Dix de Tasses: Tea & Tarot [Open]

[spectacles]

”Clearly you just haven’t found the right tea.”

Lars chuckled, giving his head a small shake. “My wife would probably agree with you,” he said. “The coffee habit is hard to kick though, and I don’t think I’ll be trying to stop it any time soon.”

Lars took note of the fact that Ro had been quick to drop that she did not know anything about Texas. He would have figured that out without the immediate reaction, considering how strong her British accent was. Lars wondered then why she would react in such a way, but he also understood that it was none of his business. He nodded as Ro remarked how she had lived in England for her entire life. Perhaps her father had chosen to settle in Europe instead of America, Lars mentally decided.

The pair then returned to the matter at hand. Lars listened as Ro informed him that she liked honey lavender tea, then suggested orange ginger since he had made the comment about floral flavors. Then there was matcha, which apparently had caffeine in it. Lars inspected the boxes Ro offered to him, nudging his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“These could do, sure,” he replied. For a moment, Lars felt a bit helpless. He wanted to get something that Annabelle would truly like, but now he was beginning to wonder if tea and a cup would make a good enough first-year anniversary gift. “I wish I could bring her here to pick something for herself,” Lars said softly.

There was so much of the magical world that Lars wanted to share with his wife. While there were some aspects he could show her through casting a spell or two at home, there were places like this tea shop that would have amazed her so much more. When they were dating, Lars often described to Annabelle what Ilvermorny looked like. At first, she treated his stories like No-Maj fairy tales. But when Lars was able to tell her about new things about his school in his letters to her in such detail, she had realized that this was truly her boyfriend’s reality.

Lars loved telling Annabelle all about what he experienced, but he still felt that he never did them enough justice. He was thankful that his mom was able to back him up so that Annabelle didn’t assume he was insane. Casting a spell in front of her for the first time had helped as well, but there was still so much more to his magical world. And something as simple as a tea shop that she would never be able to enter with him further disappointed Lars.

“I’m sure Annabelle will love both of these, thank you,” Lars said to Ro with a small smile, pulling himself out of his thoughts. “Thank you for your help, Ro. Do you mind if I ask what you are reading about?” He went over to the main counter with his items for purchase, one hand searching his pockets for coins. The professor-side of Lars was beginning to show, the scent picked up by the sight of the book at the table Ro had been seated at originally.

[sour patch kid]

Ro gave Lars a small smile. Apparently she and his wife were birds of a feather. "If it's just the caffeine boost you're after, you could always try the matcha," she pointed out with a quiet snicker. "But if it's the taste, well, then you're out of luck. Not my fault or your wife's that you have bad taste buds." Lars seemed like an easy-going enough bloke, so she figured it was okay to joke around with him. He seemed to recognize that they were on opposite sides of the tea vs. coffee debate, but he didn't feel the need to convince her to come around to his point of view.

Then again, she was helping him pick out tea instead of coffee, so that argument probably wouldn't have worked out in his favor, even if he did manage to persuade her that coffee was better.

But he seemed to like her suggestions, so Ro had done her job. He was clueless, so he was willing to take her advice... but there was something in his expression that made her think something wasn't quite right. And then Lars remarked that he wished he could bring her here so she could pick out her own teas. "Is there some reason why you can't bring her?" the blonde asked curiously, though she was aware she might be overstepping her boundaries. If she did... oh well, they'd never see each other again. But if she could keep helping him out, then maybe he could actually get his wife here. "I don't think this place is warded against Muggles - er, No-Majs as you Americans would say." It was such a dumb word, but it was one Helios used, so she assumed Lars would understand her. "There's a bunch of Muggle businesses just around the corner, and I think I've seen a few stop in when I've been here. You could always ask the owner if your wife would be able to drop in."

Of course, there were a million other reasons why his wife might not be able to come: inability to travel, illness, death... It would be weird if he was buying a dead woman tea, but hey, she'd seen stranger things.

But he didn't linger on the topic, instead insisting that his Annabelle would love her selections. Ro returned the smile and nodded. "No problem," came her quick reply.

She was ready to head back to her table and allow him to check out whenever the owner reappeared, but instead, Lars asked her another question about her book. Her blue eyes darted back to the text on the table before returning to the American. "Uh, ancient divination techniques," she answered slightly sheepishly. She knew that wasn't the most interesting thing to the general public, but she found herself scouring every divination text she could get her hands on after what Armando did to her. "I, uh, do divination research." She knew she didn't need to provide an explanation, but it felt weird not to. But she wasn't going to go as far as saying she was an Unspeakable. Lars was an American after all. He probably had no idea what that meant.

