Lets be friends

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Dear Max,

I hope you don't mind me sending this Owl. School is exceedingly boring as usual and I am trying to stay awake in History--not an easy feat. Events lately have brought whispers of You-Know-Who and The Masked Lady, and so Professor Binns has been lecturing on war. So many wars, why can't we live in peace?

The letter continues later, ink of different drying stages marking several hours passing between paragraphs.

He is still old and stuffy, how can someone talk of horror and put you to sleep regardless? I'm afraid I slept through the Demon Wars again, we had a section on them last year but it seems he saw fit to bring them up again. Why were they cled Wars, when it was one War? That always puzzled me. 

Violet has just met me in the library, my grades are 'atrocious' she says, and she's determined to make me study. I just don't see the point in homework, I do alright on tests and I pass my classes, so what does it matter? I'm sure you know her better than I but she is a stubborn one. It is easier to humor her for now. I must go, she is glaring at me and I don't want her to start grabbing at me again. 

Sincerely,
Jamie MacDougal

[Max Kameren]

Dear Jamie,

I’m glad you wrote me. It was good getting to finally meet you the other day at Riko’s. Apologies ahead of time for my handwriting – I’m still getting used to holding a pen differently, but typing it out is somehow stranger. It feels odd bringing out my computer to type a letter and send it via owl, don’t you think? Either all-magic or all-muggle, and never the twain should meet.

About the Wars: it appears you didn’t pay attention! The Demon Wars were called that because there were two conflicts at once – with Demons creatures summoned by shadow magic, and another conflict with the Dark Lady Mosrael and her Sentinels. Mosrael was dealt with at the end of the last war, but if you’ve been reading the headlines the shadow creatures may not yet be finished with us.

Might want to listen up to Professor Binns: he may speak in a monotone, but what he’s telling you could be useful later. Believe me, I’ve kicked myself more than once for forgetting something I’m sure Ol’ Binns had droned about in my Hogwarts days.

Hope school’s going well, let me know if you have any questions about the Wars, the Kamerens, or… anything else I suppose. I’m all ears (or eyes, since they’re letters).

Max Kameren

p.s. Listen to Violet, I hate to admit it but she’s right more often than not. Plus she’ll browbeat you into submission either way. It’s easier to just go quietly.

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Dear Max,

Is it true a cannibal ate your finger? That’s what the Prophet said but Silas says Adrian Spencer is the new Rita Skeeter and not to take him serious. School is boring, I want to do interesting things but the classes are so dull. I don’t even need to study much to pass the tests, and if I pass the tests I can pass the class. I’d rather go flying or explore or pretty much anything else than homework.

What can you tell me about the Kamerens? It’s easy to look up information but that tells you little about what they’re really like! How did you find out about your dad? Did he know about you? Alex knew about me… I don’t know. I can’t say I’ve ever really felt like I needed a father but it still feels weird. Like a betrayal, maybe. I also know now where mum gets the money for the estate… I didn’t think her paintings sold that well but with all the “friends” she has I thought maybe one of them…

They were ok. Mum was always careful in who she brought home. The worst were the ones who thought I needed a father, who maybe thought they could have something significant with mum. They can’t. No one can. I think losing auntie Isobel in the last War took something from her. She talks about it sometimes when she drinks. They were twins. It must have been something very special. We are the last. She is afraid, afraid to lose me, afraid of the war. Something is happening, disappearances and bloody crime scenes litter the Prophet daily. The school practically vibrates with it. I don’t know what to do.

Jamie

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Hey Max,

One of my house-mates is a blind girl. She’s a 7th year, but she was in the Flux, so it’s almost like she’s a 1st year sometimes. I think she has trouble sometimes, adjusting. But she’s very smart, she’s been teaching me about runes. They’re very interesting. I’ve been working harder in my classes, mostly because Violet has threatened violence if I don’t. I don’t understand your family, why is she so violent? Evie built some little machine and set it loose in the halls. I’m not sure what it was meant to do, it startled a Hufflepuff couple hiding in an alcove to snog, and one of the boys blasted it to pieces. I decided not to ask her about it afterwards, she had an extremely cross look on her face. Honestly she’s scary enough without being actually cross, but she’s generally nice. She just seems like she knows way more than an 11-year old should.

Speaking of cross, my mum’s been upset since I found out about Alex. She was always kind of distant, I mean she loves me and makes sure to take care of me but I always feel like her mind is elsewhere. I think something terrible happened in the Wars. I know she was in Harry Potter’s year, and fought then, and then there was the Demon Wars. Anyway, she was always sorta ‘not there’ but she was nice. I’ve never seen her like this, I’m worried. I’m the only one she has, she says. She won’t let me go. Alex is nice enough but I’m not sure knowing him is worth it. She’s started talking about war, about auntie Isobel and uncle Alastair. They’re gone, long gone, but sometimes she talks like they’re still here, in the fire or owls. She visits me in Hogsmeade, home is not too far from Hogwarts. The whole school is scared of what’s coming. It feels like it’s already here to me. I’m not sure my mum can handle another war.

