Veena and Cat watch the live coverage of the American Supreme Court Trial with no small amout of trepidation. They'd all gotten the message late last night that the British Parliament had delayed their decision on the sanctions by a day, which is obvious code for 'we're going to do whatever America does'.

Veena had also gotten another message early this morning from Petra stating that they'd sent quite a bit of their research from the past few days to MACUSA, and that they can be optimistic about the outcome of the American hearing. Veena doesn't know exaclty what that research is or what it contains, but Petra's text had several exclamation marks and smiling emojis so Veena is guessing whatever it is makes the magical world look good.

"V, it's back." Cat nudges her slightly, and Veena startles out of her reverie, flushing slightly at having been caught zoning out. On the screen a reporter is smiling at the camera, microphone held close to as a crowd of people jostle around her.

"Hello America! We're back with ongoing coverage of today's Supreme Court hearing, Nakayashi vs. USA. This decision will determine the direction of magical and nonmagical cooperation in the future. For those of you just tuning in, Ms. Nakayashi just finished giving her defense of magic, and it is now time for-"

The woman is cut off by a commotion behind her, and the crowd around her gets even more raucous. She grips her microphone tightly and presses one hand to her ear. "Mitchell! Mitchell try to get closer, what's happening?"

The camera begins moving then, shuffling sideways and attempting to zoom past the crowd to see what's causing the sudden uproar. Veena finds herself leaning forward as well, frowning. This can't possibly be a good thing.

When the camera finally gets a decent view the clamor is already starting to calm down - as abruptly as it had begun, it seems to be over. Veena has no idea if that's a good thing or not, and she shares an uneasy glance with Cat as they both settle back on the couch as the camera returns to the reporter, who's talking rapidly over her headpiece, microphone down so none of the conversation is picked up by the live audio feed.

After a minute or so the woman looks up again, press smile plastered across her features rather unconvincingly.

"Breaking news - though we were unfortunately unable to get footage of it, a new group of people have just been admitted into the court house! It is unclear at the moment who these people are or whether they're related to the ongoing case at all, but they were sent through security rather quickly so they were obviously expected. We'll keep you up to date as new information arises in this once in a lifetime decision. Back to you in the studio."

Veena mutes the television and sighs. "Well that wasn't helpful at all." She presses her fingers against her temple, folding over so her elbows are on her knees. "Every english-speaking news chanel has someone watching this case, and yet none of them has any clue what's actually happening inside the building - what's the point of even having live coverage at that point?"

"It keeps people watching." Cat observes with a tired sort of amusement. "The reporter isn't wrong calling this 'once in a lifetime' - everyone will want to know the second something happens, so everyone will be glued to their phones or televisions, which is obviously great for the networks."

Veena groans. "I hate that we're supporting this, but I'm one of the masses that wants to know the second something happens." She laments, and Cat laughs wearily.

"You can justify it as part of your job. Whatever happens there is almost certainly going to impact what happens here - the Parliament is in session again on this issue today, right?"

Veena nods. "Landon and Rose are both waiting there for the result - they'll tell us if a decision is made today as soon as they know."

Cat hums. "Maybe we should stop watching for a bit." She suggests. "Have some lunch, come back in an hour or so - based on what you told me about yesterday's hearing this is going to take a few hours anyway."

Veena sighs again before nodding slowly, reluctantly. "You're right. That would be smart." She groans as she pries herself off the couch. "I just worry - if this goes poorly I'm a really well known face now in both worlds. We could be in serious danger."

Cat hums quietly but doesn't contest the observation, and Veena feels worse. "I only joined this Initiative to keep you and Nico safe." She admits after a moment. "And now it seems like that was probably the absolute worst move to make if I wanted safety."

Cat shrugs. "It's in the past, and you've done a lot of good for a lot of people."

"What does it matter if it's not done any good for us?" Veena shoots back, and then feels a bit bad. Cat is just offering an alternate persepctive, and Veena really shouldn't snap at her for it. She's just so stressed about all this, has been for weeks, and it's now boiling over with nowhere to go. But it's not an excuse to release vitriol at her loved ones.