[magniloquent]

Reading tarot for strangers was hard. Mordecai always felt like he was dancing across thin ice when he read for people he didn’t know. Reading for friends or schoolmates was one thing. He knew most of their pasts and at least many of their ghosts. It was easy to interpret the cards and know exactly how they would react to the information provided. With strangers, however, he never knew what he would dig up or the scars he’d reopen into wounds. Tarot was personal, deeply personal, and interpretive to each client. This particular man didn’t seem too convinced that any of the outcomes were good, not even the final card.

Mordecai shifted in his chair.

“I’m not a therapist, of course,” Sometimes he felt he had to start off that way. Many thought he could guide them through life, give them advice about money or love. But all he could do was read the cards and let them take that as they may. Sometimes he gave more, sometimes he gave less, but it was all about the cards drawn. “However, unless those people are dead, there is always a way to rebuild a bridge. Even if it starts by shouting across the river to the other side. And hell, even in our world, ghosts tend to listen if my experience has anything to say about it.”

So the cards weren’t what the guy was looking for. At least he wasn’t asking for lottery numbers or the name of his true love. Mordecai wasn’t that kind of medium. He wasn’t really a medium at all as far as he was concerned, even if he was sure he had some sort of Sight. The cards guided all, even in their capacity for vague answers that frustrated most.

He held out a hand.

“How about the leaves? Maybe they’ll provide a better picture.”

[spectacles]

Lars didn’t mind Ro’s jibe towards him regarding his and his wife’s “poor taste.” He was not surprised at all to have the Brit poke fun at him. There were some moments where Lars knew that America deserved the jabs throw his way, and he always took them with a grain of salt. Now if Ro had chosen to make fun of No-Maj (or Muggles, as the Europeans would put it), Lars would have to take a stand on that one.

Ro caught on to his comment about not being able to bring his wife to this shop, inquiring after it. Lars was about to respond, but she answered her own question by remarking how she figured that this tea shop was not hidden from No-Maj. She didn’t seem to be a huge fan of the term, but Lars barely paid attention to that aspect of the conversation. “Really?” he asked. “That would be fantastic, actually. Maybe I’ll get these things and then bring her by next time.”

Returning to this tea shop, especially if Annabelle would be able to see the whole place in all its glory, would make her day. It would be a wonderful opportunity to take a much-needed vacation, coming to Europe. It would also show Annabelle more of Lars’ world, sharing something physical that they could both see and experience. Lars made a mental note to investigate this possiblity further before he headed back home.

“I wish more places were this accommodating,” Lars went on thoughtfully. “I have an extensive list of places that permit No-Maj access, but it’s only in the Americas. It’s also disappointingly short. You’d think after all this time, our community would be a little more progressive.” Lars was becoming close to lecturing Ro on the matter, and he doubted that she cared to hear him ramble, so he quickly ended the discussion with that.

Lars was afraid for a moment that he had pried too much by asking after her reading, but Ro answered his question well enough. “Divination, huh?” he asked. “Extensive stuff. I’ve never been too good at the subject myself, so I commend you.” Lars thought for a moment to himself, cocking his head a little to the side. “Have you ever wondered,” he began. “Have you ever wondered if our divination extends to everyone and not just magical beings? And maybe not just humans, but perhaps also to animals and plants?

“I mean, even if our world tries so hard to hide from everyone else, we still have an impact whether we like it or not.” Well, it appeared Lars was going to have a mini-lecture regardless. Hopefully, Ro wouldn’t mind too much. “With that in mind, it might make sense for divination to extend to all, right? We’re all connected, one large ecosystem.”

[scallywag]

Wyatt smirked at the therapist comment. Maybe that was all he needed in his life was a bloody therapist. He wasn’t even entirely sure what therapists even did or what the point of it was. He doubted anything was going to help him. Someone had to be the filth of the earth, right?  The one who wrought ruin and pain to others? Wyatt had filled that role for so long for his family that he wasn’t sure he could be or doing anything else. And his transgressions… if he were in Renton’s shoes, there’s no way he would forgive him.

