Trespassing

This was certainly going to be awkward.

Claire had come to this… colorful home with one topic of discussion in mind, and now that she was here, sitting at the kitchen table, she was finding it much more difficult to discuss. Not because of any emotional ties on her own side, of course not. But she felt very, very foreign in this home. The man she had come to speak with, Maximus Morrison, was sitting across from her, and at the head of the table was a little red-headed girl, who was almost absolutely glaring at her. Claire wasn’t sure what she had done to earn the little creature’s hatred, but for whatever reason, Claire very much felt like she was trespassing.

Claire had seen two more redheads, too – one on her way in, who had been happily wrangling some dangerous looking plant who seemed to have escaped its pot. And the other had been the one to answer to door and beckon her inside. Claire knew the woman by name and reputation alone, so it was interesting to finally put a face to Jack Dyllan. The woman was not at all as angry as Claire had been told – if anything, she just seemed a little awkward. Jack didn’t seem used to company, and it had taken her a minute or two to ask if Claire wanted anything to drink.

Claire’s attention fell on the man, Maximus Morrison. She had, of course, introduced herself when he had come down and asked him to sit, and it was interesting, looking at him. She had read his file, of course, because she had access to pretty much any file she wanted. Ex-Hufflepuff, Ministry employee, performed his duties correctly and thoroughly, but had never seemed aimed for advancement.. Docile, it seemed. It was odd to find him living with someone who had once been one of the Ministry’s biggest assets, and was now one of the Ministry’s biggest headaches.

She cleared her throat. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.” She paused. There were two redheaded women still in the room, just flitting about, making her uncertain as to how to proceed – this was a conversation that would probably be more comfortable in private, after all. Claire, however, was not one to make demands in someone else’s home. Jack came and delivered Claire’s tea, and Claire nodded, receiving her tea with a small smile. “Thank you.” She took a quick drink when she heard a smaller voice say, “You’re blonde.”

Claire almost choked on her drink, but the comment was already being attended to. “Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Jack said, walking over to the little girl. She scooped her out of her chair and headed towards back door. “Sorry about that. Come on, Sunny, let’s go bother Charlie some more.” Still, over Jack’s shoulder, Sunny managed to peek her head and stare Claire down. A little finger jutted out and the girl mouthed, ‘I’ve got my eyes on you.’

Claire was now left with Maximus Morrison, the man who could potentially become her husband if she didn’t have any say in the matter. That was the thing, though – Claire always made sure she had a say.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll get right to the point, I’m not much with pleasantries. Surely you know about the marriage law. I’m sure you haven’t gotten your summons yet, because when I looked into my file, I found that we were slotted to be arranged together.” She paused. “I don’t know your feelings on this law, but I’ve only just moved to England. My citizenship was barely being approved when my name got tied into this, so I’m not incredibly willing to comply. I don’t know your feelings on this, but as any of my actions will probably affect you, I thought it best to discuss our options together.”

Max wasn't sure what was happening but whatever it was he was feeling uncomfortable.

Besides Gabby, almost no one who did not bear the name Dyllan or Morrison ever crossed the threshold into the house on Layabout Lane. So when this strange blonde girl (who Max vaguely recognized from the staff room at the Ministry) stowed up at their doorstep he had been more than slightly alarmed. For unknown reasons her presence at their kitchen table seemed to misalign the shaky harmony that the house had gained. The house had taken long enough to get used to the presence of the Dyllan-Morrison family and it didn't take kindly to strangers appearing.

Max stared across the table at the woman who had introduced herself as Claire, not sure if the situation was more unsettling when they sat in awkward silence or when she started talking. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.” Yes. But Claire's much needed explanation was cut off by Jack's tea and Sunny's comments. Max glanced over at the Dyllan girls, torn between wanting to be able to talk and not wanting them to leave. Before he could request either way, Jack ushered Sunny out of the room, leaving Max alone with the blonde. (As Sunny had so generously pointed out).

