1
Benji spoke first, excited and eager for details. Bless him, the sweet boy. Benji could always be counted on to ask the most pointed questions, his filter not yet developed (if it ever would be). Nabih handled him and she smiled at the boy. "We'll have to get you a proper suit. You and I will go to London in the next few weeks to get you measured and fitted." It would be good to spend one-on-one time with Benji. Their hours in the library only went so far, but he had grown on her, rapidly. They'd make a day of it.
Rosalie's eyes were on her though, as well as that sharp tone, that while unfamiliar coming from her little cousin, was not at all unfamiliar overall. Julia didn't falter as she sat quietly, turning her light brown eyes to Rosalie's bright blue. She felt Nabih's hand on her leg, and Julia tipped her chin to the side slightly. Normally, Julia would have opted to hold the conversation for a more private setting, but if Rosie wanted to behave as a Laurence, here and now, she would be treated as one. "James will know before the end of the week, although he is aware of our relationship," Julia said softly but firmly, her eyes never moving from Rosie's. "As for your tone, Rosalie, you will remember your place in this family and respect it." Her voice wasn't cold or hard, merely immoveable and Julia's eyes flicked briefly in Nabih's direction indicating what the girl needed to do next.
Julia knew Rosalie was still reeling from all the changes that had happened recently in the family - as was she. To boot, the girl had been pushing back and arguing when Julia tried to explain the importance of blood merits and appropriate relationships. Rosalie was not as easily reeled in as Julia had been as a girl, and her rebelliousness in these past few months had been unsettling. The woman believed wholeheartedly Rosie needed the freedom to explore and enjoy herself before the inevitable crackdown came, but now she was wondering if it needed to happen sooner than later.
"We'll talk little dove," Julia said, her voice softer now and Rosalie finally dropped her eyes and nodded.
Nael was panicking. It was plain all over his face and within his voice. Nabih was handling it and as he spoke, Julia felt her heart warm watching the other two. Benji immediately hung his arm over Nael's shoulder and Rosalie, to her surprise, openly took Nael's hand in hers, where everyone could easily see. Her mind flicked back to Nabih's comment outside the restaurant, but she brushed it away. They were friends, offering comfort to one another.
Something stirred in Julia's chest watching Nael's reaction and her hand went to Nabih's on her leg. No, neither Nael or Benji would be moving to Damascus, to be under the harsh thumb of Sarmad Al-Azma, as Nabih said. Julia would do everything in her power to ensure that. Especially seeing Nael now, the fear etched all over his face. Once Julia was an Azma, that man would never touch her boy again.
"Nothing will change for any of you as of right now. All that matters is that we will be one family after this wedding. You got some time to get used to it now."
"This is a good thing," Julia said gently but with optimism lacing her voice. "It's a big change in the family, but not in the way life will continue for now. The important thing is that we come together and recognize that we are a family. And that means this unit comes first, before all others." For Rosalie it would be different of course than it was for the boys. She was not Julia's daughter, but her cousin and someone Julia was responsible for while at the school.
Still, she deserved to know at the same time as Nael and Benji, all things considered and how this would affect all of their relationships going forward. She looked at Nael and gave him a gentle look. "I promise you Nael, this is going to be okay." She wouldn't do anything that would put him in a worse position than he was now.
2
She had some nerve calling him cranky and kissing him with the same breath. Nabih wasn't even all that cranky today. His mind was just occupied with all the things that needed to be done. Talks to be had. People to convince that this match was the right one. Beneficial for everyone. The teenagers would know eventually, when all things were settled. He was only doing this now because Julia wanted to, or felt the need to.
"Yes, you're right. Benji could use some pointers. He is as subtle as a truck." And his mind was full of girls. Somehow Nabih doubted that Benji wad actually deep into relationships or doing any actual kissing or anything beyond that, but it was probably better to talk to him rather sooner than later. Wasn't that going to be delightful?