“What if it’s not an ocean that separates us? But a bottomless chasm and the other side can’t be seen because it’s worlds apart?” Wyatt asked, “I’m not asking you to therapize me. But I think sometimes relationships are beyond repair because of what a person has done.”

Wyatt wasn’t a strong person and he would never claim to be either. He didn’t know if he had it in himself to repair the relationships he had broken and be told there was no way of fixing them. Probably cutting his loss was the smart thing to do. Maybe that could be another interpretation of the cards?  Or maybe there was someone else — something else??? — he should think about repairing and not his brother.

Fuck.

The man was reaching his hand out for the tea. Wyatt handed over the cup, curious despite not feeling too great. Wondering if it was possible for the tea leaves to read better than the cards.

[sour patch kid]

Ah, so Ro was spot on with the assumption that Lars' wife was a Muggle. He seemed surprised that this place was available for Muggles, and the blonde just sort of blinked at him. He apparently had some sort of list of places that permitted Muggles to enter back in America. "Wait, you have a list of what?" she responded incredulously. "You mean there are places in the US that don't allow Muggles inside? Who the bloody hell does that?" She had gotten the impression that historically, America had always been a little less fond of Muggles than Britain, but she didn't realize it was that bad. "No, Muggles are allowed basically anywhere here as long as they're accompanied by a wizard. There are charms and stuff to prevent random Muggles from just wandering into a magic establishment, but if they know it exists, it's not like we bar them from the place." Ro scoffed derisively. Americans. They were so bloody backwards.

Okay, there were good ones like Helios and her aunties and the Quades, but as a whole? Maybe it wasn't the worst thing that she was raised in Sheffield instead of Texas...

Actually, she would've much preferred to have her father raise her instead of her mother abandoning her at an orphanage, but this was all beside the point.

"For what it was worth, I was raised by Muggles, and I turned out just fine," she offered up almost as an afterthought. It was probably the nicest thing she'd ever said about her adoptive parents, but she knew that not all Muggles were like them.

It was much more comfortable talking about divination. Lars praised her for studying it, but Ro just shrugged her shoulders. "I've got a knack for it," was all she said. But the American didn't linger on the conversation for long, instead wondering if flora and fauna were also capable of divination. The Unspeakable's eyes widened slightly and she furrowed her brow as he rambled on.

What was this conversation they were having right now??

"Are you a philosopher by trade?" she asked him bluntly instead of properly answering any of his hypothetical questions. That was the only thing that made sense, because no one just... had these weird sorts of conversations with strangers unless they were particularly interested in philosophy. Maybe this was something she'd discuss with Sirena or Bailey, but definitely not some random bloke in a tea shop.

[spectacles]

Lars blinked when Ro appeared to be thoroughly surprised by the fact that Muggles were not usually welcome to Magical establishments. While it did make him feel a little bit better that Europeans did follow the same practice, he knew in that moment that he and his fellow American witches and wizards needed to try harder. They had come so far in some areas, but societal norms were clearly still lacking. Lars had learned this early on, as his mother had been unable to join him for many of his experiences. It had made his school years tough, as he hadn’t been able to truly show her his side of the world.

“I mean, maybe things have changed,” Lars replied with a small shrug. “I have been working a lot and haven’t tested these places in a while. But as far as I am aware, not all magical places are very open to the No-Maj population.

“I will say this, in defense of my country,” he went on. “But, the businesses are doing it to remain in compliance with the International Statute of Secrecy. Too many people are afraid to lose their business by allowing ‘minority’ customers. My list involves magical establishments that tend to ward off No-Maj and keep things from being witnessed by the non-magical eye. So even if my wife were to come with me, she doesn’t get to see what I see, which defeats the point. It’s… quite disheartening.”

Lars was impressed by Ro feeling comfortable enough to reveal that she was raised by No-Maj parents herself, although it did make sense considering their current conversation. “My mom is No-Maj,” he said with a smile.”It’s no wonder we both have strong opinions of No-Maj and magical community relations then.”

”Are you a philosopher by trade?”

Lars blinked again, his expression momentarily matching Ro’s. But he was quickly able to recover enough to answer her inquiry. His cheeks flushed pink, having been caught in his (rather pointless) ramble. “Ah, no,” he answered with a nervous laugh. He dropped his gaze for a moment, adjusting his glasses. “I’m a No-Maj Studies professor, actually. But I’ve spent a lot of time doing research and coming up with questions and stuff. My wife is much more involved in research than I these days. She and I sometimes get into philosophical banters for fun.”

