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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 28, 2011 0:30:24 GMT -5
“Not you, brawd bach. Not my children, or our parents. And you know muggles won’t stand a chance against Her. Almost since she killed Lloyd--”
Theo raised in concern as Jack's hand darted to his temple. He offered a steadying hand and watched over him carefully with a silent prayer. Heaven help them if this was a precursor to yet another attack on Jack's mind. Neither of them were strong enough to deal with it and this time someone was likely to get hurt.
Bowre swallowed heavily as Jack struggled to say the name of his predecessor. After all this time, his brother could not bring himself to utter it, as though to do so was to be slain as well. Jack immortalized Lloyd - cherished him as mentor and friend. When Lloyd was murdered, a part of Jack seemed to die too and the pain of that loss capitalized on moments of emotional rawness.
“I have been a traitor, Theo. Still, the curse has never been so weak, but I am not fool enough to think it gone.”
"You are not a traitor. Jack, I know you and you are not-"
Jack seemed unwilling to listen. His hands tightened their grip.
“Promise me brawd, to take care of our family. I would prefer for you to take a Vow. Promise me. Don't concern yourself about me. Focus on the others."
"I made a vow to our family the day Mum and Da' made me a Harkness. I've stood by that vow, I live by that vow and I am not about to dishonour it. We protect those who can't protect themselves and we protect our own. Jack, look in a mirror. You fall in to both those categories. I swear on my life that I will take care of our family, but I can see to that while I'm watching over you. You can't stay awake forever. You can't run. You can't...you can't take care of yourself. If you leave, you'll gut the heart out of all of us and there will be nothing left to save. Please. Please, Jackie. Let's figure this out together. Mum didn't raise no dumb bauys." A slight and tired smile tugged at Theo's mouth as he warmly cupped his hand behind Jack's head and pulled his brother in close. Mosrael might have the benefit of a curse, but the brothers Harkness had the might of brotherhood.
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Aug 28, 2011 23:14:48 GMT -5
"Please. Please, Jackie. Let's figure this out together. Mum didn't raise no dumb bauys."
Jack laughed, his face lighting with a joy that had been long missing. Chuckling, he lay his forehead against Theo’s. They were family. Blood may be thicker than water, but nothing was stronger than family. Family was so much more than a mere word to the Harknesses. It was hard work and honesty, love and the courage to love, loyalty and faith. All instilled with love and care by the two most wonderful people any of them would ever know. Jean and Ralph Harkness were heroes to their kids. They were the heart and soul of the family.
“No, Mum didn’t raise no dumb bauys.” He agreed, pulling back. He picked up his wand from where it lay on the tray next to the teapot. He flexed the wood in his hands, his eyes on Theo’s as the wood warmed to his touch.
“You have a choice, Theodore.” He spoke finally, his words heavy, his tone serious. “You can continue to fight me on this, or you can give me an Unbreakable Vow that you will take care of my kids.” He paused to let the words sink in. “You won’t win on the first, bauy. And then you’ll lose on the second as well.” His eyes were tormented as he thought of his kids. He needed to know they were protected.
“Please, Theos. I need to know they’ll be ok.”
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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 28, 2011 23:34:50 GMT -5
"Then let me take an Unbreakable Vow on both. The kids will be protected, and the kids will have their father to go home at night." Theo reached for Jack's hand, holding it firmly and with conviction. "You know how much I love them. I would die before a hand befell their heads. But as I make this promise to you I will confess that I've made a similar oath to Annie. She was so worried about you. She made me swear..."
Theo brought himself closer to Jack, nodding encouragingly at his wand.
"I'm going to find you, Jack, and I'm bringing you home. So let's save this train wreck before it reaches the station, hey?"
Bowre clenched his jaw, waiting for the warmth of the Unbreakable Vow to enwrap their hands. He didn't have to wait for the prompts; he'd already made them a thousand times over in his head.
Will you protect my kids?
I will.
Will you protect my dad?
I will.
Will you save this family?
I will.
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Aug 29, 2011 20:35:21 GMT -5
"Then let me take an Unbreakable Vow on both. The kids will be protected, and the kids will have their father to go home at night."
“You’re stubborn.” Jack conceded, looking to the desk, where Salt still stood. He’d rarely seen the man sit. Did he ever relax? Jack had worked with him for years and hadn’t seen any sign of it. Salt moved forward, drawing his wand.
