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Post by Tanya Scotts on Oct 8, 2008 10:33:59 GMT -5
Tanya stood up the same time as Alec and went to greet her nephew. It was an odd relationship they had.. she was technically his aunt but they weren't so far apart in age, her being so much younger than her brother and him being quite a bit older than his siblings. So he was almost like a younger brother to her.. it was odd, but she treated him like a kid brother.
She got up and walked over in time to hear her brother's question and Justin's reply. She had been the one to recruit him to the Dark Lord, he was usually a good assasin but less so a treasure hunter. She sighed. She had already had the pleasure of seeing him already over the past few weeks, and he'd been bumming at her appartment for the past week. She was glad he'd be moving back here instead, she liked her privacy.
She'd had to heal him when he returned from his trip. He'd been in bad shape when he'd arrived at St. Mungo's and transported to the ICU for her care. He had been left for dead by an auror and that was all she knew, as she'd healed him. Though even her nephew had felt quite a bit of pain durring recovery. Mainly because she'd been ordered to, but he was to survive. She didn't second guess the Dark Lord's commands, however it wasn't unusual for her to extract a little extra pain before healing someone. Just normally that didn't include her nephew.
But she didn't say anything about it and feigned surprise at his visit, giving him a hug.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 8, 2008 10:43:48 GMT -5
Justin gave his aunt a hug and whispered something into her ear, before turning to wander over to the empty chair next to Gwen.
He had always admired his aunt, and loved her like a sister. She was usually in favor with the Dark Lord for her skills in healing. But even she often extracted a price for her skills. He had a few scars to prove it too over the years. But at least he was still alive and he knew it was due to Tanya's skills that it was so.
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Post by Xavier Scotts on Oct 8, 2008 18:58:27 GMT -5
Xavier was excited to see Justin again, although he had also known that his oldest brother was coming to the dinner party. But the unspoken bonds between Justin and Gwen and Justin and Aunt Tanya left him feeling left out again. He didn't have any bond like that with anyone in the family, except maybe his mother. But deep down, he wanted to be one of them, and he feared he never would. With a sullen frown on his face, he stared down at his plate and waited for the house elves to bring in the food.
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Post by Guinevere Scotts on Oct 9, 2008 2:09:05 GMT -5
Gwen was patient as everyone said hello to Justin, figuring she could wait her turn since she had already seen him at school.
Ssmiled softly when her brother sat down, and she whispered, "I'm glad you came." There was no reason he wouldn't have, but she was glad all the same. Seeing him for just a little while at school after six months hadn't been enough time to catch up.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 9, 2008 19:52:24 GMT -5
Justin leaned over and whispered back, "I wouldn't have missed it. Besides I still have to give you a surprise later remember? If I didn't come you'd hunt me down anyways. I might as well save myself the trouble." He chuckled softly.
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Post by Guinevere Scotts on Oct 10, 2008 2:37:31 GMT -5
"Probably," she whispered with a smile. "And you're already torturing me about that surprise... you're terrible."
A short cough from her father got Gwen to look up and stop whispering to Justin. It wasn't polite, she realized, but she had a hard time caring.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 10, 2008 22:42:05 GMT -5
Unlike the rest of the family, no one knew Zachary was coming. In fact, Zach hadn't even known he was coming here until he found himself turning on to the walkway in front of his brother's home. It had been his childhood home as well, and Thatcher, as the oldest sibling, had inherited it. It was just as well, since he was the one with the family. Zach preferred the wandering life, ever moving in search of new and different thrills and chances to test his luck. Life, for him, was one giant roulette wheel, and luckily for him, he seemed to be riding a winner.
He paused at the front door, pondering whether it was worth even bothering to knock. He wasn't expected. In fact, he didn't even know that there was a family dinner party going on. He'd been away so long, enjoying travels through America, that the family had lost track of him. He hadn't even written in more than a year, he realized. But now he was back... and he couldn't help but wonder how he would be received.