Now that Lars thought about it, Ro appeared to be not too much older than his students. No wonder she was looking at him like he had three heads. No normal person would have a conversation on such a subject, even if one of them was clearly doing divination research. “Sorry,” he said. “I think the fact that we’ve been talking about her and stuff that reminds me about her just… got me going a little bit.”

[sour patch kid]

Americans were baffling. Or maybe it was American culture. Whatever the case, Lars confirmed that the places on this list of his didn't permit Muggles to enter. He claimed it was because of the International Statute of Secrecy, that people were afraid to break that. Ro scoffed derisively. "If us Brits can figure it out, surely you Americans can as well," she replied with a slight roll of her eyes. "But obviously this is something you already know." If he was married to a Muggle woman, then Lars surely knew his country's Muggle policy was a little bit backwards. But he also acknowledged that it was possible that things might have changed, since he didn't tend to spend a ton of time in these places. "Merlin, I hope things have changed," she breathed. Otherwise... ugh.

Ro knew she was getting worked up over something that simultaneously felt like nothing and was completely out of her area of expertise. She hadn't even taken Muggle Studies at Hogwarts; it hadn't felt necessary given her upbringing. But even though she didn't particularly like her adoptive parents or Bri Cheese, she wouldn't want them to be banned from a wizarding establishment just because they were Muggles. If people wanted to ban shitty people from entering, that was one thing, but not every single Muggle.

But when Lars revealed his mum was a Muggle, the blonde felt herself soften a little. She mirrored the American's smile and nodded. "It just all seems dumb and unnecessarily exclusionary, that's all," she said with a small shrug. But there was no point about getting all worked up about it in a tea shop when they couldn't actually do anything about it.

She liked to think she could do something about how Armando pulled a prophecy from her, but she still hadn't figured out exactly how to do that. For all she knew, there was something to Lars' bizarre theory that the entire ecosystem could have divinatory powers. Maybe that would explain how he had prompted a prophecy. Still, it was a strange idea, one that didn't quite have grounding in the actual theories behind divination, and it had come from a surprising place. This wasn't what Ro had expected when she offered to help Lars with his teas.

The American wasn't a philosopher, but a No-Maj Studies professor instead. "Huh," she murmured as he explained. Apparently his wife was also a researcher, so they tended to get into philosophical discussions for fun. And then he paused and apologized for going off on his tangent. He had fallen back into the habit after they had spent so much time talking about his wife. "Oh, it's fine," Ro brushed it off with a wave of her hand. "It happens." Merlin knew her own brain took enough tangents when she was deep in the throes of her research. The only difference between her and Lars was that he vocalized his thoughts.

"What does your wife research?" Ro asked curiously. He clearly liked talking about her, and the Unspeakable liked hearing about other researchers, even if she had no interest in the subject. Her coworkers had such diverse interests and they always seemed to be working on something cool. Hopefully Lars' wife was doing the same thing.

[spectacles]

For a country that seemed to think itself so advanced in many avenues, it was clear that America still had its flaws. Lars chuckled as Ro commented on how if her country could figure it out, then they could too. She was right, but unfortunately, it was something easier said than done. Any desire to change was not easy to come by. History proved that there were many obstacles to overcome in the process and even more people who would make it all even more difficult.

Lars also wished that things had changed. To be able to share his world with his mother had been something he had wanted to do ever since he had been accepted to Ilvermorny. Everything had been new and amazing, but also terrifying to experience on his own. Lars had managed in the end, especially when he was able to find other kids like him. But it was still crazy to have access to things that his own mother did not. And then he fell in love with Annabelle, and he felt bad once more about having almost another life that she couldn’t be a part of.

But maybe things had changed since he had last visited his list of places. Now that he thought about it, he really should put more effort into finding out if No-Majs could go into those places. Perhaps he could make a nice little trip out of it with Annabelle. Visit his old hunting grounds from his Ilvermorny years.

Lars nodded in agreement when Ro pointed out that she felt it was all dumb and unnecessary to exclude other people. “I wouldn’t say that they’re all amazing people, but there’s no reason to hide all our magic from them, I think,” he replied. “Our own kind can be cruel to each other, so what’s the difference?” Lars would admit that he did have a bit of a bias when it came to the integration of the two communities. He had lived it for his entire life, meeting wonderful No-Maj and terrible witches and wizards and vice versa.

