someday these words will save me

Teddy glared at Ana, wanting nothing more than to wipe the smirk off of her face. It was so tiring feeling so helpless and he hated to think of how many cases she might win when he wasn’t asked to sit in. He only witnessed the court hearings relating to Half-Breeds. There must be hundreds of others. It almost made him feel physically sick. “I’d rather sleep in my own bed knowing I did everything I could to fight for what’s right, thank you.” He snapped.

Ana paused at his next words, turning back around to look at him. She strode over, getting right in front of him and staring him down. “There’s no right or wrong in this shit,” she said. “There’s what benefits you and what doesn’t. What, you’re going to try and sell me on morality? Morals are a lie, God is dead and we’re left down here without a driver at the wheel. All I can do is what’s going to be good for me, and I’ve found a very lucrative and fulfilling life as a lawyer. That’s just how it’s been for a long time, and as much as you’d like your righteous anger to change my mind, it won’t.”

Teddy stopped dead in the hallway, only half admitting defeat. He ran a hand through his hair, still red, and threw his ball of parchment to the ground. If he couldn’t take his anger out on Ana then it needed another outlet, no matter how childish and he was awarded a small degree of satisfaction. “I want you to feel guilty!” He called after her as she continued to walk away. “I want you to realise what you’re doing! The impact you’re having! Because of you, terrible people are doing terrible things! Does that really not upset you? How can you be so- so heartless? How do you sleep at night?” 

Ana turned around, walking backwards for a few steps. “I sleep naked, on silk sheets, in a very expensive flat,” she called back. “You should try it sometime.” She knew that it was petty of her to bring up her money just because she could, but she liked feeling superior to other people. She was materialistic—she cared about what other people thought of her in that she wanted other people to know that she had more than them, that she was smarter than them, that she was more cunning. Her ambitious nature meant that material wealth meant a lot to her, and, despite her family’s considerable fortune, she was living on her own money. That was something to brag about.

“Then why even bring it up? Seems like a bit of wasted breath to me.” Dominique shifted on her feet. She didn’t really like confrontation. Many might see it differently, but how could she help her passion? “You’re rude.” Quick, simple, to the point.

Ana grinned at Dominique, something that could be mistaken for kind if you weren’t looking closely. “Wow, it’s like you’re a detective,” she replied. “What tipped you off? Was it the fact that I was blatantly rude?”

“Well, I have to spend the whole time here. My father still doesn’t trust me out on my own at night. Probably after that dumb night like seven years ago.” His father still hadn’t gotten over the fact that Scorp had agreed to become a death eater, but there was nothing he could do about that now. It wasn’t like he liked it anyways. “Awe, not going to last another 15 minutes, Ana? Surely you won’t die of boredom or anything.” He chuckled softly, looking over at her. “Thankfully, there aren’t anymore parties. This week, well as far as I know. My father seems to throw surprise ones at time.”

“Totally.” Frank grinned, holding the side of her face as she kissed him and letting out a soft sigh when she pulled back. “Yeah, no, it’s fine. I’ll— I’ll be at the inn anyways.” There were still a ton of repairs Frank needed to finish. Sooner rather than later considering Neville was going to stop by to check things out. “Have fun at work.” He sat up, pecking her lips quickly before lounging back against his pillows.

Ana picked up her dress from the floor, sliding it on and zipping it easily on her own—a stupid pet peeve of hers was when others thought they needed to help her do something as easy as getting dressed, and it was just more proof of how fiercely independent she was. “You know that I won’t,” she replied simply, going back to the mirror to reapply her lipstick and fix her hair. “It’s going to be full of people whining at me because they lost.”

“Well, neither am I, but it seems to really make my father happy if I at least look interested in all of this.” His eyes glanced over to where his father was at, talking with some of the people he knew before he looked back to her. “And while he’s not paying attention, I can actually relax a bit and not feel like he’s breathing down my neck.” Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest. Thankfully the party would be over soon and they could both get out of here. “At least try and enjoy the little bit of time we have left here? Then you can go home and do whatever it is you do there.”

