Chapter Text
The Fifth Anniversary of the Battle of Little Helga:
When One is Tricked by the Assistant Head of the Council of Magical Law
Monday — April 9, 2007
Cassius Warrington sighed the second he got in his historic studio flat in Diagon Alley. It had been a very long Monday, and he wasn't in the best mood.
As he closed the door and shrugged out of his cloak, he looked ruefully around the small space. It was tight, and way overpriced. His current job paid just enough to cover it — barely. Maybe he should think about moving to somewhere more reasonable…
On top of having a small flat (even if it was historic and more upscale than his first flat), there were still some people in the wizarding world who continued to treat him as a pariah, even though the war had been a decade earlier. Not everyone — because things had gotten a bit better in the past five years — but there were definitely a few people who still deliberately shunned him, or gave him nasty looks in the street while muttering ugly remarks under their breath, simply because they knew he had once been a Death Eater.
Living on his own the past few years certainly hadn't been easy. He wouldn't say it was the hardest thing he'd done, but it definitely hadn't been easy. There were occasionally weeks he wasn't sure how he was going to make his funds stretch enough to cover food, and many days he would pass Quality Quidditch Supplies and bitterly remember that he likely wouldn't ever be able to afford the fastest, newest racing broom again. He was at least lucky that he could visit Gilbert at Royle House to fly, and Gil always loaned him a decent broom when they flew. That had helped him get back in shape, at least. The first two years he had been on his own, he had gotten pretty flab because he hadn't been able to fly.
But much worse than an overpriced flat, or the occasional ugly look from a random person, or not being able to buy expensive racing brooms, was that nothing compared to the truly awful days when he caught sight of one of his family members. Those days were thankfully rare, but unfortunately, today had been one of those days.
His older brother had come into the bank to withdraw some gold, and Cassius happened to be walking through the main hall on his way to meet a Curse Breaker. He'd passed Thrax without quite realizing it until they were even.
Cassius instantly felt an unpleasant drop in his stomach and the wave of shame that washed over him when Thrax noticed him and his lip curled in disgust. Cassius managed to nod politely, but his brother wasn't having any of it.
In a low, barely audible voice, Thrax had sneered, "Don't you dare act friendly with me, you ungrateful traitor. I can't afford my reputation to be ruined by the likes of you. Know your place."
Face burning, Cassius kept walking and didn't speak. He didn't see Thrax often, but it was always like that if they happened to cross paths.
It was depressing, not having a place in the world anymore. When Cassius had finally left his family in 2002, tired of how they were treating him, they had been furious. His father and brother disowned him, and they gave his mother and sister orders to never communicate with Cassius again. His mother did sometimes break those orders by sending Cassius a little money to help him along, and once even asking him to meet her for lunch, though he never reached out to her.
Yes, seeing Thrax was what really put Cassius in a bad mood on that Monday, and walking into his small, cramped, overpriced flat only made him feel more annoyed.
He was just about to fall on his bed and stew in the bitterness for a while when there was a tapping on the window that overlooked the street. Groaning, Cassius turned to it. Who the bloody hell would send him an owl? It wasn't as if he had many friends, and his family certainly wouldn't, unless his father wanted to reiterate the message Thrax had thrown in his face that morning. Peachy, that was just what he didn't need.
When he opened the window, an owl fluttered in and held out its foot, and Cassius warily removed the scroll.
But as he scanned it, the bitterness shifted to frustration.
He looked down at the owl, which was waiting patiently to take a reply back. Fuming, Cassius grabbed the quill from his small, cluttered desk and angrily scribbled a response.
The owl took off with the scroll again, and Cassius sighed as he tossed the quill back to the desk, not even caring if he got ink spots on the blank parchments he kept there just in case he needed them. It was just that sort of day.
The next day, Tuesday, wasn't much better, because — per the note from the evening before — he'd agreed to have lunch with the one person in the world who had this weird ability to make Cassius sometimes want to lash out irrationally: the Assistant Head of the Council of Magical Law. Who, incidentally, was one of the few people who supported him and had helped him when he originally left his family. Cassius knew it didn't make any sense to dislike someone who supported him, but that was just how it was.
Truthfully, he was getting better at being around Kenneth Towler, and they had lunch on a fairly regular basis, at least twice a month. But it was still hard. Towler had been a fucking prat at school, an insufferable sort who had landed the spot of Head Boy and lorded it over everyone for half the year. On top of that, he'd dated the fittest Hufflepuff in their class, and after she'd been killed in the war, he'd ended up marrying the fittest Slytherin in their class (whom Cassius had fancied once, himself!) How had Towler even pulled that off? Cassius didn't think Towler was all that fit himself, because he was a swot who wore glasses, but maybe the girls saw things in him that Cassius didn't. Regardless, it was the most twisted, messed up thing that Towler had gotten two hot girls in his life — and yes, Cassius resented him just a teensy bit for it.