Jack clasped his brother’s hand in his own, staring into blue eyes as Salt started the spell. “I’m sorry.” He whispered just before the spell took affect, spellfire warming their hands as it twined around them. Jack took a deep breath. It was a hard thing to ask, that his brother risk his life in protection. The problem with Theo was he didn’t think where he leapt. His over-protective nature could get him killed if he went for the wrong person. Or if he tried to protect the wrong person.
He knelt to come to a better eye-level with his sitting brother.
"Will you protect my children?”
I will.
“Will you protect yourself?” He tightened his grip before Theodore could protest. He wouldn’t accept any other terms.
I will.
“Will you help our family survive in the aftermath?” Will you save this family?
I will.
As the fire died away he drew his hand away, standing and moving away to the window. His headache started to recede as the curse spread its dark tendrils into his mind, soothing. It was still weak, but it was regaining its seat. He wouldn’t be able to speak freely much longer.
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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 29, 2011 21:57:53 GMT -5
Theo looked down at his hand as Jack retreated towards the window, watching it carefully as though the warmth that still lingered there had substance. Salt was taking his time to straighten papers upon the Minister's desk and a weighted silence filled the room. It was the sound of anticipation: the unsettling hum of events that had not yet come to pass. Theo felt them on the horizon. He felt their fate.
Theo quietly rose and excused himself as he exited the study.
"I'm going to place a call. I'll be just outside the door." The beater grabbed his wand from the belongings he stowed inside the entrance and left Salt and his brother to make their final preparations in private. The short hallway that connected Jack's study to a second-floor balcony seemed unusually long this evening; Theo found his pace quickening to reach its terminus and his grip on the light-weight driftwood wand in his hand was approaching a break point. The breeze of an impending summer storm reached him before the billowing curtains did.
"Expecto patronum," Theo whispered hoarsely, conjuring an eerie blue will-o'-wisp that quickly turned in to a grey tabby cat. "Tom, please take Jack's children to mom's and dad's. I beg your secrecy, discretion and trust. I have Jack but we need time." Tom would have questions. Theo first met the retired hitwizard as an infant, when he was rescued by the man and his to-be-adoptive-father in Ireland. Since then, Tom had been a staple in their lives and a pub-buddy for Ralph. He gave Reckony Pike a job at the Three Broomsticks, which he still partly owned, and was an immense resource when the Harknesses were faced with legal matters. Theo trusted Tom as though he were one of their own and he knew the amiable lawman would be the Harkness children's best chance for getting to the estate quickly, and safely. Boon drew in a deep breath as his patronus raced across the sky.
"Here we go."
* * * * * * * * * *
Theo returned to Jack's study in jeans and a grey Nimbus tee, casting his brother an encouraging look as he grabbed only the items he'd need from his bag.
"Jack, do you know where she is? I was thinking we'd fly but I'm almost wondering if it wouldn't be better if we stuck to the Muggle side. We're both comfortable with it and I doubt we'd run in to trouble. Mind as well take the advantages we have."
"I've called upon Tom. He'll be here within the hour. I think we should leave soon after."
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Aug 29, 2011 23:01:29 GMT -5
“Dad?” Annie stood in the doorway, pale except for a fantastically red nose. She sniffed, blinking her eyes blearily in the light. “Can I have some more crackers?”
Jack smiled, crossing the den in big steps, he scooped up his youngest daughter. Annie always had the sensitive stomach whenever the kids were sick. It was usually a minor miracle if she could keep crackers and ginger ale down. By contrast, a healthy Annie had an iron stomach.
She didn’t weigh much, and he soaked in the feeling of her hot body snug against his chest. She had fallen into a doze by the time he made it back into her room. Replacing the sweaty sheets, he lay her down, pulling her sheet and comforter under her chin the way she liked best. He smoothed her sweaty hair from her face, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
“Love you, Annie.” He said softly, taking the plate of crackers from their house elf. He lay them on her bedstand and left the room, closing it behind him as he left. A soft knock on Georgie’s door yielded only snores. He kissed his son goodbye, rescuing the half-eaten sandwich from the covers and placing it on the plate on the bedside table. George always ate when he was sick. His appetite and his sleepiness seemed to compete.
"Jack, do you know where she is? I was thinking we'd fly but I'm almost wondering if it wouldn't be better if we stuck to the Muggle side. We're both comfortable with it and I doubt we'd run in to trouble. Mind as well take the advantages we have."
"I've called upon Tom. He'll be here within the hour. I think we should leave soon after."
Jack entered the den again to see Theo preparing to leave. “We?” He asked, his smile falling away. He crossed his arms and gave his best older-brother look to his larger sibling. “There isn’t a we, Theo. Protect the kids. Protect yourself. Protect the rest of the family. In that order. Nothing about me.”