”What does your wife research?”

“Her main focus is information sciences,” Lars said. “Last I knew, she was working on developing a paper analyzing the best systems out there right now for data collection. She also had a side project that was determining the impact of digital books on libraries. Now that is a project I can understand a bit more than the first one.” He chuckled. “I know I grew up with technology a bit more than some, but I still don’t understand how people would prefer not having an actual, physical book in my hands to read.”

[sour patch kid]

When Ro had walked into Dix de Tasses today, she had expected to read her book, drink some tea, and maybe talk to the owner about his divination abilities. She hadn't expected to get into a philosophical discussion around the International Statute of Secrecy. Lars seemed to think that there wasn't a reason to hide magic from the Muggles, but she just cocked her head to the side slightly as she pondered the idea.

"I think... I think there are times where there's no point in hiding," she replied thoughtfully before looking around the teashop. "Like this place. There's nothing inherently magical here, at least if the proprietor can remove the charms to bring down the tea from the top shelves." She'd certainly seen tea bags float down to the customers, which probably wouldn't be good for Muggles, but the rest of the shop was relatively Muggle-friendly. "But revealing the entire wizarding world to Muggles?" she continued, and then she exhaled heavily. "That's a whole other monster. Maybe we could pull that off here in the UK, but if you lot in America do that, you'll have the loony gun-toters coming after you, trying to insist that their guns are better than your magic or some dumb shit." Ro didn't exactly keep up with American No-Maj news, but she heard enough. Surely the US had its fair share of wonderful and brilliant people, but they also had plenty of violent idiots. Revealing the wizarding world sounded like a recipe for disaster.

"But I don't know," she finished up with a shrug. "I'm not a Muggle relations expert." No, she left that up to the Obliviators on Level Three. Maybe she was raised as a Muggle, but that didn't mean she knew everything about Muggles and wizards and the Statute and all that.

Ro knew far more about research, but that didn't mean she understood what Lars' wife did. "Wait, what's information sciences?" she asked curiously. He explained what she was working on, and she could sort of infer what his wife did through that. She did research on data collection systems and digital books, so it sounded like she did research on research. Well, that was... something. "Huh, how interesting," she murmured, trying to keep her tone even so he wouldn't realize that she thought his wife's career was the dullest thing in the world. Why Lars' wife would ever want to pursue that line of research, but Ro knew it wasn't her place to openly judge.

Then the professor mentioned something about books and liking the physicality of them. "I haven't had much experience with digital books, so I guess I technically prefer regular books," she replied, shrugging again. "My parents never had a ton of money, and then I moved out and moved into the wizarding world full time. Somehow I don't think there are a ton of Muggle books out there about divination, so I can't see my need for digital books." Ro was a witch, and she worked squarely in the wizarding world. She had no doubt that Muggles got their hands on books about divination, but they were all either written by wizards or a load of shite. Sometimes both. But her point stood: she didn't have a need for digital books, and she couldn't foresee a need either.

[spectacles]

Ro made quite a few good points, despite how she was not at all prepared for such a discussion. Perhaps it was because she was no longer a student herself, but Lars was quickly wishing she had attended one of his classes at Ilvermorny. She was able to provide a nice counterargument that actually made him think for a moment, challenging even the professor. Lars nodded thoughtfully as she spoke her piece while using their current location as an example.

Despite how he had been so adamant about uniting the two worlds, Lars did understand that that was something much easier said than done. It would be a swift culture change for both parties involved, each of whom was well known to attack their own members for even the most minor of reasons. Ripping off the bandaid could be a starting point, but there was no doubt that chaos could just as easily ensue. Lars had to shrug, chuckling lightly, as Ro mentioned how pulling off such a stunt might be best in the UK instead of the US. Especially with the latter’s “gun-toting.”

”But I don’t know. I’m not a Muggle relations expert.”

Lars cocked his head a little to the side. “The viewpoint of a true Muggle relations expert would be important,” he agreed. “Before they remove the memories from their mind, what tend to be the collective reactions to whatever magic they witnessed? Obviously it would be… rather illegal to attempt such a survey yourself…” Not that Lars had never considered doing such a thing before. But he did have enough sense to not go through with his own study, especially since both his mother and wife would likely kill him for getting arrested.

