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Post by Dr. Nadine Richmond on Oct 10, 2011 22:20:10 GMT -5
(Since the whole family's made now, we need a thread! Lol)
The house was situated in the middle of a very clean, well-kept muggle neighborhood, and there was no indication from its exterior that it was any different from the other houses. Joseph kept the house in good repair, the lawn neatly cut, and there was even an old car in the driveway that he sometimes took out for a ride. Nadine, meanwhile, kept a beautiful garden. In the spring, it would be bright with tulips of every conceivable color, reminding her of her native Holland. Now, bold, vibrant lilies and lush rosebushes wound around the house, filling the yard with color and life. In the backyard, the only sign of anything out of the ordinary was an extensive herb harden, with lots of medicinal but mundane herbs.
Inside, of course, there were many magical objects--cauldrons, magic books, wands, and several owls who lived in the screenhouse.
Nadine always loved coming home, seeing the flowers and the cheerful green lawn. She apparated with Ilsa into the little treehouse that Joseph had built for the girls when they were nine years old. It was a convenient place to apparate, because it was completely shielded from the view of their muggle neighbors, and the magical elevator made it easy to get out of the tree unseen, due to its placement so close to the hedge.
"You'll have to talk to your father about what happened," she told Ilsa once they were back on the grass, walking towards the house. "Maybe he'll let you visit Hogsmeade, but I want you to at least stay for dinner both nights. Lorelei's coming for dinner tonight."
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 12:08:18 GMT -5
Joseph always kept the house clean and in good condition. He could to the handy type of jobs that might need to be done. Their house was located in a muggle community, mainly because Joseph felt safer there. There was also the fact that he wanted his children to grow up around muggles because of the hatred he saw in his past. He wanted his children to know that it didn't matter who you were, you were similar to the person next to you.
On the wall was a clock that would tell when people would come home. He glanced up at the clock and noticed that both Nadine's hand and Ilsa's hand were both at home. Joseph wasn't sure what he was going to do with Ilsa. She seemed so rebellious and he just wanted the best for her. It wasn't as if he were going to chain her up in her room, but he wanted her to make better choices in life and he didn't know how else to tell her without her rolling her eyes at him.
Opening the back door, Joseph smiled when he saw the two coming in. "Two of my favorite ladies," he said opening his arms. "How was your day?"
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 12:31:34 GMT -5
"Awesome," Ilsa muttered, suddenly wishing she was still at school. The last thing she wanted was to spend the weekend surrounded by three people who would harass her about her future and her behavior. "Is she bringing her boyfriend?"
Ilsa didn't know if they were ever officially dating, actually, but she assumed so, considering how much time they spent together. And Ilsa had a strong dislike for him. If her mother said yes, she was going to be very sorely tempted to ask if she could bring Ramon. She wouldn't, but what a hell of a dinner that would be.
"Hey, Dad," Ilsa said, trying to brighten up a bit, kissing his cheek and moving past him into the house.
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 17:09:07 GMT -5
As Ilsa approached him first, he was able to get a quick hug from her as she kissed his cheek. He knew there was something going on but Joseph avoided the question. She just arrived at home and he didn't want to go ahead and start tension.
"Hello beautiful," he said to Ilsa as she kissed his cheek. Joseph watched as Ilsa walked into the house, then turned to Nadine. He hugged her and gave her a quick kiss. "How is everything?"
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Post by Dr. Nadine Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 18:14:14 GMT -5
Nadine smiled softly and leaned into his kiss, but when she pulled away, the worried expression returned to her face. "I just had to pick her up from school again for the weekend," she said in a low voice. "So it hasn't been going great. I tried talking to her on the way, and she's just not listening. Oh, and those private investigators we hired owled me, too... they want to meet with us tomorrow, if you have time."
She sighed softly and followed Ilsa into the house. She was going to have to start dinner soon, because Lorelei would be here in a couple of hours, and they now had an extra person to feed.
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 18:37:43 GMT -5
Joseph sighed. He didn't know what Ilsa was going through. She didn't really talk to them, so he had no idea. He might would have been a little more open if Ilsa would have opened the line of communication rather than shut them off. "I'll see if I can talk to her later," he whispered.
At the mention of the private investigators, Joseph's eyebrows rose. It seemed almost unreal that his son could very well be alive. For so many years, he believed that his child died. Joseph didn't even know if the child was male or female until he returned to his home after he was released from the concentration camp. Hillary had the child while he had been in the concentration camp, so he never did get the chance to see his child. The people back in Germany told him that both Hillary and the child, who he discovered was a boy, had been murdered by the Nazis. There had been a quick burial and that was it. Now, there some how was a chance that his son made it through and was alive and well. Joseph wouldn't have believed it at all if he hadn't gone through the torture he did and made it out alive. He learned that there was hope even in the darkest of times.