"I'm not letting you near Her."
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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 29, 2011 23:26:18 GMT -5
"You're not letting me near her? Just what do you think I'm capable of? Hey, Jack? She's a 6 foot cyclone of damnation and misery and I play sports for a living. Look, I'm not getting in to this again with you. Pack your things. We're leaving." Theo stood with his bag, finding a cross-armed Jack blocking his immediate space.
"You don't order me. I made my vow to you and I'm taking care of things. Right now, I need you to listen to me because I know that sooner or later I'm not going to be talking to my brother anymore. Got it? She's going to be riding you and I'd rather us be as far away from the kids as possible. Someone has to be your leash, bauy. It mind as well be someone you trust. Now get your stuff together."
Theo nudged his way past Jack, nodding at Salt to join him at the desk.
"I'll try to keep you in the loop as much as I can. Look, if something happens to us, I need you to go to mum and dad. Explain everything. They'll know how to handle it." Bowre paused, his head hanging for a moment between the arms he braced upon the desk's surface. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you've done to help Jack, Travert. You..." Theo stood up straight, tightening his jaw and offering the assistant a firm handshake. "Thank you. For everything. I will personally see to it that you're taken care of. I know what you've risked for our family."
"Jack...It's time."
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Aug 29, 2011 23:38:28 GMT -5
"You're not letting me near her? Just what do you think I'm capable of? Hey, Jack? She's a 6 foot cyclone of damnation and misery and I play sports for a living. Look, I'm not getting in to this again with you. Pack your things. We're leaving."
“I’m not protecting Her!” He voice rose as he stayed put, his fear creeping into his voice. “Theo, this is not a discussion.” He attempted to speak more rationally. “I’m trying to protect you. Personally I couldn’t give a--” his next few words were of the rather explicit Welsh variety. “-- about Mos-” He stiffened, staggering back a step, holding his head. His teeth ground.
"Thank you. For everything. I will personally see to it that you're taken care of. I know what you've risked for our family."
“They are in good hands, Mr Bowre.” The old gentleman gave Theo a firm shake.
"Jack...It's time."
Jack shook his head to clear it, the pain fading. The curse was certainly back and strong as ever. “No, Theo. I told you. Anything to protect my family.” He spun on his heel and disappeared.
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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 29, 2011 23:55:57 GMT -5
"Jack...JACK! Dammit!" Theo's hold on Salt grew tighter and he soon found himself pulling the older man to him. "Travert, where did he go? WHERE DID JACK GO?" Calcite blue eyes bore in to the stately gentleman, demanding, pleading for information as to his brother's whereabouts. "In all this time, you can't tell me that she didn't slip up with him, even once? Surely he said or did something that would give you a clue. I need to know now! Yesterday now!"
Theo threw his duffle bag and broom behind Jack's desk, taking only his wand and a hooded sweatshirt with him.
"Don't leave his fate to that woman, Travert. I implore you to tell me everything you know. Don't let him die by her hand or in the jaws of those wolves. He's being hunted. This is it. This is the only chance I have to save him. You have five seconds to tell me what intelligence you have."
The beater stood in the centre of the room, his stance suggesting his leave at any moment.
"Please. Help me."
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Post by Minister Jack Harkness on Aug 30, 2011 22:17:54 GMT -5
The crack resounded in the room as Jack Disapparated. Travert’s eyes widened with dismay before his expression devolved into one of pain as Theo tightened his grip. He grimaced, pulling his arm free from the younger man. “Please, Mr Bowre. There is no need for hysterics.”
The stately old gentleman paced around the desk, crossing to the bookshelf that covered floor to ceiling. A lifetime of collecting books. Along with his worn classics; children’s stories were tucked among fatter, historical tomes. Salt trailed a finger along the slim sliver of wood that was exposed, bringing back dust that lined his finger with a sniff of disdain. Jack had never liked housework.
“You’re thinking selfishly, Theodore.” It was the first time Salt had ever addressed the man by his given name, and it was meant to catch the boy’s attention. “You want to save Jack from everything and anything.” He held up a staying hand without turning to look at Theo. “The trouble is, Jack’s an adult. He’s asked you to keep his children safe. Think about that, Theodore.”
“You can’t save everyone, though you may lose everything and everyone if you try. Your brother places, has always placed, a special trust in you. Do you really want to betray that. Betray him, for your own selfish wants?”
His fingers had been moving across the book spines as he spoke. Eventually he found what he looked for, extracting the slim handbound journal from between two large books that threatened to engulf it. He stood and stared at it for a time before he turned to Theo, the book held safe in his wrinkled hands.