She sighs and ends up falling back onto the couch, burying her face in her hands. With the chaos of the past few weeks she's not really had a chance to sit and process everything, and now that she does have a moment to breath she's almost missing the chaos. At least she didn't have to think about any of this.

"You're only really known in England." Cat points out, heading for the kitchen even as she continues addressing her wife. "Worst case we move to Australia and start a new life. We both have jobs that allow us a decent amount of flexiblity, after all. But chances are it won't get that bad - the fact our Parliament is on the fence suggets our team came up with good information, and considering how confident Petra seemed in that text I think being optimistic here isn't a vain hope."

Veena can only smile thinly, unable to really muster anything beyond stress and exhaustion despite her wife's words. "I suppose we just wait and see." She finally says, closing her eyes and leaning back into the couch, listening to Cat bustle around the kitchen.

She must doze off at some point, because some time later she's being shaken awake by Cat, who's giving her a knowing smile.

"I told you to not worry so much." Cat says gentley, teasingly, as she grabs the remote and turns up the television.

"Again, we're getting word now that the Supreme Court have ruled overwhelmingly against the most severe forms of sanctions against the magical community. The exact ruling is still unreleased, but early leaks suggest that magic will not be outlawed, and there will be no formal registration of magic users, though, and, I'm just hearing this now, witches and wizards will be required to have their wands visible when in nonmagical spaces. Again, we're just hearing that-"

Veena mutes the TV so she can kiss her wife in celebration. One of the major nuke-having countries has officially fallen on the side of cooperation, and it was the one most directly in the grasp of Yurina - if the States (and their currently extremely screwed up political and social situation) can manage basic decency, the likelihood of the rest of the world following suit is extremely high.

Over the next hour the full details of the Supreme Court's ruling comes out in full: in addition to the continued legalization of magic and required wand visibility in non-magical locations, witches and wizards will retain their citizenship in the Muggle half of their countries despite the continued separation of the magic and nonmagical governments, at least for the moment. To no one's surprise, the decision released by the British Parliament a few hours later is nearly identical to the American call, and the weight of the relief literally keeps Veena collapsed into the couch fighting back tears for a solid thirty minutes. Once she's composed herself she grabs her phone to find a series of texts from several Initiative members as well as Celine. All of them are some variation of "have you seen yet?" or "We did it!" and Veena just laughs breathlessly.

They did it. War is averted, cooperation prevailed, and integration efforts have a clear jumping off point to continue working towards an eventual full unification of the worlds.

So now what?

Veena goes to work the next day still in a bit of a happy daze, and finds that most of her coworkers are in much the same situation - only Aruna has fully maintained her usual quiet detachement. The law specialist vanishes into her office as soon as she arrives, despite everyone else, including the Hunters, loitering around the center of the room, chatting excitedly about what the future will hold for the group now that the immediate threats have been defanged.

"But could Yurina still make a comeback from this?" Kylee asks quietly about ten minutes into the discussion. "I hate having to ask, but people really like her, right? Who's to say she can't just start over, probably from a better position since she already has fans in the Muggle world?"

One of the Hunters coughs. "Oh, yeah, you guys don't know, do you?" He grins, and Veena tilts her head curiously. "Yurina was arrested by MACUSA halfway through the Supreme Court Trial. It's going to become public knowledge later this week, but their defense had enough evidence against her that they were able to justify bringing her in on suspicion of war crimes and attempted terrorism. It was a huge part of why the decision came down the way it did."

Veena for a moment feels disconnected from reality. Yurina was arrested? Is this... actually over?

"Really?" Fergus sounds as breatheless as Veena feels - maybe even moreso. "Just like that? Doesn't that feel too... I don't know, easy?"

