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every little thing
part one, crimes of grindelwald
chapter two, inside eye

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(       three months later      )

        THE ONLY CONSTANT sound she could hear was the steady dripping of the gutter that hung just above her head as water droplet cascaded onto the lid of a trash can, echoing into the night.

        A large exhalation of breath left her chapped lips and condensed in the cold air before her. A ghost of a smirk crept onto her face as she saw it take shape into an eagle before fading away into the dark night.

         She reached into her pocket and found the crumpled piece of parchment that had been delivered to her only a few hours previously.

        Running her thumb over the parchment, she flattened it exposing the swirling penmanship for her to read;

         Cortlandt Alley.
         12:00am
         — S.P

        The hour stood at 11:58pm; she knew the President well enough to know that she wouldn't arrive a minute earlier nor later.

         With a slight flare of her nostrils, she scrunched the paper back up again once more just as she had done when she had first received it; the wave of anger suddenly washing over her again.

        After Grindelwald's escape, MACUSA saw that the only way to move forward from such an embarrassing oversight would be to allocate the blame; and, of course, with the young Auror being the one who broke the news, it was her who received it.

         Three months later, here she was; bitter and serving out her suspension while a real investigation took place.

          She was agitated; her lack of purpose driving her near to madness. And while the crumpled piece of parchment angered her greatly, serving as a reminder of the life she'd been forced to leave, it also brought her great delight. As cryptic as it was, the letter was the contact that she'd craved and all she could was hope that the meeting that awaited her would inspire positive a outcome for the young witch.

          Her gaze was on the floor when a sharp crack pierced the aggressive silence of the alleyway. It's then flicked to her watch; 12:00am.

          "Always punctual." She found herself saying, not bothering to look left where she could sense the looming presence of Seraphina Picquery.

          "Good evening, Ada." The greeting left her lips with solace, not reprimanding her cheek but instead embracing it for the Auror was justified in her spite.

          "Madame President." Ada said, formally, kicking away from the wall she was leaning against and standing up straight, facing the President with narrowed eyes and purses lips. "Is there a problem?" She went on, not wasting any time in her pursuit.

         "What makes you ask?" The older woman of the two replied, her head tilting slightly, while her eyes mirrored Ada's in their narrowing, as she surveyed her employee.

         "Well, this alleyway isn't a setting that screams official business." Ada replied, sardonically, her hands finding the way into the pockets of her cloak. "If you ask me it's suspicious." She added, with a quick raise of her brow.

         The President's did not falter once, causing Ada to exhale once more; defeated at the unbreakable coolness of her companion. 

         "Have I done something wrong, ma'am?" She asked, tiredly, suddenly losing her pluck.

         "On the contrary." Picquery responded, her eyebrows furrowed in slight concern for the young woman. "I've arranged this meeting between us in attempt to apologise."

         "I see." Ada replied, squaring her jaw, her stance straightening once more as her courage returned at the prospect of an apology from one of the leading figures of the Wizarding World.

         "Grindelwald fooled us all not just you." The President admitted, "It was unjust for MACUSA to suspend you." She went on, formally, her brown eyes not once leaving the forest green pools of her colleague. "I apologise."

          After a short moment of acceptance, Ada spoke once more, "Thank you, ma'am." She waited another moment before raising the question that had been plaguing her all evening. "Does this mean I can come back to work?"

          Noticing the eager demeanour of the Hastings girl, the President hesitated, "We'll get to that." She clasped her hands in front of herself as she went on, "But I have to ask you some things."

          "Ma'am?" Ada questioned, curiosity overwhelming her as she raised an eyebrow at the woman before her.

          "You were suspended for three months, Ada, and received multiple job offers — you took none." The President stated, matter-of-factly, despite still looking as though she desired some confirmation.

         Ada squared her shoulders and with a firm nod, replied, "That is correct, ma'am."

