WHO: Cai Vane & Leon Stebbins WHAT: Checkin' on some plants, talkin' WHEN: 24 January WHERE: Cai's place WARNINGS: None!
“I’ve managed to keep them all alive,” Cai announced with more pride than really earned, gesturing at the row of plants growing in his kitchen. “Mostly,” he added, noticing a brown leaf on one of them that he quickly picked off with a frown.
Leon’s sharp eyes -- and his green thumb -- meant he’d already noticed, but he’d been choosing not to nitpick. Honestly, he was impressed. What Cai had been able to do in a small space, in limited time, was actually great. Especially considering Leon had needed to simulate sunlight as well, to compensate for what the plants wouldn’t be getting.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” he commented, patting his friend on the shoulder. “This is brilliant. Some people can’t even keep a cactus alive.”
“Hopefully you can use them,” Cai smiled, glad to be helping in some little way. Especially since he could barely help as a hit wizard anymore. At least Yaxley couldn’t stop him from growing plants in his own apartment. “Have you had many issues since the ID card system kicked in?”
Leon wasn’t just hopeful about it; he was sure. Provided their growth wasn’t stunted here somehow, or they couldn’t survive a transport, Leon knew that even something small like this was a good start. It wasn’t just about helping Leon with potions and salves, either. It was about undermining the government. That felt really good.
He shook his head, “no, seems a lot of people either got them or haven’t needed us.” He hoped it was the latter, but it seemed completely impractical to refuse to get one when it would so thoroughly impede one’s ability to participate in their world. He’d only gotten one so he could keep his job, mostly. “I did do something, however. Just in case there’s a problem.” He paused, though it wasn’t because he didn’t trust Cai. “I found a property. Bought it, actually. Dirt cheap, on auction.”
“You brought a property?” Cai repeated, the pieces taking a moment to fall into place. His eyes widened when he realised what this meant, or at least assumed it meant. There was the chance that Leon was just planning on moving, or using it as a giant greenhouse, but that seemed unlikely. “As an alternative to Mungo’s?” he asked, to confirm his theory.
“Maybe,” Leon said quickly. “Yes, I mean. If necessary.” He hadn’t yet thought it would be, but there was no telling what might happen in the future, which was why he’d gone ahead and cleaned out the savings he had in a Muggle bank, just for this. That had been reckless and not much like him, but when Leon thought about Remus and the Potters, he knew it was time to start being reckless.
“I thought I should have a backup if I get fired one day.” The joke fell a little flat, considering he didn’t expect the Death Eaters to allow him to exist if they learned of its whereabouts.
“I hope you never have to use it,” Cai leaned against his kitchen bench, looking over at his plants once more. “But I’m glad you have a backup option, just in case. That the Ministry threatens to make Mungo’s withhold treatment is inhumane.” His mouth twisted an he shook his head to himself. “Not that that’s surprising at this point.”
Leon sighed heavily. “No, it’s not.” He’d hoped that the board of St. Mungo’s would refuse the Ministry’s demands, but that was too much to ask for. There was probably a Death Eater or two (or more, he thought with a shiver) high up in the administration. There were probably more of them hiding in plain sight than he thought.
“How are things for you?” he asked, though he knew full well that things were rubbish at the Ministry. “I keep thinking about last time. Wondering how we got here again.” Cai was enough years younger than Leon was that his perspective on the first war would have been different, but Leon remembered the last few years very clearly. “Can’t imagine it’s any easier working for them.”
“It’s not,” Cai agreed, lips flattening as he carefully thought out his words. Not because he didn’t trust Leon but because he was always unsure what his opinion was about his job nowadays. “It’s definitely not what I signed up for when I went into training,” he settled on eventually. “Feels pretty useless to know who the criminals are but not do anything about it.”
“I feel that.” Leon’s brow furrowed. While he didn’t know exactly what that felt like, he did get the overall helplessness that seemed to be invading their circles. It was hard to imagine being able to fight an evil that had woven itself so deep into the fabric of their world.
“Listen, if there’s ever anything…” His voice trailed off. Leon wanted to be able to help Cai like Cai had helped him. He turned over one of the leaves, inspecting it gently. “You know I’m here. Maybe there’s a way to still use it, though. Maybe you can’t arrest them, but you can help other people evade them? Change records. All that spy stuff. Be like James Bond or something.”
“Maybe,” Cai agreed, the idea not having occurred to him before. He’d always followed rules and laws, it was part of what had drawn him to law enforcement, so purposefully flouting them wasn’t something that came easily to him. But then again, the current laws weren’t real laws, or at least not ones he believed in. “It would be good to find a way to help people.”
Where had this Leon been hiding all these years, he wondered to himself. Remus was proud, he knew. Gryffindors.
Leon, similarly, had spent a lot of time playing along, playing nice, following the rules set out in front of them by other people. It was growing more and more difficult to just go along with these new rules, though. The game had changed.
“It’s why…” Leon glanced at the plants again, thinking about the limbs he’d gone out on just to be able to keep helping people if the Death Eaters starting making it more difficult. “Why I wanted to do this.” He nodded his head towards Cai’s handiwork. “To be able to help. I have a responsibility to the people, you know?” It was a rhetorical question; of course Cai knew. “Above all else, I have to think about that.”
“I think what you’re doing is great,” Cai said with a supportive smile. What Leon was doing, what Gwen was doing. People’s ingenuity when faced with difficult situations was impressive. He still wasn’t sure what he could do with Yaxley always looming. “I don’t think either of us would be in the jobs we’re in if we didn’t believe in a responsibility to the people.” Cai paused, a thought suddenly coming to him. “Do you get Death Eaters coming in too? That must be hard.”
Leon wrinkled his nose, showing his displeasure at the thought. As he leaned back against the counter, he thought about it more. He’d always figured that they had their own Healers and would see them off-site somewhere - similar to what he wanted to do, only more evil. But what if they were just strolling through the doors of St. Mungo’s like they owned the place? Were more of them hiding in plain sight?
“I wonder…” His voice trailed off, a frown creasing his forehead. “We likely do, I just… haven’t known about it.” Would that change, if they felt like they were in control? Would they come in un-masked? Would they ask things of him that he didn’t want to do? Leon shivered. “Maybe I could poison one of them without anyone catching on.”
“Professionally, I can’t condone you poisoning anyone, even if they are a Death Eater,” Cai smiled at Leon, trying to lighten the conversation slightly. “But if you got caught I might just accidentally lose all the paperwork and evidence.”
“Hmm, did you say something about interfering with evidence? Because I didn’t hear anything.” Leon grinned and winked slyly, though it probably didn’t come across quite as slick as he was picturing. He was hardly some sort of secretive spy -- actually, wasn’t he?
That much he couldn’t tell Cai yet. Ever? Leon didn’t know how it would all go, but it did help to know he had friends and allies in different places. “Hey, want to go to get a drink?”
“A drink sounds perfect,” Cai agreed. With everything that was going on, a drink often sounded like the best idea. “Meet you there, last one to arrive buys the first round?”