It wasn't just Kenneth, though — most of their remaining classmates had gotten married in the last few years.
Adrian Pucey had married the very fit Alicia Spinnet, one of the famous, gorgeous Gryffindor Chasers. Cassius had never seen that coming back when they had been in school, anymore than he hadn't realized that Courtney fancied Kenneth back then. When he had first discovered Adrian was with Alicia, he had been a little sad that Adrian had never confided in him when they were in school. He knew why, of course, but it didn't make it easier to swallow.
The second, ridiculously fit Gryffindor Chaser, Katie Bell, had married Oliver Wood — which wasn't a surprise to anyone. Cassius had secretly fancied Katie more than any other girl in school, most notably during his sixth and seventh years.
The third sexy Gryffindor Chaser, Angelina Johnson, had taken her legs that went on forever and paired off with George Weasley, which also wasn't a surprise.
The stunning Head Girl of their class, Chrysanthe Hayden, had married Danny Youngman, which also wasn't a surprise. Those two had been dating since fifth year.
Of course, Gilbert wasn't married yet; the muggle-born Hufflepuff girl he had been dating during the war had been arrested, and though she had survived, she had renounced her magical heritage and disappeared. Cassius couldn't blame her.
All of the Ravenclaws in their class were married now except for Donovan Chambers, who was a Chaser for the Appleby Arrows and one of the biggest players in the country. Heck, even Roger Fucking Davies had married!
And of the Slytherins in their class, besides Cassius and Adrian… well, Graham was in jail and Miles was dead. But sleazy, boot-licking Ian Dankworth had married a granddaughter of one of the attorneys at the firm of Chattaway & Winpenny. Slimy fucking git, Cassius had thought when he'd read the announcement in the Prophet. He couldn't imagine why anyone would marry Ian Dankworth, the wanker.
A small voice in his head reminded Cassius that what it really meant was that Ian was more socially acceptable than he was right now, and that made Cassius feel depressed all over again.
As for Kenneth Towler of Gryffindor and Courtney Dagworth of Slytherin… they had been married for five years, had a young son and a newborn daughter, and as far as Cassius could tell, they were disgustingly happy together. At the start, he had been convinced that Towler would leave her at some point, but that didn't seem to be the case. And if Cassius was honest, the idea that he'd been wrong about Towler bugged him more than anything else. He was starting to see why Adrian liked Towler, and that felt… weird.
When he arrived at the crowded Leaky Cauldron at lunchtime, Hannah Longbottom nodded to him from behind the bar and motioned for him to follow her. She stepped into a corridor and the noise from the bar and the pub disappeared as soon as she closed the door.
"This way," she said politely, her tone belying nothing of whatever her true feelings towards him might be. She was always friendly to her customers, though he was probably the only former Death Eater that regularly stopped in, so he wasn't sure if she actually hated him or not.
The private parlor she took him to was small, but homey. Towler was already sitting at the table, reading a missive, but when they entered, he looked up, smiled, and vanished whatever he was reading.
"Warrington," he said, standing up to shake Cassius's hand. "How are you?"
"Fine," Cassius lied, because Hannah was still in the room.
The buxom proprietor waved her wand and the lunch special appeared for both of them, then she stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Towler arched an eyebrow. "Fine?"
Cassius sighed as they both sat down. "Not fine."
"What's wrong?"
Cassius knew Towler was concerned, so he explained bitterly, "I bumped into my arse of an older brother yesterday, unfortunately. He told me to know my place and not to act like I know him, because he doesn't want a Death Eater ruining his fucking reputation. But other than that, my life is just grand, thanks."
Towler's face clouded with fury and his hand clenched on top of the table. "I'm sorry. I know this is really hard on you —"
"Do you?" Cassius glared at him. For a moment, he let his illogical side get away from him. How the hell could Towler understand? His father had been Lead Liaison Minister back in the day, and now Towler himself had a damned good position at the Ministry. Cassius was barely making ends meet, yet his family had been even wealthier than Kenneth's before Cassius left them. He had willingly chosen a life of limited means to escape his father and brother, and he was starting to regret it. He was being punished both ways. It wasn't fair. He'd never really wanted to be a Death Eater, damn it.
Towler gave him a sad smile. "You probably remember that during the war, I became estranged from my parents for a while. I was barely scraping by. It took all of my income and Karen's to make ends meet. So yes, I know it's hard. Although, I will admit, I don't know what it feels like to have someone you're related to, say such hateful things to you in public. I'm sorry you have to deal with that."
