The Reckoning [Alex/Eden/Max]

[Max Kameren]

Max stepped onto the lift at the Ministry unsure what he would be walking into. Two nights earlier Max's plans to ambush the Dark Lady had gone so thoroughly wrong that he frankly was surprised he hadn't been rounded up in the days since. When Max returned from Rowena's hideout the following morning he'd spent the first day at St. Mungo's seeking stabilizing treatment for the cardiac episode he'd suffered. It was there Jackson informed him the details of Eden's bizarre attack and Emory's grisly demise. The following day he'd spent at home with Eden in mourning, doing what little he could to help Eden heal both in body and soul. 

But eventually the Ministry would beckon them back and they would have to face punishment. Max was prepared to take the full brunt of whatever met them in the auror offices; it was his idea after all, his plan that left Emory a lifeless husk and the Dark Lady now more powerful than ever. He deserved whatever he got.

As the lift moved Max could feel the tension in the auras around him as well as he could feel the eyes of Law Enforcement officers who knew what was coming. The Ministry had been sent out to clean up their mess. A man was dead and it was Max's fault. His selfish need to hold onto Rowena put them all in danger, and now it finally caught up. It was because of him.

The lift pinged for the second floor and Max exited with several other workers. When they were free of the entrance they all seemed to quicken their pace, scurrying away from the toxic substance who had just made himself known in Law Enforcement's bullpen. Max kept his head down until he found his desk, searching out Eden in his head and sitting down in wait for the reckoning to come.

[Eden Fletcher]

It had been two days since Eden had seen Emory smile. Since Emory had laughed at her and tucked a stray curl behind her ear. It had been two days since Eden had led him to his death. It had been all her fault. She had failed him. It had been her stupid idea to bring him along. She had been convinced that she could keep him safe. She hadn't seen his death. He wasn't going to die. It was dangerous but not to that level. But she had failed. Eden Fletcher had relied on her gift and had failed. She hadn't had a vision since the shadowbitch had touched her. Hadn't felt anything. She was empty. There was nothing there. Even when she hadn't had a vision in 17 years between fluxes Eden had felt a bit of her gift. She hadn't had a true vision but she had feelings. Moments when she knew she shouldn't do something because it would be bad. She didn't have that sixth sense anymore. It was a blaring hole inside her. Or maybe that whole was not her "gift" and it was because Emory Williams was dead.

Or it was because of the stupid shadow bitch's strange attack that had aged Eden. She looked at least a decade older. There had been more than a few wrinkles on her. She'd looked worse at St. Mungo's. What ever had been done has zapped her magic and a bit of her youth. She recovered some of her vitality but she had a white patch at her temples, framing her face and a few wrinkles around her eyes she hadn't had before.

A part of Eden didn't want to believe it. Emory couldn't be dead but he was. And now here was Eden picking up the peices. What did she do now? Eden shouldn't have allowed herself to love him. She shouldn't have given in to that foolish emotion. She was cursed. Her whole family was. Love was not something the Fletchers had. It never lasted and it ended up in heart ache. Her parents had tried to defy the curse and look where it got them. Dead by thirty. Her father's parents didn't have any luck with love either. Her paternal grandmother couldn't keep a partner for more than a pregnancy. She ended up with 7 children and nothing but heartache. Her siblings didn't have any luck either. No one did. Not even her maternal grandparents. The Ashcrofts didn't love each other. It had been an alliance, not a marriage.

No. Love was bad. Especially romantic love. Eden should have known better. If she hadn't loved Emory he'd still be alive and Eden wouldn't be staring at his portrait on the wall. The portraits of the flux victims she had done a decade ago were hanging in the hallway that led to the bathrooms. She had forgotten they'd been moved after they had miraculously reappeared. Someone had put them here to add some decoration to a serviceable hallway.

Eden just stood there staring at Emory. She'd gotten his eyes wrong. She needed to fix the eyes. He deserved proper eyes. Eden reached out to take the portrait off the wall when the room went silent. Eden frowned and continued down the hallway to the bullpen. Max had arrived. Eden wondered if he was as unsteady as her. She didn't really remember the last 24 hours. Eden remembered sitting on the ground in the living room drinking fire whiskey and crying.