Jamie

PS; Why does he talk so weird? I asked him but he never did answer. He keeps screwing up words and stuff. How can you be an auror and not talk proper?
-Jamie

[Max Kameren]

Hey Jamie,

Your friend Silas is right. I had to look it up (tend to avoid anything about myself in the Prophet), but Adrain Spencer’s account of the incident at Mungo’s is embellished. In truth I don’t know what happened to my finger after it was liberated from my hand. He could have eaten it, but I try not to think too much about it.

As far as the Kamerens go I can answer any questions you like, though Alex would be a better source for proper historical-history of the bloodline. I’m better for anecdotes, like Dad’s blindspot for art history (he could take apart a muggle car and put it back together from memory, but couldn’t tell you the difference between Da Vinci or Michelangelo if his life depended on it), or Alex’s hobby making elaborate gingerbread houses over the winter holidays (photo of his miniature ginger Kameren Estate from a few years back enclosed).

My parents were teenagers when I was born, so I think I was somewhat of a surprise for both of them. I was lucky though, in that both my parents were very proactive in wanting me to be involved in both their lives. My mum was the one to track down my dad when we moved back to London and made sure we were aware of each other. I know it’s much harder when both parents aren’t on the same page about custody, and I’m sorry. Know you’ve got the whole Kameren clan’s support in the meantime, and from experience if you’re respectful of both your parents but firm on what you want the warring parties will come around.

And I can commiserate on the wanna-be-stepdad front. I love my mum but had far too many pig-nosed footballers try and bond with me growing up. She’s happily married now, but Pete’s more a medium blend of every proper prat she dated through my childhood. Makes me wonder if after Dad her taste drastically changed, or did Dad have some kind of hooligan phase he failed to mention? The world may never know.

Hope you’re doing well. Pay attention in school and do the work: don’t make me twist your arm like Violet’s doing.

Write you again soon,
-Max

[Max Kameren]

Jamie,

Glad to hear you’re enjoying a school subject! You aunt Arianna - the girls’ mum and my stepmum - is a runes expert for the Ministry and I’m sure she’d love to give you book titles or answer questions about runes if you asked. Asking Ari about runes is an easy gateway to an afternoon-long lecture if you ask the right question.

Don’t worry about Violet, she’s all bark and (mostly) no bite. Our dad’s American, and I think that part of his personality rubbed off on her: she’s very open. She’s the outlier. The rest of our family’s very stiff-upper-lip proper British, I promise. Even Evie: she’s just bored at Hogwarts, they can’t keep up with her pace. You ever meet someone and know they’ll inevitably change the world someday? Evie’s that way, got more going on in her head than the rest of us combined. But at the end of the day she just wants to be treated like you would any other kid sister, or cousin. Keep trying with her and she’ll warm up to you.

The letter picks up again in a different kind of ink, moving from a wizarding quill to a muggle ball-point pen. Creases in the parchment indicated this letter spent more time in Max’s pocket, staying with him as he thought about what to write.

I’m sorry this letter is a little later than I wanted to send it, I wanted to talk to you about the Wars and your mum and the impact these conflicts have on people but I wasn’t sure how to start. I grew up in the shadow of the Demon Wars. They destroyed our home. They killed our friends. I was kidnapped and held hostage. None of that compares to what your mother went through. Losing people in that way - in a War it sometimes feels so hopeless - can take a piece of you forever. The ability to continue on is heroic in itself. Forgive your mum if she struggles sometimes, and be patient with her. She’s upset because she’s afraid, and she’s afraid because she loves you and doesn’t want to lose you. Try to let her know she’ll never lose you. Stay out of trouble so that remains true.

Alex was injured in the Demon Wars and went into a coma for a time, that’s why he stutters. He was never a particularly buoyant speaker, but now when he speaks it’s usually something important. Listen closely when he does.

Talk to you soon. You coming to Thanksgiving?
-Max

PS: What constitutes ‘talking proper’? I’m inclined to make a gaelic-themed joke here, but have yet to find one satisfactory. -M

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Max,

I'm trying, but I don't know how. All my life my world has been just my mom and me, and in the space of a minute suddenly it wasn't. There are just so many people. So many new faces, and personalities. Ties and connections of all sorts between people I barely know or don't know at all. And pardon my saying, but both your sisters are very intense. I did score a (minor) victory over Violet when we discussed birthdays and discovered mine is before hers. Just a day, but it feels good anyways.

The trouble with my mum is I don't know what happened. How it happened. When. So much trouble during those times my family must have nust been a footnote in an article, or lost among a long list. I admit my research has been limited. I want to know, to understand. At the same time, I don't. I'm afraid.

Thank you for telling me about Alex. It must have been rough. Is that where he got all those scars, the ones that line where chunks are missing from his arms? I can't imagine. I dont want war. I want peace, but its long gone.... Isnt it?

Jamie

[Max Kameren]

Jamie,

Whoa, slow down! Vi and Evie come on strong, but I hope you don’t feel pressured by anyone in our family to take on more than you want too soon. You’re a member of this family and our door’s always open to you, but that means we’re available at your convenience. At your comfort level. I’ve told Violet to take it easy, and if she doesn’t let me know. I’ve got eleven years on the both of you so I can pull rank.

