Catch The Snitch

It was about noon, the earliest one could expect a Reynard to arrive anywhere, much less the mischievous twins. However, the Alley was only aware of one such fellow, one they all referred to as Roland. This early in the day, the one parading as Roland was Remy. He tended to be easier to wake in the morning when Sushi started crying for her breakfast, disliking being neglected. Raphael slept like the dead, so it was a good thing one of them was capable of waking to her screeching. They had a basic flat in the London proper area, so it wouldn't do any good for neighbors to be complaining about the sound.

Remy made his way into Diagon Alley, greeting the regulars, smiling and waving. Ever the chipper face, "Roland" was a rather popular figure in the area since he'd arrived. Remy smirked in quiet delight that so many people were just so unaware of their own surroundings that no one realized there were two. With a few more greetings and "how do you do"s, Remy made his way into the Chimera, humming a bit to himself as he walked towards the back area. He glanced around to make sure no one else was there before starting to change into the clothing they wore behind the counter, which was just a bit nicer than the lazy wear he'd come here in. He reached out to Raphael to see if he was awake and found his brother had roused and was working through his "morning" routine. Smirking again, he gave a sigh, "Another day, another pound," he mused before walking back out to head toward the pastry counter.

Between the two, Remy seemed to have a better handle on the delicate nature of sweets and pastries, whereas Raphael was better at eyeballing the mixtures to make drinks that people loved throughout the day. Half the reason Remy always insisted on coming in around this hour was that he could count on Raphael being awake enough to give him basic guidance on the drinks once he was conscious. He'd be no good on his own.

'Already at work?'
'Of course, both of us can't sleep all day.'
'Did you already feed Sush?'
'Why do you ask that like I don't do that on the daily?'
'Just asking. She's staring like she's starving.'
'She's a cat.'
'Right... What did you wear?'

Remy gave him a mental picture of what he'd looked like leaving, that way if Raphael decided to go anywhere, no one would question the outfit change.

'Let me know when I'm needed.'
'Always do. Go get some coffee, the pots on the warmer.'

While talking to his brother, Remy was working on making a fresh batch of some of the staple snacks that they kept on hand to go along with people's coffee and lunches. The conversation didn't seem to affect his focus on what he was doing, but he would noticeably take a moment to hear if someone called out to him, which he usually blamed on trying to make sure he was mixing the batter correctly.

Not too long after Remy arrived, Mal emerged from the rear of the café with an unmarked box, and looking a little more worn out than usual. Business had been good recently, and he had been kept busy all morning serving the breakfast crowd. Furthermore, it wasn’t just the Chimaera that was doing well – demand for his information brokering services had been rising ever since the rumours about renewed dark wizard activity began to spread in Britain’s wizarding underworld. Most of what he had heard was utter rubbish, as usual, but there seemed to be a shred of truth hidden somewhere amidst the baseless conspiracy theories.

“Good morning, Roland,” Mal greeted, using Remy’s alias and emphasising a particular word to poke fun at the latter’s habit of reporting to work at the Chimaera at around noon. “The new coffee beans just arrived”—he noted the way ‘Roland’ was mixing the batter with practiced ease and instantly knew which of the Reynard twins it was—“but we’ll chat about them later. Another day, perhaps.”

Setting aside the box for the time being, he quickly took stock of the situation to see what Remy had already taken care of while he was out collecting the coffee beans. “Whatcha making?” he asked his star pastry chef as he dove back into work, refilling the tea tins that had almost been emptied after a particularly hectic morning. “Oh, by the way, how’s Sushi?”

It sounded like an innocuous question –perfectly in character even, given how much Mal adored cats. But as with most things at this establishment, it wasn’t something to be taken at face value. It was his way of asking how the other Reynard twin was doing, though of course any updates about the cat was more than welcome.

Remy looked up hearing Mal address him and just smiled at the placed emphasis, "Morning," he replied with an almost sarcastic pep, "We could probably talk about it later," he said to let him know Raphael would be in later, "Just want to make sure these tasty little cakes are in fact tasty," he mused, "Thought I could try that recipe I saw for petit fours," he explained, then snorted at the question, "Drama queen as usual," he said, not meaning the cat, "She'd lay around all day if she could. Oh wait, I guess she can," he mused, looking up for a moment, actually meaning the cat that time.

