What To Do With a Thing Called Parents (Kamren, Clarinda & Lux)

Guest

Taking the steps slowly, trying to make sure he didn't sound too happy with the success of the situation, Kamren let the smile that he'd been holding back take it's place on his features. They had made progress, of that much he was quite certain. Yes, it was only a small step, but if they kept making small steps, this whole situation was going to work out perfectly.

Stepping in to the kitchen, Kamren sidestepped the pasta sheets as they made their way to his wife. As Minister of Magic he could have had house elves or employees to do such menial tasks, but he'd chosen not to - simply because it meant he and Clarinda had more time to do things together, less excuses for him to stay at work, because he had to be home for dinner.

"That went well,"

Kamren couldn't help but beam at his wife. "You did fantastic!" He responded in an equally as soft voice, leaning down to press a soft kiss on his wife's lips. Short and chaste, but showing his thanks for her support in that moment. "Though, I don't think it's going to be plain sailing the whole time. But, we'll see." Kamren insisted, moving to the sink to wash his hands so that he could help with the preparation of the dinner.

"Monkey's fur though?" Kamren continued - still hushed. "It's a little... out there, isn't it?"

Guest

Lux watched with narrowed eyes as The Couple retreated from her territory and one side of her lip curled in contempt. She knew this wasn’t over and something told her it would be the longest battle yet. These people were different; they were like the Carters. Patient, stable, steady and unmoved no matter what she threw at them. Thinking about the Carters made a pang of pain shoot through her heart. She hadn’t thought about them for almost seven years. Thinking about them hurt and she didn’t want to feel that kind of hurt.

Letting out a frustrated grunt, she cleaned up after herself and put the cans of paint and paintbrushes aside before changing into black shorts and making her way down to the kitchen. They had a nice neat home as Lux expected. She rolled her eyes. So cliche. She’d been to all kinds of homes. Rich, poor, dirty, clean, loud, soft and weird. She’d been to homes that were almost as big as mansions and homes that were small shacks. It was always interesting to Lux to read someone’s home. It spoke a lot about the people living there and what they were like.

This one was a quaint home. Comfortable but not overly show-offy although Lux suspected they were very well off. Things were of good quality but not over-the-top expensive or there just for the sake of showing off wealth. It was...sensible. It wasn’t difficult to find the kitchen and the first thing she saw was how close The Couple was. She snorted in disgust as she stepped in.

“I’d keep things PG-13 around here if you don’t want me gagging or vomiting a load of disgust over this nice place,” she commented as she headed to the sink to wash off whatever paint made its home on her hands. She didn’t know if they would get the muggle movie reference but she didn’t care.

She helped in whatever way was needed to make lunch, at home in the kitchen. It wasn’t rare for her to have to make her own meals at the orphanage or at the homes she went to. Often, the food given to the kids at the orphanage was barely enough to stave off hunger and there were homes where the couple were too busy yelling at each other to care about the kids. She had to learn the basics of slapping food together to survive whatever hell she was thrown into for the day.

Lunch was made and finished off with Lux eating every drop on her plate and then some. She hadn’t had good food since...the Carters. Merlin’s hairy prick. Why do they keep popping up now? Get out! In a sour mood from the memory, Lux got up from the table, dunked her plate in the sink and made a beeline to her room. On went her headphones and the loudest music she could find as she lay on the bed. But even with the volume maxed out, it couldn’t drown out the quiet whisper of memories floating through her mind as she stared blankly at the ceiling.

She didn’t leave her room, giving the excuse that she wasn’t hungry when dinner time came. She drifted in and out of sleep until her clock showed it was two in the morning. Her body, as if having its own clock, woke up. She put on her black ripped skinny jeans, changed her shirt and shrugged on her only black hoodie over it before slipping her feet into her combat boots. Now came the tricky part. Lux suspected that The Couple had some sort of alarm system in the house that alerted them if anyone came in or if anyone went out. It was probably a spell or charm of some sort if it wasn't a Muggle alarm - which she sincerely doubted it would be. There was probably no way she could get out of the house without triggering something But she needed to get out.

