Tea Time [Max/Jamie]

[Max Kameren]

As he sat in the corner booth at the Three Broomsticks, it occurred to Max that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been there sober. He glanced up from the book he was reading and narrowed his eyes in thought, wracking his brain for an adult memory of the Three Broomsticks that wasn’t blurred by scotch. He came up empty, deciding proximity to Eden’s old studio had something to do with it. They tended to encourage each other in that regard. Max shrugged, returning to his book. He would be making a new entry into the Sober-Broomsticks-Meeting logbook today, at least.

Max and Jamie had been writing back and forth for months, but it had occurred to him finally after running into him a few days prior that they had never really had a one-on-one conversation in person, just the two of them. Max had always been too busy; now, returned from America and working full-time to rebuild the Stone with Cain, he had time. The Stone’s construction so thoroughly sapped Max’s energy that he was working half-days, doing his best to recharge and sacrifice another shred from his aura the following day. He could easily make time for tea with Jamie. His cousin’s energetic aura would recharge him in no time.

His book snapped shut as Max felt a familiar aura making its way through the entry; Max had cleared the student’s entry into the Broomsticks with management, as late afternoons were usually reserved only for of-age customers. For the late Headmaster’s son and nephew, an exception could be made for an afternoon. Max glanced up, emerald eyes searching for a spot of shaggy ginger hair coming through the doorway.

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Jamie tugged nervously on his green jumper hem as he entered the broomsticks. He'd never been here during the week before. It seemed Max had some sort of sway and influence with the headmistress to allow him to leave the castle after his last class. 

Not having Max's ability,  it took him a moment to pin down his cousin's location before making a beeline for the table. It was tucked away in a corner, a worn little booth that nevertheless looked comfy. Jamie smiled at Max and slid into the opposite seat, stealing a look at the book on the table.

"Hey," 

[Max Kameren]

Sleepy green eyes followed Jamie’s hesitant steps as he searched for him. He was nervous; Max could feel the quivering in his aura. His eyes darted around like he was trespassing somewhere he wasn’t allowed until his gaze finally fell on Max in the corner and made his way towards him. Max smiled apologetically; he’d hidden himself pretty well for how empty the pub was, in preparation for a possible rush in the late afternoon so he could steel himself from the onslaught of auras.

“Hey,” The Slytherin student slid into the booth opposite Max.

“’Lo Jamie,” Max startled himself with the fatigued rasp of his own voice, reaching for his tea and taking another sip as if to force himself awake. He’d been sitting quietly for too long; after a session feeding the Stone he’d doze off anywhere if he was still long enough. “Sorry, work weighing on me. I don’t think aurors ever sleep.” He chuckled at the thought of Alex staring straight ahead in an alien stasis in the Kameren library. The Shadowloved never seemed to sleep, why should they?

“Sorry to pull you down to Hogsmeade on a weekday, I’m afraid I couldn’t make it back for the weekend. But I promised you tea, so here we are!” He smiled drowsily, pushing the Broomsticks’ menu across the table in Jamie’s direction. “Have whatever you like, just no alcohol obviously. And no butterbeer either! I made the Headmistress a promise. No fun allowed, we're strictly business.”

[James Malcom MacDougal]

“’Lo Jamie, Sorry, work weighing on me. I don’t think aurors ever sleep.” 

Jamie settled into his spot, emerald eyes tracking every move made by the man across the table. The same green eyes that everyone seemed to have, he'd met Max several times and still they caught his attention. Vi said it was a curse or something.  It must be,  genetics alone couldnt account for every single pair of bright green eyes he'd met, though Max's were dulled by exhaustion, almost greyer. Jamie squinted, puzzled. A slight difference, but--were Max's eyes different than they'd been at Christmas? 

“Sorry to pull you down to Hogsmeade on a weekday, I’m afraid I couldn’t make it back for the weekend. But I promised you tea, so here we are!” He smiled drowsily, pushing the Broomsticks’ menu across the table in Jamie’s direction. “Have whatever you like, just no alcohol obviously. And no butterbeer either! I made the Headmistress a promise. No fun allowed, we're strictly business.”

Jamie came back to himself with a start, accepting the menu, putting the thoughts aside for now. "No thanks, I don't like butterbeer, " he said, pulling a face as he looked over the menu. "How about some pasties?" He threw Max a look, "when did you last eat? You look exhausted."

[Max Kameren]

“No thanks, I don’t like butterbeer,” he said, pulling a face as he looked over the menu.

“Blasphemy!” Max joked in sardonic outrage, watching on as his cousin examined the menu.

“How about some pastie?” Jamie threw Max a look, “when did you last eat? You look exhausted.”

Max thought about it. He was on a strange diet in an effort to keep his energy up for the Stone; it was a bit like running a marathon, but instead of feats of physical strength he was peeling layers of his soul away like an onion and praying they grow back. Though the diet was mostly healthy food, he could spare a few pasties. “Sure, I can do that.”

