The Trouble With Kids (Curse)

[Alecsander]

Place: Godrics Hollow
Time: March 2027
Characters Involved: Curse and Alex Kameren


It was a cold and dreary day in late March when Alex visited the little pink house, rebuilt from the ashes of the old one. He still remembered that day,every time he set foot through the door. The steps still remained, sometimes when he was feeling particularly morbid he could swear he could see the indent hisnhead had made.

But the fire inside the study was warm and cheery, and with the kids out with Ari or at Hogwarts, only the two brothers were left. Alex leaned back in his chair, lifting the whisky Curse had offered in salute. "What wasit you needed,Curse?"

[Max Kameren]

Quiet. Finally, blessed quiet. There was nowhere Curse could get this kind of quiet anymore; As Hogwarts Potions Master his classes were filled with questioning students, as Ravenclaw Head of House he was the referee in every student disagreement. In his personal life he had Violet, who at three-and-a-half years old was adorable but would shriek with either excitement or displeasure at the drop of a hat. Bridging both was Max, the poor kid; a year into his Empathy diagnosis and Curse hadn’t had a conversation with him since that didn’t end in either an argument or tears.

And they were adding another, Merlin help them. Even just the thought sent a nervous chill up Curse’s spine; his life was hectic enough with just the two, and if rumor had it Headmistress Connors was on her way out. As Deputy Headmaster Curse knew he would be asked to fill her place, and in all honesty he didn’t know if he could refuse. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair and reaching for his pack of cigarettes on the coffee table.

"What wasit you needed,Curse?" Alex asked from where he sat in the armchair in the living room. When Arianna had hinted to him that he could find an hour’s peace and quiet at Godric’s Hollow today if he needed it Curse jumped at the chance. With the semester in full swing he hadn’t seen Alex in a long while, and with their latest Mungo’s appointment looking good Curse had news to share.

The Potions Master smiled crookedly, his scar pulling at the bridge of his nose as he positioned his cigarette in his mouth to be lit with his thumb. “Secret’s getting out, our family’s getting bigger.” He winked an emerald eye, taking a drag of his cigarette and opening a window behind him to let the smoke out; hopefully the smoke and his smile would cover the nervousness in his shaky fingers. “Ari’s pregnant. Due in November.”

[Alecsander]

“Secret’s getting out, our family’s getting bigger.”

Alex practically felt his hear stop. How had he known? Alex hadn't even known until very recently. But Curse always did make him feel as though he was three steps behind. Wouldn't it make sense that he knew this too? He almost opened his mouth to confess when his brother continued,

“Ari’s pregnant. Due in November.”

Instead he let out a shaky breath he hadn't known he was holding, leaning over to clap Curse on the back. "Congratulations!" He knew they had been trying, that they'd been having difficulties, though neither Ari nor Curse spoke of them. He felt a warmth in his chest, happiness for his brother. A cold tendril of uncertainty wrapped around his heart. What would he do about his own child? It was barely a month that he'd known, and so far his attempts at contacting Morag hadn't been going well.

Alex smiled warmly, a rare feature to cross his face. Ari was pregnant. Another child meant a lot to them both, and also to Alex. He wanted Curse to have all the happiness he could have in this world, though it seemed sometimes he worked against his own happiness.

[Max Kameren]

Instead he let out a shaky breath he hadn't known he was holding, leaning over to clap Curse on the back. "Congratulations!"

Curse grinned, but his smiled faded quickly behind his hand as he took another drag from his cigarette. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his cigarette-laden hand as he exhaled. He didn’t lie to Alex well, and though he would love this new child just as much as his older son and daughter he was very nervous about their growing family. Curse and Arianna had started trying again for another baby two years ago, and Curse was just growing comfortable with the idea of being done with babies when it happened again. Arianna was over the moon and Curse was happy, but he couldn’t keep the worry from creeping in for long.

“Yeah, everyone’s very happy. Violet’s excited to be a big sister, though nearly everything makes Violet excited. Just got the go-ahead to break the news this morning, so Max doesn’t know yet. I’ll have to catch him around the school. He’s avoiding me again, little shit…”

Alex had been kept updated on the many sagas of Max Kameren’s unfortunate childhood. It appeared nothing could go right for the poor kid since he met his father. Since they met, Curse and Max have had two quiet years: the first one though that was debatable accounting for Alex’s coma, and two years ago when they’d finally calmed his panic attacks and his sixth sense hadn’t yet presented itself. It was no wonder Max was avoiding him, whenever he had to spend more than a potions class with his parent it caused permanent trauma. He was harder to sneak up on now too; his Empathy told him when Curse was around and how to get away from him.

“I don’t know what to do with him anymore. Milton says I’m putting too much pressure on him, but what? What am I doing now? Making sure he passes his classes?” Curse shrugged with his exasperation, his American accent exaggerating in his frustration as he pulled out a new cigarette to light with the old one. “The dueling stuff, maybe? I’m just trying to make sure he’ s prepared, you know. For whatever the next fucking thing’s going to be. It’s us, there’s always something else. It’s never over.” Curse shook his head, letting the taste of the cigarette burn in his mouth as he seethed in his frustration with and for his son. some called it paranoia when Curse insisted Max be prepared, but to him it was caution for an inevitable incident. Curse wouldn’t be around forever, and if he knew Max there would be an incident.