The male Hunter (Veena should really know his name, he's the only guy left who isn't Pup or Hugo) laughs and slaps Pup on the back, causing the younger man to stumble slightly. "All credit to our dear International Cooperation connection!" The man declares, causing Pup to grin and turn red. "He called in favors from all over the place and together enough dirt on Yurina was dug up that even the American courst system couldn't ignore it! And with Petra having found the connection between 'Nina' and 'Yurina' there was nothing she could say to argue the arrest. MACUSA have her in high-security lockdown right now, same as what we've got Finn in, and we're hoping if we lean on them with each other they may finally crack."

Fergus grimaces. "Don't bet on it." He mutters, though Veena doesn't think anyone other than her actually hears, as she's standing closest to Fergus's chair. She frowns, wondering if that's just Fergus's usual caution or if the bitter tone of the comment indicates something deeper. Ultimately she doesn't push him on it - so long as both Finn and Yurina are under watch, that's good enough for her.

"One can only hope. Do you have enough to keep them even if they don't?" Kylee asks, and the Hunter (Abbott! His name is Abbott) nods firmly.

"Without a doubt - Demelza Robbins and Noah Travers have been leading a team alongside Estelle Kuhara to root out the rest of Finn's Network here in England and enough of them were coerced or otherwise forced to help that we have more than enough to hold them both indefinitely, regardless of whether or not they cooperate." He assures them. "Though between them Finn is more likely to talk if we can surprise him - he's always been the sort to be attracted towards the unexpected. Unfortunately, Yurina obviously fit that mold."

"Estelle says that the working theory is that they met at the old ship graveyard, way back when he almost caught her." Desmond adds. "She probably surprised or impressed him there - she's known to be pretty clever. Maybe he wasn't as good as he thought."

"Or maybe she was just better." Edward adds thoughtfully. "Lopatkina-Paluch always struck me as someone who knew everything, or at the very least thought he did. If Yurina did something unexpected he may have been willing to listen to her." He shrugs. "I doubt we'll ever really know what happened in the graveyard that night, though."

Abbott nods solemnly. "Doubtful indeed. One thing that's become very clear in the search is that Finn was probably Yurina's number two in a lot of ways - maybe even romantically. They aren't going to share that story even if Finn does decide to cooperate."

Veena hums, wondering at that. As heartless and horrific as Yurina is, it's hard to imagine her truly capable of love, but she also can't conceive of Finn being gullible enough to fall for any sort of tricks, either. Maybe there was a true bond there - who knows?

Before the speculation can continue, the Initiative leaders appear alongside Hugo Longbottom. Mrs. Weasley sweeps to the center of the room, flanked by Hugo and Mrs. Morgan, and all eyes are quickly drawn to the trio, any conversation effectively cut short by their mere presence.

Mrs. Weasley taps her wand and then holds it to . "Right, everyone grab a seat where you can hear us." She says firmly, and in her periphery Veena spots Aruna slinking out of her office and grabbing one of the empty chairs on the Hunter's side of the room. The rest of them either stay standing where they are or - in Miles' case - plop onto the floor cross-legged. Veena can't help smiling at that. Despite everything, nothing ever permanently dampened Miles' raw, joyful energy, and she can admit that's probably what she'll miss most when all this is over in the next month.

She quickly grabs a nearby open seat as Mrs. Weasley begins to speak once again. "As I'm sure you all know, things went well for us this weekend - our presentations at the Parlimentary hearing were a success and the British government have affirmed to myself and Mrs. Morgan that they will be fully cooperative going forward in pursuit of further integration of our worlds. In light of this, Minister Granger has decided to properly convert this Initiative into a full-time Department here in the Ministry of Magic."

Veena feels her smiles falter slightly - she has a job to get back to outside of this, she doesn't want to keep doing this-

Mrs. Weasley cuts off that line of thought with her next sentence. "Of course, as none of you entered this job thinking it would extend beyond a year, none of you will be required to stay on with the new Department. What will be expected I'll leave to be explained by Mrs. Morgan, as she has formally been chosen as the new Head of the Department. I myself will be stepping down effective immediately so I can return to my obligations as Senior Undersecretary in order to assist Minister Granger in negotiating the ongoing situation with the British government." She gives a small bow. "It has been a pleasure working with all of you, and trust me when I say I did not start this year believing it would be. But you all put in incredible work, and whether you stay on or not I hope you all realize that each of you has impacted the world in a major way this past year, and I hope you're all proud of what you've accomplished - I know that I'm proud of you." She nods. "And with that, I'll bid you farewell and turn things over to Mrs. Morgan."