'Don't talk about me like I'm not able to hear you.'
'Don't make me have to wake you like a nanny.'

"Seems things were busy this morning according to the leftover stock," he said, "Once I get this in the oven, I can get some other things going, like some madeleines or croissants," he said, his French accent, which he could keep hidden normally, coming through strong as he named the French snacks, "Unless we'd prefer something less sophistiqué like Shortbread," he snorted in disdain at the idea.

'Your roots are showing.'
'You say that like it's a bad thing.'
'Are you sure I'm the reine du drame?'

It was always fun to have one of the Reynard twins around at the Chimaera, and Mal quite enjoyed the relaxed banter. “Sure,” he acknowledged when Remy said that his brother would pop by later that day, and he made a mental note to prepare a quick brief for Raphael about the coffee beans. Upon hearing that Remy was making petit fours, he responded with an affirmative “awesome”, giving his pastry chef free rein to do what he wanted.

And as he heard Remy’s remarks about his twin, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. “No she can’t—oh wait, she can,” he said, belatedly realising that the subject of the conversation had shifted from Raphael to Sushi. “She gets a free pass.”

Remy’s suggestions sounded good to Mal, and he shook his head at the former’s derision towards shortbread. “I trust your judgement,” he replied. He simply wasn’t the sort who would want to micromanage his team, and preferred a more laissez-faire approach towards running the Chimaera. That said, he did have a small preference. “Although it would be nice if you could take care of the croissants. My technique – and pronunciation, for that matter – is nowhere as good as yours.”

By now there were only a couple of customers in the café, and that made it easier to discuss some work matters with Remy – not anything related to the Curious Chimaera, but rather his information brokering business. “Heard anything juicy lately?” he asked, seemingly asking about the latest gossip in town. “My good friend isn’t keen on spilling any tea.”

Remy chuckled a little at Mal's comment about the croissant, "Bien sûr, mon plaisir," he said as he finished with the petit fours batter. As he poured it into a prepared dish, he glanced over at Mal hearing his question, "I hear lots of things, mon ami," he said, "Whether any of that is interesting, I suppose, depends on what subjects you are hoping to hear about," he chuckled, as he carried the pan towards one of the ovens, popping it inside. It had been preheating while they were talking and had dinged just a moment before.

"I hear all sorts of things in the muggle world too, they are quite an odd bunch, but if you wish me to tell you all I have heard, that would take time," he mused as he gathered the ingredients for the dough to make croissants as requested, "Any topic of interest, Monsieur?" he asked him, smirking a little at trying to be discreet and yet not at the same time. He did enjoy word games.

He stopped for a moment though with a sigh and walked over to one of the coffee machines, looking it over for a moment before starting to do something that Raphael was telling him to do, "My apologies, just noticed that this needed a bit of attention, I'll get on the croissants on a moment," he smiled tersely as he'd been commanded by Raphael to check on it, which annoyed him.

Ever since the Reynard brothers started working at the Chimaera, Mal’s French had improved dramatically; he had learnt a few words here and there during his childhood because of his family’s nomadic ways, but they never stayed in any French-speaking place long enough for him to properly learn the language.

It was funny that Remy mentioned that he had news about the Muggle world. “Speaking of the Muggle world…” Mal began, “I’ve heard that the Muggle government will be allowing pubs in England and Wales to open for 24 hours.” Ordinarily, any changes to the law in the Muggle world had little impact on the wizarding world, but this was different. Currently, wizarding establishments like the Leaky Cauldron and the Curious Chimaera were the only places where wizarding folk could get their fix late at night. But once the legislation kicked in, people would be spoilt for choice. “Our business is going to take a hit,” he said matter-of-factly, “so we’ll need to find ways to retain our customers. But I digress.”

The proprietor did have something in mind when Remy asked if there were any topics he was interested in, but right then the younger man excused himself to briefly to tend to the coffee machine. “Oui,” Mal acknowledged. He could offer some guidance himself but Raphael was probably already doing so, so he instead continued to check which ingredients they were running low on so that he could place his orders with his suppliers later.