[Alecsander]

“Yeah, everyone’s very happy. Violet’s excited to be a big sister, though nearly everything makes Violet excited. Just got the go-ahead to break the news this morning, so Max doesn’t know yet. I’ll have to catch him around the school. He’s avoiding me again, little shit…”

Curse's hands shook as he took another deep draw on the cigarette. Alex watched and noted the little signs that his brother was worried. And what didn't he have to be worried about? Alex could only hope it didn't devolve into paranoia again. Of course he was happy, but that didn't mean his mind rested easily. Alex's own mind worried about his own dilemma, but he kept his mouth shut, Curse had enough issues at present.

“I don’t know what to do with him anymore. Milton says I’m putting too much pressure on him, but what? What am I doing now? Making sure he passes his classes?” Curse shrugged with his exasperation, his American accent exaggerating in his frustration as he pulled out a new cigarette to light with the old one. “The dueling stuff, maybe? I’m just trying to make sure he’ s prepared, you know. For whatever the next fucking thing’s going to be. It’s us, there’s always something else. It’s never over.”

Alex sighed, leaning back in his seat and emptying his glass. Curse was right, it was never going to be over for them. He'd resolved a long time ago to do good in the world, to separate himself from his family. And that had led him to a new family, and he'd vowed then to change the meaning of the Kameren name, to instead of avoiding it he would actively work to ensure he left a better legacy. That had been helped by Alex and Curse being the end of the long line. It was like starting over.

Except you could never really start over, the past still haunted you. And there would always be danger to being a Kameren.

[Max Kameren]

Curse mulled in his frustration, sharp cogs turning as a short silence fell between Curse and his brother. It was a tense silence, but a natural one. The brothers had never shied away from a quiet moment, where they could both lose themselves in their separate thoughts. It went back to their auror days, stewing in their cases even after they punched out of the Ministry.

There was a different edge to Alex’s nerves than Curse’s today, though. The elder Kameren exhaled smoke through his nose, rubbing his stubbly chin as he examined his younger brother. “Alex. Alex!” Curse snapped to get his brother’s attention, his cigarette hanging from his lips. “What’s bothering you, then? You look irritable, but not in the usual way…”

[Alecsander]

“Alex. Alex!” Curse snapped to get his brother’s attention, his cigarette hanging from his lips. “What’s bothering you, then? You look irritable, but not in the usual way…”

Alex started, finally looking up from the second glass of whisky he'd poured. Unsure what to say, he hit upon another thing that had been bothering him. A case, one with unbeforeseen brutality and horror.

"Its this new case I have," he admitted. "We think he's a cannibal but he's using runes--extremely old. The two don't seem related...." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Whatever he does, he enjoys playinghwith Hus food." He frowned, unsure if he was more disturbed by the cannibal or the way his voice still betrayed him after almost 10 years. Even after making senior Aurora a few years ago he preferred to work alone, but catching this cannibal... It was already shaping up to be a great effort.

[Max Kameren]

“Alex. Alex!” Curse snapped to get his brother’s attention, his cigarette hanging from his lips. “What’s bothering you, then? You look irritable, but not in the usual way…”

Alex started, finally looking up from the second glass of whisky he'd poured. "Its this new case I have," he admitted. "We think he's a cannibal but he's using runes--extremely old. The two don't seem related...." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "Whatever he does, he enjoys playinghwith Hus food."

Curse arched a skeptical brow; he could tell by Alex’s speech patterns that this wasn’t what was initially bothering him, but the bastard had also chosen a story Curse couldn’t resist asking more about. He cocked his head at his brother and rested his head on his hand, his interest piqued. “How are the runes performed? Carved, written? Cast with a spell?” His eyes glanced to the office over Alex’s shoulder, where Curse’s notebook sat on his desk; this was the home of an Ancient Runes Researcher and her Ex-Auror husband, after all, if Alex needed brains to pick he’d come to the right place. “Have there been survivors?”

[Alecsander]

"How are the runes performed? Carved, written? Cast with a spell?” His eyes glanced to the office over Alex’s shoulder, where Curse’s notebook sat on his desk; this was the home of an Ancient Runes Researcher and her Ex-Auror husband, after all, if Alex needed brains to pick he’d come to the right place. “Have there been survivors?”

" He's fond of carving them into his victims." Alex paused, thinking. "So far, no survivors." There was a particularly odd sequence of runes he'd asked Ari about, she'd already given him a few books relating to whatever particular runic language it was, but she hadn't been able to give him a straight answer yet on those.

Runes gave him a headache but he was soldiering through the books the best he could. He finally took a sip of the second glass, with what he saw so far, he wouldn't wish survival on anyone.

[Max Kameren]

"How are the runes performed? Carved, written? Cast with a spell? Have there been survivors?”

"He's fond of carving them into his victims." Alex paused, thinking. "So far, no survivors."

“And the cannibalism isn’t part of it? Have you spoken to Ari about it?” Curse stroked his chin as he thought, his brow furrowing as his memory brought him somewhere else far away, years ago. After Hogwarts Curse had traveled for a while, studying dark magic rituals that often involved runes. There were too many rituals that fit Alex’s description, but Curse’s interest was piqued. He would pry more details out of Alex until he could find a direction to research in. “You said the runes are ancient; any luck translating? I’m sure Ari – Oh, fuck me…”

Curse groaned as a patronus appeared suddenly between them: Headmistress Connors. Curse: There was an explosion in Max’s charms class and he’s had an attack again. Please come.

“Damnit Max…” Curse ground out his cigarette and pushed himself up. He’d been doing so well! The poor kid hadn’t had an attack in nearly a year and here they were back at square one. “So much for peace and quiet. Gotta head back to the school…”