The room is kept in reverent silence and Mrs. Weasley heads back to the lift and vanishes into it. After a moment, Mrs. Morgan steps forward.

"As Undersecretary Weasley said, there is no expectation for you to remain with this new Department. However, I am going to say that if you intend to leave, I am expecting you to take this next month to train someone in your specific job so they'll be ready to take over come September."

Veena nods along with most of the rest of the room - that makes perfect sense. Conceivably most of their jobs will be turned into Offices within the Department, and each will need their own Head. She does wonder if, provided Miles isn't also planning to leave, she'll actually need to train anyone since she'd worked as part of a team.

Mrs. Morgan clears . "And, well, that's all for right now, actually. I'll be coming by to speak with everyone personally over the course of the next few days so we can determine what this shift is going to look like for everyone and being preparing for it. For now, you all can head back to your desks and see if there are any projects you might be able to finish up now that we have the all-clear from Parliament."

Hugo quickly moves past her to round up the Hunters, and that entire group is herded back towards the lift - presumably, now that Yurina is arrested and the immediate threat is gone the Hunters are no longer needed as a group. Still, the floor suddenly feels much bigger and emptier than it had before.

Miles quickly pulls her out of her melancholy as he hops up on the desk next to her, beaming excitedly. "A whole Department! I bet we get this entire floor all to ourselves now."

"Haha, I bet you do. Does that mean you're planning to stay on with the new Department?" She asks, and sees his smile flicker ever so slightly.

"You... you're not staying on?" He asks, though his tone suggests he's figured out her answer to that already, and she almost feels bad about it. But this isn't her job, or her passion. She was here to help while she could, and she's managed to do that - there's no reason to stay on past the end of August for her.

"I'm not." She confirms. "But I know I'm leaving the new Office of... Public Relations, maybe? Well, whatever it's called, you're going to be in charge of it." She smiles at him. "And I can't think of anyone better for the job. You don't need me - you know what you're doing. And I'll keep watching and cheering for you even when I'm back to work at the Potions shop, I promise."

Miles is teary despite his smile, and she's not surprised when she's pulled into a hug only moments later. She hugs back fiercly, mentally confirming that yes, leaving Miles is going to be the single hardest part of walking away at the end of the month.

Miles eventually pulls back, sniffling somewhat but thankfully not outright crying, and Veena offers him another smile.

"We do still have one more conference together." She points out, and his smile widens slightly.

"Right, you're right. Let's make it one for the history books." He says, somewhat dramatically, and Veena laughs. Despite all the hardship, stress, and general misery this past year has put her through, she doesn't think she'd trade it - or the people she's met because of it - for the world.

Miles hasn't been this excited for a Press Conferences since, well, their very first Press Conference. For one thing, he's actually missed them for the past couple months, even though there are some rude people. For another, he and Veena have nothing but good news, including the recently revealed information on Yurina's arrest.

It had taken a few days after the Supreme Court hearing for people to actually find out about Yurina's arrest, but since then it's been all anyone is talking about. Some people are speculating the entire thing is made up to facilitate magical world domination, but most people thankfully have realized that they dodged a killing curse. The list of Yurina's numerous crimes, still being revealed almost hourly, are genuinely upsetting, so Miles has stopped keeping tabs on them - after all, that's Petra's department, not his. She'll tell him if something comes up that he'll need to be prepared for.

And that's the final reason he's so excited: the rough outline of what their new Department of Muggle Relations looks like is complete, and he and Veena are the ones who get to announce that applications for the Offices are officially open to anyone who's interested. They also get to be in charge of distributing application forms across Muggle areas of London, which is what they'll be doing once the conference is over.