Cassius deflated. He knew Towler meant well. Sighing, he said, "I knew it was going to be like that when I left. Some days are just harder than others. I can't say I enjoy working at Gringotts, either. It's been three years, but I'm never going to move up there. Again: my fault. I should have paid more attention on my N.E.W.T.'s and actually tried. I never thought I wouldn't be working for my family, though. I didn't think I actually needed N.E.W.T.'s."
Towler was silent for a moment. "There may be a different Ministry position that would suit you; I can —"
"No," he said firmly. "I don't want to go back to the Ministry, and I don't need a handout from you on top of everything else."
At that, Towler looked exasperated. "Look, I know I'm not your favorite person or anything, but I'm honestly just trying to help."
"I know that." Cassius felt a ripple of shame again. "I know you're one of the few people who believe in me. I really don't hate you as much as I used to. I'm getting better at it, but it's taking a while, okay?"
Towler chuckled. "I'd rather you be honest about it. It's better than some people, who suck up to me when I know damned well they hate me. Half of the Wizengamot, actually."
The idea that half of the Wizengamot hated Kenneth because he'd been moved into the prominent position of Assistant Head of the Council of Magical Law at a relatively young age made Cassius feel marginally better. That had to suck, too. Whatever else, Towler knew how to manage things and he had a law degree.
"How is Courtney?" Cassius asked. He knew his former classmate had been pregnant; hers and Kenneth's daughter had been born the month before.
"She's fine. I'll tell her you asked about her."
"And the kids?"
"They're fine, too. Orelia's nearly three weeks old already. I hated to come back to work." Kenneth looked a bit down for a moment. Then he said roused himself and went on, "And Sterling is almost two. His birthday is close to the anniversaries of the Battles of Little Helga, actually."
And just like that, Cassius felt like Towler had (unintentionally) punched him in the chest. He honestly didn't know what to say. He loathed Little Helga for so many reasons, and he couldn't believe Towler and Courtney's son was nearly two on top of that, or that their daughter had been born nearly three weeks earlier.
"As a matter of fact," Towler went on, "that's why I wanted to see you today."
"Forget it," Cassius tried to joke. "You could not pay me to be a babysitter."
The Gryffindor laughed. "I don't need a babysitter, Warrington. I have three paid house elves who take care of the kids during the day while Courtney and I are at work. I meant Little Helga."
Tension coiled in Cassius's body all over again. "What about it?" he asked tersely.
Towler arched an eyebrow. "This year is the 10th Anniversary of the First Battle, and the 5th Anniversary of the Second Battle."
"Good for it," Cassius muttered.
"I've been asked to make sure you attend."
That was odd. Why?
Cassius had sworn he would never go back to Little Helga, and he frowned. "Why on earth would I want to attend?"
"The Wood family specifically requested your presence this year."
Cassius couldn't help but flinch slightly. The Wood family was another group of people who supported him and his decision to leave his family, though they had every reason to detest Cassius and he always felt nervous around them. He'd tried to avoid them for the past five years, especially since he'd realized Oliver Wood had somehow guessed that Cassius had once fancied Katie. Bloody hell, but it was a wonder Oliver hadn't cursed him, yet!
"Tell them thanks," he managed to grit out, "but no thanks."
Towler's expression turned a bit sad. "It's not a request, Warrington. I know you don't want to go, but it's important to them that you attend this year. It's a milestone anniversary —"
Unable to keep his temper in, Cassius snapped, "I don't know if you've noticed, but every time I end up in Little Helga, all hell breaks loose, Towler."
For some reason, Towler grinned at that — but it was an evil sort of grin that made Cassius wonder how much Courtney had rubbed off on her husband in the past few years.
"That's why the ceremony is going to be held outside of the town limits this year. Kingsley thought it would be best."
"Don't tell me shite like that."
"Why not? You're invited as a guest."
"Because! If something happened, the Aurors could blame me!" Cassius snarled, livid that Towler hadn't thought of this little snag. "Suppose some random, uncaught Death Eater shows up, and then what? They'll all look to me, damn it! I'll end up arrested or some shite, just because —"
Towler arched an eyebrow. "Seriously, Warrington? I don't believe you're a Death Eater anymore, or that you would pass that information along to any Dark wizard or witch who might want to crash Little Helga again. Kingsley has already approved of a Prophet reporter and a photographer that we know won't lure Death Eaters there like the last time. There will also be additional security measures —"
"Forget it, Towler!"
Towler pushed his glasses up with two fingers and the lenses flashed in the firelight. "If you don't agree to the request, then I'll have to fall back on a contingency plan."
Cassius stared at him in disbelief, and Towler's smile deepened in a disturbing way.
"I'll send Katie around to make you attend."
Fucking hell. Courtney was rubbing off on her Gryffindor husband. And in that moment, Cassius wasn't sure if he hated Kenneth or Courtney more.