So Rosalie was dating one of the McCormicks. Interesting choice for a Laurence, but Nabih didn't comment. As long as Nael and Rosalie weren't dating, it was all okay for him. He shook his head at her question about the two of them. It just seemed they were close and he had heard a story about the last Quidditch game. Something he had not seen due to the terrible weather conditions. If Julia had not heard about it, then that was alright too.
As he sat and commented on Benji's appearance, Nabih did feel the light taps against his leg. The message was clear. She was trying to make him relax and not be so serious about Benji looking the way he did. She didn't know though, that this was how the young Hufflepuff learned. Letting him get away with stuff did not help at all. For now Nabih would drop it though. This was just a normal restaurant after all.
Everyone ordered and Julia took his cue to tell the children the news. She didn't really sugarcoat it, but went straight for the facts. Relationship, marriage, this summer. Nabih drank some of his water and observed each child across from him.
Benji, being excited about it, started asking questions. One Nabih could have really done without. Calling him a boyfriend was the strangest thing out of the boy's mouth. It was best ignored. "The wedding will take place in Damascus and yes, of course you do get to come." It was about time Benji met the family and for the family to meet Nabih’s bonus child as surprising as that was going to be for everyone.
Rosalie's expression was completely different to Benji's. Her usually soft and sweet face became cold and distant, which surprised Nabih. The girl did not look at him at all, but Julia and the way she talked to the woman made him narrow his eyes in disapproval. It was perhaps good she was not addressing him like this, because the disrespect alone would have earned her a swift punishment from him. Even in a restaurant.
Nabih reached for Julia’s leg under the table and just rested his hand there. He knew she would handle this, but he just wanted to make sure she stayed calm doing it. Rosalie was provoking her on purpose and Nabih knew better than to meddle between the cousins.
Instead he looked at Nael, who had completely sunk into the bench, pale and from what he could see, a panicked look in his eyes. The boy was not thinking of the wedding. He was thinking of what came after. What it actually meant for them all. "Nael," he started, a bit more soft than he usually talked. "Look at me." The boy hesitated but then raised his head with a whispered plead to wait with the wedding. Their eyes locked and Nabih saw the fear in Nael's eyes, the panic, the feelings that the boy was trying so hard to push down all the time. "You and Benji will stay at Hogwarts, I promise. This does not mean bad things, Nael." It was clear that Nael wasn't able to fully understand everything now. And Rosie probably didn't either.
"I know it seems fast, but Julia and I agreed on this, and we wanted to let you know first, before hearing about this through rumors." A lot of those were going around school and Nabih still had enough from the one about him and Karina.
The food arrived and everyone fell silent for a minute, until the waiter disappeared again. "Nothing will change for any of you as of right now. All that matters is that we will be one family after this wedding. You got some time to get used to it now." His eyes fell on Rosalie for a moment and then on the two boys. "It will be okay."
3
Turned out it could get a lot more awkward than just sitting at this table together. Like his father reprimanding Benji right away and Benji being his usual Benji-self. Etiquette classes were a joke, but not to grown ups. Obviously. Otherwise they would not hold them in the first place. Nabih had made sure Nael understood the rules and do's and don't's in a social setting. Appearances mattered, especially in pureblood circles. Now this dinner was not a stiff social event, but apparently appearances still mattered.
To avoid any further comment from Nabih, Nael kicked Benji once under the table as the boy ordered his food, adding one thing to the next. That was not how this was done either. Benji understood his well meant kick and stopped ordering more food. Nael quickly picked something from the menu that sounded okay. Some pasta dish and a soda.
Rosie's hand felt warm in his and he had every intention of just holding it for a while, until he felt more at ease with the situation. Rosie did not though. When she pulled her hand away and didn't even look at him, Nael pulled his hands back into his lap and just sat there silent. Waiting for the speech. Maybe she was scared that someone would notice, or maybe she just did want to. It was okay.
Nael glanced from Julia to Nabih and back. Yes, they were seeing each other. This was not news to him. As strange as it was, he had seen them together, had seen how Nabih could smile when he actually wanted to. Nael had decided it was none of his business. They could do whatever they wanted.
