[Pyxis Abercrombie]

Pyxis smiled as he watched Odhrán pause in front of the portrait of his famed Hartridge ancestor. Under different circumstances, he would have boasted about the importance of his ancestor's discoveries, but he decided now was not the time to show off. Pyxis instead watched the memory unfold and waited until they had exited the Pensieve once more before answering the Irish man's question.

"That would be Edward Paulinus Hartridge, the direct heir of my grandfather Callum Hartridge since his father died of a particularly vicious case of Dragon Pox. Edwardis succeeded in the line of succession by his sons Peter and Sheldon and after that comes me." He paused at this point. The Pureblood looked sheepish for a moment, as he realised Odhrán did not particularly care. As the son of a traditional English pureblood family, talk of social hierarchy and placement was beaten into Pyxis as a child. It was sometimes hard to forget those raised outside of the insular circles the Hartridge and Abercrombie families ran in would consider such things trivial at best.
   
"But more relevant to this discussion, I think, he works as one of the directors for my grandfather's company; he is often involved in creating contracts with foreign governments and dignitaries for the most needed potions." He frowned as he considered his companion's query. Pyxis was honestly baffled by the implication of their recollections. They were not the type of people he could imagine his grandfather associating with, and what benefits could membership in such a group bring to the heir of one of the richest families in their society? "I wish I could offer more, but I'm as clueless as you are. Honestly, I thought he was having an affair... I hate to say it of my cousin, but he's not exactly known for being the loyal husband." He grimaced at the last part; promiscuity was not something the Abercrombie approved of.

Pyxis took a bite of the latest refreshment offered by Odhrán's elves before he moved on. "But the name of the woman he is meeting with is Sylvia Pendergrast. I wouldn't say I know her, but we are certainly acquainted. She works for the Time room, and there have been occasions where her work has overlapped with the studies of my colleagues in the Mind Room." He couldn't say much more than that. The Unspekables were known for taking their privacy seriously through the use of stringent vows. Pyxis had only been able to share as much as he had due to what his companion had been able to glean from her thoughts.

He took a sip of his beverage while he ruminated quietly on their latest discovery. The idea of his Cousin associating with such people was unsettling, to say the least.  "I think the more important question is what do they want from Edward? She mentioned about making a choice... if we could figure out what she wanted from my Cousin it might help us discover their overall goal." The Hartridge family had its secrets, a collection of rare magical tomes and artefacts the average wizard would covet, but they generally avoided advertising it. Even now, in the presence of someone he'd grown to trust and respect, Pyxis was reluctant to muse on the importance of these items out loud.

[Odhrán Ó Dálaigh]

Edward Hartridge. No, Odhrán couldn't lay claim to having heard that name before. Whatever that man's involvement was, he certainly knew how to be discreet and was apparently better at it than some other members of the cabal. That, or maybe he wasn't a member at all. Maybe, he was a victim, and this Sylvia was blackmailing him. Except, that didn't seem to align with the cabal's modus operandi. They didn't usually allow themselves to be seen, names and identified. The way in which this Edward was involved seemed to expose a weak point in their setup.

Pyxis continued to elaborate how he had thought nothing of it, assuming it was just an affair. Odhrán nodded. Prendergast was not an unattractive woman. He could see how such a conclusion would have been easy to arrive at. "Maybe," he said thoughtfully, "you're not wrong about this being an affair, or at least it could have started out as one. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that the cabal used sex and women as a recruitment tool or perhaps as a way to gain access to certain people or bits of information."

Saying these words out loud felt uncomfortable. Odhrán didn't want to imply anything about Pyxis's family, but at the same time they needed to explore all the possibilities. "The real question is what she might be after. I don't see what your cousin would gain from this association, but there are plenty of reason for them to be interested in him. My knowledge of the English families is limited but even I know that your family has a potions empire with an impressive distribution network. Maybe it's about access to that?

He sounded unconvinced, but what else was there? Whatever artefacts and priceless objects the Hartridges owned, Odhrán didn't know anything about that. He'd never cared to listen to the pureblood gossip too closely.

"Do you think Edward would talk to you about it if you brought it up?" What Odhrán was really curious to know was what one might find in that man's head. However, it seemed too crass to ask Pyxis to infringe on a family members privacy. Maybe, it would be better for Odhrán to find an opportunity to do that himself instead. That way, if there was indeed an affair as well as cabal involvement, Pyxis would at least be spared the graphic detail of it.

"I can try to take a look for your cousin the next time I see Fernsby or Zufferey. They operate in the same social circle as my uncle Dorveny and his wife Maïwenn. Shouldn't be difficult to get myself invited to something there. I don't think I've ever seen Prendergast in attendance though, but I think Fernsby would at least be aware. She seems more central to me than some of the other figures."

He gulped uneasily. Breaking into the head of a chief warlock was a pretty dangerous came to play, but what other options did they have? Zufferey clearly was the money man. He probably didn't know all the details on current operations and Audish, well, he usually got involved when there was a crime to clean up after - so likely he didn't know anything yet. So it was between Fernsby and dear cousin Edward or perhaps both.

"How do you want to play this? Shall we both have a look at what we can uncover and meet again?" This conversation felt like it was taken straight out of a pulp fiction novel. Part of it didn't even seem real and yet there was no denying that this was actually happening, strange as it was.

[Pyxis Abercrombie]

The Pureblood grimaced at the mention of the cabal using sex as a means to get what they wanted. It was such a crass modus operandi, and Pyxis would be extremely disappointed in his older cousin if he'd risked ruining their family's reputation by falling for such a cheap ploy.

The Occlumens was clearly unhappy as Odhrán speculated on what they wanted from his Cousin, but he couldn't deny his friends' words made sense. If one wanted to conceal illegal activities be it the smuggling of potions and ingredients, or the exchange of galleons what better way than to use an international potions empire as a front? Pyxis would wring his Cousin's neck if he'd landed their family in it because he couldn't keep it in his pants; that is if there was anything left of him after their grandfather was through with him. If there was one thing Callum Hartridge valued above all else it was maintaining their family's legacy both the parts publicly known and the more hidden aspects of it.

"I highly doubt it... Edward and I aren't the closest" he admitted in a soft almost disappointed tone. While Pyxis and his Cousin were perfectly cordial and even met for drinks on occasion they were far too competitive to become close friends. Pyxis envied his Cousin's superior potions skills while his Cousin was miffed at the fact that Pyxis' skills with the mind arts had surpassed his long ago. Then there was the fact Pyxis had envied Edward position as heir in their younger days. While he'd come to appreciate the anonymity and freedom that came with being a lower member of the family; he certainly didn't envy his Cousin Farren the pressure to marry and now remarry she faced, it had been a bitter pill to swallow during his youth.

"I think that would be for the best... I can see what details I can wrangle out of Winthrop during William's birthday while you see what you can discover from Fernsby... just be careful." He didn't feel the need to mention out loud how dangerous it was to use Legilimency on the Chief Warlock. If something went wrong... well Odhrán could find himself sharing the same cell as his infamous father.

Pyxis took another sip of his wine before he decided it was best to turn the subject to more light-hearted matters. "Why don't you take me on a tour? I'm sure a place like this has some impressive features you'd love to show off." He suggested with a teasing smirk.