Teddy knew. Of course he knew. He had a few connections in the Magical Law department who had chased after so many false leads for him that he now owed a million favours. No doubt she was well aware of that fact, it was enough to drive anyone crazy. Ana was smart. Too smart. She was never going to leave any evidence but he was so sure she was involved. All he could do was wait for her to make a mistake, only it looked as if that may never happen. As long as she was working, terrible Wizards would keep avoiding justice, malicious people would continue to be granted freedom. He eyed her suit, overly aware of the contrast between them both. She was smart, sharp, professional. He looked like a child in comparison, only playing grown up in his hoodie and jeans. It was no wonder people struggled to take him seriously. “Is that a threat?” He demanded, suddenly realising the implication of her words. He ignored his instincts and hurried after her, determined not to let her walk away with a smile on her face. 

Ana didn’t make mistakes. It was part of what made her such a good lawyer, that she was so exact—she found an answer to every problem, a rebuttal for every argument. And the best part of it all was that she enjoyed it. She enjoyed being this person, being the kind of person with plenty of people looking for a fight whenever she wanted one. Ana was ruthless, and when she won, she was always vain. This was one argument that she knew was hers, that she would be able to take care of without even batting an eye—Teddy would never find anything on her, no matter how hard he tried. “No, it’s not,” she said. “But I cannot account for what other people listening in and hearing you threatening me will do,” she said sharply, continuing to walk down the hallway away from the courtroom. “Do you want something else?”

Frank laughed nervously at her words, eyes darting from her face quickly to glance around the room. “You’ll– you could find something else too. You never know.” He swallowed before finally looking back to Ana again. “You’re really pretty, I mean… guys have got to be lining up. The whole lawyer thing is really sexy.” Frank nodded. Any time she teased him about finding something, or someone, else– Frank got fidgety and nervous. He didn’t like feeling like he was hiding something from her, but then again, he hadn’t seen Lorcan in weeks. Maybe it wasn’t even going to matter.

Ana raised an eyebrow at him. She had said that specifically to find out more of what he thought about it—and what was clear to her was that he was hiding something. Or someone. Ana wasn’t going to ask, however, instead putting her fingers around his jaw tightly to pull his face to hers again. “I’m glad you think I’m sexy,” she said softly before leaning in and pressing a deep kiss to his lips then sitting back up. “But I really do need to go.”

Teddy scoffed, taking a step backwards, realising his stance was rather aggressive for a Ministry hall. He had been escorted out of too many meetings for not being able to keep his cool, he didn’t need another official warning. “If I could prove it then you would be out of a job by now, believe me! You’re going to slip up one day, Parkinson. And I swear I’m-” He broke off, taking a deep breath. It wouldn’t do to make threats, especially when the Ministry would be happy for an excuse to have him fired. “Look, you can pull that ‘Polyjuice’ crap but I know he did it, okay? If he was innocent then he wouldn’t have hired you, of all people.” His hair grew brighter still, and he clenched his fists at his side, crumpling his notes unapologetically. What good were they to him now? “I’m not trying to intimidate you!” He lowered his tone, trying not to draw attention to himself. “With the people you consort with, I doubt that’s even possible.” He spat the word, making his disgust pretty clear. As long as there were people like her working for the Ministry, there would never be justice, Magical Creatures would always come second to the lies she managed to weave. 

“Feel free to check. I’m as clean as a whistle, and that’s what you’ll find if you do any sort of investigating.” Ana undid her black advocate robes so that they hung open, revealing a sharp suit underneath—for Ana, appearance was everything, and she was always ready to look sharp and ready for an argument. “Or maybe I’m just a friend of his father’s and he hired me because he knew me. Do you ever think about these things before you speak, or is your job here to make unfounded accusations and to try and cast aspersions on people’s characters?” She let out a huff of laughter. “I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’d be careful,” she said. “You never know who might hear you.” A charming smile spread across her features as she started to walk out of the courtroom. “Good luck trying to prove whatever it is you’re trying to prove.”