Saturday — April 14, 2007
The Fifth Anniversary of the Second Battle of Little Helga
When Cassius Apparated to the outskirts of Little Helga, to a pretty meadow dotted with wildflowers, he was mostly contemplating how he could get away with hexing or cursing the Assistant Head of the Council of Magical Law for stooping so low as to suggest a backup plan that involved sending Katie Bell Wood around to force Cassius to attend today's memorial service. He also kept his hood up and his wand out, because the hell he was going to be caught unawares this time around if things went south.
"Oh! You came! We haven't seen you in ages!"
The beautiful voice made a shiver go down his spine. That wasn't fair, damn it, he was twenty-nine! He shouldn't be reacting like that to a woman's voice! Especially a married woman's voice! Her husband could knock him out cold with one hit! It was bad enough that Oliver Wood knew Cassius had once had a serious fancy for Katie, damn it!
But before he could react, Katie fell in step beside him and said brightly, "Hullo, Cassius."
She was wearing a black dress and sensible black loafers, and her sunny curls were pulled back in a messy bun. She was also carrying a little girl, who was wearing a pretty pink dress instead of somber black. Even though Cassius didn't want to be here, he had to admit that it was rather nice to see a different color, today.
"Belle, right?" he said, nodding towards the little girl, who looked at him curiously with big blue eyes. He knew Katie and Oliver had had a third. In fact, Cassius had sent them a card and a small gift when Belle was born (a soft Abraxan horse plush, because the saleswoman in the shop said it was perfect for a baby), but he hadn't realized she was already as big as she was!
"Yes," Katie said fondly, with a sappy smile. "You really haven't been around in a while, you know. I'm starting to think you're deliberately avoiding us!"
Cassius ignored that. "How old is she, now?"
"She'll be a year below Sterling, Ashton, Aiden, Lucy, and Roxy, but a year above Heather, Astra, Orelia, and Dylan."
Bloody hell, but there were too many children to keep track of, he thought.
Before he could reply however, a gruff yet polite voice said, "Warrington."
Cassius shivered for a different reason. Oliver Wood was as burly and tall as ever. He held Rory in the crook of one arm, and had his other hand on his oldest son's back, while Bobby walked alongside him.
Well, if he had both hands on his sons, it meant he couldn't hex Cassius right away…
"Wood," Cassius answered warily, glancing at him. "How are you? I didn't realize Belle was nearly two."
"You've been out of the loop a bit," Oliver observed. "You should come around more often. We haven't seen you in an age."
"That's what I just told him," Katie agreed.
Cassius wanted to say he didn't think he was actually welcome, that maybe they were just saying those things out of polite habit, or that he knew Oliver knew he'd once fancied Katie, and that he was sure the Quidditch Keeper was just biding his time to curse Cassius. But he refrained on all accounts.
Another female voice interrupted — Roberta Wood, Oliver's mother. "Oh, Cassius, love, I'm so glad you came." She gave Cassius a hug before he had a chance to back away and went on, "We haven't seen you in so long! What have you been up to?"
"Working," Cassius mumbled. He might be able to dodge Oliver and Katie, but it was much harder to say no to Roberta Wood.
"Well, take a break every once in a while," she admonished gently. "Come around to Red's Wood and have dinner more often. Tomorrow night would be good. Cal wasn't sure if you would show this morning, but I'm glad you did."
Cassius complained, "I told Towler that every time I come here, all hell breaks loose. Despite that, he threatened me if I didn't show up today."
Katie laughed. "I can't imagine Kenneth threatening anyone!"
"Well, he did," Cassius said through gritted teeth. "The Assistant Head of the Council of Magical Law is not above breaking a few bloody rules to get his way."
Towler's voice suddenly drawled, "Breaking rules, or using my resources? There's a difference, Warrington. Mild threats that could use my resources aren't breaking rules."
"I've been debating hexing you," Cassius snapped, turning to glare at Towler, who merely smiled back at him like the snake Cassius secretly thought he was. But then, Courtney emerged from behind her husband. She was just as slight, short, and slender as she'd been at Hogwarts, despite having had two children, and her long, pale blonde hair was in pretty, wavy curls today. She was wearing a beautiful, long, dark-green cloak.
"If you do," Courtney warned, her gorgeous eyes flashing dangerously, "I'll return the favor, Cassius."
He flushed. She absolutely would, too. So he merely nodded once and said, "Courtney. Didn't bring the kids?"
"No," she answered, in that abrasive voice he remembered so well from school. "Orelia's still too little; I'm not ready to bring her out, yet. And I didn't think Sterling would enjoy sitting through a memorial ceremony."
"We left them with my parents," Kenneth replied blithely, as if Cassius actually cared.