Annabelle’s work was definitely unique. This wasn’t the first time Lars’ had had to explain her research, and it certainly would not be the last. His wife was certainly much better at talking about than he, just as he was able to provide the right vague explanation regarding his job. Ro had certainly acted much kinder than most with her gentle reaction. In fact, some of Annabelle’s own high school friends had immediately scoffed at how niche and dull that seemed. Granted, few of them spent time in labs and libraries as it was. Lars tried to usually find the best in others (clearly, based on how he was ready to just open up the magic world), but he couldn’t help but find Annabelle’s old friends to be insufferable at times. But, that was beside the point.

Lars nodded as Ro pointed out how she didn’t have a preference because of what she grew up with. “My mom never had much to spend either,” he replied. “She tried to get me to have a cellphone when I was getting ready to go to Ilvermorny, but it didn’t take long for us to realize that wasn’t going to happen. Luckily she was able to get used to the owl mail, although that definitely took some time to get used to.” Lars always wondered if the neighbors thought they were losing it, seeing an owl during the day at times.

“You said you do divination research?” Lars asked. “What drew you to the subject?”

[magniloquent]

“Then I can only tell you what the cards tell me. It’s up to you whether you want to gather enough rope and other materials to make a bridge.”

Mordecai took the ceramic tea cup in his hands, turning it slowly. It was true. This man didn’t have to do anything with the reading. He could ignore Mordecai and go about his life. But the cards provided insight when sometimes there was none previously, or pushed people to do what they knew they had to do all along. They were well within their rights to ignore the cards. However, the cards were just cards. Even Mordecai knew that it was ultimately chance that directed the readings. Whoever sat on the other side of the table from him would see what they wanted to see. The cards just would reinforce what they already knew. None of this would be a surprise.

At least… he didn’t think so.

The ceramic of the tea cup was cooling rapidly with the lack of hot water inside and he peered into the dregs, attempting to piece out any sort of image from within the leaves that were left. Slowly, he turned the cup between his hands, trying not to jostle the resting leaves but still attempting to interpret shapes. Reading leaves was like staring up at a sunny yet cloudy spring sky. You saw what you wanted to see and it was hard to push past and let the leaves tell you what they were in the shape of. And it didn’t help when you added more people to the reading. How many times had children argued over seeing a dragon hidden among the clouds when someone else saw a rocketship?

After a moment, he set the cup between them, closer Wyatt on the other side of the tarot cards that still sat on the table top.

“I see three things. A fan,” Mordecai pointed out the fan, expanded and hiding the flower pattern painted in the ceramic. It was like the elaborate fans he himself carried with him to be coy or on warm days. “Which reveals good health. However, it can also represent a possible indiscretion or dishonest friends. With what you’ve told me and the cards have revealed, I’m tempted to think the latter.” A pause, a slight grimace. “Sorry.”

“This three pairs with it, a possible accident or unpleasant occurrence. Doesn’t say if it is the future or already happened, although typically leaves predict the future. So again, it aligns with your cards and could easily predict the difficulties of mending those bridges.”

Mordecai spun the cup once more, pointing to the lamp that was formed out of the leaves.

“However, the lamp here makes me think you’ll be successful in the end. It represents a pleasing discovery. The road to that discovery will be tough and you’ll reveal potential road bumps in the shape of people who are trying to hold you from it. Or yourself for that matter. But the ultimate outcome will be good.”

Dark eyes looked up at the man sitting across from him. Mordecai tried to never let the readings become personal, to feel for the people sitting at the table who desperately wanted to get some guidance. Some people left the shop happy, some left angry with Mordecai as if he had curated the cards specifically to tell them bad things. He knew he was purely a vessel. But he felt for this guy and wanted the man to see a glimmer of hope.

“So? What do you think?”

[sour patch kid]

Ro may have lived in both the Muggle and magical worlds, but that didn't mean she was an expert on Muggle-wizard relations. She had opinions with only anecdotal evidence to back it up. It wasn't like she had large-scale survey data or anything (and frankly, she was completely uninterested in running that sort of survey). But there was something in Lars' eyes, something familiar that told her that maybe he could be persuaded to discover the answer to their question. She had seen that same twinkle in nearly every Unspeakable's eyes. It was curiosity that could lead to a full-blown research project if he let it.