Once Remy was done with the coffee machine, Mal continued on from where they had left off, but not before casting the Muffliato Charm to ward off any eavesdroppers. “Indeed, I am interested in a specific topic,” he said. “Hogwarts.” In light of recent events, that one word had taken on a more ominous meaning. “The Ministry of Magic might have stationed Aurors there to beef up the security, but it doesn’t seem to be working as well as intended, does it?” Ever since the Second Wizarding War, Hogwarts’ reputation as a safe place to nurture the next generation of witches and wizards had weakened, and it was a tempting and vulnerable target for anyone intending to sow chaos and fear amongst the wizarding community. Though he had no proof, he had a feeling that something was definitely afoot, and he was determined to uncover the truth.

Once Remy rejoined Mal, he nodded at the conversation that was brought up once the charm, "Well, it does seem there are severe lacks in their coverage somehow," he murmured, "Two different dangerous artifacts have shown up around the campus in what..." he held up fingers as he counted, "three months?" he shook his head, starting to put together the ingredients for the croissants, "A boggart and some enchanted mirror. The newspapers got the end result of the boggart, the fire in Hogsmeade, but it does not seem anyone knows how those two items got there," he murmured, looking down at the bowl so no one could read his lips, "And it wasn't even Aurors who found either of it, it was students. Beauxbaton would never," he scoffed.

Remy’s brief report painted a bleak picture of the security measures at Hogwarts. Mal nodded gravely as he took in the information. Two incidents had occurred at the school because the Aurors failed to secure the artifacts before the students stumbled upon them. Furthermore, nobody knew how the artifacts ended up in the school grounds, and he assumed that neither the Aurors nor the school staff knew how to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Mal let out a wry, mirthless laugh at Remy’s jibe at Hogwarts. He couldn’t imagine something like that happening to Beauxbaton, but then again, he hadn’t expected Hogwarts to have such severe security lapses either. “Not that I’m defending my alma mater, but I’m wondering if both incidents were inside jobs,” Mal suggested as he considered the various possible explanations. “Or if we’re dealing with an extremely skilled perpetuator.” Based on his understanding of Hogwarts’ security arrangements, these lapses were almost incomprehensible, and yet they had occurred. The situation was bad enough that Mal debated whether he should involve himself personally in the case, even though he was busy with a few other investigations. “I have half a mind to pay Hogwarts a visit,” he said. “At this rate, I can’t trust that the castle would still be standing by the end of the year.”

"Seems such a shame that a place such as that which has survived so much still goes through so much mischief because of people who have an odd proclivity for targeting children," Remy mused as he set the batter down and started to get out what he needed to turn them into croissants, "Shall we try to get ourselves involved?" he asked, "I tend to be rather good at handling a variety of situations, not just those that present themselves in a café, after all," he smirked, meaning he and his brother, not just himself, "Though Sushi might be sad if she were to be left on her own," He gave a little pout at the idea of leaving the cat alone, actually meaning her since they were not being eavesdropped on necessarily, he didn't trust that there wasn't someone who would have somehow figured out in his first statement that he meant he and his brother before. Their "disguise" of being one person kept them safe to an extent. If one of them ended up in a pickle, the other was usually able to get in and get them out without causing too much of an issue, "That being said, perhaps someone ought to test the mettle of those Aurors."

'Yes, because we of all people need to poke the bear that is the Aurors.'
'It's for the safety of the school.'
'Why should we-'
'-We're not that calloused brother.'
There was a sigh in his mind, 'Fair enough.'

Mal could only nod grimly in agreement when Remy noted the perpetuators’ penchant for targeting vulnerable children. But anxious as he was to uncover the identities of these lowlifes and see that they were punished for their crimes, he couldn’t do so alone.

As such, he broke into a sly grin when Remy suggested that they could get themselves involved. Two heads were better than one – or in this case, three heads. “Definitely,” he replied as he wrapped up his stocktake and noted down the various ingredients he needed to place extra orders for; after all these years, they had grown accustomed to multitasking, and running the hybrid café and bar was second nature to them by now. “I was wondering if you’d never ask.” Even though Mal had always striven to appear neutral and impartial, there were times when he felt the need to intervene. Given the severity of the situation at Hogwarts, this was clearly one of those times.