"...married."
Color drained from his face as he stared first at Julia and then at Nabih. This could not be true. This meant...Nael's thoughts started racing and there was this sick feeling in his stomach. His first instinct was to get up and run away, but he was sandwiched between the other two, who had their very own reactions to this news.
Benji seemed excited, happy, asking questions as to when and where. Rosalie seemed upset and the tone she spoke with to Julia, was not something Nael had heard from her before. It was never a good idea to talk like this to adults. The sick feeling grew bigger as his eyes widened in anticipation. Surely neither Julia nor Nabih would allow being spoken to like that.
This summer
It was getting worse now and Nael felt his hands tremble under the table. He felt Julia’s eyes on him, but he couldn’t get himself to look at her, or his father. "We'll move to Damascus then? To Jaddi?" His voice was not more than a whisper. "Please Baba...can't this wait?" Nael knew the answer to this already and it did not help with the rising panic inside of him.
No more Hogwarts. No more friends.
Just fear and pain.
4
He forgot sometimes, that the little ones could be a flurry of limbs and energy. Even as a child, Eugene had been a quiet one, and Harmon had not been that much different. With Cephas and Pretoria though, they only seemed to have picked up on energy.
Then again, there was some Florence genetics running wild in here somewhere.
Quickly, she was on his chair, and he was already pushing away some of the things perched on his desk that he needed to keep out of her range.
"Careful with that one," he said, gently taking the quill from her - while it was less likely that she might hurt herself on it, he did not want to risk any ink spill. Besides, he intended to use it for making some quick notes and signing this paper.
“Patrick looks bored, papa."
"Maybe you should entertain him."
He looked down at her, noted the skepticism. So different from the approach of her brothers. He would have thought that she got used to them by now, considering how many there were of them, spread around the castle. And they weren't about to disappear anytime soon, that was for sure.
"I'm signing a a paper for the Wizengamot," he explained patiently, answering her first question. Finding a small key from his pocket, he opened a drawer of his desk to shuffle through the filed documents in there. "Do you remember what the Wizengamot is, Pretty?"
5
Halestrom was walking next to him, hurrying along the Ministry corridor. Nabih only slowed down a little bit, so the man could catch his breath and talk. "There’s just nothing to go on, Mr. Al-Azma. There is no mention of parents or their origin anywhere in her file or the orphanage directory. They could be muggles for all we know." Nabih shook his head in disagreement. Eira North parents were not muggles. She had shown him the newspaper clip she'd found. Of course, he didn't really know for sure, but something told him that her parents were magical. If they were still alive that was.
"You have contacts with the French and German ministries. Use them." Nabih had no patience for incompetence and while Halestrom was usually doing his work well, this was just not satisfactory at all. "Is that all?" he asked the social worker, who probably regretted his life choices by now. They came to a halt at one of the desks and Nabih heard Halestrom swallow hard. He turned looking at the man inquisitively.
"There's been a request for your son's file." Halestrom's voice had gone a bit quiet, hesitant even, as if he was scared of what Nabih would do with that information. "Who?" Is all Nabih asked, but Halestrom shook his head quickly. "I do not know. I caught it by chance and shut it down right away, Sir." Nabih's brows furrowed, while his thoughts started racing, checking who would be bold enough to try and look into Nael.
A woman stood at the next desk, her voice heavily accented and Nabih glanced over. The man behind the desk seemed to be in no rush to help her. He was outright disrespectful and dismissive towards the request the woman made. People here had the stangest work ethic, really.
Turning once more to Halestrom, the annoyance was written all over his face. "All further requests are to be denied, unless the person identifies themselves to me. His file is closed and not open for review. Are we clear?" Halestrom nodded quickly, muttered something under his breath and took his leave.
Nabih took the last few steps towards the desk with the newspaper clerk. "I need the Cuddrun file. Kate, not Benji. Now." Newspaper guy glanced at him over his paper, and upon recognizing him, quickly put it down. Nabih's voice was cold and annoyed. The amount of shit he had to deal with in this Ministry just didn't ever end.