And clearly he had already started thinking about it. He concurred that they'd need an expert's input, but she blinked incredulously when he suggested that he could interview Muggles who had seen magic prior to the Obliviators doing their job. Her mouth gaped open and shut a few times as she tried to process what he was thinking about. "I suppose all I can say is that I didn't hear that, considering I'm a Ministry employee," she finally replied with an amused smirk. "But if you ask me - and again, not an expert - that might actually work." It would be a huge undertaking that might not actually result in what Lars... wanted? Did he really want integration between wizards and Muggles? Who knew, but having that data out there in the wizarding world might not be the worst thing in the world.

She supposed wizards were already blurring the lines between their world and Muggles', considering she had a cell phone in her pocket that worked perfectly within Diagon Alley, the Ministry, and other heavily magical areas. Ryder had once told her that project took something like two years and numerous trips to the US to visit his MACUSA counterpart, but they had pulled it off. Frankly, Ro was glad she was an adult (or close enough) nowadays, because she could pay for her own phone (...or have her dad pay for it, whatever. Helios offered). But she chuckled as Lars recalled how long it took his mum to get used to owl post. "My sister was so confused after Headmistress McGonagall started sending me mail by owl after she told me I was a witch. Brianna couldn't wrap her mind around how nocturnal birds had been turned into mail deliverers." Honestly, it was still fairly strange, but it was the way things were done in the wizarding world... or at least it was before Ryder and his collaborator changed the game.

Lars changed the topic, shifting away from the differences between wizards and Muggles to her research. Her cheeks turned slightly pink at the question. The answer was so complicated. "Long story short, I was good at divination and arithmancy in school, and then I landed an internship at the Department of Mysteries in my seventh year at Hogwarts," she briefly explained. "So then I just stayed on after graduation." Of course, there was also her kidnapping, her inherited innate Seeing abilities, her missing mum, and her eternal quest to figure out how the bloody hell Armando forced a prophecy out of her, but that was enough to fill an hour-long telly show. Lars was basically a stranger; he didn't need to know all of that.

"What about you?" she returned the question. "How did you get to teaching Muggle Studies?"

[spectacles]

Lars gave a small chuckle in response to Ro’s smirk, but he wouldn’t lie that her mentioning how he had just made that sort of comment to a Ministry of Magic employee made his stomach jump a little. Lars very often tended to end up putting his foot in his mouth, speaking just as fast as his thoughts ran and not taking a moment to consider the consequences. While he was only talking about a clearly impossible possibility, people were known to get in trouble even just suggesting something. Ro did remark that his idea may provide them with some information to help them understand how well No-Maj would take to the magical world, which calmed him down again.

Circe, if Annabelle found out that he ended up running his mouth and getting arrested… Lars would probably gladly go to jail, especially if she found out it happened in England and while he had been trying to buy her an anniversary gift.

Out of the two of them, Lars’ wife was certainly the most stern. He tried to live life thinking of the best of others and the world. Despite how he had felt that his magic was a gift that he should share, the women in his life worked so hard to protect him. First, it had been his mother after Lars’ magical potential had surfaced when he was a child. He hadn’t known until later, but his mother had become terrified by what others would think of her “different” son. And while she had initially been scared herself about what having a wizard child meant for her, his mother had feared more for him and his life.

When Lars had told Annabelle that he was a wizard, part of the reason he had known that she was the one was the fact that she had reacted in a similar fashion. There had been that initial fear about what he had meant, but once seeing that Lars’ magic was just another aspect of who he was, the lioness had emerged. Annabelle knew so much more about the No-Maj world than he did, and she had immediately reminded him of the prejudice against others with even the slightest of differences and choices. She felt that there had to be a reason his community was so hidden away. And while changes did have to be made, Annabelle was firm that Lars could not be rash.

Would change come? Lars hoped so, even if it wasn’t until the end of his lifetime. He wanted his kids to not have to hide who they were in any sense, that was the most important to him. But, now on to, hopefully, a lighter and less political subject.

Lars listened as Ro answered his question regarding how she got into her current field. Her story was similar to many of his students’: enjoying a subject, pursuing it further, and then following the path to a career. “I’m glad it all worked out for you,” Lars said. “My journey was pretty much the same,” he added with a chuckle when Ro asked after his. “When I was in school, I loved my Muggle Studies class. I was able to bring my two lives together, even if I couldn’t do the same back home. What really pushed me into actually majoring in the field was when I disagreed with my professor’s perspective one too many times and decided I would take his job one day.”