August 25th, 1893 — this event
Dress on the right

so now we fly ever free
we're free before the thunderstorm
on towards the wilderness, our quest carries on
far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight
deep inside our hearts and all our souls
Days when Siobhan got a break from the shop were rare, if they ever happened. "I'll be back before long," she had reassured her husband, her brother-in-law, son, and Mr. Miller. They could handle the shop for a little while She was just going to go for lunch, but when she entered, seeing the Cauldron so populated, and then there he was. Mr. Jude Wright, the most progressive candidate for Minister she'd heard about, just sitting in the middle of the pub. Part of her wanted to let her husband know — he would be delighted at the thought — but Siobhan knew he was busy. He was always busy during the day, and sometimes in the evening, too. And she didn't have any way to let him know promptly, anyway.

Sorry, my love, but I'll have to handle this one, she thought, picking her way through the crowd towards Mr. Wright — and then she stood before him. "Hello," she greeted, sinking into the seat across from him. "My name is Siobhan Hanrahan, and I'd like to discuss the marriage ban." There. A beginning, blunt but necessary. Were this any other circumstance, perhaps she would have danced around the subject a bit more.

Jude Wright / Elias Grimstone

  

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magic by ATHENA



#4 is on the way

Some people came over with some hesitance, some qualm at being seen here or pause with what precisely to say, how to navigate the process of discussing politics with a stranger. Some were all pleasantries, some abashed, some angry at him the moment they approached – this woman, Jude swiftly realised, as she sat down, was on a mission.

“Jude Wright, pleased to meet you,” he began, trying to decide whether she looked familiar or not. Did she work in a shop somewhere in London? He wasn’t sure. But there was hardly time to consider it, because there it was, the marriage ban. “You mean between humans and non-humans,” Jude said, eyebrows quirked slightly in question. He was already certain that was the ban she meant, of course (there were not so many writ in law); but what he didn’t yet know was which side she would be coming from. He thought he had better give her chance to say.

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"Indeed," she acknowledged promptly. There wasn't an employee's uniform at her husband's shop, and as far as Siobhan knew, there never had been, so she wore her standard wardrobe, which, honestly, wasn't much. It was a miracle their home didn't have moths. There was nothing about her wardrobe that would indicate where she spent her days. "My husband is a vampire. Our three children are thus half-vampire — our oldest's education was interrupted when the ban went into effect."

That should give him a basic idea of what side of the arrangement she was on, but she wasn't done. "When the ban hit, our marriage was functionally dissolved — but I still live with my husband and children. I can't imagine the sort of woman who would abandon her family." For a moment, Siobhan's face flickered with melancholy, but she was quick to cover it, schooling her features into determination. "I'd like to see that reversed." She doubted she needed to state it, but she did. And it was out in the open.

Jude Wright / Elias Grimstone

  

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magic by ATHENA



#4 is on the way

Hanrahan; clocks, wasn’t it? Vampire had set it all into place. (There were not enough vampires in society – or as in society as they could be – not to have heard of them, particularly when one had a general sympathy towards the plight of non-humans.)

And never mind his thoughts of marriage – Jude nodded along as she spoke, jotted down a few notes on the parchment he’d had throughout the day to remind himself of issues people had brought up as mattering to them. “I was sorry to see the ban come into effect,” he agreed, with a frown: especially when it came to denying students their Hogwarts education based on heritage. He shot Mrs. Hanrahan a small, serious smile. “No, of course not – you made your marriage vows, and the law shouldn’t change that.” It took a certain kind of bravery to live in as contentious as space as she did.

“What does your husband do?” Jude asked, more in pursuit of illustrating his argument than because he had no inkling. (In general, though: Jude was of the opinion that it mattered far more what people did than what they were.)

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"What does your husband do?" A simple question, and one that Siobhan rarely faced. It wasn't as if she had many friends — who would willingly associate with the wife of a vampire in their free time that wasn't also in a similar situation? The marriage ban had put even more of a damper on her social life than her marriage had in the first place.

"He's a clockmaker," she admitted, with only a moment's hesitation. "Repairing old timepieces, making new ones. He also repairs and tunes instruments on the side." The shop wasn't the busiest, but they had a clientele they served. "And, of course, he's a father and a husband beyond that."

Jude Wright / Elias Grimstone

  

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magic by ATHENA



#4 is on the way

“Of course,” Jude agreed. “So he’s a skilled worker; an educated man; a caring one; admirable.” In all but the vampirism, perhaps. “And am I right in imagining that your husband,” still a husband in action if not in law, so he didn’t mind saying it, “is registered with the Ministry, and otherwise adheres to their laws?”

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Siobhan nodded with every word Mr. Wright said, agreeing and acknowledging that her husband was indeed skilled, educated, and caring. His next words didn't shock her as much as they might someone who was newly considering to marry a vampire, but Siobhan carefully considered her next words. "Indeed, sir," she said plainly. "As well as his brother, who works with him and lives with us." Perhaps she ought to have left Victor out of it, but she'd said those words now, and wasn't able to take them back.

Jude Wright / Elias Grimstone

  

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magic by ATHENA



#4 is on the way

He refrained from raising an eyebrow when she mentioned her husband’s brother – the brother as well? He didn’t quite understand it, but of course Jude had been much too young at the time to remember Hanrahan’s turning. But he had trained as a lawyer at the Ministry himself, so he had heard tell about the former department head who’d been turned, abruptly, unfortunately, into a vampire.

Anyway. The point was – “All I mean to say by that, is that he – they – contribute to magical society like any other citizen, and the laws should respect them as much as anyone else.” It would be a different story if they were – feral vampires, the kind who murdered. But that ought to apply to humans and non-humans just alike. And so, Jude supposed, should the marriage laws. “If one strives to live within the law, the law should not force them outside it.”

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Every word out of Mr. Wright's mouth made her like him just that much more. He sounded a lot like her husband in some ways — Vincent was known to be outspoken even outside the home. Siobhan liked that about him, and that was one reason why she had known she would end up liking Mr. Wright. She'd heard a bit about him prior to candidacy, a sign the people knew him. But had never seen him face to face before today.

"You're absolutely right," she agreed, nodding. "I shall take my leave. I ought to grab some lunch and head back to the shop. Thank you for being so understanding."

Jude Wright / Elias Grimstone

  

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magic by ATHENA



#4 is on the way

She seemed satisfied, Jude noted with a slight smile – so he had eased some concern of hers, at any rate. “And thank you for your time,” Jude returned earnestly. She might not be able to vote; nor could her husband now – but allies were allies nonetheless, and perhaps they even knew people who would.

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