He shrugged. “Sorry if I seem a bit off. Been lending my skills to the Ministry. Playing the role of lab rat for the Ministry at the moment and it’s taking a bit of a toll.” He would try not to elaborate on the situation further. Many of the details of the current struggle between the Shadowloved and wizarding society had been kept quiet. It was better that way.

“How are you? Your nose looks all healed.” Max gestured to his own nose as he spoke, leaning in on the table to listen to his cousin’s tales. They hadn’t had a proper conversation in months, he was expecting quite an update. “How’s Hogwarts? Your mum doing okay?”

[James Malcom MacDougal]

“Blasphemy!” Max joked in sardonic outrage, watching on as his cousin examined the menu.

“How about some pastie?” Jamie threw Max a look, “when did you last eat? You look exhausted.” He ignored his cousin’s comment, only rolling his eyes.

“Sure, I can do that. Sorry if I seem a bit off. Been lending my skills to the Ministry. Playing the role of lab rat for the Ministry at the moment and it’s taking a bit of a toll.”

“Lab rat?” Jamie frowned, a spike of concern going through him. Was it because of Max’s… ability? He had only just learned about it and even then, not much. He now regretted not probing Vi for details. She was just full of knowledge and gossip.

“How are you? Your nose looks all healed.” Max gestured to his own nose as he spoke, leaning in on the table to listen to his cousin’s tales. They hadn’t had a proper conversation in months, he was expecting quite an update. “How’s Hogwarts? Your mum doing okay?”

“Um, yeah,” Jamie unconsciously lifted a hand briefly to his nose. Fortunately thanks to Max it had healed straight. And it was nothing compared to breaking his shoulder and ribs last month. A shudder went through him as he remembered that match. He narrowed his eyes at Max. “Are you ok?” He demanded.

[Max Kameren]

“How’s Hogwarts? Your mum doing okay?”

“Um, yeah,” Jamie fidgeted with his nose at the mention, as if checking it for further injury. But again his focus shifted to Max’s condition and he narrowed his eyes. “Are you ok?”

Well, no. Max’s life was in ruins. Fallout from the torture left Max looking just disfigured enough that he could no longer go unnoticed in the Muggle world, the one place he used to feel comfortable. His career was essentially over; once time was reached on his sabbatical Max had told Milton he wouldn’t be returning for the safety of the hospital. The threat of the Shadowloved left him so dangerous to be around the only people who could interact with him were trained aurors. His girlfriend had left him in an attempt to protect him that only left him feeling more vulnerable. Now he was slogging through the dregs of physical hell in an attempt to build the Stone and bring his and others' misery to an end.

On top of it all, he could speak to no one about any of it. Least of all Jamie. These were hardly problems to be foisted upon a 15-year-old.

“I’m fine, Jamie, really.” Max pushed himself to sit straighter in his seat in an effort to assuage the teen’s concern. The server came to take their order and Max let Jamie handle it, taking a sip of his tea and trying to push himself back into his public façade. He was doing fine, all things considered.

“Now, you didn’t answer my question. How’s Hogwarts? Your friend, the blind one? Still doing runes?”

[James Malcom MacDougal]

“I’m fine, Jamie, really.”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed as he regarded his cousin. He clearly wasn’t fine. He looked worried thin, his eyes even seemed to have lost some of their color. Was that really a thing that could happen? Could you just lose colour like that? Max was starting to remind Jamie of his mum, although Max seemed all too anchored in this world, unlike Morag, who seemed to be losing her mooring.

“Now, you didn’t answer my question. How’s Hogwarts? Your friend, the blind one? Still doing runes?”

“Yes,” Jamie remained unconvinced but let the matter lay as the waitress moved away with their orders. “I’m learning so much!” He beamed at Max, forgetting the times when Aly had painfully demonstrated her power, forgetting the dark magic he’d been learning on his own in an attempt to match her, or exceed. To protect, he must have power. But he smiled at Max, forgetting. “Its so much more interesting than most of the schoolwork,” He added.

[Max Kameren]

“I’m fine, Jamie, really.” Jamie’s eyes narrowed but Max kept his poker face, meeting the boy’s green eyes in a stalemate battle of wills. A Hogwarts student didn’t need to know the more depressing details of the dismantling of Max’s life by the Shadowloved. He was too young yet to understand. Besides Max was fairly sure Alex would kill him for venting to his son, who was already worried enough. Max felt the concern and suspicion swirl in him like an oncoming storm. “Now, you didn’t answer my question. How’s Hogwarts? Your friend, the blind one? Still doing runes?”

“Yes,” Jamie remained unconvinced but let the matter lay as the waitress moved away with their orders. “I’m learning so much! Its so much more interesting than most of the schoolwork,” He added. 

Max reflected Jamie’s smile back at him tiredly, listening to the Slytherin’s description of his extracurricular studies and examining his aura. There was so much fear in him, so much uncertainty and anxiety for whatever the next turn in the road would bring him. The sparkling energy with which he talked about studying runes felt to Max like Jamie was grasping onto it, holding on for dear life to one thing he had that could affect change. It was curious.