The main doors and windows downstairs would definitely have some sort of protection. Lux glanced at her bedroom window. It would be a two story drop and she wasn't allowed to use any sort of spell to slow down her descent. Drat! And there was nothing she could hold on to to aid her down. There was no choice but to use the back window downstairs since she was sure all the doors would be locked and she had no clue where the keys were kept. It was a big-ass risk but she had to get out. She sneaked out of the house and made her way through the quiet alleys of Ireland, bypassing the main roads and taking shortcuts heading for the one place that held people crazy enough to bring some normalcy back into her life.

It wasn’t long until she came to one of the darkest alleys in Ireland. She knew her way well enough that she didn’t need the flashlight from her phone. Lux found the door, sunken into the side of the brick building with a few steps leading down into it. She pushed it open and was greeted to the sound of metal music and smoke. She was home. The bar was the unofficial meeting place for the Skullkers, a gang about fifteen people strong, all orphans like her but most of them were above eighteen. It was nothing illegal, just a bunch of young people bound by a common situation.

She found them quickly enough in the dimly lit bar. They were always at the far back and she could spy Amanda’s electric purple hair a mile away. Lux was greeted by cheers and hugs as the familiar members welcomed her. Compared to them, Lux was very mild. Some had extreme Gothic makeup and crazy hair, piercings and tattoos. Big Mac, the unofficial leader of the gang and nicknamed for his love of that particular Mcdonald's burger gave her a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Nice to see ya again, little sis,” he said, offering her a cigarette.

“Right back at ya, bro,” Lux replied with a smile, taking the cigarette as she made herself comfortable and ordered a drink. This was her home. This was her family.

Guest

Dinner had been pleasant. Too pleasant. Lux had helped with minimal fuss, eaten heartily and put her plate away. The comment on keeping things PG had made Kamren smile a little, giving Clarinda a small look of amusement at the comments. Oh, the child was amusing, she wasn't - so far - as bad as he'd been expecting, but he was not complacent.

Maybe she was just a child who needed leading in the right direction, but not molly-coddling. That much they could definitely do, but it was too early to tell.

When Lux had gone back to her room, Kamren had helped tidy up things with Clarinda, and then gone to his study to do some work. The rest of the day had been uneventful - Lux hadn't wanted dinner, and they hadn't pushed her. Night fell, and Kamren had gotten in to be beside his wife with a soft sigh. "This is going too easy." He commented, getting himself comfortable in pillows and draping an arm around his wife. "But, she seems like a good kid." He added as an after thought - though he couldn't help but wonder where everything had gone so wrong for the other foster parents.

But, as he relaxed in to the pillows, Kamren decided not to worry. Perhaps, for once in their life they would get what they wanted, a child.

Sleep came easily, but Kamren was woken up a few short hours later, to find his wife worrying because Lux was gone.

"The security detail will tail her, Clare." Kamren reminded his wife sleepily. But he knew, better than anyone, that Clarinda would not get back to sleep until Lux came home. "We can't drag her home. That's not going to go well, but she's safe." Kamren insisted, knowing the words wouldn't make enough of a difference to his wife who was now sat up in bed. Kamren, however, was not worried, and instead rested his head on his wife's lap and drifted back to sleep.

He trusted their security detail to do their job.

But even with his lack of worry, Kamren came to every couple of hours, finding Clarinda still awake and still worrying. He murmured reassurances before drifting back off to sleep, until six a.m. came. Rolling from bed, Kamren dressed in a pair of slacks and a t-shirt and went downstairs to get a coffee, and sat waiting at the breakfast bar for Lux's return.

Now, Kamren realised, they needed a serious talk.

As the door opened, and the younger witch came back in to the house, Kamren put his coffee down. "Lux, please can you come sit with me a moment." Kamren called out - his tone soft, not in the least bit angry. But, it held enough of a serious tone to let the witch know that no was not going to be an acceptable answer.

