Almost Is Never Enough

Reece had never thought that his life would end up like this, for years he had suffered abuse at the hands of his father so that his siblings wouldn’t have to go through the same thing and it had only grown worse after his mum had died. Reece had wanted nothing more than to get away after graduation but he hadn’t wanted to leave his siblings behind. In the end they had convinced him to go and he had enjoyed travelling but he had cut his trip short when his dad had died. If he hadn’t returned home then his siblings would have ended up going into care and he had known that that was never going to happen. For years he had worked to support them all so they wouldn’t completely eat through the money that their parents had left them and he had worked his way up through the Ministry of Magic. Now he was head of his department and even though he still ultimately had to report to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he had more freedom than he had done as an ordinary Hitwizard and it felt good to be in charge. Reece had considered keeping his relationship with Satine a secret when she had started working at the Ministry but he had realised that the best way to do this was to be honest about what was going on between them. She was without a doubt the best thing that had ever happened to him and Reece knew that he hadn’t wanted lies to screw that up. Instead they had been honest with those they worked for and Satine had been made to work for a different department but soon she would be free to decide whether she wanted to keep working for that department or whether she wanted to join his and Reece knew that he would respect her decision either way.

His job had already been challenging before the Enlightened revealed magic to the world but now it was even more so. Too many people were taking their fear out on those around them and Reece often found that tips were being called in but the people making those calls were simply jumping at shadows. The whole magical community was on edge and Reece couldn’t blame them. As a Slytherin while he was at Hogwarts he knew that people perhaps expected him to support the Enlightened and what they were doing but the truth was that he didn’t. While he agreed that they shouldn’t have to live in the shadows any longer what they were doing was barbaric and he knew that he would do everything in his power to stop them. More than anything right now he worried about Satine and his family and he knew to make the most of even the smallest moments spent with them. He had never felt as happy as he was with Satine, she had helped turn his life around and he knew that he was a better person for it. Just seeing her was enough to bring a smile to his face and he didn’t hesitate in kissing her as she reached him. It didn’t matter to him that they were surrounded by people they worked with, they didn’t have to keep their relationship a secret and if he was honest Reece wasn’t sure that he would be able to even if he tried. Kissing Satine in the middle of the Atrium might be a little unorthodox but the truth was that he didn’t care. “Great, let’s get out of here then,” he said, stealing one more kiss before patting her hand gently as she linked her arm through his. “Same as usual, we forwarded another lead that turned out to be nothing but some more intel has come in which looks much more promising,” he admitted. “I’m hoping it might lead us to one of the Enlightened.” Whether it would or not remained to be seen but he knew that he could always live in hope. Right now both the Aurors and Hitwizards were tasked with trying to track down anyone involved with the Enlightened but it was proving to be difficult to say the least. “How about yours?”

SATINE ALIA TALLIS

Reece knew that he wasn’t that good at letting people get close to him, after everything that he had been through he had a habit of pushing away those who weren’t a part of his inner circle. He had some friends he knew he could count on but other than that he hadn’t thought that he would end up letting anyone into his heart until Satine came along. Before that he’d had one night stands but it had never been more than that. Right from the start she had been different, they’d started out casual but it had grown into something so much more and Reece knew that he was in love with her. She was the person who had managed to break down the walls he had built to protect himself so many years ago and he knew that he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it now. Even his friends and the people he worked with said he seemed much happier now and Reece knew that he wouldn’t have it any other way. He was still strict at work when he needed to be and he still slipped into boss mode with ease but now he had something to look forward to at the end of each day as it meant that he got to spend time with Satine. His siblings didn’t need him as much as they once had so that meant that he had a lot more free time to spend with his girlfriend and he made the most of every moment of it. In a way it felt weird to be happy in his personal life with everything that was going on out in the world but he and his team were working hard to track down those responsible and he knew that they weren’t going to stop until they found them. Reece had people around now that he really cared about and he knew that he didn’t want anything to happen to them or anyone else for that matter. The Enlightened had already been running rampant for far too long so he was more determined than ever to end this madness.