"You look cheery." Veena remarks as they stroll through London's streets towards the same building they gave their first few conferences in front of - it's an afternoon conference, so they'd decided to take the scenic route to get there, rather than sitting in lunchtime London traffic. "Excited for this? It's our last ever monthly Press Conference."

"I'll still get to do some in the future." Miles points out, "But yeah. It's still a bit surreal for me, I think. That this is almost over." He tries to hide the deep sadness that briefly washes over him as he speaks - he's really going to miss Veena, and honestly still hasn't totally come to terms with the fact she's leaving. She may say he's ready, but he's not so sure he wants to be.

"Surreal for us all, I'd say. It's not even been a week since everything went down, after all." Veena reminds him. "I'd imagine as the month wears on and we start meeting the new members of the Department and seeing how the floor is adjusted to make room for all the Offices it will become a lot more concrete."

Miles sighs, struggling now to keep his smile up convincingly. "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm just worried, I guess. What if the new people are mean? Or quitters? Or-"

"Like Alex was last year?" Veena interrupts with a knowing smile. "You guys will be fine, we got through the worst of it I'd say. It's not going to be easy, obviously, but enough people are staying on that I'm not worried. Besides, Mrs. Morgan is still heading the whole thing, and there's no way she'd let any crummy behavior slide."

Miles grins at her, feeling better despite the still-gloomy topic. Veena is right about that, and it's not like he'll be entirely alone, either - he may be the sole Head of the PR Office, but Petra is leading the Social Media Division of the office and Alex is taking point on Outreach, so he still has great support. It's still not Veena, though, but he wants this final Conference to be fun so he shakes off his gloom and nods firmly.

"You're right - this will be fun! We'll get to meet lots of new people, and maybe even some of the folks we've met this past year will join up!"

Veena laughs. "You know, I can already think of a few who might just do that." She agrees. "And-" She cuts off, looking forward with wide eyes, and Miles turns to see what's startled her so much.

They're still about two blocks from where they'll be giving the final Conference, but just in front of them there's already a mass of people, holding signs and chattering loudly with one another. Miles at first thinks that there must be another event nearby until he actually catches sight of what's on the sign.

Thank you Miles and Veena! Long Live the Initiative!

Miles is going to cry. He doesn't want to, but he can already feel the tears welling up as he keeps scanning the crowd to find children running around with fake wands and brooms and even more signs cheering the success of the Initiative and everything they've accomplished. He'd known that this conference was going to be open to the public, not just the reporters, but he had never in his wildest dreams imagined this big a turnout.

Veena tugs him into a side alley before they can be seen, and he can tell she's getting emotional too, even if he doubts she's going to cry. He blinks hard a few times and looks at her quizzically, acutely aware of how sore his cheeks are getting from the smile that's welded itself to his face.

Her smiles seems to mirror his. "Why don't we give them a show?"

Five minutes later, the two of them swoop over the gathered crowd on two Firebolts borrowed from the Department of Magical Games and Sports, earning several shrieks of both excitement and surprise. They opt to not land, instead staying high enough over the stage so that most of the gathered supporters will be able to see them. Miles waves excitedly as Veena pulls out her wand and amplifies her voice.

"Hello everyone!"

The crowd responds with a massive cheer, and yep, he's crying now, but what else is he supposed to do? Months of stress and exhaustion melt away as pure joy radiates through his very soul, carried up to them by the enthusiastic support of the onlookers.

Veena grins at him as he fruitlessly wipes at his eyes. "It's amazing to see so many people out today! As usual I'm Veena Harris and this is Miles Taylor, and we'll be landing soon since there aren't any safety spells in place for us to be this high up!" A few laughs bounce through the crowd. "But we wanted to make sure everyone here knows how thankful we are to see you all out here! It's been a tough year for us all, but hopefully this final conference will manage to tie a nice little bow over everything and we can all sleep a little easier tonight."