Guest

The first few minutes with the gang was spent telling them everything that had happened to her since she saw them during the last holiday.

"Yo, Lux. What's been going on with you, man?"

And that question led to explaining about The Couple which led to empathetic gazes and understanding nods. Now, Lux would normally tear apart anyone who tried to sympathise or empathise but these people had been through the same thing as her. They knew what it was like to bounce from home to home, parent to parent. The lucky ones got good parents and the not-so-lucky ones would rather live in the orphanage or even on the streets instead of the with the home they were put in.

But after catching up, Lux was having a blast with her friends. Everything with The Couple happened so fast and sudden that she found herself in a completely lost and out of control of her life. And if there was one thing Lux hated it was not having control. But with the Skullkers, she could return some normality to her life. There were jokes and stories and dares and laughter. It had been some time since she'd seen the gang, what with Hogwarts and all. Most of them were older than eighteen and had their own lives while Lux was still stuck in school and stuck with parents.

They didn't just stay in the bar though. They all went out and did some street art, choosing a place they knew wasn't patrolled by police. Lux and a few others went and got some new tattoos and piercings. By the time four in the morning rolled around, Lux thought it was best to get back before The Couple woke up but changed her mind to spend more time with the gang, not knowing if she would get the chance to see them again. They had a couple beers in the bar and she drank as much as she wanted. It wasn't like she couldn't hold her alcohol or control herself. She knew when to stop and that was all that mattered.

She stayed with them until the sun came up and they had to disperse to their various jobs. It was six and Lux was pretty sure The Couple would be awake by now. She didn't bother thinking up a lie to tell them; they would smell the smoke on her anyway. Even if she hadn't smoked more than one cigarette, she was in an environment saturated in smoke and the smell was on her. That and alcohol.

She took a slow walk back through the alleys. But as she walked, she felt goosebumps rising. Someone was watching her. And following her. But no matter how much she tried to catch a glimpse, she couldn't. There was no one following her or darting around corners to keep hidden. Lux quickened her pace. There were people around, going to work, opening shops, walking along, but they were all on the main streets and she was using the alleyways.

She brushed off the feeling, telling herself she was just paranoid. Soon enough, she saw the back of The Couple's house. She entered the back gate and through the window, could see Camera already up. She sighed. Time for punishment. It was so predictable. She pushed opened the door and sure enough the next words out of his mouth confirmed her suspicion.

Lux wasn't stupid to rebel against such authority the man commanded. She could tell when someone had more control than her and there was nothing she could do but obey, but to test the water, she said. "No." Not even "No, I can't". Just a simple 'no'.

Guest

Finally, the resistance came, and Kamren was not in the slightest bit surprised. They had gone too long without some sort of retaliation, and Kamren was ready for it. The shortness of the retaliation meant little and less to Kamren, he paused for a moment, allowing her to see sense herself. But, there was no sense that came, and so Kamren repeated his original words.

"Lux, please can you come sit with me a moment." He said calmly once again, motioning to the seat opposite him. His tone didn't change, nor did his facial features show that he was mildly frustrated. It was a simple request, the retaliation was supposed to be on bigger things, not this.

"We need to talk. You're not in trouble. I know where you have been, I know what you have been doing. Whilst I don't agree with any of your actions, you're your own person, and I will not tell you what you can and can't do with your own body. However, I will tell you what I expect from you, and you will listen to me, otherwise, you are going to be in trouble, and you can kiss your little escapades good bye. And please do not think that I am joking about that Lux, I have that power, and I will exert it if you try to push me." Kamren told her, before motioning to the chair opposite once more.

"So, please will you sit with me a moment."

Guest

Lux almost let out a chuckle when all the could do was repeat his earlier request. But then he went on talking and she remained quiet until he said his piece. If he was trying to intimidate her, it wasn't working. Not at all. She had people say stuff like that to her all the time and nothing ever came out of it because she didn't let it affect her. They could lock her up all day, remove her privileges, starve her, make a slave out of her, whatever it was, none of it worked because she wasn't one to give in.

