Last[ing] Memories

If this was going to happen without fail then Malcolm needed reassurance from those involved which also meant they needed to trust him. There were ways for people to trust him and sometimes it involved grand amounts of money and sometimes empty compliments, but he didn’t need anyone he didn’t fully trust for this. He had observed what Maura had done previously and if this were a job, then her previous experience would have been what is expected. “Mister Dolohov has never let me down before. I can assure you that you can trust him as much as I do if you two have not had the pleasure to make acquaintances before. He will be with me though, when we do this. As a friend and liability if you will.” Malcolm needed to proceed with caution and be aware of the risks even though he was confident it was going to go according to plan-but he was only partially confident.

Malcolm didn’t know if there would be something similar to this after and he seemed to always think to do things in sets of three. If there would be another one, then he would have a good team to return to. Malcolm considered himself a well-respected man and everyone at the bank knew who he was which is why he would need to enter as if it was a normal deposit or withdrawal. “On someone else?” Malcolm echoed with a devious grin. There were certainly names that came to mind, but some of his friends were already behind bars and some were on the chopping block. “I will keep that in mind. As for the lies in place, we can just have them think something exploded down in the vaults. An accident. I don’t think the goblins have enough wit to actually do something about it.”

"I've heard nothing but good things about him." Maura reassured before tipping her head, a finger coming to rest at the corner of her mouth. "Well, good for our cause, I suppose." There were rumors about the Dolohov family, of course, superstitions and rumors that had led to the death of the man's wife and while perhaps some would say that he had a questionable morality, he also came across as quite honorable when listening to others, but the one thing that didn't seem under question was that he was questionable and accomplished. Somehow the fact that Mr. Antonin was part of the process added to her conviction that Malcolm could pull this stunt off. "And I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Dolohov before." Although since the meeting took place shortly after Sanya's arrest, Maura could hardly say that it took place under pleasant circumstances.

Marcus shrugged slightly wanting the discussion to end, but knowing that she was probably right. After all, she probably didn’t have the - worries he did when it came to the authorities. 

The thought was lost when the building shook and it took a second to realize what must had happened. In a lot of ways, Marcus didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t scared easy. The side effects were objectively awful after all, it took a lot for him to feel things. He didn’t understand emotions as deeply as others and empathy was hard. It wasn’t that he didn’t have feelings, but it didn’t take a genius to realize they weren’t the same as other people. He either felt very little or it overwhelmed him to the point that he couldn’t move. 

However a great advantage was he wasn’t scared, and fairly clear headed. Instead he nodded at Maura and went to look at the exit. “It’s blocked now.” He said softly as he saw people rushing, and then stopping. This wasn’t good and he started looking at different exits. He knew that he’d get out and he was fairly sure he could get Maura out as well. 

“We’re locked in. Is there a window or another way out of the building that you know?” 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Maura grit her teeth and shook her head. She'd thought it would be nice to try out a new tea shop and have a cup of tea while talking over business with Mr. Bulstrode, she hadn't planned on any attack and really, she would it highly inconvenient. She didn't know if it was death eaters or not, but if it was, she didn't appreciate being caught off-guard by their actions.

"Is there a backroom with a working fireplace? If it's hooked up to the floo, we might be able to get out that way." Maura suggested, turning her head and trying to locate the owners of the establishment so that they could either verify or confirm things for her.

Unfortunately, the location was small, so she highly doubted it was going to be that easy. 

As a wooden sign from another establishment came flying through the hole in the wall, the post it was attached to cracked and splintered, Maura found herself with the genuine concern that the only way out might very well be through the original entrance. Really, she knew anti-apparation wards were to help prevent theft, but they were highly inconvenient in this case.

Liliana waited as Maura inspected the cuts she’d pointed out, pleased that the woman also seemed to favor Lia’s favorite necklace cut. “That sounds quite lovely,” she agreed as she looked over the options. “Still hoping for something in blue?”

In his stroller, Blaise started to fuss, and Liliana bent to scoop him up into her arms. For the first time in a while, Liliana glanced up at the stall vendor, who had been listening to their conversation without comment. Apparently he’d decided that Lia was more than capable of selling his products, but with the baby needing her, she wasn’t going to make that her first priority.

She listened as the man explained a few pieces that at least somewhat fit the description Maura had come up with. He set the boxes in front of them, and Liliana did have to admit they were all beautiful. “You might not have much jewelry knowledge,” she said, patting Blaise on the back, “but you have simply exquisite taste.”