Teddy grit his teeth, his hair flushing red as he gripped his notes from the Hearing so tightly the parchment crumpled. “And time and time again I remind you that your job does not require you to break the law. If the assholes are guilty then they deserve what they get!” He glanced at the folder Ana was holding, his anger flaring dramatically at the thought of what it contained. A man had been kidnapped and hurt, an innocent man, all because he had been living within a Wizarding community and keeping his Lycanthropy a secret. Not only that, but after pointing a finger at Ana’s client, he had mysteriously lost his memory of the incident and the few days leading up to it. Any evidence dissolved (how could it not?) and somehow, Ana’s defendant was walking free… again. “Your case wasn’t stronger. I don’t know how you did it but you tampered with the evidence! I’m not stupid, Parkinson! I know he’s guilty!” 

Ana raised an eyebrow. “The accusations you’re making could get me disbarred,” she said evenly. She met his gaze with her own cold look, setting her jaw. “If you want to do that, then why don’t you prove it instead of tossing out wild accusations? Anything could have happened to make them forget, and if the only evidence they had was that testimony, then I question what the prosecution was building their case on at all. No physical evidence? How do you know someone didn’t take a polyjuice potion to look like my client?” She leaned in. “You do not intimidate me, Mr. Lupin, no matter how much you yell and scream.”

The parties had been nice the first couple of years, but having to go to them so often had really gotten boring even for him. He knew practically everyone there already, so just after a mere thirty minutes of going around and saying ‘hey, how are you doing?’ He was already done and had practically nothing to do. Though he had noticed a few faces he didn’t see as often, and even some he hadn’t even met before. Which is the only reason it took a half hour. Seeing her over by the door, he made his way over. “Eager to leave already are we?”

Ana laughed softly. “You know me,” she replied lightly. “I’m not particularly interested in all of this,” she said, gesturing vaguely around them. She knew it would be good for her image, but her image didn’t need help just yet—she was a successful attorney and she had gotten all of their rotten sons off on their disgusting charges, which meant they were all indebted to her. Ana liked that feeling. 

The girl frowned, lost for a moment. Apparently, her reputation preceded her. “No–I–that’s part of my job. I couldn’t go around just giving free samples out, could I?” Dominique glanced her way. Whatever it was that she was going to say, was now lost into the void of her mind. Damn the void.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t actually want you to read my aura,” she said, her charming smile dropping from her features as she pursed her lips. “Is this about the case in there, or are you just going to stand and stare at me like a gargoyle?”

He watched her carefully, hands going to rest on her hips as she sat on top of him. “I’ve gotta check on my mom.” Frank told her as he ran a hand through his hair, the other squeezing lightly at her hip. “I’ll call you though– don’t I always?” He grinned at her. Frank kissed at the hand that held his chin up before letting his head fall back against the back board of the bed. Things had been a mess in his head as he was unable to let go of past decisions, at some point he had to figure things out. But it wasn’t time for that just yet.

If there was one thing that Ana could be sympathetic towards—she wasn’t entirely heartless, after all—it was the fact that he still had to care for his mother. Even though Ana had a strained-to say the least—relationship with her half-brother, she still made sure she did everything she could to make sure that he was comfortable in prison. That was just what they did for family. “You’re reliable, at least,” she replied, settling down to just sit in his lap and bringing her unoccupied hand up to push through her hair again, pulling it away from her face. “I don’t know, though. One of these days you might find something else.”

Frank ran a hand over his face as he sat up, watching her get dressed again. He let out a scoff, “Today seemed pretty last minute to me.” He mentioned. Frank hadn’t seen Lorcan for weeks, not even a text or a call… what was he supposed to think? So he went on with his life, exactly as it was before he had even met the other. “I dunno, I’ve gotta do some repairs at the inn. And Vic got us Quidditch tickets. Maybe it’s me who has to pencil you in now.” He smirked, scratching at his jaw.

She looked over her shoulder with a smirk, just as though to say as if. She walked back over to the bed and easily sat on him, her knees straddling his hips. “Make time for me,” she said simply. Ana knew what she wanted, and she had a way about her—people usually gave her what she wanted. She used her charm and her looks and while that may have been cheating, when it really came down to things, she wasn’t afraid to use her assets. She tilted his chin up with one finger to look at her. “Please.”