Chapter 101: Julia and Nava
"Yes, sir," the Auror said, his voice strained. "But about Miss Julia—"
This subordinate was baffled. On the one hand, the Head's daughter was missing, a serious matter, and he seemed bizarrely unconcerned. On the other hand, the moment he had heard she was investigating on her own, he had immediately dispatched a team to retrieve her, terrified of what might happen. Their father-daughter relationship was a case study in contradictions.
At the mention of his daughter, Benjamin Wilkinson stood up and began to pace behind his desk. "You haven't found any trace of her?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
"None, sir."
"And you're certain she didn't learn the location of the incident from any of you?"
"You can rest assured on that, sir," the Auror said, his tone firm. It was crucial now to distance himself and his team from any potential blame. "Everyone who knows the location is under a magical contract of secrecy. They couldn't reveal it even if they wanted to." He then added, a little too pointedly, "And that contract, sir, was one that you yourself oversaw." The unspoken message was clear: This was your operation. If something goes wrong, it's on you.
Benjamin Wilkinson's face turned a shade darker. The corners of his eyes and mouth twitched. The Auror, however, remained unfazed. His own career was more important than the Head's mood. Besides, his surname was MacDuff, and his family, also descended from one of the original twelve Aurors, held considerable influence at MACUSA. He didn't need to kowtow to Wilkinson.
"Very well. You may go, Mr. MacDuff," Wilkinson said, his voice cold as ice.
"Of course, sir," the Auror replied politely, and turned to leave. At the door, he paused. "Sir, I believe Miss Wilkinson may be in real trouble. It's not like her to be out of contact for this long."
"Thank you for your concern. I am aware."
As the door closed, Benjamin slammed his hand on the desk again. "The insolence! And Julia... where in the world has she gone?"
"Nava, what does your family do?" Julia asked as they approached the entrance to a magnificent estate. After watching Nava's "back-flipping cat" for a few days—an experience that had left her feeling strangely sore and weak-kneed—Julia had become captivated by the woman's storytelling. Nava could spin the most fantastical tales, all from a No-Maj perspective, making them seem both wondrous and real. By day, Julia would listen, and by night, she would sneak away to investigate the locations from the stories.
This had gone on for several days, until one morning, Nava had her servants pack her bags.
"Are you going home?" Julia had asked.
"I am. Would you like to come with me?"
I'm doing this for the investigation, Julia told herself, a justification she found entirely convincing. A long, luxurious limousine had brought them to this opulent estate, a place whose splendor rivaled that of MACUSA itself.
"Oh, nothing much," Nava said with a laugh, wrapping an arm around Julia's shoulders as they walked. "We're just in the... lending business."
The word "lending" sent a shiver down Julia's spine. She was all too familiar with the violent debt-collection cases that plagued the wizarding world. It was a subject she often argued about with her father, who used such cases as proof that wizards could not be trusted with the freedom to use their magic.
Seeing the look of alarm on Julia's face, Nava quickly clarified. "Not that kind of lending! We're in finance. We have... economic relationships... with various corporations and governments."
She assumed the young woman would understand. Most girls her age were worldly and sophisticated. But Julia just stared at her, a look of complete incomprehension on her face. The words made sense individually, but strung together, they were gibberish to her. She's so wonderfully naive, Nava thought. She'd probably help count the money after being sold.
"What about your family?" Nava asked, changing the subject. "What do they do? You can't stay with me forever. I'll have to take you home eventually." Abducting a young woman was not good for one's reputation, after all.
"Oh. Well, there's my father," Julia said, hesitating. How could she explain his job? She knew from their time together that Nava, despite her love of magical stories, didn't actually believe in wizards. An idea struck her. "He's in... security. It's... confidential."
Confidential? Nava raised an eyebrow. Was she being set up? But the thought was quickly dismissed. The government, for all its shady dealings, would never use someone so transparently innocent for such a delicate operation. And besides, she wasn't important enough to be a target.
"Well then," Nava said, her concerns assuaged. "You can stay here for a while. When your father gets in touch, I'll take you home. How does that sound?"
"Oh. Alright," Julia agreed, though she suspected it was far more likely that her father's agents would find her and Obliviate this kind, beautiful woman, erasing all memory of their time together.
~~~
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