Miles can only wave at everybody, resigned now to the fact he's going to cry on live, national television. He's earned it, anyway, and it's not like it's odd to become emotional over this strong a show of support, especially after the month they've just had. He lands clumsily, though he thankfully catches himself before he falls into the crowd, and accepts the microphone that's handed to him.

"Alright, let's get this started then!" He says excitedly, blinking so he can properly see everyone. "I'm sure everyone knows by now, but the British Parliament is now actively working with the Ministry of Magic to help continue the opening of the magical world! And yeah, that does mean we've now got governmental help on some of our trickier projects - those of you who have been waiting for their Floo connection will finally be hooked up by summer's end!"

There are a few more laughs, a few excited shouts, and Miles can only beam. He and Veena trade off, as they usually do, talking about the recent developments with the Initiative's projects (and there are quite a few - even if it's only been a few days the Parliament's decision caused an immediately restarting of quite a few avenues of work from early on in the Initiative's run). Veena shares the increased cooperation on the medical front, which Miles uses to transition to talking about the mixed Muggle-magic teacher's conferences being held in August to start integrating the curriculums. Once they get through the standard part of the conference, Miles steps back to let Veena take center stage. They'd spoken about this briefly a few times while planning this conference, but never in any detail, so Miles doesn't know exactly what Veena is going to do. But she'd very firmly asked to be the one to share the news about the new Department, and Miles doesn't mind one way or the other. He just wants Veena to enjoy their final conference together as much as he is, and this is a simple request to agree to.

"Well we're just about ready to open up for questions, but there is one last thing I'd like to say before we do." Veena says. "As I'm sure most of you know, the Initiative was always conceived of as a one-year, temporary group, and as of September first our year will be up. We didn't market this as our final Press Conference just to be dramatic, after all!" She laughs slightly, and Miles can hear a tightness in her voice and that does it. He bites his lip to keep himself crying quietly but dang it he's going to miss this! He's allowed to be happy/sad! "And the Initiative will be disbanding on that date as well. However," She says quickly as the crowd starts to rile up, "That doesn't mean our mission is done! As I'm sure everyone here knows, integration and cooperation between our worlds is only just beginning! We at the Initiative did our best to set up some foundations, but there's a lot left to do. And although the Initiative will be ending, we're going to be spending the next month building up a permanent Department in the Ministry of Magic to take it's place."

She smiles over at Miles, who steps up to stand next to her as she continues talking. "And we'll need a lot of people to staff a whole Department! Especially because not all the Initiative members can stay on - and that includes me. As of September first I'll be returning to my day job, and leaving you all in the very capable hands of my friend and partner Miles. I'll let him take over from here to explain how you can apply to join the new Department, and what sort of people we're looking for! Miles?"

Miles has to take a second to compose himself, wiping his eyes as he pulls the microphone back up to mouth-level. "Right, so applications officially opened this morning!" He declares, doing his best to sound upbeat despite his still shaky breathing. "We have several application forms with us today, and you can pick one up outside the Minstry entrance on Whitehall as well! They're super easy to turn in, too - we've charmed every application so that once you've finished filling it out you can just fold it into a paper airplane and it will fly straight to the Ministry and drop itself into the submissions box to be considered!"

There's quite a bit of chatter at that, and Miles doesn't blame anyone for the excitement - it's a small bit of magic that literally anyone can do, courtesy of one Aidan Ward who's been hired on to lead the Spell Creation Offices, which will focus on making magic usable by Muggles.

Miles spends the next ten or so minutes talking about the new Department and its Offices, as well as what the hiring process will look like, before formally wrapping it up and opening the floor for questions.

Unsurprisingly there are dozens of hands immediately flung into the air, but Miles isn't surprised by Veena's first pick.

"Ms. Yang?"

The Telegraph reporter grins. "Can I ask for one of those applications right now, or do we have to wait for the end of the conference?" She jokes, and the other reporters familiar with her all laugh, as does Veena.

