Jack [Open]

[Theo Bowre]

Theo waited patiently for what seemed like an eternity to grab the Executive Assistant's attention. She was a petite but severe woman and although Theo was absolutely certain she had seen him enter, she made no point of either acknowledging his presence or asking if she could be of assistance. Theo was not the type to pull the "family" card, but he almost considered it when the numbered ticket he eventually took for service was up around the 150 mark.

No wonder Jack never gets back to you.

Theo looked around the office to scope out an empty chair, seeing only one in the far corner. He was quick to offer it to a young witch who had just entered the anteroom and went so far as to give her his ticket number so that she would have no reason to rise. She acknowledged the gesture gratefully and he went back to the wicket. Ticket 153. He considered whether his brother really saw so many people in one day as he found a berth along the wall.

Realizing he had several hours worth of waiting, Theo decided to busy himself with work. He pulled out his journal: there were 3 children he would visit this week and with any luck he would be able to bring all of them home. One was a foster witch who had lived in 4 houses prior, the other two were wizard twins. Sad cases and all of them ready to enter Hogwarts first year. At least he had the summer to get them settled.

[Minister Jack Harkness]

“No, no, I’ve told Albert several times.” Jack strode down the hallway, waving away the man who followed him. His assistant trailed, taking notes. “He’s quite insistent, wants to meet with you.” Travert Salt said, giving the interloper an annoyed look. “He’s got some newfangled device he swears will kill the demons.” The thin, nervous wizard persisted, following the minister and darting around Salt, always popping up in any open space, usually at the minister’s elbow, and once right in his face, to press his point home.

“That’s what he said last time.” Jack pointed out, narrowly avoiding colliding with the tall shopkeeper. “And the time before that, but all he managed to do was blow up part of the Research Library--”

“But Minister! Those squibs are causing quite a ruckus, they’re detrimental to the business of the Alley and, and,” The storekeeper seemed to be at a lack for words as he fished. “and its not like they’re real people, anyways, practically muggles if you ask me.” the whine in the man’s voice and the look on his face quite portrayed his thoughts on muggles. “Just class them as second citizens already!” The man persisted, forcing the shorter minister to come to a short stop at the risk of running face on into the shopkeeper’s chin.

“Mr. Morton.” The minister’s voice was quiet, his patient tone and gentle (if a tad annoyed) expression was gone. Instead he looked steadily up at the other man, his warm eyes suddenly hard. Mr. Morton took an involuntary step backwards. “Mr. Morton.” Jack said again, emphasizing his words. Slowly. “Were you aware that my own daughter is a squib?” Leaving the man slack-jawed and looking rather mortified, Jack slipped around, looking around until he found Salt again.

“Tell Albert again, that he cannot go gallivanting about the muggle world for his research…” they entered the waiting lobby for his office. “He’s not the most subtle of wizards, and…” the two were so engrossed in the pile of work that needed dealing with that Jack failed to greet his citizens as he would normally have, instead heading straight for the door that lead to his office across the room, past the receptionist’s desk.

[Theo Bowre]

The muffled sound of voices in the hallway outside the Minister's office grew in both volume and intensity, causing Theo to look up from his journal. He glanced first at the Executive Assistant - still quilling - and then at the other assembled visitors. Some managed to glance over their shoulders at the partially opened entrance, but most were too engrossed in their frustration over their lengthy wait-times to bother.

And then one voice rang out quite clearly.

“Mr. Morton, were you aware that my own daughter is a squib?”

And there it was. Good on Jack. He always was the moral compass of the family.

Theo watched as several of the witches and wizards around him shared looks. Most tried their best to look neither pro or con, whereas others were more open in their judgment and a handful remained completely nonplussed. An elderly man sitting beside him leaned over to whisper in another man's ear - "That's what's wrong with our Government" - just as Jack and his aide flew through the lobby.

Theo stowed his pocket quill inside his jacket and straightened himself for a meeting he would take the initiative on, audibly answering a comment that was not intended for him.

"Actually, sir, the problem lies less with the Government and more with a population that's too cowardly to embrace change. What is it the Muggles say? 'Change is the law of life - those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future?' I think that's it. And his daughter really is quite amazing. Excuse me."

"Theo?" The Executive Assistant looked up from her scrolls and looked horrifically embarrassed. She immediately made to stand but Theo placed a hand out as if to say, "please stay seated."

"Good morning, Ma'am. I'm hoping to see Jack for a moment on some family business. Do you anticipate that he will be able to see everyone today? I gather he is quite busy."

She smiled politely.

"Let me just check."

[Minister Jack Harkness]

“--and then there’s this one in Hogsmeade,” Salt said, laying a packet on the table that he and Jack stood around. Minister Harkness tapped a finger on the map, causing it to expand and zoom in on the wizarding town. “The Mayor’s declared a curfew after this last one.” Jack tapped the map again, leaving a blue spot that pulsed slightly as it glowed.