“I am not going to give you advice, Mr Bowre, save this thought: Jack trusts you with the most precious things to him in this entire world. How will he feel if you show up? What will you tell him?”
He held out the journal, nodding politely as he left the room. “Please excuse me. I need to Floo Ryan and Kendra.”
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Post by Theo Bowre on Aug 31, 2011 0:29:02 GMT -5
"Don't belittle me, Salt. You might know Jack, but you most certainly don't know me. Don't pretend to get my intentions or my capabilities. Think me selfish if you wish, but ask yourself this: what reason does a 70-year-old retiree have to hang around the Minister of Magic in his home? You know he's cursed. You know he's on a downward spiral and bound to take everyone with him and yet you're here, you're at his office, you're everywhere. I wonder what your intentions are. What do you owe him?"
Theo carefully took the journal from Salt's hands, his nerves still irked from the assistant's insinuations. Was he being selfish? Would he be better off to let Jack die? It was entirely possible that his beloved brother was beyond saving and that Mosrael would snuff out his life, either through a curse-induced slavery or a suicide-mission against an enraged auror. Jack's death would destroy the family but Theo's absence would put more than a brother at risk. Suppose Mosrael turned her attention on the kids...would she stoop so low?
Where's your head at, bauy. They'll never forgive you. You'll never forgive you. He's your brother.
Boon barely looked up as Travert started for the door.
“Please excuse me. I need to Floo Ryan and Kendra.”
"No need to bother yourself any further. I've already taken care of them. Good evening, Salt. Please see yourself out."
Upon the closing of the study door, Theo tossed Jack's journal on the desk and began to flip through the parchment pages. His mind had little opportunity to negotiate what he was seeing. Theo had been unsettled since his earlier meeting with Curse Kameren and his arrival in the apartment was met with brutal honesty and violence. His conscience was at war and the words of both Jack and Salt left him doubting his own course of action. Theo's hand suddenly fell on to a page that was about to turn over, the unusual image of a hand-drawn landscape looking out of place amongst hastily scribbled text about humanity and Jack's vision for society.
Crumbled ruins were etched within ragged hills. Moss hung lazily from broken towers. Theo would have thought the drawing an absent doodle, were it not for black and empty eyes looking out a paneless window. Theo was all too familiar with them and with their owner.
Placing a paperweight on the journal's spine, Bowre scoured the rest of Jack's study for any clues that might shed light on the location of the ruin's whereabouts. He found nothing but books and half-written papers, archived reports and the odd Muggle artifact that Jack was known to collect on the side. For an impeccably neat man, he had his quirks, like bringing home trinkets from his weekly travels. More often than not, he gave these to the kids. Theo turned back to the desk, paying more particular attention to the bronze, hand-made orb he had used to keep his place in the book. He knew it looked familiar and suddenly remembered it from his visit to Jack's office at the Ministry. Georgie had made it for his dad. He was looking in the wrong place.
The beater crossed the study in three quick steps, throwing open the door and heading upstairs to where Annie and George still slept. Tom had yet to retrieve them and Theo knew he had little time before the old hitwizard made an appearance and asked questions he was not prepared to answer. No. Theo had no intention of being there when Tom showed up. He'd disappear the moment the old family friend took a step upon the property. Theo reached Annie's room first. Her soft wheezing clenched at his heart.
Shelves. Books. Dolls. Pictures. Bertie Bots. Tarot Deck. Pink... Theo didn't know what he was expecting; it was exactly as every young girl's room should be. Content with his surveillance, Boon gently kissed Annie upon the forehead and silently left for George's room. His presence was met by the soft bluish glow of an enchanted "nightlight." He stepped closer to the bookshelves that lined the walls...
Books. Telescope. Spider. Cards. Bertie Bots. More Bertie Bots. Snitch..Snowglobe...
Bowre approached the shelf, his large hand carefully reaching for the glass orb that sat upon a golden platform. Intricately-painted mountains sat immersed in the water, an old castle nestled carefully within its valleys. Generations later, the castle walls might crumble. Moss might find a home amongst the stone. It wasn't only familiar: it was a match of past and present, of time that was unkind. And beneath the picturesque landscape read the script SCOTLAND.
"Jackie, you old romantic."
Theo heard a distant knock at the front entrance, followed by the fluttering footsteps of the Harkness house elf. The familiar tone of Tom's voice reached his ear. He turned for Georgie and disappeared.
[END OF THREAD.]
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