         "Julius Flack and Henry Buchanan wanted to hire you to both the Illinois and Georgia office." The President continued, stepping down from the pavement beckoning Ada to follow as they began making their way down the alley. "How come neither of them could get you on their staff?"

         "Ma'am, they were hiring me to be their secretary," Ada scoffed, bitterly, grimacing at the memory of both job offers, "I don't think so."

        The President spared her a curious glance while the young brunette chuckled derisively at those propositions.

          "I'm an Auror, Madam President and I value my position here." She explained, with pride, after so many years of fighting to obtain her position at MACUSA she was not about to sacrifice it in order to be a bigot's secretary.

         "Why are you upset?" Picquery asked her, noticing her heated demeanour and clenched jaw.

         "I'm not." Ada snapped back, perhaps more harshly than intended.

         "I understand."

         The sudden nature of the President's response caught Ada off guard. The statement only confused the witch but as she made to voice such confusions, her explanation was given to her. 

         "You're a young woman of great renown amongst your colleagues." The blonde haired witch said slowly, as the two gradually progressed down the alley. "You have a hunger, you want to fight — you remind me of myself when I was younger."

         At least, Ada's attention perked. She surveyed the President, did she really remind her of herself? Was she destined for the same greatness as she had obtained?

         "You've got a head full of fantasies of dying for the greater good." Picquery finished, anticipating a response, "Am I wrong?"

         "No." Ada admitted after a moment of gratification; she lived for the thrill and chase that her occupation brought her and of it did come down to it, she hoped that she would die in some battle for the greater good.

         "Well, it's not that easy." It was now the President's turn to sound spiteful.

         Ada stopped in her tracks after recognising the sudden change in tone in her superior's voice. Her eyebrows furrowed, as her own frustration began.

         "Why are you telling me this?"

         "Because I need you, Ada." Picquery snapped, once more catching Ada off-guard with a response she had not anticipated. "Ever since Grindelwald escaped, I've been questioning who around here I can trust." She exhaled sharply, "I only realised that I'd turned away the most loyal worker when I feared it was too late."

          "So, does this mean I'm getting my job back?" Ada brought back the old topic, hoping for her prayers to be answered.

         "Not quite." Picquery responded, causing the Kaur girl to furrow her eyebrows as the President's tone quietened massively.

         "I want you to work on the Grindelwald case in cooperation with the British Ministry of Magic, you will be an Auror foremost but secondly a liaison, keeping me in touch with what their plan of action is."

         Seraphina Picquery looked over Ada Kaur with a surge of pride and trust, knowing that she'd chosen the right person for the role in question. "You'll be MACUSA's inside eye on the mission."

          A large smirk fought its way onto Ada's face, "Yes, ma'am." She answered, with a vigorous nod; the news was more than she could have hoped for.

         "Porpentina Goldstein has been sent on a mission to trace the Obscurial—"

         "Credence?" Ada cut the President off mid-sentence at the mention of boy who she knew to be dead. "But I thought—"

         "He survived." Picquery said, succinctly, before launching back into details before Ada could so much as organise her emotions in response to such news. "And is somewhere in Europe. Goldstein is tracking him as we speak.

         "I want you maintain contact with her as well — but this must be kept from the British ministry, do you understand me?"

         The severity of her tone matched that of her gaze as she looked over her trusted employee, who only returned her severe gaze with stubborn loyalty. "Yes ma'am."

         "I want to know everything — and in order for that to happen so must you." Picquery concluded, her eyes once more boring into those of Ada. "Do you accept this role?"

          A small smile could not be mistaken on the young Auror's lips, "Yes, Madam President."

          "Then you must ready yourself." The President smiled but retained her professional demeanour nonetheless. "You leave for London, in the morning."

         And without so much as a goodbye, the President walked a few more paces down the alleyway and disapparated from her surroundings, leaving Ada Kaur once more alone in Cortlandt Alley, her brown eyes burning on the spot from which Picquery had vanished.

         And the world was still; it was just as though their conversation had never occurred.