“Seems like not even a year ago we thought they were just a temporary nuisance.” He mused, zooming out with a few strokes of his fingers across the map that covered a good portion of the table. Pulsing dots were everywhere, as if the paper had caught some infectious disease.

“Fortunately there weren’t any fatalities that time… did you say a gypsy squib?”

Salt nodded, rifling through the papers. “Mr Kameren was involved-- the elder, not the auror-- as well as a young werewolf, we don’t have his name. There was another gypsy,” Salt thought it best not to mention to the minister that this gypsy was undercover as a hitwizard, some things were just best left alone, apart from the honesty act. “And a bartender named Pike.”

“But of more pressing concern is what to do about the rallies in the Alley; Mr Morton did have some legitimate concerns, there have been riots, there was a theft in Gringott’s… the goblins are mightily unhappy with the Ministry at the moment…”

“Minister?”

His Executive Assistant poked her head into the room, waiting until both heads had turned to face her. “Your brother’s here.”

“Which one?” Jack said, straightening a stack of papers that lay strewn across the desk. “Let him in.”

“Theo.” She said, leaving to summon the visitor.

[Theo Bowre]

Theo ignored the glare that burned through his skull from across the room. The wizard that previously sat beside him had taken exception to the fact that Bowre had defended the Minister, but was perhaps more unforgiving of the fact that the younger man had outed his less than accepting views on diversity. Embarrassment gave way to rage, and even though Theo had left the immediate space to speak with the Minister's assistant, he was still close enough to be a target.

Theo looked up from his hands, making brief eye contact with his accuser. Daggers. Well, he could only hope his brother would not call on him before his ticket number was due. The daggers would turn to a public execution were he to butt in line.

"Theo, he'll see you now." The gentle voice of the Executive Assistant was a stark contrast to the ire he felt from more than one onlooker.

"I don't mind waiting my turn, M'um."

"Best not keep him waiting, dear."

Theo cast an apologetic glance at the others in the room, finding no sympathy in return, and nodded to the Assistant - "Thank you" - before walking dutifully in to Jack's office. He instantly noted the maps and neatly stacked parchment on every corner of Jack's giant desk and spotted Salt, whom scribbled with such intensity that Theo placed a wager on the quill.

"Travert. Jack."

He used the moment of silence to take in his adoptive brother's appearance. Jack was infinitely handsome and blessed with boyish features that defied age at every turn. Even in the limited light of the office, however, Theo could see that the constant hours of service were taking their toll on the Minister. Bless him, though. Always at attention with the bravest of faces.

"Well old chum," he said gently if not sympathetically, "if it's not the demons themselves it's every Lord and Lady who has the answer. I am so sorry to disturb you. It is really quite silly that I should bother you like this when you have a Kingdom to run but I had not heard from you in weeks."

Theo clenched at his overcoat, which lay neatly draped between his hands, and suddenly looked twenty-five years younger, his gaze darting from Jack to his feet. Theo Bowre was a strong and confident man, but forever in his brother's presence, he would seek an approval he did not in reality need. It was a remarkable degree of respect, made all the more significant by the fact that they were not, by blood, related.

"I was worried." Pause. "And clearly you are okay so I shall leave you to attend to business. Please call on me, Jack, if you need anything."

[Minister Jack Harkness]

"Travert. Jack."

“Theos!” Jack smiled, looking up from the table. He moved around the obstruction, coming towards his brother. Hard to believe that nearly twenty years and not a drop of blood lay between them. He enfolded his brother in a warm hug, pulling away with a stout clap on Theos’ back. “How are you, I haven’t seen you in ages!”

"Well old chum," he said gently if not sympathetically, "if it's not the demons themselves it's every Lord and Lady who has the answer. I am so sorry to disturb you. It is really quite silly that I should bother you like this when you have a Kingdom to run but I had not heard from you in weeks."

Jack left his hand on his brother’s shoulder, turning to face the table once more with a shake of his head. “Indeed, Albert in Experimental Spells and Devices wants to study muggles for a solution to the problem…”

"I was worried." Pause. "And clearly you are okay so I shall leave you to attend to business. Please call on me, Jack, if you need anything."

“Hey!” Jack said as Theodore turned to leave. “What else was it you needed, Theos?” Despite the years separating them, he felt quite close to this younger ‘brother’ of his, and he knew that Theos hadn’t come merely on a familial visit.

[Theo Bowre]

The warmth that radiated through Jack's touch was spell-binding and although he did not need to be convinced of it - actually, he understood it quite intimately - Theo was once again reminded why the wizard world loved his brother so. Care. Compassion. Humanity. Jack Harkness represented all of them.

On a deeper level, Theo found reassurance. He was born in to an existence where love dared not show itself and then was thrust in to the arms of a family that openly shared such emotion. He remembered his first hug and the care and patience of his parents and siblings, most of all that of Jack. Jack was the only one who was allowed to call him Theos.