She spoke again and Max found some relief in her un-sugarcoated tone. With the solemn expression Claire had been wearing he had half assumed someone was dead. And while this was far from good news, he knew it could be worse and found himself feeling slightly grateful that he was receiving the word in the comfort of his kitchen, rather than the dramatic process that both Jack and Charlie had reenacted and yelled over so many dinners.

The second part of her mini-speech also put some ease into his heart. Firm, too the point, and reasonable. For someone who was proposing breaking the law she certainly presented it in an approachable way. Maybe he just wasn't processing what this really meant, but Max felt amazingly calm. "Well, first, thank you for coming to me, Claire. It's certainly.. news." he laughed good-humouredly, though slightly forced.

Max's own cup of tea sat forgotten on the table, his eyes focused entirely on the blonde in front of him. "Honestly, I can help with whatever you need to do. I'm obviously not thrilled with this turn of events but I'd be willing to fake it for however long necessary if it'll help you legally." He offered her an awkward smile. Max was surprised at how quickly his manor had become businesslike, much like how he acted in the office or the Muggle Ministry. But maybe it made sense. He had no emotional attachment to the woman who they expected him to marry, making it little more than a business transaction.

"What did you have in mind?"

For a man who had looked so utterly uncomfortable at her very presence a mere moment ago, he certainly did handle the news incredibly well. Claire had been certain that, with her luck, she was going to get some highly emotional fellow who was going to cause more of a fuss than she needed. She had expected either some angry tantrum, or some sworn vendetta against the Ministry, or some oath of tender feeling to attempt to make their sham of a marriage work. Instead, she had gotten an automated response from a telemarketer. She had to say, though, it was a thousand times better than what she had prepared herself for.

She raised an eyebrow as he spoke, still a little off put by how professional he sounded, after having squirmed his way through the first few moments spent together when his flatmate had been preparing Claire’s tea. She took a drink – subpar, but that couldn’t be helped. From what Claire knew of Jack Dyllan (and she made it her job to know any name that people tended to know) she was not one for domestic duties or pleasantries, so a nice cup of tea would be far beyond her abilities. Besides, Claire was used to high brand tea – that and gourmet coffee got her through her days.

Still, she was not going to question his ease in the conversation in case it detracted from the professional manner they had struck. Professionalism always made more sense to her, and in her line of work it was much wiser to remain professional. It kept things from getting personal, because as soon as it got personal, she would have to destroy whatever bond had been struck. It was much better to have a working relationship with someone than a personal one – it spared people the hurt feelings that would come when work inevitable drove a wedge between them.

“Please don’t thank me. It just seemed better to get ahead on this issue and handle it rationally. A time crunch tends to make people act in a panic and bring out emotions that just make things overcomplicated. I’m a busy woman, I don’t have time for panic or complicated emotions.” Way to sound heartless, Claire. She wasn’t sure if that was Elsie talking or if it was the part of her that was obnoxiously emotional – the part that shoveled ice cream and cried at really cheesy romantic comedies. Either way, it wasn’t being helpful here. And besides, that part of her wanted to get married for the right reasons. And all parts of Claire didn’t like being told she had to do something.

She shook her head at his words. “I, personally, have this annoying tendency to take legal documents very seriously, so I really would rather try to find a way out of this mess before attempting any sort of cover up.” Her inner being chimed No, you have a tendency to romanticize marriage, and you don’t want one to be with a stranger. Ugh, how irritating inner truths could be.