Courtney smiled up at her husband — a smile that made Cassius flush a bit at how open she was in her feelings towards Kenneth. She said cheekily, "Your father especially loves having grandchildren."
Kenneth chuckled. "He does. It'll be hard to get them back this afternoon, you know."
"Well," she suggested, "we could ask them to keep them overnight…"
"No, Courtney. It's only been a month, we're not doing anything we shouldn't, yet," her husband reminded her sternly, but they all caught the way his mouth quirked slightly.
Cassius quickly looked towards the center of the meadow so he wouldn't have to watch the two of them openly flirt like they were randy-arse teenagers instead of young married adults with two children.
There were several rows of chairs set up in front of a small podium, and they all took seats. Cassius noticed at least four Aurors on the outskirts of the meadow, standing guard. Minister Shacklebolt had his own personal Aurors with him, including Harry Potter, who was now the Assistant Head of the Auror Department. Ernie MacMillan was in the crowd, but Cassius knew he was a damned good Auror, too. No one was taking chances this time.
As he took a seat and Katie plopped down beside him with Belle (why did she have to sit beside him?!) Gilbert Royle randomly appeared and sat on Cassius's other side.
"Hullo," Gilbert said, smiling.
Katie leaned around Cassius and returned Gilbert's smile. "Hullo, Gil. I'm glad you could make it, today."
Gilbert waved his wand, conjured a strawberry lolly, and reached around Cassius to hand it to Belle. The little girl's eyes lit up happily, and Gilbert and Katie both chuckled, even as Oliver groaned and muttered something that sounded distinctly like "…mess up her dress…!"
Katie told him to hush, that it was fine, even as Belle crammed the lolly in her mouth and watched Gilbert keenly.
Cassius looked at Royle pointedly and asked, "Why are you here?"
After all, Royle hadn't been in the original battle, nor had he been present at the second skirmish. It seemed odd for him to attend. Maybe he was here to support Towler, or something…?
"Paying my respects," Gil said lightly.
"By giving a toddler a sweet?" Cassius narrowed his eyes.
Oliver muttered, "Something Warrington and I happen to agree on."
"Kids love me for it," Gilbert insisted, smiling at Belle, who had the lolly between her little pink lips. They would be stained dark pink before the morning was out. Cassius supposed bribing friends' children with sweets was one way to get on the kids' good sides, if nothing else.
At that moment, Kenneth stepped to the podium and called for silence, and introduced Arthur Weasley, who had agreed to speak briefly about the original battle and the lives lost for the war effort — namely, Dougal and Fergus Wood.
At least it wasn't a long service, and for that, Cassius was grateful. After Mr. Weasley said a few words, he introduced Minister Shacklebolt. Kingsley then stepped forward and spoke of how the Order of the Phoenix believed in a better world, where one could live without fear of Voldemort and Dark wizards and witches, and where blood status didn't matter. He then mentioned the Second Battle of Little Helga, and how — as Alastor Moody would have put it — even times of peace required "constant vigilance" to ensure evil did not win.
Cassius sighed. He barely even remembered the real Moody, since a Death Eater had impersonated the man for all of their sixth year, but he did remember the imposter often quoting the "constant vigilance" line. He was just about to pull his wizard's watch from his pocket to check the time when the Minister caught him off guard.
"This year, we not only remember the victims who lost their loved ones in the original battle, but also those who fought in the skirmish on the 5th Anniversary of Little Helga. Many of them already had Orders of Merlin for participating in the Battle of Hogwarts. But one person fought here five years ago, who did not already have an Order of Merlin, and he deserves one for his actions at the Second Battle of Little Helga."
Cassius froze. Fucking hell, no…
"Cassius Warrington selflessly protected Katie Wood and Bobby Wood from a Death Eater that day, and was severely injured in that fight. The official record states that Adrian Pucey defeated Death Eater Graham Montague, but…" The Minister's lips twitched as he glanced once at Courtney, who remained perfectly still and expressionless. Shacklebolt finished, "Mr. Warrington still protected a woman and a child from death at the risk of his own life, and I now ask him to please step forward to receive an Order of Merlin, First Class, for his courageous actions."
It was at that moment that Cassius realized Towler wasn't sitting by Arthur Weasley on the small stage anymore; he'd stepped forward and waved his wand, and a flat box appeared before the Minister. Numbly, Cassius just stared, until Towler gave him a look and jerked his head slightly to remind him to stand the fuck up and go before Shacklebolt.
Slowly, Cassius rose and made his way onto the small stage. No wonder Gilbert had come today — he was supporting Cassius, not Towler!
The Minister smiled at him and said, "As processed by the Council of Magical Law, the Order of Merlin, First Class, is awarded to Cassius Augustine Warrington, for an act of distinction of outstanding bravery and courage." With that, he fixed the medal to Cassius's chest with magic.