Eden ignored the stares of her collages as she headed to her oldest friend's desk. At least Max hadn't died.

"how much crow will we have to eat?"Eden said pushing aside a stack of papers and sitting on the cleared space.

[Alecsander]

It was only the second day after the disaster that was Max's little raid on the dark lady. Alex had been sequestered in his office all morning, and part of the night. They'd had to bring in obliviators. Too many muggles had been far too curious about the lights in the sky and the "government men" who'd shown up a few short hours later.

"He could have been killed! They all could have been killed!" He growled to Cain, who was hovering half out of the floor in distress. Not only had Max rallied an absolutely tiny group to take on the Shadowloved's head, but he'd somehow roped in, and then gotten killed, a civilian with delusions of grandeur. The fact that Emory had fought the demons made no difference to Alex. Max had no business recruiting him for his disastrous plan. 

Alex shoved his anger and betrayal down, turning his emotions into a bright-white prick of light and energy as he typically did in battle. Cain floated higher as Alex took purposeful strides to the door and barked the names of the miscreants in a low voice that nonetheless pierced the thin bubble of noise that had risen in the bullpen.

Alex stood by the door as they filed in, not paying much attention to Cain as he cast a disappointed look at Max and Eden before turning and disappearing through the wall. He felt almost empty of emotion as he shut the door and made his slow way to his desk, settling into his chair and eyeing the three aurors before him with an inscrutable look. The silence stretched, heavy and taut. Alex folder his hands together and lifted a disapproving eyebrow at Max.

[Max Kameren]

Eden’s aura was not difficult to find. It was the center of a hurricane, a pit of despair and unfathomable loss that made Max feel physically sick to be in contact with. But it was his storm, his fault, his actions that led to such tragedy for his best friend. Since their joint dispatch from St. Mungo’s Max had deputized himself Eden’s guardian, doing what he could to keep her functioning and serving as a shoulder to cry on. Anything she needed, and he would be there.

He soon realized that meant certain death to his liver; waking up one bottle of Firewhiskey and one half-bottle of Scotch lighter the next morning left Max with a buzzing headache like a wasp’s nest between his ears. He slouched at his desk, resting his head in his hands to block out the office lights a he felt Cyclone Fletcher close in.

“Hey mum, how’s your knitting?” Max lifted his head to greet Eden, glancing over her briefly for any sign of hangover. She fared far worse off than him the night prior.

"how much crow will we have to eat?"Eden said pushing aside a stack of papers and sitting on the cleared space.

“My money’s on roughly a flock?” Max replied, his voice rising at the end as he questioned the nomenclature of a group of crows. He was fairly sure the correct term was ‘murder’, but that felt too on-the-nose. “I plan to take the lions’ share of the feast, Eden, so don’t try to defend me to Alex.” They’d discussed this somewhat last night: This plan had been Max’s. There would be no playing Spartacus. If Alex called for blood, Max made Eden promise to let him offer himself as sacrifice. This was Briar and Eden’s career, but Max was only here temporarily. He wanted to take the fall.

“Evans. Fletcher. Kameren.” The low bark of Alex’s tone rose hackles in the back of Max’s instincts he hadn’t felt since childhood. It was strange to hear the same voice that chided him as a teenager now reprimand him for something so much worse.

With a mutual look succumbing to their fate Max and Eden filed to the Head Auror’s office. Briar wasn’t far behind, dark dinnerplate-eyes wide with the horror of his nightmare coming true.

The tension in the room couldn’t be cut with a knife, as the old saying goes. It was too steely, too cold as the white-hot poker of Alex’s aura bored into his nephew. Max stood in the center of his band of ambushers, silently staring back at Alex. He felt surprisingly calm, standing between the storm of Eden and puddle of Briar, standing tense with his eyes boring into the floor. Max too Alex’s raised eyebrow as a prompt and stepped forward to lay the blame where it belonged.