Finally he turned to the lady, as the man got up and actually tried to do his job. She was blonde and quite beautiful, and she somehow looked familiar to him. Nabih was sure he had never met this woman in his life before though. It was something he was good at. Names and faces. And this one came up blank. Still, there was something familiar about her.
The clerk came back and handed him the file without a word. Nabih's eyes flicked from the woman back to the clerk. "So you do know how to do your job. Wonderful. Now get the lady what she asked for. Start with the lists of 4th and 5th year girls attending Hogwarts this term." Unbelievable.
"Russia, you said. What makes you think your niece is here?" Nabih had opened Kate's file and went through the most recent pages covering her medical treatments. While he didn't look at the blonde woman, it was clear that he was talking to her though.
6
Monday, April 8th 2:43pm Her thin high heels dully clacked over the carpeted hallway, her feet swiftly carrying her through the confusion that was this ministry building. People swept past her, left and right. Young witches and wizards with stressed and overworked expressions, eager to please and worried to disappoint. Older, higher ranking members --apparent by their strutting walks, their boastful faces, the lack of hurry-- calling instructions to overwhelmed looking interns, on their way to more important dealings. Visitors like herself, on the desperate lookout for the right office or desk, for someone that felt the slightest bit of responsibility to help. The visitors' badge clipped to her blouse swung back and forth as Nadežda made her way through the crowds, determination defining her every step. She would give this one chance, and one chance only. Too many years had passed in which they had searched and searched, one disappointment following the other, leaving them more broken and disheartened each time they had run into a dead end yet again. After her family and Nadežda herself had exhausted each and every clue and trace, they had finally decided to give up, to let it rest and to try and forget. They never had, of course. The image of a lost child, of a lost granddaughter and niece, had persisted in all of their minds, none of them stronger than her fathers. It had broken something in him, had made him colder and more distant, losing not one but two family members in one night. His youngest son, lost to the fruitless imaginations of naivete and romance, taking with him his wife, a simple minded girl, smitten with her handsome husband's ideas and willing to do it all for him. To run away and never come back, taking with them their unborn child, never to be seen again. Nadežda hadn't told anyone about her desperate plan. She hadn't thought of it before arriving in the UK herself. The idea had only manifested itself once she had settled down in her hotel, had already arranged for various meetings and attended some of them. It had started out slow in the beginning and had rapidly formed into a solid step by step plan over the course of barely a week. And now she found herself here. The Ministry of Magic in London, Department of Magical Social Affairs, instinct driving her every action. She stopped at a help desk, her blue eyes falling onto the bored looking worker behind it, half hidden behind a newspaper and ignoring her entirely. Nadežda cleared her throat deliberately. "Good afternoon. I am here in search for a young girl, my niece, about fifteen years old, most likely blonde hair. She was kidnapped from Russia and I have reason to believe she was brought here to the UK. Whom may I speak to?" The worker slowly lowered the newspaper, scepticism plainly written over his face. Nadežda kept her eyes firmly trained on the man, unfalteringly, piercingly. Shaking his paper to stand upright again, the man only clicked his tongue, returning his attention to whatever he had been reading. "Can't help you there, ma'am." His head disappeared once more behind rustling paper. "Maybe try the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, second floor. They deal with criminal stuff like that." Nadežda didn't move, anger boiling deep in her chest. "It is not recent", she countered, her accent becoming more prominent with her rising impatience. "It was fifteen years ago. I want to see records of birth and school attendances." The man only scoffed. "Fifteen years", he muttered under his breath. "I think your a little late there, lady."
7
« Last post by Will Rose on 02/11/2025 at 02:35 »
"We can look for books,"
Before Will could even begin to spiral into his usual Panicked state, Holly quickly made a suggestion. Will took a moment to ignore the litany of Concerns that entered his mind. He held off on thinking endlessly about what sort of cuisine they would find in each of the very diverse places they would be visiting. And he managed to fight back the ridiculous thoughts of the pair of them collapsing in the middle of the streets of Tokyo because they couldn’t find a place to eat.