He took a breath and was about to knock, when he decided, the hell with it. He opened the door and strode right in. The house hadn't changed drastically in the three years since he'd last been here. Alicia had redecorated a bit, but for the most part, it still looked the same. The familiarity of his childhood home brought a smirk to his lips. The more things change, the more they stay the same, he told himself. He was sure the family would be the same.
He heard voices in the dining room, so he walked towards it, moving with an easy grace that spoke of his life of leisure. As he entered the dining room, he was surprised to see the whole family--Thatcher, Alicia, all five kids, Tanya, and another man he didn't recognize, all seated around the table and engaged in active conversation. Crossing his arms over his chest, he smiled lazily at them. "I don't suppose there's room for one more?"
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 0:19:46 GMT -5
Thatcher looked up, truly not expecting anyone else. Who else could possible show up for dinner?
"Zachary," he said, more than surprised. Sometimes his brother went missing so often that they were never sure if he was even still alive.
"Of course there's room," he said, letting himself smile and standing up to greet his brother. "Tibby, bring us another chair," he ordered the house elf.
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 0:22:05 GMT -5
Tanya looked up at the sound of her brother's voice, "Zach!!!!" She grinned and hopped up to hug her brother. "Where the hell have you been?? I've missed you!" They had been close in childhood until he'd taken to wandering off for years at a time. But she never failed to be happy to see him.
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Post by Justin Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 0:25:01 GMT -5
Justin looked up to see his uncle standing there. He'd thought the man was dead for sure, but was surprised to see him. "Hey Zachary, seems like we are having an entire family reunion tonight after all."
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Post by Guinevere Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 0:28:23 GMT -5
Gwen glanced up, more recognizing her uncle from photographs than anything else. She had so rarely seen him growing up. The last time she could remember seeing him, she was still a short, unblossomed child of 14. He didn't look any different than she remembered, though.
She was quiet while her father and aunt and Justin all said hello, just smiling politely.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 0:30:22 GMT -5
Zachary smiled his slow, easy grin. "Thatch, you haven't changed a bit," he said, clapping his older brother on the shoulder. "I was afraid you and Alicia might have had another kid or two while I was gone." He winked at Alicia, then turned to embrace Tanya. "Tanya! I've missed you. I see you have a friend?" He nodded toward Alec with a raised eyebrow.
As the little house elf pushed another chair in at the table, Zach assumed his seat next to Tanya. "I've been everywhere, actually. Bummed around in Europe for a bit, and spent the last year or so exploring the Colonies. I'm not really sure what made me come back, I guess I was getting homesick."
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 10:35:09 GMT -5
Tanya introduced her brother, Zach, to Alec before resuming her seat where Zach joined her. "So how long are you planning to stay this time? I mean if you need a place to stay for a while I have a free room open now." She purposely left out the part where the reason she had a free room was because Justin wasn't going to be staying there any longer. She didn't want to share just how close Justin had come to getting himself killed this trip, when Justin had been brought to her front door. But she didn't want to worry the family and she did at least respect patient privacy at least where some things were concerned.
As she spoke to Zach, however her hand had vanished under the table to curve across Alec's thigh where her fingertips could touch and torture him a little.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 10:42:32 GMT -5
"Nice to meet you, Alec," Zachary replied, nodding at his sister's date. It occurred to him to wonder whether he should feel suspicious of the man his little sister was so interested in. But Tanya was not the fragile type, and had never really required a protective older brother to step in on her behalf. In fact, she was always in charge of just about any situation she was in. He wondered to himself if Mr. Mapplethorne knew just what he was getting into.
At Tanya's question, Zachary shrugged. "Oh, you know me," he said. "I don't have a plan... I never do. I could decide to leave tomorrow, or I could stay for months. Or longer. I'll admit, I'm feeling inclined to stick around a while, but that could change."