But what hit her most of all was when Camera revealed he knew where she had been and what she had done. It wasn't paranoia then. He'd had people stalk her. That sneaky son of a bachelor! How dare he invade my privacy! She probably didn't notice it when she sneaked out of the house because her mind was on getting to the bar. But she did have the sense someone was following her on the way back. Growing up, she spent a majority of her time on the streets instead of in the orphanage or the homes she was placed into and she'd had to learn quickly how to be street smart. But the nerve he has to stalk her!

She already knew he was a powerful man but to have someone - perhaps even more than one person - follow her, he must be very high up the ladder. There weren't very many people who were powerful enough to command professional people to follow someone. And for them to obey him...Who is he exactly? The Minister of Magic? she thought sarcastically. Then paused as she pondered that possibility. But what would the Minister of Magic want with someone like her? If he wanted a child, he would be better off adopting a baby or toddler. She was two years away from being legal and free. No. He couldn't be. Could he?

All of that ran through her mind in a few seconds. And she made up her mind. "No. I will not," she replied with a smile and a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. It was his move now.

Guest

"No. I will not,"

Kamren took a breath, held it for a moment, and let it out - not noticeably to someone who didn't know him. He was, very slightly, frustrated with the girl before him for not listening, but he was not going to allow her to get the better of him. "Fine, don't sit down, but you can listen." Kamren replied, his tone still even in that moment.

"If you didn't yet know, this family is important in the Wizarding World. Why?" Kamren continued, posing the question, but it was a rhetorical one, because he was going to tell her anyway. "I am the Minister of Magic in Great Britain. This means the well being of my family, our family, it under constant threat. There are people out there, Lux, who would not think twice about abducting you and trying to ransom you back to me.

"Now, I know you're old enough in your head to look after yourself, and, to a point I will agree that you can look after yourself. However, Lux, and this is important, I can only protect you if you trust me, and Clarinda, enough to tell us where you're going." Kamren explained, not trying to scare her, but being very realistic about the situation. "I need you to try to understand that you're now part of a very important family, Lux, and not to act so irrationally again. Do you think you can do that?"

Guest

Lux rolled her eyes at the first sentence out of his mouth. Was that really all he could muster? But then he continued with his lecture. Initially, her excitement sky rocketed when he finally admitted he was the Minister of Magic. Called it! True, it had been a sarcastic thought at first but it had entered her mind. It raised a whole bunch of other questions like: what did the Minister of Magic wanted with an orphan kid? Was it because he knew something about her past? About her parents? Did he owe someone a favour and so had to adopt her? This was just the basics. Oh. Maybe he wants me for something. She remembered a scene from a show she'd watched where there was a whole team of secret agents who were orphans and so were best suited to undercover work. But she highly doubted that was the case with Camera.

But then her ire increased when he continued talking as if she was a dim witted child. Did he seriously think she wasn't capable of understanding what such an important position entailed. She knew and understood the implications - making the lecture completely unnecessary - but she simply chose to ignore it.

She popped gum into her mouth and chewed steadily, tolerating his speech until he got to the part about trusting them and telling them her whereabouts. This was all she could take. Rolling her eyes, she didn't bother to acknowledge what he'd said so far as she walked off without a glance back. She didn't need to listen to him drone on and on about things she already knew. Lux had a few choice words to lash back at him but decided that he wasn't worth her breath. Plus she really needed a bath to wash the smell of smoke off and a good long sleep after staying up most of the night.

Guest

The meal went well, after which Clarinda took a quick nap. As a Head Nurse, she never knew when she would be called in to work, or what may crop up, and had learnt to catch some sleep whenever she had a chance to. Dinner came and went, with Lux not wanting to join them. That was okay; it was a big change for the young witch, and both her husband and her knew it wouldn't be an easy adjustment.

But that night, after having settled down with Kam, she was woken up by the quiet humming of uncertainty, instincts telling her something was up. Sitting up in bed, she glanced over to see that there had been a message left for the pair by their security detail, saying that Lux had left the house and was currently being watched in a bar.