“I did it, Ale – Head Auror Kameren.” Max clasped his hands in front of him, keeping his shoulders straight. He didn’t want to grovel or to deflect blame. “It was my idea. I sold Eden on it, and Briar came along to try and keep us from doing anything stupid.” That hadn’t worked out, Max thought bitterly.

“I thought I could protect everyone. I was wrong.” Max took a breath, letting his head dip for a moment to relieve the vise-like pressure of the elder Kameren’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”

[Alecsander]

“I did it, Ale – Head Auror Kameren.”

Finally the silence shattered, Max stepping into the remains with his usual aplomb. Alex's eyes shifted to Eden and Briar, searching their faces.

“It was my idea. I sold Eden on it, and Briar came along to try and keep us from doing anything stupid.” That hadn’t worked out, Max thought bitterly. “I thought I could protect everyone. I was wrong.”

A strangled noise came from Max's right, pulling Alex's razor sharp gaze from Max's guilt-ridden, determinedly downcast face to Eden's contorted face.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Auror Fletcher?"

“I’m sorry.”

"How does being sorry now bring Emory Williams back?" Alex turned to his nephew, his voice and tone softening slightly.

[Max Kameren]

“I did it, Ale – Head Auror Kameren.” Max stepped forward, the first of the three conspirators to meet Alex’s eyes. He felt Briar shrivel under the Head Auror’s heavy stare and Eden bristle at Max’s declaration and his own gaze hardened on his uncle. This was Max’s idea. Max’s fault. The Dark Lady was more powerful now because of his actions. Emory was dead because of decisions he made. “It was my idea. I sold Eden on it, and Briar came along to try and keep us from doing anything stupid.” That hadn’t worked out, Max thought bitterly. “I thought I could protect everyone. I was wrong.” 

A muffled protest nearly sounded to Max’s left and both Kamerens sent a glare in Eden’s direction: Alex’s questioning, Max’s warning. "Is there something you'd like to add, Auror Fletcher?" 

“No, she doesn’t.” Max replied perhaps a bit too forcefully, his tone rising as mentally he pushed at Eden to keep quiet. “This was my fault. I’m sorry.”

"How does being sorry now bring Emory Williams back?" Alex turned to his nephew, his voice and tone softening slightly.

The question was like a strike across the face, and it left Max reeling. His eyes turned down, searching the floor for the words he’d been rehearsing in his head all morning. The situation was grave, but somehow he hadn’t expected Alex to be so cutting with his remarks. It occurred to him now that he’d been thinking of Alex as his uncle, not the Head Auror. The Head Auror had to be harsh. The Head Auror had the power to send him away, Max realized, where on his own he would make an easy target for the Shadowloved.

With a sigh Max lifted his eyes to meet Alex’s again, struggling to keep his tone even. “It doesn’t. It can’t. There’s nothing I can do to bring him back.” Silently Max’s hand found Eden’s and closed around it, lightly squeezing to comfort her. “My mistakes got him killed, and I can’t defend that. I won’t defend it.”

“I’m prepared for whatever punishment you see fit.” The nervous shift of Max’s posture told otherwise, as it now occurred to him how much jeopardy he’d put them in. Emory was gone, and with him the Staff fell into the Shadowloved’s hands. The Stone was still unfinished. And here he was, the supposed Shield, doing thhe opposite e of his prophesied duty and putting them all in danger. “Do what you need to do.”

[Eden Fletcher]

It felt good to sit on Max’s desk. Her entire body ached like she had been battered by a battalion of bludgers. Was this what getting old felt like? She had a mother of all hangovers and it had taken a galleon of coffee and headache potion to get her functioning enough to throw on clothes and get her self here. She had barely slept after drowning her feelings. She had just laid there staring at the ceiling replaying the battle in her mind. Over and over again. She couldn’t stop the constant repeat. Didn’t want to stop it. She didn’t want to forget her mistake. Emory’s mistake. Eden was so angry at him, at herself. If he’d only waited. If he had listened to Max. It probably wouldn’t have mattered. He would have died anyways. They were such fools. Stupid idiots who underestimated their enemy. Too proud, too confident too ambitious.