As the baby started to fuss, Maura turned her head to look at it briefly before looking back at the jewelry, not actually sure what the proper protocol was when you were around a small, crying infant. Was she supposed to coo sympathetically and make it sound like she understood anything about motherhood when the only thing that depended on her completely was a poisonous snail? Was she supposed to offer to help, something that the woman had turned down once already? Or did she politely ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening?

Maura chose the last option and assumed the conversation was over as the woman attended to her infant and the vendor came up to discuss options with her. She managed to find several other sapphire options and she saw one combined with pearls that she thought was simple and cute, maybe a little traditional, but then she saw a 'y' necklace that caused her breath to catch.

"Thank you," She said, glancing at the woman gratefully as she reached out to touch her fingers lightly against a box. "I think I'll take this one." It was far fancier than she'd intended, but it was also gorgeous and she thought Emm deserved to get nice things from her since Maura had never given her a big gift before.

“I promise Buster will be on his absolute best behavior.” Emmeline said, shooting her sleeping iguana a warning look. He hadn’t ever bothered Rainbow in the past and she fully planned on keeping it that way. It was important for all the children to get along after all. 

Her smile went dopey as she pressed her cheek against Maura’s head, glad beyond reason to have her here. She had needed this. Time with her friends was precious. Time with Maura was something else entirely. 

“Pshaww,” she said, voice fond. “You’re the best. Thanks for coming over.”

"I'm not worried about Buster, I just don't want Rainbow to accidentally poison anyone," Maura admitted, her face scrunching up at the thought. The fact you couldn't touch Rainbow without wearing gloves meant that not a lot of people were keen on her pet and she appreciated the fact that at least Emm didn't mind.

"How about we just say we're the best together?" Maura compromised, smiling at their close contact. "If I'm staying, might as well earn my keep. What else do you need me to do for dinner?"

It had been years of working with the goblins at the bank and years of forfeiting words through gritted teeth in exchange for pleasantries. They were hard creatures to work with and his father had warned him as much. It was hard to find anything good to say about them besides them being manageable with finances. Gringotts was a foundation in the community and held prized possessions in vaults besides personal money. Malcolm himself had a vault of his own but considered that he would empty it before going through with his plan. If he could find the right people he would be able to slip away undetected. What he needed to be sure of was to trust those people and know what their capabilities were. Even with the flat that belonged to a registered creature and blood traitor, Malcolm had learned of Maura’s wonderful involvement and wished to take advantage of it again except this time more purposefully. 

“Someone of good value and wouldn’t compromise the situation. I was thinking of my dear friend Antonin and perhaps another death eater. And you.” Malcolm was going to invest his time into this and more deliberately than before. He was experienced with accomplishing and succeeding every task that was handed to him by the Dark Lord, enough to feel confident about his own mission. “I suppose it’s best to assume that the goblins working the shift at the time will need to be found and oblivated. The focus is on them. I’m capable of dealing with the ones I encounter but they do not need to know I was there.” Malcolm breathed out a tense sigh but plastered a thin smile at her words. “I have already congratulated your success and am praising you with another task. I know what you can do. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know you could manage this.”

While Maura knew that technically, she was already a criminal in the eyes of the ministry, there was something thrilling about Malcolm's words that made her feel like a criminal in a different way. He made it sound like she was part of a heist and Maura had never considered herself the bad girl before, but that's what he made it sound like. A dangerous, cool girl sort, and there was some part of Maura that was undeniably pleased and flattered by the idea of being viewed in that light by anyone. "I'm sure Mister Dolohov will be an excellent source of help to you." Maura said, having a high opinion of the man, possible because of his connection with Sanya. Not that Maura knew if she'd actually been Sanya's friend or not, but still, Maura had a sense of appreciation for people she could go out and torture others with.

The way that Maura said the words ‘I’ll stay’ made something warm settle in her chest. Whatever she had here with Maura was worth everything in the world, it kept things moving the way that they should. Protecting people in the Order, that mattered. Working at Mungo’s, that mattered. But as long as she got to go home and see Maura smile at her, that mattered most. 

“Rainbow’s welcome whenever as well. I’ve got a little terrarium set up but I’m not sure if he’d like it.” She said, chewing on her lip. Maybe she should say I love you again, just in case Maura hadn’t noticed. But that seemed really needy. She’d just let it go. Maura would say it back whenever she wanted.

"I guess we won't know unless we let him visit, right?" Maura asked, charmed by the mention of a terrarium and thinking that one little thing probably implied a lot about what Emm did and didn't know. While Maura had heard of keep your friends close and your enemies closer, she didn't think Emm would go to fair as to offer a home for her poisonous pet if she knew Maura's role in the war.