A pity Sushi would have to be left alone though. “We’ll have to make it up to her somehow,” he shrugged. As the Reynard twins’ employer, he had to take responsibility for that. “Once this is over, I’ll get her something nice to seek her forgiveness.”

His ears pricked up when Remy said that someone should test the Aurors’ mettle. His first instinct was to shoot down the idea – it didn’t seem wise to provoke them and risk jeopardising the positive working and personal relationships he had cultivated with some of them. But then again, there might be merit to the younger man’s suggestion. right off the bat, that ‘someone’ need not be him or any of his employees. Besides, there were a couple of Aurors whom he was quite close to, and if he were to be careful about it, they might admit to their shortcomings instead of taking offence. “What do you have in mind?” he asked, as he too began to formulate a course of action to reveal to the Aurors the gaping holes in their security arrangements.

Remy tilted his head from side to side as Mal asked him what he had in mind, "Mon capitaine, you mistake me for the type to plan things," he smirked, "My plans usually are going to a place and then figuring it out from there," he shrugged, "That being said, I have quite a few connections from my years...abroad," he gave a meaningful smile as he formed the dough before putting it in the oven, "Maybe we can rally some of my friends and really stir up some mischief, wake them up," he hummed a bit, seeming a bit enthusiastic about the idea, "Nothing dangereux, of course."

'Maybe a little dangereux.'
'Just to get their attention.'
'Of course.'
'I've always been curious about Hogswarts.'
'It would be interesting to see the school from the inside, bien sûr.'

"Shall I look into it?" Remy looked back at Mal, meaning Raphael.

As Remy elaborated on his modus operandi, or perhaps his lack thereof, Mal shook his head with a chuckle and conceded the point. The seasoned information broker had always felt more secure with some semblance of a plan, but given the highly unpredictable nature of field assignments the first casualty was always the plan. Inevitably things would never pan out the way he wanted and he would be always to fall back on a backup plan (which was just as likely to fail) or wing it.

Remy said that he could rally some of his friends to cause some mischief, and added that it would be nothing dangerous, to which Mal raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Nothing dangerous?” Mal repeated. Not that he was against what Remy might do; he merely felt that the situation was likely to escalate to a level beyond what Remy was promising. “Well, as long as there’s no harm done, do as you will,” he added, his expression softening into a smile.

When Remy asked if he – or rather, his twin – should look into the matter, Mal nodded. “Yes, please,” he replied as his smile turned into a roguish grin. “Do let me know if you need any help. I’m more than happy to lend a hand if need be.”

"I'll get on it as soon as I can," Remy smiled and heard Raphael groan in his head

'You just said you wanted to see inside.'
'I didn't mean right now.'
'Oh go on you lazy lout.'
'Don't make me wait long to switch places.'
'D'accord, vas-y!'

While he was conversing with his twin, he glanced up seeing the door open out of his peripheral, "Ah, monsieur, it seems our friend from down the street has come to visit," he said, nodding towards Jasce walking up towards the bar, twirling a ring of keys on his finger. Realizing there was a bit of a buffer in the sound between them, Jasce gave a wave with his other hand, smirking before taking a seat at the counter, "As much as I like to get into mischief, there's someone who's got it down to an art form," he chuckled before starting to organize some of the treats on the shelves for the customers to see, "I'll tend to the customers about if you want to see what he's up to," he said, looking to Mal again, though he glanced over as he saw Jasce lift something. He snorted as Jasce had written on a napkin 'It's not nice to talk about people when they can't hear.'

Mal’s face lit up as he recognised the ‘friend from down the street’ who had just walked in. “Sans aucun doute,” he replied. Whether it was providence’s hand or mere coincidence that had brought Jasce to the Chimaera at this exact moment, Mal could not have asked for a better person to stir a hornet’s nest.

Nodding his acknowledgement to Remy, he dispelled the Muffliato Charm and approached the master thief. “My, my, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said to Jasce, and chuckled when he noticed what had been written on a napkin. “Come, let’s get you a drink first. On the house, of course, by way of an apology for singing your praises behind your back.”