As it was it had been a long day and Reece couldn’t wait to get home and relax. He and Satine always ended up at either his place or hers and they didn’t have to worry about trying to keep their relationship a secret so it was good to be able to kiss her in public like that even if they probably shouldn’t given that they were still at work. Reece hadn’t been able to resist, though, and Satine kissed him back with ease so she hadn’t either. As one of his friends passed by and jokily told them to get a room, Reece couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re just jealous,” he chuckled before leading the way through the Atrium and heading outside. “With the way things are going at the moment, that probably came as a relief to her,” Reece grinned. People were jumping at shadows these days and even though the guy having an affair was awful, it was still better than the alternative. “You’re right, they do. They’re more organised than anything we’ve faced before but we’ll stop them, we have to,” he said gently. The whole magical world was at stake so he knew that they weren’t going to stop until the Enlightened were gone for good. As Satine said she was counting the days until she could call him boss, a smirk formed on his face. “You know, you can start calling me that now if you want to,” he teased playfully. They had to follow the rules so she couldn’t join his department yet but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t still call him that. “It’s not long now, then you’ll be able to transfer over,” he added, his tone more serious this time around. As she asked where they were staying tonight, Reece’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment. “We can stay at mine tonight. We’ll have the house to ourselves, my siblings are staying elsewhere tonight,” he said, knowing that Satine would prefer that over her place anyway. “I can’t wait to sell that house and get a place of our own.” None of his siblings wanted to stay in that house either so he knew that it would be for the best to sell it and then they could all move on and, with any luck, he and Satine could start a real future together.

SATINE ALIA TALLIS

Reece had thought that he had known what he was letting himself in for when he took the job as Head Hitwizard but he knew that no one could have foreseen the Enlightened revealing magic to the world. Now things were in chaos and Reece and his department were doing the best they could to bring some order to the madness. He knew that he had some good people working under him and even more looking to join them soon thanks to the program that Hogwarts now offered but so far they still had yet to find any concrete leads about who was behind the attacks and that worried him. The Enlightened were organised and they knew how to cover their tracks without leaving a trace. This wasn’t like Voldemort and his Death Eaters, no one had claimed to be leading the Enlightened and all the cloak and dagger stuff was starting to get on Reece’s nerves a little. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they caught those responsible but Reece was worried about the damage they might cause in the meantime. That was all work stress, though, and the moment he saw Satine making her way towards him that all melted away. They worked in the same place and soon enough Satine would be able to transfer to his department and become his secretary but he knew that they would still be able to leave their work at the door the same way they did now. As soon as they left the building none of that mattered and he knew that he wanted it to stay that way for as long as possible. Reece was always on the lookout for anything suspicious, it was in his nature to be that way and had been for as long as he could remember, but he knew better than to let his job affect his relationship with Satine. He hadn’t thought that he would ever find anyone who could love him, he had always thought that he was nothing more than damaged goods but Satine was slowly helping him see the light. “You know, there’s something to be said to having a little danger spice things up,” Reece agreed with a smirk. He knew that they wouldn’t actually do anything while they were at work, he had brought out an adventurous side in Satine and he knew that but even they still had their limits and the truth was he wasn’t interested in crossing that line at work.

“Maybe not but it’s better than being interrogated for information about the Enlightened and ending up in Azkaban,” Reece chuckled. He couldn’t say that he was surprised that a woman had tried to turn in her own husband when he began acting suspiciously, everyone was on edge right now and so far none of them really knew what they were looking for so it was just a case of trying to spot anything out of the ordinary until they came up with something much more concrete. “You and me both. We’ve got the best teams working on it though and the Guardians are doing their part as well. We’ll get them, don’t worry,” Reece assured her gently, knowing that the last thing he wanted was for Satine to end up worrying. He knew that there was no way he was going to let anything happen to her, that was for sure. As she spoke again, he couldn’t help but laugh. “You know I do,” he chuckled, already wishing they were somewhere private with the tone that Satine had used when she’d called him boss. Instead he pulled her to a stop and drew her in for another kiss, this one lasting longer than the others had and much more passionate despite the fact that they were still at work. Their work days had technically finished and they were on their way out so she truth was that he really didn’t care what anyone else thought although it wasn’t much longer before they were outside anyway and Reece couldn’t deny that he was glad to be out in the fresh air once more. As she asked how much longer it would be until he could sell the family home, Reece shrugged. “Not too long, Bex is viewing an apartment this weekend but she has said that she can always move in with Sydney in the meantime,” he explained. “Why, are you that eager to have me all to yourself?” he teased, his expression playful as he looked over at Satine. “Listen, I know I said when the house is sold I’ll put my share of the money towards a place for us but if you’re not ready for that there’s no pressure,” he said, not wanting Satine to feel like she didn’t have a choice in the matter. He wanted them to have somewhere that they could make their own but he also knew that they hadn’t actually been together that long so he knew that he would understand if she felt that it was too soon.