Automatically, that meant Clarinda would get no sleep - for she never slept well until everyone who was meant to be home was home - and reached over to turn on the bedside light, picking up a case file as she did so. I might as well use the time to work, she mused, thumbing over the information given. Seamus Cassidy, losing magic abilities... What could it be?

A stirring beside her made her turn, and she smiled as Kam also awoke. "JI know, dear," she agreed, trusting their security detail. After all, it why they hired them in the first place, and it wasn't as though she didn't have one. "Go back to sleep, Kam. I'll wait," she added, reminding him that she wouldn't actually be able to fall asleep as long as Lux was out there. As he shifted position, she smiled, bending down to kiss his forehead, and then went back to her case files, one hand absentmindedly running through Kam's hair as he slept.

At one point, she paused, placing down the file, and just watched her husband sleep. The worry lines from both work and his age seemed simultaneously disappear and stand out, a reminder that he was no longer the young man she had first fallen in love with - he was still a man she loved, and loved much more than ever, but he wasn't the same. And, she realised, neither was she. They had both matured and grown and changed, but they had done so together, and her identity was now as much in him as his was in her; to think of separating them or as herself as an individual was absurd.

Lux stayed out the whole night, and Clare made sure to get hourly reports - or an update whenever something new happened - and it wasn't till Kam had already gotten up and was getting ready to go downstairs that the news came that the young Slytherin was on her way home. Naturally, that meant rest, but Clare had some errands to run (it was an off day for her, luckily) and so she slipped out of bed.

She was just about to step into the kitchen when she heard voices, and stopped to listen. No, she already knew Kam wanted to handle this on his own, and interrupting would not be a good thing. So, she stood, and waited, and listened at Kam's little speech, smiling to herself as he captured everything the pair wanted to say perfectly. But the 'no' that came did not surprise Clarinda, having already predicted it; she dealt with enough stubborn patients to know the signs and warning signals to know when they were going to do something defiant.

She heard the frustration not in Kam's tone, but his words, and she felt it as though it was her own, and immediately knew she would be stepping in soon. How, she couldn't explain, but she prepared herself, and waited. Sure enough, seconds after Kam had explained his position and proposed the question, a figure popped her head around the corner, and Clarinda immediately moved to block the narrow corridor that led back to their rooms.

"I believe Kam asked you a question, Lux," she said matter-of-factly, not raising her voice or showing anger in that moment. "You might not believe it, but we do love you, and we do care for you. We're not asking that you don't go out - we ask that you don't sneak out, because there's no need."

Guest

Lux hadn't waited for Kam to finish is lengthy speech (weren't men supposed to speak less anyway?), walking off right before he tried to stress that she was part of the family. But she did hear the question while her back was turned and her feet carried her away. She rolled her eyes at what he'd said but didn't bother giving a response, her mind on shower and sleep instead.

She'd expected a lecture and some sort of punishment - had been through them countless times. She'd expected it from Camera and she'd been right. What she hadn't anticipated with the whole scene was Clarinet materializing out of thin air and right on to the path that would lead her to her bedroom. She gnashed her teeth, her patience reaching a dangerous limit as she glared up at the annoying woman.

"And I believe you're standing in my way, hag," Lux said in a hard voice. If fire could shoot from the glare she was giving the woman, she'd be ash by now. But since that was not possible, Lux settled for communicating as much hate as she could using the windows to her soul. It was taking all her self-control not to reach out and give the woman the good tight slap she deserved. Although Lux hadn't yet used any physical force, she did start mentally planning ways to destroy the woman in front of her.

» That's Why It's Called Forbidden [Open]
» The Start of Something Terrible (Kamren and Clarinda)
» Let's Slow Things Back Down for Us (Clarinda & Kamren)
» Scrapes, Bruises, and a Thing Called Emotions (Madley)
» Now, Meet My Parents (Jake & Veronika - Germany)