“So… what have you been up to?” Mal asked, eager to know if Jasce had any new intelligence for him before he filled him in on the job on hand.

Remy put something in the oven and took something out before going around the shop for a moment, checking in on some of the customers and making sure they hadn't missed them needing anything in their conversation, dusting flour off on his apron.

Jasce smirked as Mal came over to him and leaned a chin in his hand, "Well, that depends," he said in response to the question, "I've been up to a lot of things, not everything exactly interesting, though again that depends on who I tell it to," he said, tilting his head back and forth as he spoke, "I did get my hands on some interesting new artifacts that are in the back room, still determining on whether they should stay back there. I could trade what I found out trying to get them if you can direct me to a trustworthy curse breaker," he mused, smirking at him, "If they're any good, I'll give you a portion of the profits if you find the buyer- per the norm."

He shifted a bit, squinting a little at him, "Though something tells me you two were over there cooking something up if you were using that charm," he mused, poking to see what Mal might be up to himself.

Mal’s interest was piqued by Jasce’s mention of “some interesting new artifacts” and asked if the information broker could link him up with a trustworthy Curse-Breaker. Immediately a name sprang to mind, but he didn’t know if the free-spirited woman was still in Britain, or if she had embarked on yet another adventure spurred by her incurable wanderlust. But if she wasn’t available, Mal had no shortage of potential candidates. A few of them had teenaged children who were currently studying at Hogwarts, and he could attempt to suss out some information from them at the same time. “Lemme see if I can’t get hold of someone,” he said.

The information broker grinned as Jasce noted that he was plotting something himself. “We were quite literally cooking something up,” he replied. “A new recipe that would be the talk of the town. I have faith it would turn out well; you know how skilled Roland is.”

Naturally, there was more that met the eye, for Mal and Remy had not been coming up with new food items for the Chimaera’s menu. “Still, a second opinion is welcome, and that’s where you come in.” Mal’s voice dropped to an almost inaudible whisper as he continued, “It’s a recipe for trouble. Cause some chaos at Hogwarts, and see if the Auror Office would get their act together and tighten the school's security. Simultaneously, we can snoop around and sniff out who’s been behind all the mischief at Hogwarts lately.”

“So, what do you think? Keen to help us?” Mal asked, his voice returning to its normal volume as he wrapped up what he had to say. To the other customers in the café, it sounded just like a normal, innocuous conversation, and Mal’s innocent and friendly smile gave nothing away. Nope, there was nothing suspicious going on. None at all.

Jasce gave a nod to his saying he'd try to find someone, knowing one way or another he'd pull through. The benefits of being friends with a broker. He smirked a bit at the innuendos in the conversation, but did his best to school his features, knowing the point was so that the day-to-day person around them wasn't aware of their more... lucrative businesses.

Then came the fun part of the conversation. Being asked to cause chaos was like Christmas coming early. He grinned a bit, "I think that recipe sounds like it'll be fantastic," he said, with a nod, "I think I know of a place I could get some ingredients that would really make it shine. Let me look around and I'm sure we'll make it work," he said with a nod, his way of saying he was in. The gears in his head were already turning. Remy gave a smirk as if to say 'Told you' to Mal, setting a coffee down by Jasce, before moving to help another customer.

"How soon are we going to try that recipe?" Jasce asked, trying to get a frame of mind around what he could prepare.

Mal’s smile widened into a wolfish grin as Jasce agreed to come onboard. Given the master thief’s skillset, he was a very welcome addition to their merry little band of troublemakers. “If you need any help, feel free to ask,” Mal offered. “I have some contacts who might prove useful too.”

He pursed his lips and pondered about Jasce’s question. They could strike while the iron was hot to keep the pressure up… or they could wait for the most opportune moment – or inopportune, depending on whose point of view it was – to execute their plan. “Let’s take it slow, shall we?” he proposed, with a sly twinkle in his eye. “If we bide our time, we can either keep them on their toes for a long while, or lull them into a false sense of security. And that’s when we’ll strike – when they’re tired or unprepared for us.”