When her alarm went off, A part of her had been tempted to just say fuck it, stay home and her career be damned. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t throw her career away over the death of a man. Even one she really cared about. She couldn’t leave her team behind. She couldn’t let Max and Briar face the brass without her.
Eden half paid attention to Max as he talked about crow and his plan. Eden didn’t agree with his stupid plan. It wasn’t just his fault. Emory’s death was on her. She had suggested that he join them. She hadn’t thought he was too close. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that he would try to confront the bitch, try to take the staff.

“Evans. Fletcher. Kameren.”

Eden flinched as the names shot across the bullpen like a whip. Eden glanced at Max, a blanket of doom smothering her as she hopped off the desk and followed her friend. She almost slipped her hand in his like they had done as children. She resisted the urge and instead shoved her hands in her pockets.

“It was my idea. I sold Eden on it, and Briar came along to try and keep us from doing anything stupid.” That hadn’t worked out, Max thought bitterly. “I thought I could protect everyone. I was wrong.”

A strangled noise came from Max's right, pulling Alex's razor sharp gaze from Max's guilt-ridden, determinedly downcast face to Eden's contorted face.

"Is there something you'd like to add, Auror Fletcher?"
Eden just stood there un able to say anything. Her mind was blank. She didn’t know how to form the words. How to tell Alex that it had been her who had thought Emory was safe. How he was experienced enough to go into battle. That Max wasn’t the only idiot. How she had encouraged the plan. But she said nothing. She closed her eyes when Max spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

"How does being sorry now bring Emory Williams back?" Alex turned to his nephew, his voice and tone softening slightly.

Eden flinched at Emory’s name. It physically hurt to hear someone else say his name. Sorry wouldn’t bring him back. Nothing would. He was dead and nothing would change that. So there was no point in discussing it.

With a sigh Max lifted his eyes to meet Alex’s again, struggling to keep his tone even. “It doesn’t. It can’t. There’s nothing I can do to bring him back.” Silently Max’s hand found Eden’s and closed around it, lightly squeezing to comfort her. “My mistakes got him killed, and I can’t defend that. I won’t defend it.”

Eden squeezed Max’s hand back in support. She didn’t blame her friend for Emory’s death. It wasn’t Max’s fault. He hadn’t made Emory move. He had done everything he could have to protect him.

“I’m prepared for whatever punishment you see fit.” The nervous shift of Max’s posture told otherwise, as it now occurred to him how much jeopardy he’d put them in. Emory was gone, and with him the Staff fell into the Shadowloved’s hands. The Stone was still unfinished. And here he was, the supposed Shield, doing thhe opposite e of his prophesied duty and putting them all in danger. “Do what you need to do.”

Eden tensed waiting for the blow. Would they get fired? What would Eden do if she wasn’t an auror? Paint? She loved painting but she couldn’t do it every day. It was her hobby, her release not her job. She needed something to challenge her, the mystery, the hunt of a killer, the danger that being an auror brought. Besides if they got fired Max wouldn’t ever forgive himself. Eden was afraid of what would happen to him. But she didn’t know what to say to her boss and mentor. There was nothing to say to Alex Kameren. She had disappointed him so much. Sorry wouldn’t be enough.

[Alecsander]

With a sigh Max lifted his eyes to meet Alex’s again, struggling to keep his tone even. “It doesn’t. It can’t. There’s nothing I can do to bring him back.” Silently Max’s hand found Eden’s and closed around it, lightly squeezing to comfort her. “My mistakes got him killed, and I can’t defend that. I won’t defend it

“You’re right.” Alex said slowly, as he did when focusing firmly on his speech. “And what h-hhave you learned?” It was almost ironic being in this position, he thought idly. Max took far too much after his father (and his uncle, to be honest). Alex’s gaze traveled along the short line of miserable miscreants, looing for their answer.

“I’m prepared for whatever punishment you see fit. Do what you need to do.”

“Thhank you—for your permission.” He said scathingly, folding his hands on his desk. Max was in rare form today. He seemed to take Curse’s martyr guilt complex to new levels. He would need to mitigate the effect.

