antebellum [t. riddle]

xxiii.

december 1944

"so there's nothing new, then?" riddle said between clenched teeth, not bothering to hide his anger. 

"actually," lestrange said with a proud lilt to his voice. "i found something that may be of interest."

nott rolled his eyes in annoyance at his friends' theatrics. "out with it."

"i've made an interesting connection. alessandria goldenberg, remember? the woman she mailed the letter to?" they nodded, urging him to go on. "well, i found out who she is. she works for the american wizarding government. says she works for department of magical law enforcement, but her official position is classified."

so many parts of this assignment were clearly hastily thrown together. for one, they hadn't bothered to change her name, nor give her a new appearance. they also had sporadic meeting times, meaning they expected consistent information, but gave her no outlet to communicate it. usually she got a secure line for when she had to transport information, like a scrying mirror, but this time, they had given her nothing. they expected the ignorance of the students would cover for it. for a mission this sloppy, it should've been less than a week; something for her to slip in and out quickly an quietly. instead, she was here for an indefinite amount of time, with an identity that would crumble under the slightest bit of investigation. lazy.

"so," malfoy snorted. "the two people we know she has contact with outside of school both work secret government jobs?"

"well didn't her parents work for macusa?"

nott picked at the buttons on his shirt, avoiding looking up to speak. "but was that a lie?"

"well," lestrange said apprehensively. "i actually thought of that. i had two copies of the personnel manual, one from 1941 and another from 1943. in 1941, there's a patricia edwards, auror, and owen edwards, department of magical law enforcement, but they aren't listed in 1943."

"when did her parents die?" rosier asked.

nott answered. "she never said specifically."

"but even still, they weren't in the obituary section either. they just disappeared without a trace." lestrange finished; sufficiently adding more unknowns onto the pile they already had. 

there was an prolonged silence where a few of the puzzle pieces slipped into place, but several more spots opened up. it seemed like every time they learned anything about her, there were more questions left to be answered. one step forward, two steps back. 

riddle sighed. "well soon, i'll have almost all the wards down on her room. i think next week we'll need to create a diversion so i can take down the final one, and then we can look for answers in there." it took him much more time and effort to break the enchantments on her room than he would like to have admitted. 

and just like that, the energy in the room shifted. he paused at all their apprehensive reactions. he narrowed his eyes and they all averted their gazes. "something the matter?"

rosier cleared his throat. "and if she catches you, then what? she'll never be near us again."

"then i suggest you make sure she doesn't find out." riddle warned. 

"and what if she does? what if that's the last straw?"

riddle narrowed his eyes and turned them to a sneer. "there are other women, rosier."

rosier was offended by the insinuation, but bit his tongue, knowing anything he'd say would instantly add fuel to the fire. instead, malfoy, being as argumentative as he is, jumps in.