"If I have time to ruminate, I'll come up with something truly exciting," Jasce grinned, seeming quite eager to get into trouble, "I'll cook something up and let you know if I need help getting the stuff," he said, sipping his coffee, "I say we maybe do something small to keep them on edge awhile, then once they've finally let their guard down...." he smirked wickedly, "Then we spring the real trap," he chuckled a bit, "Nothing especially dangerous, not actually, but it'll feel like it is," he said, humming a bit, his gears clearly already turning, "Anything you don't want to happen?" he asked, figuring those guidelines should be established from the get-go.

"And any idea who's there on the security detail? It'll help with making sure the real surprise can contend for all of their skills," He added

Mal’s own grin matched Jasce’s as the latter promised to come up with a course of action. The tentative plan sounded excellent to him and “That’s music to my ears,” he replied. And as Jasce asked if there was anything he would prefer to avoid, Mal immediately ruled out the obvious. “Definitely no long-lasting harm to people or property,” he said, before furrowing his brow in concentration as he considered what else would be deemed a no go. “I’d prefer if we keep the students and residents out of harm’s way as far as possible, especially since they’re innocent.” Whoever had planted the cupboard containing the boggart had done a messy job and caused way too much collateral damage. Their targets were the Aurors at Hogwarts. and he’d hate it if any innocents were caught in the crossfire of their games.

When Jasce inquired about who they were up against, the information broker nodded. “Gimme a second.” Excusing himself for a few moments, he headed into the kitchen, before reappearing with a small envelope in hand. From the envelope, Mal produced a set of photographs, which he laid out before Jasce: Nuka Murphy. Dorian Innes. Zahir Esperian. Louis Harrigan. And trainee Auror Rhysln Anderson.

“Any familiar faces?” he asked, genuinely curious as to whether the master thief had encountered any of the Aurors before.

Jasce nodded to the guidelines given, getting more of a plan in his mind before Mal brought him the pictures. He looked over them, "I can't say I've run into any of the trained ones personally," he said, "But I definitely recognize all but this lil trainee," he said, "I know that one," he tapped Nuka's photo, "I want to avoid. Heard she's merciless," he shook his head before looking at the three men before rearranging the photos seemingly by age, "I know a little about this one," he tapped Dorian next, "Nothing too concrete though, hear he's got some issues going on," he looked to Louis next, "He's a fresh one, only heard a little about him, more about his time as a Hit Wizard," he hummed before looking at Zahir, "This one had first hand experience when the loons took the school, so I'm sure I'll have to get a bit creative there," he said before setting the pictures down. He looked at Rhysln's picture then at the name, "I don't know her but I know that name," he said, tapping her last name, "Not a good reputation there, though not necessarily because of being involved with the usual problems, though I think they might still be a bit. There's a few of their lot in Azkabhan and not for anything minor either," he said before scooping the pictures back into a pile and tapping it on the bar.

He handed it back to Mal before sipping on his coffee, "Interesting blend of personalities for sure, definitely going to up the challenge, but nothing I can't handle," he smirked a little, "I am a professional after all." It was clear to anyone who knew him by the look on his face he was already running scenarios in his head, "I'll have the advantage whereas they won't know what hit them."

Nodding thoughtfully as Jasce shared his opinion about each of the Aurors, Mal added a few thoughts of his own as well. “So have I,” he replied as Jasce flagged out Nuka Murphy as someone they should avoid based on the tales he had heard, and given her reputation he saw no need to elaborate further.

He suppressed a smile and made no further comments when Dorian was described as someone who had “got some issues going on”. Anything he knew about the Auror’s personal life was privileged knowledge entrusted to him by a friend, and not a piece of intelligence to be priced and sold like a commodity. “Still, I wouldn’t underestimate him,” he said, knowing full well what Dorian was capable of despite the personal problems he was grappling with. During the Second Wizarding War when the Ministry of Magic was taken over by Voldemort, the Auror had feigned his loyalty to the Ministry while secretly opposing the Dark Lord, a most precarious balancing act that was testament to Dorian’s skill.