Cassius knew his face was flaming. So this was why Towler had insisted he attend today's damn memorial. Towler had processed a fucking Order of Merlin for him! He couldn't meet Kingsley's eyes for anything. He wasn't even sure how he felt about this!
Thank Salazar the stupid ceremony didn't last much longer. Just a few more words and it ended, and Cassius started looking for his escape. Hexing Towler was also still very much an option; he couldn't believe Towler had tricked him into coming today so Cassius could receive an Order of Merlin! As if such a thing would make any difference with his damn family!
As he got up to leave, Katie caught his sleeve. "You deserve that," she said sincerely. "Ollie and I both thought so, when we heard."
"I don't know about that," Cassius muttered. "All I did was —"
"Protect my wife and son," Oliver said pointedly. "And you nearly got killed in the process."
Gilbert nodded. "They're right, Warrington. You absolutely deserve that."
Towler had approached him, too. "And don't think about slipping off, either. We're all going to the Gorse Room for lunch."
Though he had never been there, Cassius knew the Gorse Room was an upscale restaurant in Little Helga that catered to wizards and witches, and he had a feeling that it had all the ambience of Hufflepuff.
"Damn it, Towler," he complained. "You dragged me here under false pretenses —"
"No, I didn't actually tell you why you needed to come. I merely said your presence was requested and you couldn't refuse," Towler pointed out, the tiniest, evilest smirk on his lips.
Cassius glared at him. "I swear to Salazar, you should have been sorted into Slytherin!"
"Huh. Imagine that," Kenneth drawled sarcastically. "You mean we could have been friends all through school, Warrington?"
Cassius almost drew his wand, but Courtney leveled him with a sharp glare. "Don't even think about it."
He glared back at her. "Your husband is insufferable!"
At that, she laughed abrasively. "You're not telling me anything I don't already know, Cassius." Then she turned to Kenneth and took his arm.
The way Towler smiled at his wife made Cassius's gut squirm. It was different from the evil smirk he'd just given Cassius; it was warm and sappy and tender.
Sometimes it was really hard, being around all these classmates who were madly in love with each other and completely smitten with their kids. Even Courtney and Towler! Most of the time, Cassius felt that none of them really had much time for anyone who was still single. And regardless, it wasn't as if he wanted to hear any of them go on about their kids for more than a minute or so.
It also made Cassius sullenly wonder for the umpteenth time if he could have gotten married if he hadn't taken the fucking Dark Mark. Maybe he could have married Melissa or Kimberly, though he hadn't particularly cared about them one way or the other while in school. The other three Slytherin girls in his class didn't have Courtney's stunning, cool beauty, and Kimberly and Melissa had always been beneath him socially, while Cynthia had been above him. He'd never cared for Cynthia anyways; she was a pureblood elitist by very definition, and she looked down her nose at anyone who wasn't the same as she was. She probably thought Cassius was a blood traitor at this point, which was fine. He didn't give a damn about her.
Once at the Gorse Room, he found himself seated in a private parlor at the very end of a long table, with Towler next to him on the caddy and, to his immense surprise, Oliver Wood on the other corner, with Katie next to Oliver. Adrian and Alicia were on the other side of Courtney, who was next to her husband. The others were seated further down, including Cal and Roberta, Bridget and Atticus, Alex Wood, a few Weasleys, and other members of the MacMillan family.
As Oliver waved his wand to conjure a booster seat for Belle, Alicia smiled across the table at Gilbert and said, "I'm glad you could make it. Kenneth was afraid you weren't going to be back in time."
Gilbert gave her a tired smile. "Almost wasn't," he replied.
Cassius asked, "What happened?"
"The carpet business," Gilbert said. Then, to the others, he explained, "I'm in the process of finalizing everything with a buyer, and the production manager contacted me yesterday and asked me to portkey to Austria because the bloke had some questions only I could answer. But at least it's finished and everything is at the solicitor's office, now. So hopefully, it won't be much longer and it'll be off my hands for good."
Percy said from further down the table, "I know you're glad."
"I am." Gilbert looked serious for a moment. "It was never mine, and besides, carpets are out of style these days. I didn't want to try and maintain it, but I was afraid I wouldn't find a buyer, either. I'm chuffed I did."
Towler said seriously, "Well, I'm glad you made it back in time. Especially after I fought Slade Gambol for nearly five damn years to get Warrington that medal…"
Cassius jolted and turned to look at Kenneth in surprise, even as he felt his stomach drop an inch or two. "What?"