“Ah – er – you’re r-r-right, of c-course,’ Will finally responded, looking a little sheepish as he did so. “P-Perhaps we can f-find some g-g-guide books b-before we go…”
It seemed so obvious now. But then, that was how it always seemed once Will actually took a minute to listen to Holly. While Will spent all of his time and energy Worrying about the endless pitfalls, Holly almost effortlessly always managed to think of the most simple solutions. Surely the pair of them could find a shop with guide books for all of the places they would be visiting. After all, it wasn’t as if they were the first two people from Britain to ever visit Japan. Travel guides were typically rife with all sorts of information. It wouldn’t just have samples of the food they could find, but the local customs, accommodations and available transportation. Surely they could find several dozen for all of the regions they would be visiting.
"People who travel a lot write about it so even though we won't learn about food on maps, we can read essays or books on Japanese cuisine. Maybe, if we find someone who loves Unagi, we can look at what else they loved to eat?"
Will thoughtfully brought his hand to his chin and scratched it slightly. Then, his eyes brightened up, “Ah – I hadn’t th-thought of th-th-that! It w-w-would be interesting to s-s-see the p-p-perspective of a tr-traveler.”
Will never turned down the opportunity to read, especially about history. But it was always especially interesting to him to read first primary sources, like letters between friends or manuscripts and diary entries. While he didn’t think that writings about history were typically inaccurate, it was always much more compelling to read things from that moment in time.
"Do you think maybe... you'll write about our adventures? When we're there?"
Will looked up with a Befuddled expression. “M-Me?”
The question had come out of seemingly nowhere. At first Will had assumed Holly was merely asking if he had some sort of journal. It was true that while he was still on his road to recovery, Will had taken up the suggestion to begin writing out his thoughts before he went to bed. They weren’t anything special, just a general summary of the day to help sort out all of the things that swarmed through his mind. He had, of course, planned to continue writing his daily thoughts while in Japan, but he hadn’t thought about a detailed recollection of everything he saw and experienced… And the idea to let other people see it seemed… well, a little past his comfort zone. No… a lot! Not even Holly or Parker had access to his little journal of daily thoughts.
"It could be fun and help someone else who is stuck worrying about food and maps, you know?"
“Ah well – er – “ Will shrunk slightly. “I’m n-n-not sure about th-that… I m-mean – er – who w-would want to r-r-read my r-ramblings?”
8
6 SEPTEMBER 1973 the first thursday of the month
A fish and chips and two pints, at a minimum. A third pint, occasionally. A fourth, only if Roo thought he could swing it with training in the morning. Then they parted ways for a few weeks. What had started as a reprieve from adulthood, an escape from the horrors of responsibility, had become a years-long tradition. A steady, unspoken thing that neither of them had reason to break. Sometimes they went longer without seeing each other—especially so in the years Robbie had been locked away in that Merlin-forsaken Castle (willingly, mind). Sometimes their get-togethers were more frequent. Sometimes others joined them, but most of the time they were alone. Regardless, on Thursdays, after Robbie’s shift, the two of them could be found sitting at the bar in The Spotted Owl. Today in particular brought an evening that was a little less trying on the senses; there was a distinct lack of children underfoot in Diagon, in London, in perhaps all of the United Kingdom, that signaled the start of term at last. The bartender rounded on them with their orders. “I don’t know how you did it,” he said, lifting his glass to make just enough room. “But I’m glad to have you out of prison.” Let the bartender assume he meant Azkaban.
9
“Oh, that.”
Yes, that. The potion he had spent two weeks promising his exhausting mother he would pick up. The potion she was solely responsible for destroying despite her unsubtle attempts to shift the blame to the both of them (to him, really). He could see it by the look on her face: the stupid bird had dug her heels in and would not be budging. It was the thought of his wasted effort—never mind the numbness that was seeping through the toes of his right shoe—that kept the ember of his temper lit.