“Same goes for him,” Mal added as he pointed to Louis Harrigan’s photo. They had fought on the same side and saved each others’ hide a couple of times, and he had seen firsthand what the then-Hit Wizard was could do when things got serious. “Don’t forget that we’re dealing with veterans of the Second Wizarding War. That said, these two might be turn out to be each others’ worst enemies.” As he spoke, his fingers rested on Dorian’s and Louis’ photos. The two Aurors were as different as chalk and cheese: one was stoic and reserved, and the other an easily excitable motormouth who was bound to get on the nerves of the first.

“Make it doubly creative,” Mal remarked as Jasce mentioned what he knew of Zahir. “That one’s an Animagus, so keep an eye out for a bird with striking blue and black plumage.” When it came to Rhysln, Mal had likewise recognised her last name and knew of her family’s reputation. “I doubt our trainee Auror’s anything like her incarcerated relatives though.” Be as that may, she was – in Mal’s eyes – a wildcard whom he did not have adequate intelligence about, and that was usually a good enough reason to be extra careful.

Despite Jasce’s assurance that the Aurors were nothing he couldn’t handle, Mal felt the need to raise another related issue. “One more word of caution: our targets may be the Aurors, but the professors wouldn’t sit back idly when we strike.” Apart from being adept wizards – especially in their respective fields of magic – a number of them possessed unusual skillsets that could throw a spanner into the works. Amongst them were a former Auror, an Experimental Charms Committee member, and even an Unspeakable, and should they involve themselves in the games, the odds might be stacked against Jasce.

At Jasce’s assertion that he was a professional and had the element of surprise on his side, Mal nodded. “This mission may be difficult, but I never doubted your abilities for a second,” he said, as he gave his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “At any rate, if you need anything, feel free to ask.”

Hearing Mal's responses to his observations told him more and Jasce nodded, "I just need to avoid being caught in general. Especially if they're unaware of the game, getting caught would not end well," he said, "I'll borrow half of Roland's abilities here," he nodded his head to Remy, again alluding the fact he was aware there were two of them, "But I've gotten in and out of stickier situations and angrier opponents," he smirked, "Had an artifact once that literally would get the attention of and enrage anyone near me as I was trying to escape with it. Nasty little thing," he sighed a bit, like just remembering it made him tired.

"Anyways. Let me know when I need to get the party ready, and in the meantime, I'll prepare the party favors," he smirked before downing the rest of his drink and standing up from the seat, "Always a pleasure, Mal," he said, putting his hand in his pockets before starting out of the cafe.

Remy came back over, raising a brow at Mal as if to gauge his opinion on the conversation.

“By all means,” Mal replied when Jasce said that he’d be requesting for Remy’s assistance. “Don’t be afraid to call for backup if you need more help. Daniel, Sarah or even myself – we’re more than happy to get involved.” And he raised a curious eyebrow at his friend’s story. “I can only imagine the chaos that ensued. What manner of evil genius would create something like that? It might come in handy someday… provided you still have it with you, of course.”

Pursing his lips as he deliberated over the best time to strike, Mal soon settled on a couple of options. “We can start poking the hornet’s nest a month before that,” he suggested. “Get them anxious and keep them on their toes before we spring our surprise on the week leading up to Christmas. How does that sound to you?”

After Jasce downed the remainder of his drink and stood up, Mal rose as well to see his friend off. “The pleasure’s mine,” he said with a smile, before remembering that his earlier promise to Jasce. “Oh, I’ll send a Curse-Breaker your way within the next two weeks. We’ll keep in touch.” Already he had a couple of names in mind, and all that was left was to convince one of them to lend him their expertise.

“Looks like you’ve been volunteered,” Mal teased as Remy came over after Jasce departed. “But at least it’s for a good cause, and it’s fun to boot. Just try not to get too carried away, all right?”

Jasce had agreed to the timeline, though didn't make it clear if he still had the artifact or not. When Mal had remembered his promise, Jasce threw a thanks over his shoulder in exiting.

Remy hearing he'd been volunteered raised a brow, "Well alright then," he smirked, "I get leave to make chaos, not gonna argue with that," he chuckled a little, "As for not getting carried away, I will .... consider trying, how's that?" he grinned, clearly not meaning it, "What now?"