Liliana chuckled, not denying the claim. She did enjoy growing her collection herself, but she’d also amassed a handsome selection during her brief courting before Dominic had proposed, not all from him. Perhaps she should consider letting go of the ones she never reached for, but Liliana hated the idea of giving up a piece just before she needed it.

“You seem so confident in my abilities,” she observed with a smile. “I do know a thing or two. Personally I love a briolette cut pendant because they’re so beautiful and stand alone.” She tapped the table in front of them to show Maura an example of the teardrop pendant she was talking about. “That said, you can never go wrong with a nice emerald cut or octagon gem as a center piece. Of course, that doesn’t touch the variety of designs based on metal detail or multiple gems, but from what you’ve said, it seems like your lady might prefer something of simpler taste.”

"I'm not even sure what a biolette cut is, so I think this proves I have a good reason to be confident in you." Maura said brightly, not bothered at all to admit something that she didn't know. Maybe the woman wasn't a jeweler or something of a similar vein as that, but clearly she knew more than Maura did and that made her a good resource to have in Maura's opinion.

Directing her attention to the pendant the woman was indicating, Maura smiled gratefully for the example and nodded along to the rest of what she said. While Maura was only mostly certain she knew what an emerald cut was, she knew what shape an octagon was and thought she could guess what it was. "I think something simpler would be good. I like how delicate the briolette looks. Maybe one with a dangling pendant?" She supposed that technically, most pendants dangled, but she meant the sort where the necklace itself seemed to have a sort of tail that the gem dangled from.

He nodded slightly at what she had said, but in all honestly he didn’t think it was necessary. After all, no one he could see was still on the ground but she did have a point. He was really bad at caring about big groups of people, and he was sure that it showed pretty well. 

Empathy was something he was - not exactly new at, but being empathetic to people he didn’t know seemed like an awful lot for him.  Draining and not really worth caring about people he’d never meet again, and who he didn’t know the names of. It was something he differed on with his husband, and he was trying to work on. 

He however did shrug slightly at that with a small smile, “To be fair, I don’t need to go to prison for impersonating a ministry official. It’s quite a charge from what I remember.” He followed her and shook his head at her suggestion. “I’ll stay and help you for as long as you need. Is there something I can do to help you?”

"Not really impersonating if I ask you to do it on my behalf, are you?" Maura countered, knowing that it really wasn't something worth debating about, but somewhat intrigued by the fact he was sticking so close to the law instead of putting the focus on being a good samaritan. It must come with his job, she supposed.

The building shuddered as if hit by something and the lights flickered as it sounded like something crashed, causing someone to scream and everyone to continue fleeing towards the back door, not at all in a calm and orderly manner.

"Can you make sure the exit is clear?" Maura asked, keeping her wand pointed at the broken window just in case an attack came from that direction. She didn't know if the owners were at the back door or not, but she wanted someone to keep an eye on the escape route.

Emmeline giggled, smiling. This felt like home in a way that she couldn’t quite replicate anywhere else. She hadn’t even noticed it had slipped from her life until she’d gotten back again. Between her kids and Maura things finally felt settled. Maybe all of her hard work had finally paid off after all.

“You can stay as long as you want.” She said casually, like she hadn’t already confessed love earlier in the conversation. Part of her wondered if Maura had noticed. It had only really just hit Emm that she’d said it at all.

"Yeah?" It was sort of funny how easily Emm said that, like she meant it, and Maura had the sudden, unexpected thought that there were likely some people that were surprised they hadn't moved in together yet. It wasn't a concept Maura had ever spent much time considering, but as she and Emm danced around each other in the kitchen, she couldn't help but realize how domestic they were.

“Merlin,” Marcus muttered still not sure what to make of that. Looking around he could see people moving, and part of him - the bit that he’d been for so long said who cared. 

It turned out he did. He almost wanted to scream about it. Still he nodded to her. “Stay here for a moment and I’ll try to get them away from the window. Then we can get people out through the back.”

Putting his wand to his throat he amplified his voice above the rush of sound “Everyone get away from the window and please exit out of the service entrance. This is a direct order from -.” He cut it off slyly so he wouldn’t get charged with impersonating an officer.  “I think we should get out of here now.” 

"I'll see if I can spot any injured," She said, which was in direct counter to the man telling her to stay put, but Maura wasn't a child that needed to be looked after and she was going to be useful, not cower behind a table when there was a situation that needed to be dealt with.

She had to admit that his use of the sonorus charm was clever, it certainly got the message out and she returned to his side after the message, smiling faintly. "You could have said the Ministry. Technically, we were here together and I do work for them." She pointed out before grabbing at his sleeve to tug.

"Come on, we can direct them out of here. Or you can go, it's fine." Maura said, not wanting to make him feel like he had to help as she moved in the direction of the back, ushering a woman on ahead of her.