He knew Kenneth's immediate boss, Slade Gambol, was an ancient man who had been in charge of the Council of Magical Law for decades. The old codger was at least 110, and he disliked Kenneth because he thought Kenneth was too young to be Assistant Head of the department. A lot of people thought it was high time Gambol retired, but he hadn't yet. Everyone knew when he finally did, Kingsley was going to put Towler in that spot, and Towler deserved it. Cassius had a sneaky suspicion that Gambol was holding out just because he didn't want Kenneth to get promoted.
Had Gambol really fought back against Cassius's medal, though?
You know he did, he thought bitterly.
Towler sighed, but admitted, "I wanted to get it to you sooner, Warrington. On the first anniversary of the Second Battle of Little Helga, actually. But some of the Old Guard kept pushing back." His eyes glittered in anger. "Something about Death Eaters not deserving Order of Merlins. Every damn time I tried to process it, Gambol went up in arms. It finally took me, Kingsley, Hermione, and Padma going at it from different angles to get it processed. That's why it took so long. You deserved it the day you fought, not five years later. I'm sorry I couldn't get it pushed through sooner."
Cassius looked away, ashamed. He didn't doubt for a second that there had been plenty of people who had pushed back against him getting a medal. There were a lot of people who would always hate him, no matter how much time went by. He was grateful to Towler for fighting for him. At least Towler had been in his corner the past five years.
Adrian added, "You did deserve it sooner, Warrington. But, like Towler said: at least you have it now. You earned it."
"Thanks," Cassius muttered.
Oliver seemed to sense that maybe it was time to change the subject, so he looked down the table at Gilbert and asked, "So, Royle. Are you still interested in a Quidditch team?"
Gilbert looked surprised at the shift in conversation back to his own life, but he nodded. "Yes. Now that I've sold off the carpet business, I can focus entirely on that and start making some overtures."
Everyone at the table knew Gilbert had deliberately sold off nearly all of his family's extensive business ventures over the past few years in an effort to sever the remaining connections to his grandfather, Quincy Royle, in light of the fact that Quincy had been a Death Eater and had even tried to kill Gilbert in the Battle of Hogwarts. Truthfully, Cassius had known Quincy Royle was a Death Eater long before Gilbert had, and he found it somewhat hard to believe that Gilbert and his parents hadn't realized Quincy was following the Dark Lord. The man had been well-known even in Death Eater circles as an elitist arsehole; hell, he had joined up during the first war.
However, fewer people knew Gilbert was specifically interested in the Arrows, though everyone around the table was probably privy to that.
Towler frowned. "Is your dad still pushing back against you? I remember you saying that he doesn't think the Arrows are high enough up the League."
Gilbert looked annoyed. "Yes, unfortunately."
That was something else Cassius had learned in the past two years: Gilbert's relationship with his father, Quinton Royle, was a bit strained because Gilbert blamed his father for not stepping in more to protect Gilbert from Quincy. Truthfully, old man Quincy had always despised Gilbert for being in Hufflepuff House, because all of the Royle men had been in Slytherin before Gilbert was sorted.
It was more complicated than just that, though. Cassius knew from personal experience that one couldn't always push back against their father, whether it was him trying to go against Gaius, or Quinton Royle trying to push back against Quincy, or Gilbert trying to push against Quinton. But Cassius kept his mouth shut. Gilbert was stubborn — a definite Hufflepuff trait.
He also had a feeling that, no matter how much Gilbert tried to separate himself from his grandfather, there would always be people who would associate him with Quincy — just like Cassius couldn't escape the Dark Mark on his left forearm. Gilbert was desperate to make a fresh start, and he was as far from being a Death Eater as was possible to be, but his grandfather's legacy would live on long after Quincy's death.
Adrian took the middle road. "Your dad wants to make sure it's successful, I guess."
Gilbert sighed. "I think he's just nervous. Ever since the war, he likes to play things safe, and he didn't want to let the carpet business go, even though carpets have long been out of style in Britain. He wants a return on investment with the least amount of work and risk. But ultimately, he turned over all control of the family's finances to me five years ago…"
Cassius knew that, too — and he also knew that Quinton Royle was rather bitter about giving up control of his family's interests to Gilbert, even though Gilbert was his only child and had a good head for business. Quinton had never expected to be sidelined because of his father's decisions to join the Dark Lord.
Katie jumped in. "The Arrows should be pretty safe, shouldn't they? They're eighth in the League. It's middle-of-the-road, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. They aren't the Falcons, the Wanderers, or the Cannons."
Bridget Pucey-MacMillan shook her head. "They were seventh, though."
Oliver added, "They dropped to eighth the past two years, and I hear it's because the team dislikes their current owner. They haven't been trying hard because they detest Gage."
Atticus Pucey jumped in, too. "That's it exactly. They associate the Gage family with Death Eaters," he said darkly. "I can't blame them. The Gage family are arseholes."