He watched as Nadine walked into the house and followed after her, closing the door behind him. "I can help you with dinner if you like," he said as they entered the house.
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Post by Dr. Nadine Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 21:04:34 GMT -5
Nadine was a worrier, but she was also an optimist. She generally tried to believe the best in all situations. As much as she worried about Ilsa, she believed in her daughter and was hopeful that somehow she would come out of this, or they'd find a way to help her. And when Joseph had told her about the son he believed he had lost all those years ago, It had been Nadine's belief that the child was alive. After all, Joseph had been presumed dead as well, and in Germany he was still listed as being dead. That was why it had been so easy for him to start his life over again in England.
But for a long time, Joseph wouldn't really think about whether his son might be alive. It had only been a few months ago when Nadine had hired two private investigators, just to find out what the boy's name had been and if there was a death certificate for him. They came up with a name and a birth certificate, but no death certificate. Nadine had presented this information to Joseph and convinced him to hire them to try and find his son. He had agreed, but they had not heard back from the investigators until today.
"They want to meet with us tomorrow afternoon, if you have time," she told Joseph quietly.
She smiled at his offer to help with dinner, but shook her head. "No, I think I can handle it. Why don't you and Ilsa talk while I start dinner?"
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 11, 2011 21:23:09 GMT -5
"Tomorrow afternoon is great," he told her quietly. "I'm available all afternoon." At the mention of Nadine handling dinner on her own, Joseph laughed and held up his hands. "Okay, okay," he said jokingly. "I get it. I know I'm not the best cook." He winked at her. When it came to cooking, Joseph may have not been the world's best cook, but he could get by with a decent meal sometimes.
"Call for me or Ilsa if you need us." He smiled and then disappeared from the kitchen into the living room area. "Hello Ilsa," Joseph said with a bigger smile. "How's my little girl doing?"
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 12, 2011 2:35:55 GMT -5
If she didn't think her mother would call her right back down, Ilsa would have gone upstairs and closed her door. As it stood, if she had any hope of going to Hogsmeade this weekend to see Ramon, she was going to have to be as... cordial as possible. That still wasn't saying much for her.
She was curled up on the couch when her father came out, and she pulled herself into more of a sitting position to make room for him. She may have looked more like her mother, but if there was anyone in the family she even remotely identified with, it was her father. She smiled. "Hey Vati. I'm all right. Mum already told you I got in trouble, didn't she?"
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 12, 2011 10:18:12 GMT -5
"She may have mentioned it," he said patting her knee. Joseph was used to hearing that Ilsa got into some sort of trouble. He wished that she would tell them what was going on. Both he and Nadine understood that being a teenager could be a very big deal. There were certain things that went on and Joseph thought that maybe things wouldn't be as rough as they could get if Ilsa just told them everything. However, being a teenager once, he also understood that a teenager did not want to tell their parents everything.
"Do you want to tell me what exactly happened?"
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 13, 2011 23:33:46 GMT -5
At his question, Ilsa's eyebrows rose. Well, if he was asking.... Ilsa was going to be honest about it. Did she want to tell him?
"No... not really."
Everyone around her learned, sooner or later, to word things very specifically. But if it would sate her father's interest, Ilsa added, "I didn't really do anything. And I'm not the one who should have gotten in trouble, anyway. I hear Lorelei's coming for dinner?"
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 14, 2011 13:17:39 GMT -5
Ilsa's response did not come as a surprise to Joseph, he knew she wouldn't want to talk about it but soon he would probably attempt to get more out of her. "Hm, that's what a lot of people say when they get in trouble," he told her in a teasing response. Joseph gave her a light smile but his eyes told her that they would talk about it more later.
"Lorelei is coming for dinner," he said. "It's going to be nice having the family back together for a meal, don't you think?"
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 14, 2011 15:56:32 GMT -5
"Oh yeah, it'll be great." She couldn't keep the sarcasm from her voice when she said this. So what, she was going to have her sister and her mother hounding her? Yes, she was thrilled.
"Sorry. I mean yes, it'll nice to see her." She dropped the subject of What happened at school since he had, but offered him a non combative smile. "It's better to see you though. "
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 14, 2011 16:05:03 GMT -5
Although Joseph was being more easy going at the moment, he knew when to be more strict. This moment, however, he knew that being strict on Ilsa would cause nothing good to happen. She needed a moment where she could possibly relax. Joseph was going to attempt to do that. He and Ilsa were a like in many ways and on a certain level he could understand.