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 11:08:14 GMT -5
"Well the offer is open, I'm not there much anyways. I'm usually at the hospital or something. And it would be good to see you more often, at least while you're here." Tanya planned that tonight would be one of those somethings where she was at Alec's place instead. "Of course I'm sure you could possibly stay here too if you needed to, you wouldn't mind would you, Thatcher?" Once again taking charge of making sure her family was all taken care of. For being the youngest sibling of the three, she was also the one who seemed to wear the pants in the family despite Thatcher's being the head of the household. After all it had been her who had recruited her brother and nephew into the Dark Lord's service, and then of course Thatcher had brought in his wife. Tanya was already reassessing Zach's assests as a possible recruit, if he stayed around long enough to serve that is. She wasn't sure if he would be able to follow orders that might include where and how long to stay somewhere. But on the other hand the Dark Lord might have need for someone with that exact tendency to wander for some plans she was not privy to. She knew that He was a master of hidden plans and power and there was no questioning what he might or might not find useful. She would have to think on it more later.
Her hand slipped between Alec's thighs and she looked over at him with a near innocent expression.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 11, 2008 12:58:05 GMT -5
Zachary shrugged again. He made the careless gesture seem elegant and sophisticated. "Oh, I can stay with you, if you don't mind. I wouldn't want to use up my welcome here with our big brother." He grinned over at Thatcher, the smile that made women's hearts stop. "I left my things over at the Leaky Cauldron for the night. I didn't really plan to stop by at all; I just felt strangely compelled to do it. Now I see why; it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with the whole family at once." He now turned to look at each of the children. All of them were much older than he'd remembered, and he found himself feeling strangely guilty that he'd been gone for so long. Justin looked well, and Guinevere had become quite a beauty. Timothy and... Thane--yes, that was his name, right?--we just moving past that awkward stage of adolescence and looking like young men. Xavier had been very small the last time he had seen the boy, and yet, he still looked the same--small, serious face with huge blue eyes.
"The children all look well," he added conversationally. "I hadn't realized how much they would change since the last time I saw them."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Oct 12, 2008 0:38:45 GMT -5
"You could stay here," Thatcher said, not bothering to look at his wife for confirmation. It was his brother... she would have to be all right with it.
"Yes, well, it's been quite a long time," Thatcher told his brother, looking over his children with an aprroving eye, even if most of them did push their limits. "Children grow up. Gwen is in her final year of Hogwarts, actually," he said, as if to prove how they had grown.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Oct 12, 2008 9:23:53 GMT -5
Zachary looked at his brother a moment. He'd always found Thatcher to be difficult to read. The brothers had never been as close as Tanya and Zachary had been. He always had the vague impression that Thatcher was annoyed by him... or perhaps, disappointed. The fact that he had shown up, out of the blue, after 3 years, was probably enough of a reason for Thatcher to be annoyed. Zachary could hardly blame him, really.
Still, he was offering him hospitality, and Zachary was not about to turn him down.
"Thanks, Thatch," he said, his smile unwavering. "As long as you've got room for me here, I wouldn't mind staying. I don't suppose my old room is still available?"
At the mention of Guinevere being in her final year at Hogwarts, Zach turned his attention to his niece. "Is that so? I swear, I remember you when you were just a little girl in pigtails, getting ready to start at Hogwarts. I don't suppose you remember your uncle very well, do you? I've been away too long."
He tried to ignore the pang of guilt he felt at those words.
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Post by Guinevere Scotts on Oct 12, 2008 14:05:41 GMT -5
Gwen glanced up. Usually, she was just fine with dealing with and talking to other people, but for some reason this was different, and she felt a little nervous, especially when he reminded her of her awkward preteen days. Merlin, that's how he remembered her?
She wasn't sure how to answer him, but figured she had better try, anyway.
"Father tells us stories sometimes... and he reads most of your letters to us. When you send them."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Oct 12, 2008 14:10:09 GMT -5
Thatcher interrupted his daughter. "They're fine. Xavier, perhaps, may not remember you as well, but the rest of the children do."
He took a sip of the wine that was brought out, telling Tibby she should open another bottle with all of the guests they had.
"Thane is actually in your old room now," he continued, "But he can sleep with one of the other boys for a while, or at least until we can set up a guest room."
The only room that stayed untouched was Justin's... he still came home when he could. Even Tanya's room had changed, and Thatcher couldn't be blamed for it.
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