“Can’t you cast a spell and make it as good as new?”
“On a potion?”
He said it with derision, as he did most things, but frankly, he didn’t have a bloody clue whether he could Reparo his mother’s potions. They tended to be delicate, the ingredients evaporating in open air within seconds. Though he couldn’t have tried even if he wanted to; he didn’t have his wand on him.
“Not that I should know of any of your sort staying this side of the lake when Hogwarts is in season.”
Oh.
She wasn’t wearing robes, he finally realized. Though neither was he. He had never seen her face before. That was the more pressing fact.
A beat. A blink.
“You’re not at Hogwarts.”
And this time, Roo looked at her—really looked at her. From her hair, to the curve of her jaw, to the arms she had crossed against herself. For a lad who wandered in and out of Hogsmeade year round, having an unknown blonde—an unknown, fit blonde—scurry out from the undergrowth was akin to stumbling on a new, undiscovered species of owl.
It was his to claim.
“Next time lead with that,” he muttered, as, without further fanfare, he bent to scoop the bag. “You can’t fix a potion once it's been spilt. Most normal people would offer to replace it, but it’s fine.”
The mangled corpse of his manners hung to life in that moment. It urged him, with its dying breath, not to say what he wanted to say, which was, you a Squib? That felt too obvious. So, instead, he angled the dripping bag away from his trousers, and asked, “You from Hogsmeade?”
10
The group headed into the restaurant and Rosalie waited to ensure that Nael sat between her and Benji. It wasn't that she disliked Benji now - in fact she was finding him rather amusing at times. But he was still annoying as hell, and she didn't want him trying to eat off her plate. She had seen him do that to others a time or two and if he tried it with her, she'd stab his thieving hand with her fork.
She tried not to smile too widely when Professor Al-Azma immediately scolded Benji over etiquette classes, and she knew why. Benji's collar was wrinkled and his hair was a wild mess. He smelled clean at least, but it was obvious no one had ever showed him how to present himself properly. Maybe, if Rosalie was feeling generous one of these days, she'd take the time to go over things with him. Though she rolled her eyes when Benji called the etiquette classes a joke, she had to agree with him. Rosalie had found the classes completely unhelpful.
After Benji ordered his feast, Rosalie ordered her meal and suddenly felt a warm hand against her own. She felt her stomach flop over on itself as Nael's fingers interlocked with her own, and her eyes flitted back and forth quickly between the two adults. Was he crazy? What if they noticed? What if Benji noticed and said something? Rosie felt her cheeks flush momentarily as Professor Al-Azma began talking and she squeezed Nael's hand slightly but then pulled hers away. She sat up straight in her chair and didn't meet Nael's eyes, instead choosing to focus on Julia.
"And recently, we have decided we're going to be getting married."
Rosalie sat expressionless, save for the pink tinge still on her cheeks, and she slowly moved her eyes from Julia's face to Professor Al-Azma's, watching his expression carefully. Married? Suddenly, Rosalie felt a strange sense of worry come over her that she didn't normally feel when it came to Julia. If Julia got married, this meant more changes in her family when there had already been so many in the recent months.
Rosalie didn't share Benji's sense of excitement immediately and she moved her eyes back to Julia's as her blue eyes hardened and narrowed slightly. Benji was asking a million questions, but Rosalie was going to be heard. Julia couldn't just go do things like this without permission. She couldn't waltz about marrying men and changing Rosalie's family again.
"Where's the wedding going to be? Do I get to come?"
"Does the family know?" Rosalie demanded in a voice she rarely, if ever used, sounding every bit a Laurence as she ever had. Her eyes took on a new coldness, and she kept them trained on Julia, not looking at the man seated next to her. "You've talked to James?" She took on a haughty expression, one very uncharacteristic of her. She shook her head slightly, "You can't do this Julia. Not without his permission. You know that."
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