She shook off this thought and said, “There are a few routes we could take. For now, I’m going to play the citizenship card. Though my work visa is transferring into a full-time residence, I had barely gotten my paperwork sorted when the law went into effect, so I can claim I need a time of acclimation. Other routes we could take are relatively simple. We flat out refuse, but that could mean prison time – I do not think I would prosper in prison, and I doubt you’re keen on it either. I’ve looked into what others have done. You seem relatively well established here. You could take the route most people who are getting out of it have taken and elope. The Ministry can’t say anything about it, because you’re complying with the law, which is to marry and attempt to reproduce. That’d also give me more time to continue working on fighting the case. You could just ask your girlfriend, I’m sure she’d be glad to get out of it, as well. I heard she raised quite a ruckus when she was summoned.”

The longer Claire sat there, the more worried Max became at how little fear he had. While the blonde's buisnesslike tone might have been insensitive to some, Max found a comfort in her determination to keep things clean and civilized. For almost nine months now he had lived in a home where chaos rampaged and while he had gotten used to it (if not come to enjoy it), he was not sure that the Dyllan's expressive lifestyle would be the best way to handle things concerning the law and his impending marriage.

Or lack thereof, apparently.

As she spoke he added in appropriate comments along the lines of "naturally" and "of course". He was nodding along with her idea about green cards and citizenship, happy to find that not only was she organized but already had thought everything out. It was only halfway through her next sentence that he realized exactly what her second plan was. His strong posture and collected expression were dropping by the second as she spoke, his jaw beginning to drop to dangerous levels. At the word 'girlfriend' he lost control of his face completely, opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to interject before she could finish her thought.

But it was out before he could stop it - the terrible, horrible, oh-so embarrassing mistake she had made. "No!" Max's voice returned in an attempt to recover his composure. "No, I mean -, no. She's not -, no, she's not my girlfriend. We're just, um, yeah we're just friends. Just friends." Max nodded, pleased with his concise and clear explanation. He clapped his hands together, letting off a little laugh and continuing to shake his head. "Flatmates. Just flatmates." With as much dignity as he could muster, Max good-spiritedly tried to straiten himself up again.

His voice containing a bit more urgency than before he changed the subject. "Um, but yes. Green card sounds good. Is there anything I can help you with that or should I just wait and see how much you can do?"

Claire had not expected such an impassioned response, especially one as... awkward and weird as the one she received. Apparently, Claire had judged him sane too early altogether. She had not expected such a strange reaction from the suggestion, especially considering the fact that the two adults were living together. She had not heard of platonic flatmates above the age of seventeen, well, ever. She wondered the cause behind his awkwardness. Was she delving into an already awkward, established situation? Or was one of the two not playing for the right team to ensure that they would make a happy couple?

Regardless, she was not going to find out by giving him judgement eyes so she glanced away, trying to recollect herself and figure out where to go now that she had been derailed. She took in a breath and exhaled with, "Well, think about it. I just figured it would be easy, seeing as you already live together. No change of living conditions and whatnot. Like I said, it would be just to guarantee you don't go to Azkaban. Every marriage under this law is a sham, and I'm certain there will be more than a few waves of mass annulments once this whole situation is sorted out. If there's someone else, an actual girlfriend or a friend or a boyfriend." She shrugged, as though there was nothing wrong with the idea, but she did not want to offend either. Especially considering his spastic reaction to her last suggestion.

He wanted to be of help, which was nice, but Claire preferred to handle things on her own. She dealt with everything on her own, and the consulted Elsie because... well, because Elsie was the only one capable of reminding Claire that she had feelings and that it was okay to exercise them on occasion. In this matter, however, Claire wanted to be as unemotional as possible. Marriage was already a sore subject for her, and she wanted to just do what she had to do to get out of it. She was almost certain that she would move away, quit her mission, before she got married.

"Thank you, but it's mostly just paperwork - proving that I'm staying here only as long as I hold my job, which is supposed to be a seasonal contract - that sort of thing. It may buy us some time, but it will be, by no means, a solution for you, unfortunately. So, you'll want to consider your options." She felt a bit sorry for him, but she was a solitary person, and self-preservation was currently at the top of her list. She stood. "I think that's all I hoped to discuss with you. Do you have any questions? Concerns."