At the sarcasm, Joseph raised his eyebrows. He knew that Ilsa was not a big fan of her sister, but still. He wished that there was a better relation between the two. "Of course it's better to see me. I know you miss your old man dearly while you're in school. Maybe we could sneak off after dinner?"
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 17, 2011 16:21:47 GMT -5
Ilsa paused for just a moment, but then smiled warmly. "Okay," she told him, nodding once. She liked those moments when he would spend time with just her. He rarely pressured her during them, unlike her mother. She considered it a safe time, when she didn't have to be defensive about everything.
"And I was being mean... it will be nice to see Lorelei. Is she bringing the boy?"
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Post by Joseph Richmond on Oct 18, 2011 8:16:03 GMT -5
Those moments when it was just Joseph and Ilsa, Joseph could see his daughter without her putting on the tough front she usually put on. He didn't understand why she had the attitude she usually did, but maybe she'd tell them one day.
"Please be nice to her at the dinner table. Your mother has been stressing out lately. It would be nice to have a quiet non-eventful family dinner on either side. I'm going to ask Lorelei to remain nice to you as well. As for the boy, I think so. He usually comes with her. I don't see why those two aren't together already. He is always with her." Joseph raised his eyebrow. "Speaking of boys, are there any in your life?"
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Post by Lorelei Richmond on Oct 18, 2011 18:41:33 GMT -5
Lorelei was going to be very early for dinner. She had her day planned carefully, but work was less busy than she was anticipating, and Duncan was busy with his own things to make the coffee date Lorelei had planned for the two. She called him and left him a message, telling him to meet her at her parents’ house if he could for dinner. Telephones still confused Lorelei; she had learned how to use one just so she didn’t have to send owls to Duncan every time she wanted to meet up with him. She knew after a while his neighbors would get suspicious as to why an owl was always at his house, if they hadn’t already while she was at school.
She was excited to see her parents again. After renting her first apartment four months ago, she felt she didn’t get to see her family as often as she liked. There were nights she wondered if moving out so young was a good idea, but she liked the sense of freedom it gave her. She had the money saved up, and decided to make the apartment a birthday present to herself. Still, she had thought about moving back home from time to time, and wondered if she could get used to it again.
As she got to the house, she realized she left the key at her apartment. Sighing at herself for forgetting something so simple, she knocked on the door, hoping she didn’t beat anyone home.
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Oct 20, 2011 15:14:15 GMT -5
Ilsa was being harsh anyway- she loved her sister. She just wasn't in the mood tonight. She was still sore about missing Hogsmeade this weekend.
"Well if she doesn't sass me about anything, I'll be nice. That's not too much to ask, right?" And Duncan was a nice enough guy... for Lorelei. It didn't mean Ilsa had to be a fan.
Just as her father asked about boys, a knock at the door saved her from having to lie, and she jumped up to get it.
Seeing her sister, Ilsa held an arm out to the side. "Surprise! Guess who made it for dinner."
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Post by Lorelei Richmond on Nov 30, 2011 21:36:01 GMT -5
Lorelei smiled as her sister opened the door, and stepped inside. She was about to say hi and try to hug her sister, her usual greeting when wanting to start a good day with Isla, when her sister spoke.
"I'm sorry, is it a bad time?" Lorelei asked, trying to keep the edge of off her voice. She wasn't even aware that her sister would be there tonight, but she wasn't going to ask why. She knew; Isla had probably been in some kind of trouble again. Maybe it was good she spoke before Lorelei could act; something told her the hug wouldn't have gone over well.
Lorelei looked over at her father, and smiled. "Hi, papa." She said, and broke out in a grin.
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Post by Ilsa Richmond on Dec 1, 2011 1:34:34 GMT -5
Ilsa's smile turned to a frown in mere seconds. Why was Lorelei already giving her a hard time? "No. Why would this be a bad time?"
Sure, her greeting had been a little sarcastic, but it had been about herself, and it was still saying hello to Lorelei. She could already see tonight going really well, she though with an inward roll of her eyes. Merlin, she hadn't even done anything yet and her sister already had that look in her eyes that said she was above her younger sister's crap.
She sighed. "I'm going to see if Mum needs helps." Because it was the only excuse to get out of the room that wouldn't earn her a dirty look.
She wandered into the kitchen, taking her time. "Hey Mum. Lor's here."
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