SATINE ALIA TALLIS

The moment Reece first met Satine, he had known that he’d found someone special. He had never been very good at letting people get close to him but a casual relationship had soon turned into something so much more. It had taken some getting used to at first since he’d only had meaningless flings and one night stands before her and things had become complicated when Satine had decided that she wanted to start working at the Ministry, relationships between co-workers weren’t forbidden but she had wanted to join his department and that meant that there had been certain hoops that they’d needed to jump through. Satine had to work with a different department to begin with but it wouldn’t be too much longer now before she would be working with him and the truth was that Reece couldn’t be happier. For a long time he had felt like he didn’t deserve Satine, the way his dad had treated him throughout his whole life had really done a number on Reece and he hadn’t thought that anyone could ever love him but she had proved him wrong. He had never really had much in his life that could be seen as good but Satine definitely fell into that category. She was far too good for him, Reece knew that, but for some reason she really did love him and he knew that he wasn’t going to throw that away. “Exactly. Maybe one day we’ll decide to give them all a show,” Reece said before laughing as the friend who’d told them to get a room said they were crazy before clapping him on the back and heading out. “Well, that was fun,” he grinned as he turned back to Satine. He knew that they would never actually do anything at work, they had their boundaries that they wouldn’t cross and that was certainly one of them, but his friends didn’t need to know that especially when they made jokey comments like they had done. Truth be told Reece knew that he already had a reputation around the Ministry, or he certainly had a few years ago at least, and he definitely didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire. He’d slept with the daughter of his boss without knowing who she was and it was only after he ended their short fling when it became clear that she wanted more from him that he had found out who she was and everything had fallen apart. Of course, it was her side of the story that everyone believed and his boss had had no trouble telling anyone who would listen about what a monster Reece was and how he had led his daughter on and broken her heart. Reece had tried to tell his boss the truth but the man hadn’t wanted to listen and by that time the damage was already done to his reputation. Some people believed the lies and others didn’t but he knew Satine would have told him if anything had been said to her about him so he really hoped it had all blown over by now. He had already told Satine about it himself before she started working at the Ministry but sometimes the past liked to rear its ugly head regardless.

“It always comes out eventually, it was just a matter of time before his wife found out anyway,” Reece shrugged. That was why he hadn’t wanted to hide his relationship with Satine when she started working at the Ministry, they had kept it to themselves until after her probationary period ended so that she would be treated fairly but after that they had come clean and they had done everything that had been asked of them. “At least people believed his side and he won’t be branded one of the Enlightened.” The guy had been lucky that his story had been believed, not everyone was. Honestly, even though Reece hadn’t wanted to commit to anyone in the past he knew that was just because he hadn’t found the right person until Satine came along. Now even though they had only been together for around a year, he couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. He would be the first to admit that he’d made mistakes in the past but he was determined not to do anything that would jeopardise their relationship. “I know you will but I promise I’ll always do everything in my power to come home to you,” Reece assured her gently, knowing that she had already lost too many people she loved as it was. He was lucky in that he still had all of his siblings in his life, Satine had been born one of four siblings but now due to two separate tragedies, she only had one sister left. Reece’s job was always going to put him in danger but he knew he would always do his best to make it home safely. It was easy for Reece to draw Satine in for another kiss when she called him boss. It was deeper than the first and he knew that he shouldn’t considering that they were still at work but technically they were done for the day so the truth was that he didn’t care and a smile formed on his face as she called him it again. “She is. That house holds bad memories for all of us, just more for me than the rest of them,” Reece admitted. He could definitely understand why his siblings were so keen to get out of there and the truth was that he was as well. “Careful what you wish for, you might never shower alone again,” Reece smirked as Satine said she was ready to have someone to share the hot water with. As she said that she was ready but he could tell her if he wasn’t, Reece shook his head. “My siblings will have their own money from the sale of the house, I want to get a place with you,” Reece assured her gently. “The house is my family’s and the flat is yours, I want a place that is ours,” he added, certain that she would understand even though they might have to move into Satine’s flat for a little while anyway. They had already talked about the kind of place they wanted to get and Reece had savings that had been building up since he’d started working at the Ministry as well so he hoped that they would be able to find somewhere that would be perfect for them pretty quickly.

SATINE ALIA TALLIS