A little advice as someone who’s often been the subject of morbid war-themed questions: you don’t need every detail of a story to empathize with someone. It’s painful to try to dredge stories like that up. You know it was during the war, you know who was killed, and you know how it affected your mum. That’s what matters. That’s what can be helped.

I don’t know if that’s a satisfying answer for you, but some questions just don’t have satisfying answers. Most questions in a war don’t have a satisfying answer, war is painful and unending and often destroys good people without good reason. War is terrible, but we continue because we’re what stands in the way. If you can stand and defend, it’s your responsibility to do so. My dad told me that: it’s good advice in theory but has some painful follow-through.

I don’t want war either. I don’t want you, the girls, or anyone else to have to go through what we went through 17 years ago. We’re doing everything we can to prevent it from happening again. It may look hopeless sometimes, but peace is still within reach. Just need to keep going.

Hang in there,
-Max

PS: It occurred to me as I was sending this out: Alex was with us at Mungo’s when Violet was born. Were you born at Mungo’s? He may have been in the hospital at the same time you were born, even without knowing. Dunno, thought it was nice to think about: trying to tell the different between two ginger infants in the nursery, not knowing one's his niece and the other's his son.

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Max,

Thank you, it means a lot. I don't know what to do half the time but there's always someone. My friend Aly has been struggling--the blind girl. It must be hard enough for adults, I can't imagine having to finish 7th year and all your friends are older--seventeen years having passed since you last saw them and you're still a kid. But she knows so much... Theres something wrong with her magic, but she can use runes. There was an accident, she says. I looked it up, it wasn't an accident at all, but can I blame her for saying it was? It must have been horrible. I can understand that...

Like, I don't need to know what happened to my mum to feel her pain. But.. But. I don't know. I hardly know anything about them. Their names. Their faces-- half-sketched. She never could finish their paintings. And of course, they don't talk. Mum's my only connection to them. What were they like? I wish I knew. She's talked more about them these last few months than my whole life. But it scares me, because she acts like they're still here, still alive. 

I think I was, yeah. I've never asked but I would assume so. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to ask her now. Even the mention of Alex sets her off. Like you said, she's afraid. She said yesterday she didn't me n to know him at all--or him me. When I was young she was struggling. After the war. Her paintings didnt sell. She knew he would help, if he knew... It was the clearest conversation we've had in weeks. I want to protect her, to keep mum safe from another war. Aly's good with runes, and she's showing me how powerful they can be. I'll do whatever I can. Is that standing and defending, like you said?

Jamie

[Max Kameren]

Jamie,

I’m curious about your friend Aly: she’s the same house as you correct? What’s her full name? What accident are you referring to? Sorry to be nosy, but what you’ve written me sounds familiar and I’d like to look into it further.

I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with your mum. I think being there to listen to what she tells you at her own pace is the best course of action: you’re all she has. She’s afraid to lose you. Let her know you’re there and you’re not going anywhere. Study hard in school and do what you think is right. Help others and stand up for what you believe in. That’s standing and defending.

How goes the rune research, you say you’re learning? What kind of runes are you working with? I mentioned your studies to Ari and she was curious.

Til next time,
-Max

[James Malcom MacDougal]

Max,

She’s in Slytherin. Her name’s Alyson Bludwyne. There was an attack at the school when she was… a 5th year? I don’t remember exactly. People died. A student died. I thought I couldn’t imagine what that’s like, but things are getting worse out there, aren’t they? I’m studying with her and with Vi—she’s a bit of a gossip and I hear a lot about the war from her.

Honestly I don’t like schoolwork, its boring. I keep losing interest in my classes, especially as things develop. But your sister keeps at me when we study together, and lets be honest, it’s the most homework I’ve done in years. Plus there’s my studies with Aly. She requires perfection—she doesn’t suffer fools, and she’s constantly challenging me.

Can you tell me a little about Alex? Or maybe your father? Or… I heard they were really close. I’m not used to having this many people around me… How are you doing?

Jaime

[James Malcom MacDougal]

1Feb2039

Max,

I hope this letter reaches you ok in America. What's it like over there? I hope you're learning a lot! Last week I broke my shoulder and three ribs, but the worst was the HOWLER I got from Mum. I know she's concerned but I don't think there's a conspiracy out there to murder me at Quidditch matches with bludgers. She threatened to pull me off the team!! Fortunately the headmistress was able to calm her down after she stormed into the school. I'm really not sure she should be left alone anymore, and I don't think she's seeing anyone right now...

Things seem quiet on the warfront, if you're wondering. I'm wondering if America sees any of our news at all, or if they do, does it just seem too far away for them? Vi has been bugging me less about schoolwork, and because I'm in a sling she's even pulling me around less. Evie built another weird little automaton, this time it was able to navigate the halls and successfully unlock some classrooms. It seems too simple for such a complex machine but she says its just a test. She did it after dinner when people were studying so less people were in the hallways.

My arm is killing me, and I still have to finish an essay on mandrakes. Good luck on your journey!

Jamie