Liliana shrugged, as if to ask what could be done. “I suppose it depends on the charm and the person. If nothing comes to find for you, perhaps that’s not the direction to take.” Liliana had a few charmed pieces, including one ring she tended to wear if she was trying to work while the nanny wasn’t around. It would grow warm when Blaise began to cry in his crib. She’d tried to expand the charm, but it was temperamental enough that only the one small space had been consistent enough for her to trust it.

“That sounds beautiful,” she agreed. A diamond as a small gift felt significant, and Lia absently wondered how serious they were. She laughed at the idea of being a salesperson. “I wasn’t made for retail.” She smiled, trying to imagine a life that would have led her there. “My enthusiasm probably only shows because I’ve never had to be.”

She handed over the one Maura liked. “Blue sounds like the perfect color then. Sapphires are quite the lovely stone.” Personal significance in the color choice. Hmm, were these two close to a marriage proposal or something? They certainly seemed more attuned to each other’s tastes than Dominic was to hers, but Liliana knew that wasn’t entirely his fault. She’d never really needed to let him know.

She really didn't know what sort of charm would be useful for Emm and so she nodded, agreeing with the woman and deciding that maybe she could consider something charmed for a Christmas gift. Or maybe she could get Emm another little statue? Quidditch was back and she'd consider getting Emm tickets to see Hestia play if not for the fact Maura felt certain that Hestia would give Emm a free ticket.

"I bet you have an impressive jewelry collection, though. And if you just like jewelry, that could be it, too. I think when people talk about something they really like, it makes other people more inclined to like it because their enthusiasm is kind of contagious." Maura said with a shrug, hoping that wasn't just her being easy to please when it came to other people.

Holding the necklace in her hands, Maura smiled and hummed, resisting the temptation to rub her finger over the gem and leave fingerprints on it. As pretty as it was, it also looked a little big and Maura wanted something delicate for Emm, that way she could hide it and it would be subtle instead of something that looked out of place anywhere but on a ballgown. "I want to see if they have other styles. I don't know the names of different cuts or settings, but I know there's a difference. Do you have a favorite?"

Drinking while having a business-like conversation was only a polite and normal manner for Malcolm, not caring that the drink was happening in the midafternoon than in the evening when it was more appropriate. He gently swayed the contents of his drink and sat down in his desk across from Maura with a lit smile. What had happened in London only a week prior had been more than productive. It was the last name that Alex Church had mentioned, having dealt with the rest on his own accord. He knew that Sirius Black would soon be found out and perhaps this was a message found upon him. Malcolm knew there were more death eaters that had a better reason for Black’s end and his only partake was to let him know that he was not forgotten. It wasn’t that much of a surprise to find that Black was in the Order. 

The flat had only been a rational awakening for Malcolm, other ideas following and knowing what he could be capable of. This had been a shared and joint opportunity for him and Rodolphus, a true bonding experience. But it also meant that he could take the same idea and point it on something else. Something better. “Thank you kindly,” Malcolm expressed with a raised brow and a smug smile. He already knew that it had been a powerful message and had not cared about the repercussions. “Their involvement is hardly important in this matter. They are the victims not anything else.” Malcolm leaned back in his chair effortlessly, taking a small sip of the scotch as he mused about Maura’s question. “A rough one. I’ll need to employ another accomplice, but I am asking you to be there in the end just as before. As this will be more of a wizarding problem than the muggles…that must have not been easy.” 

It was strange in a way to think of goblins as victims, although if he was going to be attacking the bank or something like that, she supposed that was a good way to think of them. Goblins had an interesting brand of magic and the things they crafted were without parallel. From tiaras to swords, things crafted by goblins were expensive and special and while there were some pieces that had been stolen from goblins to be sold in the market, there had to be even more stored inside the safety of Gringotts. For those who take but do not earn must pay most dearly in their turn, those were the words on the doors of Gringotts and Maura knew the rumors of what was kept down in the caves that held the most important vaults. No matter what she wanted to say about Malcolm, she couldn't deny he was ambitious.

“Is it for my cute butt?” She teased, leaning her head gently against Maura’s face. Days like this made it a lot easier to remember why she worked so hard to find some sort of balance. Before all this she never bothered, just threw herself at her work and trusted herself not to fall. Coming home to someone, even just occasionally because they were both so busy, it helped. 

“I can teach you, if you want.” Emmeline offered. “The pasta, at least. You’re welcome to domestic and normal with me whenever you’d like it, it’s always here.” Whenever she wasn’t acting as a hotel for her friends at least. Maura understood. It was one of the many things Emm loved about her.