“Aurors Fletcher and Evans, you’re suspended from field-work two weeks at half-pay. Expect extra duties. Mr. Kameren, you are a consultant, so we can’t suspend you, but we are docking your pay and requiring you to train with the junior aurors. After you complete the Stone we will revisit the matter of your continued employment here.”

Silence fell, Alex let it stretch.

[Max Kameren]

“My mistakes got him killed, and I can’t defend that. I won’t defend it."

“You’re right.” Alex said slowly, as he did when focusing firmly on his speech. “And what h-hhave you learned?”

Max could feel the answer was rhetorical. There was no answer that would please Alex, and Max didn’t have one to offer. The healer was genuine in his statements: his mistakes had consequences. He thought he’d stated that plainly, but Alex still seethed. What did he want? Had he expected Max to bristle at his accusations? Did he expect him to break down? “I’m prepared for whatever punishment you see fit. Do what you need to do.”

“Thhank you—for your permission.” Max’s eye contact with his uncle broke momentarily as he stared at the ceiling. Empathy did little to help him understand what Alex was looking for in this interaction. Perhaps dressing them down like children was the point. “Aurors Fletcher and Evans, you’re suspended from field-work two weeks at half-pay. Expect extra duties.”

There was a release felt from Max’s conspirators on either side that the punishment didn’t involve packing up their desks permanently. Despite his surprise Max felt Briar tense over his right shoulder. Any punishment was going to get that reaction out of him; though brash and brave-faced with his peers Briar was always this tense in front of authority, regardless of what he had or hadn’t done to get there. Max too took a breath of relief, glad his scheme hadn’t cost his two friends in the Ministry their careers. He squeezed Eden’s hand lightly before letting it drop, his brow tweaking upwards as he waited patiently to hear his fate.

“Mr. Kameren, you are a consultant, so we can’t suspend you, but we are docking your pay and requiring you to train with the junior aurors. After you complete the Stone we will revisit the matter of your continued employment here.”

Max sighed quietly and nodded. The punishment was fair but still worrying. After months away from work his savings was depleted and docked pay would only worsen it. But worse than that was the open-endedness of his sentence; if the Ministry chose to turn him away, Max would be defenseless.

Silence stretched under Alex’s gaze, until Max’s head turning in surprise at the first person to break it. Briar stepped forward hesitantly with is hands clasped in front of him, his wide frame shrinking under his boss’s stare. “Uhm, Head Auror… you can’t fire Max. In spite of the way the battle went we did gain new intel into the locations of the other objects of power needed to open the Gate. We have the Stone, she has the Staff - “ Briar conveniently managed to forget how she’d managed to come across that particular piece of the puzzle - “And he’s the Shield. They need him. If we let him go and they find him, well…” Briar winced, letting the possible consequences of that action hang in the air.

Max didn’t look up throughout Briar’s speech, letting the silence stretch. Even if he wanted to speak he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know yet how to process his place in the Prophecy or what to do with his role as the Shield. If there was anything he learned from the previous day’s events, it was that the aurors' help was integral to his survival.

[Alecsander]

“Uhm, Head Auror… you can’t fire Max. In spite of the way the battle went we did gain new intel into the locations of the other objects of power needed to open the Gate. We have the Stone, she has the Staff - “ Briar conveniently managed to forget how she’d managed to come across that particular piece of the puzzle - “And he’s the Shield. They need him. If we let him go and they find him, well…” Briar winced, letting the possible consequences of that action hang in the air.

Auror Evans stood forward, fidgeting from side to side. Alex frowned, how long had the man been an auror? Alex made a note mentally to address the issue. After 12 years the man should be more confident. As the silence fell again with a wince from Briar, Alex let it. He examined Briar, practically feeling the man as he squirmed under his gaze.

“Did you think I don’t know that?” He said too softly. “I know we’re still waiting on your official report, Auror Evans, yet I am not ignorant of the facts of last night. Nor have I forgotten the dangers surrounding my nephew—surrounding us all.” He pressed his hands flat to the desk, standing.

“You are dismissed.”