Which was something else Cassius had been very aware of, actually. Dante Gage had definitely been a Death Eater, and he had died in the First Battle of Little Helga. His father, Emil Gage, had likely been one too, though Cassius had never known for sure because there were a lot of Death Eaters who stayed quiet even within the Dark Lord's forces, wearing their masks to avoid recognition. If Emil Gage had been a Death Eater, he'd managed to weasel out of punishment after the Second War. But then, Cassius had a feeling a number of people had done that.
Atticus continued, saying exactly what Cassius was thinking: "Everyone knows the Gage family harbors blood purity beliefs, even these days. Emil Gage has had a hard time signing on new players in the past few years, even though he's actively avoided offering contracts to Slytherin players in an effort to reinforce the team's image as a 'good team'. Despite that, the players who are under contract aren't crazy about him. I hear he's a…" Atticus trailed off, glanced Bobby, Rory, and little Belle, and changed tact. "…jerk, which isn't remotely surprising. Dante was a real piece of work. He was in my class at Hogwarts. Snakes, the lot of them."
"You're a snake, too, Att," Adrian reminded his brother.
Atticus merely smiled in a twisted sort of way. "So are you, Ade."
"My point is," Adrian said, exasperatedly, "there are different types of snakes."
"Yes," Courtney snickered, "you can even be a Gryffindor with a bloody snake Patronus."
Towler groaned and rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Courtney?"
"I'm just saying —"
That caught Cassius off guard. Startled, he blurted, "Towler has a snake Patronus? Oh, hell, I knew you were secretly a Slytherin —!"
"I am not!" Towler looked irritated at that, but Cassius grinned and filed the information away for later ammunition.
Oliver Wood interjected and brought the conversation back to Quidditch. "Well, the one thing in your favor, Royle, is that you fought with the defenders in the Battle of Hogwarts. That'll go a long way. If you were to buy the team, they shouldn't associate you with your grandfather, because you have an Order of Merlin for your actions. I'd think they'd prefer it if you owned them instead of Gage, to be honest. Besides. Once they get a better owner, they'll probably play better, and they should rise in the ranks. That's not the biggest issue, anyways. The biggest problem is keeping the Arrows and the Wasps from killing each other."
Cassius snorted. "That's the real trick," he agreed.
Everyone knew the Arrows and the Wasps had the worst rivalry in the fucking League. They would foul each other as much as possible when they played. Players always ended up injured, and the fans detested each other. It was worse than watching any Falcons game.
"Definitely." Cal Wood looked grim. "Those two will go at it like a match to kerosene; they do every time. They'll commit a thousand fouls when they have to play each other, you mark my words."
Gilbert nodded. "It is tricky. I don't know that it can be helped, either."
Kenneth asked, "Have you thought about the Tornados?"
"It's true they don't have a rivalry with another team like the Arrows do," Gilbert admitted. "And in that sense, they would be a better team. But the Spencer family won't sell for anything. They've worked really hard and to get the Tornados up the ranks the past fifteen years."
"Well," Roberta said firmly. "If you do eventually buy a team, and if it's the Arrows, I hope it goes well for you, lad. Things are changing, and thank God for it. Just like Kenneth going over Slade's head, straight to Kingsley, to get that Order of Merlin to Cassius." Her eyes bore into his from down the table. "You should have had that medal five years ago, lad. And I expect you for dinner tomorrow night. I won't take no for an answer!"
"Actually," Katie said, smiling at him, "Why don't you start coming 'round for dinner once every couple of weeks? You look like you could use a good meal. We've honestly been worried about you."
Before he could argue, Oliver said stoutly, "And if you come on Sunday, you can play knock-about Quidditch with the rest of us."
"I don't have a decent enough broom for that," Cassius muttered.
"I can loan you one," Gilbert offered.
Oliver's eyes crinkled when he smiled. "What Royle said. And you’re welcome to come too, Royle.”
"Thanks, but I've been out of practice for a long time."
Katie laughed. "That doesn't matter, Gil. For you or Cassius. We just like messing about. Oliver, Angelina, Conall, and Atticus are the only ones who play professionally."
Cassius groaned. "And two of them are Keepers! How does anyone score?"
"It's not exactly easy," Alicia acknowledged. "But we manage a few goals." She grinned at Katie.
"And if you show up, Warrington," Adrian added, "Then you and I can fly together like we used to."
Well, Cassius thought. There was something to be said for flying with Adrian again. He knew Adrian's style, and Adrian knew his.
"I won't take no for an answer," Roberta repeated, with steel in her voice. "Sunday at noon, Cassius, and don't be late, please. You too, Gilbert."
"She always makes bannocks," Katie added in a loud whisper. "And they're amazing."
Cassius groaned. Well, damn. It looked like he wouldn't be able to get out of it, so he might as well make the best of it and try to have a good time.