to reach out and poke his shoulder the way she used to whenever he showed his nerves in front of her friends. She shoves down the urge. "Well... there's a war. And you... are you safe?"
Branwen bites her lip. Okay, this will be the key moment - answer correctly and she can be free of this. After all, it was the war that got her out of this relationship the first time.
"We live in a dream Al. All of this, Hogwarts, us, it's all a dream and we need to wake up. We have been sheltered and spared from the worst of the world for the last seven years, but now we are adults and we need to face reality. There is a war going on, with distinct sides against each other. We can't ignore anymore how that implies on my family, on me. Or on you. Once we are out of here, if someone ask about our relationship, we can say it was school love. But keeping it outside of Hogwarts will mean taking sides. Even if nothing is said out loud, the mere acton of staying together will be considered an act of choosing a side. So that's why we will end here. I enjoyed my time with you. Stay safe Al."
"I'm... safe enough." She finally settles on, blinking back images of his shattered expression from all those years ago. "As long as I keep my head down. Which might be harder now thanks to you." She adds bitterly, and Al flinches. Perfect.
"What? Why? I didn't mean to-" He cuts himself off, and Branwen bites down hard on a smile. He really hasn't changed a bit since school.
"The woman you talked to this morning? A deatheater. If she links us together I'll be considered a threat." She says flatly. "I told you years ago why we don't work, especially not during a war like this one."
Al's expression is painful to look at, but she maintains eye contact resolutely. He needs to understand that he's in her way, that he has to leave. And the best way to do that is to make him think being around her would be dangerous for her. He's always had a Gryffindor streak in him - saying he's in danger won't do any good here.
Luckily it seems all the old tricks still work with him - unchanging fool - and she can see him hesitating at her words, rolling them over in his mind, wrapping his head around their implications.
"But... I have a place." He says. "We can lie low. I know you don't agree with that Branwen, I know that. You broke up with me to protect me all those years ago-"
She needs to stop this line of thinking now. "If you really believe that why didn't you come find me after the war?" She demands, wrapping her voice in hurt defensiveness. "It ended and I still never heard from you. Then you think seventeen years later you can just show up and what? Pretend like the past two decades never happened? Pretend you've been here all along? That you weren't off gallivanting around the world with beautiful women and forgetting I existed until, what, it was convenient? What exactly are you doing here Al?"
And good old Al reacts exactly the way she wants him to. "No! No, Wennie-"
"Don't call me that."
He flinches again. "...Branwen. I tried to find you. When the war was over, I came back to England right away but I couldn't- I thought you didn't want to see me-"
"Obviously you weren't trying very hard." She says, feigning hurt. She had, of course, not wanted to see him, and had taken preventative measures to ensure he wouldn't be able to find her, but he doesn't need to know that. No, let him think it was her father, which will be his inevitable conclusion.
Sure enough a few moments later his eyes light up. "Your father, he must have-" He cuts himself off and looks a bit ashamed. "I'm sorry, I just-"
"Don't, Al. Aelfwine." She speaks his full name like a weapon. "You need to leave. For both our sakes, you need to leave."
And he does. Slowly, reluctantly, but he does. And with Yurina and Valerie both on point to keep him away, that ought to be the last she sees of him.
And maybe it's that thought that roots her to the spot, watching him walk away across the frosty ground. She's simply fascinated by the image of part of her life finally, formally, ending. She tells herself that all it is.
But when he's long out of sight and she turns to go back to her own home, something at the back of her mind whispers that this isn't the end, not by a long shot. And she pretends the thought upsets her, but some part of her knows.
This isn't the last she's seen of Aelfwine Fawley, and she's quietly, guiltily, inexplicably looking foward to when he shows up again.
Author's Note: Weeeeee this one was fun! Branwen's twisted little mind is so enjoyable to write from the perspective of and I don't know what that says about me xD But this is it guys - next week we enter 1998! And there'll be a very special surprise in celebration of that, so look forward to that as well ;)
Next Week: Secrets revealed
So I'm thinking I might do a final 'afterwords' chapter to share my thoughts and feelings on writing this story, if that's something people would be interested in? I'm also open to answering any lingering questions people might have there as well!
Comments