"They'll be passed out afterwards to anyone who wants one." Veena replies. "Yes, Mr. Hastings?"

Normally the question period lasts for thirty minutes at most before Veena wraps things up and she and Miles have to head back to the Ministry. However, today they let the questions keep coming, as they have nowhere else to be right now. After about fourty-five minutes they formally dismiss the conference, but stick around to hand out application forms and continue talking to some reporters, answering questions until they're literally forced to break it up by a few very irritated bobbies that can't get through the crowd on their patrol.

Veena and Miles spend the afternoon wandering the city, leaving piles of application forms anywhere that looks like it might be frequented by the sorts of people who would be interested in working for the Department. Card shops, coffee stops, and several University cafeterias are given new stacks of paper to be displayed prominently, and detailed instructions and explanations are provided as well.

The sun is long behind the skyscrapers by the time Veena and Miles hand out the last of their forms and start heading back to the Ministry to check in with Mrs. Morgan and clock out for the day. They walk, despite the street lights flickering on and the cabs that continue to pull past them.

"Well, I think that was a productive day." He says after a moment, and Veena smiles.

"I'd have to concur." She agrees. "I think we'll already be getting some applications tomorrow - Celine's, in particular."

Miles laughs. "Without a doubt. Do you think she'll work directly with me, or would she fall more under Petra's division, do you think?"

Veena hums. "Considering she's a writer, I could see her working under Petra - maybe she could take over the blogs?" She suggests. "I think she'd be able to do some pretty cool things with that format!"

Miles perks up. "That's true! I wonder if any other news people are going to apply?"

They talk about hypothetical future Department members for the entire walk - with how massive the Department had ended up being Miles is confident they'll have a whole rainbow of unique and interesting people starting work in September, and as much as he's going to miss their current team he's also excited to meet those new people.

"Do you think they'll hire anyone on at Spell Creation?" He wonders aloud as they finally reach the Ministry entrance. "Like, everything else I can see needing both magic and Muggles and a whole team, but Spell Creation feels like it could only really be done individually. Like, by Office Head Ward, individually."

Veena hums. "He'll need input on what kinds of spells to focus on, though." She points out. "Maybe they could get a project manager? Or marketing specialist, to help them focus and remember to talk with each other so two people don't accidentally make the same spell, or so two people who are working on the same spell are actually communicating with each other." She grins. "I do know Ward intends to hire on a few more spell creators though, so he'll at least have a few magical employees regardless of how the rest will pan out."

Miles takes a deep breath, tilting his head back and squinting to spot the moon flickering behind the thin layer of clouds overhead. "That's cool." He hums. "I hope he does hire some Muggles though, or at least Squibs. I think it would look a lot better for our Department as a whole if every office has a good mix of magic and nonmagic employees."

Veena doesn't respond for a long minute, and Miles glances over to find her smiling at him. He tilts his head curiously. "What?"

She shakes her head with a smile. "Nothing. Just think you're going to be a great PR Head is all."

He blushes, shrugging slightly. "Well if I am it's because I had an awesome partner to teach me the ropes." He pauses, and some of that gloom from so many hours ago trickles back into his mind. "...I'm going to miss you."

Veena's smile tightens. "I'm going to miss you, too. But hey, it's not like we can't ever see each other again. You can feel free to come visit us whenever you have a chance, yeah?"

Miles is going to cry again. "Yeah." He manages after a moment. "Yeah, of course."

He's going to miss Veena, and the Initiative. He's going to miss them so badly it hurts. But...

He takes another deep breath and looks up at the moon as it finally breaks free of the clouds. But he thinks that he's ready for what comes next. And he thinks it's going to be an amazing adventure, for sure.

Author's Note: I APOLOGIZE FOR NOTHING, LET ME HAVE MY CHEESE. But yeah, welcome to the final part - Cooperation. Only four more chapters left, and we'll be seeing the final POVs from everyone in that time (yes, these are the last Veena and Miles POVs ;;). The future is uncertain, but it's certainly looking up~