Theo gave this same care in return and lathered his orphans with open affection. Having spent so much time of late as a tireless caregiver, however, Jack's sudden warmth towards him made him realize that he missed having someone to go to. Maybe that's why he came. Maybe he was still just a boy.

Feeling as though he had been a great inconvenience, Theo tried to extract himself from the office, only to have Jack call him on it.

“Hey! What else was it you needed, Theos?”

He came to a stop at the door, not turning right away. It was hardly the time, but Theo knew that if he didn't ask Jack about the letter now, he might never get the chance. He needed an expert on the matter. Theo cast a quick glance at Salt and then handed Jack a piece of folded parchment from his jacket pocket. He spoke in quiet tones so as to not put Jack in a difficult spot. He did not know where Travert fell on the matter.

The words "Identification Statute" were visible along the top of the letter.

"My eldest received an owl yesterday morning. He's turning 17 next week and has to register. We don't know his status, Jack. I literally plucked him from a fire in Inverness. The whole home burned down before I could get the others trapped inside. There was nothing to identify them, no surviving possessions, and the authorities suspected they were squatters."

"He's a good kid. I don't want to steer him wrong."

[Minister Jack Harkness]

Jack took the paper, ignoring Salt’s look, which so clearly to him (after working with him for so many years) communicated the latter’s disapproval of the ID statute. Well, ignore him. Jack had had good reasons for that law. Hadn’t he? It was often difficult to remember.

"My eldest received an owl yesterday morning. He's turning 18 next week and has to register. We don't know his status, Jack. I literally plucked him from a fire in Inverness. The whole home burned down before I could get the others trapped inside. There was nothing to identify them, no surviving possessions, and the authorities suspected they were squatters."

“They’ve had the solution to that for a long time now.” Jack informed his brother, returning the paper. He hadn’t actually read it. He hadn’t needed to, it was his law, it was a standard notice, like telling the students that Apparating lessons were starting, and reminding them that all Apparators had to be licensed.

"He's a good kid. I don't want to steer him wrong."

He knew Theo’s eldest, remembering a tall, studious boy who rarely smiled but was genuine in his emotions when he did show them. Already coming of age? How the years flew.

“Its amazing how technology progresses.” Jack stroked his hand quickly across the map, sending the landscape sliding to the left before it finally slowed and focused on a random area. “Someone came up with a potion, and someone else made a spell, and there’s a rune in there somewhere…” The meeting had been quite dull, filled with dry academia and droning words, but apparently he’d retained something.

“It’s a blood test. Lets you know your bloodline.” Salt muttered something. Jack cast a glance at the other man, who was taking the time to look through his notes and papers, scrawling here, crossing something out there.

“Yes. We haven’t let the general public know just yet, because of some of the more… powerful pureblooded families.” Yes, powerful probably covered it without putting too fine a point on things.

[Theo Bowre]

Theo glanced between Travert and Jack, catching every one of Salt's utterances. He hadn't meant to put his brother on the spot and in hindsight, he should have just lied when the Minister prodded him for the purpose of his visit. There were enough people on the outside questioning Jack's decisions; he didn't need to stoke the fire with his right hand man.

The Identification Statute was only one of a number of laws that placed Jack's leadership under scrutiny. Theo knew that fairness, dignity and acceptance were at the heart of each and every one of them, but in a population lobbied by radical purebloods, the legislation did little to unite the wizard world. Some went so far as to accuse Jack Harkness of "lending significance to his own magical shortcomings."

Theo accepted the letter back gratefully, encouraged by the news of a blood-tracing procedure. Spencer Warwick was one of his most dependable youths, and for all the help the lad leant him, it was all he could do to help him find an answer to the letter. Spencer had innocently noted that while he would be thankful just to learn of his heritage, he hoped it would not doom him before he even had a chance to enter adulthood. The boy had sights on working in the Ministry and Theo knew immediately what he meant.

"Thanks, Jack."

Will it hurt him? How accurate can it be? Where can we get this done? What if the results... His mind full of questions he dared not ask of his brother, Theo absently put on his coat and prepared to leave. He caught the map that Jack illuminated on his desk and immediately spotted Hogsmeade. Pulsing lights adorned the old parchment and their pattern struck Theo as familiar.

"Another demon attack. There's a woman who works at a small apothecary in Hogsmeade. She might be a good point of contact for you. She sees the world differently and is acutely observant. If she saw anything, she'll probably have a lot to say. Breandan. Maebh Breandan."

Theo remained at the door for several more seconds, unintentionally studying his brother. He was filled with a great sense of loss, as though it would be a great, great while before he would see Jack again. The air was filled with an energy of irregularity and ill-spun anticipation.

"Call on me." Theo nodded to both men and proceeded out the door.