Max cocked his head, his fingers fidgeting absent-mindedly with the collar of his t-shirt as he listened. Since his torture talk of rune magic would always set him off slightly. His scars would tingle and itch, like Warghollow’s fingers were trying to burst through them from inside. It was all subconscious to Max though, and he nudged his cousin onward with the discussion despite his own slight discomfort. “What are you learning? What kind of runes?”

[James Malcom MacDougal]

“What are you learning? What kind of runes?”

Jamie paused, hands suspended over the table as he thought. His long, calloused fingers had been sketching shapes into the air, perhaps unconsciously. He opened his mouth to tell Max about some of the defensive and offensive spells he'd been learning, the use of blood he'd discovered, how he'd done research on his own and surprised Aly on their last training session. She wouldn't be allowed to use his blood against him again, how he had learned how to enchant it so after he cut himself the excess would disappear in a puff of gold smoke.

Instead he told Max about the time he'd learned to fly, or at least float. The spells he'd learned to make light that would hover over his shoulder, the little trinkets he'd used to store magic in. His mind brought them to the fore and they spilled from his lips despite a faint sense of unease and frustration that he couldn't quite pin down. Maybe it was because none of the runes he'd learned would really help in the war, help to protect his mum.

"...can make things fly around," he told Max, sketching a rune with his hands in the air. Aly used something similar to make her bird move.

[Max Kameren]

Max’s eyebrows slowly rose higher and higher in concern, eventually disappearing into the hanging pieces of his thick crop of dark hair altogether. The words coming out of Jamie’s mouth were innocuous enough, just descriptions of basic rune-based spells and what he did with them. It was his aura that was causing alarm.

The inside of Jamie’s head was like a broken record, setting his concentration on one track and immediately pulling the rug out from under it. He would switch off, his concentration in one place then rapidly snapping back to what he was saying. It was disorienting for Max to feel, like being snapped with a rubber band each time Jamie’s thoughts shifted. What was happening?

"...can make things fly around," he told Max, sketching a rune with his hands in the air. Aly used something similar to make her bird move.

The older wizard tilted his head, his brow furrowing in further concern as Jamie’s descriptions petered out. He wasn’t quite sure what to say. He hadn’t felt anything like that before, and wasn’t quite sure how to ask Jamie about it. It was a strange feeling to describe.

He may need to trigger it again to learn more. Max pressed forward, shaking off his suspicious body language with another sip of tea. “Aly’s a Slytherin too, yeah? Where’s she from?”

[James Malcom MacDougal]

“Aly’s a Slytherin too, yeah? Where’s she from?”

“Yeah,” Jamie blinked at the sudden change in subject and gave Max a quick refresher on Aly. How she’d been injured in school, 20 years ago. It was a grim story, so he skipped over as much of it as he could. How she’d ended up on the moors in the middle of a rainstorm last summer, where he had found her and brought her in to shelter.

“Mum was a lot better last summer…” He said, twisting his fingers together as he tried to banish thoughts of Morag’s current state from mind. Aly had only stayed a couple hours before leaving via floo, his mind insisted. They’d had cocoa, and he’d had to cast a spell to dry her as she couldn’t do magic herself. She’d been shocked to discover the demons were gone. She must have been happy there was no more war, right?

“Aly doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends.” He said, thinking of some of the meaner things he’d overheard. “Since she can’t do magic proper some people call her a freak.” Jamie lifted his eyes to Max’s for the first time instead of looking through him as he had been during his stories. “Max?” He asked, brow furrowing in concern.

[Max Kameren]

“Aly’s a Slytherin too, yeah? Where’s she from?”

“Yeah…” Jamie continued and Max listened intently, tuning his aura so closely Max was sure Jamie could feel his pressure on him, like taking his aura’s pulse. As the boy spoke Max bit his cheek, keeping his eyes on Jamie but staring through him in his concentration. “Mum was a lot better last summer…” Max felt the anxious twist of Jamie’s worry for his mum and sympathized. But when he returned to his story about Aly Max felt it again. The skip. A little jerk in his concentration, unnatural to Max but unnoticeable to anyone else.

“Aly doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends. Since she can’t do magic proper some people call her a freak.” Jamie lifted his eyes to find Max perplexed, brow furrowed and biting his cheek in thought as he replayed the feeling over and over in his memory. “Max?”

Without a word Max reached across the table, the remaining four long, pale fingers wrapping around Jamie’s forearm. The contact was like tripping an electric wire. With Max’s touch Jamie could feel what Max could feel: His older cousin’s confusion and concern, the slightly muted auras of the other patrons in the pub, and even the pings of sentience of a few auras outside. He could also feel his own aura from Max’s perspective, his own surprise at the connection echoing through their contact.

“Tell me about the runes again.” Max said, head tilted in as he nudged Jamie along with his aura.