Veracity - ✔️

Seventeen

"We conquer
by continuing."
- George Matheson

Despite Athene's constant worry, there were no attacks in the night. No strange men clad in black showed up in her store to silence her once and for all. But that didn't cease the anxiety that had crystallized in Athene's heart. She always was looking over her shoulder, checking to see if someone was sneaking up on her. Her wand was always in her pocket, and her mind was continually overthinking simple situations.

It had been ten days since Valentine's Day. Ten days since Athene had last step foot outside of Epeolatry and her friends - well, friend - was starting to get worried. Enya had dropped by Athene's apartment more times in the past week than she had in the past year. She had made it a point to see Athene at least once a day.

"I'm completely fine, Enya," Athene ran a brush through her damp hair, "You don't need to keep checking up on me." Enya watched the woman for a second, taking note of the way Athene's eyes scanned the room and the way her hand slightly shook when a bird flew into the window on accident.

"Yeah, mhmm," Enya nodded, though sarcasm dripped from every word, "Completely fine. Then let's go out and get some ice cream."

Athene sat down on her bed and motioned to the room around her. "But I'm so comfortable here!"

Enya was unimpressed, and her face showed just as much. Athene had refused to go shopping the day before - which was relatively normal for the woman - but when she had turned down going to get food, Enya knew that there was something off with the situation. "Come on," Enya grabbed the brush from Athene's hand while simultaneously offering her a hair tie. "I want ice cream, and I'm not going to stop until I get some." It was true that Athene could be stubborn at points, but there was no denying that Enya could beat Athene for the title of 'Most Stubborn Human Being' any day. So Athene decided not to fight. She pulled on the sweater that Mrs. Weasley had gifted her for Christmas and followed Enya out the door.

It had snowed the day before, so there were piles of snow here and there. The sun, however, had decided to make an appearance in the bright blue sky. The beauty could not distract Athene from her worry. She was constantly looking over her shoulder and scanning the slightly crowded streets of Diagon Alley. Her constant searches were for nothing, seeing as no one approached the duo during their walk to Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

Several people were enjoying the sweet goodness that is ice cream in the courtyard, and none of them fit the description of a scary murderous man. Athene let her shoulders relax, and a breath eased through her lungs. It briefly crossed her mind that maybe, maybe, she was overreacting. But those thoughts were gone by the time she had three scoops of peanut butter ice cream in her reach. "So, what's got you all in a loop?" Enya took care to ease into the conversation as the two sat in wrought iron chairs.

"Nothing. Everything is fine." The ice cream in her mouth was cold, and her brain could feel just that. Athene brought her hand to her head. "Everything except for this brain freeze."

"I don't believe you."

"Well, you should." Athene punctuated her sentence with a firm nod of her head.

"We're best friends, aren't we?" The words rolled off of Enya's tongue seamlessly, and she paused only for a second, "You don't even need to answer that. You're my best friend, Athene. You can tell me anything."

Athene mulled it over in her head. She had wanted to talk about it with someone but had convinced herself that her claims were insane. "You have to swear that you won't think I'm crazy."

"You can't be-" Athene gave her a hard stare, "Okay, you're completely serious. Yeah, I won't think you're crazy."

Athene looked around at the people enjoying their ice cream around them. When she was satisfied that the mysterious man wasn't going to eavesdrop on their conversation, Athene began to speak. "It started several weeks ago when I published that article on Sirius Black. A member of the Ministry showed up in my shop, demanded that we speak in private, and then threatened me."

"Threatened you?"

"He wanted me to stop writing articles." Athene looked back down at her melting ice cream. Her appetite had suddenly disappeared.

"And are you going to?" Enya was overly curious about the conversation. She leaned forward ever so slightly, and her eyes were trained on the woman. "Stop writing articles, I mean?"

"Of course not. Veracity is important. The truth is important. I can't just stop because some man wants me to stop." Athene's words were solid, but the fear on her face was evident.

"But?"

"But that wasn't it. Charlie and I went out for Valentine's Day; to Madame Tremaine's Fine Dining. The server brought out our food and the table right next to our's' food. The man who was sitting at that table began to choke."

"Poor bloke probably bit off more than he could chew," Enya said this, though she didn't look too convinced herself.

"There was this man," Athene paused and looked around again, "standing just outside the window. He was staring right at me, Enya. What happened there wasn't a happy little accident. I think it might have been another warning."

"You're sure you saw him?"

"He was looking right at me, Enya." Athene's jitters returned. Her leg bounced under the table, and she had to clasp her hands together to stop their shaking. Her fear was all-consuming, even when she tried to fight it off. "I'm terrified that he was after Charlie or me. And I'm scared of what he'll do next."

"Then stop writing. I mean, that's what he wanted, right?"

Athene couldn't help but think that Enya was too easy-going with this topic. She had practically just confessed that she thought someone was out to get her, and Enya didn't even look worried. "I can't stop writing. This is my purpose in life, and I can't just let it go." Had Athene been paying more attention, she would have noticed the sigh of defeat that Enya released or the way that her shoulders hunched.

"Here's what I would do," Enya waited until Athene gave her her full attention, "I would stop writing articles that are inflammatory to the Ministry. Maybe stick to home improvement or new spells or something of the sort. That way, you'll stop offending the Ministry."

"Gardening? Laundry? I refuse to be subject to such boring topics." Athene slammed her fists into the table. It appeared that her courage was returning, despite the fear that lingered in her mind. "If I stay silent, then the Wizarding Community will cling to the false security that the Ministry is providing. I will not stop writing."

"You can't be serious."

"Do I have another choice?" Athene had completely forgotten about her ice cream, and the fear that had once consumed her mind had dimmed. "Charlie is safe in Romania with his dragons and his co-workers. The Ministry has no jurisdiction outside of England, and they're not bold enough to make such a move. Charlie's been too busy in Romania to come back; we can work out something before he comes back. He'll be safe." Athene felt the surety of her thoughts. It only took a second to make the decision that would change her life forever: she would keep writing her articles.

Now, she just needed to find a topic to write about.

Author's Note:

Hey guys, I've been really tickled with all of the support I've been getting on Epeolatry. I'm so excited that you all are enjoying the story. Please vote and/or comment if you liked this chapter!