"Well, it's a nice perk." Maura admitted, smiling and kissing Emm's cheek once she'd pulled away, the little gesture of affection coming easily. Then again, it always had since she'd kissed Emm the first day they met and everything else just fell in line. Maura knew they said you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but she'd never realized that's what she was doing with Emm.

“Practical is good,” Liliana agreed. “Of course there’s different levels of practical. There’s the universal piece that can be worn every day, the simple elegant statement piece that goes well with everything on an occasion out, or even something magically charmed.” She’d had a friend in school who wore a cleverly disguised calming potion around her neck every day to help with her anxiety. It was amazing the uses a good jewel could have.

Liliana smiled and looked back over at her. “That does sound like a thoughtful parallel. She’s lucky to have someone so purposeful in repaying the gift.” She hummed thoughtfully and picked up a silver necklace with two twin pearls hanging at the bottom. “I do have good taste, but I don’t know your girlfriend’s taste as well as you do. Is this something she’d like?”

She held out the pearls and then picked up one with a larger sapphire stone framed with a set of tiny stones, perhaps some kind of quartz or topaz. “Or is this more her style? I’m sure it it’s from you, she’ll appreciate it regardless.”

Goodness, the woman sounded like she could be a fashion guru. If asked to decide which category any particular piece would go in, Maura wasn't certain she'd always get it right, although she was pretty sure that the necklace Emm got for her birthday belonged in the second category. "Magically charmed? I've heard of charmed jewelry, but I'm not sure how useful it is." But then, that was her practicality speaking, wasn't it? Jewelry wasn't supposed to be useful, was it?

Looking at the necklace, Maura felt a brief spark of irritation at herself for not knowing if Emm liked pearls or not. Thank you, I don't have a lot of experience with gift giving, so I'm trying. She got me a diamond on a gold chain, so I think it would be nice to stick with that theme?" Maura said, her attention drawn to the next necklace the woman picked up.

"That's flattering of you to say. You're an excellent salesperson, you know, or you could be." Somehow a diamond didn't feel right for Emm, even if she thought Em deserved it. "I think I like the color on that one. She wore a blue dress when we went to the Yule ball together last, so blue. Yeah, I want something blue for her."

At least Maura didn’t seem worried by it. That probably wouldn’t stop Emm from looking up how to relocate to Iceland at least once, but it did help. After all Maura was a bit of an expert on her sibling and Emm had literally hugged them on the street like some sort of weirdo. 

“Well, you deserve flattery.” Emm said unapologetic as she took the peas and added them to the pasta water. It would all be done in a matter of minutes now. “Someone’s got to go around telling my girlfriend all her best traits, and if it wasn’t me then you’d probably have to replace me. As for dinner, now we just get to make sure nothing boils over. It’ll only be a little bit more time. Maybe eight minutes, tops.”

"I'm dating you for more than your compliments," Maura informed her lightly, once again reminded that Emm was part of the order and that... complicated things. They were on opposite sides of the war and Maura wasn't foolishly sentimental enough to ignore that, even if she didn't think her death eater status had anything to do with why Emm was dating her.

Poltergeists were annoying little buggers, but at least one of the ones in this particular shop seemed inclined to mostly leave him alone. Perhaps it recognized a fellow chaos-maker. Or maybe it was just not as extreme as its fellows. Regardless, it floated behind him and occasionally threw things at him, or grabbed for the items he was pushing into his pockets. 

If he hadn’t naturally been more than a little paranoid, he wouldn’t have heard the voice over all the chaos. As it was, he spun around and caught sight of a wide-eyed woman staring at him with violent disbelief. 

There was literally no way to excuse this situation, so for once Nic opted for the truth. 

“Yes,” he said, accent rolling around the strange word. Merde, but he hated English, it was so difficult sometimes. “Better than allowing poltergeists to make off with things, or statues to crush them, yes?”

Somehow, with stone statues destroying shops and poltergeists throwing things around, she hadn't expected to see something as common as looting, although it was definitely smarter to take advantage of the chaos than it was to attempt robbing the store in the middle of the night. Against all her expectations of what she might have done in such a situation, Maura tipped her head back and laughed.

"They won't be able to tell what you took and what the poltergeists made off with," She allowed. While it was still illegal, at least having it stolen by a human meant that it would likely profit someone, even if it was just the thief. "They won't hear anything from me."

She wasn't an auror and he wasn't her biggest problem, the presence of the poltergeist far more distracting in Maura's opinion as it drew the statue in the direction of the store, swinging its stone sword and knocking over a sign post. "Want to give me a hand? Might be able to convince someone to give you a reward."